After turning the corner and leaving the Kou family's sight, Wei Jing tiptoed and stepped on the grass to move forward.
He protected the person in his arms with one hand. Shao Qing was quite experienced and leaned quietly on his shoulder, letting the night wind whistle in his ears and the dark thatched trees rapidly retreat backwards.
Wei Jing did not return to the Kou family, but bypassed Hexiang and headed straight towards the county town. The two were only five miles apart, but they could already see a group of black shadows moving towards this side. There were about five or six hundred of them.
He raised his lips coldly. Do you think you can capture him with just these hundreds of county soldiers? It seems that this county lieutenant surnamed Sun is also a person with only a superficial knowledge and is greedy for fame and fortune.
Wei Jing had figured out the nearby terrain the night before. He ran straight to a stone arch bridge about a mile in front of Hexiang, jumped under the bridge, and hid Shao Qing on a stone pier in the shadow.
"Ah Qing, wait for me."
"Okay, be careful not to break the wound."
Wei Jing responded, jumped ashore, and hid in the thatched grass at the bridgehead.
This stone bridge is the only way from Hexiang to the county town, and he just waited quietly.
…
"Father, I don't know if those two people from the Kou family are real or not? We are doing this without telling the county lord. If they are real, then it's fine. But if they are not real..."
This obvious act of stealing credit would certainly greatly offend the county magistrate, who was a strong backer of their father and son. Sun Zong was quite nervous.
His father Sun Rong smiled complacently: "It doesn't matter, the county master is in Hongxiufang and is already drunk. I sent someone over to see what happens."
If it succeeds, it will be a great achievement for him; if it fails, he will say that he acted in an emergency and has sent someone to report it to the county magistrate.
Yesterday, Gong County received an urgent order, ordering a strict investigation and search for those who landed along the river a few days ago, either alone or in pairs, a man and a woman, and the man was seriously injured and poisoned. The county magistrate summoned Lieutenant Sun yesterday and ordered him to search overnight.
Sun Zong had also heard it, but he didn't remember it at the time because he was in the Kou family's yard. After he left, he thought about the beauty for a while, and suddenly he had an idea and hurried back to report to his father.
Sun Rong was overjoyed and immediately ordered all the soldiers to come.
He actually didn't know what kind of person he was searching for? It doesn’t matter whether the two people from the Kou family are right or not. After all, the superiors would rather kill someone by mistake than let him go, so they ordered that anyone who was found to have landed from the riverside would be promoted regardless of whether he was the target or not.
Even if he is really the target, he should be dying as he is seriously injured and poisoned, right? With hundreds of county soldiers, we can be absolutely safe.
With this determination to win, the father and son of the Sun family rode their horses again and again, and stepped onto the stone bridge surrounded by infantrymen.
At this moment, a stone shot out silently from the thatch and hit the hoof of the brown horse under Sun Rong's crotch.
The brown horse staggered, staggered a few steps, and suddenly fell to one side, knocking down Sun Zong who was standing next to him. With a loud "bang", the two men and two horses crashed heavily onto the surface of the river, sending up waves into the sky.
It happened to be a rainy summer season, and it rained just once during the day, and the water in the river was flowing rapidly. The two horses were fine, struggling to swim towards the shore; but the Sun father and son, who were not good at swimming, were in a bad situation, with two splashes, they were immediately swept downstream by the river.
The river flows directly into Qianshui, and is only half a mile away from the river mouth. The change happened so fast and so suddenly that everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they shouted in surprise and chased after it.
But how can human legs catch up with the rapids? It rushed away in two or three steps.
Among his confidants, there was one who was good at swimming. He gritted his teeth and jumped directly into the river.
However, they didn't know that the father and son of the Sun family could never be saved.
…
Wei Jing and others were at the river mouth. Holding a bamboo pole that they had broken along the way, they pushed twice, and the father and son of the Sun family came into the water. But before they could rejoice, they fell into the bushes and fainted.
He carried Yunque and the other man and went to a secluded place upstream.
…
"Thank you, sir, for saving my life. I will never forget it."
In the dark night, there was a cold moon and a single star. The river breeze blew and the thatched grass swayed. A tall figure stood on one side. He had his back to the light and his face could not be seen clearly, but there was a sense of extreme danger.
After waking up, the Sun family father and son had no time to be happy, their hearts began to beat wildly. The arrogant Sun Zong turned pale with fear. Sun Rong managed to calm himself down before speaking: "Knight, please follow me to the county town. I must thank you very much for saving my life."
However, the other party was obviously not interested in his generous reward and only said indifferently: "Why did you go to Hexiang in the middle of the night? Did the superiors order you to search for the person who fell into the Qianshui River?"
"There are people landing in Hexiang. How many of your men know about this?"
"Knight, it's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding!"
Sun Rong's alarm bells rang loudly, and he hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands: "It's just a private grudge between my family and the Kou family. Oh no, it was the Kou family who told us that someone was saved at home, and it seems to be involved in a major murder case. ..."
After all, Sun Rong had been involved in intrigue in the county government for many years, so he knew something was wrong when he heard it. His mind raced, and he immediately found a suitable excuse.
Unfortunately, the person in front of him was the one who fell into the river. All excuses were useless. Wei Jing snorted coldly and approached him.
“Aaaaaaah!”
…
Soon, Wei Jing dug out all the inside information that the Sun father and son knew.
The situation was relatively good. The only people who knew the details of Hexiang were the Sun family father and son and a dozen of their trusted subordinates. In order to take the credit, the father and son kept it a secret.
These confidants were all leaders among the county soldiers. Their different uniforms made them easy targets to identify. So, these local tyrants who had bullied the people for many years drowned tonight along with their master Sun Rong and his son.
Wei Jing quickly dealt with all the matters here, silently passed the county soldiers who were still searching in panic, returned to the stone bridge, and picked up Shao Qing.
"Let's go to Gong County."
Wei Jing wanted to take a look at the official document that had been sent to him in order to infer the current situation along the river and the intensity of the search.
He first went to the study of the county government, but didn't see him; after thinking about it, he went to the county magistrate's home, but still didn't see him.
Wei Jing frowned, and finally went to Sun's house, where he found the official document in Sun Rong's outer study.
"This county magistrate is really neglecting his duties." Shao Qing shook his head.
She went to three places, and each place had many buildings and excellent decorations. Of course, from her point of view, this was nothing, but it was far more than the salary of a county magistrate or county lieutenant, and it was all the people's hard-earned money.
She leaned over and looked at it with Wei Jing.
The official document was written with harsh words, but the emphasis was on strict investigation and search. There was almost no information about Wei Jingshao Qing. It only said that a young man and a young woman fell into the river at some point, and that they were injured and poisoned.
Just to motivate the greatest enthusiasm, the official document stated that anyone who falls into the river will be promoted and rewarded, regardless of whether they are the target or not.
No wonder Sun Rong was so enthusiastic that he even kept it a secret from the county magistrate.
"That's good. It saves us a lot of trouble."
As for eliminating harm for the people, who can guarantee that the successor will not be a greater harm? The root cause lies in the corrupt bureaucracy. Removing a few officials under the county magistrate is neither a temporary solution nor a fundamental solution.
Shao Qing sighed and asked Wei Jing: "Shall we go?"
Wei Jing nodded and put the document back: "It seems that we need to be more cautious when we go to Pingtao."
If even a remote place like Gong County received the order, then the news must have spread to all the towns and cities on both sides of the river, and the search intensity must be very large.
Shao Qing nodded: "Just avoid this period."
A strict investigation and search that requires a large number of troops cannot be sustained for long. As long as there is no news, it will be completely over after the initial period.
…
Wei Jing and Shao Qing quickly caught up with the Kou family's donkey cart. They went and came back quickly, less than an hour in total. The Kou family, including Yan Ming, acted as if nothing had happened, except for Kou Yue who asked a question out of curiosity, but was fooled by Shao Qing.
Before dawn, they arrived at the neighboring An County. Kou Xuan had no intention of going in. After all, the two counties were close to each other and the officials were on good terms with each other.
There were inns in the towns and villages around An County, but they would be too conspicuous to stay there in the middle of the night, so they decided not to go. Instead, they found a secluded place to stay and waited for the city gate to open.
Wei Jing said that since there were so many people, one donkey cart was not enough and they needed to buy more.
Animal power was quite valuable these days, so he didn't let the Kou family pay for it. He paid for it himself and gave the task of going into the city to buy it to Yan Ming, as he was the safest person present.
The two of them had no shortage of money now, so they took a lot of it when they left Sun Rong's study. If they didn't take it, it would just benefit Sun Zong's younger brothers.
Another donkey cart was purchased, and Kou Xuan, Yan Ming, and Yuan Hong took turns driving it. As for Wei Jing and Shao Qing, they stayed in the latter donkey cart, saying that their injuries had not yet healed.
Everyone accepted it naturally, including Kou Xuan, who seemed to have forgotten what he saw last night.
With the clatter of kicks, two half-new donkey carts set off on the road, heading west to Pingtao County several miles away. They blended in with the traveling caravan and were quite inconspicuous.
After reading the official document, Shao Qing was mentally prepared, but in reality, the search was more intense than she had imagined.
After leaving An County, we turned onto the main road and gradually approached the prosperous county and city. Soldiers and laborers, wave after wave, knocked on doors of every household. The wilderness was also lined up for screening, spreading from the riverside to the inland.
The civilians were also very motivated because of the reward. Anyone who reported someone who fell into the river or seriously injured a foreigner would be rewarded 100 gold coins after verification. If they were lucky enough to hit the target, it would be even more amazing, with a reward of 10,000 gold coins and the title of Marquis of Guannei.
It's like a ladder to heaven.
Many civilians followed the soldiers in the search, and the farmers and common people on the road were all talking about this topic. They all kept an eye on all directions and were very enthusiastic.
Wei Jing looked at the scene coldly through the gap in the curtain lifted by Shao Qing, his eyes icy.
These are the people of Great Chu whom he had steadfastly defended, risking their lives and leaving scars all over their bodies, but now they are surrounding him.
"They don't know the details." Shao Qing couldn't help but say in a low voice.
Wei Jing did not comment, but only asked: "Does your head still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
Shao Qing touched the bruises on his temples that had faded, and for a moment he didn't know how to continue persuading them. After sighing, he was just glad that Kou Xuan and the Kou family had withstood the first wave of tests.
The donkey cart continued to move forward. The checkpoints and road nodes were very strict, with many checkpoints set up. Locals and outsiders, caravans and farmers, all lined up for inspection without exception.
"What's going on up front?"
Shao Qing lifted the curtain and saw that the team stretched for several miles. There were many checkpoints, several levels lined up in a row, and people and vehicles were constantly being led over for inspection.
It was impossible to avoid such a search. Not to mention anything else, as long as Wei Jing's clothes were lifted, the two scabbed wounds on his collarbone would be impossible to escape.
But let's take a detour, I'm afraid every road is like this.
Shao Qing withdrew his hand, frowning: "Should we go back?"
“No need.”
Wei Jing said: "I will get off the car and go over by myself. I will wait for you in front."
As for why he didn't say to bring Shao Qing this time, there are two reasons. Firstly, if they sneak through in broad daylight, it would be OK if they were alone, but if two people were hugging each other, they would be too conspicuous and it would be difficult to avoid being seen.
The other one is the most important. Shao Qing has a small target, and she has bought some makeup powder. As long as she doesn't stand with Wei Jing, she is confident that she can get away with it.
Wei Jing had seen the effect of her makeup and felt relieved.
Otherwise, to be safe, he would probably decide to take action at night.
Shao Qing thought this was a good idea. There would definitely be checkpoints along the way. It would be too troublesome if they had to wait until night every time. After all, there was the Kou family.
Wei Jing whispered a few words, got out of the car silently, and left the long traffic jam.
It’s not surprising that there are people behind. After all, people have three urgent needs, and many people leave to solve them.
After Shao Qing watched his back disappear, she lowered the curtain and took out a hand mirror to touch up her makeup. She is now a teenager with dark yellowish skin, droopy eyes, a bigger mouth, a nose that is not as straight as before, and many freckles on her cheeks. Although it doesn't look ugly, it is far worse than before.
I guess even if Shaw’s biological parents came to recognize him, they wouldn’t be able to do so. She was very thankful that she had such a wide range of interests in her previous life, as it is true that having many skills is always a waste.
As the long team slowly moved forward, it was finally Shao Qing's turn. The donkey cart driven by Yan Ming in front had been led to the other side. The soldiers shouted at Kou Xuan, asking him to drive the cart forward and ask everyone in the cart to get off.
Shao Qing jumped out of the car.
Kou Xuan was surprised at the sudden sight, but just as Wei Shao and the others had expected, he did not reveal the slightest flaw.
After passing through layer after layer of inspection, I finally passed successfully.
Shao Qing got on the car. Kou Xuan didn't ask any questions and drove the donkey cart closely following Yan Ming. The two carts moved forward with the large army that had passed the customs.
After walking for a while, Wei Jing came back silently. Shao Qing, who was a little nervous, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
She opened her lips to ask a question in a low voice, but suddenly she heard the sound of horse hooves galloping from the road ahead.
The sound of horse hooves was very neat, rapid, powerful and dense; it was a cavalry unit coming.
Shao Qing's brows immediately frowned.
You have to know that horses are very precious things nowadays and are considered strategic materials. A wealthy businessman without background can't even get one, let alone form a team. The appearance of a large number of cavalry is most likely the army.
She quickly lifted the curtain and peeked out.
A row of horses with shiny furs, with knights wearing clear armor on their saddles, and a general in red armor were galloping over. It was indeed an army.
These hundreds of soldiers were here to supervise the search of the cards. It was obvious that General Hongjia was not satisfied with the current situation. He dismounted from his horse and scolded them harshly. He then ordered his soldiers to distribute the portraits and compare them carefully.
The original county trooper was timid and he quickly widened his eyes and looked at the man's face carefully.
The focus of the investigation immediately changed, and more manpower was assigned to compare portraits, resulting in other projects being sloppily performed.
For example, take off your clothes and check your collarbone.
A strange feeling immediately arose in Shao Qing's heart.
Although she knew that this was a portrait painted with a brush and not a photograph, and that it was done in a hurry, the painters' skills varied, and it was not copied from the first portrait, she had seen the wanted poster and knew that it was at most 20% to 30% similar to Wei Jing, and she would not be able to recognize him after some cleaning.
It seems to be still rigorous, but in fact there are many more loopholes.
What's going on?
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