Chapter 280 Let's go to Daxing
After leaving the East Palace, Shang Ruyi did the same thing as before, sitting on a pedestal carried by several eunuchs and walking out.
This time, no one stopped them.
As she walked out of Xuanren Gate, the eaves slowly lowered to the ground. When Eunuch Lu smiled and helped her out, she was still somewhat incredulous. It wasn't until she got into the carriage and returned to the Yuwen Mansion that she saw Tusheer Woxue and the others come to help her and bow to Eunuch Lu to express their gratitude. Only then did her heart finally settle down.
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Eunuch Lu seemed to understand what she had been worried about, and said with a smile, "Madam can rest assured now."
Shang Ruyi forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your help along the way, Father-in-law."
Eunuch Lu smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare. Madam has also worked hard all day, so please go inside and rest. I still need to go to the city gate to deliver a message, so that Madam can lead her people out of the city tomorrow."
Shang Ruyi said gratefully, "Thank you, Father-in-law."
Eunuch Lu simply waved his hand, then turned and got into his carriage and left.
As soon as he left, Tushe'er, supporting Shang Ruyi, immediately asked, "Miss, are we leaving the city tomorrow?"
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Wo Xue asked, "Young Madam, what are we doing outside the city?"
As Shang Ruyi walked inside, she said slowly, "Didn't I say before that I need to go and settle things with the people and affairs on the estate? When I entered the palace just now, I mentioned it to Her Majesty, and Her Majesty told me to go and come back as soon as possible, so as not to miss the departure with His Majesty."
Wo Xue said, "That's true. The manor is far away, and it would take a day or two to go there and back."
Shang Ruyi said, "Go inside and pack your luggage quickly. Don't bring too many bags, just enough for the next few days. Also—Chang Wan, tell them to prepare a carriage."
Chang Wan immediately replied, "Yes."
She turned and left, and Wo Xue went to pack her things. Tu She'er helped Shang Ruyi into the room to sit down and rest, and poured her a cup of hot tea to warm her hands. Then she smiled and said, "I thought Miss would ride a horse to the manor, but it turns out she will take a carriage."
Shang Ruyi held her teacup, paused for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Why can't I ride in a carriage?"
Tushe'er laughed and said, "That's right, Miss prefers riding horses to carriages."
Shang Ruyi said, "The weather is so cold, it's easy to catch a cold while riding a horse. Her Majesty the Empress caught a cold and couldn't accompany His Majesty south this time."
"Ah...I see."
"You guys should also be careful, the weather's been changing quickly lately."
"This servant understands."
That evening, the few remaining servants of the Yuwen household busied themselves preparing for the young mistress's upcoming departure. The next morning, Shang Ruyi set off after breakfast.
When the carriage arrived at the north gate, there were quite a few people coming and going. The soldiers guarding the city spotted her carriage at a glance and immediately came forward to greet her.
The captain bowed to her and asked, "Are you Madam Yuwen?"
Shang Ruyi lifted a corner of the curtain and nodded calmly: "Exactly."
The man said, "Madam, why did you only take these few people with you when you left the city?"
Shang Ruyi smiled faintly and said, "I'm just going to visit the estate outside the city. I'll be back in three to five days. It's not like I'm moving house, so there's no need for a large entourage."
The man smiled and said, "Madam is truly free-spirited."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Let them pass."
So the soldiers in front immediately moved the wooden fence. Just as the carriage was about to pass through the city gate, Shang Ruyi looked around and suddenly said, "It seems like quite a few people are entering the city these past two days."
The man subconsciously glanced around—indeed, the wealthy people in Dongdu City had been leaving one after another, followed by the common people, like ants moving house. When they closed the city gates at night, they couldn't help but joke that if this continued, Dongdu City would be empty and the city gates would no longer need to be closed.
However, in the last two days, for some reason, more people have started coming into the city, and they are mostly young and middle-aged people.
The man laughed and said, "Yes, the city is starting to come alive again."
Shang Ruyi smiled, glanced around, and then waved her hand. The carriage then swayed and drove forward.
Once outside the city, they were on the official road. Tu She'er had traveled this road once before, riding a horse for a day and a night to inform Jiang Kesheng and the others to go to Xingluocang to help Yuwen Ye. This time, riding in a carriage was more relaxed than before, but looking at the scenery around them, no one could feel relaxed.
Although they were traveling on the official road, the desolate scene on both sides of the road was even worse than before.
After walking all day, I could hardly see any villages or pedestrians.
As dusk approached, they finally saw the outline of a cluster of houses at the foot of the mountain ahead in the afterglow of the setting sun. It was the estate of the Duke of Sheng. A river flowed across the front, and amidst the murmuring of the water, crows would occasionally take flight, pattering the snow off the bare branches. Their cacophony only served to accentuate the tranquility of the place.
Because they came on short notice and had not notified the people in the village beforehand, Jiang Kesheng hurriedly came out with a few people after Shang Ruyi sent a servant in to inform them.
They bowed respectfully to Shang Ruyi, saying, "Young Madam."
Shang Ruyi got off the carriage, looked at them, and then smiled at Jiang Kesheng, "I hope my sudden arrival didn't disturb your rest."
Jiang Kesheng hurriedly replied, "Young Madam, we dare not accept such words. We have just finished our training and haven't had a chance to rest yet."
Shang Ruyi said, "At this time, you're still training?"
Jiang Kesheng said, "I have not dared to slack off on the Duke's previous instructions, which were given three times a day, morning, noon and night."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi nodded slightly.
As expected, Duke Sheng was strict in his military discipline. Even his ordinary servants maintained the military training habits. It seems that without such diligence and hard work, they would not have been able to so easily break through the imperial army and rescue her and Yuwen Ye at Xingluo Granary last time.
So he said, "Okay."
After exchanging a few words, Jiang Kesheng welcomed them inside. As soon as the sun set, the manor grew dark. Shang Ruyi could only hear a few barks of dogs and crowing of roosters in the distance, but there was hardly any human voice; it truly resembled a disciplined military camp. Jiang Kesheng, holding a torch, led them along the main road in the center of the manor to the entrance of a large courtyard, saying, "The Duke and his sons always stay here when they come to the manor. Young Madam, please rest assured, it's regularly cleaned and never dirty."
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "You're overthinking it."
She went inside. The place was indeed very clean, but also very simple, in line with the style that Yuwen's residences often saw from Taiyuan to Dongdu. Jiang Kesheng immediately had someone go in to light a fire and burn incense. Tu She'er and the others also carried their luggage to the inner courtyard to prepare Shang Ruyi's bedroom.
Shang Ruyi walked into the lobby, looked around at the scenery, then sat down and asked Jiang Kesheng, "How many people are left here?"
Jiang Kesheng immediately said, "Originally there were two hundred men. In the battle of Xingluocang, seven died and twenty-five were injured. Twenty-two of them have recovered, and the remaining three can no longer practice martial arts. They just work with the others on the estate. So, there are one hundred and ninety men available."
Shang Ruyi nodded.
Jiang Kesheng said, "Should I have them come and pay their respects to the young mistress? Or should we formally meet her tomorrow?"
Shang Ruyi waved her hand and said, "No need for formalities."
She took out several silver notes and handed them to Jiang Kesheng, saying, "These are for the families of the dead and wounded. Distribute them according to the usual amount. If it's not enough, come and ask me for more."
Jiang Kesheng didn't say much, and reached out to take it: "I thank the young mistress on their behalf."
Shang Ruyi nodded and said, "I have some things I need to tell you to do."
Jiang Kesheng seemed unsurprised and immediately said, "Please speak, young mistress."
Shang Ruyi said, "Now that you have 190 men under your command, you should allocate half of them and send them south in three separate routes to Lingnan."
Lingnan?
Jiang Kesheng was slightly taken aback, but immediately understood and said, "Does the young mistress want us to go and meet Master Shen?"
Shang Ruyi nodded and said, "They have now received His Majesty's pardon and are heading back. However, the journey is difficult, so I think you should go and meet them. But the situation in the south is also unstable, and His Majesty the Emperor is going to tour Jiangdu, so the situation there may be more complicated than in the north. Therefore, you should split into three groups: one group will take the waterway, one group will take the Tongcheng trails, and one group will take the official road."
Jiang Kesheng immediately understood her meaning and said, "Okay, I'll go and give the order right away."
He had just turned around, but after thinking for a moment, he stopped and turned back to Shang Ruyi, saying, "Young Madam, if we have met Master Shen and Madam Shen, where should we go next?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
In fact, this is a question she has been considering all along, and even now, the answer is still tangled in various thoughts, and she cannot clearly get it out.
Jiang Kesheng thought for a moment and said, "Should we go straight back to Dongdu?"
Shang Ruyi immediately shook her head: "Liang Shide's troops are not far from here. Even if they can't take it, the situation here will not be optimistic. My uncle and aunt finally left Lingnan, and I don't want them to be in danger again."
Jiang Kesheng said, "Then, shall we go to Taiyuan?"
"..."
"After all, the Duke is still in Taiyuan."
Shang Ruyi shook her head: "Father, we won't stay in Taiyuan forever."
Jiang Kesheng glanced at her, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, but he didn't respond. After thinking for a while, he said, "Or should we find a place to stay temporarily in the south?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head again: "As I said, the situation in the south is also unstable. Moreover, once His Majesty arrives in Jiangdu, the situation there will become even more complicated."
Even Jiang Kesheng fell silent.
In fact, these three places are the safest places they can think of right now. The rest of the places are either occupied by rebels or coveted by them. It seems that there is no place in the world where people can live in peace.
Just as the atmosphere in the lobby fell into an almost suffocating silence, Shang Ruyi suddenly said, "Let's go to Daxing."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com