Chapter 22 She Escapes, He Chases
Mo Yanyun stared blankly at the cold smile on Qin Shaozong's face, her mind not quite processing it.
Mrs. Dai... what's so good about it?
Why did you say that, my lord? And why did you suddenly ask about the duration of the woman's menstrual flow? You've never cared about these things before.
"Hu Bao, send men into the city to search for what needs to be searched and to inquire about what needs to be inquired about," Qin Shaozong said to the square-faced sergeant.
The courtyard was not a place to talk, so he turned and went back to the main house.
Yan San immediately followed, while Mo Yanyun followed along, seemingly out of his mind.
After Mo Yanyun, who was walking last, entered the house, Yan San saw that he was still looking dazed and turned to close the door. As soon as he closed the door, he heard the other party say, "My lord, I have a question that I do not understand. I humbly request your guidance."
Qin Shaozong: "Speak."
Mo Yanyun took a deep breath. "Seven nights ago, you suddenly left the main house. Was it because Madam Dai was menstruating at that time?"
He had previously guessed that Madam Dai was having bad luck and had unfortunately come for menstruation, which was why she was unable to serve him. But that was just a guess, and it wasn't something he could say outright. Now, however, things were different.
Lord Jun set up a trap for Jiang and Li. Lady Dai, as the most important piece in the game, encountered this situation halfway through the game. As her subordinate, he had to ask her some questions, no matter how embarrassing they were.
Qin Shaozong said expressionlessly, "Not bad."
The mention of this matter fueled his anger even more. Whether she had actually started menstruating seven days ago was still debatable, but one thing was certain: she genuinely didn't want to serve him.
She had only been playing along with him before; all her tenderness and affection were feigned, meant to deceive him so she could escape at the right moment.
She's incredibly audacious!
Connecting the dots, Mo Yanyun realized what had happened and was speechless with frustration.
How dare Madam Dai, a mere woman, act in such a way? Is there some misunderstanding here?
After a long pause, Mo Yanyun said, "My lord, I feel that this matter is full of doubts and very strange. Moreover, we cannot do without her in the current situation. Why don't we bring her back for a thorough interrogation? By the way, you issued a summons for her earlier. She must have taken the summons and gone out of the city to her old residence in the west of the city! Please give me a team of men, and I will go to bring Lady Dai back."
Standing by the window, Qin Shaozong remained silent, simply turning and walking toward the wooden box in the corner of the inner room.
Yan San suddenly uttered two words, "Formation."
Mo Yanyun slapped his forehead. "Oh right, there's also a maze formation. I almost forgot about that. There's a formation around there that can hide houses in the woods and fields without being discovered. Sigh, it seems that Madam Dai's old residence in the west of the city is a really good hiding place."
"Crunch." One layer of the wooden box was pulled open.
Mo Yanyun turned his head upon hearing the sound and saw something flying towards him, which was then caught precisely by Yan San with quick eyes and hands.
He looked closely and realized it was a small bamboo plaque, its appearance somewhat familiar. Before he could think further, Yan San's expression suddenly changed slightly, "My lord, this is..."
Mo Yanyun curiously leaned closer to take a look, and was instantly dumbfounded.
It is said to be the biography of Lady Dai!
He naturally found this piece familiar, because it was made by Yan San himself, and he had seen it several times while living in the same room as Yan San.
"Could it be that she didn't leave the city? Or is there some other rumor about her?" Yan San asked solemnly.
Qin Shaozong scoffed, "She's full of lies and deception. Do you really think that so-called old residence in the west of the city and the maze really exist?"
The various tricks and practices of the martial arts world are incredibly diverse, including talismans and spells, summoning spirits and exorcising evil spirits, divine predictions and divination, etc., but they all boil down to one word: "deception".
They deceive those shallow and unenlightened people, manipulating these ignorant masses at will. Whether they want to temporarily stabilize them and prevent them from causing chaos, or to make them a weapon in their own hands, they all have ulterior motives and cannot escape the word "profit".
He deeply hated and despised that group of Taoist priests.
So when he couldn't find the house she mentioned at the address, his first reaction wasn't that he hadn't sent enough soldiers, or that his subordinates were being careless and had overlooked something, but rather... he suspected she was lying.
But she remained calm and composed at the time, and even took the initiative to arrange a time to bring people to her old residence. She even submitted a petition later, so he suppressed his doubts and thought he would wait for her for three days.
As a result, this wait made him lose face!
He was right at first glance; she was no docile rabbit at all, but a cunning fox with a mind as cunning as a honeycomb.
"My lord, what should we do now?" Mo Yanyun was very confused. He tried to offer his opinion: "Why don't we search the city? It's the time of the chieftain now, the city gates are closed, and she can't leave the city without permission. Let's catch her like a turtle in a jar and we'll definitely be able to bring Lady Dai to justice."
“She may not necessarily have no successor,” Yan San suddenly said.
The gifts that the lord gave to the lady were given away and he never bothered to ask for them back. The fact that this document has now returned to the lord must be because Lady Dai took the initiative to return it.
She knew that deceiving the lord would enrage him, and she knew that she could not leave the city without permission, so why did she still take the initiative to return it?
She clearly had a backup plan!
Qin Shaozong said in a deep voice, "Mo Yanyun, go and call over one of Yun Shi's personal maids. I have something to ask her."
Mo Yanyun bowed and accepted the order, then quickly left.
Qin Shaozong turned the ring on his thumb, his eyes dark as a black sea, many guesses flashing through his mind but he quickly rejected them one by one.
*
Nankang County, eastern suburbs.
The donkey cart traversed the desolate outskirts of the city, passed the dilapidated temple in the east of the city, and finally arrived at Baima Ferry. As the only ferry crossing within a ten-mile radius of Nankang County, Baima Ferry was undeniably bustling.
The curved ferry crossing is clearly planned, with cargo ships concentrated near the upstream area. However, as the sun sets, there are few ships left, whether coming or going.
There are many multi-story ships further downstream, some large, some small, some new, some old, and you can see passengers constantly stepping onto the ships from the shore on long wooden planks.
"We've arrived," said the burly man in short clothes.
Perhaps because he had earned a particularly large sum of money on this trip, he didn’t mind saying a few more words to Dai Li: “Large ships are all capable of long voyages, the furthest being Bailangjin in the Sea Kingdom. If you want to travel far and are not short of money, I suggest you take a newer ship… Look, that one.”
He pointed to the two-story ship, "The boatman on that ship is the son of the prefectural magistrate. His family is not short of money. He comes to sail and ferry passengers purely out of interest. He loves to be a white streak in the river, so he is more authentic than the other boatmen."
Now that the other party had started talking, Dai Li seized the opportunity to ask, "If I want to go south to Hangzhou... Qiantang, which route from Baimajin will get me there the fastest?"
The ancient name of Hangzhou was Qiantang, and if she simply said "Hangzhou," probably no one would understand. Even so, the young man in his early twenties scratched his head and asked疑惑地问道, "Where is Qiantang?"
Dai Li was slightly taken aback, then realized that due to the inconvenience of transportation in this era, apart from traveling merchants and some tourists and knights-errant, ordinary people rarely traveled far.
They might only be able to visit a few nearby counties at most, and wouldn't go to a foreign land thousands of miles away.
The older, burly man said, “I don’t know where Qiantang is, but since you’re going south, you can take a boat to Riyuejin. It’s only a half-day’s journey from here. Once you get to Riyuejin, head south and you’ll soon reach Taiping County. Continue south through Taiping County and you’ll see a ferry crossing called Zhuyajin. There, the Qishui River flows from north to south. You can change course and head south from there.”
Dai Li smiled slightly beneath her veil and curtsied to the two of them, saying, "Thank you."
*
The Jiang residence, the reception hall.
Mo Yanyun made a quick trip and returned soon after, accompanied by a maid.
Qin Shaozong, Mo Yanyun, Yan San, and the others—each one of them had emerged from the shadows of swords and spears. They had beheaded others, built mounds of skulls, and taken countless lives.
The maid had never seen such a scene of joint trial by the three judicial authorities. When she stood in front of them and was stared at by three pairs of eyes that were as cold as knives and looked at her as if she were a dead person, she almost fainted from fright.
There was no need for coercion or bribery; she answered whatever Qin Shaozong asked. The maidservant, trembling, explained how Dai Li had lost her biography, and how she had Yun Rong replace it, even making two biography copies in a row.
Qin Shaozong had already stopped turning the jade thumb ring, and as the questioning deepened, spiderweb-like fine cracks appeared on the surface of the jade thumb ring.
Mo Yanyun couldn't help but wipe her face.
They managed to deceive everyone!
Goodness, this Lady Dai is truly a genius, but perhaps a little too genius.
The two reports suggest that there's a very high chance Lady Dai has already left the city. No, not just a very high chance, she definitely has! Otherwise, remaining in the city would only mean her arrest.
Just as they finished questioning the maid, Hu Bao came to report that he had found some traces of Dai Li.
Hu Bao: "My lord, we have visited several major cities besides the South Market, and visited the jewelry stores, bookstores, cloth and silk shops, restaurants and teahouses, as well as post stations that Madam Dai has visited in the past few days. The managers of Mingyue Residence and Youlan Courtyard both said that Madam Dai had deposited and retrieved her packages at their post stations, but at slightly different times."
Mo Yanyun was astonished: "When did you store the package? Who stored it for her?"
Hu Bao continued, "The manager of Mingyue Residence said the package was deposited at the store at the end of Shenshi (3-5 PM) the day before yesterday and retrieved at 1:15 PM today. The manager of Youlan Courtyard said the package was deposited at the end of Shenshi yesterday and retrieved at 1:00 PM today. As for who deposited it..."
The cold gaze from directly in front of him remained fixed on him. Even though he knew it wasn't directed at him, Hu Bao's square face paled slightly. "The managers of both post stations said that the young lady who deposited the package was wearing a veil, so her face couldn't be seen clearly. However, judging from her very ordinary clothes, she was probably a servant."
Mo Yanyun blurted out, "She actually has accomplices? Could they be those hidden servants from the old residence in the west of the city?"
"Is your big head, which weighs over fifty taels, only remembering the old residence in the west of the city? Or is it that apart from the old residence in the west of the city, everything else is just withered branches and weeds?" Qin Shaozong was too lazy to look at him.
Mo Yanyun choked, speechless and unable to respond.
“If she had help, she wouldn’t have had to wait until today.” Yan San recalled Dai Li’s schedule: “Before today, Madam Dai had been out of the mansion for three days in a row, walking around the streets and alleys every day, which seemed to be preparing for today. If she had help, why would she have gone through three whole days of trouble?”
Qin Shaozong turned to look at the window. Through the carved wooden window, he could see that only a faint ray of sunset remained in the sky. The sun had set, dusk was ending, and night was about to fall.
More than an hour had passed between Yunrong's return to the mansion to deliver the message after learning of Daili's disappearance and the soldiers' search and return to the post station with the news.
The city gates were supposed to close at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM) and the beginning of You Shi (5-7 PM). But by that time, the city gates would have already closed.
Qin Shaozong pondered for a moment, then instructed Hu Bao, "Hu Bao, take a group of men and bring along her two personal maids. Have them identify all the maids from the silk and cloth shops she has been in contact with in the past few days, and question them about their whereabouts at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM) yesterday and the day before. Send all those who can't give a clear answer to the two managers so they can identify them one by one."
Hu Bao bowed and accepted the order.
Mo Yanyun said in a low voice, "My lord, Nankang County is bordered by Yulin to the east, Chizhou to the south, Guhan to the west, and Tianwu to the north. There are not many cities and counties around here, but there are not few either. If she really leaves the city, there are plenty of places to go. She can really fly freely in the sky. Or... forget it."
When he said the last two words, his voice dropped several decibels, becoming almost indistinguishable from the buzzing of a mosquito.
"The sky is high enough for birds to fly freely? Ha, I'd like to see where she can fly to?" Dark clouds rolled in Qin Shaozong's eyes.
With a soft "crack," Qin Shaozong's jade thumb ring shattered into pieces. The man released his grip, and the broken pieces of jade fell to the ground.
Mo Yanyun shushed him, not daring to respond.
Qin Shaozong: "If you were her, how would you get there after leaving the city?"
“Let’s go to the ancient Han County in the west. She said before that her old residence was in the west of the city, and I always felt that there might be some truth to that. She might have gone west…” Mo Yanyun muttered.
Qin Shaozong clicked his tongue lightly, "With a brain like yours, it's no wonder you get swindled out of all your money by girls every time. You deserve it."
Mo Yanyun dared not speak out against his anger.
Yan San said seriously, “Baima Ferry. If Lady Dai really leaves the city, I guess she will head east to Baima Ferry. Your Lordship has a strong army and countless well-fed and strong horses. She will most likely travel by donkey cart, and the speed of a donkey cart is far less than that of a horse, let alone a horse without a cart. Her departure will be completely exposed in at least an hour and a half. If she chooses to travel by land, it is only a matter of time before she is caught up, and it is not safe for a young woman to travel at night. However, the waterway is a different story.”
A boat travels on waterways, and each boat has an owner.
Once the boat owner has collected the passengers' fares, whether for the sake of safety or to protect his reputation, he must, to a certain extent, ensure the passengers' well-being.
Mo Yanyun turned to look at the sky outside: "The boat has already left at this time, and there are several ferry crossings to the east of Baimajin. We don't know which ferry crossing she will get off at."
Qin Shaozong pondered for a moment, "The maidservant of the Jiang family serves her closely. The only time she left in the past few days was when she was trying on clothes at the silk and cloth shop. It seems that she took advantage of that opportunity. And there would never be a male servant in the changing room of such a noble lady. As long as we find that maidservant, we can follow the clues to find out how she left the city, whose carriage she took, which ship she boarded after arriving at Baimajin, and whether she revealed any information on the way."
Mo Yanyun suddenly realized.
Indeed, as long as we find a flaw and follow these clues, we will eventually find a lead. Qin Shaozong turned to Yan San and instructed, "Go and speak with Jiang Chonghai, and ask him to prepare a warship for me."
Yan San did not leave. He bowed to Qin Shaozong and said, "My lord, please entrust me with the task of finding Lady Dai."
"No, I'll go myself," Qin Shaozong refused.
Mo Yanyun exclaimed in alarm, “My lord, you mustn’t! With Jiang and Li colluding before, if you go, Jiang Chonghai will surely inform Li Zan. Ying County is located to the east of Nankang County. Although we don’t know where Lady Dai is going yet, it is extremely dangerous to go there if the enemy is prepared. We are men, so why don’t we… not bother with a woman like her?”
Yan San also advised, "Now that Lady Dai has acted, it is not as if she was ignorant as she initially appeared. She is contradicting herself, and this pawn is now useless. It would be pointless to bring her back now. It would be better to readjust the plan. My lord, please think it over."
Qin Shaozong curled his thin lips and said, "Do you remember what I said before, that we should use a feint to split up the middle and lower routes, so that Jiang Chonghai would be 80% convinced?"
The two nodded and said they remembered.
Qin Shaozong's smile deepened: "The remaining 20% is now being offered to me willingly, why should I turn it away?"
Mo Yanyun frowned in confusion, while Yan San seemed to be deep in thought.
Qin Shaozong: "Jiang Chonghai uses Yun as his eyes and ears, so he must know that she has only been my favorite concubine for a short time. Since he doesn't know her well, why can't she be a spy sent by someone else to my side? Now that the spy has succeeded, why can't he take the secret and retire successfully? Besides, at this point, what happens to her is no longer the key. The key is my subsequent attitude and actions."
The more reckless and incompetent he was, and the more he swayed the emperor with his lust, the more people believed that there was indeed a hidden master, Mr. Junzi, behind him, and that the information she had revealed was true.
After all, he and she, this "covert agent," were on opposing sides, and she was more than happy for him to suffer. After this incident, Jiang Chonghai would probably never have a single doubt again.
"Have Jiang Chonghai prepare a large ship for me." Qin Shaozong brought up the old matter again, and then said, "Mo Yanyun, you come with me, and Yan San will stay at Jiang's residence."
Seeing Mo Yanyun hesitate, Qin Shaozong sneered, "Back then, I shot down the Wuhuan prince Langye in the north, taking his head from among 20,000 Wuhuan wolves. After the deed was done, I was chased for a hundred miles, but I still managed to retire successfully. Even if Li Zan has many talented and brave men under his command, can the terrain around here be as bad as the north?"
The northern grasslands are vast, and nomadic peoples live by following the water and grass. There are no large forests there, only yellow sand or low-lying grass. Looking out, there is no obstruction and you can see very far; there is nowhere to hide.
But the situation is different inside the Great Wall, where there are rolling mountains and endless forests, providing plenty of hiding places.
Mo Yanyun and Yan San exchanged a glance, and both of them recalled an old story.
Before the Qin family became so powerful, there was a prominent Wu family in the north that was equally matched with the Qin family, a true rival. Normally, such unions between two prominent families would end in marriage, a mutually beneficial arrangement.
However, the Qin and Wu families were an exception, because their ancestors had a deadly feud.
Qin Shaozong's great-uncle, who was also the heir of the Qin family, died indirectly at the hands of the Wu family. The Qin family was naturally unwilling to let it go and made moves against the Wu family both openly and secretly, not only causing the Wu family to lose its heir but also causing them to lose the governorship that was almost within their grasp.
The Wu family hated them to the core, wishing they could devour their flesh and bones. The flames of war spread to the younger generation... no, it should be said that the Wu family targeted several direct descendants of the Qin clan, wanting to eradicate them completely, so that the Qin family would have no successors.
When the young lord was not yet twenty, he was ordered by his father to go on a long journey. On the way, he was surrounded and hunted by hundreds of people. The lord immediately abandoned his horse and fled into the mountains.
Three days and two nights later, all of Wu's hunters were dead. Lord Jun finished his business efficiently, leisurely returned home, and even had the leisure to write a letter of admonition to Wu, urging them to send some skilled hunters next time.
We will not go into how the Wu family became enraged and how they were overthrown, but in short, once the Lord entered the mountains, he was like a fish entering the sea or a bird soaring into the blue sky.
If he doesn't want to, you really can't catch him.
The two of them were relieved.
Qin Shaozong took the bamboo scroll from Yan San's hand and, with a slight exertion, the scroll cracked under the weight. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we can wipe out Li Zan's main force in one fell swoop, taking Ying County will be as easy as taking candy from a baby. With the letters and other evidence in Li Zan's possession, we can use that as a pretext to bring down all the officials, big and small, who have colluded with him, and replace them with my men."
Mo Yanyun and Yan San bowed to each other, and said no more.
But secretly, Mo Yanyun kept muttering to himself: Actually, he felt that the chances were quite high, whether the Marquis wanted to be absolutely sure or was unwilling to give up Lady Dai.
Or perhaps, both?
*
main hall.
"My lord, this is..."
Jiang Chonghai looked at the men Hu Bao had brought back and asked the question knowingly. He had already heard that Dai Li had disappeared, or rather, that she had taken the opportunity to leave the city.
Upon first hearing this, Jiang Chonghai was greatly shocked. His first reaction was to wonder which faction this Madam Dai belonged to, and how she could be so cunning as to have Qin Shaozong completely outmaneuvered.
His second reaction was to consider whether what Dai Li had said was true, and whether Qin Shaozong had really said he wanted to take her to see the peach grove.
But as the incident unfolded, Jiang Chonghai's suspicions gradually diminished. Qin Shaozong, however, was determined to get to the bottom of things and bring the man back.
Qin Shaozong replied, "The disappearance of Lady Dai is related to these people. I hope that Lord Jiang will temporarily lend me this main hall as the interrogation place."
"Please proceed, Your Majesty. I would also like to know who is so audacious as to instigate Your Majesty's favorite concubine to run away from home." Jiang Chonghai smiled kindly, his words implying that he wanted to eavesdrop.
Hu Bao looked at Qin Shaozong, who said calmly, "Just say it."
Hu Bao then pointed to the woman on the far left and said, “My lord, this woman is a maid from Ruixiang Silk Shop. She has been missing for the past two days, and the managers of Mingyue Residence and Youlan Courtyard both believe that she is the one who deposited the package.”
Jiang Chonghai asked curiously, "My wife told me earlier that there was only one person staying there, so why did she bring back two women and a man?"
Hu Bao: "The one in the middle is a maid from Xinglong Silk Shop. This woman once arranged for a carriage to leave the city for Madam Dai."
This discovery was a complete surprise.
At that time, Hu Bao led Ding Xiang and Tao Xiang to visit silk and cloth shops, trying to screen out all the suspicious people. However, he inadvertently discovered that a maid was acting strangely. When he pulled her out, she was so frightened that she was completely at a loss.
Upon questioning, it was confirmed that the woman was indeed suspicious.
Hu Bao then pointed to a burly man dressed in shorts: "This man is related to a maid in Xinglong Silk Shop. He was entrusted by her to take Madam Dai out of the city to Baimajin."
The three men trembled with fear, never expecting that a simple transaction would not only alarm the city's guards but also attract the attention of Lord Jiang.
Judging from Lord Jiang's previous attitude, this person whom he referred to as "Lord" must hold a high-ranking official position.
Without much interrogation, the burly man spilled everything, including Dai Li's clothing at the time, the fact that after he escorted her to Baimajin, she asked him which route to Qiantang was the fastest, and his own recommendation. Finally, he trembled and said, "...Your Majesty, I am truly innocent! If I had known that the person in the carriage was a noble lady, I would never have dared to escort her out of the city!"
Jiang Chonghai completely ignored what the burly man said next, and touched his chin with two thick, short fingers, saying, "Riyuejin, Taiping County."
Then, as if remembering something, he asked Qin Shaozong, "My lord, I just heard from Commandant Yan that you want a warship? Are you planning to send someone to bring Lady Dai back?"
Qin Shaozong: "I'll go myself."
Jiang Chonghai was stunned, then exclaimed in surprise, "You're going in person?"
Qin Shaozong nodded, “This is the first time in my life I’ve been tricked by a young lady like this. I can’t quell my anger until I bring Dai back. Besides, Taiping County is not adjacent to Ying County, so I don’t think that salt smuggler surnamed Li knows about my past. I should go and come back quickly, and there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
Jiang Chonghai chuckled to himself, thinking that the reputation was indeed undeserved. He had thought that the North had truly raised a vicious tiger, but now it seemed that it was not a tiger at all, but simply a lynx.
As soon as Qin Shaozong left, he immediately sent a message to Brother Li, promising to make sure that the northern lynx never returned!
Suppressing his surging emotions, Jiang Chonghai pointed at the three men, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on weeds growing in a crack in the rock, "My lord, what do you intend to do with these people?"
“Ignorance is no excuse. They are just innocent commoners, and they cooperated well when questioned earlier, so let’s release them all.” Qin Shaozong said this, and then he brought up the matter of the ship again, urging Jiang Chonghai to prepare the ship quickly.
Jiang Chonghai smiled broadly, secretly thinking it was a woman's kindness, but he felt much more at ease.
...
The thick darkness of night spread across the sky; the night was deep, and even the chickens and dogs were silent. At the hour of Yin, when the darkness was at its deepest, the east gate of Nankang County slowly opened, and a group of people left the city in the dead of night. The commotion was so great that it startled the dozing gate guards.
"Who is making such a grand display?"
"It was Lord Qin and Lord Jiang who left the city together. I overheard them talking about it, and it seems that the latter was escorting the former to Baimajin."
"Bai Ma Jin? What are you doing at the ferry crossing in the middle of the night?"
"How could I possibly know anything about the affairs of such an important person?"
...
Bai Ma Jin.
A two-story ship was moored at the ferry dock. Qin Shaozong dismounted and said, "Lord Jiang, please wait. I'll leave you here."
Jiang Chonghai also dismounted, squinting as he watched a group of soldiers board the ship first. He thought to himself that there were only thirty people accompanying him, and that Qin Shaozong was far too arrogant.
On the surface, Jiang Chonghai bowed deeply and said, "I hope you take good care of yourself, my lord. I will be waiting for your good news in Nankang County. I hope you will achieve all your goals on this journey."
Qin Shaozong said with a half-smile, "Thank you for your kind words."
After Qin Mo and the other man boarded the ship, the wooden planks connecting the ship to the shore were removed.
Yan San and several soldiers stood on the shore to watch the ship go. Once the ship was completely out of sight, he and the remaining soldiers led their horses over.
Jiang Chonghai secretly gave a look to one of his men, who understood and suddenly called out if anyone needed to relieve themselves.
Several people immediately responded to the shout; they were all Jiang Chonghai's men. They went together into the nearby woods, and after a while, they returned one after another.
Yan San glanced at the returning Jiang family retainers and noticed that one person was missing. However, he didn't make a fuss and pretended not to know. He then left Baimajin with Jiang Chonghai and the others.
After the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, a man stealthily emerged from the bushes and walked along the ferry crossing until he finally found a hidden covered boat in a dense thicket of grass.
Inside the covered boat was a man in a straw raincoat. When the man saw him come aboard, he untied the rope without saying a word and then used the oar to push the boat toward the shore.
The boat leisurely left the shore, and was then carried swiftly eastward by the rapid current.
*
As the sun rises in the east, a gentle breeze sweeps across the river, carrying a damp mist towards the bustling shore. Riyuejin in the early morning is undoubtedly lively, a cacophony of voices and occasional braying of donkeys.
Fishing boats of all sizes, laden with their catch, docked one after another. Basket after basket of fish was loaded onto donkey carts on the shore. Fishmongers and boatmen haggled over prices, and finally, after exchanging money, those who were to return to the city went back, and those who were to leave the shore left.
Meanwhile, in another corner of Riyuejin, passenger ships began to pick up and drop off passengers.
A tall, unremarkable figure stepped off the building ship, walking slowly as if she were in a new place.
After disembarking, Dai Li's mood improved somewhat, but being alone abroad, she remained vigilant. There were donkey carts on the shore that could save her the trouble of walking for a few copper coins.
However, Dai Li did not sit down. She secretly observed that most of the people who were willing to spend money to take the ride were in groups and were well-dressed, practically wearing the words "wealthy" on their faces.
Dai Li adjusted her veil and followed the crowd south. After about half an hour, an ancient city came into view. She stopped to look at it, her brows furrowing beneath her veil.
The scale of Taiping County is clearly not as large as that of Nankang County.
Small land is prone to chaos.
But it doesn't matter. It's morning now, and she has plenty of time to cross Taiping County and walk south to Zhuya Ferry. Once she boards the long-distance ferry at Zhuya Ferry, she won't have to worry about safety.
She doesn't get carsick or seasick, and Dai Li gave her a high score for last night's experience on the luxury cruise ship.
He entered the city by summons.
After entering the city, Dai Li did not immediately head south. Instead, she found a restaurant and planned to satisfy her hunger before leaving the city.
The food stalls were bustling in the morning. Dai Li was among them, listening to the shouts, bargaining, and casual conversations.
“It’s been very chaotic outside lately. I heard from my cousin, who works as a peddler, that the governors of Qingzhou and Yanzhou in the south seem to have had a major conflict over the campaign against the Qinglian Sect, and in the end, the two governors went to war with each other.”
Someone hissed and gasped, "They've started fighting? But the border between Qingzhou and Yanzhou isn't very close to here, so the impact shouldn't be too great."
"Ha, who said it wouldn't have a big impact? They were fighting fiercely, and several bandit strongholds on the nearby hills saw that things were not going well and all moved away. My cousin said that a group of bandits simply went north and settled down near Taiping County. Haven't you heard that those warships from Zhuya Ferry haven't been coming lately?"
Dai Li, who was eating noodles, suddenly stopped.
Someone chimed in, "They won't completely stop coming, will they? I bet they'll just wait a bit. The Qi River isn't as powerful as the Hutuo River, and Zhuya Ferry is smaller to begin with. It's quite normal for boatmen to choose to lay low and gather some passengers these days. After all, some people will always be heading south, so why not make some money?"
"Tsk, you don't understand. Have you even looked at places like Qingzhou and Yanzhou? They're surrounded by mountains and rivers, with abundant waterways. The bandits in those places are all excellent swimmers. Throwing them into the water is like releasing a fish into the river; they're all super good swimmers. It's true that boatmen need to earn money, but they need to be even more careful about their own lives and their boats!"
Dai Li's heart sank lower and lower.
There may be no more ships heading south from Zhuyajin these days.
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Author's Note: Here we go, let's get to the "country bumpkin" part [shy]! How many of you esteemed VIPs have followed me this far? Let me see! [let me see]
Finally, I'm just asking for some nutrient solution [shy face]
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