Worried that they would have to come back to retrieve them again, Ye Wenxue did not leave directly with the five people. Instead, she arranged for people to guard the town entrance and watch over the guards who were bringing the people back to town.
Therefore, Zhiwen was easily escorted back to the temporary general's mansion.
General Qi scrutinized Zhiwen for a moment with a dark expression, then tossed the letter onto the desk with a soft thud: "Where is he?"
Zhiwen's eyes darted around, guessing that General Qi was asking about Elder Ye, and he shook his head sincerely: "She left the town, and we don't know where she is."
General Qi said expressionlessly, "You're lying."
The town's entrances and exits, along with the roads leading into the mountains, were all blocked. He sent people to inquire, but they couldn't find any men who looked extraordinary.
Zhiwen lowered his head and asked cautiously, "General, you mean...?"
"Reminiscing about the past."
Zhiwen was taken aback, and instantly realized that General Qi was not asking about Boss Ye.
Upon further reflection, since General Qi had the town under his control, he could easily find out where Boss Ye was. Why bother asking him?
Zhiwen glanced at the letter on the desk, his face showing hesitation: "He...he said he has to leave."
General Qi frowned, about to threaten and intimidate Zhiwen to make him tell the truth, when he heard Zhiwen timidly say, "If you don't believe me, you can search my house."
When Zhiwen returned, he had already searched the entire house, but he couldn't find a single person there.
General Qi remained silent for a long while before speaking softly, "Who sent you the letter?"
Since it didn't involve the eldest brother Ye or the people from the mountain stronghold, Zhiwen dared not lie: "He was the one who was imprisoned with Zhixing a few days ago, but he wasn't one of the mountain bandits."
General Qi's brows furrowed slowly.
He had never been to the town's jail. He had only seen the figure of that person blending into the bandits from afar when he ordered his men to arrest people, but he had no recollection of it now.
Did he say where he was going?
Zhiwen shook his head: "He didn't say anything. He's addicted to drinking every day and hasn't revealed a single word. He only mentioned a few words to Zhiwang and me before noon today, asked me to deliver a message, and then left."
A heavy drinker?
General Qi's gaze sharpened, and he began to suspect that the person Zhiwen mentioned might be Huo Zhaoqing, who had grown up and trained with him.
In the past, Huo Zhaoqing was unruly and idle, often skipping school by climbing over walls and running wild. He had also drunk alcohol behind his elders' backs more than once.
However, after a drunken incident that nearly delayed a military operation, Huo Zhaoqing quit drinking and did not relapse for several years.
He may be a bit arrogant, but he has never neglected his duties and knows how to maintain proper boundaries.
Otherwise, when His Majesty previously ordered people to go south to suppress the rebels, he wouldn't have let Huo Zhaoqing lead the troops south solely out of consideration for the Huo family's ancestors.
pity......
The air in the study was heavy. Zhiwen secretly glanced at General Qi's expression and asked in a low voice, "General, is there... anything else you want to ask?"
Ye Laoda instructed him to guard the mountain pass. If anyone was brought back by the soldiers guarding the mountain, he should inform her, especially if they were from the valley or the bamboo hut, so she could come to the general's mansion to rescue them.
General Qi opened his mouth, as if he wanted to ask something more, but stopped himself from speaking: "...You should leave, and you must not tell anyone about this."
"yes."
*
"Brother Ye, that's how it is. Do you think the person Zhixing picked up is an old acquaintance of General Qi?"
Zhiwen returned to his rented house late at night and ordered food from a nearby restaurant. Everyone gathered at the table for a meal.
Ye Wenxue was still worried about her children at home. She was afraid that they would be captured by the soldiers, and she was also afraid that they would be hungry, thirsty, tired, or bullied.
Fortunately, after a day of surveillance, Ye Wenxue did not see any children among those arrested, which somewhat put her mind at ease.
After hearing this, Ye Wenxue shoveled some rice into her mouth and said, "Who cares?"
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