Chapter 50.50 She ran away.
Gu Zhan turned the jade thumb ring on his thumb and instructed Yang Qing, "Go to the city gate first."
The temple fair was crowded with people, and the streets and alleys were blocked by stalls. It was difficult to find the way to the city gate. Yang Qing had to ask the vendors for directions almost the entire way before he finally arrived at the city gate after half an hour.
If it weren't for the temple fair, Gu Zhan would probably have already ordered Qian Zhen to impose martial law on the entire city, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, interrogating the officers and soldiers checking at each city gate, and sending people out of the city to pursue them.
It is now mid-September, and the autumn imperial examinations in Runzhou have already concluded. The results were posted before the temple fair, and it is the time when successful candidates are preparing to travel north to Bianjing to prepare for the spring imperial examinations next year. If he were to reveal his identity or openly recruit people in Runzhou at this time, it is hard to guarantee that some candidates who are going north to Bianjing will not become Li Xiang's disciples next year, using his actions as a pledge of loyalty to Li Xiang. The Wei Prince's faction will immediately seize this opportunity to make the emperor think that he has become arrogant in recent years, allowing the Wei Prince to gain an advantage for nothing.
As Gu Zhan weaved through the crowd, thinking about all this, he realized he had underestimated Shen Mi, actually believing she would give in and obediently follow him back to Bianjing.
How could she possibly be a simple and obedient ordinary young lady? She came from a military family, and a fire four years ago deceived everyone. She fled south to hide in Runzhou. If he hadn't come south to quell the rebellion and happened to pass through Yangzhou, he might have been deceived by her for the rest of his life!
How could an ordinary young woman repeatedly betray her husband like this?
Yang Qing knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was truly angered by Lady Shen this time, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, but he dared not say a word.
Before long, they finally arrived at the city gate, where Qian Zhen, the prefect of Runzhou, was already waiting.
Upon seeing Gu Zhan, Qian Zhen bowed and greeted him, "Your subject greets you..."
Gu Zhan glanced at him, and before he could finish speaking, asked directly, "Where is he?"
Qian Zhen said, "I have already relayed your message to the other city gates. If Lady Shen has not yet left the city, all women of the Shen family who are wearing green clothes should be interrogated and detained." He then called over a soldier behind him, "This is the one who was interrogated at the city gate just now."
Gu Zhan didn't have much patience to waste here and asked directly, "Have you seen the woman Qian Zhen mentioned?"
The officer answered tremblingly, "I have seen a woman named Shen before, but it was dark and I couldn't make out what color her clothes were. I remember she was wearing a veiled hat, and her travel permit said her destination was Xuzhou, her hometown was Yangzhou, and her reason was to go to Xuzhou to find relatives."
"Do you remember what she looks like?" Qian Zhen asked, seeing Gu Zhan's gloomy expression. He quickly tried to come up with a solution for him.
The officer lowered his head and said, "I am not good at drawing, but I remember that the woman was very beautiful."
Gu Zhan was somewhat certain of his suspicions and instructed Qian Zhen, "Bring me paper and pen."
Qian Zhen immediately ordered someone to take care of it.
Shen, wearing a veil, and being good-looking—if it were only these points, Gu Zhan could still consider it a coincidence. But why was her place of origin Yangzhou?
There are temple fairs in Yangzhou these two days, so why did you come to Runzhou to visit the temple fair and then leave Runzhou to go to Xuzhou to look for relatives?
A moment later, Qian Zhen's men must have found paper and pen from a nearby bookstore and presented them with both hands.
Gu Zhan didn't care about the location. He took the paper, laid it flat on the city wall, and picked up a pen to sketch Shen Mi's portrait on it.
He had drawn this face countless times over the past four years, but he could never capture its essence. However, drawing precise facial features was a piece of cake for him. Soon, the woman's eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, and long neck appeared on the rice paper. After finishing these, Gu Zhan even added a veil to the woman's hair with great interest.
Even before Gu Zhan had finished painting half of it, the soldiers had already recognized that the person this nobleman, whom even their Prefect Qian treated with utmost respect, was looking for was the woman they had just let go.
The woman was so beautiful that he couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, and the memory is still vivid.
After Gu Zhan finished painting, he casually tossed the brush aside, tapped the Xuan paper with his fingertip, and asked the soldiers, "Do you recognize her? Is she the Shen woman you let go?"
The soldiers' legs went weak, and their lips trembled as they said, "It's her, she looks exactly the same."
Qian Zhen couldn't help but feel relieved. He quickly dismissed the soldiers who had just spoken and recognized him, and told them to continue their investigation at the city gate. He then stepped forward and asked Gu Zhan, "Does Your Highness intend to lead people along the official road all the way north to Xuzhou?"
Having confirmed that the person who had just left was indeed Shen Mi, Gu Zhan was not in a hurry. He slowly folded Shen Mi's portrait, put it in his pocket, and said, "No need. Keep an eye on the city. Also, send a few people familiar with the area around Runzhou to lead the way. Also, check the courtyard where I used to live. In addition, if there are any women from Yangzhou whose destination is Xuzhou or Yingtian, detain them all."
Shen Mi dragged him out to accompany her to the temple fair, wasn't that just a diversionary tactic to give Cuiwei the opportunity to leave first?
How could he not see through this little scheme?
Qian Zhen agreed and assigned the task to his personal attendant.
Their actions just now were all within the barbican, and not many people noticed them.
Gu Zhan looked at Yang Qing: "Take a few men to the canal outside Yangzhou and prepare the boats for returning to the capital." Then he looked at the guards behind Yang Qing: "You few, come with me to capture the people."
Everyone performed their duties and quickly found their place.
Gu Zhan rejected Qian Zhen's words because he roughly guessed that Shen Mi would not take the official road. Although the official road was safe and open, it was not the best choice for a "fleeing person" like her.
However, just to be on the safe side, he still ordered people to check along the official road heading north to inquire whether there were women buying, selling, or renting vehicles such as carriages, horses, and mules, as well as small boats around Runzhou that usually carried people across the river to Yangzhou on the other side. Although it was unlikely that Shen Mi would go directly to Yangzhou to avoid implicating Su Xingjian, Yangzhou had the Grand Canal, which connected the north and south of the Great Qi. If she managed to sneak onto a merchant ship, it would be difficult to deal with. It would be better to cut off the possibility of her doing so at the source.
As for traveling by land, she was on foot. It was already dark, and in less than half an hour, where could a woman like her have gone? If I was really sure it was her, I could catch up with her on horseback in a short while.
Gu Zhan gave one instruction: "Just bring her back, but don't hurt her in the slightest. If she threatens to kill herself, just knock her out and carry her back."
The group agreed, and once they left the city, they split up to give chase.
*
After leaving the city, Shen Mi dared not linger in the surrounding area for even a moment. She remembered that at this time of year, there would be caravans heading south or north outside the city. She could simply pay some money to hire a mule or horse and head north along the path. But this year was different; there were no such caravans outside the city.
She made a quick decision to first find a small ferry crossing, take a boat to the canal within Yangzhou, travel by water to Yingtian, and then switch to land travel.
However, fate is unpredictable. She finally found a small ferry crossing, negotiated a price with the boatman, and asked him to take her to Yangzhou on the other side. But then a light rain began to fall.
The boatman glanced at the sky; the entire sky above was covered by dark clouds, obscuring the moon, and the faint rumble of thunder could be heard from the horizon. He turned to Shen Mi and said, "Young lady, judging from the sky, we won't be able to leave tonight."
Shen Mi was anxious. "Runzhou is not far from Yangzhou on the other side of the river. If it really doesn't work out, I'll double the price! I have urgent business in Yangzhou."
She had slipped away from Gu Zhan half an hour ago, and Gu Zhan must have already noticed. If they couldn't travel by water at this point, and had to switch to land, they would definitely be blocked. Only a rural stream like this might not be detected immediately.
The boatman looked troubled and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I don't want to make money, but it looks like a downpour is about to start. Once it rains heavily, strong winds will rise on the river, and even large boats traveling on the canal will have to slow down. Let alone small fishing boats like ours, if we really try to go, the boat will capsize on the river. I have family members at home, so I can't take that risk. If you really have an emergency, young lady, please find someone else."
Shen Mi glanced around. There was only one boatman by this stream. Where was she supposed to find someone else?
The boatman sighed, "To tell you the truth, those of us in this line of work rely on the whims of the heavens for our livelihood. Our lives come first. Even if there were others here, no matter how much money you offered, they probably wouldn't dare risk taking you across the river in this thunderstorm."
Shen Mi immediately became anxious and uneasy.
The rain gradually fell, landing on the veil on Shen Mi's head.
The boatman, seeing that she hadn't brought an umbrella, looked worried and said, "Young lady, the rain looks like it's going to get heavier. It's not safe for you to be out here alone in the middle of nowhere. Walk along this path for about fifteen minutes, and there's an inn. Find a place to take shelter from the rain."
Shen Mi admitted that the boatman meant well. After all, on such a rainy night, it was impossible to travel by water. They could either brave the rain and take the official road by land, or find a place to take shelter for the night and cross the river the next morning when the rain stopped.
But neither traveling by land in the rain nor finding an inn to stay in was the best option for her. The land route was probably already under the control of Gu Zhan's people, and staying in an inn would inevitably lead to being investigated. With the rainy night, she was practically at her wit's end.
Just as the boatman was about to tie his boat to the shore and leave, Shen Mi stopped him and made an excuse, "I've lost my household registration documents, so I'm afraid I won't be able to stay at an inn. The reason I'm going to Yangzhou is to get these documents replaced by the government. I wonder if you could let me stay at your house for the night, and take me across the river tomorrow morning when the rain stops?" Fearing he might refuse, Shen Mi added, "I will pay you the same price as staying at an inn."
Seeing that Shen Mi was indeed alone, the boatman hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "But I don't have any spare rooms at home. If you come to my house, you'll probably have to make do in the kitchen for the night."
Shen Mi didn't care about these things. Given her current situation, having a place to stay was better than having none, so she nodded in agreement.
The boatman saw that although she had fair skin and delicate flesh, she did not seem to mind such things. He was initially suspicious, but could not think of anything suspicious, so he took her home.
Fortunately, the boatman's house wasn't far from the ferry crossing, and it wasn't long before we arrived.
The person who opened the door was probably the boatman's wife, who looked to be in her forties or fifties. She had a kind face and asked the boatman about Shen Mi's background. The boatman then told his wife everything that had just happened.
The woman looked at her with pity, took Shen Mi's cold hands, and said, "Come in quickly, good child, you're all wet. I'll go find a clean towel and wipe yourself down first, so you don't catch a cold."
Shen Mi thanked the woman and took off her veil after entering the house.
The woman quickly handed over a clean towel and a bowl of ginger soup, saying, "After you dry yourself off, drink some ginger soup to warm yourself up and ward off the cold."
Shen Mi was deeply moved and for a moment felt that she was lucky to have met a boatman who was willing to lend her a helping hand. The boatman's wife was also exceptionally understanding.
The ginger soup burned her throat a little as it slid down her throat, but Shen Mi knew that she was in poor health and absolutely could not catch a cold at this time. After calming down, she drank it all in one gulp.
The woman took the empty bowl from her hand and asked her what she thought. "Young lady, if you don't mind, then don't make do in the kitchen. Come and share a room with me. Let your husband sleep with my son. It's only for one night."
Shen Mi was used to sleeping alone. Although Gu Zhan had been holding her in his arms all this time, sleeping with this strange woman in front of her was different from sleeping with Gu Zhan. So she hesitated for a moment.
Just then, the boatman's son came out upon hearing the noise.
He was a young man, who looked to be about the same age as Shen Mi, but he had lost a leg and was now using crutches.
The man asked the boatman, "Father, what is this?"
"Guests who are staying at our house tonight, why are you out here? You have trouble walking and should be sitting in your room," the boatman replied.
Out of politeness, Shen Mi turned around to greet the man, but the moment she looked up and their eyes met, the man's face turned pale instantly.
Confused, she asked, "What's wrong?"
The man, leaning against the wall with a cane, asked her, "You, are you surnamed Chen?"
Shen Mi frowned slightly as she looked at the man, unable to recall where she had seen him before.
Back when she was in the Eastern Palace, she was confined there for almost two years. Even when she left the Eastern Palace, she would go to banquets hosted by noblewomen in the capital or to temples to buy eternal lamps for her parents and brothers. Later, although she came to Runzhou and met more people, they were still just students from the Yangzhou Prefectural School and her neighbors in Huaxi Lane. She thought she had a photographic memory, but the man in front of her was a complete stranger.
Seeing that she didn't deny it, the man panicked even more. He leaned on his cane and came closer, his words slurred, "You, you let me go, I didn't, I didn't, Shen Cong died in battle, his death has nothing to do with me, with us, please let me go..."
After saying that, the man threw away his cane, knelt down in front of Shen Mi, and even hugged her legs.
Shen Mi was startled; she hadn't heard the name "Shen Cong" in a long time.
Shen Cong was the name of her deceased elder brother.
But it was common knowledge that her father and brother had been besieged and killed by the Tanguts in battle, so she really didn't know what the man in front of her was talking nonsense about.
When the woman saw her son kneeling before Shen Mi, his face showed shock, fear, and even some guilt. She was puzzled. According to her husband, the young woman in front of her was just an ordinary woman who had lost her household registration documents and was going to cross the river to Yangzhou to reissue them. How could she be involved with that young General Shen?
But men and women are different. Regardless of whether the young woman in front of her was married or not, her son's behavior was impolite, so she quickly went to pull him up.
The boatman saw Shen Mi freeze on the spot, thinking she was frightened, and quickly explained to her, "Please forgive me, young lady. My son retired from the northern battlefield a few years ago. About ten years ago, he lost a leg while fighting against the Dangxiang and could no longer fight, so he came home. After that war, for some reason, he would often talk nonsense at first. We called a doctor, who said that he might have suffered from hysteria due to the shock on the battlefield and needed to be well cared for. Although he has improved over the years, he still relapses from time to time. It may have just happened to be this time. Please don't be offended, young lady."
The more the woman pulled her son away from Shen Mi's legs, the more the man held on, looking up at Shen Mi and saying, "Are you related to General Shen Cong? I heard he has a sister, is that you? Please forgive me, I had no choice back then..."
Shen Mi was startled.
She pieced together the man's words and thought about them one after another. At one point he said that his brother's death in battle had nothing to do with him, and at another point he said that he had no choice. What was he trying to say?
Could it be that the deaths of my father and brother were not accidents?
The moment this thought appeared in Shen Mi's mind, Shen Mi herself was startled.
Meanwhile, led by the guide sent by Qian Zhen, Gu Zhan explored the rural trails outside Runzhou City.
The soldier slowed his horse, looked ahead, and turned to Gu Zhan, saying, "The village is just ahead. Would you like to search each house one by one?"
Gu Zhan did not want to do this; conducting a large-scale search of the village went against his desire not to alarm too many people.
Just then, a subordinate of the Crown Prince rode quickly towards them in the rain. Upon seeing Gu Zhan, he reined in his horse and said, "Reporting to my lord, we did not find any fishing boats by the river, but I found this jade hairpin, which appears to be of considerable value."
Gu Zhan took it casually. Sure enough, it was the hairpin he had personally put on Shen Mi before leaving home earlier that day. He wouldn't mistake it.
He smiled slightly and looked towards the village not far away.
There was her jade hairpin by the river. It was raining, and Shen Mi couldn't cross the river. This was Jiangnan, unlike Bianjing where there were mountains and caves to hide in. The only place she could stay was this village. He had already sent people to check the inns along the way under the pretext of capturing fugitives, but he hadn't found any information about Shen Mi staying there. So she had no choice but to stay here.
Gu Zhan sneered, "If there are fugitives on the run, we will search every house and not let a single family escape."
After saying that, he spurred his horse and headed towards the village.
His subordinates hurriedly followed behind.
*
Shen Mi frowned and asked the man who was clinging to her leg, "Explain yourself clearly. What exactly is your relationship with General Shen?"
The man couldn't utter a single useful word, but he clung tightly to Shen Mi's leg, pleading, "Please let me go. It's been ten years. Go tell General Shen that I truly know I was wrong, and tell him to stop coming to me in my dreams..."
The woman, unaware of Shen Mi's true identity, gestured to her husband to pull their son off Shen Mi's legs, and then explained to Shen Mi, "He has hysteria. He has said things like this many times over the years. Don't take it to heart."
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside, very orderly, clearly indicating that they had been rigorously trained, and there was also the sound of knocking on the door.
Shen Mi felt even more panicked. Without even thinking, she knew that Shi Guzhan had caught up.
She looked down at the man who was holding her leg. Between questioning a hysterical madman and avoiding Gu Zhan's investigation, she resolutely chose the latter. So she stopped letting the man hold her leg and struggled to break free.
She wasn't the only one who heard the sound of horses' hooves; the woman and the boatman also heard it.
The woman looked surprised, glanced at the boatman, went to open the door to look out, and returned a moment later, saying, "A lot of soldiers have come outside, saying they are tracking down fugitives, and they are almost at our house."
As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Mi intentionally or unintentionally. She had suspected the young woman in front of her, but seeing that her clothes were clean, only her hair was a little messy because it had been rained on, and she had no injuries, she could not tell at all that she was an escaped convict from the prison.
The boatman then pulled his son away from Shen Mi and looked at her apologetically, saying, "I apologize for offending you, young lady."
With her own life in grave danger, Shen Mi had no time to argue with the boatman about such things.
She glanced at the family in front of her. If Gu Zhan were to find her here, given his temperament, she feared that this kind family who had taken her in would suffer.
Shen Mi made a quick decision and was about to leave.
At that moment, the boatman's door was being pounded on loudly.
"The authorities are pursuing a fugitive! Open the door now!"
Shen Mi looked at the boatman and asked, "To be honest, the people outside are after me. Is there a back door at home? I need to leave first!"
The woman stared wide-eyed at Shen Mi in disbelief. "Then aren't we harboring a criminal? But where in the house is there a back door for her to leave?"
When Shen Mi heard the woman say there was no back door, she was at a loss.
How will she escape?
The boatman, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked her, "Young lady, tell me the truth, are you really a fugitive?"
Shen Mi swallowed and said, "It's not important."
"Open the door now, or I'll kick it down!"
The voices of soldiers could be heard outside again.
Shen Mi looked at the open window and was about to walk in that direction. If that didn't work, she would jump out of the window first. After all, she was small, and it was nighttime. If she hid in the bushes and didn't make a sound, she wouldn't be discovered.
The boatman pulled Shen Mi from behind, as if he had finally made up his mind, and said to his wife, "Go open the door."
The woman pursed her lips and listened to the boatman's words.
After the woman left, the boatman pulled Shen Mi towards a bedroom. "General Shen died for his country. His sister wouldn't be a fugitive, would she? And those people outside are your enemies, aren't they?"
Shen Mi did not answer.
She didn't know how to explain her relationship with Gu Zhan to the boatman.
The boatman pointed to the bed, "Lie down, and I'll cover you up. My son said when he was briefly lucid that General Shen saved his life."
Shen Mi did not refuse and did as the boatman said.
Gu Zhan stood outside the door and saw that the person who opened the door in the rain was a woman, but he ignored her.
His attendant said coldly, "You must cooperate with the government's search for fugitives."
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, falling as if it were trying to kill itself.
The woman noticed that all the people in front of her were wearing the same clothes, except for the man at the very front.
He was soaked to the bone by the rain, looking like a demon who had just emerged from hell.
The woman pursed her lips and moved aside.
The courtyard wasn't paved with bricks; it was a dirt path, and footprints would be visible when it rained.
Gu Zhan stared at the footprints in the mud. They were clearly the footprints of a woman who had walked in. He shifted his gaze to the path the woman had come from, and it was clear that the woman's footprints were deeper and wider.
A low chuckle escaped his throat as he slowly walked inside.
Upon entering, Gu Zhan quickly scanned the room and then spotted a veiled hat on a cabinet in the corner.
He felt even more certain, but showed no sign of it on his face. He parted the curtain and walked into the inner room.
A thin woman lay on the bed, her back to him.
Gu Zhan pointed and asked the boatman, "Who is that?"
The boatman bowed his head and replied, "That is my daughter-in-law. She has tuberculosis and has just taken her medicine and is lying down. Sir, you should not get close to her, lest you catch her illness."
Gu Zhan asked, "What's your name?"
"Wu Cuiniang," the boatman casually made up a name.
How old are you?
"Twenty-one."
Where are you from?
“From our village.”
Gu Zhan gave a soft "oh" and walked over there.
With her back to the outside, Shen Mi heard Gu Zhan's footsteps and panicked even more, but she couldn't make a sound lest Gu Zhan notice.
One step, two steps.
Then the footsteps stopped not far from her.
Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow: "Consumption?"
He stopped approaching and stared at the woman's back on the bed.
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