Jiang Jiuniang lifted the curtain and looked out, feigning fright.
Then he continued, "No wonder you left halfway; it turns out there was someone causing trouble."
The bound men felt their hearts sink even further when they saw someone arrive. What were they going to do now?
The task entrusted to them by their superiors was intercepted by someone else, and that person was none other than Lu Baichuan.
Lu Baichuan's skill level is not on the same level as Prince Jing's. Prince Jing was trapped here by accident. With Lu Baichuan's arrival, things are even more complicated.
I'm not afraid of anything else, but I'm afraid he'll make a big fuss and it will reach the emperor's ears, then that would be a huge problem.
Lu Baichuan was very concerned about Jiang Jiuniang. After confirming that those people were unable to move, he came over to talk to Jiang Jiuniang, speaking in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those people to hear.
“Someone here is trying to harm His Highness Prince Jing. You and Gou’er go into the city and find a place to stay. I’m waiting for the prefect to come. These petty scoundrels dare to plot against His Highness. The prefect must give us an explanation.”
Jiang Jiuniang listened to him, then glanced at the group of people and said, "Alright, I am a little tired. I've been traveling all this way and it's really uncomfortable. I need to find a place to take a bath and get some sleep."
As she spoke, she yawned, looking exhausted.
Lu Baichuan immediately felt sorry for her and told Gou'er to take good care of Jiang Jiuniang before watching them leave.
The group looked around for a while and realized that it was just the three of them who had come, without any other people. They breathed a sigh of relief.
When the mother and son enter the city, they will definitely reveal their identities. This way, their parents will be able to get the news. As long as they can control the mother and son, they will have Lu Baichuan under control and won't be able to cause much trouble.
Coincidentally, Ji Ziqiu thought the same thing.
He finally managed to get those people completely drunk, and was about to ask if his men had succeeded when someone came to report that officials from the imperial court had arrived. They didn't say anything more, just a mother and son, but their identities were special; they were the family members of Lu Baichuan, a second-rank general.
Ji Ziqiu was stunned. He hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly. At normal speed, it would have taken them three or four days to arrive. By then, Prince Jing and the other two had just passed away, which was mainly due to coincidence.
He was surprised by how much faster it had gone and started to panic.
Why did Prince Jing have to cause trouble now of all times? The signs of his actions are too obvious, and this has nothing to do with their previous plans. What should they do?
Even so, given Lu Baichuan's status, he still had to receive Lu Baichuan's family members, so he called his wife and daughter to pick them up.
They're all women, so they're easy to talk to.
Jiang Jiuniang took the dog to the largest inn in the city. Just as they were about to check in, Ji Ziqiu arrived with his wife and daughter. He immediately gave a deep bow before daring to look up at Jiang Jiuniang. When he saw her overly beautiful face, he froze on the spot. If his wife, Hou, hadn't pinched him hard on the waist, he wouldn't have been able to come to his senses.
Jiang Jiuniang was annoyed by his pathetic appearance and wanted to leave without paying any attention to them.
Madam Hou hurriedly said, "Madam, please wait! Since you and your son have come here, it is only right that we entertain you. If we had known you were coming, we would have prepared a courtyard in the manor, which is much more comfortable than this inn. Why don't you come back with us?"
Ji Ziqiu snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, "Yes, this inn is nowhere near as nice as home. Madam, please come back with me! I really didn't know that Madam and Young Master would arrive early. Please forgive me for not welcoming you properly!"
He was fine when he didn't speak, but as soon as he started talking, Jiang Jiuniang couldn't help but become sarcastic.
"Lord Ji, you've got it wrong. This isn't about whether it's strange or not. You've been here for a while, and you haven't even asked why my general didn't come with me? My general is an official of the court. You don't care where my general is, but instead you're circling around a woman like me. Don't you find that ridiculous?"
"And what about His Highness Prince Jing? He's been trapped at the foot of that mountain for over a month. Doesn't Your Excellency want to find a way to rescue him? Before I came here, I thought the Liangzhou region must be in dire straits, but I didn't expect the city to be so lively. And in broad daylight, Your Excellency reeks of alcohol. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
At this point, she sneered and said sarcastically, "Indeed, if you don't even care about the life or death of His Highness Prince Jing, a member of the imperial family, how could you possibly care about the whereabouts of my general? Or perhaps, my feelings?"
Her casual words stunned the prefect and his wife. This woman looked so gentle and weak, but they never expected her to be so eloquent.
It seems the rumors were true; this woman is no ordinary person.
However, as it stands, apart from being pretty and quick-witted, there's nothing particularly remarkable about her, and Ji Ziqiu didn't take it too seriously.
"Madam, you have truly wronged me. Not only are you here today, but also people sent by Consort Zhao have arrived in the city. I just finished entertaining the Consort's distinguished guests and came to greet you. I apologize for any inappropriateness on your part."
Ji Ziqiu smiled ingratiatingly, showing no anger at Jiang Jiuniang's words. He continued, "As for His Highness Prince Jing, I have already arranged for someone to rescue him. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but the situation was special, and I was worried about unforeseen circumstances. I wanted to wait for the General to arrive before making a decision. Unexpectedly, the distinguished guests sent by the Dowager Consort arrived first. They demanded that His Highness Prince Jing be released immediately. I had no choice but to comply..."
As he spoke, he sighed deeply, his expression naturally sorrowful, without a trace of acting.
Jiang Jiuniang couldn't help but sigh. Although this person was careless and not good at hiding important letters, his acting skills were exceptional. If she hadn't investigated his background beforehand, she probably would have been fooled by him.
"That Lord Ji has really had a tough time. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
She twitched the corners of her mouth, and the shrewd Hou Shi beside her quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "It's all my master's fault, Madam, please don't take it to heart. I heard that you are pregnant and are still running around like this, you should rest well, you can't let this upset you and ruin your health."
Jiang Jiuniang glanced at her and said, "As expected, women understand women better. Since Madam Ji has said so, I am not one to be ignorant of manners. Lead the way."
Her original plan was to stay at the governor's house, but it seems that she can only stay at the prefect's house for the time being. She will have to find an opportunity to switch to the governor's house.
She would never admit that she wanted to live in a luxurious mansion; it was all for the sake of finding fault with the military governor and for the sake of the imperial court!
Ji Ziqiu and his wife exchanged a glance and together helped Jiang Jiuniang and Gou'er into the carriage. Jiang Jiuniang, however, still showed her dissatisfaction with Ji Ziqiu and asked, "Why are you still surrounding a woman like me instead of going to save His Highness?"
These words made people restless, and Ji Ziqiu couldn't stay any longer. He said he was going to check on the situation with Prince Jing and then slipped away. Whether he actually went or not is unknown.
Even after getting into the carriage, Jiang Jiuniang was still sneering. In the end, she didn't ask about Lu Baichuan's whereabouts. Was she acting on purpose, or did she simply not care?
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