Chapter 273 Ma Weiyuan's troops approach Ningzhou City
The cook was a widow rescued by Wu Changfeng.
After she lost her husband, she was almost bullied by her brother-in-law. She managed to escape and went to her mother-in-law for help. However, her brother-in-law turned around and accused her of seduction.
The mother-in-law naturally sided with her son, saying that she was unfaithful to her husband and wanted to drown her.
Wu Changfeng happened to pass by, found out the truth of the matter and gave her justice.
He also helped her escape from her husband's family and let her work as a cook in the prefectural government so that she could have a place to live.
Now that she had the opportunity to repay Wu Changfeng, she was naturally willing to do so and blinked quickly.
Qi Yanzhou had guessed the result long ago and explained the secret to the cook.
The cook looked around carefully and asked, "What do you need me to do, sir?"
Qi Yanzhou looked at the officer lying on the ground and said, "Can you make him disappear quietly?"
"able!"
"Tell me about it."
"Kill it, cook it, and feed it to wild dogs."
The cook’s ancestral home is Linzhou, and her family makes a living by slaughtering cattle and sheep.
Once, a neighboring country invaded, broke into the city, killed many people, and all the family members died. She was stuffed in the kitchen and escaped.
Later, she fled to Ningzhou City and made a living by slaughtering pigs before getting married.
She had seen bloody massacres and could use a knife, so killing evil officers and soldiers was not a difficult task for her.
After listening to the cook's explanation, Qi Yanzhou nodded and said, "I'll leave him to you. I'll go see Lord Wu and help him out of this predicament."
After saying this, he stripped off the officers' clothes and then applied the disguise ointment on their faces with medicine.
When the cook was dealing with the officers and soldiers, he disguised himself as a soldier.
He left with a lunch box containing a midnight snack and went to the study.
The journey was smooth.
When he arrived at the study door, Qi Yanzhou was stopped by the soldiers on duty.
While checking the food box, the other party asked, "Why did you take so long today?"
Qi Yanzhou had heard the officers and soldiers mumbling before, so he imitated their voices and said, "I went to the toilet."
The voice was 80% similar and did not arouse any suspicion.
"A lazy donkey will pee and shit a lot!"
The officer on duty joked and closed the lid of the lunch box. "Go in. You've delayed the time. I guess the person inside will get angry again."
Qi Yanzhou did not respond and pushed the door open.
He investigated and found out that Wu Changfeng was under surveillance and could not close the door when he had a midnight snack.
However, the officers and soldiers who brought him midnight snacks had to wait inside the house and only clean up the dishes and leave after he finished eating.
This gave him the opportunity to get in touch with Wu Changfeng.
As soon as Qi Yanzhou put the lunch box on the table, Wu Chengfeng scolded him, "Did a dog eat your legs? Why are you an incense stick late today?"
In the past, officers and soldiers would just let him curse and ignore him.
The same goes for Qi Yanzhou. But when he was placing the midnight snacks, he dipped his finger in tea and wrote a name.
Qi Yanzhou.
After making sure that Wu Changfeng had seen it, he "accidentally" knocked over the teacup, covering up the three powerful words.
Wu Changfeng was so excited that he yelled, "Are you a pig? You can even knock over a cup by putting a bowl down. You are so stupid. Get behind me and massage my shoulders and back!"
He burst into tears in his heart.
Mr. Qi, please don't blame me.
I didn't want to curse harshly, but the more I cursed, the more annoyed the guards became and the more they ignored me.
I can only communicate with you if I'm not being watched!
Qi Yanzhou understood the purpose of Wu Changfeng's scolding, walked up behind him, squatted down, and massaged his shoulders.
"Sir Wu, I am Qi Yanzhou's subordinate. My master sent me to see you. Next, let's make it short and just talk about the main points."
Wu Changfeng snorted coldly, "Do your best, or you'll suffer the consequences!"
Although he was a little greedy for money, what he was greedy for was the filial piety given to him by officials.
To the people, he is not a great official, but he is considered a good official.
He just wanted to guard his own piece of land and live his life in peace and stability.
I don’t want Ningzhou City to be destroyed by that idiot Su Chengzong!
Wu Changfeng was a smart man, and he cleverly responded to Qi Yanzhou's questions with curse words.
If he needs to speak actively, he will be told in a voice that only the two of them can hear.
A quarter of an hour later, Qi Yanzhou obtained useful information and Wu Changfeng's two thousand personal soldiers.
Wu Changfeng finally sent out the message and troops, and he almost burst into tears of gratitude.
"If possible, please secretly capture Su Chengzong and his men and try to save the people from suffering. Wu Changfeng would like to thank you in advance."
After whispering, he drank the wine in one gulp, using tea as a substitute.
Qi Yanzhou assured: "Master loves and cherishes the people, please rest assured, Lord Wu."
"Don't worry, of course I'm relieved."
After saying that, he cursed again.
"I just said a few words to you, do you want to strangle me to death?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the unfinished pork bone soup on Qi Yanzhou's robe.
"Pick up the useless things and get out of here!"
Qi Yanzhou was not injured, but his clothes were wet by the soup and the soup bowl was broken.
While he was cleaning up the broken bowls, Wu Changfeng continued to curse him in frustration.
"You unlucky thing, the more I look at you, the more upset I get. Don't let me see you again in the next few days!"
Qi Yanzhou picked up the broken bowls and left with the food box.
When he reached the door, the officers were all laughing at him.
The person who checked the food box earlier said, "Don't come here for the next few days. I can't afford the consequences of making Lord Wu angry."
As he said this, he covered his nose with his hands in disgust.
It seemed as if what was splashed on Qi Yanzhou was not soup, but feces.
Qi Yanzhou asked Wu Changfeng to perform this drama for this effect.
Even if the person he disguised himself as disappeared, no one would notice.
"I understand."
After saying that, he carried the food box back to the kitchen.
The cook had already dealt with the officers and soldiers, and was cooking bone soup in the pot.
Seeing Qi Yanzhou, she hurriedly asked, "Is Lord Wu okay?"
"Master Wu, everything is fine except that he has no freedom."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"No, just wait patiently, the crisis will be resolved soon."
"Okay, thank you, sir."
The cook knelt down and kowtowed to Qi Yanzhou.
"Get up, be careful and don't let anyone find out. I'm leaving now."
"Sir, take care."
Qi Yanzhou defied the official's gaze and left the prefectural government unhindered.
Someone asked him what he was doing out so late?
He said that Wu Changfeng didn't want to see him, so he would temporarily avoid him to avoid making him unhappy and affecting the general's plan.
No one suspected anything because no one cared whether it was true or not.
When the general accomplishes his mission, it will be nice to have one less person to take the credit.
Not long after Qi Yanzhou left the prefectural government, the cook came out from the back door carrying two buckets of bone soup and fed them to the wild dogs.
***
Manpuku-ji Temple.
Island in the middle of the lake, main house.
Su Chengzong sat in the main seat and asked Su Xuerong to tell him everything that had happened between her and Sun Chu.
Although he knew that Sun Chu was right to save people, he felt angry that his property was touched by someone else.
"Why did it have to be Sun Chu?"
He could have killed anyone else directly.
What Su Xuerong told Su Chengzong was all true, without any exaggeration, and she only concealed the plan to kill him.
She already knew how unpleasant the rumors on the streets were.
So he pulled his thigh, his eyes welled up with tears, and he looked so pitiful.
"Dad, I don't want rumors to affect your plans, so I am willing to marry Sun Chu."
After saying that, she knelt on the ground with her head pressed against the ground.
"Please help me, Dad!"
Su Xuerong was a plaything that Su Chengzong had cultivated since childhood, and he never thought of marrying her off.
After all, she was in poor health and wouldn't live for many more years, so she could just stay at home to entertain him.
"Rong'er, don't pay attention to those rumors. Dad will solve them soon."
Su Xuerong guessed the result.
She stood up, ignoring the coldness of the floor, and sat down on it, her big eyeballs rolling down.
"Dad, my daughter has ears that support her head, and she also has a heart. I can't help but listen and not think or feel uncomfortable."
The choking sound fell into Su Chengzong's ears, making him feel very distressed.
"Rong'er, stop crying. It will be uncomfortable if your eyes are swollen."
These words made Su Xuerong feel sick.
Su Chengzong was not concerned about her, but after her eyes were swollen from crying, she no longer looked like Madam Xu!
She took out a handkerchief, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Dad, the rumors are all over the city and can't be suppressed. If you don't want your daughter to be pointed at every time she goes out, let Mr. Sun marry your daughter."
"I know he is not a good man and I know he is a homosexual. But my father needs him to provide money for your cause. He is not honest. I am willing to watch over him for my father."
"Everyone knows that a daughter is the apple of her father's eye. In the current situation, my daughter is more suitable to marry Mr. Sun than my sister, and it can also show my father's importance to him."
Su Xuerong's words were well-reasoned, but Su Chengzong didn't listen to a word she said.
He snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain.
"He is just a lowly merchant. His ancestors have already burned incense to be the son-in-law of this general. It is a blessing for him to marry any of their children to him!"
Su Xuerong rolled her eyes in her heart.
"Dad, you are wrong. In troubled times, money is the most important thing. You are not attentive to Mr. Sun, but there are many people who are willing to be attentive to him."
These words were like a blow to the conceited Su Chengzong, waking him up.
He did underestimate Sun Chu.
Even if we want to get rid of him, we have to wait until he has a child with Su family bloodline!
He helped Su Xuerong up from the ground.
"Rong'er, you have a heart disease and cannot give birth to a child for Sun Chu. Your concubine sister is more suitable to marry him."
"Then my daughter should marry with my sister. Father, you don't want your daughter to die, right?"
Although Su Xuerong used a question mark, her eyes were very firm.
Her expression made Su Chengzong feel a little dazed, as if he saw the beloved Miss Xu.
He responded subconsciously, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized what nonsense he had said.
"Rong'er..."
Su Xuerong immediately grabbed Su Chengzong's arm and shook it coquettishly to prevent him from saying anything regretful.
"Dad, I don't want to leave you either, so I came up with a good idea."
"What's the idea?"
"Dad, with our family's status, we can definitely find a son-in-law for our daughter. In this way, not only will Young Master Sun be under your watch, but your daughter will also be able to always be filial to you!"
Hearing this, Su Chengzong's eyes immediately lit up.
"Rong'er, your idea is really good!"
Su Xuerong's eyes were filled with smiles. "It is my daughter's honor to share my father's worries."
After that, she reminded him, "Dad, it's better to recruit Young Master Sun as your son-in-law sooner rather than later. It would be best if it can be decided within three to five days."
Su Chengzong frowned, "So urgent?"
"Now is the time when rumors are rampant. It's a good time to get married, and it can also avoid unnecessary trouble."
"But three to five days is too short. We don't even have enough time to prepare for the wedding. How can Dad marry you off so easily?"
"Dad, now Ningzhou City is under your control, so it's convenient to do things. Even if the wedding date is short, it's still in time. And you can also use the opportunity of your daughter's marriage to eliminate dissidents!"
Su Xuerong's words once again touched Su Chengzong's heart.
"Let Dad think about it and I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
After saying that, he stood up and said, "It's late, go to bed early and go home tomorrow morning."
"My daughter obeys your command and will send you off respectfully!"
After Su Chengzong left Wanfu Temple, he did not think about it as he said.
Instead, he went directly to the Qianjin Casino.
There were still quite a lot of customers in the casino before curfew.
When everyone saw Su Chengzong coming in with his soldiers, they were immediately frightened.
Even the dancers on the stage stopped dancing, with panic evident on their faces.
Now, rumors about Sun Chu and Su Xuerong are flying everywhere.
Su Chengzong brought his troops directly to the door, probably to seek justice for his daughter!
The manager came forward hastily with a flattering smile on his face.
"General Su, please come in. The host will be here soon. Do you want to play in the hall or sit in the private room?"
"Go to the private room."
"Okay, please follow me."
Su Chengzong asked his personal soldiers to guard outside the gambling house and took two trusted aides upstairs.
When he reached the second floor, he bumped into Sun Chu who was coming down from the fourth floor.
"Father-in-law, why are you here to see me so late? Is there something urgent?"
"Let's talk in the box."
"Okay, father-in-law, please come this way."
The steward did not follow, "Boss, I'll go make some tea."
Sun Chu responded, "Make the best tea and prepare some snacks."
"Yes, Boss."
When they arrived at the door of the box, Su Chengzong asked his confidant to wait outside.
After entering the door, he kicked Sun Chu to the ground.
"Who gave you the guts to flirt with this general's daughter?"
When Su Chengzong raised his foot, Sun Chu dodged a little and was not injured.
He stood up from the ground and looked at Su Chengzong neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"I know that my father-in-law regards Miss Su as the apple of his eye, and I thought you would care more about her life, so after much hesitation, I still saved her life.
I didn’t expect that my father-in-law cared more about Miss Su’s reputation. I was wrong. I would like to apologize here solemnly and ask my father-in-law to forgive me! A son-in-law cannot stand by and watch someone die. If his father-in-law thinks he has done something wrong, he should admit his mistake. ”
After saying this, he bowed deeply to Su Chengzong.
"If Miss Su gets sick again in the future, I will not help her. Please rest assured, father-in-law."
Su Chengzong: “…”
Why is it different from what he thought?
Shouldn't Sun Chu offer compensation and marry Rong'er?
He felt a little embarrassed and coughed lightly to ease the embarrassment.
"Sun Chu, I'm not saying that you did something wrong by saving Rong'er, but I'm saying that you should pay attention to the occasion. Rong'er's life is of course more important than her reputation!"
Sun Chu stood up and said, "It turns out that I misunderstood. I will pay attention to it next time."
After that, he asked, "Father-in-law, are you here because of the rumors about my son-in-law and Miss Su?"
Su Chengzong nodded and said, "Sit down and talk."
After Sun Chu sat down opposite him, he took the initiative to say, "Father-in-law, I already knew about the rumors this afternoon. The reason why I didn't go to the Su Mansion was because I felt I did nothing wrong. Please forgive me."
"You didn't do anything wrong, it's okay."
As soon as Su Chengzong finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of the box.
"General Su, Boss, I've brought you some refreshments."
"Come in."
After the steward poured tea for the two of them, he tactfully left the box.
Su Chengzong continued the topic he had not finished just now.
"Sun Chu, Rong'er is being talked about in a very unpleasant way now. You are a man and you must take responsibility."
"Father-in-law, please tell me what you need from me, your son-in-law?"
"Now, only if you marry Rong'er as soon as possible can you minimize the impact on her."
Sun Chu didn't expect Su Xuerong to convince Su Chengzong so quickly.
After refusing for a while on the grounds of being a homosexual, he agreed to marry Su Xuerong as his wife under Su Chengzong's coercive request.
As for the illegitimate son and daughter that had been agreed upon before, he would also take them into his room.
It's just acting, he doesn't care.
But Su Chengzong's next words almost made him spit out the tea he had just drunk.
"What? Let me marry into your family?"
Although the marriage was fake, he did not accept marrying into the wife's family!
Moreover, it would be difficult to escape once you are in the Su Mansion.
Su Chengzong slapped the table, and some of the tea in the cup spilled out.
"Why, I let you marry into the general's mansion, and I still treat you unfairly?"
"General Su, this is not a question of unfair treatment, it's a question of a man's dignity. I don't accept marrying into the family."
Su Chengzong drew the knife from his waist and placed it across Sun Chu's neck, which was wrapped in gauze.
"If you don't accept it, you will die."
"The head can be cut off, the blood can be shed, but the face cannot be lost. General Su, please do it."
Sun Chu has already realized that it was Su Xuerong who proposed the idea of marrying into the wife's family.
In order to get Su Chengzong to agree to this marriage.
As long as Su Chengzong agrees and comes to him to propose it, the marriage can be done even if he refuses to marry into the family!
Su Chengzong looked at Sun Chu who was ready to die and was so angry that his hand holding the knife was shaking.
But he couldn't kill Sun Chu, so he put the knife down.
"How about this, you get married in the Su Mansion and leave after the ceremony. Rong'er is not in good health, and after the marriage, she will spend more time in the Su Mansion."
The implication is that the marriage was just for show to the people and to quell rumors.
"Okay, I'll listen to my father-in-law."
"The engagement will be made in three days, and the wedding will be held in five days. You go and buy a large house and decorate it. If you can save on red tape, save on it. If you can't save on it, I will make the arrangements. You just pay the money and obey my orders."
Sun Chu readily agreed, "Okay."
The two chatted about some details about the wedding, and Sun Chu was very cooperative.
He also took out 10,000 taels of silver notes and asked him to buy the items needed for the wedding.
So, Su Chengzong was in a good mood when he left.
***
It was already early morning of the next day when Ye Chutang saw the letter from Qi Yanzhou.
"Sun Chu's sacrifice is quite big. If we succeed in taking down Su Chengzong, we'll give him a point. I've agreed to treat Su Xuerong. Tell A Zhou."
Nan Xiao responded respectfully, "Yes, ma'am."
"The wedding date written in the letter is five days from now. Now one day has passed, which means it is four days. We will set out tomorrow and arrive in Ningzhou City the day after tomorrow. When will General Ma's army arrive?"
"Madam, General Ma has not sent me a letter yet. We will have news by tonight at the latest."
"Okay, you can reply to Azhou first."
After breakfast, Ye Chutang took everyone up the mountain to dig herbs.
Now that it's autumn, it won't be too hot as long as you don't go out at noon.
You are free anyway, why not do something meaningful?
After Nan Xiao finished writing the letter, he did not send it out immediately. He wanted to wait for Ma Weiyuan's letter to arrive and send it together.
In the end, I waited until dark, but no letter came.
He couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and took the opportunity to find "Qi Yanzhou" to discuss things with Ye Chutang.
"Madam, I'm afraid General Ma's army won't be able to arrive on the day of Young Master Sun's wedding. What should we do?"
Ye Chutang shrugged, "I don't have any army, it's no use asking me."
After saying that, she patted Nan Xiao on the shoulder.
"You must have confidence in your master. Even if Ma Weiyuan is not here, it will only be more troublesome to deal with Su Chengzong, not impossible."
Nan Xiao certainly has confidence in Qi Yanzhou, he just hopes that things can be resolved more smoothly.
Seeing that Nan Xiao’s brows were furrowed into a shape of a “川”, Ye Chutang said something to comfort him.
"With the 'Ghost Thief' here, nothing will happen to Azhou."
These words were like a reassurance, and Nan Xiao immediately felt relieved.
"I will reply to the master right away."
He then left the village.
After a while, he came back with a beaming face, holding the letter he had just received in his hand.
It was sent urgently by Ma Weiyuan.
"Madam, General Ma will bring 3,000 advance troops first. The remaining 10,000 troops will have to march in secret due to their large number, so the speed will be slower. The earliest they can arrive is at midnight on the wedding day."
"With Azhou's ability, it is not difficult to use several thousand elite soldiers to hold back Su Chengzong until the reinforcements arrive."
Nan Xiao thought the same thing, "I will reply to the master immediately."
Ningzhou City is under martial law and curfew.
It was already after breakfast the next day when Qi Yanzhou received the message from Nan Xiao.
After reading the letter, he was completely relieved and made detailed arrangements for the wedding day according to the number of available soldiers and horses.
Ever since Sun Chu decided on the betrothal gift and the wedding date, he has been very busy.
When he learned that Ye Chutang had given him an extra point, he sighed feebly, "This marriage is worth it!"
"Since it's worth it, get up quickly and do the three books and six engagements."
"Okay, okay, I'll go prepare the betrothal gifts."
Sun Chu prepared the highest standard of betrothal gifts of sixty-four loads.
On the day when he went to the Su Mansion to propose marriage, Su Chengzong was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
Although he had to prepare 128 loads of dowry as a return gift for Su Xuerong, he felt that the dowry was just a formality and would soon be back in his hands.
That day, after nightfall.
Ma Weiyuan hurriedly arrived outside the city of Ningzhou with three thousand elite soldiers.
After receiving the news, Qi Yanzhou went to see him immediately.
The two men did not reminisce about the past, but immediately discussed the details of taking down Su Chengzong and his followers.
After the discussion, Qi Yanzhou bowed deeply to Ma Weiyuan.
"General Ma and his men came to help day and night. I would like to thank the general!"
Ma Weiyuan helped Qi Yanzhou up and hit his shoulder hard.
"You saved my life, so it would be awkward to thank you. After the job is done, just give my brother some hard work fee."
Qi Yanzhou mentioned the matter of money when he asked Ma Weiyuan for help.
"Don't worry, the soldiers are satisfied with the bounty package."
Ma Weiyuan smiled and said, "I trust Master Qi very much. Will you not come home until you are drunk tonight?"
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