Zhuge Yue’s voice was deep and full of murderous intent and blood. Boss Mu was shocked and immediately became speechless. The man continued, “She only has me as her master in this world. How dare you sell her like merchandise? You deserve to die. You really deserve to die.”
"My Lord, I, I, I..."
"Yue Qi, I leave this place to you. I don't want to see him getting in the way when he comes back one day."
Yue Qi took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "Yes."
No longer paying attention to Boss Mu's desperate pleas, Zhuge Yue rode away, disappearing quickly into the bustling streets.
Horse hooves rumbled, and in the busy streets, there were screams like pigs being slaughtered. In this day and age, the lives of ordinary people were as worthless as grass, and no one would shed a tear for a slave trader like Boss Mu who had done so much evil.
"Zhu Cheng, go to the water transport office and tell them that we should take the land route instead of the water route."
Zhu Cheng was stunned. Although he had been prepared, he still couldn't help but dissuade him: "Master, the master ordered us to rush to Tangjing in advance. The land route is time-consuming. Besides, all the lords of the major families who entered the pass this time took the water route. Only our family is the only one that went alone. I'm afraid there will be rumors."
Zhuge Yue did not reply, but simply turned around and looked at him coldly, but his meaning was clear as day.
Zhu Cheng felt a chill down his spine when he was looked at by him. How could he not know what Zhuge Yue was thinking? During this prosperous period in Tangjing, the water routes were blocked and no one dared to travel except the invited clans. The ordinary small clans must have taken the land route to enter the country. The family that could buy servants from such a low-class slave trader must not be a big clan. The young master insisted on taking the land route, and his purpose was obvious. But even if he found it, what would be the point given their current identities? After all, the young master is no longer the thirteen-year-old boy he was nine years ago, and she is no longer the little slave girl who had nothing back then.
Young master, even if you find it, what can you do? That was a tiger. Even if it was temporarily injured and trapped, it could not be kept.
Zhu Cheng shook his head and sighed, then turned and walked towards the River Transport Office. The morning sun was as blazing as fire, shining on Zhuge Yue's dark blue robe sleeves, shining brightly, dazzlingly handsome, and with a unique demeanor.
In the distance, the willow branches looked as new as new. There was a big elm tree that was thick and tall, probably thirty or forty years old. It was wrapped with red cloth strips and colorful paper-cuts, which were the superstitions of the country folk. They believed that gods lived inside elm trees, and that the thicker and older the tree, the more powerful it was. Over time, people who encountered difficulties often came here to worship, praying for their dreams to go smoothly and for the safety of their old friends.
The wind blew, and Zhuge Yue's clothes were washed clean. He reached out and untied the jade pendant at his waist, and threw it towards the elm tree. With a ding sound, the priceless jade pendant was hung on a tall branch, swaying and emitting dazzling light in the sun.
"drive!"
Zhuge Yue turned around, rode his horse, and left with his subordinates.
The summer cicadas chirped, a hot wind blew, the jade pendants among the trees swayed, and shadows flickered.
When I woke up, it was already dusk. The river was covered with golden light and the red sun was setting in the west.
Liang Shaoqing saw that she was smiling happily after waking up, so he hurriedly picked up the medicine beside him and carefully fed it to her.
The medicine is very bitter, and having to drink it spoonful by spoonful is simply a form of torture. Chu Qiao frowned, took the medicine bowl and drank it down in one gulp, then quickly took a sip of strong tea to suppress the bitterness in her mouth.
After changing into clean clothes and re-bandaging the wound, the serious illness was almost healed. Chu Qiao sat up and looked up and down at the room she and Liang Shaoqing were in. She frowned and asked, "What is this place? Where are we going?"
"We've been bought." Liang Shaoqing said a fact known to the whole world with a mysterious look on his face. His expression made people want to punch him in the head. "We're on the boat now."
Chu Qiao had a good temper. She suppressed her urge to beat him up and said calmly, "Nerd, can you tell me something I don't know?"
"Oh," Liang Shaoqing nodded and began to talk about the little information he knew.
The family that bought them was named Zhan. They came from Shuixiu Province on the border of Xia and Tang and were heading to the capital of Bian Tang. The owner was a young man in his twenties, the same man they had met in the market, only twenty-seven years old, named Zhan Ziyu. In addition, there are five young ladies in this family, all of whom are Zhan Ziyu's sisters. The eldest, second and third sisters are all married, and their husbands are also on the boat, which gives them a sense of marrying into the family. There were three large ships in total, with hundreds of servants and more than a hundred guards. In addition to the three brothers-in-law, the previous steward, Uncle Qing, could be considered the chief steward.
They brought so many people with them on a single trip. It seems that this Zhan family is quite a wealthy family. However, Chu Qiao racked her brains for a long time and couldn't think of any clan named Zhan in Da Xia.
Since this team was heading to Tangjing, she was not in a hurry to leave. This way she could recuperate and also avoid being hunted down by Daxia, killing two birds with one stone.
Thinking of this, Chu Qiao looked up and asked, "You said they were going to Tangjing. Do you know what they were going to do in Tangjing?"
"The Crown Prince of Bian Tang is getting married. The entire Bian Tang noble family and Daxia Huaisong will send people to Tangjing to attend the wedding of the Crown Prince of Bian Tang."
"Wedding?" Chu Qiao was stunned, and immediately sat up and asked loudly: "Who will marry him?"
Liang Shaoqing was about to answer when the ship suddenly moved violently. The boatmen on both sides shouted loudly, and the ship slowly started moving.
"Finally they left," Liang Shaoqing said, "I heard that a noble from Daxia was reluctant to board the ship, and Master Zhan didn't dare to rush ahead, so he waited for a whole day. It seems that the man was busy and was rushed ahead by our ship."
"You said that Crown Prince Bian Tang married a Crown Princess. Who did he marry? Princess Daxia?"
"She is the Ninth Princess of Daxia."
Chu Qiao lowered her head and didn't speak for a long time. Liang Shaoqing was stunned and called out, "Xiao Qiao? Xiao Qiao? What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No," Chu Qiao shook her head, slowly leaned back on the bed, and whispered, "I'm tired and want to rest for a while."
"Then you take a rest, I'll go out and take a look."
The hatch was opened and Liang Shaoqing stepped out. Chu Qiao leaned against the bed, frowning deeply, and murmured in a low voice: "Daxia has finally formed an alliance with Bian Tang. Yan Xun, what should we do?"
The sky was as blue as a clear sky. Liang Shaoqing stood on the deck and saw that the ship was huge, about three meters wide, with upturned bow and stern. There were four masts, two in the front and two in the back. The ship was divided into four layers, two above the deck and two below the deck. Chu Qiao and Liang Shaoqing were the lowest-ranking servants and were supposed to live on the bottom floor with everyone else. But when Uncle Qing saw that Chu Qiao was seriously injured, he actually reserved a small warehouse on the second floor of the deck for the two of them to live in.
At this moment, a loud horn was suddenly blown from the bow. The boatman shouted loudly, swung his arms hard, spread the sails, and the big ship caught the wind and started moving quickly. There were green mountains and green trees on both sides of the river, the river surface was silvery white, white fish were jumping, and birds were circling. For a moment, the depressed air in his chest disappeared, and thousands of turbid and dirty air came out of his body. Liang Shaoqing stood on the deck, slowly raised his head, and the simple scholar smiled slightly. Finally, he was going to Tangjing!
At this moment, on the distant shore, a group of people were quietly looking at the departing ships.
Zhu Cheng stepped forward carefully and said, "Master, everything has been arranged. The ship that came to meet you in Bian Tang has also been withdrawn. The customs clearance documents have been processed. We can enter Bian Tang from Baizhi Pass."
“Yes,” Zhuge Yue nodded, staring aimlessly at the white river surface, and said slowly, “No hurry, we will stay in Xianyang City for two days now.”
Zhu Cheng sighed silently. The young master was worried that the locals would buy the woman. He nodded and said, "I obey your command."
A gentle breeze blew across the river, and as thousands of mountains passed by, the cliffs were emerald green. Zhuge Yue stood on the shore, looking at the boats going away, then turned around and rode away in the direction of Xianyang City.
Fate is often like this, and Zhuge Yue had no idea that the person he had been searching for was now quietly lying on the large ship that had been prepared for him. Just as he took it for granted that the aristocratic families who were eligible to attend Li Ce's wedding would not be so financially weak as to purchase slaves from such places. But some things just happen like that. Things in the world are so coincidental and so unpredictable. At the moment when the man rode away on his horse, the girl lifted the curtain of the only small window, stuck her head out and looked out, but she could only see the rolling dust caused by the horse's hooves in the thick river fog.
That day was the ninth day of the sixth lunar month. The news of the wedding of Li Ce, the Prince of Bian Tang, had spread throughout the entire Simon Continent seven days ago. All forces were secretly speculating and considering the political benefits that could be brought about by this marriage.
Except for the Yanbei regime, which has now completely broken with the Great Xia Dynasty, all forces on the entire continent rushed to the capital of Bian Tang at once. All major families, tribes, and vassal kings sent their family's heavyweight envoys, not only to make peace with Bian Tang on behalf of their own forces, but also to take the opportunity to find out the attitude of the most stable regime on the continent towards the civil strife in Great Xia. Thus, the Zhenhuang Night Banquet, which had ended unhappily due to civil strife, once again reappeared on the streets of Tangjing. The ancient and mysterious land of Bian Tang was bustling with people and was extremely lively.
However, on the same day, Yanbei finally received news that various parts of Daxia were hunting down Chu Qiao. The new king of Yanbei, Prince Yan Xun, was furious and ordered an all-out attack on Xia. He ordered his subordinates Wei Jing, Xi Rui, Bian Cang, Lu Fang, Du Ci and others, under the leadership of military advisor Wu Daoya, to invade the territory of the Batuha family in the northwest, killing old Batu and making him cry out in pain. In just three days, one-third of the territory was lost, and the other two-thirds were still being held on precariously amid the unrest among the people. Letters asking for help rushed to the capital of Zhenhuang and the secondary capital of Yundu like snowflakes, stained with the worries of the Northwestern Batuha family and the blood of the soldiers when delivering the letters.
In an instant, the entire Great Xia Dynasty was in turmoil, and all forces were afraid that they would become the first victim of the Yanbei cavalry. The lions of Yanbei have spread the word that if Chu Qiao kills a hair in someone's territory, the entire family of the local leader will be buried with her. They'd better pray that this woman who has been hunted for thousands of miles doesn't catch a cold, fever, runny nose or other illness. Otherwise, if the news of Chu Qiao's death gets out today, the Yanbei army will be at the gates of the city tomorrow and will show no leniency!