Chapter 114 Chapter 114 Entering Beijing (1)
Although she was going to the capital, she couldn't leave immediately. She had to wait for the Lin'an Prefecture Patrol Inspectorate to arrive before she could leave.
She took the travel permit from Magistrate Meng, put it away in her house, and went outside to see an exceptionally lovely scene.
In the small garden of the inner courtyard, Rui Rui was holding her little hand, looking at the strange older brother who had appeared in her house with a wary expression.
Aside from Zhao Jian's daughter, Xiao Yanyue, he had never seen such a young child in his family. In addition, little children naturally want to play with older children, so no matter what method Liu Zhi used to coax him away, he would immediately come back and continue to carefully observe him.
Aze was sitting in the yard, lost in thought. He had slept well the night before, but woke up twice because of nightmares. As a result, Asheng, who was under the bed, immediately became alert, wiped his sweat, coaxed him to sleep, and told him stories. He then fell back asleep immediately.
He woke up early in the morning and didn't see Li Xiaoxiao. He didn't know what would happen to him, so after eating breakfast, he sat in the courtyard in a daze.
Lord Meng had a two-year-old son who kept walking around observing him, which reminded him of his younger brother, who was about the same age as him, chubby and plump, but who had left him because of a minor cold.
Aze felt like crying again when he thought about this.
A hand patted his head, and he quickly looked up, his eyes sparkling with surprise: "Sister!"
Rui Rui had been observing this older brother for a long time, but he ignored him. Then, when Li Xiaoxiao touched his head, he immediately smiled. Rui Rui was eager to win her affection and pounced on her like a little cannonball. He grabbed Li Xiaoxiao's leg and skillfully climbed up. Li Xiaoxiao patted his little bottom, picked him up, and sat down next to Aze. She introduced Rui Rui to him: "This is our little master, named Rui Rui. He's two years old this year and can't talk very well yet. He just wants to play with you!"
Aze lowered his head: "But I don't want to play..."
Li Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and asked, "So what do you usually do at home?"
Aze whispered, "At this time, I need to practice calligraphy and memorize texts. After memorizing the texts, I will listen to the teacher explain the meaning."
Li Xiaoxiao slapped her thigh: "You want to take a class?! That's easy! You wait, when the adults come back I'll talk to them and have them teach you."
Aze looked at her in surprise. Li Xiaoxiao thought he was disgusted by Magistrate Meng's lack of knowledge, and said proudly, "Our master is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), more than capable of teaching you. Before our young master became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examinations), he studied under our master. So there's no need to worry that our master is not as good as your teachers in the capital!"
Aze was speechless, but then he thought that he didn't know what to do here anyway. Playing with Rui Rui was too much for him, so he might as well go to school, at least that would kill some time.
If his father and mother knew that he could still maintain his scholarly spirit despite his current predicament, they would surely praise him.
A faint smile appeared on his lips: "Okay, I'm willing to study."
Li Xiaoxiao glanced at his thin body and thought for a moment: "Actually, besides studying, you should exercise more and sweat more so that you can have a better appetite and eat more. Otherwise, your parents will worry when they see you so thin in the future."
Aze frowned slightly, looking somewhat worried.
He felt constantly tired, sleepy, listless, and had no appetite, so he didn't want to move. Now, his older sister wanted him to move more, but he didn't really want to.
Li Xiaoxiao looked at Rui Rui, who couldn't sit still for more than a few breaths and wanted to get down and play, and then looked at the thin and weak A Ze, and had an idea.
Rui Rui is too active, while A Ze doesn't want to move, but she wants A Ze to work up a sweat, so—
She asked Rui Rui, who was in her arms, "Rui Rui, do you want to play the obstacle course game with your big brother?"
Upon hearing that he could play with the older brother, Rui Rui's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.
He was full of energy, and Liu Zhi was almost sick from taking care of him. One day, Li Xiaoxiao had a sudden idea and set up a few small obstacle games for him. She asked a carpenter to make them and put them on the sand in the outer yard to consume his excess energy. Rui Rui played with them so much that he didn't want to come back when he had just learned to stand.
On one hand, Liu was troubled by the fact that he was not as quiet and well-behaved as Meng Guanqi, but on the other hand, she liked his strong and robust appearance. She didn't know how to teach him properly.
But once he's vented all his energy, he'll be so tired that he'll sleep soundly until dawn, making him seem like an easy-going and well-behaved child.
It's just that it requires a lot of manpower during the day.
Besides him, the little one, the one with the most energy in the family is Li Xiaoxiao.
This game, called "Big Challenge," was invented by her. It included small obstacles that Rui Rui had to overcome. If he succeeded, he would receive a reward—sometimes a peanut, sometimes a small pastry, sometimes a piece of candy. Actually, Rui Rui had plenty of these things; his mother's snack box contained the exact same treats. But Rui Rui preferred them, always feeling that the ones Li Xiaoxiao rewarded him with tasted better.
Li Xiaoxiao asked Aze, "Do you want to play the obstacle course game with your younger brother?"
What is a challenge game?
Aze asked blankly, "How do I play?"
Li Xiaoxiao then led the two of them to the front yard.
There was a sandy area with some strange obstacles set up on it: a slide that you had to climb up and then slide down, a cage that was ten feet long but only three feet high with empty ends, a row of small swings made of wood, a rope bridge made of rope, and finally a wall that was about as tall as an adult, with protruding stones embedded here and there. At the top of the wall was a bright red chicken feather shuttlecock.
Aze had never seen these things before, and when he saw them, he looked at Li Xiaoxiao with great curiosity.
Li Xiaoxiao put Rui Rui on the ground: "Rui Rui, your brother doesn't know how to play. Can you show me how?"
Rui Rui shouted, "Okay!"
He spoke very loudly, even if it was only a word or two.
He started running as soon as his short legs took off.
He first climbed the wooden ladder using both hands and feet, then slid down from the top with a whoosh, landing on his bottom on the sand. A few steps ahead was the cage, about ten feet long and three feet high. Rui Rui lay down on the ground and crawled forward using both hands and feet, quickly climbing out of the cage and running to the swing bridge. This swing bridge wasn't as sturdy as it looked. Rui Rui carefully stepped onto it, gripping the ropes on both sides. The wooden planks beneath his feet wobbled, almost throwing him off. Li Xiaoxiao stood guard nearby to prevent him from falling, but didn't help him, letting him figure out how to cross the bridge on his own.
Rui Rui quickly mastered his balance, took his first step, then his second, and after walking across all six swings, he jumped down with a whoosh. He then ran to the wall and used both his hands and feet to grab the protruding stones and climb up like a nimble little gecko. Finally, he grabbed the feather shuttlecock at the top and threw it down.
Liu Zhi and Li Xiaoxiao cheered and applauded him.
Rui Rui smiled and climbed down the rock again, then Li Xiaoxiao put a candy into his mouth.
After completing the entire process, his forehead was covered in sweat, but he was extremely happy and felt a great sense of accomplishment.
He ran over and took Aze's hand: "Brother, play."
Aze grew up in the palace, where the rules were the strictest. Being allowed to play on a small rocking horse was already an extra favor from his mother. Where had he ever seen such a thing before?
Although he was thin, he was still a child. Seeing Li Xiaoxiao looking at him encouragingly, and his two-year-old brother pulling him to play together, he finally couldn't resist. He carefully climbed up the slide and slid down like Rui Rui. But he was in trouble at the next level. The bottom of the cage was full of sand and very dirty. Should he climb it?
Li laughed and said, "Climbing is fine. If your clothes get dirty, you can wash and change them. Playing is about having fun. Why do you care if your clothes are dirty?"
Aze then carefully lay down, but as soon as he moved, he realized that the movement was not easy. Because the space was very small and narrow, he could not stand up and walk at all. He could only use his limbs to move, but after trying for a long time, he could only move a small distance.
It looks like Rui Rui climbed so easily, so why is it so difficult for him? And he's so much older than Rui Rui.
Aze felt so embarrassed that his face turned bright red, and he almost cried.
When Rui Rui saw that his brother didn't move, he got anxious and immediately lay down on the ground, squeezing into the cage with A Ze. He couldn't speak clearly, but his little hands and feet were as nimble as a little gecko. He made "ah ah" sounds, trying to get A Ze to imitate his actions.
Aze blushed. Rui Rui was so small and could crawl, but he couldn't.
But he was also touched that Rui Rui didn't laugh at him, but instead climbed in with him to teach him.
He clumsily tried to imitate him, slowly moving forward. After a few steps, he discovered the pattern, his body became more coordinated, and his speed increased.
The cage was only about ten feet wide, and he climbed out quickly. The swing bridge was much more difficult. He held tightly to the rope knots on both sides. It was already difficult to stand still, and the whole swing swayed when he moved. Aze almost fell off several times, which scared him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Li Xiaoxiao taught him how to maintain his balance and how to exert force. Seeing that he really couldn't walk, she helped him a few times. After finally crossing the swing bridge, they arrived at the climbing wall. This time, Aze finally climbed up by himself without help, got the feather shuttlecock, and carefully climbed down. As usual, Li Xiaoxiao put a candy in his mouth.
Aze blushed, feeling embarrassed that even though he hadn't played well, the older sister still fed him candy. This candy was hard-won, but it tasted even sweeter in his mouth.
This is a reward for successfully reaching the top; it's not some snack that's just sitting in the house and you can take it anywhere.
After Aze finished climbing one lap, he was also sweating profusely, but Rui Rui still remembered that she wanted to race him to see who was faster, so she kept tugging at him, wanting to do it again.
But Aze felt very tired and wanted to sleep; his eyes were almost half-closed.
Li Xiaoxiao's heart sank. She called Ah Sheng over and instructed him, "Take the young master back to wipe his sweat, change his clothes, and let him sleep for half an hour before waking him up."
He's tired because he's lacking energy. He only needs to rest for about half an hour to recover. He shouldn't sleep for too long, because the longer he sleeps, the more tired he'll become.
Ah Sheng responded, and seeing that Ah Ze was so sleepy he could barely stand, he squatted down and carried him back home.
When Liu came looking for Rui Rui, she saw A Sheng carrying the sleeping A Ze inside and asked in surprise, "Why is he asleep?"
Rui Rui jumped up: "Mommy~!" and was about to pounce on her.
Liu quickly called for Liu Zhi to pull him back: "My little darling, you're so dirty, you can't jump on me! What about my clothes?!"
Rui Rui hadn't had enough fun yet. She was only happy to see Liu Shi come over for a moment before immediately starting to play by herself again.
Lady Liu asked in surprise, "We haven't had lunch yet, why is the young master already asleep?"
Aze's identity could not be kept secret from his family. Magistrate Meng had already told Liu before leaving home that morning to keep the servants in check and not to reveal that there was another child in the family.
Li Xiaoxiao looked in the direction he disappeared and said, "His health is a bit poor. He was covered in sweat after just one round of games. In the days to come, Madam should let Rui Rui play with him more often so that he can sweat more and eat more, which will be good for his health."
Lady Liu was somewhat worried: "But he is, after all, the heir apparent. If he overworks himself..."
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes held a deeper meaning: "I think the young master's appetite is not very good because he doesn't move around enough. But children should be like our Rui Rui, playing, jumping, running, moving and sweating more to be healthy and eat more. He seems to be very thoughtful, so why not let Rui Rui spend more time playing with him? When he's busy, he won't have time to think about anything else."
Liu thought it made sense. After all, with so many changes, if the child had nothing to do, he would indeed be prone to overthinking.
She nodded: "Okay, then let Rui Rui play with him more often from now on."
Li smiled and said, "He probably won't stay at our house for more than a few days. I will go to the capital soon to find His Highness the Crown Prince and ask him to send someone to pick him up."
After lunch, Li Xiaoxiao found a moment to go out.
She walked around the shop outside, and when she came back, she had a fist-sized, dark object in her hand.
She went straight back to her room, closed the door, drew her small sword, and dug a small hole in the dark object. Then she stuffed the "sapphire" she had taken from Aze into it, plugged the hole, and finally took a small, square box and put the dark "stone" inside.
With this stone, the "sapphire" is no longer useful.
This is something she's going to take to the capital to show the Crown Prince, so of course she has to keep it safe.
In the afternoon, she found a way to get Aze to play with Rui Rui, which made him sweat a lot. Although Aze was tired, his appetite was much better at dinner. He finished a bowl of rice and drank half a bowl of soup.
Li Xiaoxiao thought to himself that if he could maintain this level of exercise and appetite every day, his damaged body would recover quickly.
She praised Aze extensively, exaggerating his ability to eat a whole bowl of rice, and said that it would be great if he could eat that much every day, and even better if he could have a snack before going to bed at night.
Aze blushed deeply at her praise: "Is it really okay to eat this much?"
Li smiled and said, "Of course you can. You're still growing. The more you eat and the more you move, the healthier you'll be."
But it was a bit difficult for Aze to eat another snack tonight. Li Xiaoxiao comforted him, "It's okay, don't force yourself. Your body hasn't adjusted yet. You can eat it when you feel hungry."
The next morning, Magistrate Meng started a class for Aze. He had to study in the study for half a day in the morning, and then play a challenge game with Rui Rui in the afternoon.
Aze was clearly satisfied with this arrangement. Firstly, he wouldn't neglect his studies, and secondly, he could have fun to his heart's content. He wouldn't have to worry about his father and mother thinking he was too busy playing to care about his studies when he saw them in the future.
The news of the bandits attacking Guanyin Temple spread like wildfire throughout Biyang County the next day. Magistrate Meng had specifically instructed the old monk and the constables who had handled the bodies of the men in black that day not to speak carelessly. He also arranged for them to spread the word according to his wishes. As a result, the rumors spread exactly as Magistrate Meng had predicted. For a time, the various merchant caravans that came to purchase goods were extremely nervous and rushed to hire escort agencies to help with the transport.
Magistrate Meng then naturally reported the matter to Prefect Song, and took the opportunity to suggest that the patrol officers be sent to patrol the route from Biyang County to Lin'an Prefecture, so as to prevent the bandits and their accomplices from holding a grudge and pursuing them to retaliate against the people of Biyang County.
I heard that Magistrate Meng and his constables captured seven bandits, which is a great achievement! Prefect Song felt that it was inappropriate to try such an important case in Biyang County and wanted to bring the people to Lin'an Prefecture for trial. However, he was told that these people died on the spot and that Magistrate Meng had burned their bodies.
Prefect Song: ...
Does Meng Ying think he's an idiot? They're all dead? How did they die? Who killed them? He won't mention any details of the case, and he burned the bandits' bodies without even investigating the case? With no way to verify the facts, doesn't that mean whatever he says is true?
Could Meng Ying be killing innocent people and claiming credit for it?
On second thought, it seemed unlikely. Meng Ying had governed Biyang County well in the past two years, and he was always kind and gentle. He wouldn't do something so ruthless.
Moreover, he had heard rumors that Meng Ying had intended to be transferred back to the capital three months ago, but for some reason changed her mind. Prefect Song was quite displeased. As his subordinate, Meng Ying was preparing to be transferred without even informing him, her superior. Wasn't that a bit disrespectful?
Prefect Song was just worried about not being able to find fault with Magistrate Meng. Now that he had received this unclear report, he thought there must be something else going on. He immediately set off from Lin'an Prefecture with his chief clerk and a few trusted men to find fault with Magistrate Meng.
As a result, Magistrate Meng calmly welcomed Prefect Song into the county government office and explained that Li Ke had been chased and killed, his personal attendants and protectors had all been killed, and he had been rescued by a yamen runner in the Guanyin Temple. He was now living in his backyard. Finally, he asked Prefect Song if he wanted to see him, or if Prefect Song wanted to take the young prince to Lin'an Prefecture and send more people to protect the young prince's safety, that would be fine too.
Upon hearing this, Prefect Song felt a chill run down his spine and wished he could slap himself twice for meddling!
How could he not know about the Crown Prince's current situation in the court? Naturally, he would stay as far away as possible. The story of how his son was chased all the way from the capital and then rescued in Biyang County was full of bloodshed and turmoil, and he didn't want to know it at all.
He immediately stood up: "Lord Meng is too kind. Since the young master is willing to stay at Lord Meng's residence, Lord Meng should treat him well."
He said indignantly, "These bandits are truly despicable! They dare to disregard human life in broad daylight, showing absolutely no respect for the government! I will immediately return and order the entire patrol office to patrol the official road from Biyang County to Lin'an Prefecture, ensuring the safety of the caravans and the people. Lord Meng has official business to attend to, so I will not disturb you any longer. I will take my leave now!"
They slipped away as fast as they could, as if they had oiled their feet.
Less than half a day after they returned, the patrol officers arranged for personnel to take turns guarding the official road leading out of Biyang County. There were two people on duty every four or five miles, as well as guards on horseback patrolling.
With the government deploying troops in such a grand manner to protect their safety, the merchants finally felt reassured and continued their business.
Although Prefect Song decided to stay away from the Crown Prince, he was worried that something might happen since the heir was at Magistrate Meng's residence. So he secretly sent an extra team of twenty guards to guard the city gate of Biyang County as a precaution. However, he didn't mention it publicly and just said that he was worried about the safety of the people when asked.
When Chief Constable Shi discovered that there were twenty more people at the city gate, he reported this to Magistrate Meng. Magistrate Meng raised one corner of his mouth, waved his hand, and told him to leave, indicating that he understood.
These guards were given to him for free by Prefect Song, so of course he wouldn't refuse them.
Once the patrol troops arrived, Li Xiaoxiao was finally ready to embark on her journey to the capital.
Aze stayed at the Meng family's house for four or five days and was starting to get used to it. Rui Rui usually only had Zhao Jian's daughter, Xiao Yan Yue, as a playmate. Moreover, the girl was not only weak but also cried easily. Now that an older brother had come, he immediately forgot about Xiao Yan Yue and wanted to play with the older brother every day. He even wanted to sleep with him.
Seeing that he had gotten used to it a little, and knowing that she was leaving for the capital the next day, Li Xiaoxiao told Aze about her trip to the capital after dinner.
Aze immediately grabbed Li Xiaoxiao's clothes: "I want to go back too! I want to go back to see my father and mother." He looked very excited.
Although he was relatively happy at Magistrate Meng's house, it was still someone else's home, how could it compare to his own? Moreover, having experienced this great calamity, he was terrified and it was inevitable that he would be eager to see the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Li Xiaoxiao looked at him very seriously: "I can't take you with me."
Aze's tears streamed down his face. Li Xiaoxiao sighed softly and gently wiped away his tears: "Aze, good boy, I can only go alone, I can't take you with me. Although I am confident in my abilities, your identity is special. Without someone to protect you, I dare not take you away alone."
Aze wasn't an unreasonable child. He thought about how so many people had protected him, only to have them all killed. If he insisted on going back to the capital with Li Xiaoxiao, he feared he wouldn't be able to see his father and mother, and would also implicate his older sister.
He quickly accepted the arrangement that he had to stay here and wait for news. When he heard that Li Xiaoxiao was going alone, he began to worry about her: "Sister, doesn't Lord Meng have any guards? Why are you going to the capital alone?"
Li smiled and said, "I can walk faster by myself. Don't worry, I'm going to find your father this time so he knows you're safe here. Otherwise, he'll be worried sick if he loses contact with you! Maybe General Pang will come with me when I come back. With him protecting you, you don't have to worry about those bandits hiding in the shadows."
Aze asked expectantly, "Sister, when are you coming back?"
Li smiled and said, "I estimate I'll be back in about a month. I'm not interested in the capital, so I'll be back soon."
Aze held her hand: "Then promise me you'll come back within a month."
Li Xiaoxiao made a pinky promise with him: "Okay, it's a deal."
The next morning, Li Xiaoxiao dressed up as a servant, took the most magnificent horse in the manor, carried a small bundle on her back, bid farewell to everyone, and rode alone towards the capital.
As soon as she left, the mansion seemed to fall silent. Not only were Mama Mao, Liu Zhi, and A Sheng disappointed, but even Madam Liu felt as if something was missing.
Rui Rui woke up late today. He wasn't awake when Li Xiaoxiao left, so he didn't realize she was missing.
After he finished breakfast, he was about to come over to play with her, but he found the house empty, the study empty, and the obstacle course empty too. He stamped his feet anxiously, calling out, "Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao!"
Liu Zhi quickly coaxed him, "Sister Xiaoxiao has gone out to do something. How about I play with you?"
In the past, Li Xiaoxiao would also go out on business with Lord Meng, but they would always come back on the same day. Rui Rui accepted Liu Zhi's explanation to some extent and played by himself for a morning. In the afternoon, he played with his older brother for a while, but his older brother was not in the mood today and just sat still. He was the only one playing, and he was not happy about it, so he went to find Li Xiaoxiao again.
When it was time for dinner, Li Xiaoxiao still hadn't returned, which had never happened before. Rui Rui immediately got angry, tilted her head back, opened her mouth wide, and let out a deafening wail: "Wah~!"
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoxiao had already arrived at her first accommodation.
The map of the capital was given to her by Steward Zhao. A few years ago, when Magistrate Meng first came to Biyang County, he fell seriously ill and was impeached. It was he who rode alone for thousands of miles to the capital to deliver the message. He was a very meticulous person and marked the route. He remembered clearly how much distance to travel each day and where there were suitable inns to stay in. Li Xiaoxiao only needed to follow this map and she would not go wrong.
Thanks to the deterrent effect of the patrol office, there were no thieves to be seen on the road, and everything was peaceful.
But no one was found looking for Aze.
How could that be? Aze is now the Crown Prince's only son. Wouldn't the Crown Prince and Crown Princess be worried if he disappeared? What about the Emperor and Empress? Don't even mention that he's from an imperial family. Even if he were born into a peasant family, the disappearance of his only grandson would make the whole village know. People would light torches at night to search for the child.
Does nobody know that Aze has come to Biyang County?
Li Xiaoxiao still knew too little information to deduce a logical reason. The only option now was to wait until they reached the capital to gather more information.
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