Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 45
Su Li had been on the run for nearly twenty days and had already left Jianye County and gone to a poor and remote border town.
Lin Yin did not leave with Su Li. He was now the head of the village and had many affairs to attend to, so he could not spare time. However, he knew that Su Li was going to Jingzhou, and he had the carrier birds and bird-luring powder given by Su Li. As long as he reached the border of Jingzhou, the birds would lead him to find the person.
Although Su Li was reluctant to part ways with Lin Yin, she was also very open-minded.
She said to Lin Yin, "See you in the future."
She likes the freedom and relief of "meeting by chance and forgetting each other by fate".
Lin Yin also smiled and said, "We will definitely meet again if we are destined to."
Su Li took her grandmother north and originally planned to arrive in Jingzhou at the end of the month, but she overestimated her grandmother's health. On the way to Jingzhou, the old lady was exhausted and fell ill.
Su Li was extremely anxious. She looked at the refugees running around the city and the soldiers from the aristocratic families marching on the road. She was afraid that something might happen, so she had to temporarily put her plan to go to Jingzhou on hold and settle down in a small town outside the county first.
When traveling abroad, only men and women from prominent families would spend money to stay in an inn. Poor farmers like Su Li would usually just find a farmhouse at random and give the owner a few copper coins to get a room to stay in.
Because they are women and children, they must be careful when they go out to avoid being bullied.
When Su Li was choosing a house, she specifically looked for one with a small population.
Su Li took a look at the furnishings in the courtyard and saw that only women's and children's clothes were hanging on the clothesline. She guessed that the able-bodied men in the family were working outside and probably rarely came home.
Su Li felt much more relieved and went to chat with the host, and also asked about the hostess's surname.
The host's surname was Song, and Su Li called her "Madam Song".
Knowing that Mrs. Song was the only one living with her daughter and her husband was working away from home, Su Li asked if she could stay with her for a few days.
Seeing that Su Li had sores on her face and looked ugly, but spoke softly and kindly and was a kind person, Madam Song agreed to their request to stay for a few days.
Su Li was very generous. Not only did she give money for housing, she also picked out a pair of exquisite velvet flowers and pinned them in the hair of the eldest daughter of the Song family. After a few visits, she and Miss Song became familiar with each other.
Mrs. Song's husband works away from home, so she is usually the only one at home taking care of the children.
Mrs. Song's life was hard and lonely. Now she had a rare source of income and a few more friends to chat with, so she was very happy and hurriedly cleaned out an empty room for Su Li and the others to stay.
Su Li and Madam Song thanked her, and after making the bed, she helped her grandmother lean on the bed.
Qiu Gui poured a bowl of cold water and handed it to Madam Su: "Grandma, drink some water first. I will go out with you to buy medicine and some clothes and food for the family."
Qiu Gui had been beaten by Su Li, and she was no longer a slave. She did not need to call herself a servant in public. In order to conceal her identity, Su Li also asked Qiu Gui to call Old Madam Su "Grandmother" directly, so that they could call each other sisters in public.
It was just that Qiu Gui had been calling her "wife" for so many years, and it was a bit uncomfortable for her to change to "Li Li" for a while, so Su Li just went along with her.
Su Li nodded. She tucked the corner of the quilt in and wiped the sweat off her grandmother's forehead. "We'll be back soon. We'll buy you some chicken, duck, dried dates, wolfberries, and other things. We'll make you some sweet soup to nourish your body. I just took your pulse and it seems you don't have any serious illness. You're just tired from traveling for more than ten days. You just need to rest well."
Madam Su stared at her well-behaved granddaughter and gently stroked the acne scars and red sores on her face. "Lili, does it hurt?"
The granddaughter had a pretty face, but because they were fleeing, they were afraid that refugees and robbers would have evil intentions when they saw her beautiful face, so they smeared ointment for sores and acne on her, covering up most of her appearance.
Scars on the face and scratching and itching are no big deal, but such a large area of acne must be very painful.
Su Li held down the old lady's wrinkled hand, smiled, and rubbed Madam Su's fingertips, saying coquettishly, "Li Li, it doesn't hurt at all... To be honest, it's just a little itchy, but it will go away in two days and won't affect your granddaughter's beautiful face!"
Old Madam Su was amused by this clever girl and couldn't help but reach out and tap her nose: "You, you only know how to act cute! Alright, alright, if you want to go out, hurry up. If you delay any longer, the sun will set and it's too dark for two girls to run around outside."
"I don't need to, so don't worry, grandma." Su Li took out a pancake bag wrapped in oil paper from her bag and handed it to her. "If you're hungry, eat some pancakes to fill your stomach. When you come back in the evening, I'll make chicken soup for you."
Old Madam Su nodded with a smile, watched the two well-behaved girls leave, and then fell asleep again on the pillow.
Su Li and Qiu Gui quietly closed the door and called Madam Song to go out together.
Mrs. Song has informed her neighbors that she will go to the market to buy food and clothes today, and the eldest son of the Xu family will drive an ox cart to see her off.
As they rode along in the oxcart, Madam Song suddenly said, "Be extremely careful when you buy things later. Don't let those vagrants and soldiers harass you. The town is full of the nobles' soldiers. If you offend them, even the officials won't dare to intervene."
Su Li had been busy traveling lately and had no time to inquire about the turmoil in the country's political situation. Today, when she had some free time, she wanted to clarify everything that had happened recently. She asked, "What's going on? Jingzhou seemed peaceful before, but suddenly so many soldiers showed up. Is there going to be a war?"
Speaking of this, Madam Song sighed with a sad face, "Isn't there going to be a war? I heard that the Lord of the Cui family in Jianye County even killed the emperor. I'm afraid he wants to become the emperor himself!"
Xu Dalang heard this and shouted, "Shut up, shut up! The guards will be here soon to check your ID cards. If they hear you talking about this, don't even think about going home tonight. Stay in the county government office and get a beating!"
Madam Song immediately shut up and dared not say another word.
Su Li combined the rumors she had heard before and pieced together the whole story.
It turned out that Cui Jue took advantage of the wedding day to launch an attack, led his army to attack Huanglong, and broke into the imperial city. Not only did he slaughter the royal family, he also bloodbathed the court and sat firmly on the throne.
However, he changed the dynasty but did not regard himself as the new emperor. Instead, he was still respectfully addressed as "Lord". He was just a powerful elder who controlled the government, which was puzzling.
However, Su Li guessed that Cui Jue was too suspicious. Now that the former crown prince Li Fuyun had fled, he was still worried and wanted to kill the remnants of the previous dynasty, then ascend the throne and become emperor to establish a new country.
Or maybe Cui Jue was an elder from a noble family who was used to being regent, and he didn't want to declare himself king. He planned to support a puppet emperor from a branch of the noble family as he had done in the past.
Regardless of his thoughts, Cui Jue's battle disrupted the originally peaceful situation in the State of Wu, causing constant civil wars in the prefectures and counties, and the situation became extremely chaotic.
Notable families from all over the country heard the news and the official roads were filled with marching soldiers.
Some noble families rushed to Jianye with their families, intending to serve Cui Jue.
There were also some ambitious nobles who were unwilling to see the Wudong Cui family always be in a superior position. They formed an alliance and won over local heroes, intending to find Li Fuyun as soon as possible, borrow his bloodline from the previous dynasty, overthrow the Cui family and restore the Li family, and regain control of the country.
It was the first time that Su Li heard so much about Cui Jue from other people, and she couldn't help feeling distant and unfamiliar.
Su Li felt sympathetic... She was really capable, yet she had provoked such a powerful figure with such ruthless means.
Su Li was terrified, but after thinking about it carefully, she was glad that she escaped as soon as possible.
Cui Jue even used Li Muyao as a pawn. It was clear that he had no interest in anyone.
To him, Su Li was just an insignificant little thing and he would definitely not take it seriously.
Now that the imperial cause is ahead of him, Cui Jue must be working day and night, busy with state affairs. How could he remember her, a lowly ant?
Cui Jue was already the prince of Jianye. Even though he had not founded a country, he was still as powerful as an emperor, and no one dared to suppress him.
How could such a person not have wealthy families coming to his harem and presenting him with batches of beautiful women, both plump and thin?
Su Li thought that Cui Jue was so lustful that he might have a beautiful woman in his arms, with the red tent and quilt turned over... and she had long forgotten about him.
Su Li couldn't help but feel happy, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
As long as she could hold on a little longer, she would be free again. She would no longer have to hide her face with festering sores and nervously avoid the Cui family soldiers who were searching for her...
-
Lanhe County, Su family.
Red doors, black tiles, and stacked gables.
The five-story house was filled with bustling voices. The treetops were hung with red gauze lanterns and bright flowers to welcome guests, and the corridors were filled with luxurious lotus lanterns. It was even more lively and noisy than the New Year festival.
Su family's stepmother, Zhou, glanced at the well-trained soldiers outside the courtyard.
She shuddered when she thought of those murderous soldiers.
You are just visiting the Su family, why do you have to bring so many soldiers in armor and weapons?
If someone didn’t know, they would think something had happened to her family.
Zhou muttered to herself for a while, then thought of the elder of the Wudong Cui family who was sitting in the main hall, and she felt relieved... Fortune and wealth are sought in danger, and now Cui Jue's status is respected, comparable to that of a monarch. She would do anything to climb up such a high branch.
She only regretted that her own daughter got married early and was unable to win over Cui Jue. Although the remaining concubines' daughters were not as outstanding in appearance as Su Li, they were still young girls after all. If they dressed up a little and had a slim figure, they might also attract Cui Jue's attention.
Thinking of this, Zhou pulled over the nanny from the backyard and gritted her teeth, "Give those two Buddha's hand glass hairpins in my makeup box to Fourth and Fifth Lady! Their dresses must be blue. Your Majesty loves blue clothes, you know?! If you mess up, watch out for your hide!"
Thinking of the mistress's cruel methods, the nanny did not dare to be negligent. She nodded in agreement and went to give instructions on how to dress the two young ladies of the Su family.
Zhou saw that the dishes in the hall were almost served, took a deep breath, put on a smile, and walked into the flower hall.
It was her first time meeting Cui Jue, the eldest son of the Wudong Cui family. With just a fleeting glance, she was struck by his stunning looks... No one had ever said Cui Jue was so handsome? Given his naturally gifted looks, her two concubines probably wouldn't be able to catch the prince's eye, right?
Zhou's heart was filled with mixed emotions. She wanted to make a few witty remarks to liven up the atmosphere, but as soon as she took a step closer, she felt the pressure from Cui Jue and could not help but lower her head, smiling awkwardly and calling out, "My Lord..."
Cui Jue held the sword horizontally in his hand, tapping the hilt with his fair fingertips. He knew the Su family mistress had arrived, but without looking up, he simply asked in a cold voice, "Has Su Youli returned home?"
He did not forget that Su Youli was her real name, and Su Li was just a pseudonym to deceive her elders.
Zhou didn't expect Cui Jue to ask about Su Li as soon as he arrived, and she stood there in a daze for a moment.
She remembered that Su Li was pregnant with the child of the elder of the Cui family, but she still gave up such great wealth and fled with the child. She really didn't know how to enjoy her blessings, and she cursed in her heart.
Zhou stammered, "I haven't returned home yet."
Upon hearing this, Cui Jue sneered for no reason.
I remember that this morning Cui Jue led his army to Lanhe County. He first ordered the local governor to seal off the city and not allow anyone to escape from the county. Then he went to Xiao Cui's house and asked the second aunt if she had seen Su Li.
However, Second Aunt was also very anxious because she had not found anyone for more than ten days. Now that she saw Cui Jue was the king of the country, she couldn't help but have some delusional thoughts, hoping that Cui Jue would support the second wife more in the future for the sake of the eldest son.
However, Cui Jue left a word and led his troops away from Xiao Cui's house.
He said, "From now on, there will be no more widows of the Su family in the second house, only Su Li, the concubine of the first house."
With just a few words, the Second Wife understood Cui Jue's intentions. He clearly had his eye on Su Li. Was he completely disregarding the rules of the aristocratic family and directly leading his troops to abduct her?!
How could such a statement be possible? The Second Wife was so angry that she couldn't even eat. She went straight to find Mr. Cui to ask for an explanation.
However, after experiencing the act of plotting to usurp the throne, Mr. Cui decided to become a deaf and dumb old man and let his grandson arrange all matters in the family.
She was nothing more than a woman serving in bed. How could Mr. Cui disobey Cui Jue and cause the relationship between the grandfather and grandson to become estranged? Since Cui Jue wanted her, then he could take her away.
The mother-in-law was turned away and was also criticized by Mr. Cui both openly and secretly. She could only flee back home in shame and dared not mention the matter again. She just thought that her daughter-in-law had died in the chaotic countryside.
…
At this moment, Cui Jue learned that Su Li had not returned to Lanhe County, and he felt angry.
Not only did Su Li escape regardless of everything, she also abandoned her biological parents. She is truly extremely filial.
The man raised his cold, snow-like eyes and stared at Zhou, his gaze etched with murderous intent. He demanded, "Since she's your own daughter, how could you not know where she is? If you deliberately deceive your elders out of pity for your daughter, you will surely bring disaster upon the entire Su family."
Although Cui Jue's tone was indifferent, Zhou could hear his suppressed anger.
Zhou couldn't help but look at her husband, thinking about discussing countermeasures.
But Zhou's tentative glance angered Cui Jue who was waiting for a reply.
He had come to the Su family today to ask for someone, and he had never thought of negotiating or getting away with anything without bloodshed. In other words, Su Li was treacherous, acted absurdly, and lied repeatedly, which had exhausted Cui Jue's patience.
Now, no one knows whose bastard child she is pregnant with, and she has secretly defected... He has already done his best by not slaughtering the entire Su family.
Cui Jue's face was covered with frost and snow. The next moment, he unsheathed the sharp sword in his hand and pressed it against the shoulder of the young master of the Su family. The powerful force made Su's father's knees soften and he knelt in front of the man.
Cui Jue pressed forward step by step, his tall and majestic figure gradually approaching, and the long sword that could cut through iron like mud penetrated into Su's father's neck inch by inch, blood spurting out of the skin and flowing all over the ground.
Tick-tock.
All that could be heard was the sound of falling blood.
Father Su was so frightened that his whole body and liver were trembling with fear, and all the servants in the hall knelt on the ground with their heads bowed.
Zhou's tears welled up as she screamed, "My Lord, please calm down! We really don't know where Sanniang has gone!"
"Really?" Cui Jue smiled. "If I hang her father's head above the city gate for public display, there's no guarantee she won't be moved by pity and show herself up. Master Su, you're quite lucky. This sword has chopped off the emperor's head, and now with you, it's a great honor for the Su family."
When these words were spoken, not only Mrs. Zhou, but even Su's father was frightened and burst into tears.
He couldn't help but yelled angrily, "It's all your fault, you troublemaker. You actually brought such trouble into our home and implicated the entire Su family! If I die, the Lanhe Su family will definitely not let you, a fool, go!"
After she finished speaking, Zhou covered her face with her handkerchief and sobbed.
She knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Cui Jue and begged for mercy: "My Lord, please spare my life... That Su Li is not a biological daughter of the Su family! Youli died young, and to protect my connection with the Cui family, I came up with this foolish scheme. I found a young woman from the countryside who resembled my son, and had her replace Youli and marry into the Cui family... I was really at my wit's end, so I resorted to this desperate measure! She deceived my Lord and deliberately escaped. She has nothing to do with our Su family!"
Zhou was afraid of getting into trouble, so she could only tell Su Li's origins one by one, including that Su Li was just a peasant girl in the countryside and had a grandmother at home.
Little did he know that after hearing these words, Cui Jue became even angrier.
All the past events emerged in his mind one by one, and he suddenly understood why Su Li was so hypocritical. Even though she was afraid of him, she was still so reckless and went to his bed to pray for a child.
It was obvious that she had long wanted to escape from the aristocratic family.
She had clearly been waiting for an opportunity for a long time and was planning to defect!
She didn't care and insisted on getting pregnant with this child, just to take advantage of his unpreparedness and leave the Cui family!
After Su Li teased, fooled and bewitched Cui Jue, the woman waved her sleeves and walked away lightly.
It was a waste of time that Cui Jue still had a trace of pity in his heart and thought about leaving a son for Su Li, giving her a place in the Cui family's main house and backyard, and protecting her from poverty and wealth for the rest of her life.
...She deserves it!
Cui Jue was so angry that he stared at the Su family as if they were dead people.
He finally raised his sleeves and drew his sword, and attacked with lightning speed, ruthlessly chopping off Su's father's arm.
Crash.
An arm, its skin still warm, rolled to the ground, leaving a glaring bloodstain.
"ah!!!"
Seeing this, the whole house was filled with screams one after another.
Zhou threw herself on her husband, covering his bloody wound, and was so frightened that she almost fainted.
The entire hall was in chaos because the master was seriously injured.
The matter of the Su family's marriage fraud was handled by Mr. Cui, and Cui Jue no longer had to pay any more attention to this family.
Cui Jue threw away his sword and left, jumping on his horse.
The man's face was as gloomy as water, his hands gripping the reins, his knuckles turning blue and white from the force, making a clicking sound.
Chixia seemed to sense his master's anger, and couldn't help but kick his hooves back and forth anxiously.
Wei Zhiyan caught up with Cui Jue and asked quietly, "Master, what are your instructions?"
Cui Jue said coldly, "The man who was traveling with Su Li earlier looked somewhat familiar... I think I saw him at the Nanshan Hunting Ground. Go investigate him first, then send troops to siege the mansion where the old woman from the Su family was trapped. There must be a servant who helped the old woman escape. Whether it's torture or murder, investigate thoroughly. Anyone who helped anyone escape will be beaten to death, no matter what, with no mercy!"
"Yes!" Wei Zhiyan took the order and did it.
Although he sympathized with Su Li in his heart, he was still Cui Jue's secret guard after all, and he would not go against his master's wishes.
After Cui Jue arranged everything for finding the person, he finally forced down his anger, which he didn't know where to vent.
The veins on Cui Jue's neck bulged slightly, and his jaw was tense. Thinking of Su Li who had escaped to an unknown place, his eyes were filled with rage, and his aura was fierce and brutal.
"Su Li, you'd better pray to the gods and Buddhas for protection so that you can escape longer."
"If you are caught by me, I will make you regret living..."
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