Divide
Under the scorching sun, she felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand up.
Zhu Ling's expression changed, and she hurriedly stepped forward to support her.
Lin Xu closed her eyes, recalling the first time Dou Yanxun brought Steward Qi to her side... recalling him casually sipping his tea and mentioning that Steward Qi had worked at the estate in his early years and was reliable and steady...
She even recalled that when she finally discovered those very obvious errors in the ledger, Manager Qi "coincidentally" appeared before her and served her a pot of freshly brewed Maojian tea.
Even this trip to Qingyang was actually a pre-arranged scheme by Dou Yanxun to lure the tiger away from the mountain—
He assigned all his most skilled guards to her, and neglected her for several days before her departure, which fueled her desire to leave. Meanwhile, there were clearly forces colluding with the local gentry lurking around him...
He had anticipated the possibility that he might be assassinated.
However, he still insisted on keeping it from her and even devised a plan to have her leave first.
He even ordered Jiang to protect her at all costs, but what about him? He only had a handful of second-class guards protecting him.
Lin Xu recalled that Dou Yanxun and County Magistrate Sun had gone to the moat early that morning, which was naturally Zheng Jiangran's territory. As officials, they couldn't make too much of a show of force to avoid being criticized for being "too authoritative for their position." If Zheng Jiangran really did commit the crime there, with so many people around, there was no need for such meticulous methods as poisoning. If someone received the order and seized the opportunity to block the road and riot, or cause a commotion...
At that time, Laining will be in dire straits, and those people will be able to easily eliminate Dou Yanxun.
Lin Xu clenched her fists, feeling a cold sweat for the first time; her palms were completely devoid of warmth. The situation was urgent, so she forced herself to calm down. After a moment, she immediately and in a low voice ordered Guard Jiang:
“Since going back together will cause a lot of trouble, let’s split up. I only need to leave three or four guards here. The rest of you should change your clothes and disguise yourselves as vendors to take a shortcut back. This way we can save time and avoid being noticed.”
When she arrived, she noticed that the vendors coming to the market, whether pushing carts or carrying loads on shoulder poles, all took a shortcut from the mountainside, which was much faster and less strenuous than their journey by horse-drawn carriage along the main road. She estimated that this would save them two or three hours.
Guard Jiang, however, straightened his expression and immediately bowed, refusing the offer:
"I apologize, but I cannot comply. We are here on Lord Dou's orders to protect your safety, and we cannot leave our posts without permission. If we do, we cannot guarantee your safety..."
Lin Xu interrupted him:
"Guard Jiang is utterly loyal, but we are now at a critical juncture, and only a flexible approach can be taken. Guard Jiang, now that lives are at stake, if we are not careful, my husband could be devoured alive by those local thugs, leaving not even a bone fragment. To harm an official of the court is a capital offense. If Dou Yanxun were to suffer any mishap, how could you guards bear that responsibility?"
She usually presented herself as gentle and aloof, and rarely spoke so sharply. Her words made Guard Jiang tremble.
Lin Xu then continued:
"Furthermore, this place is under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou, and it is only twenty miles away from our destination, Qingyang. I will take my men and travel slowly, and we will arrive before dark. Once we reach the estate, all the people there are my men, so how could there be any danger? At worst, there is a post station not far ahead. When we get there, the local soldiers will protect us. Even if there are thieves, they will not dare to cause any trouble, and there will be no major problems."
As she spoke, she noticed a hint of hesitation on Guard Jiang's square face, knowing he was struggling with his inner conflict and wavering, so she immediately said:
"Time is of the essence, and the situation is urgent, so this decision has been made. You, Guard Jiang, will choose those who stay behind, while those who return should be guards who are agile and small in stature, so that their disguise as peddlers won't be too abrupt. Once you've made your selections, you can take the rest of the group and return immediately."
This time, however, Guard Jiang was quite certain:
"I'm afraid that won't work. I can follow your orders and split the troops into two groups. I will send some people back to protect you, but the number of people can only be split in half. This way, you won't be short-handed. However, I will definitely stay by your side. As for the people who go back... I will send Daqiang, Hu Biao, and a few others. They are all highly skilled and silent experts. This way, you can be prepared for any eventuality."
Lin Xu couldn't refuse him, so she had no choice but to agree. Jiang, who spent every day with the other guards, naturally knew more about the matter of selecting the virtuous and capable than she did.
However, this hasty decision left the guards, who were all ready to go, completely bewildered. They all looked puzzled. Guard Jiang didn't have time to explain, so he just shouted, "The situation is urgent!" No one asked any more questions. They took the old clothes they had just bought from the vendor and quickly got everything ready.
After the guards emerged from the waist-high grass, they were all dressed in coarse linen clothes, carrying shoulder poles with a basket on each side. The baskets appeared to be full of weeds, but in reality, the bottom contained the knives they usually carried at their waists. If one did not look closely, they were indistinguishable from traveling merchants carrying goods.
Seeing that the group of eight had finished packing and were about to leave with their goods, Guard Jiang whispered an order:
"Keep a low profile on this trip. If any suspicious persons appear around the lord, simply blend into the crowd and work with Zheng, the guard beside the lord, to capture the bandit leader alive!"
The guards readily agreed. Capturing thieves amidst such a riot was far more interesting and exciting than the bumpy ride in the carriage. They instantly perked up, bowed to Lin Xu in farewell, and quickly departed.
After seeing off half of the guards, Lin Xu still felt uneasy. She glanced wistfully at the sky, which was bright and clear. Yet, she couldn't shake the thought of what he was doing far away in Laining.
What if something really happens to him...?
Can she still face it calmly and accept it with equanimity?
The ripples of shock in her heart never subsided. She resented him for scheming against her and was angry that he had laid out this diversionary tactic long ago. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of unease and fear.
Dou Yanxun seemed to have anticipated Zheng Jiangran's move and was already prepared for a do-or-die battle.
Will he win?
Zheng Jiangran had been a local tyrant in Laining for many years, yet he wasn't the wealthiest or most powerful figure there. If Zheng Jiangran were to attack Dou Yanxun today, and Dou Yanxun were to lose, the newly appointed magistrate would likely find it difficult to maintain public support. In other words, even if Dou Yanxun survived, he would be unable to remain in Laining...
Why would he keep such an important matter a secret from her?
She couldn't help but think back to that day in the palace, when he kept her behind in front of all his advisors and asked for her opinion.
Was that something he had planned in advance?
She was so proud of herself back then, thinking she had seen through the suspicious situation of a mole within the county government, and even wanted to use this to make an example of him. Little did she know that he had already been planning everything behind her back.
Thinking about this carefully, Lin Xu felt a throbbing pain in his forehead and soon felt weak and dizzy. Zhu Ling went to the vendor's stall and brought Lin Xu and the guards who stayed behind a large bowl of chilled plum juice each, which finally quenched their thirst.
The group set off towards Qingyang again, still in the same three carriages they had come in, but the second carriage, which had been carrying eight guards, was now completely empty.
.
Lin Xu rested for a while, and when she opened her eyes, the sky outside the window was already a dusky yellow. Zhu Ling said softly, "Madam, we have arrived in Qingyang."
Before she left, she sent a message to the steward in charge of several farms and shops in Qingyang. Knowing that she was coming, two figures were already waiting respectfully at the village entrance with lanterns in their hands. After the guards and others got off the carriage and made sure that everything was alright, Zhu Ling helped Lin Xu down.
All around were ancient villages shrouded in a gray haze, with houses of varying heights. Under an old locust tree at the village entrance stood a tall, round-faced man in a blue cloth shirt, and a short, stout man in a gray linen shirt. Both of them were seeing Lin Xu for the first time and were quite flustered, greeting him very respectfully.
The tall man bowed and introduced himself first, "I am honored to welcome you, Madam. I, Zhou Laosan, have failed to greet you properly and have been waiting here in advance to pay my respects."
Zhou Laosan was the steward who had been corresponding with Lin Xu, complaining in every letter about the poor harvest and difficulty in collecting rent this year.
As Lin Xu breathed in the fresh air, she gradually came to her senses. She glanced at Zhou Laosan, whose eyes were full of flattery. Judging from his appearance, he didn't seem like an honest person. She didn't say anything and looked at another person.
When the short, stout man saw Lin Xu looking at him, he became even more nervous, and could barely speak. His face turned bright red as soon as he opened his mouth:
“My name is Tian Ying, and I live in Yongtian Village, Hemeng County… I am thirty-seven years old this year…”
Tian Ying wasn't very good at speaking Mandarin, and he struggled to finish just a few sentences, speaking with a heavy northern accent. Zhu Ling couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, and Tian Ying's face immediately turned even redder.
Lin Xu said calmly:
"You don't need to be so polite when you talk to me, just make yourself at home."
Zhou Laosan, who had been smiling, immediately straightened up when he saw Lin Xu say this, and cupped his hands to her, saying, "Madam, please forgive me. But you don't know, this Tian Erhan already stutters, and he stutters even more when he sees you. He is just a rough man, so please don't mind him."
After saying that, Zhou Laosan turned around and gestured for them to unload the carriage and head towards the village.
"This village is simple and humble, please don't find it inconvenient for you to rest here."
Lin Xu watched as Zhou Laosan bowed his head, yet he was treating them with great respect. However, his tall stature and the way he deliberately bent his body to guide them made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Since it's a village, it naturally has a rustic feel, with low eaves everywhere, gray and crumbling mud walls, and roosters strolling around in the narrow passageways...
She had never been a pampered woman. She was used to crawling and rolling in the mud when she was naughty in the past, and she had come prepared, so why would she look down on it? Lin Xu and the others followed behind Zhou Laosan, with guards like Jiang carrying knives at their waists and protecting them. Soon they arrived at the gate of a farmhouse at the east end of the village.
It seems that this is where they will rest tonight.
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