Chapter 82 What a coincidence!
As the sun grew stronger, people would break out in a sweat after standing outside for a short while.
The servants in Fanghua Garden are lining up to be punished.
Those contracts for releasing innocent people were like blank sheets of paper in the face of power.
Marginal servants are insignificant; you can just take them and leave.
For someone as knowledgeable about the affairs of the household as Granny Xu, it was a death warrant.
The cicadas' shrill chirping was even louder than the day Li Qu knelt in the courtyard of Jinxiu Hall.
Zhou Jin swept past the crowd without uttering a word; the barely concealed, overwhelming aura emanating from him sent shivers down people's spines, causing them to prostrate themselves.
Huaiqiu followed behind, silently worrying for his wife.
*
The news that Zhou Jin had left the mansion and was heading north reached Shou'an Hall immediately.
The old lady sat on the tatami mat and silently put down the bowl of sweet and sour bayberries in her hand.
An ice basin emitting cool air was placed in the room continuously throughout the day, making the entire room cool and comfortable.
After a long pause, she sighed, "It has been a long time since I have seen Master Huichi. Please invite Master Huichi to my residence to discuss Buddhism."
*
The scorching sun chases the stars and moon, round and round, without stopping, but it can never catch up.
The simple thatched-roof courtyard was kept very clean.
The male homeowner was pinned down in the yard, face to the ground, utterly powerless to resist.
The donkeys in the donkey shed were gone, and Dazao was panting heavily, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhou Jin and the others' rough treatment.
Zhou Jin sat on his horse outside the courtyard, crushed the message in his hand, and instructed the people behind him: "Send a message by carrier pigeon and thoroughly investigate the waterways."
"Yes!" Huaixia accepted the order and quickly went to carry it out.
He dismounted and entered the courtyard.
Seeing this, Dogwa's father shouted anxiously, "You all barged into my house and subdued me without saying a word! What do you want to do?!"
Zhou Jin continued walking into the house without stopping.
Dogwa's father struggled in vain, his face turning red with anxiety: "If I have offended anyone, I will bear the full responsibility. It has nothing to do with my parents, wife, and children!"
No one listened to the pleas of a lowly commoner. The pair of noble shoes embroidered with gold and silver threads stepped over the threshold, stopped, and blocked the light from those inside.
Those inside the room couldn't see his face, which was backlit, but he could see everything in the room clearly.
The living quarters were so simple they couldn't be more basic.
The two elderly people huddled in a corner, shivering and holding three children.
The woman held a pair of scissors in her hand, pointing them at him from the outside, her eyes filled with both protectiveness and fear: "What are you doing! Breaking into a private home! Killing someone means being beheaded!"
Her bluster seemed both ridiculous and laughable.
Zhou Jin spoke up: "She disappeared from your house without a trace. Where is she?"
Dog-doll's mother instantly realized who 'she' was, dropped the scissors, and knelt down.
Fear made her neck stiffen.
She stared straight at the high-ranking man, her chin trembling: "Your Highness, Your Highness is having a miscarriage!"
"It's raining heavily again!"
"Our family took her in!"
As if remembering something, she hurriedly went to the inner room behind the curtain, took out the jade pendant wrapped in a handkerchief, knelt down in front of him, and presented it with both hands.
“It’s expensive. A noble person bought our donkey for twenty taels of silver.”
"She woke up from a nightmare the next night and left before dawn."
"They only kept this piece of jade, saying that we took her in in time, which indirectly helped her unborn child. If she encounters any difficulties, she should take this item to the Zhou family in Hezhou for help."
Zhou Jin reached out and took the jade pendant, rubbing it between his fingertips for a moment.
Dog-wa's mother belatedly realized her rudeness, lowered her head and prostrated herself on the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably: "If I have offended you, please be merciful!"
"The child is innocent!"
After a while, the hem of her robe swayed, the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, and sunlight fell on Gouwa's mother.
A deep, magnetic voice echoed in the simple courtyard: "Are you having any difficulties right now?"
Dog-wa's mother's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly settled down, and she gasped for breath.
She said, "Gratitude doesn't last a day; if it does, it's half price. Just tell the person who came."
Dogwa's mother spoke up: "My family is small."
"Two years ago, my clansmen moved the ridges of my field and forcibly occupied half an acre of my land."
"That family has forcibly occupied the remaining half acre of land this year."
"If possible, we beg you, sir, to help us reclaim our land."
Zhou Jin said, "The law doesn't reach the countryside. We're not stationed here permanently. Even if we help you reclaim this land today, it might be forcibly taken away again tomorrow."
Huaiqiu entered the house, walked up to Gouwa's mother, and took out a silver note from his sleeve and placed it in front of her.
"One hundred taels, take it to the bank and exchange it for loose silver."
“If anyone asks, just say you saved someone and received two taels of silver, understand?”
"Yes, yes, yes." Gouwa's mother nodded vigorously, not daring to look up.
The sound of horses neighing came from outside. Zhou Jin, holding the reins, turned around and said to Huaiqiu, who came out of the house, "Go and greet the village head and the local clan chief."
The effectiveness of this greeting will diminish over time, but it will be enough to protect this family's peace and stability for the next year or two.
"Yes!" Huaiqiu left to carry out his business, while Zhou Jin led his men ahead on horseback.
The destination is the waterway.
She abandoned the horse and could only travel by water.
Huai Chuan continued to track the land route.
However, it was not something she could do alone to leave Huai Chuan behind.
Someone is helping her.
"drive!"
He gripped the reins tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands, his inner state far from the calm he appeared to be.
*
Li Qu was also deeply troubled.
On the day she left Gouwa's parents' home, she met Xiaozuo.
Xiao Zuo said that there was a tail of Hezhou behind her, and gave her a new place of residence and household registration, saying that he would help her distract the tail and let her travel by water to get there faster.
She weighed the pros and cons and then took the new office and household registration from Xiao Zuo.
Her body wouldn't allow her to endure the bumpy road conditions any longer, so she had already decided to take the risk and travel by water.
They abandoned the jujubes and replaced them with donkeys, also intending to create a maze.
Now that someone has offered her a pillow when she's feeling sleepy, she gladly accepts it.
However, she did not follow Xiaozuo's advice to find the nearest pier to board the ship.
Instead, they went back, crossed two ferry crossings, and finally chose a northbound cargo ship to take them on a voyage.
She boarded the ship smoothly and paid for a nice room with a window.
After resting for a while, he took the medicine and prepared to use the firebox to brew it.
She opened the door, closed the door, and then she saw Xiao Zuo standing on the deck talking to someone.
She instinctively turned around, went back to her room, and closed the door.
It's like escaping one tiger's den only to fall into another.
*
Li Qu did not leave the house all day.
After a day of hunger, I cautiously ventured out only after the moon was high in the sky.
"Why are you only arriving now? All we have left are soba." The plump old woman, in her forties, was fanning herself with a fan. As soon as she finished speaking, she reached for a clean pot, preparing to cook soba for Li Qu.
"A souvenir will do, thank you."
Li Qu borrowed another stove to brew the medicine.
“We’re a cargo ship, everyone has work to do, there’s no one to sit idle and serve the passengers.”
"The next meal is at 5:30 AM, so don't miss it."
As she spoke, the old woman added water to the pot and put the lid on.
Li Qu agreed, "Okay."
The firebox was not only used for cooking, but also for steering the ship, where the helmsman on duty would chat with the boatwoman.
They were talking about things in Zhuzhou.
His scathing criticisms of Zhou were utterly unvarnished.
Li Qu didn't think there was a problem at first, until the other party mentioned Yan.
She suddenly looked up: "Is this a ship passing through the capital on its way to Yan?"
"The capital?" The old woman looked bewildered. "We're on a boat heading to Yan. We'll change course once we get to the middle of the river and not go to the capital."
Li Qu jumped up abruptly, feeling a little dizzy from the sudden movement.
"Hey, little sister!" The old woman stood up and helped Li Qu up.
Li Qu finally came to her senses: "Didn't the boat captain say earlier that this was a boat heading north to the capital?"
"Huh? I don't know."
"It's strange, the ships that were resupplyed yesterday morning are only able to get supplies today at noon."
"Perhaps they changed their route to the capital again, but I don't know."
Li Qu: "When will the ship stop for resupply next?"
"Supplies are replenished every three days."
Li Qu felt much more at ease.
She then discussed with the old woman about having her cook medicine, deliver meals, and bring water three times a day, and she would give the old woman extra money.
The old woman was delighted to have extra money: "Then I can only avoid doing it when I'm busy."
"OK."
The firebox was so hot that Li Qu broke out in a sweat after eating a bowl of suobing (a type of flatbread).
When the medicine was ready, she couldn't bear it any longer, so she took the medicine back to her room and asked the maid to bring her hot water to wash up.
The old woman took Li Qu's money and handled the matter very efficiently.
Nothing unexpected happened.
After washing up, Li Qu opened the window, and the river breeze made her feel much more comfortable.
The three days passed peacefully. On the third day, the ship stopped at the shore for supplies. Li Qu disembarked without saying goodbye, carrying his bundle.
No one stopped her, and no one paid any attention to her.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and her steps became lighter.
The ship's workers moved about on the gangway, carrying things, their footsteps bustling.
She lowered her eyelids to look at the road beneath her feet, steady and steady.
Until... a moon-colored brocade robe heavily embroidered with gold thread appeared before her.
*
The momentary pause in her heart made her frightened.
Li Qu didn't even dare to lift her eyelids to look at the person coming towards her.
The morning sun shines brightly, casting golden light, and the river sparkles dazzlingly, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
Xiao Cong lifted the hem of his robe and calmly ascended the steps.
She instinctively took a step back.
Step by step.
She retreats, he advances.
She stopped, and he moved closer.
She was forced to retreat again, but he calmly approached her once more.
The boatmen around him were busy at work, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
She was pushed to give in by his indifferent demeanor.
From when he was shorter than her, to when they were the same height, to when he looked down at her, it was a dozen steps.
Once on the deck, he put down his robes and moved his gaze from her disguised face to her lower abdomen, then back to her face.
He spoke calmly, "What a coincidence... Mrs. Zhou!"
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