Chapter 84 084 She missed him.
In Chuzhou, the innkeeper frowned as he smelled the bitter medicine. He stared upstairs, imagining his gaze could penetrate the walls to see if the person was truly ill. His eyes stung, and he sighed. He looked around the lobby, which was bare and deserted, not even a soul in sight.
When will this ever end?
Chuzhou was once a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, but now it's practically a ghost town, full of man-eating demons.
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, and two soldiers glared angrily with knives in hand. "In broad daylight, don't close the door!"
"Anyone who fails to report any abnormalities will be executed without exception!"
The shopkeeper got up, reached into the table, took out two silver ingots and put them in his sleeve. He then walked over and secretly gave them to them. He turned his head and looked down at the street, where soldiers were arresting people from house to house. Many able-bodied men were tied together with a rope, their faces ashen, and they dared not resist at all.
The shopkeeper bowed deeply, "Please give me a heads-up, so I don't do something wrong with my good intentions."
The officers glanced at him dismissively, then looked behind them and said, "It's nothing unusual. Chuzhou is going to start making porcelain."
The shopkeeper opened his mouth in astonishment. Didn't he know whether Chuzhou could actually make porcelain? What was going on this time?
The officers warned, "This has nothing to do with you. Are there any strangers in your inn?"
The shopkeeper thought that the people upstairs had been there for almost ten days and couldn't be considered strangers, so he decisively shook his head.
The medicinal soup on the table was steaming. Yun Xiu and Yun Li stood three steps away with their heads bowed and hands clasped. Thinking of the information they had learned, they admired their young lady's intelligence even more.
With no soldiers in sight on the street, Qing Li turned around and said, "Stay close to them."
Yun Li didn't react for a moment, "Why are you following them?"
Qingli glanced at Yunli's serious expression and slightly raised the corners of her mouth, which made Yunli blush.
Yun Xiu nudged Yun Li with his elbow, worried that his mistress would be angry, and explained, "Miss, Yun Li is confused."
Yun Li opened her mouth, but after receiving a stern look from Yun Xiu, she lowered her head.
Yun Xiu and Yun Li were Meng Qingshan's confidants and brothers. They had followed him all the way from the border to the capital, which was no easy feat. How could Qing Li be angry? Instead of going out all day, she became playful and asked, "Then tell me why you followed them?"
"The lord sent word that this city is using the name of the official kiln to manufacture weapons privately, and that the imperial court has ordered that celadon produced by the Chuzhou kiln be used for the New Year's Eve banquet this year."
“During my time in Chuzhou, I have visited all the kilns, large and small, except for the official kilns. Only one or two out of ten kilns are still burning, and the porcelain produced is obviously flawed and is definitely not the celadon for the imperial use.”
"The strong laborers gathered today must be sent to the official kiln. Miss sent me along to see how they are delivered."
Qingli glanced at it approvingly, "Is that so?"
Youyou said, “Since I returned to the capital, everything I have used has been exquisite and rare. There is only one regret, which is that I only have white porcelain from Chuzhou kiln. Your master couldn’t even find a celadon, but he saw it in the Empress’s side hall and just casually threw it in a corner.”
Qingli said, backlit, "I used to complain that your master wasn't attentive, but it seems I wronged him."
Startled, Yun Xiu became restless and quickly bowed, saying, "Miss, we're going downstairs."
Qingli chuckled, turned around and leaned against the window frame. The sky was overcast today, filled with blue clouds, and there wasn't even a breath of wind. The air seemed stagnant, sticking to her skin with a layer of dampness, which was very unpleasant. But Kyoto was different; it had four distinct seasons, with warm charcoal in winter and cool ice in summer. She missed Kyoto.
I miss him a little.
In the evening, a thunderclap finally sounded overhead, followed by an imperial edict from the prefect: from that day forward, Chuzhou City would be under a no-entry-no-exit policy.
Qingli sat at the table, carefully reading Meng Qingshan's letter. It had been delivered this morning; if it had been a day later, she would not have received it. His thoughts coincided with hers, and the person behind it must be someone like the Crown Prince and the Empress.
The reason is hard to predict. The eldest prince is of legitimate birth, and as long as he follows the proper procedures, the throne will be his sooner or later.
What about the Empress?
Qingli couldn't tell what the Empress was thinking. The Empress was unpredictable and mysterious in every way.
The current situation only proves one thing: Chuzhou can no longer hide the truth.
Since it can't be hidden, what should be done?
Qingli thought of a possibility and immediately felt uneasy. If someone wanted to keep it a secret, then someone must want the whole world to know. But Chuzhou is only a hundred miles from the capital. How could the whole world know?
Natural disasters and man-made calamities have left corpses strewn across the fields, causing unimaginable suffering and shaking the heavens and earth.
Who in the world doesn't know this!
Qingli sat at the table, pondering a solution. All the able-bodied men in this state kiln had been sent to the official kiln to forge weapons. According to information gathered by the guards, some had not returned home for ten years, with money being delivered to their families every month. Over ten years, they had forged no fewer than ten thousand weapons, so they couldn't have simply vanished.
There is only one possibility: there is a road leading out of the city.
Qingli opened the map of Chuzhou. The mountains and rivers stretched north and south, making it a place of outstanding people and abundant resources. Chuzhou was backed by the Misty Mountain, which was tall and steep, towering into the clouds. The mountain was rugged and steep, directly receiving the cold wind from the north and the cold air from the south. The two forces were completely different and competed with each other, causing white fog to linger around the Misty Mountain all year round, a natural maze that people who went in could not come out.
Such a treacherous place... Qingli shook her head, but after a moment she looked back at the Haze Mountain, because once you cross the Haze Mountain, you will reach the Valley River. If you travel east along the river for a hundred miles, you can enter Songjiang and go straight to the capital.
The waterway meanders and connects in all directions, with one branch leading to Hezhong Prefecture, the place she and Song Zhang had agreed to meet.
Qingli wrote down all the secret codes she had agreed upon with Song Zhang. With a soft click, Qingli opened the window, and Yunxiu and Yunli jumped in. Outside, it was pouring rain, and their clothes were soaked through. They stood in the room, water dripping from their clothes.
The two were at a loss for what to do.
Qingli turned around and handed the wide cloth to the two of them. Only her room had a window leading to the street outside. To avoid the shopkeeper noticing, it was reasonable to pass through her side. She said, "No rush."
Yun Xiu and Yun Li took two steps to the door, glanced outside, and quickly opened the door and went out. A moment later, they changed their clothes, and there were two bowls of strong ginger water on the table, steaming.
Qingli explained, "It can't be cooked fresh; this is ginger powder mixed with water. Drink it quickly."
The water wasn't hot enough, but it was better than nothing.
The two men picked up their glasses and drank in two gulps. They were used to sleeping under the stars, and being cared for by their master like this warmed their hearts.
A map was also laid out on the table. Yunxiu was used to the difference between the young lady and the master. The master gave orders, while the young lady discussed things. But the two also had something in common: unique insights. "Young lady, have you found anything?"
Qingli hesitated for a moment. She was too indecisive and could not give orders as decisively as Meng Qingshan. Even if it was necessary, she knew that it was for a better outcome, but she still dared not take life lightly.
She wondered how much inner torment Meng Qingshan had endured at the border, and also thought that his coldness and hardness were, in a way, a sign of his soft heart.
Qingli put aside her ulterior motives, straightened her mind, and pointed to the hazy mountain, "Here."
Yun Xiu suddenly realized, "Miss, do you think there's a secret passage here?"
“We have been investigating for some time now, but we have not seen any weapons being transported out. However, a lot of coal has been sent in. It’s impossible that they’re only burning coal in the furnace every day.”
Yun Li nodded hurriedly, "That's right, that's right, I haven't seen it since I came here."
Yun Xiu rolled his eyes at Yun Li and said goodbye, "We're going now. You stay here and protect Miss."
Yun Li dared not say anything more and lowered his head in acquiescence.
Yun Xiu was about to jump out of the window when Qing Li stopped him, saying, "There are always people who live in seclusion in the mountains. Find some locals at the foot of the mountain and get some guidance before going in. If you can't find anything, come back quickly."
"Your subordinate obeys."
A sudden clap of thunder ripped through the darkness of the night, and raindrops pounded on the ground with a pattering sound. Hidden in the sound of the rain were also faint, distant tapping sounds, following like a shadow, buzzing in the ears, making one inexplicably uneasy.
Qingli was momentarily stunned, and also felt a little tired. Meng Qingshan's thoughts popped into her mind, but she suppressed them. She shouldn't rely on him so much, and miss him so much.
Seeing that her mistress was in a daze, Yun Li whispered, "Miss, Yun Xiu will definitely bring back good news."
In the backyard of the Chuzhou official kiln, Prefect Cai Kechang sat in a round-backed chair, looking at Xu Zhida with a sinister gaze. "What is the meaning of this, Lord Xu?"
Xu Zhida snorted coldly and retorted, "We made a gentleman's agreement that the affairs of Chuzhou would be decided by the two of us. What do you mean by this? Closing the city gates without authorization and transferring troops to Songjiapo, you are showing no respect for me, the prefect!"
Songjiapo is strategically located, guarding the main road into Chuzhou from the front and allowing access through the secret passage of Maishan Mountain to Chuzhou from the back, which leads directly to the Chuzhou official kiln. Cai Kechang's actions have made it impossible not to be on guard.
Moreover, only Cai Kechang knew about the secret passage in the hazy mountain, yet he had embarked on this path of no return and was still being treated this way. This was the reason for his current standoff. He was clear that if he used this to gain access to the center of the relationship, he would naturally follow him down this path to the end. If he was used as a shield, then he had a second option to choose from.
A cold glint flashed in Cai Kechang's eyes, but he put on a smiling face, pulled Xu Zhida to sit beside him, and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, I was wondering where Brother Xu got so angry. It's all because things happened so suddenly. Let me tell you."
Cai Kechang muttered to himself for a while, watching Xu Zhida's expression change. He felt contempt for Xu Zhida. He thought Xu Zhida was simple-minded. If it weren't for the worry that without him, the capital would send a new sub-prefect, causing a lot of trouble, he would have become a ghost in the underworld of Chuzhou like countless other people.
Xu Zhida could no longer sit still. "This is no small matter! We can't hide it from Chuzhou anymore. We need to find a way."
Xu Zhida walked back and forth.
Cai Kechang once again calmed him down in the chair, and said with a hint of disdain, "What's the rush! It's just that His Majesty is in a good mood for a moment. He'll give us as much celadon as he wants. Our Chuzhou is far from the emperor's reach, so who would dare to say a word against it!"
Even those upright officials who offered advice did not survive, even if they reached the capital.
Even if someone can cover up the sky with one hand, it depends on whose hand that hand is.
Cai Kechang was confident, “It’s just one person who ran away. It’s happened before. We should do what we need to do. However, to prevent the people’s hearts from becoming unstable, we still need to close the city gates. Brother Xu, don’t you agree?”
Xu Zhida's face turned pale. He lifted his eyelids to glance at him, a sinister smile on his face, his eyes full of calculation. Thinking of the letters he had received, now being verified one by one, a coldness and hatred slid through his heart. As he lowered his head, a cold smile appeared on his lips. When he looked up, he regained his composure. "Brother Cai is wise and powerful, so this is naturally a piece of cake for you. I trust you."
Cai Kechang was smug. "The good days are coming."
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