Female General (Seventeen)
Led by Huang Zhi and Li Yun, a group of Fujue villains were captured and taken to the Ministry of Justice prison according to the law, waiting to be handed over to the emperor for sentencing tomorrow.
Huang Heng was seriously injured and collapsed due to exhaustion before he could even make it halfway. Seeing that he could not reach the prison, he could only say goodbye to everyone.
The rest of the rebels, without exception, were thrown into the damp prison under Gou Su's personal supervision.
"You brought this upon yourselves. If you could reveal a few clues, His Majesty might show mercy, but you can escape the death penalty, but you can't escape punishment for living. So be careful."
She had heroic features, a steady and unusually dignified voice, and showed no mercy. She tossed her hairband and turned to leave without a word of hesitation.
Xiao Lin and Mu You were fortunate enough to follow behind Gou Su and witnessed this group of Fujue people kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy.
But no matter what, she watched them lose their future and couldn't help but feel a moment of pity. She also knew that even if Gou Su really spoke well of them tomorrow, he would still be beheaded.
She couldn't help but sigh deeply.
After the thief was officially taken to the prison, it was already past noon. The hot steam rising from the bluestone slabs enveloped Yu Xiaolin's entire body the moment she stepped out of the dungeon door, penetrating into every pore of her body and forcing out endless beads of sweat.
The shadows of the locust trees on Tianling Street curled up under the wall of the city block. The footsteps of the peddlers coming from outside the city rolled over the softened fallen leaves. The wine flags in the West Market drooped and were covered with dust. The noisy croaking of frogs by the river was mixed with the pungent smell of roasted lamb from the Hu Bing stall and the noisy voices of people.
Walking under the shade of the trees, Xiao Lin's stomach rumbled. After all, she had spent the entire morning without even a sip of water, let alone a meal. She was thirsty and hungry at the moment. If she took one more step, she would collapse in the street.
Therefore, she racked her brains but could not figure out why Gou Su, who had been busy all morning and even fought a battle with bandits, could still walk so fast and was at the forefront of the group, while they could not catch up at all.
It was really exhausting. Xiao Lin's steps became slower and slower until he could no longer hold on. He pleaded in a hoarse voice, "General... General, I'm really hungry. Can you go find something to eat before returning home..."
Gou Su turned around immediately upon hearing the voice, and happened to meet Xiao Lin's tired eyes and pale, chapped lips.
She looked them up and down, and without saying anything, she waved her finger in tacit agreement to their request.
"Thank you, General. Thank you, General."
Mu You thanked Xiao Lin repeatedly, then took out his purse and hurried to the street pancake stall to pick out a meat pie for her.
But in the time it took to buy a piece of meat pie, Gou Su and Achou disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It doesn’t matter. It’s better this way. They didn’t care about these two new servants anyway, so it gives them some peace and quiet.
"Eat it, eat it." The meat pie was so hot that Mu You had to pinch both ends repeatedly, gritting his teeth as he tore it in half. He then handed the half wrapped in oil paper to Xiao Lin, "Be careful, it's hot."
Xiao Lin reached out to take the meat pie. The aroma of roasted meat mixed with the smell of burnt sesame rushed into her nostrils. The dough was puffed and cracked with golden and crispy lines. Chopped green onions were stained with oil and stuck to the edges, and fat bubbles burst out after she took the first bite.
"It's so delicious." Xiao Lin gobbled down the food in big mouthfuls, wishing he could swallow the whole pancake.
Perhaps she was too hungry, she had never thought that a piece of meat pie worth only two cents could be so delicious, comparable to wild delicacies.
She even licked the last bit of minced meat left on the oil paper clean, and after burping, the rumbling in her stomach stopped.
"Speaking of which," Mu You swallowed the last bite of the cake, took a deep breath, and suddenly thought, "Since we're here, why don't we go back to Liuxiangju?"
After he reminded him, Xiao Lin suddenly remembered this long street that he had walked many times, and somewhere at the corner of the street was the beginning of their journey.
Counting on their fingers, they realized that during this period of time, even when they went out to buy food, they never went back to Liuxiangju. Even when Mu You's shoulder injury was healed, he forgot to go back to thank Chu Mo.
As Mu You said, since we are here, we might as well go there.
Come to think of it, I miss Chu Mo too.
So she straightened her collar, smoothed the wrinkles on the hem, and set out on the road in her memory again.
"I don't know what Chu Mo is doing now." Mu You muttered.
"You'll find out when you go and see."
Indeed, it was not until their intertwined steps completely stopped in front of the Liuxiangju plaque that they were surrounded by warmth.
It is a special kind of warmth, a peace of mind that belongs only to those who return home.
For the two of them, returning to Liuxiangju is like returning to their hometown.
And meeting Chu Mo was like meeting a family member——
"Oh? You finally thought of coming back to visit me? You two still have a conscience."
He was still as free and easy as ever, and although he spoke in a sarcastic tone, Mu You felt much more comfortable listening to him.
The moment he saw the evil mole on Chu Mo's eye, he took a deep breath and didn't exhale. Just as he was about to pounce on him, Chu Mo twisted his body and dodged him.
But Mu You was determined not to give up, just like a clingy golden retriever. The more Chu Mo dodged, the wider he opened his arms.
Xiao Lin stood aside and watched, unable to help laughing.
Unable to escape Mu You's pursuit, Chu Mo had no choice but to stretch out his arm to press against his forehead, and smiled rarely: "Alright, alright, you came here to talk to me, right?"
"Yeah yeah!"
"Then take a seat and tell me everything you've experienced. I'll have something to talk about after dinner."
As a result, Xiao Lin also felt her feet go numb, and her butt seemed to have an instinct to find a seat and sit down steadily. There was even a cup of tea on the small square table next to her for her to enjoy.
Everything was settled, and Chu Mo must have calculated that the two of them would return to Liuxiangju.
Mu You was the first to speak: "How should I put it, the time I've been away from here has been a bit uncomfortable."
Chu Mo chuckled, "There aren't many chores for you two to take care of in the General's Mansion. Instead of being thankful, you miss the days of serving tea and water to others? Strange."
"That's not the case," Xiao Lin said, taking a sip of tea, a piece of tea residue still lingering on his lip. "Every day has its own interesting moments. Just like back at Liuxiangju, I felt like many stories could move forward quickly, after all, with you, Boss Chu, constantly reminding us. But ever since we went to the General's Mansion, things have suddenly moved so slowly. I clearly feel like there should be a turning point, but it's still so confusing."
As Xiao Lin spoke, Mu You sat on the side and nodded repeatedly.
Who would have thought that Chu Mo laughed again, and the demonic mole on his eyelid became more prominent: "Well, tell me, what happened in the past few days?"
Xiao Lin had just swallowed a sip of tea and was about to speak when Mu You took the lead.
He even blurted out the moment he swallowed his tea: "After we arrived at the general's mansion, the general found Mr. Huang and said that he was her lifesaver when she was a child..."
"At first we thought that the masked servant beside her was it. After all, according to the routines of many melodramatic dramas, if you get to the bottom of many things, you will find that true love is right beside you." Xiao Lin added casually.
“Yeah,” Mu You confirmed again, “but he’s not.”
Xiao Lin and Mu You talked about the past events one by one, and the room was still peaceful.
Chu Mo stretched his sleeves, pressed the knuckles of his index finger against his temples, and tilted his head to watch the two of them beaming with joy.
Xiao Lin continued, "Ever since the general learned that Young Master Huang was her savior, he's inexplicably placed his faith in him, even volunteering to escort the envoy. We all thought this was a bad idea, but the general insisted on going. In the end, the emperor issued a decree, and there was no escape..."
"And then, something happened?"
"Yes, the envoys were caught by bandits on their way, and the entire group was killed on the spot. The general was summoned and inexplicably took all the blame."
"Although we found the real culprit today, a group of Fujue people, I still feel that the matter is not over yet, because the mastermind has not yet appeared..." At this point, Xiao Lin suddenly changed the subject and stared at Chu Mo with wide eyes, "Boss Chu, you should know who did it, right? Can you... give us a clue?"
When she said the word "sell", she deliberately lowered her voice, hoping in her heart that he would not hear it clearly.
But the fact is not so. He is very sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, and is very sensitive to money and interests.
"That depends on what kind of clues you want from me."
Chu Mo remained indifferent, Xiao Lin and Mu You looked at each other, a little hesitant.
She actually had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but she was worried that he would ask for an exorbitant price. So she hesitated again and again. She touched the purse on her chest, blinked her eyes, and bit her tongue, "We still want to know who is the mastermind behind this?"
It was unclear whether he hadn't anticipated her outrageous remarks, or if he was just putting on a show. As soon as Xiao Lin finished speaking, he spat out a drop of tea from the corner of his mouth in a rare, vulgar manner, and then coughed a few times as he choked. "That's not the way to ask questions."
"Oh." Xiao Lin immediately understood, straightened up, and changed the question, "Then... is this a turning point?"
Chu Mo took a sip of tea, rubbed the gold thread on his cuffs, and spread out his jade palm: "One ounce."
Sure enough, there is no way around the reward.
She had no choice but to empty her entire purse, scrape together an ounce of silver, and reluctantly handed it to him.
Afterwards, Chu Mo weighed the silver in his palm and placed it beside him before answering with understanding, "That's right."
Xiao Lin was thinking about asking another question, but he was kind enough to give him an extra clue: "Besides, if this matter is not handled properly, all our efforts will be in vain."
Obviously, Xiao Lin became much more anxious. Mu You, who had been sitting leisurely and barely listening, also became excited and leaned forward.
"Boss Chu, what do you mean?"
"Don't you understand? That person is the key to the matter."
"That person?"
Xiao Lin stared at Chu Mo's lips opening and closing, and finally a meaningful arc appeared in their curves. Only then did the heavy stone in her heart fall.
Unexpected, but also expected.
They were both stunned. However, when the green locust trees in the city finally gave off some bitter fragrance, Gou Su was just as stunned as the other two.
After returning to her house and taking a short rest, she was awakened by Ah Chou again, which made her already troubled mood even more noisy.
"General, there's a guest."
"Who is it?"
"It's Mr. Huang."
Ah Chou had barely finished speaking when Gou Su suddenly jumped up from his bamboo chair and asked, "Why is he here when he's not at home recovering from his injuries?"
"Mr. Huang said yes, there is something important to discuss."
"Important matter?" Gou Su was very puzzled, and her brows, which were about to be twisted together, did not help her solve the mystery.
While one side was still muttering and complaining, the other side was walking briskly.
She took a few steps faster than Ah Chou, exerted a little force with her arms, and pushed open the vermilion lacquered door with a heavy creaking sound.
At this moment, although Huang Heng's lips were pale, he still tried hard to force a smile when he saw her eyes.
"A Chou said, you and I have something important to discuss?"
Huang Heng's fatigue was visible to the naked eye, and his half-drooped eyelids made Gou Su almost lose his energy.
Even though the pain bent his back, he still had a smile on his face. The moment Ah Chou walked up behind Gou Su, he spoke clearly, "Ah Su, I want to marry you."
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