Chapter 233 Encountering a Fierce Wildfire
Wu Chenggang conveyed the soldiers' words to Qi Yanzhou.
"Master Qi, if we don't go to Dingzhou City to report, we can save two days."
If you avoid Dingzhou City, you can avoid many detours.
Qi Yanzhou didn't think avoiding Dingzhou City was a good thing.
"The process of exile cannot be wrong. Go to Dingzhou."
He didn't care about the so-called exile process, he just wanted to go to Dingzhou.
Because there are old members of the Qi family army in Dingzhou.
Wu Chenggang immediately went to make his attitude clear to the soldiers blocking the road.
"The exile document must be stamped with the seal of each prefecture. This is a rule set by the emperor. Are you trying to overstep your authority, sir?"
After a big hat was put on him, the soldier immediately changed his tone.
"Your Excellency has misunderstood. The prefect has no intention of defying the imperial power. He just feels very grateful that Master Qi has saved tens of thousands of people in Dayang Town and Madam Qi has prevented the spread of the disease. He does not want them to take a long detour."
Wu Chenggang smiled and said, "If the prefect truly believes that the Qi family has done a good thing, shouldn't he welcome them into the city and treat them well?"
The soldiers were overwhelmed by the rhetorical question and had to let him go.
As soon as the exiled team had gone far away, he immediately asked his companions to ride back to Dingzhou City to report the news.
The Qi family must have other purposes if they insist on going to Dingzhou City!
It is now mid-June, the hottest time of the year.
When the sun is high in the sky, you can see the hot steam rising from the ground.
Every day, we can only walk outside in the morning and evening, and the daily distance does not reach the required 50 miles.
It takes at least four days to get from the border of Dingzhou to Dingzhou City.
Seeing that everyone was flushed with heat and panting, Han Chong walked over to Wu Chenggang.
“Is there a suitable place to rest nearby?”
Wu Chenggang pointed to the mountain in front and said, "Go around this mountain, there are streams and springs in the valley, it's very cool."
"Rest in the valley at noon and set out again at twilight hour."
Walking under the scorching sun not only makes you walk slower, but also makes you prone to heatstroke, which is not worth it.
Now that I have broken off relations with the emperor, I don't have to walk fifty miles every day according to the rules of exile, so I can do whatever I want.
Climbing a mountain is strenuous work. It took us about an hour to reach the valley.
Although the valley was cool, the stream had dried up.
The trees by the stream looked lush and green, but the grass on the ground was dry and yellow.
It's obvious that the drought has lasted too long.
Wu Chenggang said: "The spring is not far ahead, I will go and take a look at the situation first."
He was worried that the water level in the spring would drop and would not be able to overflow.
Han Chong immediately followed, "Together."
Others found a place to rest.
Ye Chutang said to Qi Yanzhou: "Let's go to the valley, it will be more convenient to get water later."
But the road in the valley was very rugged and it was impossible to pull the cart in.
Qi Jingyao took the initiative to speak, "I'll stay and look after the luggage."
Ye Chutang thought that the National Defense Army would also need to leave people to guard things and keep an eye on Qi Jingyao, so he nodded.
"Okay, thirty cents."
There are sparse trees at the entrance of the valley, the temperature is a bit high, and the labor cost is naturally higher.
The six people from the Qi family took the cooking materials and utensils and walked into the valley.
Qi Qingyu's family of four were also invited.
The Chen family thought it was cooler in the deep valley and more convenient to drink water, so they followed with their bags on their backs.
The Zhao family found a big tree with lush branches and leaves and rested underneath it.
Ever since Zhao Mingxu left with Zhao Qingshu's body, the Zhao family members were only fit to eat black-faced dumplings.
Ye Chutang also made the Zhao and Ye families sick.
Now he looks pale and thin, as if he is fleeing.
But as they thought about the end of their journey, their eyes lit up.
"We are finally reaching Dingzhou City. I hope nothing else will happen."
There were constant dangers along the way, and it was not easy to reach Dingzhou alive.
"The master has gone to Dingzhou to make arrangements first. Our good days will come soon."
When the Zhao family was looking forward to life in Dingzhou City, their eyes fell on Ye Siyin, who was pregnant with her posthumous child.
"She is carrying the only blood of the Zhao family in her belly. I don't know if she can stay in Dingzhou?"
"Of course not! She is a criminal now and must be exiled to Linzhou City first."
"As the baby gets older, her body will definitely not be able to cope with it and it will be difficult to keep the baby."
"There's nothing we can do about it. She deserves to die because she's so dishonest!"
The person who said this was Zhao Mingxu's concubine.
Not only was her money taken away from her, but she was also abandoned when the epidemic was rampant, and she was filled with hatred for Zhao Mingxu.
Naturally, they don't care about the last bloodline of the Zhao family.
Zhu Rong had just lost her son and daughter, and the baby in Ye Siyin's belly was her last hope.
She slapped the concubine who spoke harshly.
"If you can't speak, shut up!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was slapped in the face by her concubine.
“Bang!”
A crisp sound was heard, and Zhu Rong was stunned and subconsciously covered her face.
“You…you…”
The concubine snorted coldly, "What do you mean by you? You have no children now, and you don't even know if your grandchildren will be born. What qualifications do you have to compare with me who has a daughter?"
Although the Zhao family has declined, their daughter has royal blood, so it is not difficult for her to marry a good husband.
And she can rise in status by virtue of her daughter's status!
Zhu Rong was speechless and felt sad and aggrieved.
Ye Siyin walked up to Zhu Rong and helped her up.
"Aunt Zhao, please come with me."
Ever since Zhao Qingshu's death, Ye Siyin has been very considerate of Zhu Rong's feelings and their relationship has developed well.
The two walked to a tree and sat down.
Zhu Rong stroked Ye Siyin's flat belly, the sadness in her eyes almost overflowing.
"Yin'er, I will definitely protect your and Qingshu's child!"
This is her son's posthumous child, and there cannot be any mistakes. She must leave Ye Siyin in Dingzhou to wait for the birth!
But she could not openly disobey the imperial order.
What to do?
Ye Siyin looked at Zhu Rong who was trying hard to find a solution, and a gleam of light flashed in her eyes.
"Aunt Zhao, I will do my best to protect the child, but life and death are determined by fate..."
Before she could finish her words, Zhu Rong covered her mouth.
"Don't talk nonsense, the baby will be born safely."
Seeing that Zhu Rong didn't understand her hint, Ye Siyin took her hand away and looked down at her belly.
"If the child dies, I will die too!"
She deliberately emphasized the word "death".
"Pah, pah, pah, don't say such unlucky words. No matter whether you die or not, you have to live!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she had a flash of inspiration and thought of a way to keep Ye Siyin in Dingzhou.
Escape and live under a different identity!
Zhu Rong leaned close to Ye Siyin's ear and said in a low voice, "Yin'er, after we get to Dingzhou City, I will have my husband make plans to arrange for you to escape."
Seeing that Zhu Rong understood her hint, Ye Siyin felt relieved.
She pretended to be worried about the Zhao family and said, "Aunt Zhao, the idea of escaping is good, but you can't implicate the Zhao family. I have a better idea."
Zhu Rong was excited, "Tell me about it."
Ye Siyin plucked a piece of dry grass from the ground and stuffed it into Zhu Rong's hand.
She didn't say anything, but Zhu Rong understood what she meant.
Cause wildfire!
Her hands holding the dry grass trembled slightly, and she was a little hesitant about setting the wildfire.
The mountains are endless and many villages are located in the valleys. If a fire breaks out, many people will probably die.
She didn't care about other people's lives, but she wanted to do good deeds for her only grandson.
Seeing Zhu Rong tightly grasping the dry grass without saying a word, Ye Siyin removed her hand from her belly.
"Aunt Zhao, you have a good rest. The child is mine and I will protect him."
Zhu Rong heard the hidden meaning in Ye Siyin's words: the child has nothing to do with the Zhao family from now on!
She immediately grabbed Ye Siyin's wrist, "Yin'er, don't be angry, I... I just..."
Ye Siyin smiled and stroked her belly.
"I'm not angry, and I understand Aunt Zhao's dilemma. Whether it's leaving an heir to the Zhao family or reuniting the child with Qingshu, I'm fine with both."
The threatening words fell into Zhu Rong's ears, forcing her to compromise immediately.
"Yin'er, don't leave yet, chat with your aunt for a while."
Hearing this, Ye Siyin knew that it was done.
She leaned against the thick tree trunk, her head inclined towards Zhu Rong, and used the corner of her eyes to keep an eye on the people around her to prevent their conversation from being overheard.
"Aunt Zhao, please tell me."
Zhu Rong looked in the direction of the Ye family and asked Ye Siyin.
"Yin'er, your grandmother is a burden to the Ye family, right?"
She is certainly not a stupid person as she is able to hold the position of mistress in the backyard of Prince An's mansion which is filled with concubines.
Killing someone with a borrowed knife is a tactic she often uses.
Ye Jingchuan was originally a filial son, but during his exile, Old Madam Ye was a complete burden, and he had long lost his previous good temper.
Aunt Jiang and Ye Siyin had long been impatient with the old lady who took advantage of her seniority and loved to order people around.
But with filial piety as the most important thing, we can only endure it.
Ye Siyin understood what Zhu Rong meant, but did not express her opinion.
Zhu Rong added: "Yin'er, my two children are gone, and now the only thing I miss is Qingshu's flesh and blood."
The implication is that her life is more valuable.
The two concubines and three concubines of the Zhao family are not easy to get along with.
Ye Siyin took Zhu Rong's hand and said with a smile: "Aunt Zhao is right. I will go and discuss it with my father now."
She kept Zhu Rong mainly because she wanted the high-ranking Zhu family to support her.
After standing up, she glanced into the depths of the valley, a faint smile forming on her pink lips.
The long and narrow valleys increase wind speed, forming a through breeze.
As long as the dry grass is ignited, the fire can grow rapidly with the help of the wind.
If you are lucky, you can even burn Ye Chutang to death!
Thinking of this, Ye Siyin immediately went to Ye Jingchuan to discuss the arson.
After listening to it, Ye Jingchuan felt it was unreliable.
The escorting officers were so skilled in martial arts that the fire would have been put out as soon as it was lit.
And escaping death is not an easy task.
Not only did he have to outrun the fire, he also had to outrun the officers who knew martial arts. It was simply impossible!
"Yin'er, don't do anything that has no chance of success."
Although he was annoyed by his mother who held him back, he would not send her to death.
Ye Siyin had long guessed that Ye Jingchuan would refuse.
“Dad, if the Ye family wants to turn things around, they can only rely on the Zhao family, but if the baby in my belly dies, we will lose our only bargaining chip.
In Dayang Town, Ye Chutang doesn't care about our life or death at all. Do you really think we can get to Linzhou City safely? ”
These words reminded Ye Jingchuan of Ye Chutang's cold-bloodedness.
Because he had no money to buy medicine to prevent and treat the disease, he was seriously ill and almost died.
He begged Ye Chutang and even knelt down in front of her, but he didn't get any mercy!
Seeing that Ye Jingchuan was wavering, Ye Siyin continued to persuade him.
"Dad, you and I will escape together. We will stay in Dingzhou, change our names, and start over."
These words made Ye Jingchuan very excited.
He looked at his mother who was being picky about food, feeling annoyed, and decided to give it a try.
If he succeeds, he will be able to escape from the miserable days of eating coarse food.
If I fail, I will just lose a burdensome mother.
After hesitating for a long time, Ye Jingchuan nodded.
"Okay, I'll talk to your grandmother later, she will definitely agree."
Ye Siyin grabbed Ye Jingchuan's sleeve and shook it coquettishly.
"Dad, let's go and tell them now. The current wind direction and terrain are most suitable for a death escape."
The wind direction could blow the fire deep into the valley where Ye Chutang was.
The valley is densely wooded and covered with shrubs, making it easy to hide and escape.
Ye Jingchuan thought it made sense and immediately went to find Old Madam Ye.
Of course he would not let his own mother die directly, but he used the excuse that he could not bear to let her suffer, so he set the fire and escaped with her.
Old Madam Ye naturally would not doubt her only son.
She had long since had enough of a life worse than death, so she agreed immediately.
"Chuan'er, let me set the fire. If I'm discovered, don't worry about me. Just pretend you know nothing."
After Ye Jingchuan pretended to argue for a few sentences, he had no choice but to agree under the "suppression" of filial piety.
"Mom, we will succeed."
After saying that, he called the three members of the Ye family to walk into the valley.
The escorting officials were either at the entrance of the valley or near the spring.
He had to choose a middle area where there were not many people guarding it to rest.
When the Ye family took the black-faced steamed buns for lunch and moved into the valley.
The National Protection Army hiding in the tree left quietly and went to report the matter to Han Chong.
Ever since Ye Siyin's plan to take over Qi Hean failed, Ye Chutang knew that she had evil intentions, so he asked the National Protection Army to keep a secret eye on her.
Ye Chutang already knew that Ye Siyin had drugged Zhao Qingshu.
But since it was none of her business, she didn't meddle in it.
I didn’t expect that Ye Siyin would do such a heartless thing just after he saved his life in Dayang Town.
After several months of severe drought, not only the grass on the ground, but even the bushes died.
The leaves of the trees are wilting and can easily be dried out and burn.
With the help of wind, once a wildfire occurs, it will spread rapidly.
Not only will the mountains be burned, but the animals in the forest will also be burned to death.
The people living in the mountains couldn't survive either. They were either choked to death, burned to death, or starved to death.
After all, you live by the mountain.
Ye Chutang suppressed the anger that was surging in his heart, "Keep an eye on the Ye family, whoever starts the fire will be burned, but don't burn them to death!"
Death is the end of everything and a relief.
Living a life worse than death is a punishment.
The National Protection Army immediately took the order and left.
Just as Qi Yanzhou was about to ask Ye Chutang how he planned to deal with the Ye family, Sun Chu's anxious voice came over.
"Hurry up! Go back! There's a wildfire. It's really big. It's coming!"
The sound was filled with inner force, causing pain in the eardrums.
Obviously, Sun Chu was far away from the valley at the moment and the situation was too critical, so he had to use his internal force.
"Atang, I'll find a high ground to take a look. You take parents and the others to the valley entrance first."
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he flew up the tree and headed to the top.
Ye Chutang, who was sitting on the ground, immediately put his hands on the ground to feel the temperature of the surrounding soil.
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