Chapter 289 Someone Stopped the Car to Complain!
Shen Lanxi's triumphant return to the capital was a great boost to the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. After Emperor Renxiao offered sacrifices at the ancestral temple, he made a special announcement to the world, not to boast about the strength of the Zhenbei Army, but to deter the rebels in Dongchuan.
With this proclamation, Shen Lanxi thought her journey back to the capital would be smooth sailing, but unexpectedly she was stopped and reported.
"Please, Your Excellency, save my sister! I am Yan Qiuling, the son of the garrison commander of Yanyun Pass. I want to accuse Zhang Shi, the deputy commander of Yanyun Pass, of murdering my family and taking my sister as his own. Please, Your Excellency, do justice for me!" Yan Qiuling, who looked like a beggar, knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing. His thin body looked as if his head would break off at any moment because of the force of his kowtowing.
Wei Dongzhu stepped forward to examine the beggar and found that he had no weapons and no poison hidden in his fingernails or teeth, so he did not seem to have practiced martial arts. He then asked for details.
Someone had already reported to Shen Lanxi, and she heard that the family members of the garrison commander of Yanyun Pass had also come forward.
"My father is Yan Yunfei, the garrison commander of Yanyun Pass. Our family has guarded Yanyun Pass for generations. Ever since the Wei family army had an accident and the Northwest army was defeated, many people have started to persuade my father to take up arms and break away from the imperial court. My father is loyal to the emperor and loves his country and is unwilling to join them. He severely reprimanded those who instigated him and even demoted their military ranks." Yan Qiuling was a little excited and spoke very quickly, as if afraid that they would not believe him.
“Those people held a grudge. Three years ago, while my father was away on an inspection tour, they attacked my family. Apart from my sister and me, no one else in my family survived. I survived because my sister took advantage of the chaos to let me switch clothes with a child in the city and hide me among a pile of corpses. They took my sister away. Please, please save my sister!”
Che Mingyuan: "Zhang Shi, the garrison commander of Yanyun Pass, had previously sent a letter of allegiance."
Cheng Zheng returned to the carriage and retrieved a scroll with the words "Yan Yun Pass" written on its cover. He unfolded it, skillfully found a line of text, and pointed it out to Shen Lanxi.
Che Mingyuan wanted to peek to the side, but hesitated. He looked up at Shen Lanxi and heard her say, "You can look!"
Those around them were already curious and quickly gathered around to take a look.
The inscription above records the history of Yanyun Pass over the past ten years. Three years ago, Yan Yunfei was in charge of the army. The inscription states that he was killed by wandering bandits while he was away from home. After that, Yanyun Pass was taken over by the deputy general Zhang Shi.
Although she knew that Shen Lanxi had people around her collecting information for her, managed by students from Qinglan Academy, she was still shocked to see it again.
If this scroll were to fall into the wrong hands, someone with malicious intent would definitely accuse Shen Lanxi of spying on information about court officials and plotting treason.
Because the information is all recent, and most of the people who know about these things are still alive, the records are very detailed.
Shen Lanxi looked away from the scroll and asked, "Are you Yan Qiuling?"
Yan Qiuling had inquired about the fact that the Zhenbei Army was commanded by women, but when he actually saw this woman, he still felt somewhat hesitant and distrustful. He trusted the male generals around her more.
Although he didn't believe that Shen Lanxi was capable of helping him, Yan Qiuling hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.
"Yes, I am Yan Qiuling."
Shen Lanxi: "How old are you?"
Yan Qiuling: "Eight years old."
Shen Lanxi glanced at his thin body; he looked so young that people would believe him if he said he was four or five years old. However, precisely because of this, Shen Lanxi believed him even more.
"You were five years old three years ago, how could you remember it so clearly?"
Yan Qiuling honestly said, "It was an old horseman under my father's command who saved me. He kept me in the army stable. During the day, I hid in the cellar under the stable, and at night he would secretly bring me food. He was the one who kept telling me about my father, and I remembered things from a young age."
Shen Lanxi: "Where is the veteran?"
Yan Qiuling's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "The old soldier died. When he was leading Zhang Shi's horse, his leg was broken by Zhang Shi's horse. No one treated him, and he died of illness. Before he died, he put me in a manure cart and sent me out. Not long after that, he died!"
Shen Lanxi looked at him: "Who sent you to find me?"
Yan Qiuling hesitated for a moment, then said awkwardly, "No one. At first, I just heard from the beggars in the city that the Zhenbei Army had no age limit for recruiting soldiers, and that as long as you could work, you would be given food. I thought, if the Zhenbei Army even feeds children, they must be good people!"
Those who heard this sighed deeply.
Shen Lanxi cut to the heart of the matter: "You didn't join the army, you chose to file a complaint."
Yan Qiuling sensed the weight of the words and trembled. She quickly glanced at Shen Lanxi, swallowed, and whispered, "They said the Zhenbei Army is led by women, so they're...easy to talk to!"
Shen Lanxi raised a mocking smile: "A mere child dares to look down on women and even plot against me?"
Che Mingyuan and the others' expressions changed, and they looked at Yan Qiuling with cold eyes.
Ban Sicao, with her sharp eyes, noticed something was wrong and immediately stepped forward, grabbed Yan Qiuling's wrist, and pulled up his tattered clothes.
Yan Qiuling could no longer hide her panic on her face and forcefully pulled her hand back.
Ban Sicao repeated the previous action, then looked at his other arm and other parts of his body.
"How could a child who has spent a long time among beggars and refugees be clean and tidy? Kid, you're lying to your grandpas." Ban Sicao kicked Yan Qiuling two meters away in annoyance.
When Ban Sicao was inspecting Yan Qiuling, the others naturally saw it too, and their anger only grew stronger.
If the general hadn't discovered it in time, they would have been fooled by a child.
This kid is too cunning and treacherous.
Xiao Fang gritted his teeth and said angrily, "His skin is so fair, yet he's so thin. He must have deliberately starved himself to gain our sympathy!"
Yan Qiuling was nearly kicked to pieces by Ban Sicao's merciless kick. Even though he wasn't killed, he spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled for a long time without being able to get up. When he opened his mouth to speak, he was choked by the blood in his mouth and coughed repeatedly.
"General, I'm sorry..."
"I didn't mean to..."
Yan Qiuling was truly terrified this time; he felt as if that kick had almost killed him.
He can't die, or no one will avenge his family!
Wei Dongzhu looked at the child who was struggling and kept explaining and apologizing, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke.
Because the Yan family and his Wei family were somewhat similar, the child's plight reminded him of his own.
"Any further concealment will be treated as a foreign spy!"
Yan Qiuling fell silent, and just when Wei Dongzhu thought he had fainted, he spoke again.
"After I tell you, can you really help me?"
Ban Sicao gave an exaggerated "heh," and walked over, still annoyed: "You're trying to negotiate with us now?"
Xiao Fang was also a little angry; this brat was no good.
Shen Lanxi was not one to be threatened: "If you don't want to talk, then forget it. Just leave him aside and don't block our way!"
Xiao Fang deliberately spoke loudly: "Yes!"
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