Shimen Fan (5)
Huai Xu looked over with a worried expression: "Godmother!"
“It’s alright.” I patted her shoulder. “I’ve met the chief of the Mahu tribe, Dong La, and even spoken to him.”
Wang Yunhui said, "Qingcheng, let Lao Liu go with you."
I waved my hand and refused: "No. Lord Wei is imprisoned. Among us, only Mr. Liu can take his place in command."
Aunt Xu said, "Let Xu Shan go with you!"
"I appreciate everyone's kindness," I said, bowing with a single fist salute. "There are still many complicated matters to attend to, and Mr. Liu needs help more than I do. As for the feud between Mahu and Nanguang, let me, a native of Nanguang, handle it myself!"
"OK!"
"good!"
Lin Zhong suddenly said, "Shall we have a farewell drink?"
"Alright!" Liu Yu pushed Qu Bu, "Go and get the 'Chongbichun' from under my bed!"
I urged Huai Xu, "Go to the yard and break off some bamboo branches!"
Liu Xingjian and Liu Yu rolled up the map; Wang Yunhui and Xu Sao lined up eleven cups of wine in front of them; Huai Xu and Feng Qiao placed bamboo branches next to each cup of wine.
After quickly arranging everything, the people, in order of age, picked up bamboo sticks and wine cups one by one and said in unison, "Han officials are of one mind, vowing to defend our homeland!"
The moment they put down their glasses, many people's eyes welled up with tears.
Liu Yu laughed and said, "This is the first time I've drunk a toast with so many people. How interesting!"
He made me laugh out loud: "Once we hold Nanguang, we'll continue drinking!"
Some stayed, some set off, and words of farewell drifted away in the evening breeze.
Take care on your journey!
Until we meet again!
From Nanguang to Mahu, it is more than 300 li away. Due to the continuous mountain range, there are not many post stations along the way where horses can be changed. Therefore, as soon as I arrived at Mashui, I changed to waterway. I chartered a fast boat overnight and rushed to Xunzhou Wharf, just in time for sunrise.
While chatting on the river, the boatman said that Dong La was a very vengeful person.
Once, officials from Xunzhou were having a banquet. During the banquet, a Han official got drunk and inadvertently called someone "Dong Man". Before the banquet was over, he "accidentally" fell into the latrine and drowned.
I pondered deeply at the bow of the boat: going to see Dong La alone might be inappropriate; being turned away was a minor matter, but being silenced was no laughing matter. After much thought, I decided to find a witness. As soon as the boat docked, I quickly asked for directions and headed straight for the prefectural government office.
As I tied my horse to the hitching post, I caught a glimpse of Song Ninghai alighting from his sedan chair in front of the yamen. I quickly ran after him, calling out, "Prefect Song! Lord Song!"
Song Ninghai turned around, his expression one of surprise: "Qing Niangzi? Why have you come to Xunzhou?"
"Qingcheng has a favor to ask!"
Song Ninghai looked around and said, "Please come in."
Following Song Ninghai into the courtyard, he led me to the innermost empty room, closed the door slightly, and bowed, saying, "Please forgive me, Madam Qing. There are many eyes and ears in the prefectural government. To avoid unnecessary trouble, let's talk here."
"Qingcheng begs Lord Song to take me to see Dong La!"
"You want to see him?" Song Ninghai's voice lowered noticeably. "This...this is a bit difficult..."
“I just felt that he might not want to see me, but I had to see him, so I came to ask Lord Song for help.”
Song Ninghai looked troubled: "What urgent matter does Qing Niangzi have that requires her to see him so urgently?"
I took his hand and said, "The Shimen Fan army is rushing to Nanguang and will arrive at the city of Yuezhou in less than three days. The Changning army is still fighting a bitter battle in Yujing and is unable to spare any resources. Only if Mahu comes to our aid can we relieve the siege of Nanguang!"
"What?!" Song Ninghai stared at me, almost jumping up and down. "How could such a big matter be handled by sending you alone to Mahu as an intermediary? Where are Wei Ji and Luo Zhong? Why aren't they personally coming to ask for reinforcements? What are they up to?"
I confessed, "Prefect Wei has been detained by Chief Luo. Not many people know about this, only I was able to come."
"He's been detained?!" Song Ninghai exclaimed, losing his composure. "What is Luo Chong trying to do? Is he planning a rebellion?!"
"Luo Zhong's family has been kidnapped by the Shimen barbarians, who are using them to blackmail him into turning against the Song court. Their plan is to sacrifice Prefect Wei's head on the winter solstice. If Nanguang falls, Mahu will be next! Lord Song, please think of a solution quickly, we don't have much time left!"
"I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking about it!" Song Ninghai clenched his fist and tapped his hands, pacing anxiously around the room. He suddenly stopped in front of me. "I've got it! There's a routine meeting at the prefectural government office today, and the vice magistrate is supposed to attend. I'll send someone to invite him right away!"
After saying this, he opened the door and walked out, only to bump into a constable running from the side.
The constable helped Song Ninghai up: "Sir, are you alright?"
Song Ninghai shoved him away: "Why are you running around so early in the morning?"
The constable bowed his head and said, "I have urgent news to report."
"What urgent matter could it be..." Song Ninghai snorted, "Speak quickly!"
"Yes! The steward from the Dong residence has come to say that the Prefect is not feeling well today and will not be attending the regular meeting at 9:00 AM."
"What?!" Song Ninghai angrily threw his sleeves, "He said he wouldn't come, and he just won't!"
The constable stammered, "But...but no, isn't that right..."
"Go down!" Song Ninghai turned back into the house and asked, "Qing Niangzi, how did you find the prefectural government office?"
"I disembarked at Xunzhou Wharf and asked for directions to get here," I said hesitantly. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"This is extremely inappropriate!" Song Ninghai exclaimed in frustration. "Xunzhou Wharf is owned by the Dong family; it's where the most spies are located!"
My heart sank, and I clasped my hands in a fist and said, "It was my oversight."
Song Ninghai waved his hand: "The matter was urgent, so you can't be blamed. However, Dong La probably guessed that you were looking for him and deliberately avoided seeing you."
"So now—what should we do?"
Song Ninghai stamped his foot: "If he won't come over, we'll go over there! Come on, I'll take you to the Dong residence!"
"good!"
He strode to the entrance of the yamen, where the yamen runner who had reported earlier came up and asked, "Where is Your Excellency going? Should I prepare a horse or a sedan chair?"
"You don't need to prepare anything!" Song Ninghai glanced at him, then looked at another constable, "You, and you, come with me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Dong La's residence was not far from the prefectural government office; it was just a short walk across a long street.
Several servants were sweeping in front of the gate. Song Ninghai told me to wait at the corner of the courtyard wall and led two constables toward the main gate.
Upon seeing the officials approaching, the servants all stood at attention and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency, Prefect."
"Hmm." Song Ninghai nodded slightly. "Is Chief Dong home?"
A servant boy carrying a watering can responded, "Here!"
One of the men holding a broom nudged his companion and replied, "He's not here!"
Song Ninghai frowned: "If he is here, go and inform him immediately; if he is not, quickly tell me where the chieftain has gone?"
"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency." The servant boy who was holding the broom put it down and hurried inside. A moment later, he led over a middle-aged man dressed as a steward.
"Prefect Song".
"Manager Dong."
The visitor cupped his hands and said with a smile, "The clan leader has been suffering from a persistent headache since early this morning and has now gone to Huangmao Mountain to seek medical help from Abbot Buluo."
Song Ninghai coughed lightly: "Master Buluo travels all over the world. It's hard to say whether we'll be able to run into him if we go now."
"Isn't that right?" Steward Dong's smile widened. "The clan leader insists on going, and as his servant, I can't very well stop him."
"Excuse me." Song Ninghai waved his sleeve and walked toward where I was standing, his face ashen.
I clasped my hands in a fist salute to him and said, "You've worked hard, Lord Song."
Song Ninghai remained silent, his eyes fixed on the tiger-head flag fluttering in the wind in the courtyard.
From not far away came Steward Dong's voice scolding the servants: "All of you, watch your step! The clan leader doesn't want to see anyone who has anything to do with the barbarian woman from Nan Guang!"
I blurted out, "This barbarian chieftain of Mahu is so petty!"
Song Ninghai snapped out of his daze: "Grandma, Xunzhou is not like Yuezhou, please keep your voice down!" With that, he walked along the courtyard wall.
The constable followed closely behind and asked cautiously, "Sir, are you going to Huangmao Mountain? I'll go prepare the horses right away."
"Prepare for what?" Song Ninghai said irritably. "How do you know that that scoundrel didn't deceive me!"
Another constable whispered a reminder: "Sir, could you please keep your voice down? Be careful, the walls may be listening."
After walking about a hundred paces, Song Ninghai stopped, lifted the hem of his robe, and tied a long knot.
This skill level doesn't seem like that of a trained martial artist...
The two constables exchanged bewildered glances, and I hurriedly stepped forward: "Lord Song, what's going on—"
"You can see Dong La's living quarters from here," Song Ninghai pointed to the constables and ordered, "You two, kneel down and help me up!"
One of the constables hesitated and said, "Sir, please let me do it."
"You idiot! How many heads do you have?" Song Ninghai, completely losing his composure, kicked the constable in the shin. "Get down!"
The constable crouched down: "Sir, please be careful!"
"Don't talk nonsense, I know what I'm doing!" Song Ninghai put his hands on the wall and stepped on the shoulders of the yamen runners.
One of the constables supported Song Ninghai by one leg, helped him stand up shakily, and lifted him to a high place.
The walls of the Dong residence were very high. Although Song Ninghai wasn't short, he could barely reach the top of the wall when he stood on tiptoe. He kept urging, "Higher, higher!"
Song Ninghai wasn't exactly thin either, and the two constables supporting him had bulging veins on their foreheads: "You can't go any higher, sir—"
Fortunately, the streets were still mostly deserted in the early morning. Song Ninghai, completely unladylike, squatted in the corner and pointed to the shops along the street, saying to me, "Qing Niangzi, go over there and see if any shops are open. Could you... lend me a ladder?"
I searched from house to house and came across a candle shop with its door half open. They were carrying out paper oxen and horses, so I hurried up to the shopkeeper and asked him for a ladder.
When the two constables saw that I had borrowed a ladder, they rushed over and moved it to the location designated by Song Ninghai.
Song Ninghai tucked in the corner of his robe and climbed up again.
He leaned against the wall, looking around for a while. I couldn't help but ask, "Lord Song, what do you see?"
"Indistinct and unclear."
"Then come down first, and we'll think of another way."
"Fine—" Before he could finish speaking, the ladder suddenly tilted to one side, causing Song Ninghai to crash to the ground!
"Lord Song!" I rushed over and, together with the two constables, desperately held down the bottom of the stairs.
A passerby selling swill in a cart came by, and several people stepped forward to hold the ladder, working together to "take" Song Ninghai down from it.
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