Xie Ming

Chapter 37 Such an Orphan
Xiao Jingchuan promised to personally find medicine for the prince, and there was not much food in the army, so he could go there to exchange some food. So he asked his men to gather a team and prepared to go down the mountain and into the village.

"Old Xiao, I'll go with you!"

Upon hearing Xiao Jingchuan's order, Qiu Zhizhong also begged to follow.

Xiao Lang nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Xiao Jingchuan, Qiu Zhizhong, Gu Changting, and Wang Chuanwu changed into casual clothes, dressed up as mountain peddlers, and led a team of people out of the temporary camp and ran down the mountain!
After walking for only half a minute, a group of people moved away from the camp. Qiu Zhizhong was holding a grass leaf he had picked up and asked casually while strolling.

"I say, Old Xiao, can this so-called plaster really help the emergency and reduce the prince's high fever?"

"Yes, why would I lie to them about this?!" Xiao Jingchuan answered casually.

"Oh? Great, Lao Xiao. I just saw that you made a very clear statement."

"As a military officer stationed in Beijing, you have probably only led troops out of the city a few times since you took command, right? How do you know all this?"

"It seems like you've put in a lot of effort behind the scenes! Huh?!" Qiu Zhizhong said with a joking smile.

"Hey! It's just a little military trick. Look how you brag about it!" Xiao Lang didn't take it seriously.

"Small skills? Hey, I'm the director of the institute, I'll teach you two martial arts."

"Do you know what gypsum is? Can it cure high fever?" Qiu Zhizhong had nothing to do, so he asked to provide evidence.

"Ah? What plaster? I don't know!" Gu Changting replied.

"I don't know!" Wang Chuanwu was stunned and followed suit.

"Haha, just look at that!"

"You two don't know, but your general, Lao Xiao, knows!"

"Otherwise, why can't you two become generals? You should learn more from your general!"

After Qiu Zhizhong finished speaking, Gu and Wang scratched their heads and giggled.

"Okay, okay, I'll just listen to your nonsense!"

"To tell you the truth, I was seriously ill when I was young. I had a high fever for several days. My mother was helpless in the mountains, so she used this plaster to save my life!"

"So I know that plaster has a miraculous effect in reducing fever, that's good enough, right?"

Xiao Jingchuan replied helplessly.

"Oh? General, how could the young master of your Duke's family go to some mountainous area when he was young?" Wang Chuanwu was puzzled.

"The general entered the Duke's Mansion when he was a teenager, you forgot!" Gu Changting reminded.

"Oh, yes, yes! I lost my mind!" Wang Chuanwu replied.

"Oh, Old Xiao, in all the years we've known each other, I've never heard you talk about your childhood. I only know that you were adopted by Duke Cheng as the orphan of a martyr."

"Old Xiao, where was your home before?" Qiu Zhizhong asked curiously.

Suddenly hearing Qiu Zhizhong's question, Xiao Jingchuan was slightly startled for a moment, then he relaxed and continued on his way.

After a long silence, he spoke again.

"My home is in Shanhaiguan!"

When Qiu Zhizhong heard this, he was also startled and paused for a moment.

"Shanhaiguan? When did you enter Beijing?"

"The second year of Chongzhen!" Xiao Lang replied.

When "Chongzhen II" mentioned this place and this time, Qiu Zhizhong suddenly thought of something, but when the words came to his lips, he was not able to speak them out.

"Yes, you guessed it right, the second year of Chongzhen, the Jisi Rebellion!"

"The Later Jin Jiannu invaded the heartland of the Ming Dynasty, and more than ten members of my family died in this battle!"

"I was the only one who was lucky enough to survive and escape to the capital!"

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong had already made some judgment in his mind, but he didn't know whether it was right or wrong, so he hurriedly asked again.

"Then, since you are the orphan of a martyr, your father is..."

"My father, Xiao Zizai, was a deputy general under General Yuan Chonghuan. He died in battle!" Xiao Jingchuan said coldly. After he finished speaking, Qiu Zhizhong, Gu, and Wang were all stunned, speechless for a long time, not knowing how to comfort him.

After walking for a while, Xiao Jingchuan saw that no one was talking anymore, so he realized that he was bored and started to make fun of himself.

"What are you doing? You guys, the past cannot be retrieved, why are you all so sad?!"

"It's as if I'm being sentimental on purpose!"

"Happy! Smile for me!"

As he spoke, Xiao Jingchuan kicked Gu and Wang on the buttocks one by one.

In this way, the atmosphere on the way down the mountain eased a little and they felt relaxed again.

After another quarter of an hour, Xiao Jingchuan and his group arrived at the forest near the village at the foot of the mountain.

Xiao Lang stood on a high slope with a wide view, took out a monocular telescope from his arms, and looked carefully at the village.

After a while, he turned around and spoke with a chuckle.

"Haha, we finally found something today!"

"There is a wedding sedan at the entrance of the village, carrying the bride into the village!"

"Look at the scene, it looks like a rich family welcoming a bride."

"In the rural areas of the north, when we marry, we pay attention to a long banquet and flowing water. We have to go to every household in the village!"

"It's all about fun!"

"In my opinion, our trip was not in vain. We won't do anything else when we get into the village. Let's have a feast first!"

After Xiao Jingchuan's yelling, not to mention Gu and Wang, even Qiu Zhizhong, a well-informed young man from a wealthy family, secretly swallowed his saliva.

After all, it has been three or four days since this group of people left the capital. Not to mention oil and water, the dry and hard biscuits they brought with them are not enough to fill them up. Now that Xiao Lang is giving such a vivid guidance, who can resist it!

Not only them, there was also a group of soldiers behind the four of them. When those soldiers heard that there was a feast to be had, they all stretched their necks and came straight to Xiao Jingchuan!

When Xiao Jingchuan saw this scene, he was a little dumbfounded and realized something was wrong.

"Eh? What are you guys doing?"

"What are you trying to do?!"

"I said I was going to a banquet, but I didn't say I would take you with me!"

"Everyone, line up and stand in front of me!"

Xiao Jingchuan looked so disgusted that he changed his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book.

When the soldiers heard this, their faces fell instantly. It was more miserable than losing their parents!

But since you are a soldier, you must obey orders!
Especially since it was an order from their own general, no one dared to say a word of dissent, so they all lined up with bitter faces and were very reluctant!
"Gu Changting!" Xiao Lang shouted.

"Here!" Changting replied.

"See that rocky slope over there? Take a group of them there and wait for orders later!"

Having said that, Xiao Jingchuan turned around and faced the soldiers.

"I'm going to the village to look for medicine, and I'm going to buy some military rations for you!"

"This is a serious job, there can't be any mistakes!"

"If all of you go there together, won't that expose your whereabouts?"

"Open your eyes and look. Right now, we are the only four who have changed into casual clothes."

"So, since you can't enter the village, you can only rest here. Wait for us to bring back the supplies, and then we will go back to the camp together!"

"Do you understand, you bastards?"

Although Xiao Jingchuan's reason was not far-fetched, his performance was very poor.

She said that she looked like she was going to do some hard work, but her face looked like a cat seeing a mouse, or a rabbit seeing a carrot. She was so beautiful!

(End of this chapter)