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Chapter 312 Suppressing Bandits
Now that these problems have been resolved, the next step is naturally to prepare to depart as soon as possible.

Lu Qing also told Zhu Cheng about this matter. Zhu Cheng was shocked when he heard it and hurriedly asked if he should also send someone over, so as not to fail to clear up the rumors about the two countries of Jie and Shuo conspiring to rebel.

Lu Qing told him that "General Yi" had some men under his command, and this matter might even involve going to the territory of Lan Kingdom. The current situation of Shuo Kingdom and him, the King of Shuo, was really not suitable.

Zhu Cheng understood this as well. He had more than one or two things to make amends, prepare for, and ask Emperor Jin for forgiveness. He was already overwhelmed with his own problems and could not afford to do anything that might cause further trouble.

Because the news came so suddenly and the decision to leave was made at the last minute, everyone hurriedly packed their things.

Although Lu Qing and his group brought some gifts with them, they left them with Miao Shi and Zhu Cheng before setting off again, traveling light.

Yan Shu ran away from her arranged marriage and had nothing to begin with.

Lu Zhang, on the other hand, was originally supposed to stay for a few days as the injured "General Yi" to recuperate, so he shouldn't have brought anything. But when he suddenly decided to set off, he brought out a thick stack of landscape paintings from his room.

It turns out that he had been sending paper in these days because he was bored and wanted to draw the scenery he had seen along the way to relieve his boredom.

Although I was too embarrassed to ask the people of the Prince Shuo's mansion for paint, and it was just a simple black and white ink painting, it was excellent because of the smooth brushstrokes. Even though it was just a simple outline, with only a few strokes, the landscape, trees and rocks I painted had a lot of charm.

Zhu Yu glanced at him from the side and was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Prince Yi, who always acted like a nobleman in the capital, would have such talent.

Lu Qing was used to these things, clearly having known all along that Lu Zhang possessed this ability.

Lu Zhang originally wanted to throw away all those drawings, but when he held them in his hands, he wanted to crumple them up several times, but he was reluctant to do so. In the end, he picked out a few that he was particularly satisfied with, folded them up, put them in his pocket, and took them with him.

Zhu Cheng also realized that they had rushed this time and were afraid that the group would go hungry on the way. So he hurriedly asked people to prepare some easy-to-carry and easy-to-preserve food such as flatbread and dried meat and gave it to Lu Qing and the others. When the group set off to meet up with Lu Zhang's troops, he also led people to see them off all the way out of the capital.

Although Miao was reluctant to see Zhu Yu leave again, she was very restrained, afraid that her sorrowful expression would upset Zhu Yu.

Fortunately, this time she didn't need to stand outside the gate of the Prince Shuo's mansion to see her daughter off. Zhu Cheng probably wanted to make up for what he owed them, so he specially arranged a carriage so that Miao could also send her daughter out of the city.

Upon reaching the outskirts of the capital, Zhu Cheng and Miao could no longer see them off.

“Mother-in-law, there’s no need to be sad. Once everything settles down, I can send someone to bring you to the capital for a short stay.” Seeing that Madam Miao was reluctant to leave after getting off the carriage but dared not express it, Lu Qing took the initiative to speak to her.

Miao was taken aback, then her eyes flashed with surprise, and she quickly nodded gratefully.

Although she had seen her son-in-law, who was of noble birth, take great care of her daughter these days, she didn't want to put her daughter in a difficult position if he didn't bring it up, so she didn't dare to even entertain such a thought.

Lu Zhang also politely said goodbye to Zhu Cheng, since Zhu Cheng had helped them prepare a lot of supplements this time, and he didn't want to be too impolite.

After parting ways, the group spurred their horses onward. After traveling some distance, Zhu Yu couldn't help but look back. In the distance, he could still see the carriage carrying Miao Shi, and the small figure beside it.

She felt a little sad. Although she knew that after this experience, Miao's life at home should be much better, she still couldn't help but feel a bit bitter.

Turning back, I saw that Yan Shu also had red eyes and was trying hard to hold back her tears.

Upon realizing that Zhu Yu had seen him, he hurriedly and awkwardly turned his head away and hastily wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Zhu Yu rode up to catch up with her and walked alongside her. Looking around, he saw Lu Zhang walking ahead with Lu Qing in the distance, and then asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it just reminded me of how my mother saw me off when I left home..." Yan Shu sniffed and shook her head. "Oh, let's not talk about that! We're both young men now, what would it look like if we had tears in our eyes! It would be bad if people noticed!"

Zhu Yu nodded and said to her in a hearty and gruff voice, "Brother Yan is right!"

Yan Shu laughed: "There's no need to be so rough. Even if you put on a big beard, you wouldn't look like a brute!"

When Zhu Yu saw her smile, he smiled too, but a sense of indescribable melancholy filled his heart.

When Yan Shu was sent to the capital of Jin Kingdom to marry, people compared her to Zhu Yu. They said that compared to the princess of Shuo Kingdom, who was married to the King of Xiaoyao, the princess of Jie Kingdom had a much more impressive presence. Not only was her dowry large, but she was also granted special favor by being allowed to bring her maids. She was truly living a very glamorous life.

At that time, Zhu Yu also agreed with this conclusion reached by outsiders.

But at this moment, she suddenly realized that she and Yan Shu were not really any different. Those dowry maids and servants could not play any real role. In the end, they were all the same: leaving their hometowns, leaving behind their loving relatives, and going to a strange place where they had no relatives or friends to get married.

The difference is that she was quite lucky; she married Lu Qing by accident, and the two were very compatible in terms of personality and behavior.

What will become of Yan Shu and Lu Zhang in the future remains to be seen.

After leaving the capital and parting ways with Zhu Cheng and the others, the group of eight quickened their pace to rejoin Lu Zhang's forces as quickly as possible. After a short rest, they set off again, heading straight for the area at the border of the three kingdoms where bandits were rampant.

Since they were still within the territory of Shuo Kingdom and were heading towards Lan Kingdom, Lu Zhang's men continued to address him as "General Yi" as he had previously stated.

Therefore, after several days, Yan Shu still hadn't discovered Lu Zhang's true identity, and both of them remained in the dark.

They had traveled for about two or three days when the scouts they had sent out ahead returned to report that the area where the bandits were causing trouble seemed to be less than ten miles ahead.

Upon hearing the news, Lu Zhang made arrangements almost without hesitation: "Then let's speed up our journey and get there as soon as possible to suppress the bandits!"

"Wait." Lu Qing hadn't expected his decision to be so hasty. He quickly called out to the guard who was about to go down to relay the order, and turned to Lu Zhang, saying, "It might not be appropriate for us to just charge straight in like this."