Chapter 266 Bandits 1
The sun is shining, the years are peaceful, Su Ruojin dozed off on the edge of the fence, a breeze blew, willows swayed and danced in the wind, floating in the warm sky of May. The mountains are rolling, layer upon layer, lush and green, full of vitality.
Suddenly, a loud shout came from a distance -
"Second Madam... Second Madam..."
The quiet farmhouse was awakened.
Su Ruojin and Zhao Lan woke up at the same time.
Shuang Rui hurriedly ran out towards the voice, and turned back in the blink of an eye, "Second Madam, young master, it's Qiu Shan, the long-time attendant of Young Master Shangguan."
Could something have happened to Young Master Shangguan? Su Ruojin quickly left the Fengyu Pavilion and walked towards the courtyard gate.
"Second Madam... Second Madam..." Mangzhong supported Qiushan, whose legs and feet were weak.
After looking around, he didn't see Master Shangguan. "Where is he?"
"The young master was robbed by bandits."
What? Su Ruojin was shocked. "Where is it?"
"It's... about ten miles ahead."
Ten miles away? It’s very close! The point is, she has never heard the villagers say there are bandits nearby!
Zhao Lan arrived.
The two looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
Not knowing what the bandits were trying to do, Su Ruojin hurriedly asked, "Brother Qiushan, you..." She wanted to ask if the bandits deliberately let him go so that he would pay a ransom.
Qiu Shan understood the young lady's gaze and nodded, "Second Madam, the young master has always wanted to come and see your vegetable farm. We finally sorted out the school affairs and got everything on track. This morning, the master and I set out from the county. Unexpectedly, when we were about to reach your vegetable farm, a group of twenty or thirty men covered in black cloth suddenly appeared at the road ahead and beat me up. Not only did they take away my luggage, they also forcibly took the young master away and asked me to ask your family for a ransom of 10,000 taels of silver and send me to the fifth gap at the foot of Niutou Mountain in three days."
Let's not talk about the fact that Shangguan Yu was a lonely man. Ten thousand taels? Did they know that Master Shangguan was just a teacher in a school? They asked for so much.
Qiu Shan saw that the young prince was also there, but he didn't say a word after hearing what happened. He could only ask: "Second Madam, what should we do?"
"From last year until now, I have never heard of any bandits. This is very strange." Su Ruojin said to Zhao Lan.
He said to Santai, "Go and find out what's going on."
"Yes." Santai quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
When Qiu Shan saw Prince Zhao take over, his weak legs finally stopped shaking.
Su Ruojin asked Mangzhong to take Qiushan to eat first.
Qiu Shan was worried about Master Shangguan and stood there without moving. He wanted to know how Su Er Niangzi and Zhao Lan would save Master Shangguan.
Su Ruojin saw that he was worried and said, "First, I will immediately find the head of the nearby village and ask them if they know that there are bandits nearby. Second, Master Shangguan looks like a son of an aristocratic family. As long as they are after his money, Master Shangguan's life is not in danger for the time being. Brother Qiushan, don't be nervous. Eat when it's time. When you are full, you can go with us to rescue people."
"Okay, okay." After hearing the young lady's words of saving people, Qiushan felt much more at ease and obediently went to eat first.
Fan Yanjia came out after hearing the shouting, and waited for Qiu Shan to leave before asking, "Is it that Master Shangguan who is good at calligraphy and painting?"
Fan Yanjia had been to Wenshan Suji Morning Tea Shop and often visited Wenshan Street. Shangguan Yu was quite famous for selling calligraphy and paintings on Wenshan Street, so he knew him. "
Su Ruojin nodded, "It was him. Some time ago, I invited him to come and look at the vegetable fields I planted. Unexpectedly, he was robbed by bandits when he was almost there."
"Ajin, are there bandits nearby?" Fan Yanjia suddenly became nervous, "Then you better get out of here."
"Thank you, Brother Yan Jia. From last year till now, I haven't heard of any bandits around here. I think something is fishy and I need to investigate."
"You suspect they're not real bandits? Who could they be?" Fan Yanjia looked at Zhao Lan. "We just drove away the Liaoxia people years ago. Could it be that their remnants are hiding somewhere? When they saw that we were slacking off, they found an opportunity to capture Master Shangguan? In fact..." The target is Zhao Lan.
Who made him the General Yunhui who killed countless enemies in the two battles?
Zhao Lan curled his lips, "Young Master Fan, it looks like your policy essay will take first place in next year's spring exam!"
This gave him a very clear and logical analysis.
"Hehe...thank you...thank you..."
Su Ruojin: ...This is not a story made up out of thin air.
Ning Ning frowned, "If they are Liaoxia people, then my brother is in danger in the mountains, right?"
Fan Yanjia slapped his mouth and said, "Miss Ning, don't let your imagination run wild. I was just talking nonsense."
Su Ruojin: ...
Zhao Lan: …
It was a peaceful farmhouse just one moment, but the next moment it was as if a storm suddenly arose and heavy rain was pressing down on the city.
Su Ruojin and Zhao Lan acted separately.
She quickly asked Uncle Hua to help her find out from people in the surrounding villages whether there were any bandits and to see if anything was hidden. Hua Ping kept asking from the afternoon until dark.
Ning Qilang and the others returned to the farmhouse in the evening. Ning Ning asked anxiously, "Seventh Brother, I heard there are bandits in the mountains. Have you encountered any?"
Ning Qilang and the others shook their heads, "No, what's the matter?"
"A teacher from a school was kidnapped."
Ning Qilang's eyes widened in surprise when he heard this. "Don't they know that I'm the Little God of War? How dare they mess with me?"
Su Ruojin: ...Young General, do you know that I am calling you 'Laozi'?
The two nephews of the Ning family were not afraid at all, but were very excited. "We have no part in fighting the Liaoxia people, but we can join in fighting the bandits. Uncle... Uncle... You must take us with you when you fight the bandits. We also want to defend our country like you do."
Su Ruojin pursed her lips.
Zhao Lan's face darkened.
Ning Qilang seemed not to notice and rolled up his sleeves, "Zijin, tell me where it is. I will be the vanguard and go to check it out first."
Although Young Master Ning Qi was reckless, he followed the military procedures of fighting a war and tried to find out the truth first. He was quite careful, but this matter was indeed treacherous.
As expected, Hua Ping came back and said, "We have inquired about everything we should know. We have never heard of any bandits within a hundred miles. First, the imperial mausoleum is across the west mountain, guarded by imperial guards. It is impossible for bandits to dare to occupy the hilltop nearby. Second, even if there are any, they are in the east, almost two hundred miles down. According to the official in the valley, his distant nephew lives nearby and he also heard about it. It is said that these people would rob every summer harvest, autumn harvest, and before the New Year. After the robbery, they quickly disbanded on the spot. No one knows who is the bandit and who is the farmer in the nearby village."
How could such a thing exist? It sounded like these bandits were quite smart, and all of them frowned as they listened.
Su Ruojin frowned, "Uncle Ping, what is the name of the county?"
"Anling County."
"Anling County? It's not safe at all!" Su Ruojin asked again, "How far is Niutou Mountain from here?"
Hua Ping replied, "More than thirty miles."
Thanks to the imperial mausoleum opposite Xishan Mountain, there are no bandits nearby. In addition, the county magistrate Su Yanli is a down-to-earth person, so the people of Weizhou County live better than those in other counties. Even in the case of natural disasters, the people can still survive. However, people in other counties have to flee famine or sell their children.
Just as the summer wheat harvest was about to begin in Weizhou County, a group of bandits arrived. According to Qiushan, there were twenty or thirty of them who wanted to rob Master Shangguan. Did they send a group first, or were there just this many people?
Zhao Lan was slow to speak, so Ning Qilang asked, "Miss Su, do you want to save someone? If you do, I'll help you."
"Yes!" Su Ruojin clasped his fists, "I also need the Seventh Young Master's help."
"These are just a bunch of 20 to 30 peasant bandits. With the skills of Zijin and I, plus the guards around us, we can easily take them down." He turned to Zhao Lan and said, "Zijin, let's attack them at night and catch them off guard."
"Uncle, we'll go with you."
Fan Yanjia, Wen Shaoxu, and Zhong Chengwei are all sons of civil servants. Among them, Wen Shaoxu and Zhong Chengwei are close to the Ning family. They have learned swordsmanship with Ning Qilang since childhood. Although they are not as good as Ning Qilang who can go to the battlefield, they are still pretty good. They are also willing to go with Ning Qilang to fight bandits and save people.
Seeing that everyone was leaving, Fan Yanjia said, "Although I don't have any special skills, I can keep watch for you."
Su Ruojin thanked them again and said, "I will definitely ask for your help, but not now."
Ning Qillang frowned and stared at the silent Zhao Lan again. He had fought with him for more than three months last year and knew that Zhao Lan had a plan in mind. Could it be that this little bandit had some tricks up his sleeve?
While everyone was silent, Santai came back and reported, "Our people went to Niutou Mountain to investigate, and there are no traces on the nearby hills."
Everyone: ...
Ning Qilang couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect these vagrants to be so cunning."
Fan Yanjia looked around and saw that no one was talking. "What should we do now?"
Everyone gathered in the dining hall, Ning Ning was there too. Seeing Fan Yanjia asking, she couldn't help but ask, "Do we have to wait three days and take the silver to the fifth gap?"
Zhao Lan glanced at Ning Ning, then looked away and said to everyone, "Ahua and Yan Jia, come with me to the room, the rest of you go to sleep first." After that, he turned around and whispered to Su Ruojin, "Don't worry, I will definitely rescue Master Shangguan."
"Okay." Not only had he worked in the Reconnaissance Department, he had also fought on the battlefield. Whether it was reconnaissance or actual combat, Su Ruojin trusted him.
Su Ruojin pulled Ningning out to sleep.
After the young ladies left, Wen Shaoxu and Zhong Chengwei each took a nephew from the Ning family and went to bed together.
Although she was relieved about Zhao Lan, Su Ruojin still didn't sleep well that night.
I always feel that the robbery of Shangguanyu ten miles away from Xishan was not an accidental incident. It was as if someone had been watching him for a long time and then waited until he was robbed at a specific location.
When she woke up in the morning, she found Qiu Shan again, "Brother Qiu Shan, Master Shangguan is coming to visit my vegetable field. Does anyone else know about this?"
Qiu Shan grumbled sheepishly, "The teachers and students in the school all know about it."
Su Ruojin: ...There’s really no way to rule it out.
Shangguan Yu was a frail scholar who had no official career and no social status. Apart from writing and painting, he had a love affair with his uncle. Logically, he would not offend anyone and would not block anyone's way. Was he robbed just for ten thousand taels of silver?
Even if Princess Yuehua is included, why didn't Princess Yuehua take action before, but had to take action against Shangguan Yu after the marriage? This is totally unreasonable!
So... Su Ruojin felt that the bandits' target was either her, Zhao Lan, or the Ning family.
Why did she suspect that the bandits were targeting her? It was probably because these people had their eyes on her vegetable fields, or wanted to steal the grain from Weizhou County. If the target was Zhao Lan, then there would be more motives, possibly Liaoxia people, such as the fugitive Ula grass leader Yang Jingzi, or people who wanted to take revenge on the Prince of Jin's Mansion and Zhao Lan because of some incident.
Qiu Shan saw that Second Lady remained silent for a long time and felt very guilty. "I'm really sorry... Second Lady, I saw that the young master was working too hard, so in order to make everyone understand him, I told everyone that our young master would come to take a few days off."
Su Ruojin waved her hand and continued to ask, "Have you come into contact with strangers recently?"
Qiu Shan thought about it carefully, "There are beggars on the street, would it be okay to give him a few coins?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Or else, it's just that the young master went to the calligraphy and painting shop to sell paintings, and the others seem to be people he knows."
"Why do you think of beggars when I say that? Is there something special about beggars that makes a deep impression on you?"
Qiu Shan thought about it, wanted to shake his head, then nodded, "This month, there are several more beggars on the street, some in their forties and fifties, some middle-aged men, and some children. Because of Lord Su's relationship, our county has let all the beggars into the temporary shelter, and then assigned the children and the elderly to the Charity Bureau, and the middle-aged people are given a simple house, and they are also registered and given resettlement funds. This is a great thing. As a result, these people refused to go in, saying that they are used to begging. If Weizhou County doesn't let them beg, they will go somewhere else. Second Madam, don't you think it's strange?"
Of course it's strange.
Su Ruojin's heart sank. Although she had reasoned it as a conspiracy theory, it was just a guess. But after hearing what Qiu Shan said, it was clearly a premeditated robbery.
Are these people real bandits or fake bandits, or are they paid by someone to do something?
While she was analyzing the mess, Zhao Lan came over to have breakfast with her.
He reached out and rubbed the top of her head, smiling gently, "I've asked someone to check it out, Jin, don't worry."
Su Ruojin hummed, "Young Master Shangguan is weak, I am worried about him..."
"As long as the other party has all the pictures, we will definitely find clues and rescue the people."
"Hmm." Su Ruojin didn't want to ask, but couldn't help asking, "Brother Jin, do you think this is just a crime committed by ordinary mountain bandits, or..."
"The world is peaceful now. No matter what the bandits want to do, I have the duty to wipe them out." He said, "I will go out after breakfast. Don't let your imagination run wild at home."
"good."
After breakfast, Zhao Lan went down the mountain with Ning Qilang and others.
Su Ruojin sighed.
Ning Ning also sighed, "If only I were a man, I could go with them to fight the bandits."
Su Ruojin: ...
She couldn't help but remind him, "The men have all gone down the mountain, take good care of your little niece and don't let anything go wrong."
Ning Ning glared at her and said, "Of course I will take good care of Hui."
Su Ruojin turned around and said to the maids and women around her, Mother Dong, "Things are not peaceful recently. You all have to be careful. No matter where you go, you have to travel with a group. Also, the food and water you use must be watched by someone special. Don't be careless."
Ye Huaizhen nodded, "I understand."
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