Chapter 65 (Catching Bugs) Fate is determined by fate...
Before she lost consciousness, Baozhu only remembered a pair of hands firmly supporting her back.
When I woke up again, I still felt dizzy, my head heavy and my feet light, and my wrists were so painful that I couldn't lift them. I heard someone talking softly in the room, and then I struggled to lift my heavy eyelids.
Baozhu only felt a dryness in her throat, as uncomfortable as if she had swallowed straw. She opened her mouth for a long time but could not utter a word. The lights in the room were on, and she could only see a warm dim light. She was still conscious and her head was dizzy.
She was drowsy and saw a dark shadow sitting beside the bed. It seemed to realize that she was awake. The next moment, water was handed to her mouth. Baozhu drank a few sips with a thin spoon. Then she felt more conscious and regained some strength. She struggled to open her eyes and saw a doctor sitting at the table writing a prescription.
After she finished drinking the water, the person sitting beside the bed hurriedly called the doctor to come and see her. The doctor finished writing the prescription in his hand and handed it to Pei Yanqing who was sitting beside the bed.
"This recipe calms the mind and soothes the nerves. Take the medicine according to this recipe and decoct it twice a day for half a month for complete recovery."
Pei Yanqing took the prescription, wrote down the doctor's words, and planned to go get the medicine soon.
"Where are Baorong and A'niang?" Baozhu looked at him and had many questions to ask, but her head was still dizzy and she could only think of A'niang and Baorong. She still remembered that before she fainted, A'niang was in so much pain that she couldn't get up from the ground.
Pei Yanqing helped her up from the bed.
"Sister Rong is next door with my aunt. The doctor said there's nothing serious, just some damage to her lungs. She needs to rest for six months."
Baozhu was still a little worried when she heard him say this, so she asked Pei Yanqing to help her go to the next room to check. When she heard Baorong say that her mother had woken up, she finally felt relieved.
Seeing what else she wanted to ask, Pei Yanqing answered directly,
"You slept for two days and two nights, and all the pirates on the two ships were captured."
Seeing his unshaven beard and dark circles under his eyes, Baozhu knew that he had not slept well in the past few days.
When Baozhu woke up, he was completely relieved. He went next door to inform Baorong and then hurried to the prison to interrogate the person.
A total of six people died on the big ship that Baozhu was on. Four of them jumped into the water and were shot to death by the bandits. The other two were seriously injured and died while fighting with the bandits on the ship. Except for the leader who committed suicide by taking poison, the rest of the bandits were captured.
Not only did they capture the people on the boat, but they also took advantage of the victory and chased them directly to the pirates' lair that night, arresting all of them and taking them into custody.
They arrived at the shore on a naval ship and are now in Yangzhou.
"Master Pei hasn't slept these past few days," Bao Rong whispered. "He interrogates people during the day and sits by your bed at night, sometimes without even turning on the lights. I almost scared him at first."
Baorong knew that she was awake, and also knew that she certainly did not ask Lord Pei, so he told her the general situation. She did not know any more details, and even these few sentences were based on what the people in the inn said.
Although she was eager to know whether these people would be punished, when she mentioned this matter, she couldn't help but think of the scene of blood splattered on her face that day. Baozhu's hands and feet began to feel numb again, and big beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead in the hot weather. Baorong was also shocked to see her like this, and immediately helped her lie down again.
These pirates have colluded with officials in Jiangnan and have committed several crimes. Last year, they robbed two ships of goods from the family of a concubine of the Imperial Palace. The concubine's family was a big merchant in Jiangnan selling silk and tea. Last year, they sent tea and silk to Beijing and asked people to rob them. The two ships disappeared without a trace and there was no news of the people on them. It seems that they are in great danger.
At the beginning of this year, they were even more daring and robbed a ship carrying grain to Bian Jing, and killed all the soldiers transporting the grain. The rope tied to the stones on one of the bodies broke, and the body floated to the surface. Only then was it discovered that it had sent a secret letter to the capital.
The government ordered him to investigate, so Pei Yanqing changed his clothes and took great pains to blend in with these pirates and become their henchman. This was his first time robbing a ship with them. When he first heard Baozhu's voice on board the ship, he thought there was something wrong with his ears, but when he got closer, he realized he was right.
Nothing happens by chance in this world, and this fate is also determined by heaven.
Originally, Pei Yanqing just left without replying to the letter. Although she was worried about him, she couldn't help but feel some resentment. Now that she met him here, Baozhu felt a tear in her eye.
He touched the jade pendant on his neck, felt a little more at ease, closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep again.
I slept very uneasily and felt heavy all over. I wanted to wake up but couldn't. All I could see was the scene of that day. The pirate was stabbed in the neck and blood spurted out like a fountain.
He sat up in panic, his hands grazing around frantically, and he felt at ease only when he grabbed something.
When she woke up again, she felt a bitter taste in her mouth, but she was much more awake. Her face and body were covered with cold sweat. It was getting brighter outside, and Baozhu could only see someone sitting beside the bed in a daze.
As soon as she opened her eyes, a big, thick hand immediately reached out to her forehead. Seeing that she didn't have a high fever, he wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
The injured wrist had been bandaged and treated with medicine, and the other hand was holding his hand tightly, for who knows how long. Baozhu wanted to let go out out of guilt, but unexpectedly, it made him hold it tighter.
Thinking about the bizarre dream, Baozhu felt a little nauseous again, but her stomach was empty and she only vomited out some bitter medicine.
Pei Yanqing patted her back to help her breathe smoothly. After she recovered, he gave her a sip of water and asked her to rinse her mouth.
But half a minute later, the shop assistant knocked on the door with a lunch box. Pei Yanqing took the lunch box in, let it cool down, and then fed her spoonful by spoonful.
"You've been comatose these past few days, refusing to swallow anything I feed you. Now that you've woken up, it's just right for you to have some rice porridge."
After hearing what he said, Baozhu felt hungry. After asking, Baozhu learned that it was at A Niang's place. Only then did she feel at ease and finished the small bowl of porridge.
The three of them were in such a miserable state now. If they went back to Suzhou directly, it would definitely make their elder brother and sister Xiu worried. So Ah Niang thought about recuperating in Yangzhou for half a month and then taking a boat back to Suzhou when they felt better.
When it came to taking a boat, the three of them were a little scared for a moment.
Pei Yanqing captured the water bandits and interrogated them day and night, and got some information out of them. It turned out that these water bandits were in collusion with the government. In addition to their murder and robbery business, they also helped deal with some things that were not allowed to be made public.
No wonder we only catch small fish and shrimps when we suppress bandits every year.
The secret letter was sent to the palace at full speed. More than a hundred people were arrested in this case. If so many people were arrested, it would be tantamount to rebellion. The collusion between the Jiangnan officials and the pirates was investigated thoroughly by the government. The case was handed over to the Dali Temple, and Pei Yanqing was freed up to investigate.
Perhaps it was because of the effect of the medicine prescribed by the doctor, but Baozhu gradually forgot about the incident in the past few days. Seeing that she was almost well now, Pei Yanqing picked out a few things he could tell her.
Knowing that Baozhu would go to Suzhou later, and since the secret letter had already been submitted, there was no rush to return to Beijing, Pei Yanqing informed his subordinates and took a detour back to Beijing via Suzhou.
This journey won't take much time, and I can go back with the three members of the Zhen family.
Having investigated several major cases in succession, he knew that his return would certainly attract attention. He wasn't afraid of being in the spotlight, but rather of not being in the spotlight. He was thinking of turning the tables and getting the government to transfer him to a safe and secure government office.
It is easy for people to think about all sorts of things when they are idle. Baozhu has been staying in Yangzhou for more than ten days, recuperating in the inn every day. She is so tired from lying there. Yangzhou has beautiful scenery, and even looking out the window these days feels fresh. Now that she is well again, she is thinking of going out for a walk.
Pei Yanqing had changed his job and now had some free time, so he planned to take advantage of the cool weather to go for a walk with Baozhu and taste some authentic Yangzhou cuisine.
Baozhu got up early in the morning and asked the innkeeper which restaurant in the city had the best food. After finding out, the innkeeper called Baozhu to have breakfast outside.
Bao Rong shook his head and stammered,
"I suddenly remembered that I have something to do later. Sister, you go by yourself."
Baozhu thought the restaurant wasn't far away, so she asked her what she wanted to eat and then left. As soon as she stepped out of the door, she saw Pei Yan waiting outside.
"I haven't had a proper meal these days, so it's a good idea for me to go with you."
Baozhu knew what he was thinking. Seeing that he was dressed up today, not only had he shaved his beard, but he had also changed into new clothes, she smiled and waved to him to follow her without saying a word.
"Three trays of jade siu mai, a plate of thousand-layer fried cakes, two bowls of shrimp wontons, and a basket of three-piece steamed buns to go."
The restaurant is not big and the table is small, but once these dishes were served, they almost filled up the table.
The shrimp wontons were cooked in lard, with a little chopped green onion floating on top, and the soup was made with seaweed to enhance the flavor. Baozhu had been eating very light food for more than ten days, and this small bowl of wontons smelled delicious.
Even if she felt so hungry that she could swallow a pig, she would feel full quickly after eating. Pei Yanqing stopped her from eating too much greasy food at once.
Baozhu Silent watched him clean up the rest of the food on the table. Seeing her unfriendly look, she added, "I've treated you well. Eat whatever you want."
After eating, they wanted to stroll along the river bank, but it started to drizzle outside. After a while, the rain became heavier and heavier, and the two of them could only hide under the eaves of an unopened shop.
There was an old lady selling flowers. Because of the heavy rain, she couldn't sell the flowers in the basket at the moment, so she came under the eaves to ask if anyone wanted to buy flowers.
Seeing this, Pei Yanqing bought the whole small basket of jasmine. The old lady had two umbrellas in her hand, and the one she had just put away was obviously a new one. She compared the two umbrellas and then handed him the slightly torn oil-paper umbrella.
"The osmanthus flowers haven't bloomed yet, but the jasmine flowers are edible and smell delicious."
After saying this, he took out two osmanthus flowers and wanted to put them in her hairpins. The two of them made a mess for a while. Baozhu knew that he was joking. It turned out that she liked osmanthus flowers because they were both delicious to eat and fragrant to smell. Unexpectedly, he took note of it.
The rain was not going to stop for a while, and they couldn't just wait there forever. Pei Yanqing held up an umbrella and the two of them squeezed together to go back to the inn.
She hadn't run far when she saw a drizzle under a large umbrella outside. She looked up and saw a big hole in the umbrella. Pei Yanqing turned the leaking side to his side. Baozhu saw him getting wet in the rain and moved closer to him. Through Xia Chang, Baozhu felt as if she could hear the heartbeat of the person next to her.
Pei Yanqing's breathing became heavier, and his family moved further away from her. Baozhu saw that he didn't appreciate her kindness, so she took bigger and bigger steps. Pei Yanqing had no choice but to follow him with an umbrella.
When Baozhu returned to the inn, she saw that he was all wet and looked pitiful like a drowned chicken. Her anger for no reason disappeared, and she grabbed a copper coin and asked the waiter to order a bowl of ginger soup for him.
After resting in Yangzhou for more than ten days, Madam Xu was able to get up and walk. Pei Yanqing hired a car early in the morning to go from Yangzhou to Guazhou Ferry. The boat had been arranged in advance. After paying the fare, the four of them took a boat from the ferry to Suzhou.
Baozhu Zhurong helped Madam Xu onto the boat, while Pei Yanqing carried the luggage behind them.
The trip was finally smooth sailing. The clay pot was smashed, and Baozhu had no plans to buy a new one. She had been buying meals on the boat these days, and bought a bunch of cakes and braised food before boarding the boat. Anyway, they would arrive at their destination in a few days, so there was no need to go through the trouble of cooking.
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