Chapter 89 Longing
"Creak—"
He felt the cloth on his face being pulled away, and he was suddenly shoved forward. After Zhuang Dongqing staggered and regained his balance, he heard several thuds as he fell down around him. The door behind him made a rough opening and closing sound, and then slammed shut.
Zhuang Dongqing turned around, and the sound of the wooden door being locked echoed.
Subconsciously, I looked for a window and found a small window that was nailed shut from the outside with wooden planks. Sunlight struggled to shine through the cracks, illuminating the dim room.
Li Yang and his retainers were the other two who fell on their backsides.
Li Yang grinned.
The retainer groaned at his own old bones.
All three had their hands tied behind their backs, completely different from the casual tying depicted in TV dramas. Rough hemp rope was wrapped around their arms and then around their hands, binding all five fingers, leaving them no chance to perform any tricks.
Thinking to himself that the TV drama was a joke, the polite college student walked up to the middle-aged man and used his leg to help him sit up.
"Alright, alright, hiss," the man said thank you.
Zhuang Dongqing looked at it and reminded him, "Sir, please check if your legs or feet are twisted or injured."
Realizing something, the retainer grimaced and moved his arms, then breathed a sigh of relief, "It's alright."
"That's good."
If you get injured, it will be harder to run.
"Brother Li, are you alright?" Zhuang Dongqing went to look at Li Yang again.
Li Yang wiggled and sat up, leaning against the wall, and let out a long breath, saying, "I'm fine."
All three of them are capable of taking action.
Zhuang Dongqing walked around the empty room, listening intently at the windows and doorway for quite some time. After listening, he sighed and said, "They left us here without even assigning anyone to guard us. I feel quite at ease."
Hu Lin, one of Li Yang's retainers, said, "There's nothing to worry about. It's deep in the mountains and it will get dark soon. We can't run very far."
Li Yang: "Not to mention they have so many people."
Li Yang looked around and beckoned to Zhuang Dongqing, "Come and sit down first. They even chopped up and dismantled all the carriages to search for the young master. Aren't you tired from walking all this way?"
That must be tiring.
Zhuang Dongqing rarely had such a high level of activity. Her feet were sore, and her thighs and calves were filled with lactic acid, making them feel like they didn't belong to her anymore.
In this situation, I was a little hesitant to sit down, wanting to hold on to my last breath and check the cell one last time.
Disappointingly, the deployment was so tight that there was virtually no chance of escape.
Zhuang Dongqing sat down next to Li Yang, and after shedding her strength, she slumped in the corner and let out a long sigh.
Their capture was inevitable, and for a moment, the three men in the cell remained silent.
After resting uncomfortably for a while, Mr. Hu said in a low voice, "The young master is safe now, Your Highness..." He swallowed deeply, "Will Your Highness come to rescue us again?"
He looked at Zhuang Dongqing and asked.
Actually, I wanted to ask from the beginning, but Zhuang Dongqing sent the young master away first, and they had already lost the initiative. If they still wanted to avoid offending the Prince of Dingxi's Mansion, they had no choice but to follow Zhuang Dongqing's plan and finish the game.
At that time, he was surrounded by elite troops from the Prince of Dingxi's palace, and the situation was beyond his control, so Mr. Hu dared not ask.
Fortunately, after asking, Zhuang Dongqing replied without hesitation, "Yes."
Mr. Hu felt a sense of relief, but then hesitated, "Does the young master understand my thoughts? What I wanted to say was..."
"I know, you're afraid the Prince's Mansion will just go through the motions."
When it comes to rescue work, doing it properly versus just going through the motions and doing it half-heartedly makes a world of difference.
Ultimately, Hu Lin was afraid that if Cen An returned to the Prince's Mansion safely, Cen Yan would not care much about Li Yang and would try to get by with nothing.
Hu Lin smiled sheepishly.
Zhuang Dongqing closed her eyes briefly and said firmly, "No, he's just more anxious than you are."
He's here.
In fact, when making decisions, Zhuang Dongqing only wanted to consider the overall situation as much as possible.
Now that things have escalated to this point, we're in a difficult situation. Thinking about Cen Yan now makes me a little worried about his reaction. I wonder... will he be very angry...?
But if he doesn't stay behind to hold off Li Yang and fight his way out under the protection of his personal guards, and the salt field is just behind the mountain, if he fails to capture anything, there's no guarantee that this group of private soldiers won't take a desperate gamble and lead a large force to attack the salt field. Once the fact that they're raising an army is exposed, they'll all be trapped in the salt field... That would be real trouble...
Hu Lin pondered for a moment, then cautiously spoke again, "Of the six people captured, only the young master is from the Prince's mansion. I noticed that Commander Xu Si is also not here; he must have escorted the young master away. As for the Prince..."
Zhuang Dongqing: "Will he come to save me?"
Zhuang Dongqing: "Guess."
Hu Lin was speechless.
Zhuang Dongqing had no energy to deal with the probing, so after speaking, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
Li Yang spoke up: "Isn't it too late to think about these things now? Why bother yourself with troubles, sir?"
Hu Lin thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "That's true."
Don't offend the Prince's Palace.
If we come here, it's a desperate gamble; we're in a difficult situation no matter which way we turn.
The cell fell silent.
When the door opened again, it was sunset. They were given a bowl of water and two or three steamed buns.
After throwing away their belongings, they were about to leave when Li Yang stopped them, saying that their hands and feet were tied and they couldn't eat or drink, and asked someone to untie them.
The delivery person glanced at them and left.
Song didn't loosen his grip. After a while, another person came and tied their hands from behind to in front of them, changing the way they were tied. He was extremely careful, just enough to ensure they could get food and water.
The water and food were shared among the three of them; it was enough to fill their stomachs, but not enough to satisfy their hunger.
But clean food and water are always better than nothing.
That evening, Hu Lin and Li Yang discussed countermeasures for a long time. Zhuang Dongqing listened without saying a word. Moonlight shone through the window and fell on him. No one knew what he was thinking.
Knowing that he had offended Zhuang Dongqing during the day, Hu Lin tentatively asked in a low voice, "Does Young Master have any thoughts?"
Zhuang Dongqing: "Let's wait a bit."
"Wait for what?"
They waited for Li Yangxin's new maid's relatives to come and recognize her.
But Zhuang Dongqing couldn't bring himself to say it, and remained silent.
After resting for an afternoon, although he was not feeling well, he felt much better. Zhuang Dongqing said, "Sir, you understand the situation in the court better than I do. You've come all the way here with your head covered. Instead of talking about useless things, let's talk about something practical."
Zhuang Dongqing: "Sir, could you analyze whose men Li Zhuo was most likely to be, given that he followed him all the way and who these private soldiers were?"
Zhuang Dongqing had a general idea in mind, but it was still a bit difficult for him to understand it completely.
But he still wanted to know the situation.
Hu Lin remained silent for a moment, then looked at Li Yang.
Li Yang thought for a moment and said softly, "Go ahead and say it. I'll also share my thoughts. Let's put our heads together and see what the situation is."
Zhuang Dongqing nodded as well.
It's always better to know more.
*
The night was cool as water.
The day at the Prince's residence was far from peaceful.
The wealthy merchant's head "invited" the two men over. Cen Yan was too lazy to start by intimidating them into confessing. He simply threw them into the prefect's room. When they saw the prefect who had lost three fingers on his right hand, and then saw the prefect's eldest son serving him miserably by the bedside, both men were startled.
They will wait until they are questioned separately.
Hao San tortured her again, and her mouth wasn't sealed shut as well.
Cen Yan entered the room in his black boots.
When they came out of the room of the saltworks merchant again after "talking", the soles of their shoes were soaked with bloodstains.
Fortunately, most of the questions that needed to be asked were asked.
After the question was asked, everyone in the room gathered together.
Master Zhao said first, "The young master is fine, but riding a horse back and forth is too bumpy for a child. His grandmother was frightened and I'm afraid she won't be able to comfort him tonight. Your Highness should go and check on him."
Cen Yan nodded: "We'll go once we've discussed it."
Master Zhao then said, "They've all been examined. It's nothing to kill. In principle, a prefect with an official position shouldn't be tortured... But whether it's colluding with bandits or privately raising troops, if discovered, it's punishable by death. Compared to that, this injury is nothing serious."
Cen Yan naturally knew.
Master Zhao: "Do you... need healing?"
Cen Yan: "Just leave it for now, as long as it doesn't kill them."
That means they're going to suffer terribly.
Knowing that Cen Yan must be furious at this moment, Master Zhao simply knew that he would keep them both alive.
Hao San got down to business, saying, "The interrogation was quick, catching them off guard. We started with the businessmen and got them basically all the information they needed."
"They say there are about two divisions of private soldiers on the mountain, who have been gradually built up over the past two years."
"At first they were terrified, but as the prince's methods of dealing with the salt merchants became more and more ruthless, and His Majesty also started taking elixirs, these people gradually got used to it."
He paused, then got down to business, saying, "Two divisions, twenty thousand men, are not a threat, but if we add the troops under the governor's command, then we will not have enough manpower."
If the battle were to take place on the mountain, the enemy would have a geographical advantage, and if the governor were to bring his troops over to take advantage of the chaos, the battle would be very difficult.
Cen Yan: "So this needs to be done quickly."
Hao San hesitated: "Why not arrest the governor as well?"
They've all started raising private armies; they're going to die anyway, so there's nothing they can do to stop them.
Cen Yan thought for a moment and shook his head: "That would be too hasty and alert the enemy."
"Even when separated by distance, armies can always communicate using specific signal flares, which are quick for apprehending people, but..."
Zhuang Dongqing was still on the mountain; he couldn't afford to gamble, nor did he dare to.
After a moment of silence, Cen Yan took a deep breath and asked, "Has the message I asked to be spread been completed?"
Liu Qi: "It's settled."
“The prefect was injured by bandits, and the heir was kidnapped by bandits who demanded a huge ransom to be settled in person.”
First, spread the word that Cen An did not return to the Prince's Mansion. Then the people on the mountain and even the people in the shadows in Hangzhou will think that someone took Cen An away along the way and that Cen An is still near the salt field. In this way, their plan will not be a complete failure. The private soldiers will focus their energy on searching for the prince and try to make up for their mistakes by capturing him.
This not only stabilized the governor and the troops on the mountain, but also diverted their attention, leaving them no time to consider the fate of Li Yang and his men.
Cen Yan: "Where is the Governor's Mansion?"
Liu Qi: "I have already gone there and requested the governor to lend us troops so that we can capture the bandits and rescue the prince in one fell swoop."
"I was received by the governor in person, and he didn't seem to suspect anything, but of course, he didn't agree."
Cen Yan breathed a sigh of relief, "He's not in the capital. The Eighth Prince has gone to pay respects to his ancestors. This matter is of great importance, and there will probably be a delay of a day or two. We need to get a decision from them, which is perfect..."
This waiting period is the best time for them to act.
Cen Yan: "Leave the troops outside the city untouched for now, and send someone to Suzhou to request reinforcements."
They were familiar with the military camps in Suzhou, and had even helped train soldiers to oversee salt administration.
His transfer here now can alleviate my immediate worries.
"Don't go through Hangzhou. First, ride a horse out of the city and go to a nearby town to take a boat."
“The kidnapping of the Sixth Prince is no small matter. We should write it as a bandit report and submit it to His Majesty to see his attitude.”
Liu Qi agreed.
"Xu Si," Cen Yan called again.
Xu Si clasped his hands in a fist salute.
Cen Yan: "Before we take action, you should send the young master outside the city. No one will be left in Hangzhou."
Xu Si responded.
After taking stock of everything and arranging everything that could be arranged, Cen Yan got up to wash up, change his clothes, and go see the little brat.
When they arrived at Cen An'an's room, sure enough, the little brat wasn't asleep.
"Father."
Upon seeing him, he naturally picked him up, and Cen Yan reached out to take the little one.
My heart, which had been cold and hard for so long, suddenly felt a touch of warmth.
"Where's Baba? Hasn't he come back yet?" the little brat asked, rubbing his eyes.
Cen Yan's heart skipped a beat. He patted Cen An'an's back and comforted her with a smile, "Your father is out on business today. He will come to see An'an as soon as he gets back."
"oh……"
After a long silence, the little boy looked up at Cen Yan for a moment, then asked, "Really?"
Cen Yan was very upset, but she still calmly replied, "Really."
"Didn't he promise An'an he would come back? When has he ever broken his promise?"
"Yes, Dad wouldn't lie."
Cen An'an clung to Cen Yan's shoulder again, her little face scrunched up, and said, "I can't sleep, Daddy."
"Will Daddy tell you a story?"
"Can Daddy tell stories too?"
The little one's attention was drawn to this unusual sight.
"Your father told you that, is that alright?"
"That works too."
The moonlight was bright and clear. Cen Yan told a fairy tale with some difficulty. Cen An'an listened and fell asleep. Before going to bed, she mumbled, "I miss my dad a little."
Surprisingly, he pronounced both words for "Dad" correctly.
Cen Yan was stunned for a moment, but Cen An'an had already closed her eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.
Touching the little boy's tender face, Cen Yan's expression was unreadable. He slowly murmured to himself, "Father misses him a little too."
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