Chapter 104 On the Road
It was Chinese New Year, and before the end of the first lunar month, a living person named Hefu Sanlang disappeared.
When Mrs. He saw the letter left by her son, she covered her chest with her hands and almost fainted from crying.
"That person has been dead for so long."
"My son, is he desperate and chasing after me..."
He Tingfang angrily sent his men to look for He Sanlang:
"Find this evil boy, break his legs and tie him back!"
After all, this matter is a scandal, and He Sanlang even dared to write "Following Zi Xin's footsteps" on a piece of paper. It must not be known to outsiders.
Therefore, the He family did not tell outsiders, but only said that He Sanlang had gone out of town to visit his grandparents.
Three hundred miles south of Chang'an.
A line of carriages and horses were moving slowly along.
In front and behind were the imperial guards leading the way and guarding the area, with several carriages in the middle.
The largest carriage was pulled by four horses, with eight bells tied to the crossbeam of the shaft.
Although it looks a bit old, it is still quite stylish.
Inside the rickety carriage, there was enough space to lie down and sleep.
A eunuch and a palace maid knelt at Murong Di's feet, silently waiting for Murong Di's orders.
They were sent to serve the King of Yue, and this time they followed the King of Yue to Lingnan.
The eunuch was named Xiao Zheng and the palace maid was named Hu Xin.
Both of them are in their twenties and have been in the palace for more than ten years, which makes them quite experienced.
They are calm and capable in their work, which is why they are sent to the prince's side and accompany him on his travels.
Murong Di lay in the carriage, looking outside for a while, eating something for a while, and then rolled onto the couch:
"My waist and butt hurt. Please rub them for me."
"Yes, Your Highness." Xiao Zheng and Hu Xin responded at the same time.
The two men sat next to Murong Di, one of them hit Murong Di's waist, and the other one massaged Murong Di's buttocks.
After pressing for a while, Murong Di called again:
"This prince is no longer in pain and wants to go out for a ride."
So Murong Di walked out and was helped onto the horse by Xiao Zheng and the imperial guards.
His riding skills seemed very poor and he almost fell off several times. Fortunately, the imperial guards on both sides pulled him back in time.
They had been on the road for several days, and the accompanying caravan discovered that the King of Yue was well-deserved of his reputation as a fool.
He is already twelve years old, but he behaves worse than a six or seven year old.
On the way, he kept complaining about pain here and there, and then he said he wanted to go back to the palace and see his mother and father.
He is not good at riding horses but insists on riding. Occasionally, he recites a few lines of poetry on horseback, but they are all wrong.
However, the imperial guards thought this was a good idea. Judging from the King of Yue's behavior, he would definitely just go to Lingnan for a formality.
If you stay in Lingnan for a day or two, you might be able to rush back to Beijing without having to spend too long in that humid, hot, and insect-infested place.
"I am tired and need to go back to the car to rest. You are not allowed to disturb me."
Murong Di rode on horseback for a few miles and then returned to the carriage to rest.
"You two should go out too. It's uncomfortable to see you all crowded here." Murong Di pushed the eunuch and palace maid out.
Even though Eunuch Xiao and Hu Xin looked down on Murong Di, they did not dare to challenge the prince and had to go out to guard him.
Murong Di lay alone in the carriage, closing his eyes and concentrating.
He turned sideways and buried his face in his arms, temporarily dropping his childish expression.
Murong Di was thinking about the next arrangements in his mind.
Although we left Chang'an, this was only the first step.
There are many eyes around him, so he cannot be careless.
He had two main purposes for going to Lingnan this time.
One reason was to explore the situation in Lingnan and see if it was suitable for building up one's own power.
If suitable, he will try to live in Lingnan permanently.
The second was to find out the whereabouts of the Pei family. Although everyone said that the Pei family died on the way to exile, the world was so chaotic at the time that no one could say for sure what the real situation was.
Before Murong Di left, Pei Shu specifically told him that after arriving in Lingnan, he could try to contact a county magistrate in Xunzhou named Song Ping in private.
Pei Shu said that several years ago, her brother Pei Lingfeng had done the Song family a favor, and the Song family had vowed to repay the Pei family's kindness and gave them an ivory ring as a token of trust.
Murong Di was surprised: "Song family?"
Pei Shu explained: "This Song family is not the same Song family that was once the richest in the world."
There is another branch of the Song family in Chang'an City, which is much less famous than Song Yan's branch. The head of the family is called Song Li.
Song Li was only a seventh-rank official in the imperial court, and his family had few connections in Chang'an. Once, he was involved in a murder case with a prominent family in Chang'an. The Song family was wrongly accused, but they could find no help.
The Shaoqing of Dali Temple at that time was Pei Lingfeng, the eldest son of the Pei family.
Pei Lingfeng judged the case impartially, unafraid of public opinion and power, and found out the truth, clearing the Song family's name.
Later, when the Pei family got into trouble, the Song family always believed that the Pei family was innocent. Unfortunately, they were powerless and could not overturn the verdict for the Pei family.
Two years ago, the daughter of the Song family entered the palace for selection and managed to come to Minghui Palace to meet Pei Shu. During the conversation, she mentioned that her brother was sent to Xunzhou in Lingnan to serve as a county magistrate.
The daughter of the Song family was not selected and later left the palace, but before leaving, she said that her family still remembered the kindness they had shown her and that if she could be of any use, the Song family would never refuse.
Murong Di was thinking about how to contact Song Ping without being noticed when he arrived in Lingnan.
How to avoid the sight of those around him now, especially Xiao Zheng and Hu Xin who were following him closely?
If he just traveled back and forth between Chang'an and Lingnan safely, he would never find a breakthrough.
He needed an accident.
As Murong Di was thinking this, the carriage wheels rolled over a medium-sized stone, causing the carriage to shake violently.
Murong Di rolled off the couch, spilling the tea on the small coffee table.
Xiao Zheng and Hu Xin heard the noise and came in to check, helping Murong Di up.
"Be careful, my lord."
"Your Highness, please forgive me. It was my fault for failing in my duty." The imperial guards outside apologized halfheartedly.
Murong Di could only shout in a dramatic manner:
"My clothes are all wet. I'm going to beat you with a stick when I get back."
Hu Xin went to the carriage where the luggage was placed at the back to help Murong Di get clean clothes.
Compared with other princes, Murong Di's clothes were very few and could only be packed in one box.
Hu Xin rummaged through the box and found that there were no clean robes to change into.
It’s been rainy recently, and the clothes I washed a few days ago are still not dry; there are no shops nearby in the wilderness to buy them.
Hu Xin saw several large boxes beside them. Some were rewards that the emperor asked the King of Yue to take to Lingnan, and some were supplies prepared by the Ministry of Rites as per the rules, such as flags, banners, musical instruments, etc.
Click.
A strange noise came from a large old box nearby.
Hu Xin turned his head in confusion, wondering if he had heard it wrong.
Click.
There was another strange noise.
The sound came from inside the box, as if there was an animal trapped in a cage.
Hu Xin frowned and moved closer to the box to find out what was inside.
But not close yet——
Click! The lid suddenly popped open.
"Ah——!" Hu Xin screamed subconsciously and fell back.
"What's going on!" The imperial guards heard the noise and reined in their horses to check.
Murong Di and Xiao Zheng also came to see what was happening.
The carriage curtain was lifted.
From a box half the height of a person emerged a human head with messy hair like a chicken coop.
His face was so black and dirty that it was unrecognizable.
The imperial guards all drew their sharp swords and pointed them at the black face:
"How dare you! Who dares to hide in the prince's convoy?!"
He Sanlang leaned against the box, so weak that he almost didn't have the strength to speak:
"Hurry...give me something to eat..."
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