Sheng Huairen, who heard the news in the capital, rode out of the city with Lord Yu on horseback. As expected of the world-famous scholar, Sheng Huairen had a refined and elegant appearance, yet he could ride fast on horseback without any effort.
Xu Wen rode to the foot of the mountain and saw that there was only one small path leading up. Since the horse couldn't go any further, he dismounted and walked up the path. As he walked, he instructed the captain of the guards, "Proceed from a distance and hide. If you see any trace of the two children, immediately come out to rescue them. Leave half of your men to block all other intersections. Don't let anyone pass."
Soon, Xu Wen was the only one left on the path. The others followed quietly, following along the trees and bushes. Halfway up the mountain, Xu Wen saw a brightly colored cloth lying on a large rock. She used a stick to pluck it down. On it was written: "One person, walking west."
With a stick, Xu Wen moved the cloth strip to a branch by the roadside and headed westwards towards the small path that branched off. After about a mile, Xu Wen saw a small cave in the distance. In front of the cave stood a man with his head wrapped so tightly that only his eyes were visible.
"You're finally here." Seeing that Xu Wen was alone, Concubine Chun peeled back the cloth covering her head, revealing a pristine face. It seemed the scars on her face were fake. Concubine Chun's voice was broken, so she could only write on the ground with a stick.
Xu Wen glanced at the cave and asked, "Where are the two children?"
Ahhh, Aunt Chun, with her creepy laugh, laughed enough and wrote on the ground: "Child, your child is still a child, but my child is not a child? Why are you so cruel?"
Seeing Xu Wen's calm face, Aunt Chun continued writing: "If you want children, fine, kneel down and kowtow to me. When you have kowtowed enough, I will release them."
Concubine Chun probably didn't know the origins of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion, let alone that a daughter of a marquis could be so skilled in martial arts. Xu Wen didn't waste any time talking to her. She stepped forward and slapped Concubine Chun's face away, then quickly tied her hands behind her back.
While tying Aunt Chun's wrists with a strip of cloth, he asked, "Tell me, is the child in the cave?"
Aunt Chun was struggling, shaking her head and moving her feet, screaming and pointing at the cave.
The captain of the guards rushed over from the nearby woods. Xu Wen threw Concubine Chun to the captain and then ordered the following guards, "Go into the cave and check." Turning to look at Concubine Chun who was pinned to the ground, he said, "Guard Lin, use your skills to make her confess clearly, and quickly."
The guard captain received the order and took Concubine Chun aside for interrogation. Concubine Chun had been stripped of her title when she was sold. The guards had no scruples and started beating her without hesitation. At first, Concubine Chun was stubborn, but after being tortured three times, she could no longer hold back and pointed at her mouth, then wrote with a stick: "I say, I say."
Seeing that the captain of guards let her go, Aunt Chun started to play tricks again and wrote on the ground: "Let the madam come over, I will only talk to the madam." The captain of guards didn't buy her at all, picked up the whip in his hand and prepared to torture her again.
Having already been whipped several times, Concubine Chun quickly wrote, "The two young masters are locked up in Zhao Si's woodshed." Seeing the guard captain's expression of obvious disbelief, Concubine Chun wrote with her stick: "Zhao Si never enters the woodshed. If I don't go there to get firewood for the fire, no one will enter that room for months."
The captain of the guards, who had retracted his whip, walked over to Xu Wen and replied, "Madam, she has confessed. The two young masters are in Zhao Si's woodshed."
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