Chapter 284 The world is about to change again...
Chen Tang lowered his voice and said, "The brothers found some suspicious people outside the manor."
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Kesheng immediately asked, "Who are they?"
Chen Tang said, "They observed for a while and found that they were all young and strong men. Several groups have passed by on the main road outside the manor in the past two days. Moreover, in the past few months, apart from our own people, there have been no young and strong men appearing here anymore."
Jiang Kesheng turned to look at Shang Ruyi: "Young Madam."
Shang Ruyi remained silent for a while, then smiled faintly and said, "Recently, many people have left Luoyang, so it's not surprising that some of them are passing through here."
Jiang Kesheng said, "Then we—"
Shang Ruyi said, "Don't worry about them, just let your people do their jobs."
"yes."
Jiang Kesheng immediately ordered Chen Tang and the others to continue patrolling around the manor, while he himself packed up the map and withdrew.
Shang Ruyi sat for a while, then finally let out a long sigh as if she had caught her breath. She then turned to Tusheer and said, "Go pack your luggage. Tomorrow, we'll go back to Luoyang."
Tushe'er said, "Yes."
Changwan and Woxue immediately asked, "Young Madam, should we go and pack together?"
Shang Ruyi laughed and said, "You two shouldn't try to slack off. Hurry up and cook. I'm exhausted from training in the martial arts field and I'm starving."
Upon hearing this, Wo Xue immediately laughed and pulled Chang Wan along to the kitchen.
After they all left, Shang Ruyi sighed again, looked up at the sky outside, which was faintly lit but still gloomy, wondering when the light from the zenith would finally break through the gloom and shine down.
After a long while, she murmured, "The weather is going to change again..."
Her words sounded like a harbinger of something.
That night, the howling north wind blew all night long. It was as if Liang Shide's troops had not arrived yet, but the wind had arrived first. In her sleep, Shang Ruyi even heard the sound of the flagpole in the training ground being blown down. When she woke up the next morning, the wind was still blowing and the sky began to snow heavily again.
By the time they had finished breakfast, the snow on the road was already ankle-deep, and the wind and snow continued relentlessly, making it impossible to open one's eyes. The dark, heavy clouds seemed like a heartless black hand pressing down on the hearts of these already fragile people, making it hard to breathe.
If this is the case for the people inside the village, it is even more difficult for those outside the village who need to conceal their whereabouts while closely monitoring everything and everyone inside.
Several strong men hid in a grove of dead trees not far from the foot of the mountain. The howling north wind cut their faces and bodies like knives. Even though they were wearing thick clothes, they could not keep out the bitter cold of the wilderness. They were all shivering. One of them complained involuntarily, "Is it necessary for a general's wife to make us suffer like this?"
Standing beside him was the squad leader of this group, who only glanced at him coldly and said, "If you want to complain, go complain to His Majesty."
The man gritted his teeth and could only shut his mouth.
A man who was half-hidden behind him put his hands together and breathed twice, then said, "This general's wife is no ordinary person. Otherwise, why would we be the only ones sent to monitor her when so many officials' relatives accompanied His Majesty to Jiangdu Palace this time?"
Another person whispered, "I heard from the brothers who went to Yanmen County that His Majesty seems to have something going on with this lady..."
Before he could finish speaking, the squad leader glared at him, and he immediately shut his mouth.
"Do you really not want your heads anymore?!"
Just then, the person at the front suddenly whispered, "They're coming out!"
Everyone immediately looked up and saw a group of people walking out of the manor through the wind and snow. Although everyone was wearing thick clothes and holding umbrellas, it was difficult to distinguish people, and even men and women were almost indistinguishable. However, they immediately recognized that the figure walking in the middle, wearing a heavy and gorgeous sable coat, with someone holding an umbrella for her, was the wife of the Grand General, Shang Ruyi.
They slowly walked out of the village and came to the carriage that had been parked at the crossroads since early morning.
She didn't get into the car immediately, but stood by it and said a few words to the people around her, seemingly giving instructions. The person listening to her was Jiang Kesheng, the manager of the estate, who nodded repeatedly and pointed to the other side of the estate.
Over there, dozens of horses had already been prepared, with heavy luggage on their backs. Clearly, they planned to leave after she did.
One person said softly, "Are all these people leaving?"
The squad leader stared intently ahead without speaking, while someone next to him whispered, "There's no one around here anymore. They're just a bunch of people from the village, and they won't last long. I just don't know where they're going next."
"Where are they going? They're probably going to Taiyuan to find their master."
"Then, when that general's wife went south, no one accompanied her?"
"Didn't she send a team of nearly a hundred people south before?"
These people were talking incessantly, and while they were talking, the people at the crossroads had already explained the situation. They helped Shang Ruyi into the carriage, and then the carriage, carrying the few guards she had brought with her, swayed and started to move on the road. The rest of the group watched the carriage disappear into the snow before returning to the manor.
Once everything had calmed down, the people in the forest immediately gathered together.
The squad leader said, "You two, take the shortcut and ride back to Dongdu as fast as you can to report to your superiors that Young Madam Yuwen has already returned to the city."
The person whose name was called asked in surprise, "Aren't we going back? Why do we need to take a shortcut?"
The squad leader, with eyes like a hawk, glanced at the end of the road in the snowstorm, then fixed his sharp gaze on the figures moving in the village. He said in a deep voice, "This road is already difficult to travel, and with the snowstorm so heavy, it will take them at least a day and a night to walk. To avoid worrying His Majesty, we must go back and report in advance."
As he spoke, he added, almost unconsciously, "To avoid any problems."
Although the two men were reluctant, they dared not say anything more at this point. After receiving the order, they led their horses away from the withered forest and set off along another road.
The remaining men looked at their squad leader and asked, "What do we do now—"
The squad leader took a deep breath and said, "Let's go. We'll follow behind them and head back to the city. That way, we can avoid any unexpected incidents along the way."
The group nodded and untied their horses, then set off.
Just after they left, a group of people emerged from the village and plunged into the raging blizzard, heading north.
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Just as the squad leader said, the road was difficult to travel, and once the snowstorm started, it really didn't stop for a whole day and night. Riding a horse in such weather was almost like being tortured.
They couldn't even utter a complaint. Finally, at 3:45 a.m. the next day, an even darker, enormous shadow appeared in the pitch-black night ahead.
They have returned to the Eastern Capital!
The squad leader couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At this point, there was no need to keep their distance from the Yuwen family's carriage anymore. They spurred their horses on, and as they watched the carriage enter the snow-covered city gate, they quickly passed through as well. As soon as they entered, they saw the two people who had been sent back earlier waiting at the city gate.
The group reined in their horses and stopped. The squad leader leaned down and looked at them: "Have you all reported this?"
The two men bowed to him and said, "Yes."
What did His Majesty say?
"His Majesty has instructed us to continue monitoring the Yuwen residence. The main force departs at 9:00 AM today, and we must ensure that their men are ready to assemble at the South Gate."
"Depart at 9:00 AM?"
Upon hearing this, the squad leader couldn't help but take a deep breath. They set off at 9:00 AM, while Madam Yuwen didn't return to Dongdu City until after 5:00 AM, which was almost two hours later. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened on the way, otherwise their mission today would have been hard to say.
So he nodded and said, "We understand, you may leave."
The two men then cupped their hands in greeting, turned, and left. The squad leader then said to the people behind him, "Everyone, please take this opportunity to keep watch at the Yuwen residence."
By this time, everyone was exhausted, but they dared not disobey the emperor's order and could only continue riding in the direction the carriage was heading. Perhaps because today was the day the emperor's southern tour was to depart, the entire capital city had hardly slept all night. Before dawn, lights were already lit everywhere, illuminating the road ahead in intermittent light, giving them the illusion of being in a confusing maze.
After another half hour of travel, the carriage finally arrived at the Yuwen residence.
The people here also started waiting early in the morning. Two large lanterns at the entrance emitted an orange-red light, reflecting the chaotic snowflakes, which looked like countless sparks twinkling in the air, and also made the eyes of the people at the entrance flicker.
They hurried to greet the carriage as soon as it stopped at the door.
The group of people who had followed on horseback to the end of the long street finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything has finally settled down.
They had worked hard these past few days and had accomplished their mission. Now they had to hurry back to join the Imperial Guard, because in less than an hour, His Majesty the Emperor's southward entourage would set off.
Just as they were about to turn around and leave, the squad leader suddenly said, "Wait a minute!"
Everyone quickly stopped.
Everyone looked at him, and saw that his eyes were fixed on the entrance of the Yuwen Mansion, as if he was urgently searching for something. They couldn't help but say, "Brother, haven't they already gone home? We should go."
"No, no..."
The squad leader muttered to himself, then suddenly his eyes turned red, and he immediately spurred his horse forward.
The group of men, unaware of what was happening, could only spur their horses and follow. In an instant, he had already reached the gate of the Yuwen residence. The guards accompanying the carriage, seeing someone suddenly rushing in, hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "What are you doing?"
The squad leader ignored them completely, spurred his horse and galloped over to the carriage, where he lifted the curtain!
It was completely empty inside!
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