Chapter 204: A strange coincidence
Zhang Song received a secret letter from the virtuous concubine Mei Dai, who ordered him to ride a horse at full speed overnight to deliver it to the crown prince Mei Pu.
The virtuous concubine Mei Dai has instructed that this letter is extremely urgent and of great importance, and it can protect Xiliang.
Although he was a military commander, he could understand the meaning behind Concubine Xian's words. He mounted his horse and rode out of the city, galloping westward. At dawn, he bought a fine horse at the post station and even ate breakfast on horseback. He raced all night and morning, and only at noon, when he entered Liangzhou territory, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Passersby reported that Xiao Zhuo was currently engaged in a standoff with the Jingzhou army and was not in Leshan. His wife, Shen Yuexi, had nothing to do in Leshan and had returned to Xiaogang Village, but it was unclear what she was busy with. Meanwhile, Qiu Liming, Song Zhen, and the others were all in Nanping City, north of Leshan.
He had previously sent assassins to kill Xiao Zhuo but failed, and had fled in a hurry. Now that he was back, anyone who might have hindered him was not in Leshan. Now was the perfect time to deliver this secret letter to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Even a strong man couldn't stand the long gallop. He stopped his horse at a tea stall on the roadside and wanted to drink some tea to soothe his smoking throat.
After a bowl of tea, he felt refreshed. As he was paying the shopkeeper, he heard the sudden clatter of horse hooves on the road. Dozens of horses galloped past the tea stall. The riders seemed quite anxious, shouting repeatedly, drawing the attention of the tea patrons.
Zhang Song was startled and subconsciously asked, "What do they do?"
The shop assistant laughed and said, "Don't worry, sir. This is a common occurrence these days."
Now the world is in chaos, with the Xirong invading from the north and the Jingzhou army attacking from the south. Liangzhou is a place of trouble, and everyone is used to it.
After hearing this, Zhang Song no longer had any doubts and stood up and walked out of the tea stall.
For some reason, the dozens of mounts in the distance stopped and galloped back towards this side.
Zhang Song saw from afar the leader drawing his bow and arrow. He was alone outside the tea stall, with no one else nearby. He was startled, realizing he was the target.
Just as he was about to draw his sword, a feathered arrow flew through the air, striking him squarely in the chest. Zhang Song staggered twice, then, resigned to the pain, grabbed the reins. Dozens more arrows flew, knocking down not only him but also his horse.
When passersby in the tea stall saw this scene, they all screamed and dodged. For a moment, the tables and chairs turned over and the tea stall was in chaos.
The dozens of people rode their horses to the tea stall, and the leader shouted loudly:
"Everyone, don't panic. The Imperial Guard Commander Wu Mingzi was ordered to kill the traitor. This has nothing to do with you."
After pacifying everyone, Wu Mingzi jumped off his horse and walked towards Zhang Song, who was lying on the ground with several feather arrows stuck in his body.
I didn't expect Zhang Song to be so fast, actually running straight into Liang Province. It's a shame he's not Xiao Zhuo, who managed to escape his pursuit, forcing him to do anything to save his life. If Zhang Song escapes again, he'll have to commit suicide to thank His Majesty.
Zhang Song was still breathing, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and lay there, gasping for air but not breathing. Wu Mingzi searched carefully and found some silver and a tightly wrapped cloth bag, untouched by the arrow. This must be what Emperor Yongde had asked him to take back.
Just as he was about to open the cloth bag, Zhang Song suddenly raised his hand and held his wrist tightly.
Wu Mingzi shook his hand off, stood up and said to the men beside him, "Cut off the head, Your Majesty wants it."
He asked the guards to do these things, and he walked aside to open the cloth bag.
Inside was a secret letter sealed with wax.
Emperor Yongde had ordered that he was not to read any letter, no matter what it was. He hadn't intended to read it. But for some reason, the moment he saw the letter, he suddenly felt the urge to open it.
What on earth was the content that made His Majesty so concerned, the virtuous concubine so taken it to heart, and even the dying Zhang Song had to come to stop him?
If I open it, His Majesty will definitely know. If I don't open it, I feel itchy and unbearable. I always feel that there is a huge secret here.
For some unknown reason, he removed the sealing wax and opened the letter.
After reading the letter, Wu Mingzi almost became like Zhang Song just now, with only air coming out of his mouth but no air coming in. His whole body was like a toad drenched by rain, frozen there without moving.
This secret is too important.
He finally understood why His Majesty had killed so many palace maids last night. It was likely that Concubine Xian had also been killed. If he went back, would he die too?
Is there any need to ask? Even the virtuous concubine couldn't survive, but he could still survive.
He really wanted to slap himself twice. How could he be so careless? He saw something he shouldn't have seen. His life was about to end.
Just as he was panicking, a guard approached him carrying a blood-stained bundle and said, "Commander Wu, we've cut off Zhang Song's head. Shall we return to the capital and report to His Majesty now?"
Wu Mingzi coughed and said to the guards, "You take the head back first. I'm really tired. I need to rest for a while before catching up with you."
The guards took orders and left.
Wu Mingzi held the letter in his hand, feeling torn.
If he took the letter back with him, and Emperor Yongde saw him open it and read it, he would definitely be beheaded without any negotiation. If he burned the letter, he would not be able to deliver the letter if Emperor Yongde asked for it, and he would probably still die. If he escaped with the letter, Emperor Yongde would definitely send people to hunt him down to the ends of the earth. He didn't have the skills of Xiao Zhuo.
Even if we take a step back and think about it, even if the letter was not opened, Emperor Yongde would probably still kill him.
It seems that there is only one way to save my life.
He carefully folded the letter and put it in his arms. He walked to the front of the teahouse and said to everyone inside, "One of you please come out for a moment. The official wants to inquire about something."
Everyone in the teahouse was terrified by the headless corpse at the door. Some hid behind the counter, some shrunk behind the tables. No one was willing to come out.
Wu Mingzi took out a silver ingot from his pocket, knocked it twice on the pillar next to him, and said:
"Whoever comes forward to answer will get the silver."
People die for money. When they saw the shiny silver, a brave poor man immediately came out from under the table and raised his hand and said, "Sir, let me come. Let me come."
Wu Mingzi didn't waste any words. He threw the silver to him and asked, "Where is the Prince of Qi's army now?"
After receiving the silver, the poor man was so happy that his eyes were dazzled. He was about to put the silver to his lips, opening his mouth to test its authenticity, when he heard Wu Mingzi's question and said in surprise: "Chess King Lion? What kind of lion is that? I have never heard of it."
Wu Mingzi was so angry that he almost wanted to kick him, but then he thought that the other party was just a poor country boy, so it was normal that he didn't know.
He didn't have time to argue with him, so he just snatched the silver back.
The poor man was still ignorant and shouted, "Sir, didn't you say you would give money to anyone who answered your question?"
"Did you answer?" Wu Mingzi couldn't help it and kicked him back into the teahouse, shouting, "Where's the owner? Come out and answer."
Seeing he couldn't hide, the shop owner came out tremblingly and said, "What do you want, sir?"
"Does Prince Qi know?"
The shopkeeper nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "I know, I know. I run a shop here, so I'm well-informed about all the news. Please feel free to ask me, sir."
Wu Mingzi finally felt relieved and asked, "Where is the Prince of Qi's army now?"
"My Lord, the Prince of Qi's army was stationed in Dongji Town, east of Xiaogang Village, years ago, and later headed west. I heard they were heading outside Nanping City to fight against the Western Rong. Speaking of the Prince of Qi, he's a brave man. Even without the Emperor's order, he went to fight against the barbarians..."
Since Wu Mingzi had found out where Xiao Beiheng was, he was too lazy to listen to the shopkeeper's nonsense and just threw the silver to him.
"This money is not given in vain. Please bury the body at the door properly. He is a loyal and righteous man."
After saying this, he went out, mounted his horse, and rode off to the west, raising a trail of dust.
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