Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Abduct Her
Xiao Ye had been seriously injured in the battlefield, and he had never been to an army since then. Shu Yun had been away from him for so many days, and she had never expected to dream of him. Her calm heart was disturbed by this dream, and she felt uneasy.
Shuyun couldn't sleep for several days, so she went to the perfume shop and bought some calming incense. She missed the incense that Shuangniang had made.
That day, Zhao Mucheng came to see her, "I have the news that Miss Shen wants."
Shuyun's eyes lit up, and she left Fuyuan Inn with Zhao Mucheng.
"Qi Bo is old and a retired clerk from the county government. He knows the Mr. Shen that Miss Shen is looking for."
Zhao Mucheng led Shuyun through several alleys. The teahouse at the entrance of the alley began to serve customers. There was a chess table under the persimmon tree. An old man and a middle-aged man were playing chess, and there were many people watching.
The white-haired old man with a long beard had a sharp look in his eyes and was concentrating on playing chess.
Shu Yun and Zhao Mucheng stood in the crowd, waiting for the game to end.
The people watching were all elderly acquaintances, and it was the first time that a young girl watched a game. When Qi Bo saw the unfamiliar girl, he paused slightly.
"Uncle Qi, I'm looking for someone." Zhao Mucheng pulled Uncle Qi away and found a secluded table in the teahouse next door to sit down.
Qi Bo grinned, revealing a mouthful of missing teeth. "I know. You asked me yesterday." He looked at Shu Yun, who was sitting across from him, and asked, "Girl, what are you looking for Chen Yanzhi for? Who are you to him?"
Shu Yun said: "He is my father. When I was born, the Shen family suffered a disaster and we were separated."
Not only Qi Bo, but even Zhao Mucheng was surprised.
Shu Yun wanted to know the whereabouts of her parents so much that she searched for a long time before she met someone who knew her parents. She asked expectantly, "Uncle Qi, where is my father?"
"He's not in Jinyang County." Qi Bo took a sip of tea and said, "He was transferred away a long time ago."
Shu Yun's bright eyes dimmed a little.
Qi Bo said, "More than a decade ago, a new county magistrate came to our county, but he was transferred after only two years. Over the years, the old county magistrate left and a new one came. We've had three or four different positions. It's been so long that many people don't even remember the previous county magistrates."
Shu Yun asked, "Do you know where my father was transferred?"
Qi Bo shook his head. "The old man is old, and it's been more than ten years. I've forgotten everything. It seems he went somewhere to control the flood. County Magistrate Shen is proficient in carpentry and flood control. He built a covered bridge in our Jinyang County. In the past, people had to either walk two miles to a distant bridge or wait for a boat at the riverside ferry to cross the river. Since the construction of this covered bridge, crossing the river has become more convenient."
It was Chen Yanzhi who proposed to build the bridge, and it was he who led the craftsmen in its construction. The credit was all taken by the previous county magistrate. Very few people knew the origin of this covered bridge. The people of Jinyang County all praised the county magistrate for his great achievements. Qi Bo sometimes thought that the transferred county magistrate was also good-tempered and did not care about anything.
Qi Bo really couldn't remember where Chen Yanzhi was transferred to, so he advised, "But don't be disappointed, girl. Take your time. It's common for officials to be transferred. This year he's in our county, but he might be transferred to another place the year after next."
Shuyun thanked him and left the alley with Zhao Mucheng.
Jinyang County is separated by a river. On one side of the river is the county town, and on the other side are rural fields. Before the covered bridge was built, there was only a stone bridge, making travel inconvenient.
Shuyun stood by the busy river, looking at the covered bridge built by her father. When she first came to the county town, she walked on this covered bridge that provided shade and shelter from the rain.
Her parents and their family had lived in Jinyang County for two years. Shuyun was glad that she had not found the wrong place. She should not be anxious and should look slowly. She would definitely find her parents.
She also has a brother, and the jade pendant she wears on her chest was given to her by her brother.
Zhao Mucheng said, "Don't worry, Miss Shen. I've asked people to inquire about their whereabouts. As long as they are still in Nanzhou, there will be news soon."
Shu Yun felt warm in her heart. She looked at the man who was a head taller than her and smiled slightly, "Thank you, County Captain Zhao."
Shuyun has lived for seventeen years and has never seen her biological parents. She even mistook a thief for her father. She didn't know what her parents and brother looked like. Nanzhou was vast and searching for someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was too dangerous for a weak woman like her to run around without direction, so she planned to rest in Jinyang County for a while and set off again after hearing news about her parents.
Shuyun no longer stayed in the inn. With the help of Zhao Mucheng, she found the place where her parents used to live.
The house was listed in a rental agency, and Shuyun bought it. A canal ran through the entire county town, and the white-walled and black-tiled house was located beside the canal, with one entrance and one exit.
There is a wooden swing in the house. After being beaten by wind and rain, the wood has rotted and is no longer usable. Shuyun stared at the rotten wooden swing in a daze. Does her brother like to swing?
The spring breeze blew on her face and the warm sunshine shone on her body. Shuyun bought a few pots of flowers and placed them in the house. The lifeless house suddenly came alive.
After spending a large sum of money, Shuyun started making paper hairpins again. When she had collected ten, she went to the street to buy hairpins.
…
A beautiful young woman suddenly moved into a long-unoccupied house, inevitably attracting the attention of some wicked individuals with ulterior motives. Although Zhao Mucheng was confident in the county's security, he still felt a bit worried and would pass by the house every day on his way to and from work.
At dusk that day, Zhao Mucheng was on duty when he saw wisps of black smoke rising from the house. He thought something was wrong and broke into the house. The semi-open kitchen was on fire. Shuyun hurriedly took a ladle to scoop water to put out the fire.
Zhao Mucheng hurriedly brought a bucket of water and put out the fire on the stove.
Shuyun choked and bent over to cough. Her fair little face looked like a cat rolling around in the stove. She stood by the stove with a ladle, like a child who had done something wrong, looking at the extinguished fire at a loss.
Shu Yun whispered, "I, I wanted to cook, so I lit the stove again."
The fire got so big that the whole kitchen was almost on fire. This was the second time it happened.
In the past, Shuyun was pampered. Her hands were white and tender, and her fingers never had to touch water. She had everything she needed, so she didn't need to cook for herself. She felt that she was too stupid and almost burned down the kitchen while cooking.
"I'll do it. Miss Chen, go wash your face and sit for a while." Zhao Mucheng rolled up his sleeves and pushed Shuyun out of the kitchen.
Zhao Mucheng poured her some water. Shuyun looked at her reflection in the basin with a dirty face.
Zhao Muchen went to the semi-open kitchen to clean up. Shuyun stared blankly at the busy figure. She lowered her eyes, lowered her head, wrung out the handkerchief, and wiped her dirty face clean.
The sound of cutting vegetables could be heard. Zhao Mucheng had excellent knife skills and his movements were skillful. He had cut the vegetables in the blink of an eye.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the vegetables and stir-fry with a spatula, the aroma will be fragrant.
Shuyun watched from a distance. The same spatula was used by Zhao Muchen to cook a dish with an attractive color, which made her hungry just by looking at it.
The man looked at her, smiled at her, lowered his head to wash the pot, and started to cook the second dish.
In just a moment, three dishes and a soup were served on the table.
"Miss Shen, I've been waiting for a long time." Zhao Mucheng took off his apron. "The weather is cold, so eat the food while it's hot."
Shuyun invited him to eat with her and served him a bowl of soup. "Thank you, County Magistrate Zhao, for today. I will go buy two maids who can cook tomorrow."
Zhao Mucheng said: "Find a reliable broker and ask for the details."
After thinking for a while, Zhao Mucheng said: "Miss Shen has an accent from another place. So, I will take a day off tomorrow and accompany you to the slave market to see if they dare to scare you."
Shu Yun: "Then I'll have to trouble County Lieutenant Zhao."
The dishes were delicious, and Shuyun finished a bowl of rice without realizing it, while she glanced at the man in front of her.
With wheat-colored skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, he can go to court or to the kitchen, running around for her affairs. Shuyun vaguely guessed that Zhao Mucheng had a good impression of her, and she did not reject his kindness.
But she felt that this was not love. It seemed that after breaking up with Zheng Shaojiu, there had been no more waves in Shuyun's heart.
Calculating the time, the Wei family girl will soon marry into the Zheng family. Shu Yun no longer clings to this first love. Now that she has a man who treats her well, she will try to like him and treat him well, forget the unhappiness in Beijing, and start a new life.
The next day, accompanied by Zhao Mucheng, Shuyun went to the slave market and bought two maids, one tall and one thin, both of whom looked like smart girls.
Shuyun asked the two maids what colors they liked. The tall maid liked light blue, and the thinner maid liked pink. Shuyun named them Qingshan and Chuhe respectively.
The two maids liked the new name very much and followed Shuyun back to the house.
Qingshan is a carefree and lively person, and the house suddenly became lively; Chuhe is a little timid, and she concentrates on her work, doing it neatly and efficiently.
Qingshan saw Shuyun cutting paper-like white pieces in the yard. A few days later, these pieces were made into flowers. So he asked curiously, "What are you making, girl? These flowers look just like real ones. They're so beautiful!"
Shuyun smiled and said, "A tongcao flower hairpin."
A few days later, Shuyun went to the ferry to set up a stall. Making paper-cut flowers was time-consuming and labor-intensive, so they were expensive, at least four or five taels of silver per hairpin. Girls who liked them would pay for them, and passing merchants would stop and ask about the novelty of the hairpins. Shuyun took the opportunity to ask the buyers about her father's whereabouts.
These merchants travelled extensively and were well-informed. What if, just maybe, someone knew where my father was working?
On this day, spring was in the air and Shuyun was setting up a stall at the ferry when a group of refugees suddenly arrived and tried to persuade the boats heading to Huainan to turn back.
"Oh, we can't go there! We can't go there! The King of Huainan has rebelled and declared himself king in his fiefdom."
"Everyone, listen to me, you can't go! We all escaped overnight!"
Shuyun's hand trembled and the hairpin fell onto the stall.
She walked over in disbelief and asked the man, "Did the King of Huainan rebel?"
The Princess of Huainan had just passed away, and the Prince of Huainan rebelled? How could this sudden rebellion happen?
"There's a rebellion! There's no way to go to the whole Huainan area. There's a war going on."
=========
In early spring, the wind is cold and a flock of birds flies across the gloomy sky.
The sharp arrow left the taut bowstring and shot down a flying crow.
Li Ce put away his bow and arrow, turned to look at the Prince of Huainan who was watching him in the enclosure, and said, "The Emperor has killed Marquis Anlu. Those soldiers who fought with Marquis Anlu through thick and thin will no longer want to serve the Emperor. The remaining ones are nothing to be feared."
The King of Huainan laughed and said, "Even if the Marquis of Anlu leads his troops, he won't be able to break in."
"My son has suffered a lot in the capital these years." King Huainan looked towards the capital. He had coveted the throne for many years. Since he couldn't get it, he proclaimed himself king.
The emperor has already discovered the problem with the Tongtian Tower, and it will soon be traced back to him. Instead of waiting for the emperor to take action, it is better to rebel.
The Prince of Huainan had coveted the throne for many years. However, he was young and inexperienced and was no match for the emperor. He hid his ambitions. Knowing that his elder brother was going to build the Tower of Heaven, he placed his confidant in the Ministry of Works, who is now the Minister of Works.
On the day when the Tongtian Tower was completed, the emperor led his royal relatives to the top of the tower to look into the distance. If the tower collapsed, no one would survive and everyone would die!
The emperor and the crown prince both died tragically in the collapsed ruins, and the vacant throne was naturally inherited by the King of Huainan.
Things were going smoothly, but seventeen years ago, a doctor from the Ministry of Works named Chen Yanzhi discovered something suspicious. By the time his confidant informed King Huainan of this, it was already too late. Tongtian Tower had been tampered with by another group of people, and the building collapsed earlier than King Huainan had expected.
The King of Huainan was far away in his fiefdom, and the capital was far more exciting than he had imagined.
Chen Yanzhi told the man surnamed Xiao about this matter. Xiao bribed the supervisor to speed up the collapse of the building and wanted to use this incident to bring disaster to Chen Yanzhi.
Prince Huainan couldn't understand why Mr. Xiao did this, but he went with the flow and pushed the blame onto Chen Yanzhi. It happened to be the Queen Mother's birthday, so Prince Huainan got permission to return to Beijing to celebrate. He wanted to see this good show with his own eyes.
The building collapsed and Chen Yanzhi was captured, but King Huainan did not expect Chen Yanzhi to argue in the face of danger. He admired him and wanted to use him for his own benefit, so he instructed his confidant to push out a scapegoat.
Chen Yanzhi received his favor, but was not of any use to the King of Huainan. It would have been better for him to die in prison.
After years of waiting, the King of Huainan finally saw the construction of the Tongtian Tower resume. He was the one who promoted him to the position of Minister of Works, and secretly transferred the money embezzled from the construction back to his fiefdom. The King of Huainan had originally planned to execute the emperor and his sons once the Tongtian Tower was completed, but trouble kept raging, and he abandoned the plan.
The men that the King of Huainan had stationed in the capital silenced the witnesses before the case was traced to the Minister of Works. In this way, the emperor did not know that it was his plan.
The King of Huainan used the money he had embezzled over the years to recruit soldiers and horses. Under the pretext of mourning for the princess, he detained all the officials who came to pay their respects. Those who surrendered were not killed, but those who refused were all killed.
Within a few days, the King of Huainan proclaimed himself king in his fiefdom. By the time the news reached the capital, he had already taken sufficient precautions and the imperial court could not invade.
Li Ce trained his troops in the paddock during the day and returned to his room at night.
The teacup flew towards him and he took a step back.
"Bang--"
The flying teacup shattered in front of him.
"Li Ce, let me go back!" Lin Yunxi was angry. She rarely got angry. Half a month ago, she was inexplicably abducted to Huainan. When she lifted the bag on her head, she found that it was Li Ce. Li Ce abducted her to Huainan, locked her in the house, and did not allow her to go out.
Lin Yunxi was imprisoned and had no idea what was happening outside, let alone the rebellion of the Prince of Huainan. When he met Li Ce again, he was completely different from his impression. He had lost his dandy demeanor and his eyes were full of shrewdness.
Li Ce picked up the broken porcelain on the ground and put it on the table, then walked towards her. Lin Yunxi looked annoyed, "I want to go back! Li Ce, don't make me hate you."
Li Ce said: "I can't go back."
When they took the step of rebellion, there was no turning back. But Li Ce didn't want to lose Lin Yunxi. When he was in the capital, Lin Yunxi was a ray of light in his bleak life. He was selfish for once and wanted to keep her by his side.
Lin Yunxi didn't want to pay attention to him and turned her back. Li Ce hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder, and said, "It's a mess outside. It's safest to stay in the palace."
…
The snow had melted, and the spring was still chilly. When the news that the King of Huainan had proclaimed himself king in his fiefdom reached the capital, Emperor Wucheng was furious.
The traitor Li Ce sent people to kidnap Lin Yunxi. The Minister of Personnel reported Li Ce to Emperor Wucheng and said that if he was good at martial arts, he would definitely ask for permission to go to the battlefield and rescue his daughter.
Xiao Ye was still in mourning period and had already resigned his post as General of the Imperial Guards. He was recalled to the court by an imperial edict from Emperor Wucheng, who ordered him to lead the army to suppress the rebels.
Xiao Ye: "I returned victorious from the battle against the Nanman last year. This time, I will not disappoint Your Majesty. I will not return until I am victorious. I vow to eradicate the rebels."
Emperor Wucheng: "Very good! I grant you an army of 100,000 men. We will set out in ten days to defeat the rebels."
The war situation was tense. At the emperor's command, all departments quickly mobilized troops and food. Ten days later, Xiao Ye led an army of 50,000 to Huainan to attack the King of Huainan.
Shu Yun disappeared as soon as she arrived in Huainan. She was probably hidden by Li Ce. The rebels might have wanted to take Shu Yun as a hostage.
Xiao Ye will not let her get hurt.
==========
Nanzhou is close to Huainan. In just half a month, more and more refugees flocked to Nanzhou. The governor of Nanzhou issued an order that only refugees with local household registration, relatives to rely on, or who could be guaranteed by locals were allowed to enter the city.
Many refugees gathered outside the county town of Jinyang County. Government officials and gentry set up tents outside the city for the refugees who had nowhere to go to rest. Zhao Mucheng led the yamen runners to guard the gate of the county town and not let anyone in.
Hearing that his sworn brother was leading the army, Zhao Mucheng was confident of the battle. The rebels were just a spent force and would not be able to pose a threat.
My brother will definitely win this battle.
The King of Huainan proclaimed himself king. Although his fiefdom was limited to Huainan, there was no guarantee that he would attack at any time. People in the county were in a panic, and several families had already moved to the rear, believing that the farther away from Huainan, the safer it was.
Shuyun was restless all day. When she met refugees on the street who were seeking refuge with relatives and friends in the county, she asked, "What's the situation outside?"
The man with his family had messy hair and shook his head. "It's a mess. There's war raging in the areas bordering Huainan and other states. The imperial court has already sent troops to suppress it, but I don't know when this war will end."
Shu Yun was inexplicably flustered and asked anxiously, "Which general is it?"
"Marquis Anlu."
Marquis Anlu was an enemy of the Shen family. Shuyun hated him, but she couldn't deny that he had protected the northern border. She consoled the man, saying, "We will win. Marquis Anlu repelled Northern Yan just last year."
The man shook his head. "Hey, that's the old Marquis of Anlu. He committed a crime and was punished by His Majesty. Now his son is the heir to the title."
Marquis Anlu is gone, it’s... Xiao Ye.
Shuyun's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she took a step back in an instant.
Thinking of the nightmare that night, Shuyun's heart began to beat fast and her arms trembled uncontrollably.
"Girl..." Chu He supported Shu Yun, who was in a bad mood.
Shuyun suddenly became very flustered and felt increasingly uncertain.
…
The war in the Huainan area was tense. After another half a month, the two sides were deadlocked.
Shuyun has been worried about the front line recently and has a light sleep, being woken up by the slightest movement.
That night, the tightly closed door was suddenly opened and footsteps were heard. Shuyun was awakened with a startle.
"who!"
Shuyun sat up from the bed in fear, holding the pillow and raising it. In the moonlight, a dark shadow gradually walked towards the bed.
The masked man in the dark night lifted the bed curtain to block the pillow thrown by Shu Yun, and covered Shu Yun's mouth and nose with a sweat towel soaked in sleeping pills.
The masked man took the unconscious Shu Yun away from the house overnight and prepared to return to Huainan to report.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Lin Yunxi and Li Ce's line is short (be, it can be considered a he), the plot will only be mentioned here, it does not occupy the main plot
After the war, my brother went to look for my sister.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
