Chapter 183: Rescue
Song Yuzhu opened her eyes in confusion and saw Zhao Xiao standing beside her bed, staring at her fiercely.
The man shouted loudly: "My jade pendant is lost! Go and report it to the police! Go and report it to the police!"
The servant ran out without stopping and soon called the patrol officer.
"What's going on?" The officer yawned and walked in with a gloomy face. No one would be happy to be woken up in the middle of the night.
"Sir, my ancestral jade pendant is lost. It was clearly hanging on me yesterday!" said the man on the bed opposite.
"Look carefully, is it dropped somewhere?"
"I've searched everywhere. It must have been stolen!" The man glanced at Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao.
The officer also looked over, sized them up and asked, "Did you take his jade pendant?"
"No." Zhao Xiao denied it.
The man was furious when he heard this: "They must have taken it. Look at how poorly they are dressed. How can they afford to live in a bedroom? They must be habitual thieves!"
The yamen runner was reasonable: "You have no evidence. It's not good to say that. Let me search their packages. If there's nothing, you're not allowed to make a fuss."
The man reluctantly agreed, and the officer said, "You two stand up and let me search you, so that you can clear your suspicion."
Song Yuzhu got out of bed, pulled Zhao Xiao to the door, and asked him to search the package.
The officer opened the two people's packages and looked inside. There were only clothes and books, but no jade pendant as the other party said.
The man insisted: "It's not in the package, it must be hidden on my body. You can search me and I will definitely find it."
"How dare you!" Zhao Xiao glared at him and almost kicked him.
Song Yuzhu stopped him and asked, "What does your jade pendant look like? How much is it worth? When did you find out it was gone?"
"It's a turquoise jade pendant, worth a hundred taels of silver, which I just lost."
"Since you suspect we took it, we need evidence. What should we do if we still can't find you after a body search?"
The man said in a somewhat rogue manner: "If there is no, then there is no, what else can I do?"
"That's definitely not possible. According to the Daqi Law, anyone who falsely accuses one person will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and a fine of one hundred taels of silver. Anyone who falsely accuses two people will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and a fine of three hundred taels of silver."
"The police officer is here too. Please help me bear witness. If the jade pendant he lost is not found, please execute him according to the law."
The officer nodded: "Sir, you are right. Are you sure you want to search me?"
The man was obviously a little panicked. He didn't expect Song Yuzhu to understand the law. He thought they were just ordinary people, so he scared them and asked them to leave the room.
He swallowed awkwardly and said, "Maybe I left it somewhere, no need to search..."
The officer shouted at them, "Stop making loud noises if there is nothing to worry about!"
"Yes, yes." The man returned to bed and soon snoring sounds were heard.
Song Yuzhu lost her sleepiness after all this. She sat on the bed and looked out the window: "What time is it?"
"It's just the hour of Chou. You should sleep a little longer." Zhao Xiao took his clothes and draped them over his shoulders.
"I can't sleep. If you're not sleepy, sit with me for a while."
Zhao Xiao sat next to him and glanced at the person on the bed opposite: "Do you want to get rid of him?"
Song Yuzhu shook her head. In their eyes, such people were nothing more than ants that could be crushed to death with just a flick of a finger. There was no need to get angry at all.
"We've been out for so long, I wonder if Yutong can handle it."
Zhao Xiao held his hand and said, "Since you have decided to come out, don't worry about going to the capital anymore."
"Axiao, this time we go south... maybe we can find a solution, or maybe we can't. If I leave, I hope you can live well." Song Yuzhu turned her head and looked at him quietly.
Zhao Xiao held his hand tightly and said, "No, I will definitely find a way!"
This was the first time the two discussed this topic, and although it was heavy, it was unavoidable. Song Yuzhu was afraid that after her death, Zhao Xiao would follow her.
"You are still young. In our era, people in their thirties are the best time of life. You can start a new life and make new friends..."
"Yuzhu, stop talking. I won't let you leave!" Zhao Xiao was breathing rapidly, as if there was a stone in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.
He couldn't imagine that Song Yuzhu was no longer around. Just thinking about it made him extremely sad. If that day really came, he would definitely leave with her without hesitation!
Song Yuzhu gently leaned on his shoulder: "Yutong is still too young. I am worried about her facing such a large court alone."
After a moment's silence, Zhao Xiao hugged him tightly and said, "I will help her until she grows up." This was a disguised promise that he would not seek death.
Time is the best antidote. Yutong is only thirteen years old now, and there are still three years before he turns sixteen and becomes an adult. I hope he can get out of his sadness in these three years.
The sky outside was getting brighter and brighter. A red sun slowly rose from the east. In an instant, the light enveloped the earth and dispelled all the haze.
*
After daybreak, the two returned to the previous carriage and did not refund their sleeper tickets, as they had to come back to rest at night.
They were not here last night. The two people sitting opposite them took their seats to rest. When they saw them coming back, they quickly stood up and gave up their seats.
After chatting with them, I learned that the two men were surnamed Yang and were cousins. The tall and older one will be called Brother Yang, and the round-faced man will be called Brother Yang.
The flight attendant who sells breakfast came. There were steamed buns and steamed bread, as well as rice porridge and pickles. Each portion cost ten cents. The taste was very ordinary, but it was enough to fill my stomach.
Song Yuzhu drank a bowl of hot rice porridge and her complexion looked a little better.
Zhao Xiao regretted taking the train. Not only did he not get enough rest, but the food was too simple. Yuzhu would definitely lose a few pounds on the way.
After the meal, people in the car started chatting again. Song Yuzhu listened with his head tilted, and said a few words from time to time. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
Perhaps men are particularly interested in court affairs when they get older, and they always talk about the court. The people of Daqi are open-minded and do not restrict people from discussing court affairs.
"If we were to say what the happiest thing this year is, it's that General Fuguo defeated the Jin Kingdom and captured four cities. It really makes people happy!" The speaker was the second brother Yang. He didn't talk much yesterday, but maybe he got familiar with the people in the car that night and opened up.
"That's right. When we learned that the Jin Kingdom had been defeated, my family set off firecrackers for half an hour!"
"Every household in our city sets off firecrackers, and it's more lively than the New Year's!" Everyone was talking about it. The people in the Central Plains had suffered from the Jin people for a long time. In the past, they often heard news of the Jin cavalry entering the country and burning, killing and looting. The hatred for the Jin people was engraved in their bones.
As the protagonist of the discussion, Zhao Xiao touched his nose awkwardly.
Brother Yang, who was sitting opposite, suddenly said, "Come to think of it, this brother is somewhat similar to the general who assists the country."
Song Yuzhu was startled, thinking he had been recognized.
"But you look younger than the general, and you're not as muscular as him."
Zhao Xiao picked up the cup and took a sip of water, saying, "Of course, how dare I compare myself with the general."
Song Yuzhu secretly raised the corner of her mouth. No one would have thought that the person sitting here was the General Fuguo himself.
Everyone turned the topic back to the battle.
"General Fuguo is really amazing! I heard that he defeated 5,000 soldiers and horses and 200,000 Jin troops!"
"Puff!" Even a calm and composed man like Zhao Xiao was startled by them and couldn't help but spit out the water from his mouth. Five thousand against two hundred thousand? Only the heavenly soldiers and generals could defeat this!
Song Yuzhu was feeling uncomfortable trying to hold back her laughter, so she covered her mouth and coughed lightly.
He pretended to question, "That's impossible. Isn't there a hundred thousand troops stationed at Xiguan? Why are there only five thousand?"
Brother Yang explained, "How could you know that General Fuguo was born with supernatural power? He rushed into the enemy camp alone with a 300-jin long sword in hand and chopped off Yelu Khan's head with one sword! Without their leader, the enemy was like a headless fly, and naturally they were beaten to a pulp by us!"
Zhao Xiao exclaimed in surprise, "Oh!" "How do you know this?"
"My third uncle's friend's nephew is serving in the army in Beijing, and he's even a general! He wrote this in a letter."
Zhao Xiao was so angry that he asked, "May I ask the general's name?"
Brother Yang said proudly, "My surname is Ge."
Song Yuzhu covered her face with the medical book and trembled with laughter. "Ge Zhongshun dared to make up such a story about your general. You will definitely suffer the consequences when you return."
Ge Zhongshun, who was far away in Shangjing training soldiers, couldn't help but sneeze three or four times. Chen Jing handed him a handkerchief and asked, "Do you have typhoid fever?"
"No, my nose is itchy. Maybe someone missed me."
*
Because Song Yuzhu was in a good mood, she ate half a bowl of rice more at noon.
The train stopped at Biancheng at noon. It was a big station and would last for an hour. Many people took the opportunity to get off the train to get some fresh air.
There were many vendors selling things near the Biancheng platform, all pushing their small wooden carts in an orderly manner and standing in a row, not daring to charge thousands to attract customers.
Because the weather was hot, some people started selling iced milk, which was similar to the smoothies of later generations. It was made by mixing milk and sugar water with ice cubes, sprinkled with some cooked red beans and chopped red dates, and served in a bamboo bowl. A bowl cost only three cents.
Zhao Xiao got off the car and bought two bowls, and also bought some dried fruits and snacks to eat on the way to relieve his boredom.
As the two were eating iced milk, they suddenly heard a shrill cry for help from a nearby carriage: "Someone come and save my son! Someone, please!"
Song Yuzhu stood up immediately after hearing the voice: "Let's go see what happened."
The two of them walked quickly towards the front carriage, where many people were gathered to watch the excitement, and they heard a woman crying from inside.
"Move aside, I'm a doctor!" Song Yuzhu raised his voice.
The people in front quickly made way for him, and the two walked forward and saw a boy of seven or eight years old who seemed to have food stuck in his trachea. He was grabbing his neck with both hands in pain, his face flushed and his lips blue and purple.
The woman hit the boy's back hard, but no food came out. Seeing that the child was about to suffocate to death, the woman was anxious and reached out to pinch the child's throat.
"Madam, please let go. I am a doctor. Let me take a look!"
The woman let go and cried, "Please save my son!"
The situation was critical and it was too late to teach them a solution.
Song Yuzhu pulled the boy up and hugged him from behind. She clenched her fist with one hand and placed it two fingers above the boy's navel. She wrapped her other hand around her fist and pushed it upward with force. This is the Heimlich maneuver commonly used in modern times.
The eight or nine-year-old child was quite heavy, and he was weak to begin with, so he could only grit his teeth and use all his strength to push upwards.
Once, twice, three times...the child suddenly spat out a piece of food and then burst into tears.
The woman excitedly hugged her son and collapsed on the ground. Fortunately, she met a doctor in the car, otherwise her son would have died here today!
"Thank you so much for saving my life!" The woman pulled her son to kowtow.
Song Yuzhu waved his hand weakly: "Get up quickly, and be careful when eating next time..." Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly went dark and he fell backwards.
(End of this chapter)
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