Chapter 47 Strangely, they traveled day and night without finding anything.
The room was silent. Jiang Xu's heart skipped a beat. With a cold face, he checked the breathing of the two men to make sure they were still alive. He turned them over and found that both of their necks were covered in bruises. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they had been knocked unconscious in the same way.
Such strength and such demeanor were far beyond what a weak woman like Wan'er could accomplish.
Looking around, there were no signs of a fight, as if he had vanished into thin air. However, he had planted many spies around Wan'er's courtyard, making it almost impossible for a frail young woman to leave on her own.
So......
Jiang Xu withdrew his gaze, his thick eyelashes obscuring the chilling look in his eyes. From other people's perspective, he simply appeared to be deep in thought, with nothing else amiss.
The celadon bottle was covered with unmelted snowflakes. Freshly picked wintersweet blossoms were placed inside, their rich fragrance still present. Everything seemed normal. The surroundings were extremely quiet. Wan Houyi and Jing Yan lagged a few steps behind Jiang Xu. Seeing this, they remained silent.
"Give me one hundred light cavalry to accompany me." Jiang Xu made the decision quickly. After speaking, he immediately walked outside. Jing Yan subconsciously responded and was about to follow him outside.
Seeing his friend still standing there, he was mostly sober. "What's wrong with you today?" he asked in a low voice, his tone a reminder. "Miss Wan'er has disappeared. The King will definitely go after her himself. Judging from the looks of it, she was probably kidnapped not long ago."
Wan Houyi's expression held a hint of doubt. "This young lady is the King's...?"
"You only need to know that the King values her highly, and you don't need to ask anything else." Jing Yan replied, while calling his soldiers to quickly call the brothers. After making the arrangements, he remembered that Wan Houyi seemed to have never seen Wan'er before.
He explained quite simply: "Miss Wan'er is from Huzhou. Since she came to the King's side this spring, the King has always valued her highly. When you have the opportunity to meet her in the future, you will understand."
As he spoke, he lightly patted the shoulder of the person next to him twice, and stepped forward first, saying, "Hurry up, don't stand there."
Several guards stood watch to ensure that everything in the room remained as before. They stood silently in the corner, as if they had become one with the shadows around them. Wan Houyi was stunned for a moment before his expression returned to normal, and he left with them.
......
On a winter night, thick clouds hung heavy in the sky, and snowflakes, like cotton wool, fell in a continuous, fluttering manner.
It was already past midnight. After leaving the courtyard, it was even quieter outside. Layers of snowflakes quietly buried the road ahead, and the world was a pure white.
In the distance, the outline of the mountains seemed to gradually blur, leaving only endless darkness. Although torches were used for illumination, progress was undoubtedly difficult, and the torches would be mostly extinguished by the wind.
Jiang Xu took the lead and sped forward, soon putting a distance between himself and his guards. The night wind was fierce, lashing against his face, the chill penetrating to his bones and lingering for a long time, creating a turbulent airflow as he moved forward.
The horses left deep and shallow footprints as the group galloped along, only to have those tracks gradually erased by the swirling snow, leaving everything as if it were a brand new place.
Just before leaving, Jiang Xu quickly questioned the soldiers guarding the courtyard. They soon explained the situation clearly, confirming his suspicions that there was indeed a traitor within the army.
But... why would this person want to capture Wan'er?
A moment of doubt flashed through Jiang Xu's mind, and he quickly stopped thinking about it and sped off westward. Several skilled horsemen emerged from behind him and followed him forward.
The snowfall intensified, with heavy snowflakes falling and melting into the darkness. A cold wind blew, and the winding path the group had walked along was swallowed up by the thick snow.
......
*
The next day, around 3 PM, the group finally returned to their residence.
Jiang Xu traveled day and night, covering a distance of nearly ten hours. In the bitter cold, his skin was somewhat pale and bluish, his eye sockets resembled two shadows, and his dark eyes were full of red blood vessels.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers guarding the gate immediately went into the courtyard to announce the news. Soon after, a group of people, led by Jing Yan and Wan Houyi, hurriedly came out to meet them.
The group returned to the courtyard, and after drinking several cups of hot tea, the thin layer of ice on Jiang Xu's body melted a little, and the warmth from the charcoal fire helped to neutralize some of the chill.
The group sat upright at the lower end of the table, and Jiang Xu listened intently as they reported on the military situation.
Jing Yan spoke first: "Your Majesty, about half an hour ago, the Tatars suddenly led their army to attack. At this moment, there are still nearly 10,000 people lingering near the homes of the border residents. Moreover, scouts have discovered that there are two groups of soldiers who seem to be... deliberately hiding their tracks, and are approaching us."
Wan Houyi added, "The two teams have more than a thousand soldiers. Their arrival at this time is likely ill-intentioned."
Jiang Xu's jaw tightened, and fine stubble popped out messily. Upon hearing this, he closed his eyes slightly and pinched the space between his eyebrows. After the others finished adding their comments, he opened his eyes and said, "The Tatars and our army have always kept to themselves. It is indeed strange that they are attacking us now, in the middle of winter."
"Those who followed me in pursuit last night, please rest for half a day today. It's been a journey of over three hundred li, and the weather is bitterly cold. Be sure to instruct the cooks to give them a good meal."
These soldiers belonged to Jing Yan's command. Upon hearing this, he naturally expressed his gratitude on Jing Yan's behalf. To the side, Wan Houyi lowered his head slightly, his expression pausing.
The residence was located on the edge of the border. Wan Hou Fulin and his companions had been there for some time and were quite familiar with the surrounding environment. Instigated by him, they would definitely hide while traveling. With heavy snow falling and visibility reduced to almost nothing at night, even if they knew they were heading west and there were no checkpoints along the way, it would be difficult to catch up in several hours.
Even if one person and two horses took turns galloping to catch up, it would be almost a waste of effort. Yet, despite this, the king actually chased after them for more than three hundred miles!
This reckless journey, almost like an urgent dispatch, is all for a woman?
A woman I've known for less than six months?
"Your Majesty, Miss Wan'er's whereabouts are of utmost importance, but the Tatars have suddenly invaded, which concerns the people guarding the border. This matter is obviously more urgent!" With a thousand thoughts in his mind, Wan Houyi listened to the opinions of his other colleagues for a while, then suddenly bowed and offered his advice.
Jing Yan and his other trusted generals echoed his sentiments, offering words of advice such as "Your Majesty, please reconsider" and "General Wanhou's words are absolutely right."
Jiang Xu was well aware of the priorities, but since it concerned Wan'er, he was somewhat uneasy. If she had escaped on her own, that would have been one thing, but to be kidnapped by a traitor in the army like this, who knew where she would be sent? In the end, she might end up with no trace of her body, which was... highly likely.
Thinking of this, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He remained silent for a long time, his gaze darkening, and the suppressed ferocity in his eyes unconsciously spilled out.
With a sudden burst of force, the bottom of the teacup shattered, and most of the scalding tea spilled out, flowing onto the back of Jiang Xu's hand. Upon seeing this, the people below immediately fell silent.
A shard of porcelain cut his palm, drawing a line of blood that snaked downwards and dripped onto the patterned carpet.
After a long while, Jiang Xu finally composed himself. His usually expressionless face was now even colder and more solemn. The people standing a few steps away from him felt that the subtle sense of oppression was even stronger, almost solidifying into a tangible form.
A few strands of hair, damp with sweat and snow, clung messily to his forehead. Even after several cups of hot tea, his lips were still chapped. At this moment, only his eyes remained dark and unfathomable, as if concealing endless undercurrents, making others afraid to look directly at him.
However, Jiang Xu knew in his heart that as the commander-in-chief of the army, he had no time to think about anything else. Coming back to his senses, he said seriously, "Seven days ago, the Tatar army was already wandering around the border between the civilians' residences and the grasslands. Their sudden arrival now may be a trap." With the matter being addressed, the people below breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Xu observed this and continued, "Although the weather is cold now and there are few battles, but..." His intuition told him that this matter might be related to the spies he had previously disguised and planted in the grassland.
However... the Tatars and Jurchens have always been hostile to the Turks and know that he has an old feud with the Turks. Even if they have discovered the unfavorable rumors spreading on the grasslands, the root of which comes from the Jingbei Army, this one incident alone should not be enough to suddenly turn their attention to him.
His Jingbei Army was far superior to the Tatars, Jurchens, and even the Turks, who were stronger than both. This attempt to fight against overwhelming odds was simply inconceivable.
The situation was urgent, and with the fire burning at their doorstep, Jiang Xu's expression turned cold. "Since the Tatars have arrived, I will meet with them and find out what's going on."
"Let Jingyan be the deputy general, and mobilize 5,000 troops to accompany me to provide support." Jiang Xu paused slightly, his dark eyes turning to another person a few steps away. A trace of thought flashed in his eyes. After a moment, he still spoke: "Deputy General Wan Houyi, lead 500 troops to search for Wan'er's whereabouts."
"The rest of you shall guard the camp and make sure that the two groups of Tatars do not get any closer."
Everyone responded in unison and left to carry out their orders. In the blink of an eye, the study was quiet again. Wan Houyi sat in the room, gazing intently at Jiang Xu's departing figure, his expression thoughtful.
After a short while, he ordered his soldiers to go with him to search in the west.
......
*
The hour of Xu (7-9 PM) had passed, and the gray sky that had been there moments before gradually darkened. A cold wind, carrying snowflakes, howled in and pounded against a small patch of withered grass piled on the ground. The grass stems had withered at some point and were dry, offering little protection from the wind and snow.
Shi Wan unconsciously flinched twice, a sharp pain shot through her neck, and hazy memories flooded her mind, blurring her vision.
She sneezed instinctively, and as her vision cleared, she focused her gaze and a blade suddenly slashed towards her from the opposite side, instantly waking Shi Wan completely.
Upon closer inspection, the tip of the blade was pointing directly in her direction.
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Author's note: Today I had Chaoshan beef hot pot with my best friend. It was bubbling away, and paired with chilled little cakes and onion cheese fried chicken, it was delicious! [Applause]
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