Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 614 Rescue
After the Guo brothers left, Sang Mo, who was standing at the door, couldn't help but look into the house and then frowned. He didn't find Su Man until someone came to relieve him and go to eat.

"What's wrong?" Su Man asked, seeing Sang Mo's worried expression. "Do you feel something's amiss?"

There are too many problems.

Sang Mo hesitated for a moment and said, "I've just come to Madam's side, and there are many things I can't say. You should go and persuade her that Madam shouldn't put herself in danger."

“We’ve been carefully concealing our whereabouts all this way, all for Madam’s safety. Now, in order to save the caravan, Madam has even had the Guo brothers inquire about information everywhere. Those spies can’t pinpoint Madam’s location right now, but we can find out clearly without any effort.”

“It’s not that I think it’s wrong to do it this way, but we should take the lady somewhere else before those people arrive.”

Su Man did not speak.

Sang Mo's expression turned even uglier. He wanted to say something more, but Su Man said, "Didn't Madam leave the capital to deal with those people?"

Sang Mo said, "That's true, but..."

"But do you think we should lead the people to wipe out the demon cultists? The lady should stay away from the fighting from beginning to end. Even if we lose, someone should properly send the lady back to Bianjing?"

Sang Mo looked at Su Man as if it were the most natural thing to do: “No? When Madam leaves the capital, our first priority is to protect her.”

“Of course not,” Su Man said. “You need to understand that neither you nor I can deal with the demon cult. Only our eldest daughter-in-law can do this.”

“You already think it’s dangerous? This is just the beginning,” Su Man handed the note to Sang Mo. “Yesterday, Madam asked me to send out a secret message to gather people here. If I’m not mistaken, we’ll have to face those people as early as tomorrow.”

To avoid attracting attention, the group consisting of over twenty people followed the old lady, while another thirty to fifty people came in different directions. They had originally expected to encounter the demon cult further away, but the caravan was attacked so quickly that they had to gather them together now.

Why did they gather together? Naturally, to fight against the forces besieging the caravan.

Su Man said, "We need to split up and make preparations quickly, and stop thinking about anything else."

So, they're going to start fighting like this? Sang Mo still hadn't expected his wife to make this choice.

Su Man looked at Sang Mo and felt sorry for him. He had just come to the lady's side and encountered such a thing. He must have been worried a lot these days. Fortunately, he had expected it and specially asked Master Zhiyuan for two calming pills, which would come in handy when Sang Mo started to get irritable.

……

Mama Yu prepared some soup in the kitchen and brought it to Xie Yuyan's room. Having followed Madam Xie around several times, Mama Yu's horse riding skills, while not excellent, had become increasingly proficient, allowing her to keep up with the others. Of course, she inevitably suffered from backaches and leg pains, but even so, she gritted her teeth and persevered without a word, as long as she could be with Madam Xie.

Xie Yuyan closed the book, and Yu's mother glanced at it; it turned out to be a map.

"Madam, have some drinks," said Mama Yu. "You've been traveling a long way and your body is too hot. A little drink will help cool you down."

Xie Yuyan nodded and accepted the bowl.

"Is Madam worried about Tang Xing and the others?" Mama Yu said. "They must know that Madam is coming to rescue them, and they will try to stall for time until we arrive."

Anyway, if it were her, she would think the same way.

Xie Yuyan said, "I hope we can make it in time." After this incident, she will be able to figure out who is targeting the caravan.

……

Xia Dalang was still asleep when Zheng Wenhuan suddenly woke him up.

He jumped out of bed, instinctively wanting to run outside. After the Xia family was arrested and imprisoned, he often dreamed that he would be arrested as well. Who isn't afraid of death? Especially a young man who has been pampered since childhood.

After regaining his senses, Xia Dalang immediately felt somewhat embarrassed, at least losing the dignity of a young master from a noble family: "What happened?"

Zheng Wenhuan asked, "Guess who's here?"

Early in the morning, Xia Dalang had no interest in playing guessing games with Zheng Wenhuan, and asked indifferently, "Who?"

Zheng Wenhuan hurriedly said, "Thank you, Yuyan."

Xia Dalang's eyes widened, and he subconsciously got down to put on his shoes: "Say it again, who's here?"

“That Madam Xie,” Zheng Wenhuan said, “her people were inquiring about the caravans everywhere, and our informants have been watching them.”

This is really... Xia Dalang paced around the room, and after a while he raised his hands and shook them, as if to show that everything was under his control.

Xia Dalang's gaze was complex, his surprise and astonishment ultimately overshadowed by excitement and worry. In front of Zheng Wenhuan, he couldn't show too much worry, so he said, "I knew I would catch a big fish, but I didn't expect Xie Yuyan to run into it himself."

"That way we can make our move on her here."

"It's truly a blessing from heaven."

Zheng Wenhuan said, "Eldest brother is indeed a master strategist. Our move to besiege the caravan was the right one, but..."

Xia Dalang looked at Zheng Wenhuan, knowing there must be something else going on.

Zheng Wenhuan said, "It seems that Xie Yuyan is preparing to bring people to rescue the caravan."

Xia Dalang was startled: "How many people does she have?"

“Roughly several dozen people,” Zheng Wenhuan said. “Including the manpower of the government office, we definitely have more people than hers. But I’m afraid Xie Yuyan may have set up an ambush in the dark.”

Xia Dalang continued pacing around the room: "That woman is cunning; she must have other plans to catch us off guard."

Zheng Wenhuan thought the same thing. If Xie Yuyan hadn't brought enough people, how would he have dared to come looking for him so openly?
The two, who were initially overjoyed, suddenly fell into worry again, convinced that Xie Yuyan would not have brought only these people.

Zheng Wenhuan spoke the truth: "If we go head-to-head with her like this, we may not necessarily win."

Xia Dalang walked to the table, picked up a cup of cold tea and drank it down in one gulp. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Have the government transfer all the personnel they can send over."

Zheng Wenhuan nodded.

Xia Dalang continued, "Have people build defensive fortifications. If we hold our ground and don't come out, she can't do anything about it. Anyway, she can't bypass us to rescue the caravan. Also, send people to urge the demon cult members to arrive quickly."

Zheng Wenhuan agreed, it seemed that this was the only way. As long as they guarded the entrance to the valley and kept the caravan inside, Xie Yuyan outside couldn't break in, and that would be equivalent to achieving their goal.

Xia Dalang then said, "Go and call the village head over."

Xia Dalang was referring to the village head of the village they had robbed. He was originally one of their men, and that night, working with them from the inside, he was able to so easily take over the entire village. Later, the village head gained the trust of the caravan and informed them of their movements.

This time, thanks to the village head's help, we were able to capture the two men from the merchant caravan.

(End of this chapter)