spoiled brat

Chapter 93 92. Self-crossing (2)

In the sweltering heat of midsummer, withered lotus leaves stand starkly in the pond, and cicadas chirp incessantly in the bare trees.

The pale yellow twilight spilled across the ground like water, and the bluestone bricks shimmered with a cool, ethereal glow, like a cold sea of ​​fire.

"No funeral arrangements, just bury them in peace." He Bi wiped his eyes, controlled his tone, and said to his subordinates, "One of them is an only son, and the other just got married. It's best not to let their families see the bodies."

As they were talking, the lattice door of the study opened, and a middle-aged man wearing a bright red official robe with a third-rank crane insignia stepped out.

This is the newly appointed prefect, a well-known figure in the court, a smooth talker, but secretly a man of Minister Jiang. Upon arriving in Yunzhou, he immediately resolved the long-delayed issue of the land grant for Xu Feng.

"Lord Wang." Why bother with the formalities?

Lord Wang smiled amiably, turned around and bowed towards the study: "Your Highness, if Wang Tianru has any further issues, please send someone to inform him. I will take my leave now."

Hearing a soft reply from inside, Lord Wang led his attendant away.

Why bother stepping into the study, passing through several nanmu wood screens, and nodding to Xiu Yi, who was sitting quietly dozing: "Master."

The setting sun cast a dim, golden light. Xiu Yi raised his thin eyelids, a few specks of gold floating in his eyes: "Did you find anything?"

"The Xu residence was burned to the ground, and nothing of importance was left behind." He Bi paused, then took out an object from his pocket. "But I found this behind the plaque of the Xu residence."

It was a square plate made of black iron, polished smooth to the touch, reflecting the pale yellow of the setting sun.

“I questioned all the sorcerers who were close to Xu Fengsheng before his death, and none of them could explain the purpose of this mirror.”

There are no words on it, but there is a slight indentation in a certain place, as if it was deliberately carved out.

The square plate has two sides, top and bottom. Xiu Yi held it up and examined it for a moment, then said, "Even a mediocre person like Xu Feng can be clever and resourceful."

Why not understand: "This square plate represents reconciliation?"

“In ancient times, Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, causing the sky to tilt to the northwest and the earth to become incomplete in the southeast. Look at this square plate, isn’t it the will of heaven and earth?”

Why point to the point that was chiseled out and ask, "What does this point refer to...?"

"He had foreseen this day. How could a pawn, manipulated for half its life, be content to remain unscathed when it is discarded?"

He Bi immediately understood: "This point happens to fall in the northwest, probably to provide Xu Feng with evidence to use against Minister Wu." His voice gradually lowered: "Sir, Eleven and Seventeen are dead."

"Who did this?" Xiu Yi's voice was light and cold.

"They went out on business and didn't return for three or five days, so I sent men to look for them... The bodies were found on the road, dragged by horses, and it was impossible to tell exactly where they died. I sent scouts to investigate, and they only found out that there were bandits in several counties west of Yunzhou, saying that the bandits killed them." He Bi gritted his teeth and said, "I don't believe it was bandits! I know their skills, and besides, what bandits would dare to touch our people?"

"Leave all matters in the city to Xiu Ning." Xiu Yi picked up his sword. "Mobilize the troops; we're heading west."

"And..." He hesitated, "The job they did was to take that little girl home."

Xiu Yi stopped in his tracks, his slender figure frozen in the setting sun.

If no wind had blown a few strands of hair, why would anyone doubt that time had stood still? "Master..."

"Don't tell Xiu Ning." Xiu Yi continued walking forward without turning his head, saying, "She likes that little girl, she'll be sad if she finds out."

Zhao Zhao had a dream.

The night was thick in my dream.

She stood at the foot of the wall, trying to grab the beautiful woman who was climbing over it, but she was so close yet unable to reach her.

The slender woman's clothes disappeared over the wall, and the man outside the wall spoke with a smile, his voice like a snake flicking its tongue.

Zhao Zhao climbed the wall, trying to see the man's face clearly, but his features were shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to make out clearly.

The wheels turned, and the man was about to take the beautiful woman away.

Zhao Zhao chased after him, shouting, "Don't go! Don't go with this man!"

All shouts were drowned out as the carriage drove into the filthy night.

Thinking back carefully, what was that man's name? When Yao Niang fled back to the county, she told Zhao Zhao that this heartless man had long been planning to abandon her after he had served his purpose.

He was originally a minor staff member. When his master retired and returned to his hometown, he went with him.

When he passed through Qingyang County, he stayed for a long time. The newly appointed magistrate hosted banquets for him on several occasions. It was at one of these banquets that Yao Niang met him and they secretly developed feelings for each other.

He never revealed his name, but if asked, he would answer that his surname was Li Xingjiu, and that he was Li Jiu.

He was extremely careful when meeting with Yao Niang, never coming to the brothel to play cards. He would only casually mention to his master that "there was a courtesan at the banquet who played the moon lute very well," and then secretly exchanged favors with her when she was summoned.

As a result, no one knew his name, and few had seen his face. Even Zhao Zhao, who helped Xie Yao Niang elope, only heard his smiling voice from behind a wall on a dark and windy night.

Tick, tick...

A chill ran through Zhao Zhao's brow, and she suddenly awoke with a start.

The first thing she saw was a huge rock, with dew dripping from a crevice onto her face.

With difficulty, Zhao Zhao sat up and looked around blankly. The sunlight was gentle, the forest was clear, the fallen leaves on the ground were dry, and the wind rustled the leaves. The tranquility was unreal.

Zhao Zhao doubted that everything before her eyes was a dream.

She sat there waiting for the dream to end, but gradually realized that she had not died, but would live in a nightmare from now on.

Under the blazing sun, Zhao Zhao's vision was shrouded in darkness. Where did the road ahead lead? Had Yao Niang, A Heng, and Xiao Duo all perished? Her family was destroyed, and where could she find the murderer?

Survival is the most important thing.

She dragged her aching body to the stream to wash her wounds, lit a fire to heat the dagger until it glowed red, and carefully scraped away the necrotic flesh. After a simple bandage, she made a pitchfork from a branch and went to the stream to spear fish. Having been hungry for several days, her movements were weak and sluggish. In a moment of carelessness, she slipped and fell into the stream, her body sinking into the water. The fish, unafraid of her, came close to kiss her pale face.

Zhao Zhao lay motionless, as if dead, and then, after gathering her strength, suddenly reached out and tightly gripped a silvery-white crucian carp.

After getting out of the stream, the crucian carp in my hand turned from one to two.

I blinked and then I could see something lying at the bottom of the stream, emitting a faint silvery light.

Zhao Zhao paused for a moment, then reached out and picked up the object, examining it closely.

It was a safety lock, one of the items she asked Lao Wai to bring back to the building.

She dropped the fish and frantically searched along the creek.

There were no other clues or traces.

But there were no bodies found.

In the deserted forest, dappled sunlight danced across Zhao Zhao's body.

Hope ignited in her heart, like the sun rising over a graveyard.

Zhao Zhao picked up her dagger, stepped into the sunlight, and headed towards a new battlefield.

-

This forest is flanked by mountains on two sides; to the left is Qingyang County, and to the right is Xiangyun County.

If Yao Niang and the other two are still alive, they can only move forward.

A day and a night later, Zhao Zhao emerged from the forest, disheveled and ragged. The migrants on the country road looked down on her as a little beggar and didn't even bother to rob her.

She arrived safely outside Xiangyun County, where the fat gatekeeper covered his nose and shooed her away: "Are you blind? Didn't you see the notice that refugees are not allowed—"

Zhao Zhao opened her palm, revealing a handful of copper coins: "This is a wedding gift for you."

The fat gatekeeper, seeing that she was sensible, pretended to question her for a while, and then let her pass after going through the formalities.

Zhao Zhao wandered through three streets and six alleys, finally arriving at the gate of the largest bank in the county.

The shop assistant was lazily trying to shoo away customers, but Zhao Zhao didn't say much. She simply took out a ten-thousand-tael silver note from her bosom, which bore the seal of the Prince of Ning's mansion.

The shopkeeper was hurriedly called out by the servant. He stared wide-eyed at the silver note in Zhao Zhao's hand. There was a dark mark under the black characters and red seal, with a python pattern and flowing clouds. It was undoubtedly a genuine seal.

The shopkeeper wore a stiff smile, looking at the dirty Zhaozhao, unsure how to address her: "May I ask... what position do you hold in the Prince's mansion?"

Zhao Zhao said, "It's inconvenient to tell you."

The shopkeeper's eyes darted around: "Could it be that you came with Miss Yuan?"

Are people from the Prince Ning's residence also nearby? Zhao Zhao asked casually, "What's she doing here?"

"Don't you know? With Lord Xu's death, vast tracts of land were allocated to your family. Miss Yuan has come to take over Fan Family Estate, so naturally, the money coming in and out will come from here..." The shopkeeper's voice gradually lowered, no longer revealing anything: "What kind of business are you handling by transferring the money?"

Zhao Zhao's face turned cold: "Is it any of your business to pry into the affairs of the Prince's residence?"

Just then, the servant came running in, panting, carrying a heavy sack. The shopkeeper quickly stepped forward, took the sack, and pushed it in front of Zhaozhao: "Miss, the two thousand cash you ordered, plus the silver notes, will be more or less."

The bag contained not gleaming silver coins, but rather green copper coins and stacks of silver notes.

The silver notes were all in convenient amounts of a hundred or so taels, stacked into a small bundle. The shopkeeper tied them together with strips of fine cloth, and stamped the cloth with the seal of the Heavenly Line.

He presented it to Zhaozhao, and at the end, he did not forget to mention that his surname was Li and his employer's surname was Zhang, asking Zhaozhao to say a few good words for him after returning home.

Leaving the money exchange and heading east, there wasn't a long way to go, and there was a steamed bun stall. There were no customers in the afternoon, so Zhao Zhao found an empty table and sat down. The owner, thinking she was a beggar, was about to shoo her away rudely, but then she spoke up:

How many steamers of buns do you have left on the stove?

"Fifty or sixty cages...how many cages do you want?"

"I want it all."

Zhao Zhao grabbed a handful of copper coins, piling them up like a small mountain on the table, and pointed to the empty tables around her, saying:
"I'll take two baskets, and put the rest on another table."

"Okay, okay."

The owner took the money from his apron and promptly served the steamed buns. The empty tables on the stall were packed full, and the aroma of meat wafted everywhere in the wind, attracting beggars from all over the street, who gathered around the stall hoping to beg for food.

The boss thought they were dirty, smelly, and unlucky, and was about to yell at them to get out, when he heard Zhaozhao say:
"Please invite them in to eat."

"Them?!" The shopkeeper pointed outside his stall, disgusted. "Those filthy beggars?"

Zhao Zhao picked up the empty bowl on the table and scooped out a few more copper coins. The shopkeeper's expression instantly changed. He picked up the money that had rolled to the ground and waved to the beggars outside the stall, saying, "You're in luck! A living Buddha has appeared and bought out the stall for you to eat!"

At first, the beggars were hesitant to enter, but after someone started, they all rushed in.

They usually couldn't get enough to eat, so they inevitably made a ruckus and fought over the buns. But then an old beggar shouted, and they actually lined up and started distributing the buns in a rather orderly manner.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhao knew she had come to the right place. She sat quietly drinking tea, and the old beggar, guessing the steamed buns weren't free, stepped forward and asked:

“Young lady, you are kind-hearted and have given us this meal. If there is anything we can do to help you, please just let us know.”

"Find three people."

Zhao Zhao dipped her fingers in tea and drew on the table while saying:

"They're refugees, they don't look too well-dressed. A woman in her early twenties, a little girl who's still breastfeeding, and a dark-skinned boy of about fifteen or sixteen. Have you seen them before?"