Chapter 144: Layers of Backhands
Zhao Long died silently.
When Xu Zheng and several other officers entered, they found him lying on the bed, blood foam at the corners of his mouth, and his limbs stiff. They could infer that he had died last night.
They checked his room; the door was locked and the windows untouched. Everyone else ate and drank the same food, and there had been no movement or noise last night. Nothing unusual. How he died was a mystery.
The innkeeper's cousin was the head of a nearby post station. He had rushed over after a fatality occurred at his uncle's inn. After examining the situation, he and Xu Zheng discussed the matter and ultimately decided to rule Zhao Long's death an accident. Both signed and stamped their signatures, and several other officers also signed as witnesses.
Finally, Xu Zheng bought a new straw mat, wrapped Zhao Long in it, carried him to the foot of a mountain not far away, dug a hole and buried him.
Next, Yang Wei Escort Agency took on the food and drink for Xu Zheng and his group as before.
Yang Wei also gave the Qin family an old swaddling cloth, which was convenient for strapping the baby to their chest and looked very warm. Everyone was also given two pieces of candy, saying they could eat them if they got hungry along the way. The candy was said to be made of milk flower core and sugar, and it looked delicious and smelled very fragrant. Everyone who received the candy put it in their pockets.
Not only did they not stop, they even got worse! Xu Zheng was too tired to complain anymore, so he just let them do whatever they wanted.
The officer felt the candy in his pocket and said: I dare not say anything, I dare not do anything.
Zhao Long just wasn't thinking straight, and didn't know how to enjoy his blessings. If Yang Wei's escort agency had taken care of them like this along the way, they would have been able to relax a bit.
Anyway, their mission is to escort the prisoners to Pingzhou. As for the prisoners' conditions on the way and whether they live well, their superiors have no requirements. Isn't it enough for them to deliver the prisoners within the specified time?
The remaining four officers were very open-minded. Even if the sky fell, there was still the tall bailiff Xu Zheng to support it. Why should they step out?
Think about it, Zhao Long’s body had just been buried, and the soil on the grave was still new.
In the evening of the second day after leaving the inn, they arrived at their scheduled destination - an old house in the mountains.
As expected, the people from Yang Wei's Escort Agency were also waiting in front and had already prepared the meal.
But Yang Wei, who came out to greet him, looked a little strange.
"What's wrong?" Xu Zheng asked.
"When we arrived here, a group of people had already moved in."
"Who is it?"
Yang Wei thought about what they said, "They are a group of wealthy businessmen carrying the coffin back to their hometown. They brought a lot of guards and servants with them."
"How much is better?"
"At least thirty people." The key point is that it seems that each of them has good skills.
What? Just to escort a corpse, they arranged so many guards and servants!
Xu Zheng asked, "Have you found out where the rich businessman's hometown is?"
"The other party kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything."
Xu Zheng frowned, and the other officers looked at each other in confusion. Why did this situation sound so familiar? Wasn't it the exact same scenario as when they first encountered Yang Wei's escort agency?
Damn it, it’s almost New Year’s Day, and there are still so many people hanging around outside?
While they were talking, a burly man with a beard walked out from the main room.
Xu Zheng and Yang Wei were secretly on guard. The other party had a strong murderous aura and it was obvious that he had seen blood.
Qin Heng suddenly spoke up, "Zhou Da, is that you?"
Zhou Da was confused at first, but then he realized what was happening and looked at Qin Heng in surprise. "General Qin, it's me."
Lu Songli asked, "Brother, do you know (your people)?"
Qin Heng nodded slightly. "Zhou Da used to work under our father, but later he retired and returned home due to some reasons. I didn't expect to meet him here."
Xu Zheng and Yang Wei, who had just exchanged bewilderment, now twitched their lips. How many backup plans had this family prepared for exile? Like that, shallot? Layer upon layer, endlessly.
"Haha, since we know each other (ourselves), our meeting is destiny. It's freezing cold, so don't stand outside as punishment, let's all go inside." What else could Yang Wei do? He took the initiative to act as a middleman.
After a sumptuous dinner, the four-member group of Qin Heng, Qin Zhao, Qin Sheng and Lu Songli and his wife met again.
"Third brother, sixth brother, and sixth sister-in-law, I'm sure you've guessed it. Zhou Da is mine."
The three of them nodded in unison. Yes, they all guessed it.
Qin Heng looked at them and said with a smile, "At first I didn't expect Sixth Brother's wife to be so well prepared."
"Now, thanks to Sixth Brother's wife's careful arrangements, we have made it all the way to Pingzhou safely without any major problems. And what I want to say is that, in this case, Zhou Da won't be of much use if he follows us."
"Also, back in the northern border, Second Mother, Second Brother's wife, and Fourth Brother's wife have been exiled to Pingzhou. I'm guessing they're completely unprepared, and they're bringing five young children with them. I'm deeply worried." As part of his preparations, he divided his available personnel into two groups, with the other half going to the northern border to protect them. Even with this arrangement, he still worried about the unknown situation in the northern border.
"My current idea is to let Zhou Da send half of his men to the north to directly catch up with them and protect them secretly. The remaining half will be incorporated into Yang Wei's escort agency." In this way, they will have more than 30 strong men to escort them to Pingzhou. Together with the martial arts value of their three brothers, it is enough to deal with all accidents and dangers.
Lu Songli and the other two had no objection to his arrangement.
That night, Lü Songli had the Yang Wei Escort Agency bring out a basket of sugar and rice cakes for them, along with medicinal herbs and other emergency supplies. Zhou Da was a grown man, so his preparations weren't as elaborate. Besides, the northern border was freezing cold, requiring high-calorie food even more than they did. They had plenty of food now, more than enough to last them all the way to Pingzhou.
So the next day, Zhou Da left half of his men with them, and the rest followed him, holding the coffin, and headed north.
Xu Zheng and Yang Wei looked at the shallow marks left by the coffin and couldn't help shaking their heads.
That day, after dinner, Qin Zhao patted his full stomach. To be honest, their exile had been smoother than he had imagined. It was far, far better than he had anticipated.
His little daughter had just been born, and his wife had just given birth, and they had just experienced such a major change. He really had no confidence that he could keep them alive. Although he vaguely knew that his eldest brother had made some preparations, he still felt unsure.
But unexpectedly, except for the first and second days when they suffered a little, they were able to eat their fill and sleep soundly afterwards.
During his exile, he did not encounter any cruel and torturous bailiffs or officers. He was able to eat well and dress warmly, and he did not have to endure frequent beatings and food deprivation. The food he ate was pretty good, and he was already very satisfied.
All of this was thanks to the planning of my eldest brother and my sixth brother's wife. Especially my sixth brother's wife, everything they arranged was so appropriate and meticulous. This reminded Qin Zhao of the Xie and Zhao families, who had also been confiscated and exiled.
"Sixth sister-in-law, how did you bring down the Xie and Zhao families?" Qin Zhao asked curiously.
Qin Heng and Qin Sheng also looked over when they heard this. They only saw the Xie and Zhao families flipping their cards and really didn't know the inside story.
Seeing the three of them all so curious, Lü Songli thought it was normal for them to be unaware of the situation, given the tight prison environment. She hadn't elaborated on her plan to prevent anyone from listening, so she figured it wasn't a bad idea to talk to them now.
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