Chapter 41 How dare Marquis Wu'an!
Lou Xueying was woken up by Cai Ling.
Before dawn, the lights were on in the room, and Cailing stood in front of her with a bowl of medicine on her face, looking worried.
Lou Xueying looked at her, her head still a little dizzy, and asked in confusion, "Cailing... what's wrong?"
Cailing said, "Madam, you have a fever. Did you get caught in the rain during the day? Fortunately, there are some medicines in the manor. I've prepared them for you. We'll ask the doctor to come and take a closer look when it's light."
I have a fever... Yes, I think I have a fever, no wonder I feel so unwell...
Wait, why does this thought feel so familiar...?
She was too weak, so Cailing helped her sit up, brought the medicine bowl to her lips, and fed her the medicine spoonful by spoonful.
After finally finishing her drink, Cailing wrung out a damp cloth and placed it on Lou Xueying's forehead.
Stimulated by the cool handkerchief, Lou Xueying finally became a little more awake. Looking at Cailing's disheveled figure, who had obviously also hurriedly gotten out of bed without tidying up, she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "How did you know I had a fever?"
Cai Ling said, "I was awakened in the middle of the night by a loud bang from the window. I thought the window wasn't closed properly or some stray cat had come in, so I went out to look around but didn't see anything. I thought, since I'm already up, I might as well come and see Madam."
Before Lou Xueying got married, Cailing always slept in Lou Xueying's room. Lou Xueying slept in the inner room, and Cailing slept in the outer room. She would often get up at night to see if her mistress had covered herself with the blanket properly.
Later, Lou Xueying married into the Marquis's mansion. Li Pan didn't like having so many people in his room, so Cailing moved to the side room and stopped getting up in the middle of the night to check Lou Xueying's blankets.
She was suddenly awakened tonight. Remembering that the Marquis was not here, she wondered if her mistress had slept well, so she quietly went in to check. She found that Lou Xueying was indeed not covered with the quilt properly and was curled up in a ball on the bed. Helplessly, she came to lift the quilt, but when she accidentally touched her, she found that Lou Xueying was unbelievably hot. Upon closer inspection, she found that she had a fever.
Cai Ling didn't dare to delay and went to brew the medicine, then woke Lou Xueying up to drink it.
Lou Xueying leaned against the bed frame, propping up her heavy head, and frowned slightly.
She vaguely remembered that something else seemed to have happened...
"Has anyone been here last night?" she asked.
Cai Ling: "Who is it?"
Lou Xueying: "...I'm asking you."
Cailing looked bewildered: "No one's coming. Who would come at this time?"
Lou Xueying rubbed her temples: "I feel like I woke up once in the middle of the night and saw someone..."
Cai Ling was immediately terrified: "What? Could it be that a villain has infiltrated the Marquis's residence? But before the Marquis left, he specifically increased the number of guards at night. Who would be so bold as to break into the Marquis's residence at night?"
“It shouldn’t be a bad guy…” Lou Xueying’s head throbbed even more. “I feel… it’s the Marquis… I heard the Marquis talking to me…”
Cailing breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Madam, you must be dreaming. The Marquis has been away from the capital for who knows how far. How could he be in the manor? Even if he were, what would he be doing sneaking around like this?"
Lou Xueying pursed her lips.
She must have been dreaming; she seemed to have had a lot of random dreams that night.
Cailing: "Madam, sleep a little longer. After taking your medicine and sweating it out, you might feel much better during the day."
Lou Xueying nodded and then slowly lay down again.
She slept until daytime, and when Li's mother heard that she was sick, she rushed over to see her.
"Why did you suddenly get sick?" Li's mother asked worriedly.
Lou Xueying lay on the bed and forced a smile: "Maybe I didn't wear enough clothes yesterday, and it just so happened to rain."
“I think it must be because you haven’t been eating properly these past few days. If Shitou knew that you got sick as soon as he left, he would be so worried,” said Li’s mother. “He’s fighting on the front lines, so we can’t cause him any trouble, right? Even if you’re upset, you can’t let yourself be upset. You need to eat more and move around more so that you can stay healthy and wait for Shitou to come back!”
Lou Xueying: "Mother is right."
The doctor Cailing had invited arrived. He took Lou Xueying's pulse and said there was nothing seriously wrong, just that her body was a bit weak, which made her susceptible to colds. He prescribed some commonly used medicines, told Lou Xueying to rest well and eat regularly, and then left.
Li's mother held Lou Xueying's hand and said, "Did you hear that? The doctor said the same thing!"
Lou Xueying smiled and said, "I heard you. I won't dare to do it again."
-
Gyeonggi Province, Yutian County.
Lou Boyu sat silently in the room, staring at fifteen burly men.
After a long silence, Lou Boyu spoke up: "May I ask everyone, when exactly will the Marquis return?"
Wu Zhao scratched his head and gave an awkward smile: "This humble general doesn't know either."
Lou Boyu took a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress his emotions.
Wu Zhao glanced at his brothers around him. They all looked just as awkward. Some were picking their fingers, some were drinking tea, and some were pretending to admire the chair. None of them said a word.
Wu Zhao had no choice but to force a smile and continue to stay there shamelessly.
This group of people didn't actually know Lou Boyu at all. They only knew that Lou Boyu was the elder brother of the Marquis's wife. They didn't even know whether he was round or flat-faced. But since the Marquis had told them to come and find Lou Boyu, they had no choice but to take the general's token and come over with a stiff upper lip.
They disguised themselves as horse traders and went to great lengths to transform the Marquis's exceptionally valiant warhorse into a packhorse piled high with luggage and clothes. Then they sent Wu Zhao to the county government office to find Lou Boyu.
The county government wasn't very strict. Lou Boyu heard that someone was looking for him, so he came out to see what was going on. But when he saw the general's token that Wu Zhaochao had inadvertently revealed, his expression changed.
He had already heard that the emperor had ordered Marquis Wu'an to return to the northwest to fight, and although he had some reservations about it, the imperial edict had already been issued, so he could only keep his complaints to himself. Now, seeing the general's token in the hands of a horse trader and the general himself mysteriously missing, he knew without a doubt that someone had secretly done something to disobey the imperial edict.
And they even want to drag him, an innocent man, into this mess! He's only met Marquis Wu'an once, how dare Marquis Wu'an do that!
Lou Boyu's heart was in turmoil as he gained a deeper understanding of his brother-in-law, who was "unconventional in his actions and dared to confront the emperor to his face." He tried his best to appear calm and found an empty house for the Marquis of Wu'an's subordinates to stay in, but the constant twitching of his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.
The subordinates of Marquis Wu'an were very polite to him, but when Lou Boyu asked them what they were doing and where Marquis Wu'an had gone, they stammered and changed the subject.
Lou Boyu thought to himself, "How can they do things like this? They want to use me but won't tell me their purpose. Aren't they just treating me like a sucker? If the news leaks out, how unjustly I, Lou Boyu, will die!"
We've been waiting since yesterday, but there's still no news from Marquis Wu'an.
Lou Boyu glanced at the sky, suppressed his anxiety, and said, "I have to go to my shift and cannot continue to keep you company. There is another thing I would like to ask for your understanding: Yutian County is not large, and many people are related by blood. You can run into acquaintances just by walking a few steps down the street. It is fine for you to stay here for a day or two, but if you stay any longer, it will inevitably arouse suspicion. I do not know what the Marquis intends to do, and I dare not take any risks. If the Marquis does not show up after today, I will not dare to keep you any longer."
Wu Zhao said, "Lord Lou has done his best, and we are deeply grateful. We dare not bother you any further. Please go on with your business first, and do not let us delay the livelihood of the county government."
Lou Boyu then cupped his hands in farewell and took his leave.
He walked out of the courtyard, looked around, and seeing that no one was nearby, breathed a sigh of relief. He then circled back to the main road and hurried toward the county government office.
Along the way, he encountered many people who greeted him, and Lou Boyu nodded in response to each of them.
When they arrived at the county government office, they saw a man leading a horse, leaning against the wall under the shade of a tree, wearing a straw hat, standing there doing something.
Lou Boyu paused in his steps.
This horse... it looks just like the horses of Marquis Wu'an's subordinates.
Look at this person's figure again...
Lou Boyu's heart stirred, and he changed direction, walking towards that person.
"Your Excellency is standing at the entrance of the county government office, is there something you wish to say?" Lou Boyu smiled kindly, as if he were having a friendly chat with a passerby.
The man raised his straw hat, spat out the foxtail grass from his mouth, and smiled at Lou Boyu with a raised eyebrow: "Brother-in-law, it's been a few days. How have you been?"
Lou Boyu took a step back in shock.
Who is this guy with the full beard?!
Lou Boyu subconsciously looked around again, then exclaimed in horror, "You..."
"Brother-in-law, don't panic. I know you have important matters to attend to, so I won't bother you. I just need to ask you to tell me where my brothers have been settled?"
Lou Boyu composed himself and whispered a direction.
"Thank you, brother-in-law."
He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lou Boyu, then led his horse, adjusted his straw hat, and walked away quickly.
Lou Boyu: "..."
His lips twitched, and he turned and walked towards the county government office.
The guard on duty greeted him: "Good morning, Lord Lou!"
Lou Boyu nodded absentmindedly: "Good morning."
"Who was that just now?" the constable asked curiously. "He's been standing at the door for a while. Could he be here to complain to Lord Lou?"
Lou Boyu had a good temper and didn't put on airs, so the yamen runners dared to chat with him.
Lou Boyu said with mixed feelings, "It's nothing, just someone asking for directions."
Lou Boyu dealt with official business in a frustrated manner for half a day. When he finally got to lunch break, he didn't even have time to eat. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and quietly slipped out of the back door of the county government office.
His face darkened as soon as he returned to the small courtyard filled with people and horses.
Li Pan had already taken off his straw hat and shaved his beard. He was sitting in the house talking quietly with Wu Zhao and the others. When he saw him arrive, he stood up and clasped his hands in greeting: "Brother-in-law."
Lou Boyu said, "My lord, it's getting late. Why don't we speak frankly?"
"Okay." Li Pan nodded and said to Wu Zhao and the others, "You can go down first."
The room suddenly felt much emptier. Li Pan closed the door and smiled at Lou Boyu: "Brother-in-law, please."
Lou Boyu felt a headache coming on just looking at his expression, and couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, Lord Marquis, weren't you going to the Northwest? Why have you lingered in Yutian County for so long?"
Li Pan said solemnly, "To be honest, although His Majesty is urging me urgently, I still have some things to finish in the capital and have to go back to take care of them. That's why I came up with this idea. Please take in my brothers for the time being."
Lou Boyu twitched the corner of his mouth: "Has the Marquis finished yet?"
Li Pan: "Not yet."
He had just sent a letter to Hasul yesterday, how could he have received news today? The messengers were carrier pigeons and hawks, they couldn't fly that fast even if they died.
Lou Boyu couldn't hold back any longer: "When will the Marquis finish this?"
Li Pan: "Brother-in-law, don't worry. I understand your concerns. I will leave with my brothers immediately."
He was returning to the Northwest on an imperial decree, and once the news spread, the post stations along the way would surely receive instructions. Therefore, he could not linger near the capital for too long; if the officials at the post stations along the way did not find his whereabouts, they would certainly report it.
But the imperial decree came quickly, and if he wanted to contact Hasule as soon as possible, he had no choice but to use the secret sentries in the capital. He dared not act rashly when the decree was first issued, and only after everyone had seen him leave the city did he dare to disguise himself and return to quickly contact Hasule.
However, he couldn't stay in the capital indefinitely just to wait for Hasule's reply. Fortunately, he had more than just sentries in the northwest and the capital. Ever since he learned that he was going back to the capital, he had several more sentries built along the way in the northwest and the capital, just in case. He didn't expect them to come in handy so soon.
Yesterday, he sent two secret messages, one to Hasule and one to the sentries, instructing them not to forward Hasule's reply to the capital, but to forward it directly to the sentries in the middle of the city. This way, he could continue his journey westward as ordered and receive Hasule's reply along the way.
Logically speaking, he could have left the city immediately after sending the secret message yesterday to meet up with Wu Zhao and the others, but he had something on his mind and insisted on staying in the capital overnight. It wasn't until dawn today that he left the city with the early-rising business people.
The reason he is still in Yutian County is because he still has something he wants to ask Lou Boyu.
Li Pan: "Before I leave, there are some things I would like to ask my brother-in-law, and I hope he will tell me the truth."
Lou Boyu: "Please speak, Your Excellency."
"What I want to ask... is about Susu." Li Pan hesitated for a moment before saying, "May I ask, brother-in-law, does Susu have any enemies in the capital?"
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