Chapter 23: Departure The rising sun dispelled the haze, and the gates of Bianjing...
The rising sun dispelled the haze, and people were coming in and out of the gate of Bianjing City. The city guards were checking them one by one. A few hundred meters out of the city gate, under the willow trees, there were several horses tied next to the octagonal pavilion.
The counties are hundreds of miles away from the capital. Even if you ride a fast horse, it will take at least half a month. If you just take a carriage, the time will probably be even longer. In addition, Nian Yue is a girl, so it would be inconvenient for her to travel with him.
Moreover, this trip to the counties was not for enjoyment, but might be extremely dangerous. Therefore, Xiao Wangshu did not plan to take Nian Yue with him, but only left the little girl in Bian Jing to look after his house.
Since he was leaving, someone had to come to see him off. Nian Yue was reluctant to let him go, so she stood by with red eyes, trying hard to hold back her tears.
"Young Master, please be careful when you go to the counties this time. I will keep your instructions in mind and will not mess it up for you."
Since moving out of the Xiao Mansion, Mo Shu went to the Lou Family and was looked after by Lou Guanshan. A few days ago, Xiao Wangshu invested in him and opened his own small shop. Now he is also the shopkeeper and his temperament has become much more stable.
"That's right, Brother Xiao, don't worry. Take care of yourself outside. I'm here for you in Bianjing."
The next person to speak was Lou Guanshan. He was as warm and thoughtful as ever, and patted his chest to assure Xiao Wangshu.
"Brother Xiao, please go now. I hope you can realize your ambitions. Brother Liu is busy with his wedding these days, so I wish you all the best on your journey."
Beside him was Yao Ce, dressed in blue. Before the Spring Festival exam, Yao Ce stayed at the Lou family hotel. With the help of Xiao Wangshu, he became familiar with Lou Guanshan. Today, he came with Lou Guanshan to see Xiao Wangshu off.
"Thank you very much,"
After bowing lightly to express his gratitude to everyone, Xiao Wangshu turned to the direction where Yao Ce was and continued,
"Brother Yao, please thank Brother Liu for me. I didn't attend his wedding, which is a pity. Nianyue will go to congratulate him on his big day. I hope he will bear with me."
"Brother Xiao, just rest assured. He knows what you mean."
Yao Ce patted Xiao Wangshu's right shoulder and comforted him.
"Thank you so much,"
After bowing again, Yao Ce returned the greeting, and Xiao Wangshu said:
"Just stay here, no need to send me off."
After saying this, he smiled, turned around, mounted his horse, and left Bian Jing, leaving everyone behind to say goodbye and leave one by one.
Back to Xiao Wangshu, he had been riding for half a day when it was already dawn and the sun was even brighter at noon. Xiao Wangshu stopped to reorganize himself before continuing on his way. He left the official road and found a meadow for the horse to graze. He unloaded his bag, found a clean place to sit on the ground, and took out some dry food to eat.
Before he could swallow the dry food in his mouth, dozens of masked men in black holding swords suddenly rushed out from the hillside and surrounded him in the blink of an eye.
These people were so bold as to come here in broad daylight on the official road. They were probably coming for him and were definitely not bandits. He just didn't know who their enemies were.
Without time to think, he raised his hand and threw the uneaten dry food at the face of the man in black closest to him. In an instant, he stood up, drew the soft sword from his waist, and attacked the man in black with the sword.
A gentleman should be proficient in the six arts. Although he is not as good as others in martial arts, he is more than capable of protecting himself, otherwise he would not travel alone.
Swords clashed and silver light exploded. In just a few seconds, he had fought with several people. However, the force and direction of the opponent's swords were very gentle, as if they were only trying to delay him, entangle him and prevent him from escaping.
Suddenly, the sword blade passed by his side. He dodged to the left, and suddenly a handful of powder flew towards him. Xiao Wangshu covered his face with his arms and took several steps back, but he was still one step too slow. The powder was inhaled into his lungs. Xiao Wangshu coughed several times, and in just two or three seconds he felt dizzy, his legs went weak, and he fell straight to the ground.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pear wood carved bedtop with a blue gauze curtain hanging beside the bed. He spent a few seconds thinking and checking his situation. Apart from his bag and soft sword not being at his side, he had no injuries. Looking around, he felt confused.
He was in a perfectly normal house. If it weren't for his previous memories and the unfamiliar layout of the house, he would have thought he was dreaming.
Xiao Wangshu got off the bed and walked straight to the door. The door was closed. He tried to push it but it wouldn't open. He raised his foot to kick it, but heard a hoarse male voice outside the door:
"Mr. Xiao, don't waste your energy. There are guards inside and outside the courtyard. You can't escape."
The moment the voice sounded, Xiao Wangshu's brows furrowed tightly. After a moment of silence, he took the initiative to speak:
"I wonder who's outside the door? What's the point of all this trouble?"
His tone was doubtful and earnest, but Xiao Wangshu's face was cold.
But the other party did not speak again and did not dwell on it anymore. Xiao Wangshu turned to carefully look at the interior layout.
In the middle of the room is a round table made of carved huanghuali wood with six low stools. Against the wall is a table with an incense burner, a fruit plate and a white jade vase on it. On the wall behind the table hangs a landscape painting and a pair of couplets on the left and right.
There is a four-immortal table in front of the table, with a throne chair on each side. The right room and the left room are separated by a pearl curtain. The left room is a study and the right room is a bedroom.
All the furniture and accessories were of high quality, beyond the reach of ordinary people. He didn't seem trapped here, but rather like a distinguished guest invited here by some noble.
Thinking about what the outsider had said before, "Young Master Xiao", and the fact that only relatives and friends knew the route and destination of his trip, the person behind the scenes was almost completely exposed.
But there is no solid evidence, so should he take a gamble?
But since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. He had no weapons at hand, and the person behind the scenes would not show up easily. So he simply decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes. He took a book that interested him from the bookshelf and began to read it with relish.
At night, a maid came to light the lamp and bring food. The meal consisted of eight dishes and a soup, which was very luxurious. The moment the maid entered the room, he saw six or seven sword-wielding guards standing outside. This time they were not masked, but he did not recognize them. The gate of the courtyard was closed, so he did not know what the situation was outside.
"When will your master return?"
Holding a book, Xiao Wangshu smiled gently.
The maid was so frightened that she almost dropped the plate in her hand. After a moment, she seemed to realize what Xiao Wangshu said. Her face turned defeated and she actually knelt on the ground.
Such rules were so terrifying. He had only seen such cautious servants by the side of a prince.
Gritting his teeth and suppressing the surging emotions, Xiao Wangshu tried to slow down his tone and soothe:
"I won't make things difficult for you. Please go out now. Could you pick some flowers for me tomorrow?"
The maid seemed to be relieved, looked at his expression again, bowed again, then stood up and left carefully.
After the maid left, Xiao Wangshu did not eat the food. When someone came to get it, he shouted to the guards outside the door:
"If your master doesn't come tomorrow, you'll only have my corpse to look upon if you don't treat him this way."
After saying that, he turned and went into the bedroom and extinguished the candle.
The guard had received the order, and when he saw him say so and refuse to eat, he had no choice but to go and reply.
"Um."
The man sitting on the high seat was dressed in bright yellow clothes, with a half-smile on his face, and his posture was unrestrained.
A faint sound made the servants below more frightened than each other.
The first to be hit was the guard who came to report. He lowered his head very low, and his voice was trembling a little when he answered.
"Reply, reply to Your Highness, you?"
"How dare you! Do I need to tell you His Highness's whereabouts?"
The man shouted in a shrill voice.
The guard shouted loudly that he dared not and kowtowed several times.
"Quarrel."
The sound was very small, but everyone in the room heard it clearly, so clear that you could hear a pin drop.
After a moment, the shrill voice lowered its voice and apologized:
"It is my fault for causing His Highness to be unhappy. My godfather said that Master Xiao is the kindest person, and Your Highness and Master Xiao are very close. Master Xiao will definitely not be angry with Your Highness."
The man sitting in the high seat was Xie Xuanhui. He just felt that Xiao Weizi was too noisy and there was a rage in his heart that he couldn't relieve.
Now that the person is tied to his side, Xie Xuanhui suddenly doesn't dare to go and see him.
How could he not understand after hearing the guard's few words? Ah Shu must have guessed most of it.
"roll!"
He suddenly raised his voice, with brutality flashing in his eyes. Little Weizi's heart skipped a beat and he knelt down with his head bowed, not daring to say anything. However, the servants in the house had an unprecedented tacit understanding. They knelt on the ground and left the house one by one.
Xiao Weizi didn't dare to retreat, but just knelt on the ground, trying to reduce his presence.
After yelling, Xie Xuanhui felt relieved, but he had just made Wangshu angry, so he couldn't do anything else.
"Didn't we catch an assassin a few days ago? No need to put him to trial, just kill him and have the assassins take him to the Fourth Brother's house and pin the blame on the Sixth Brother."
Since he is not happy, those others can't be happy either.
After Xie Xuanhui finished speaking, Xiao Weizi replied in a low voice, "Yes," and walked out with his head lowered.
The candles in the room were lit all night, and the guards outside the door also stayed up all night.
When the sun was high in the sky, the food that had been delivered was returned unopened. No maids or guards dared to persuade them, but became more cautious, even considering every breath.
Xiao Wangshu also used this method to force the person he wanted to see to come.
The tightly closed door was opened, and a familiar figure stood against the light. Xiao Wangshu's suspicions were confirmed, but he did not feel happy. He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and clenched his fists. In a short moment, several red marks appeared on his hands. He then shouted at the figure:
"Your Highness!"
There were so many emotions mixed in this voice that Xiao Wangshu even forgot to salute. He just stood there stiffly, his eyes fixed on Xie Xuanhui without shifting a bit.
"When will Your Highness let Wangshu leave?"
The only answer he got was endless silence. The door was closed by the guards outside at some point. Without strong light, Xiao Wangshu could clearly see Xie Xuanhui's expression.
Suddenly, as if he had lost all his strength, Xiao Wangshu didn't want to say anything more. He walked towards the door, just wanting to leave.
When he passed by Xie Xuanhui, his wrist was grabbed. He subconsciously wanted to struggle, but suddenly he remembered who had grabbed him, so he let go.
"Who allowed you to leave?"
These words were almost squeezed out from between his teeth, but the strength of his wrist did not increase. He was dragged in front of Xie Xuanhui and met those eyes full of paranoia and possession.
"Your Highness, are you going to force me?"
Facing Xie Xuanhui's gaze, Xiao Wangshu did not avoid it at all.
"When did I force you? It was obviously you..."
Having said this, Xie Xuanhui's momentum softened a bit. His tone was anxious and contained a hint of inexplicable grievance.
But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Xiao Wangshu coldly, his tone mocking:
"Your Highness, can you really say that? You imprisoned me here and sent people to guard me strictly, but you claim that you didn't force me. Isn't that ridiculous?"
These words were really hurtful, and Xiao Wangshu was extremely angry. He hated himself for forgetting that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been good at disguise since he was a child. He also ridiculed himself for believing His Royal Highness's words and believing that His Royal Highness could change. This was a big mistake.
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I will probably update about 15,000 words in the next two days, love you.
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