Chapter 154 Changing course back home? Impossible!
Meeting the boy's sharp gaze, Su Mingshu hesitated before answering: "My father serves in the army, and my sister and I are officials' wives. Now that the imperial army of 200,000 has been defeated and the border areas have fallen into the hands of the rebels, my family felt it was unsafe and sent people to escort us to our relatives' homes."
Seeing Chang Zhiyuan's unpleasant expression, Su Mingshu said again, "Thank you both for your help yesterday. The border area is indeed not very safe right now. Not only are there rebels, but also many Tartars taking the opportunity to plunder the border cities. I'm afraid the number of people you brought is not enough."
He Sheng hesitated, looking at Chang Zhiyuan, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot: "Zhiyuan? You."
Chang Zhiyuan raised his eyes and looked at He Sheng with sharp eyes: "It is impossible to change the route back to the mansion, He Sheng. You can take people back, but I must go. I want to see him alive or dead."
He Sheng shrugged helplessly: "Then I'll risk my life to accompany you."
Chang Zhiyuan shook his head: "This is my business and has nothing to do with you. He Sheng, you can take your people back. This journey is indeed dangerous."
He Sheng punched Chang Zhiyuan: "Why be so polite between brothers? It's safer with more people, right?"
Su Mingshu looked at the two of them and her thoughts shifted: "My lord, perhaps there are other ways."
Seeing the two looking at her, Su Mingshu smiled and said, "My relatives are in Taiyuan. My sister and I are heading to Taiyuan. Perhaps you two can escort us there first. Once we get there, I can ask my relatives for help inquiring about things."
As if afraid the two wouldn't believe her, Su Mingshu reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautifully crafted, warm-textured jade pendant, handing it over.
"This is my jade pendant, engraved with the family mark. You may take a look, sir."
After speaking, she looked at the two of them with some trepidation. She and Sister Zhou were two weak women, and all their servants and guards had been scattered. It would be extremely difficult for them to walk to Taiyuan on their own.
The two young men in this group were kind-hearted gentlemen who did not provoke them along the way. They seemed to be scholars and had skilled companions with them. It would certainly be safer for them to go to Taiyuan on their own.
Moreover, the two men didn't seem to be greedy for money. They had helped them a lot that day, and if they were with them, they would have fewer concerns.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Su Mingshu gritted her teeth and said, "My dear husband, I have a relative working in Taiyuan. It will be much easier for you to find someone than for them to find someone. Besides, Taiyuan is not far from Daxing. If all else fails, I can ask my family to help me get the local reports from Daxing. That way, the information will be more accurate."
He Sheng raised an eyebrow as he looked at the patterns on the jade pendant. Judging from the texture and craftsmanship, he was certain that it came from an official's family. However, he still had to make a decision from Zhiyuan, since the person he was looking for was his younger brother.
“Indeed, he comes from an official family. Zhiyuan, you decide. I’ll listen to you.”
Chang Zhiyuan carefully examined the jade pendant and returned it to Su Mingshu. It would be better for the government officials to search for it than for them to wander around like headless flies.
After thinking it over, Chang Zhiyuan nodded: "It's fine to change the route and go to Taiyuan first, then go to Daxing after reading the report."
After saying that, He Sheng smiled broadly and said, "Then let's go to the inn and book a room first. We'll rest for a day today before heading to Taiyuan. We'll set off tomorrow when this young lady is feeling better."
Su Mingshu breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the two of them, saying, "Then I thank you, my lord."
Just as the two were about to leave, Chang Zhiyuan seemed to remember something and tugged at He Sheng's sleeve: "Let Uncle Liu stay and look after them, and then send someone to rent a carriage. It's not good for the two young ladies to show their faces in public while they are sick."
He Sheng slapped his forehead: "Look at me, I'm not as meticulous as Zhiyuan. Uncle Liu, you stay here today to take care of the two young ladies. Uncle Chen, go and rent a carriage. The rest of you, come back to the inn with us to rest first."
Su Mingshu blushed and bowed to Chang Zhiyuan in gratitude, saying, "Thank you both, gentlemen. I will repay you handsomely when we arrive in Taiyuan!"
He Sheng waved his hand with a smile: "No problem, no problem."
The capital city, the residence of the Marquis of Zhongyong—
"My lord, news came back yesterday by carrier pigeon that the ambush had failed and the Fourth Miss had escaped!"
Lord Su frowned and slammed the teacup on the ground: "Useless! How could a little girl possibly escape from being surrounded by so many people!"
The kneeling guard hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, the fourth young lady was accompanied by Lord Zhou's daughter. The two of them were surrounded by many guards, and it was only because of the heavy rain at night that they were able to escape."
Lord Su waved his hand weakly, "Alright, go down first."
Su Mingshu was the daughter of his fourth brother, who was born out of wedlock and had always been at odds with him. Their relationship was terrible. In this life, his good fourth brother had only given birth to this one daughter. He originally wanted to bring her to the capital so that after his fourth brother passed away, he could take over his family's property.
The fourth son had no sons. Although his mother was a concubine, she was a noble one. Her family was merchants and quite wealthy. When his mother died, all her dowry went to the fourth son. His father also found him a position in the army, and he is now a third-rank commander.
With the border unstable, and the court going to war, his fourth brother was in the army. He originally wanted to take this opportunity to kill his fourth brother and then bring his fourth brother's only daughter over. Unexpectedly, his fourth brother died, but his daughter ran away.
How could he so easily seize his brother's vast fortune? Lord Su stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Anyway, she's a young lady from the Marquis's mansion. The fourth prince's daughter hasn't shown her face in the capital for many years, so why not?
After pondering for a moment, Lord Su waved his hand and beckoned to his attendants: "Has the young master recently brought back a little girl?"
After thinking for a moment, the attendant replied carefully, "Yes, my lord, the young master rescued a little girl on the Huai River. When she woke up, she didn't remember anything, but she kept calling our young master 'big brother'."
Lord Su stroked his chin, deliberately repeating involuntarily, "He's lost his memory, yet he still calls my son 'elder brother'? Elder brother!"
Lord Su suddenly laughed: "Go and call the madam over."
The servant took the order and left immediately. Lord Su's mood brightened, and he happily drank his tea. She was just a little girl, but she still carried the name of their Marquis's mansion. Now that she had disappeared, it was even better.
Who will be the fourth young lady of their Marquis's mansion in the future is not up to them to decide, hahaha.
He would lead the man to make an appearance at banquets for officials' families to solidify his identity. Once the news came back, he would then make another trip to take over the fourth son's estate, and that would ensure everything would be alright.
As for the real Su Mingshu, ha, who cares?
By then, everyone in the capital will recognize her as the fourth young lady of the Marquis's family. Even if someone comes to the capital, they can just find a pretext to kill them.
The more Lord Su thought about it, the more flawless his idea seemed.
The only problem is that the fourth son is dead, and his family members cannot be allowed to live. Ideally, a fire should burn down the house, leaving only the orphaned girl, so that he can legitimately swallow up the property.
As for the orphaned girl in the mansion, just prepare a dowry and marry her off; she's nothing more than a pawn.
Lord Su's eyes gleamed, and he couldn't help but smile.
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