clue
Aunt Hui was a cook who cooked for the caravan. She was a cook that the Su family had specially found in Wu County. She was of medium build and always had a smile on her face.
Inside the tents that the caravan had set up themselves, it was no longer cold and deserted. Instead, a large iron pot was set up, filled with a soup of fresh vegetables and minced meat, along with hot dry biscuits.
Mei Sheng sat on the broken tree trunk, covered with a thin layer of cloth, which was a little cool, but she was only focused on the soup in the pot: "Aunt Hui, how come all the dishes you make are so delicious?"
The soup in the pot was bubbling and bubbling, and the aroma was wonderful.
"Oh, young man, you flatter me so much." Despite her words, Aunt Hui's smile deepened.
"I don't know where you found these spices. With these spices, the soup is even more delicious. Look, the aroma is so strong!"
Mei Sheng reached out to poke the firewood and laughed, "I met a foreign merchant yesterday. I was lucky enough to buy some. But it's my aunt who knows her stuff. Otherwise, I would have left it there for a year without using it."
Aunt Hui straightened up and exclaimed, "I never thought you, a boy who isn't good-looking, could talk so well."
After saying that, she leaned closer, startling Mei Sheng into taking a step back: "Auntie?"
Aunt Hui said nonchalantly, "Have you gotten married yet? I have a niece who is a good match for you in looks, but she's reached the right age and still hasn't gotten married. She's a beautiful young lady."
Upon seeing this, Mei Sheng felt ashamed and quickly waved her hand, refusing the pressure to get married.
Aunt Kehui seemed to have come up with a plan, insisting that Meisheng meet her before discussing whether or not to marry her.
"This won't do!" Mei Sheng grabbed the hem of Hui's hand and quickly said, "Auntie, my family has arranged a marriage for me. I can't let them down."
"Never mind then," Aunt Hui waved her hand dismissively, then sat down.
At that moment, a guard dressed in gray lifted the tent flap and entered, saying sternly, "We'll take this soup."
After saying that, he tossed a small bag of silver to Aunt Hui, picked up the mutton soup, and left.
Next to the large pot of soup, a small pot was simmering mutton soup. Aunt Hui had begged Mei Sheng to buy it after she came to town, and it was specially made for Su Ningwan.
Aunt Hui was a straightforward person. She wanted to stop them, but Mei Sheng pulled her to a halt.
Watching the man's figure disappear behind the tent, he could only mutter curses, "Who is this person? Trying to force me to buy something? Young man, why are you pulling me like this?"
Mei Sheng advised, "Auntie, we are weak, so we shouldn't argue with the strong."
The words may be rough, but the principle is sound. Aunt Hui, having calmed down, didn't say anything more. She simply weighed the bag of silver in her hand, muttered something silently, and then reluctantly put it away.
Mei Sheng patted her on the back and said, "Auntie, it's worth it. I'll buy you more next time."
"You're so sensible. Next time, whatever you want to eat, Auntie will make it for you."
"good."
Inside the carriage in the center of the caravan, a maid hurriedly placed mutton soup on a small table. Besides food, there were also some delicate pastries on the table. It was quite thoughtful of the town to be able to buy such pastries.
Lu Lan picked up her chopsticks and said firmly, "Lamb soup is nourishing, you should drink more."
The mutton soup was served in a regular large porcelain bowl and placed on this small table, standing out surprisingly among the many beautiful dishes.
Bai Qi replied, "Okay, you drink too." She picked up a spoon, ladled a small bowl of water for Lu Lan while it was still warm, and handed it to him.
The maid who hadn't yet left hesitated and said, "My lord, your old injury..."
"You can go out now."
There were only two people inside the carriage. Lu Lan picked up the bowl, somewhat surprised: "Do you still remember the day we first met? You also served me a bowl of mutton soup."
It was a winter day like that when he was ambushed by an old enemy and seriously injured, he was reduced to a useless piece of trash in Yanjing that anyone could kick.
It was she who ordered him a bowl of mutton soup. Now that he thinks about it, he can't remember the taste of the mutton soup anymore, because he drank it very quickly and hurriedly. He only knows that the soup was very hot and burned his throat.
But the more it hurt, the less he wanted to let go.
Bai Qi looked at Lu Lan, frowned, and replied in confusion, "When?"
Lu Lan paused for a moment, then chuckled, "I only saw her occasionally when I was young." It's better that she doesn't remember; talking about these sordid things would probably offend her ears.
Bai Qi gave an "oh," picked up her chopsticks, and ate slowly, no longer looking as listless as she had a few days ago.
"Did you go see that kid today?" Lu Lan asked directly. He saw Bai Qi pick up a dish she didn't like, and just as he was about to put her chopsticks down, he saw Bai Qi stuff the whole thing into her mouth and eat it.
"You're not refusing to eat..."
Bai Qi, who was eating in silence, said, "With my grandmother gone, I need to recover so I can properly overturn the verdict for them."
Lu Lan paused, drawn into the topic by her: "Didn't I say that this case is complicated? You will find out everything if you come back to Yanjing with me?"
Bai Qi raised her head in response and looked earnestly at Lu Lan: "I'll trust you this once, don't let me down."
Ever since Lu Lan took her away from the Pei residence, she has held knives and swords to his neck, threatening him, cursing him, and even going crazy, but to no avail. This man would only say that there was a misunderstanding.
Bai Qi would not trust him so easily. After showing a secret letter to Governor Pei that day, he kindly reminded her: Lu Lan is always cunning, Miss Bai must learn to discern.
He also returned the evidence to Bai Qi. This evidence was useless to someone like Lu Lan, who was in a high position. It was just a letter. As long as Lu Lan said it was fake, then it was fake.
At that moment, Bai Qi remembered that the girl Mei had once told her that she could help her.
But she didn't believe him. And she even ruined her wedding day. If she ever sees Miss Mei again, she must apologize to her, and she will do her best to give her whatever she wants.
Because of that Miss Mei, and the world's praise and criticism of the two of them, Governor Pei acted with the people's interests in mind, while Commander Lu only knew how to eliminate dissidents and was a ruthless person who killed without blinking an eye.
The reason Lu Lan treats her so well right now is simply because he can't have her. As the saying goes, what you can't have is what you cherish, and what you have is worthless.
As Governor Pei said, even if Lu Lan was not the one who did it, he certainly played a part in pushing things along.
At Governor Pei's residence
The room was extremely cold. Pei Jue was still sitting at his desk handling affairs, his face seemingly calm, but in reality, the desk was piled high with unanswered letters.
Han Zhou stepped into the house through the cold wind, knelt down immediately, and remained silent.
Pei Jue glanced at it only once before coldly asking, "Found it?"
His words were full of confidence. He had completely taken control of Wu County. Now, by using his private army, he could find even a tree or a flower if it was hidden, even if he dug three feet into the ground.
Han Zhou was stunned, and replied with a forced smile, "Never."
As soon as he said that, the room became so cold that it could make your teeth fall out.
"A bunch of useless trash, what use are you to me!"
An angry voice came from above, and Han Zhou could only apologize, saying, "This time, we secretly mobilized the army to search, and only a few unidentified corpses were still being identified. These corpses have been there for some time and are unrecognizable. However, another person we found at the inn outside the city a few days ago has woken up and pointed out that his younger brother is still alive."
"Furthermore, upon investigation, this person was found to be mixed in with the merchant caravan that Commander Lu was traveling to Yanjing. He has already left Wu County and is probably already across the Yangtze River, heading straight for Yanjing."
"Presumably, once we find this person, we will be able to find Miss Mei's whereabouts."
Pei Jue took a breath, his expression turning icy as he said, "Order this person to be taken away and brought back for me to interrogate personally!"
"Also, do this privately, and don't let Lu Lan know."
"Yes, sir." Han Zhou accepted the order, thinking to himself: Last time, the master deliberately let Commander Lu go, allowing him to return to Yanjing safely, simply because he had found a way to deal with him. Now, if Commander Lu knows about this person, wouldn't he be able to use him to confront the master?
He must send a message quickly.
While everyone else was fast asleep, Mei Sheng opened her eyes, her gaze unusually clear.
During the day, despite the bumpy journey, Mei Sheng would sleep as much as she could, except when dealing with the aunties who came to chat with her.
At this moment, Mei Sheng was especially grateful to Pei Jue's aunt for the medicine she had obtained from her.
The drug used to induce sleep is strictly controlled in pharmacies in towns; without an official letter, Mei Sheng cannot buy any.
After emerging from the tent, Mei Sheng accurately found a direction in the darkness and then resolutely went there.
Before leaving, she did one thing.
The amount of medicine was just right, enough for them to get a good night's sleep. As long as the noise wasn't too loud, they wouldn't wake up so quickly.
Once they were out of the woods and some distance from the carriage, Mei Sheng ran with all her might. The heat rushed from her feet to the top of her head, but she didn't care about anything else and just ran wildly towards the place where she had negotiated with the horse merchant in town the day before.
She could only hope the horse seller kept his word. After all, she had already paid.
Inside the caravan, Bai Qi hissed, waking from her deep sleep. Her body was calm, unlike usual, but her heart was pounding like a drum: "Is anyone there?"
She called softly, but the maidservant who was taking care of her was asleep and did not move.
Suddenly, she remembered the tea oil, the one she had given to Miss Mei, which she had almost cried when she received it.
And snippets of private advice: take good care of yourself, and don't forget to wear warm clothes tomorrow night.
Bai Qi had no idea whether the young man's actions were Mei's secret help to her; she only knew that at this moment, she could escape.
Having just eased tensions with Lu Lan, I can use him to find out the truth about my maternal grandmother's family.
Now, Bai Qi is faced with two paths: to leave or to stay?
She pondered for a moment, then decided not to take anything. She simply got off the carriage and ran around in a secluded spot with plenty of woods.
The cold wind was biting like a knife. Her body was weak, and she could only run a few steps before she was panting heavily. Looking at her aching legs, her bright eyes finally dimmed.
A wave of itchiness washed over her, and she coughed a few times.
Whether it was fate or human intervention, Bai Qi couldn't say for sure. She could only wait for a while before screaming, "Help! There are bandits!"
This was the last thing she could do for her young master. Thinking of him, Bai Qi unconsciously recalled his eyes—a familiar feeling.
Have we seen them anywhere before?
As the caravan lights came on, Bai Qi threw herself down, crying out in pain.
"Bai Qi!"
"I'm here."
Inside the caravan, torches illuminated Lu Lan's sharp jawline, making him appear unusually calm: "You said bandits came and took that dark-faced boy away?"
"I saw it with my own eyes. Those people looked well-trained and didn't seem like ordinary people." Bai Qi clutched the blanket, her eyes red-rimmed, making up a story.
Just then, someone stepped forward and whispered in Lu Lan's ear, causing Lu Lan's expression to change: "He sent people?"
Upon receiving his subordinates' nods, Lu Lan roared, "What are you all good for? He sent people here and we didn't even react! Get down and receive your punishment!"
He looked up at the sky, frowned, and gave the order: "The caravan shall depart immediately."
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