Chapter 297 Acrostic Poem
At this moment, Mu Xi was dressed in black riding attire, with a dark blue cloak over it. The hood was pulled down, covering most of her face, revealing only her tightly pressed lips, which were chapped from days of travel.
Although she did not believe Shen Qiao's words that Mu Xun's hiding place would be without food and water without him, she knew that if the time dragged on, something unexpected would inevitably happen. And now, four days had passed since Shen Qiao was captured.
Therefore, as soon as she learned the exact location from Shen Qiao, she even abandoned her car and rode a horse at breakneck speed, just to gain more time to return.
Behind her were two hundred elite cavalrymen, all the elite troops she could muster for this trip. Each of them was fully armored, with swords and bows at their sides, and their full-speed advance exuded a chilling aura of battle-hardened warriors.
Just as the fishing village of Luwei came into view, Mu Xi, having endured several hours on horseback, finally had to stop and catch her breath.
Before they could catch their breath, another group of people came galloping up from the side path, their hooves thundering and kicking up dust. The leader was none other than Zhen Shenlun, dressed in the attire of the Marquis of Yong and now restored to his original identity.
Shen Lun was also dressed in a gray-blue robe and a black cloak, looking travel-worn, with only a few guards sent by Mu Xi following behind him.
The two groups met, both surprised and delighted.
"Uncle, did you also find out that Mu Xun is in Luwei Fishing Village ahead?" Mu Xi asked anxiously before Shen Lun could even stop his horse.
"Indeed." Shen Lun hurriedly replied before even reining in his horse, "Your Excellency has arrived ahead of us. We should hurry, or things might change."
"What change?" Mu Xi was suddenly startled.
Shen Lun didn't have time to answer: "Hurry up and go, we'll talk about it when we get there."
"Alright." Mu Xi didn't hesitate and immediately waved to urge his horse forward.
The two teams joined together and rode at full speed.
Because Mu Xi hadn't ridden a horse for a long time, her thighs and ankles were already chafed. Before she could catch her breath, she set off again. She wanted to ask Shen Lun for an explanation, but apart from gritting her teeth and holding on tightly to the reins, she was too weak to be distracted.
The large group of people galloped away on horseback for another incense stick's time, and finally arrived at Luwei Fishing Village.
However, as soon as the fishing village came into view, a smell mixed with the salty sea breeze and the stench of blood and smoke hit you.
Most of the thatched roofs of the village's huts were blown off or set on fire, leaving only charred and crooked roof frames, broken pottery jars, and scattered fishing nets...
Everywhere there were traces of looting by pirates.
Wherever the pirates went, they would burn, kill, and loot, and Deer Tail Village was no exception.
Looking around, Mu Xi saw that apart from a few elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people huddled under the broken walls, the entire village was deserted.
"Search..." Before Mu Xi could give the order, Dai Xin had already given the command, ordering more than a hundred guards to search with all their might.
Shen Lun finally caught his breath and said to Mu Xi, "Yesterday, I discovered a secret room in one of Shen Qiao's residences, and found clues in many confidential letters inside. Based on the letters, I deduced that the prince's identity was somehow exposed to Xuan Youjun Mu Zong. He had previously contacted Shen Qiao, demanding the prince. Shen Qiao refused, but rushed back and, to prevent any accidents, moved and hid the prince elsewhere."
It turned out that Shen Qiao had rushed back from Moyang City for this very reason.
But looking at the scene in the fishing village, Mu Xi hoped that Mu Xun was not in the village, so she asked, "Then how did Uncle deduce that the prince was hidden in this place? Perhaps there are other places."
"But it was impossible to deduce from those secret letters. I found another list of strongholds and repeatedly eliminated possibilities until dawn when I finally found that this fishing village was the last stronghold where Shen Qiao had moved. So I sent someone to report to you, my lord, and came here in person to verify it."
Looking at the devastated fishing village, Mu Xi suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Uncle, why were you in such a hurry to come here? Did you already know that pirates were coming? Could it be that the pirates...?"
“Exactly,” Shen Lun continued. “A secret report that Shen Qiao obtained from who-knows-where shows that Lord Xuanyou intends to forcibly seize the prince, but due to the great distance between the North and the South, even this fishing village at the far east is separated by the East China Sea. Therefore, they seem to be colluding with pirates and hiring them to kidnap people here.”
"The pirates are actually..." Before Mu Xi could be shocked, a team of elite soldiers sent out to search returned.
The team leader pointed to a house in the village and reported to Dai Xin, who was not far away: "Report, we've found a secret room."
"Go." In her shock and panic, Mu Xi dismounted without saying a word, but the moment she dismounted, her waist and legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
Dai Xin quickly stepped forward to help her up, but Mu Xi ignored him, staggering to her feet and limping towards that direction, shouting, "Go...go..."
Shen Lun also dismounted. The fishing village was small, and they rode there together.
Mu Xi practically tumbled and crawled to an inconspicuous courtyard.
They rushed inside and, behind a smashed water vat, were a small, secret room.
However, the secret room was already empty.
Ignoring the excruciating pain in her waist and legs, Mu Xi crawled inside herself, only to find nothing there.
Dai Xin, who followed in, lit a tinderbox; there was nothing there except for the four earthen walls.
Just as Mu Xi was feeling disappointed, Shen Lun called out softly from outside, "Oh, what's this...?"
Mu Xi quickly crawled out again and went to a room next door.
Shen Lun picked up something in that room and handed it to Mu Xi: "My lord, this doesn't seem like something that should be here."
Mu Xi took it, and it was a moon-white brocade handkerchief, the very one Mu Xun usually used.
Upon seeing this item, Mu Xi's heart tightened, and she gripped the handkerchief tightly in her hand.
Shen Lun then pointed to the earthen-yellow wall: "My lord, please take a look."
Mu Xi raised her hand and looked up, only to see a poem drawn on the wall with pebbles: "The king's hairpin broke off a piece of jade and presented it to the pivot, the faint sound came into my dreams."
Spring mist condenses into white dew over the ten-month-long spring; the golden box holds the moon's radiance, filling the garment with its glow.
"This..." Mu Xi didn't understand poetry, and the marks were made with pebbles, so the handwriting was not visible, but her intuition told her that it must have been made by Mu Xun.
Shen Lun then said directly, "Could this be an acrostic poem? I've heard that the names of the Lord and the Second Prince are 'Xi' and 'Xun' respectively."
"Ah..." Mu Xi then realized that the first two lines of the poem together form the character "Xi".
Shen Lun then wondered, "However, there's something wrong with the last line, 'The Golden Box Shines Brightly.'"
There was nothing wrong with it; this time, Mu Xi understood.
Since their separation from Mu Xun, the only thing the two of them have left each other with is the "golden box" that they always wear around their necks.
It was no easy feat. When she was captured and sold into prostitution, in order to preserve the only thing that connected her to the brothel and to prevent it from being searched and taken away, she had no choice but to remove her gold chain and hide the gold box in her hair for several months, which even caused a large amount of her hair to fall out, in order to preserve it.
But now, looking at this poem, I feel that nothing has been in vain.
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