Not long after, Huang Cui arrived at the inn with Xu Renyi and two bodyguards. Upon seeing her, she hurriedly asked, "Innkeeper, are you alright? You didn't go home all night, which really gave me a fright."
"I'm fine. How's the person you showed me?"
"The people in that house are very mysterious. The doors and windows are always closed, and even the food is only left at the door by the waiter. If you hadn't told us, we wouldn't even know how many people are inside."
We took turns keeping watch all night, and the next morning we saw one of them sneak out furtively. Chief镖师 Zhao led three镖师 to chase after him, while I, the remaining two镖师, and Xu Renyi continued to keep watch on the one inside the house.
Later, Lord Shen personally led his men to the scene. After capturing the man inside, they followed the clues left by the escort agency to pursue another person. Before leaving, they had someone lead us to the post station. As for what happened after that, I don't know.
Meng Zhao nodded. Although she knew some of the inside story, investigating a case still required witnesses and physical evidence. She could give Shen Qing a heads-up, but when it came to the part of apprehending criminals and collecting evidence, she should stay out of it.
In the following days, Meng Zhao did not see Shen Qinghe. She asked Wei Ming several times, but to no avail. Although no one was locking her up, seeing Wei Ming's anxious expression and the urge to send people every time she said she wanted to go out, she gave up the idea of going out and stayed at the post station to read.
It wasn't until the third watch of the night that Meng Zhao was sound asleep when there was a sudden, loud knocking on the door. Huang Cui, who was sleeping on the soft couch, was also startled awake and called out, "Who is it? What's going on in the middle of the night?"
A deep, urgent voice came from outside the door: "I have offended you! I am here on Lord Shen's orders to escort Lady Meng away from Huai'an immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Cui's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly lit the candles. "Manager, it seems something has happened. We must leave quickly."
Meng Zhao's heart sank. She threw off the covers, rushed barefoot to the door, and hurriedly opened it: "Where's Shen Qinghe? What happened to him?"
Wei Ming looked troubled, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times before he said in a hoarse voice, "Lord Shen... Lord Shen was ambushed by assassins when he went out. To avoid being hunted down, he fled into the mountains and has not been found yet."
Meng Zhao felt a ringing in her ears. She instinctively grabbed the door frame for support. "Which mountain? Take me there right now!"
Wei Ming immediately knelt on one knee, clasped his hands and said, "Absolutely not! Before he left, the lord instructed that if anything happened to him, you must bring Lady Meng back to the capital."
Meng Zhao took a deep breath. Reason told her she shouldn't be impulsive, and she forced herself to remain calm, saying, "But someone can go up the mountain to look for them."
"Upon receiving the news, Commander Song immediately led the local county officials into the mountains to search for the person. Hearing that Prince Jingnan happened to be hunting nearby, he also sent several personal guards into the mountains to help with the search."
Meng Zhao felt dizzy again after hearing this. How could the ordinary yamen runners of the county government compare to the well-trained guards of the Prince of Jingnan's mansion? Even if Shen Qinghe was found by the yamen runners first, with the status and position of the Prince of Jingnan, he would have every reason to snatch him from the yamen runners. Even if Shen Qinghe died in the hands of the Prince of Jingnan, he would have the imperial edict and it wouldn't matter.
However, this also shows that Shen Qinghe must have obtained crucial evidence; otherwise, why would the Prince of Jingnan have personally come forward? She suddenly looked up and said firmly:
"Wei Ming, listen carefully. You must go to the Huai'an Garrison Command Post immediately and personally meet with the Commander. Ask him to immediately send more people into the mountains to search. Also, tell him that if the person is found, send him directly to the capital and say that His Majesty wants him."
Then take the rest of your men and meet up with Commander Song. Tell him that if you find the person, do not hand him over to the Prince of Huainan.
Upon hearing this, Wei Ming's expression hardened, clearly understanding the implications, but he still asked, "Then what will you do?"
"We will change into ordinary clothes later and leave through the back door of the post station. Since there are few of us, we will be inconspicuous in this large city of Huai'an. On the contrary, your large escort will attract more attention."
After hesitating for a moment, Wei Ming finally nodded and left with his men. Meng Zhao and the others did not dare to delay and quickly changed into some inconspicuous clothes before leaving the inn under the cover of night.
After Meng Zhao led them away, Huang Cui couldn't help but ask, "Shopkeeper, are we really not going to go find Lord Shen?"
Shen Qinghe is an imperial envoy. He was assassinated and went missing in Huai'an. All sides must be searching for him. The mountains are probably full of people right now. If she were to rush over there rashly, whether she had an accident while searching for him in the mountains or was captured and threatened, she would only be making things worse.
Looking at the gradually brightening sky in the distance, Meng Zhao replied softly, "No, sometimes, not causing trouble is the greatest help."
She prayed silently in her heart, "Shen Qinghe, since you are the male lead in the book, you should have some protagonist halo, right? If my arrival changes the course of the story and you die so early, I'm afraid I'll live with guilt for the rest of my life. So you must be safe and sound this time, even if it's just for my sake."
They took turns driving the carriage. After leaving Huai'an, Meng Zhao said to the two bodyguards, "Bodyguard Yue, do you people in the escort agency usually have special ways of communication? Are you able to contact Head Bodyguard Zhao and the others right now?"
There were six bodyguards who came out with her. Four of them were temporarily staying with Shen Qinghe because they were tracking the suspect. When Wei Ming said that the crowd had scattered when the assassination was carried out, Meng Zhao prayed in her heart that they would be safe.
One of the bodyguards, surnamed Yue, said, “We do have a set of commonly used secret marks, but this incident happened suddenly, and the brothers have scattered. It may be difficult to contact them for a while. But don’t worry, Madam Meng, when we reach the next county, we can go to the local escort agency to inquire. According to the rules, if the brothers on the escort mission encounter any changes, they will leave a message at the escort agency along the way.”
Although they belong to different escort agencies, escorts value loyalty highly when traveling. Whenever they see a fellow escort in trouble, escort agencies in various places will help if they are able to. After all, everyone has times when they are in trouble, and this is a way of helping others and helping oneself.
When the group arrived in Zhangning County, Yue, the镖师 (bodyguard), immediately went to the local镖局 (escort agency) to inquire. When he returned, he was holding a piece of paper in his hand. The group quickly went to the address on the paper and found Zhao, the镖头 (bodyguard), and his men.
Meng Zhao had been living in fear for the past two days, barely closing his eyes. Now that he finally had some good news, his face relaxed a little. "Chief Zhao, I feel much more at ease now that I can see you all safe and sound."
Zhao Tieshan was also very excited at this moment. He didn't care about anything else and quickly said, "Madam Meng, please go in and take a look. Lord Shen has been unconscious for two whole days because of a shoulder injury."
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