Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Robbery
The Western Qiang were extremely sincere in their proposal of marriage, and they quickly agreed on the etiquette and wedding date with the Great Zhou. In just over ten days, the delegation was ready to return west, waiting only for autumn to bring the princess home.
The Western Qiang delegation was about to return, and the imperial guards had to dispatch elite troops to escort them along the way and also practice ceremonial matters. Lu Chen's official duties became increasingly busy.
At noon that day, he barely managed to find some time, and came directly to the drugstore wearing armor, brought some new dishes from Panlou to Zhe Rou, and then hurried to patrol the camp on the outskirts of the city.
He was probably busy with military affairs, and he did not return to the city until dusk fell and night fell.
The light in the room gradually became dim. Zhe Rou was about to call Xiao Chan to light the lamp when a dim light suddenly appeared outside the window, illuminating most of the room.
Like a fire.
Zhe Rou was suddenly surprised and was about to get up to check when the guards left by Lu Chen, no longer bothering to hide, rushed in from outside the medicine shop and tried to escort her out. "Madam! The shop next door is on fire. The fire is extremely fierce. We can't stay here for long. Let's go!"
Zhe Rou was startled and immediately grabbed Xiao Chan and ran out of the medicine shop.
In just a few moments, black smoke billowed outside the house, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burning grass.
The fire started suddenly and violently, and its duration was extremely strange, as if someone had poured oil on it.
The flames seemed to be pouring out from all directions, burning fiercely with the help of the wind, and in a blink of an eye it turned into a sea of fire. It spread towards this side along the courtyard wall, and the wooden pillars of the door fell into the fire, making crackling sounds. Even standing far away, one could feel the scorching heat wave.
Ma Xing Street is a very prosperous area in Shangjing City. At this time, the street is crowded with people.
Several neighboring shops were affected by the fire. People were pushing and shoving each other and running away, shouting in panic, huddled together in a mess. Some people took wooden basins to pour water on the fire, but it made the fire burn even more fiercely.
The situation here quickly alarmed the fire watchtower in the city[1]. Dozens of fire soldiers rushed in hurriedly, beating gongs and pushing away the crowd.
Thick smoke billowed in the air, and amidst the shoving and jostling of the crowd, Zhe Rou was struck hard by someone, stumbling forward. Pingchuan was startled, and just as he was about to offer a hand to support her, he was thrown off balance by the flurry of activity. At that moment, he felt a sudden numbness in his waist, and half his body suddenly lost its strength.
"My wife!"
In the crowded chaos, Zhe Rou barely managed to stand steady. When she heard him calling anxiously, she was about to respond, but suddenly a rough big hand covered her mouth and nose from behind, and she could no longer make the slightest sound.
Zhe Rou's heart was shaken, and in horror, without thinking, she reached out to grab the man's wrist, digging her nails deep into his flesh, trying to break free.
The man seemed to feel pain, and his movements became more brutal. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his knife and struck her hard on the back of the neck. Zhe Rou felt a black screen before her eyes, and the next moment she completely lost consciousness, her body limply collapsing backwards.
Xiaochan was originally holding her hand and standing nearby. Suddenly, she felt her hand was empty. She immediately turned around in panic, but when she stood on tiptoe to look around, there were only countless unfamiliar faces crowded in front of her. How could she find her wife?
"Madam?! Madam—"
Xiaochan was extremely anxious, and her voice couldn't help but contain a hint of tears. She tried her best to shout a few more times, but it was all drowned out by the noisy clamor, and no one responded at all.
—
Lu Chen was busy for most of the day. When he finished sorting out the military affairs in the camp, he saw that it was already completely dark, so he did not stay in the camp any longer. He grabbed his horse, got on it, and returned to the city with Nan Heng.
Walking to the small night market stalls at the city gate, he suddenly smelled the aroma of pan-fried lamb. It was fragrant, not smelly, and tasted excellent. Lu Chen stopped and bought a portion, carefully wrapping it in oil paper, figuring he would take it back later. It would definitely suit her taste.
Nan Heng saw this and smiled, pointing to the side of the road and offering him advice, "My dear, these flowers are so fresh. Do you want to bring some back for my wife?"
A hint of smile appeared in Lu Chen's eyes. He was about to go over and take a look, but for some reason, his heart tightened for no reason and he felt inexplicably anxious.
With this thought in mind, Lu Chen didn't dare to delay any longer. He turned his horse around and headed straight into the city.
After entering the city gate and galloping a short distance ahead, Lu Chen suddenly heard the sound of hurried horse hooves on the street. Looking up, he saw Pingchuan galloping towards him. The look of panic on his face made his heart skip a beat, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly.
He immediately urged his horse forward, grabbed Pingchuan's reins, quickly twisted the reins several times with one hand, and suddenly stopped the horse. "But is there something wrong at home?"
The frightened horse neighed and stood up, but Pingchuan didn't bother to steady himself and neighed in response, "My dear, something terrible has happened! My wife has been kidnapped!"
Lu Chen's eyes turned cold, and he shouted, "Tell me what happened in detail!"
Pingchuan panted hurriedly, "Around dusk, a huge fire suddenly broke out next to the medicine shop, and the whole street was in chaos. I don't know who sneaked in and took advantage of the chaos to kidnap my wife."
"Were there any suspicious people nearby when the incident happened?"
"I vaguely saw someone acting suspiciously. Yang Shi led his men to chase him. I'm anxious to report back, but I don't know if he caught up with him..."
The more he spoke, the more guilty he felt, and his voice became softer. This meant that he had no clues at all, and he had no idea where she had been abducted.
Lu Chen's heart sank, and he stopped talking. He kicked his horse's belly and galloped out first, followed by more than ten personal soldiers. The sound of horse hooves shattered the dark night and raised dust all the way.
The more Nan Heng thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss. He hurried forward, riding alongside Lu Chen, and hesitantly asked, "Sir, could it be... the young prince?"
"No." Lu Chen galloped his horse, his jaw set as hard as iron, his expression extremely grim. "He would never do such a murder and arson."
According to Pingchuan, the fire had indeed come about out of nowhere. If he was right, the thieves had been heading for her, and realizing they couldn't get around the guards he had left behind, they had deliberately set the fire so they could take her away in the chaos.
Who could have attacked her?
The Xu family's roots have been completely eradicated, and today, he has no enemies in Shangjing City.
To rob someone, they could set fire to the house in such an area without any scruples. This must be the work of a ruthless and vicious person.
Lu Chen was extremely anxious. He galloped back as fast as he could while forcing himself to calm down and think about where she had gone. Suddenly, an idea struck his mind like thunder.
Western Qiang people.
In a flash, Lu Chen controlled the reins with one hand and tore off his waist badge with the other and threw it to Nan Heng, "Go find Mingqi and ask him to help find the people. In particular, find out where Li Baoji is. Report any news immediately!"
Nan Heng hurriedly reached out to catch it, raised his voice in response, turned his horse's head, and headed straight for the forbidden area.
As he hurried back, Lu Chen's heart sank.
The expression of the Qiang Liao villain that day kept replaying in his mind. When he thought that she might have fallen into the tiger's mouth and was in danger, the blue veins on the back of his hand bulged out fiercely, the blood surged towards his eardrums, and his heart beat so fast that it almost burst out of his chest.
I would rather let Xie Yunzhou take her away!
Gritting his teeth tightly and suppressing his anger, Lu Chen turned around and called his followers over, giving orders in a cold voice, word by word.
"Immediately dispatch personnel to search for Li Baoji. Starting from the gathering place of the Hu merchants outside Xinzheng Gate, search all guesthouses, brothels, pleasure boats, and pleasure craft—anywhere he could have found pleasure! Search every single place!"
The Qiang Liao were about to leave the capital, so if they rented a house or a yard, it would be unusually conspicuous. Since they had robbed people with ill intentions, they would most likely hide their whereabouts in a place of pleasure.
The followers responded in unison, immediately split into two teams, and ran out separately.
After the banquet, Xie Yunzhou had caught a mild cold and had become increasingly depressed, even eating very little. The emperor, knowing the reason, initially felt he was worthless, having been so deeply moved by a woman. But after watching him with cold eyes for a few days, he couldn't bring himself to do anything. He simply summoned Chen Sui to accompany him and allowed him to stay at Duke Xu's mansion for a few days, just to relax.
However, although Xie Yunzhou returned to the Duke's Mansion, he could not have a peaceful time. Li Zhen sent people to send him invitations several times, inviting him to a small gathering at Fanlou, but Xie Yunzhou was too lazy to pay attention. Li Zhen actually came to his door in person, carrying a jar of fine wine, saying that he wanted to invite him to taste it.
Xie Yunzhou leaned lazily in the armchair, feeling impatient. He really had no idea what this guy was up to.
The two of them had been at odds since childhood and had fought countless times. Li Zhen was no match for him and Lu Chen, but he just liked to be mean and call him a groom's son or a bastard. Now, not only had he lost Xu Chong, his helper, but he had also confirmed his reputation as a bastard. They had been at odds with each other for a long time, and this guy was still pretending to be a brother to him.
Li Zhen seemed quite excited. He picked up the jade wine decanter, pulled his sleeve, and poured two cups of wine. He pushed one of the cups in front of Xie Yunzhou and said, "I heard that you caught a cold a few days ago. The emperor always wants us brothers to be harmonious. Third brother came to see how you are doing today."
Xie Yunzhou was too lazy to engage in idle chatter with him. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at the amber wine in the agate cup. He raised his lips and sneered, "Hey, Third Brother, if you have something to ask of me, just say it directly. There's no need to play tricks on me."
Li Zhen didn't get angry after hearing this, but just smiled meaningfully, acting like a tolerant brother. He paused for a moment and was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps in the corridor.
Xie Yunzhou looked up at the sound and saw the servant from the mansion hurried in. He came forward to greet him and whispered, "Sir, someone from the Lu Mansion has come with an urgent matter."
Xie Yunzhou was startled, then immediately stood up and walked out.
Nan Heng was waiting at the bluestone steps in the courtyard, his face filled with anxiety. He looked up and saw Xie Yunzhou coming out. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, lowered his voice, and quickly recounted what had happened.
Xie Yunzhou's face changed when he heard this, and he turned to look at Nan Heng: "What did you say?!"
Nan Heng glanced at Chen Sui, who was guarding the corridor, then leaned slightly over and whispered in his ear, "Everything I said is true. My husband has already sent people to look for Li Baoji, but the situation is urgent. My wife's safety is of paramount importance, and we urgently need the young prince's help!"
Xie Yunzhou suddenly remembered the look in Li Baoji's eyes that day, and a chill immediately rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His heart began to pound, and cold sweat streamed down his back, instantly soaking his inner clothes.
The situation was critical. Any longer she delayed, the more danger she would be in. Xie Yunzhou immediately called his close followers and gave urgent orders: "Call for manpower, prepare horses, and follow me!" Before he finished speaking, he rushed out.
Chen Sui had been ordered by the emperor to keep close watch on Xie Yunzhou. Seeing this idiot trying to lead his men out of the palace, he hurried forward to stop him, "Young Prince, the emperor has..."
When Xie Yunzhou thought about the situation she might be facing at this moment, the blood in his body ran cold. How could he have the energy to continue to entangle with her? He immediately took action, raised his hand and pushed Chen Sui away, shouting angrily: "Get out!" Without stopping for a moment, he ran out of the courtyard gate.
Seeing the figure disappear so quickly, Chen Sui groaned inwardly. He felt incredibly unlucky to have been assigned this task, to deal with such a jerk. If anything went wrong, he couldn't afford to lose his life. He gritted his teeth and bravely chased after him.
Li Zhen was sitting in the house. Hearing the noise in the yard, he secretly clenched the wine cup and rubbed the rim of the cup unconsciously with his fingertips.
He came to the Duke's Mansion on purpose after he succeeded in Ma Xingjie, waiting for the arranged person to come and report the news after a while, and let Xie Yunzhou hear it. But how come Lu Chen's people came to the door first?
...Could it be that the arsonist was caught so quickly and confessed everything under torture?
As a result of this incident, time is somewhat tight, and it is unknown whether Li Baoji can accomplish the task in time.
Li Zhen couldn't help but frown.
But on second thought, as long as Xie Yunzhou could rush over and get a glimpse of it, it would be enough.
His younger brother had an impulsive and fiery temper. If he were to witness his beloved being humiliated by the Qiang Liao people, whom he hated the most, he would be driven to the brink of death. With all the old and new grudges being settled, Li Baoji would surely be doomed to die.
Thinking of this, Li Zhen raised the corners of his lips slightly, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass slowly, with a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.
Li Baoji is also a fool. If you give him some random information and then flatter him a few times, his ambition will swell and he will lose his mind about his own capabilities.
This matter concerns the safety of the border between the two countries. As long as Xie Yunzhou makes such a big mistake, there is no way he can return to his roots. Even if the government is intentionally biased, the civil and military officials in the court will never let him off easily.
What's even better is that it might even cause a complete breakup between the cousins. It really makes people can't wait to see this wonderful show.
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