Li Tong had already opened the bead curtain and walked out. Hearing this, he was even more frightened and panicked, as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue.
"Why did Sister Chang suddenly want to leave?"
She stepped forward and held Chang Suining's hand, and asked hurriedly: "Do you not like the food? The servants are not serving you well? Is your sister too noisy? Or is it that the weather in Xuanzhou is bad these days, which makes you upset?"
"No, everything is fine." Chang Suining explained to her, "I lost contact with my father. I need to go to Shouzhou to verify whether my father is safe."
"General Chang?" Li Tong's expression changed and he subconsciously turned around to look behind the pearl curtain.
The eldest princess had already stood up from the beauty couch. She paused when she heard the words and walked out with a serious expression on her face: "Lost contact?"
Chang Suining nodded and briefly explained the situation to her.
The eldest princess' heart beat faster, as if the inexplicable uneasiness in her heart these days had been confirmed.
She had previously sent people to Shouzhou to inquire about the news, and the reply should have arrived in the next two days, but she did not expect to learn from Chang Suining that something unusual had happened to Chang Kuo first.
"Don't be afraid, don't panic." The Grand Princess did not forget to comfort Chang Suining first, and said: "I will send more people to Shouzhou to investigate this matter. The current situation is unclear, you stay in Xuanzhou and wait for news."
"Thank you, Your Highness, but it is precisely because the situation is still unclear that I have to go." Chang Suining said, "To be honest with Your Highness, I left the capital to go to Shouzhou to find my father. I have already made all the preparations, so please rest assured, Your Highness."
The girl spoke calmly and her eyes showed her firmness in making up her mind. However, Princess Xuan'an was still a little hesitant: "But now the Xu family's rebels are causing chaos everywhere, and there are bandits everywhere. The entire Huainan Road is not peaceful. Only my Xuanzhou can be relatively safe. If a girl like you wants to go to Shouzhou, not to mention me, even your father will definitely be worried..."
"The rebels are just forcibly recruiting soldiers and money. As for ordinary bandits, the people I bring should be enough to deal with them." Chang Suining said, "I will act carefully, Your Highness, don't worry."
She has some experience in protecting herself when traveling in war-torn areas.
Of course, danger is inevitable, but in comparison, Chang Kuo's safety is more important. At such a critical juncture, one move could affect the entire body. It is naturally impossible to hand the matter over to others and let her sit in the house waiting for news.
Besides, even if it didn't matter, she would still go.
During war, places of peace should be used to protect the elderly, children and the weak. Those who are strong and have swords in their hands should spare no effort, and the chaos will eventually be quelled.
The eldest princess didn't know how to persuade her anymore after hearing this. She could tell that the girl was just saying goodbye to her instead of asking for her opinion or for her help in making a decision.
This girl is very determined and opinionated.
She has already understood this from the seven or eight days they have been together.
The eldest princess sighed.
"I came here not only to say goodbye to Your Highness, but also to ask for a favor." The girl finally said, "My brother has not recovered yet, so it is not appropriate for me to go with you. I may have to bother Your Highness for a while."
After these days, Chang Suining felt that there was almost no doubt about the previous guess.
That's why she dared to speak so boldly.
"What are you talking about? It should be so." The eldest princess said, "Since you have made up your mind, I can't force you. You can rest assured that Chang Langjun will stay in Xuanzhou for as long as you want..."
As she spoke, she made another "request". She wanted someone to pick a group of trusted confidants to secretly follow Chang Suining and escort her to Shouzhou.
"If you, child, won't even agree to this, then as your elder, I really can't let you leave." Finally, the eldest princess used both soft and hard tactics.
Chang Suining, who had no intention of refusing, smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
The Grand Princess nodded with satisfaction and immediately gave orders.
He also told Chang Suining many things to be careful of. At the end, his voice was low and his eyes were darker: "If anything happens... don't act rashly and put yourself in danger. Come back to Xuanzhou and tell me."
If something bad really happened to him at this age, she would avenge him for the sake of the child.
In the face of the chaos, Princess Xuan'an has already prepared for the worst.
At this time, Chang Sui'an finally caught up.
Chang Suining gave him a few instructions in front of the Grand Princess, asking him to rest and recuperate.
Ningning is going to leave him here alone?
Chang Sui'an felt uneasy, but when he met his sister's eyes, he didn't dare to say anything unrealistic. It was now very difficult for him to just walk around the yard every day, let alone go to Shouzhou.
If he catches up, even the most capable sister will be dragged down by him and become powerless.
After this was settled, Chang Suining said goodbye to the Grand Princess and went back to change her clothes and prepare to leave.
Li Tong followed him and repeatedly reminded Chang Suining on the way.
At first, she was enthusiastic towards Chang Suining, and it was true that she loved her and was curious about her, but after spending eight or nine days together, she had truly fallen in love with this younger sister.
She hadn't had many playmates of the same age around her over the years, and she had always looked down upon the behavior of the noble ladies in Xuanzhou City. Finally, a sister who suited her taste came along, and she was racking her brains to think of how to make the relationship last long, but then the sister was leaving.
Zhenzhen had just aroused her heart, but he wanted to abandon her and go to that dangerous place, making her worry about him so much.
While Li Tong was reluctant to leave, Chang Suining came out from the inner room. She had changed her dress into a robe, tied her hair up, and dressed like a teenager. Her walk and demeanor also showed youthful vibe.
Li Tong stared in shock for a while, then subconsciously stretched his head to take a look into the inner room.
Isn't this really hiding her sister Chang?
In fact, if you look closely, that face is clearly not too much concealed, how can it be so like a real young man? The "young man" walked out of the outer hall, and Chang Ren came up to greet him: "Girl, everything is ready... But there is one more thing, do you want to bring the people in the secret room with you?"
Chang Suining shook his head: "We are in a hurry to get going, so we can't bring any burden with us."
A Che, who was standing with everyone, hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and walked to Chang Sui'an consciously.
"?" Chang Sui'an looked at him.
Xiao Duan and Xiao Wu in the crowd did not move. They stood straight with their heads held high and their chests puffed out, just like the guards, with serious expressions.
A-Che: “…”
I wish he was as confident as they are.
Chang Suining looked over and said, "Ache, come with me. Xiaoduan and Xiaowu are too young, so stay behind."
A Che's eyes suddenly lit up and he strode forward.
Xiao Duan and Xiao Wu walked towards Chang Sui'an in disappointment.
"Brother, when you have time, teach them martial arts and calligraphy. Don't let them slack off." Chang Suining arranged work for the three people with just one sentence.
She has always loved talents, but talents rarely fall from the sky, so she needs to cheat, rob, and cultivate them with care.
Chang Sui'an nodded in agreement, and repeatedly said, "Ningning, you must be careful about everything."
Chang Suining responded "OK", looked around but didn't see Adian. Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw a tall figure running towards him with a bag and an orange cat in his arms.
Ah Dian rubbed his cheek against it, took a few deep puffs, and then reluctantly stuffed the cat into Chang Sui'an's arms: "Xiao Sui'an, I'll leave Orange to you to take care of."
As he said that, he quickly came to Chang Suining and said, "Little A Li, let's go!"
Chang Suining looked at him and said, "You want to go too? This trip might be very dangerous."
"I'm not afraid of danger!" Adian's eyes were wide open with pure desire: "I just want to be with you!"
Looking at those eyes, Chang Suining seemed to hear the familiar and distant words "Adian only wants to be with His Highness". In his eyes, there are only two places in the world - where His Highness is, and everywhere else.
Chang Suining smiled and said, "Okay, let's go together."
Adian was overjoyed and hurried to follow her.
Chang Sui'an insisted on sending his sister out of the Grand Princess's Mansion.
The group set out from the back door. The people arranged by the Grand Princess were also waiting there. When they saw Chang Suining, they presented the customs clearance documents and the map of Huainan Road prepared by the Grand Princess.
Chang Suining unfolded the road map, took a look at it, then rolled it up and put it under his cloak, then jumped on his horse: "Follow me."
"Yes!" Adian straightened his chest, looked extremely serious, and responded loudly.
Chang Suining turned her head to look at him, and their eyes met. She seemed to smile, then whipped the horse.
Adian was stunned for a moment, scratched his head, and then hurriedly rode his horse to catch up.
The people and horses went away, and the dust they raised also floated and settled. Only then did Jian Tong push Chang Sui'an back to the Grand Princess's Mansion.
At this moment, Chang Sui'an was worried about his father and sister, and felt lonely and confused.
Sensing his emotions, Li Tong comforted him, "Don't worry too much. General Chang and Madam Chang are blessed by heaven and will be safe."
After saying that, he patted Chang Sui'an's head twice to comfort him.
Chang Sui'an's whole body tensed up in an instant and he looked up at her in disbelief.
My sister just left, and I'm going to put my hands on him?
Seeing his expression, Li Tong asked in a very friendly tone: "What's wrong?"
Chang Sui'an's lips trembled, and he stiffly put on an expression that seemed to be touched. In a moment of panic, he asked cautiously, "Can I...can I call you sister like Ningning?"
He tried to build a line of defense called ethics to protect himself.
Now that Ningning is not around, he has to learn to protect himself.
Li Tong was stunned for a while before showing a look of surprise: "Of course!"
She raised her hand with great joy and rubbed Chang Sui'an's head twice: "Shout out a sentence first, let me hear it?"
Chang Sui'an forced a smile: "Ah...sister."
Li Tong smiled: “Yeah!”
Chang Sui An feels inexplicably more at peace.
The sword boy looked straight ahead and pushed the man with messy hair forward.
It seems that compared to selling his body, Langjun would rather sell his soul... It is really hard to judge which one is better.
…
Chang Suining and his entourage left Xuanzhou City and headed north.
The horse's hooves raised dust, stepped over the shallow stream, broke through the mountain fog in the morning, and chased the sunset in the evening. A girl wearing a dark blue cloak rode in front and led the way, and they arrived in Luzhou the next day.
It was getting late, and even Chang Suining did not dare to be so arrogant as to travel at night on the Huainan Road. So the group rested for a night in Luzhou, and inquired about the news in Shouzhou. When it was dawn, they set off for Shouzhou again.
The road from Luzhou to Shouzhou was visibly not as peaceful as that near Xuanzhou. Refugees in miserable conditions could be seen everywhere, and occasionally a group of people from nowhere would pass by quickly.
Chang Suining asked Chang Ren and others to take out the remaining dry food and distribute it to a group of refugees, mostly the elderly, the weak, women and children. After asking, they found out that they came from Yangzhou and had been in exile for several months. The old woman who was in the lead shed tears as she spoke.
It turned out that the Xu rebels not only forcibly conscripted able-bodied men, but also forced the people to hand over money and grain to fill the military treasury.
The imperial army launched several attacks, and many fertile fields were destroyed during the battles. The city gates were often closed, and the lower-class people lost their livelihoods. They could not bear the rebels' frequent conscription, which in fact became robbery. In order to survive, they had to flee with their families.
Hearing that Xuanzhou was not affected, many of them planned to go to Xuanzhou. However, because the Runzhou area was also occupied by Xu's rebels and the war continued, they could only take a detour through Luzhou.
This stretch of road was not easy to travel. There were rebel soldiers, bandits, local government officials who tried to stop and expel people, and there were also many refugees who were in similar situations but not necessarily friendly.
Chang Suining glanced at the children who were eating voraciously beside the old woman, and without asking any more questions, he just gave them some more silver coins. The old woman looked around cautiously, and after hiding them quickly, she kowtowed to the "young man" in front of her to express her gratitude.
Chang Suining helped her up with one hand.
This was all she could do at this moment.
The group continued on their journey and successfully entered Shouzhou City before it got dark and the city gates were about to close.
Thirty miles outside Shouzhou City was where the army camped.
Chang Suining and others stayed in an inn, and that night the men left by Lao Kang came to find them.
"Meet the girl!"
"How have you been these past few days? Have you heard any news about Father?"
"We still haven't been able to see the general. Today, we tried to go to the camp to inquire about the general's recovery from his injuries, but we couldn't even get through the gate of the camp!"
The last time they were able to get in, probably because they were carrying money and food, the soldiers were willing to talk to them. But this time they simply stopped them directly, and even made it clear that if they dared to approach the military camp without permission and disrupt military affairs again, they would not be blamed for being blind with their swords and guns.
Chang Suining: "It seems that we can't enter this military camp openly."
Having been stopped once before, she naturally would not fail to think of this possibility.
Lao Kang and the others gathered together to discuss countermeasures, while Chang Suining looked at the door of the guest room and said, "No hurry, everyone should fill their stomachs first and wait for Ah Zhi to come back."
When entering the city, there was a group of three people in front of her, driving two empty carriages into the city. They were wearing the military uniforms of the army that was fighting against the rebellion.
So she asked Azhi to follow them quietly and keep an eye on where they were going.
Azhi quickly turned back and brought back the news.
"My dear lady, after the three soldiers settled down at an inn, they changed into their regular clothes and went out to drink wine together."
Hearing the words "drinking wine", Chang Suining's eyes showed a hint of disgust, and this disgust was mainly directed at Li Yi.
It seems that Li Yi is not very good at commanding the army.
During wartime, there were spies everywhere, and soldiers even dared to drink and have sex when entering the city to do their job. Such carelessness would easily give people with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of them - such as her.
"What are your plans, girl?" Chang Ren asked.
Chang Suining looked at Xier and said, "Let's follow the old rules."
Seeing Xier responded, she turned around to look for something. Several veterans and guards were a little confused. What are the old rules for girls? Good night a little earlier today.
I'm going to drive back to the countryside tomorrow, the wheat is ripe! (Does anyone recommend any delicious rice dumplings bought online? I'm dying to eat rice dumplings (﹃))
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