Wanjin Lady

Chapter 204 Departure
Wen Wan was speechless, so Madam Yao made the decision for her: "Even if you're walking slowly, we old legs and feet can still keep up. I've already made some arrangements regarding the midwife, and I urged her to come with us tomorrow. You're unfamiliar with Bozhou, and although your godfather has been retired for many years, at a critical moment... it's better than asking for help all over the city."

Cheng Yunzhang, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up, his eyes sparkling, "Junior sister, if you want to get things done in Bozhou, you can't do without the Cheng family."

Old Master Yao said, "It's settled. Since we're family, let's not talk nonsense."

Wen Wan was touched and forced a smile. "It would be hypocritical to refuse my adoptive parents' kindness any further. My adoptive father is right. We are family and should keep our distance. Let's set off together tomorrow morning!"

Wen Weiming naturally couldn't wait a moment.

Feng Shuigen brought back news that Wen Weiming had already been severely tortured during his trial, and now he was thrown into prison without receiving medical treatment. It was not a solution to drag it on like this.

Early in the morning, as soon as the sky was light, Wen Wan set off with a group of people.

There were three waiters taking inventory at the winery, three people brought by Zhu Wang, Hongmei, Chen Ma and two servants brought by the Wen family, four people brought by Old Master Yao, Cheng Yunzhang and two servants, a total of more than a dozen people and four carriages.

Before setting off, Wen Wan ordered people to empty the warehouse of Zhao Heng's things, and each person was given a wooden stick with a sharp end that could be used to support the tent and as a weapon for self-defense.

After much thought, Wen Wan felt that this journey was dangerous, so she put Zhao Heng's sword on her body.

When Mr. Tu sent Zhao Heng away, he took away all his weapons to prevent Zhao Heng from killing him.

The long sword that Old Man Wen gave to Zhao Heng finally ended up in Wen Wan's hands.

Carrying a sword and buying a dagger to hide on her body, Wen Wan, with her big belly, got on the carriage to Bozhou.

The group was large but moving slowly.

Wen Wan suggested speeding up several times, but was persuaded by Chen Ma, Old Madam Yao and others.

Later, Old Master Yao reassured her, "Don't worry. I've already written a letter to my former colleagues at the Dali Temple, asking them to carefully consider the case. As long as the Dali Temple hasn't approved it, the Bozhou prefect won't receive the documents and won't dare to take any action on his own."

Fortunately, the weather was getting warmer, so the group of more than ten people didn't feel cold even when sleeping outdoors.

At night, they lit a bonfire and set up a simple tent. Then Mother Chen took out the dry food she had prepared in advance, cooked some porridge, and dug some wild vegetables, and that was all she needed for one meal.

After dinner, several people gathered around the fire.

Wen Wan ordered Feng Shuigen to describe the incident in detail. Feng Shuigen was now calm, so he considered what he knew and told her everything including the details clearly.

Wen Wan sat on a big rock, covering her stomach with one hand and gesturing on the ground with a dry branch in the other.

"So... Father was invited to a banquet by some merchants who wanted to buy Ruiguo syrup. During the banquet, a young fishmonger passed by. Someone mentioned that she had given birth to three sons and urged Father to take her as a concubine to continue the family line."

Feng Shuigen hesitated for a moment. "These are the testimony of several merchants summoned by the prefect that day during the court hearing. Master Ma has disappeared, and the truth of the matter is unknown. When the wall falls, everyone pushes it down. How many truths can these merchants tell?"

This is true.

With the downfall of Wen Weiming, the sales of Ruiguojiang were also cut off. With one less competitor, the merchants were naturally happy to see it happen.

Cheng Yunzhang got straight to the point and asked, "Did they sit in the lobby or on the second floor during the banquet?"

"Third floor!"

"After the wine was drunk, Mr. Wen was helped to the room on the third floor to rest?"

"That's right!" Feng Shuigen was confused by the question. "Master Wenquxing, what's wrong with this?"

Cheng Yunzhang saw that several people were looking at him.

A flicker of fire danced deep in the eyes of the young woman opposite. “The Hundred Flowers Pavilion is packed every day, and the private rooms on the third floor need to be booked several days in advance. If the merchants decided to host a banquet on a whim, they would never be able to get a private room on the third floor. This is the second point of suspicion.”

The night wind blows gently, and the sound is loud among the mountains and fields.

The roads within a radius of a hundred miles were all mountainous. Under the dark sky, the mountains turned into a mass of shadows that swallowed people.

"The front yard of Baihua Tower is the banquet hall, and in the back is..." Cheng Yunzhang glanced at Wen Wan and saw that the young lady was listening attentively, so he coughed softly, "In the back is the brothel."

"The front hall and backyard are separated by a distance and are always guarded. A young fishmonger... can only enter and exit the kitchen through the side door. How did she bypass the guards and walk from the front yard to the private area in the back? This is the first suspicious point."

"Just now, this young man Feng said... During the trial, the madam of Baihualou testified that she heard the screams of the young fishmonger."

Feng Shuigen immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice!
This... this... is indeed worthy of being called Wenquxing! He found the suspicious points of the case in just a few words!
"Baihualou is a place of revelry every night. How could a madam with dozens of prostitutes under her wing happen to pass by Old Master Wen's room and hear the miserable cries of a young fishmonger amidst the clamor?"

"Not to mention, those wine merchants who came to Bozhou temporarily must have left afterward. If they wanted to overturn the case, I'm afraid they wouldn't exist."

Wen Wan's thoughts became clearer. She tapped the sand with a branch and said, "This case seems to have all the right people, timing, and people, but upon closer inspection, it's full of doubts!"

Her eyes were blazing, flashing with a hint of cruelty, "Father was framed!"

The team was full of the elderly, the weak, women and children. They walked and stopped frequently, and the journey was extremely slow.

Wen Wan's heart was completely focused on Old Man Wen in Bozhou. Sitting in the carriage, clutching her stomach, she thought of Old Man Wen still in prison and just hoped the carriage would go faster...faster...

Although her father was a bargain, he was the only one she had in her life. Besides, apart from his vacillating feelings for men and women, Old Man Wen truly loved her.

The heart was sealed with cement, and only Zhao Heng was sealed.

The marching team stopped again.

Wen Wan lifted the curtain of the carriage and realized that they had unknowingly arrived in a mountain range. There was no village in sight, and their team was the only one on the official road.

A touch of sunset glow on the horizon casts a golden glow on the peaks of distant mountains.

And night is slowly falling.

Master Tu came to report: "Miss, we still have two hundred miles to go to Bozhou. Ahead is Wandang Mountain, and there are bandits blocking the mountain road. We will rest here for one night and march forward tomorrow."

Two hundred miles?

Walked most of the way.

But why does the name Wandang Mountain sound familiar?

Wen Wan was anxious, but she had no other choice. After all, the safety of the group had to be the most important thing. She nodded and said, "Then we'll set up camp here."

After more than half a month on the road, the dry food was already gone.

As the saying goes, live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water. It was summer, and Chen Ma and Hongmei would dig wild vegetables, Tu Erye and a servant of the Yao family would hunt, and every household brought food, so they didn't have to worry about food and drink along the way.

Please give me a little more patience.

The heroine will avenge Lü Ping; she has never forgotten, but has been waiting for the right opportunity.

(End of this chapter)