Chapter 377 Who is that person?! ? ?
The following day, Emperor Xiaozhao ordered the Earl of Enping to lead an army of 30,000 to Xiguan to assist the Earl of Annan in attacking Da'an.
To prevent small states in the north and northwest from taking advantage of the situation, Emperor Xiaozhao reinstated the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion and the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, assigning them to lead troops to guard the border.
It wasn't until these messages from within Dayan reached Da'e that Da'e realized, to her astonishment, that Dayan had been prepared all along.
The whole thing about the problems with the garrison at Xiguan and the marriage alliance is a lie!
Da Yan had already dug a pit for them, preparing to bury them in it!
Meanwhile, Dahe prepared for battle while simultaneously launching a massive manhunt for the members of the marriage alliance, aiming to capture Princess Xihe and expose Dayan's shameless conspiracy.
***
Let's rewind to the day when the three members of the Min Qiao family separated and left the city.
To avoid suspicion, Min Qiao deliberately disguised herself as a lame old peasant woman, and even changed into tattered clothes full of patches. She also darkened her originally fair face by several shades, making it look sallow.
If it weren't for the fact that Lao Qiao and I actually witnessed Min Qiao's disguise process, we probably wouldn't have been able to recognize her on the street.
Old Qiao and Zhen were really simple.
She was indeed only twelve years old, three years younger than Princess Xihe, so their ages didn't match up at all.
As for the old woodcutter, there's even less to worry about.
Princess Xihe is a woman, while King Chu is only eighteen years old this year.
Old Qiao, on the other hand, looked like a thirty-year-old man who couldn't be associated with anyone.
The three of them entered the city without any problems.
When it was time to leave the city, they indeed agreed with Old Woodcutter to let Min Qiao walk at the very front. They followed behind her in the procession, keeping a distance of a few people between them.
Unlike He Huanzhen and Lao Qiao, who were nervous, Min Qiao herself was not nervous at all. She even had the mood to look around, just like an ignorant old country lady who found everything strange.
Just as there were only seven or eight people left before it was her turn, a group of tall, dashing young soldiers rode up to the city gate.
The young general at the head of the group sat on his horse, glanced at the queue of people, and waved to the guards at the city gate.
The guard stepped forward quickly and gave a respectful military salute.
The young general asked some questions, and the guard answered them cautiously.
A moment later, the men who had followed the young general escorted away the group of old women and young girls who had been held captive by the guards.
Although Min Qiao was not far away, she couldn't hear a single word of what the two were saying.
From the moment she saw the young general's face, she was completely shocked.
Are there really two people in this world who look so alike?
She remained in shock for a long time after the young general left.
"Hey, are you going to move or not?" An angry shout from behind pulled her back to reality.
Min Qiao quickly broke away from the group and headed straight for the guard who had spoken with the young general earlier.
However, before he could get close, he was stopped by two soldiers.
"What are you doing? Go out of town and line up over there!"
Madam Min Qiao quickly waved her hand, "I won't leave the city. I just came to ask who that young general was?"
The two soldiers impatiently tried to shoo him away, saying, "Is this something you can ask about? Get out of here or we'll arrest you!"
Min Qiaoshi was already somewhat out of her mind. Ignoring the soldiers' threats, she stubbornly shouted towards the guard not far away, "Sir, sir... please tell me, who was that young general just now? Please tell me!"
Finally, the guard walked over with a strange expression.
He looked Min Qiao up and down, but couldn't see anything special about her.
"Do you know the person from earlier?"
Min Qiao shook her head. "I don't know him. He just looks familiar, like an old friend of mine. So I wanted to ask if he was a younger generation of my old friend."
The guard smiled and didn't press the matter. What if it really was an old acquaintance? It would be a simple matter of a few words. Anyway, the young general's identity wasn't a secret; a little inquiry would reveal it.
So the guard kindly said, "That young general was Ji Huailang, the heir of the Marquis of Pingyan. He is twenty-two years old this year and the youngest Wuyi General in Da'an."
"The Marquis of Pingyan's residence? Ji Huailang?" Madam Min Qiao murmured, walking in the direction Ji Huailang had left in a daze.
The faint whispers of soldiers and guards could still be heard behind her, but Madam Min Qiao was no longer able to hear them.
Zhen Huan and Lao Qiao, who had been silently watching Min Qiao's every move, quickly followed.
The two were quite startled when they saw Min Qiao suddenly break away from the group and head straight for the guards.
When Min Qiaoshi was driven away by the soldiers, the two of them were on tenterhooks. They were even prepared to rush up and fight them if those people dared to lay a hand on Min Qiaoshi, and then force their way out of the city with her.
Fortunately, everything turned out alright.
However, since they had agreed to leave the city, why did Madam Min suddenly head back into the city?
"Grandmother, do you know that young soldier from earlier?"
"Madam, are we not leaving the city?"
Min Qiaoshi did not speak, but walked forward silently.
After a long while, she said, "Let's find an inn to stay in first. Old Woodcutter, go and buy me a set of writing implements. I want to paint."
"draw!?"
Both Lao Qiao and I were completely baffled.
However, both of them could clearly see that Min Qiao was in a bad mood. They immediately stopped talking and, as Min Qiao had instructed, found a nearby inn to stay in and quickly bought her writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Then, the two saw Min Qiao begin to lay out paper, grind ink, dip it in ink, and paint... She didn't even eat dinner.
Two hours later, the two looked at the portraits drawn by Min Qiaoshi with astonishment.
"Madam, why are you painting that young general from earlier today?" Old Woodcutter looked curiously at the portrait on the table. It wasn't that they were completely identical, but rather that they were exactly the same.
She was genuinely shocked. "In such a short time, Grandma was able to memorize the person completely! And paint such a lifelike picture!"
"No wonder Miss Biao, who is known as a master painter and a gentleman, praised the old lady for her talent in painting!"
"His skill in drawing figures is truly admirable!"
She had no idea that she, who was usually quiet and reserved, had become a loyal supporter of Min Qiaoshi, praising people fluently, sincerely, and without any burden.
However, Madam Min Qiao did not pay attention to the real change at this moment. She just stared blankly at the portrait and asked in an empty tone, "Do I really look like that young general Ji Huailang from earlier today?"
Without hesitation, the two exclaimed, "It's similar!" "It's very similar!"
Upon hearing their affirmative answers, Madam Min Qiao threw her paintbrush onto the table and slumped down on the stool.
"But I didn't paint Ji Huailang."
It was the young Marquis Xuanping! The Min Ji she remembered!
...
PS: Please help me name Marquis Pingyan. Ji...
(The name Min Ji was originally chosen by Bao Zi!)
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