Tiger Owl

Chapter 259 Shangxiang's Escape

In early December, Sun Shangxiang used the excuse of going to a temple to burn incense to leave with a group of servants and maids, and dozens of guards on horseback following her.

Halfway there, she stopped at a cosmetics shop to buy some things, and then boarded a carriage to continue her journey to the temple.

Just after the group left, Sun Shangxiang quietly came out from the back door of the cosmetics shop. She had changed into men's clothing and looked like a handsome young man, followed by two trusted female guards.

The three quickly left the cosmetics shop and ran towards the nearby dock.

Sun Shangxiang had started preparations ten days in advance, and all her plans were meticulously executed.

Sun Shangxiang was also a female general. She commanded the only female army in Jiangdong, which numbered two thousand. Although most of the military affairs were handled by female deputy generals, she was indeed the undisputed leader of this female army.

It was precisely because Sun Shangxiang was a young female general that she possessed a decisiveness and meticulous thinking that was rare among normal women. She managed to deceive everyone, including the maidservant her mother had placed by her side to keep an eye on her.

Only two female bodyguards who had protected her since childhood followed her.

The temple she chose to offer incense to was quite far away. To get to this temple, one had to pass by the dock. By the time the maids and servants realized that the person in the carriage wasn't her, it was already too late.

Sun Shangxiang, accompanied by two female guards, rushed to the dock, where a passenger ship with a value of 1,000 shi (a unit of weight) had been waiting for a long time. This was the ship that Sun Shangxiang's female guards had reserved.

"Son!"

The boatman recognized the female guard and quickly waved, "Here! Here!"

Sun Shangxiang rushed onto the ship with two maids, and the female guard immediately ordered, "Let's go! To Da Mo County."

The ship slowly set sail, turned around, and headed south.

Damu County is the small mountainous county where Taishi Ci was demoted to the position of county magistrate. The Gushui River, a tributary of the Zhe River, flows through the city and can accommodate boats with a capacity of less than 1,000 shi.

After another seven or eight days of overland travel, you will reach Yushan County, the westernmost part of Yuzhang Prefecture. From there, you can take a boat along the Yu River to the Gan River, and finally arrive at Chaisang. The whole journey will take about a month. If you are lucky, you can arrive in Chaisang before the New Year.

Half an hour later, the incense-burning convoy arrived at Jixiang Temple, only to find that there was only Miss's personal maid, Alian, in the carriage, and Miss herself was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone panicked and rushed back to search everywhere, but Sun Shangxiang had already disappeared without a trace.

At the bow of the boat, Sun Shangxiang gazed at the scenery on both banks, a bitter smile on her face. She never imagined that she would one day choose to elope, a method she had once despised.

But Sun Shangxiang did not regret it; her face showed a resolute determination.

...........
Upon learning of his sister's escape, Sun Quan flew into a rage. He immediately ordered the canal exit at Jingkou to be sealed off, every ship to be thoroughly searched, all roads to be blocked, and every pedestrian to be checked at all land checkpoints.

At the same time, cavalry were dispatched to search southward along the canal. They searched for three whole days but found nothing. It was as if his sister had vanished into thin air.

Inside the official residence, Sun Quan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. For the past three days, his mother had been crying and complaining to him every day, which had upset him and made him extremely angry.

Sun Quan was well aware that his sister's elopement meant more than just a marriage; it could also ruin his plan to form an alliance with Liu Bei and divide the four southern counties of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou.

Several months earlier, shortly after receiving the contract personally signed by Cao Cao, Liu Bei's envoy, Sun Qian, arrived in Jiangdong. In Liu Bei's personal letter, he discussed the idea of ​​a marriage alliance and the various possibilities that might arise after Cao Cao destroyed Gan Ning. Although Sun Quan had no idea about the future ownership of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou, Liu Bei's suggestion of a marriage alliance caught his eye. He immediately inquired with Sun Qian and learned that Liu Bei's wife, Lady Mi, had passed away, leaving the position of principal wife vacant.

Sun Quan was tempted and quickly agreed to the marriage proposal. At the same time, both parties agreed that he would send his sister to Chengdu to get married the following spring.

But he never expected that his sister would so strongly resist the marriage. This was to marry Liu Bei and become the first lady of the Bashu regime, wasn't this what his sister had always wanted? How did it suddenly turn out this way?

Sun Quan couldn't understand how his sister had become like those effeminate women, pursuing those ephemeral emotions. Wasn't that what she had always disliked? That's why she scoffed at her friend Xu Wei's choice. How had she changed?
Sun Quan couldn't understand it, but he couldn't worry about that now. His top priority was to find his sister and prevent her from ruining his plans.

"Reporting to Lord Wu, the city has been thoroughly searched, house by house, and the young lady is indeed not in the city," Chen Wu reported from below the hall.

Sun Quan felt a surge of frustration. He couldn't find her by land or water, nor even within the city. Where had his sister gone?
At this moment, a palace attendant rushed in to report, "The old lady requests that Lord Wu come over, saying that there is something important."

Sun Quan was startled and rushed to the Wu Hou Palace.

Upon seeing his mother, Sun Quan asked urgently, "What happened?"

Look at this.

With trembling hands, Wu Guotai handed over a letter, saying, "It was found in her study."

It turned out to be a letter left by his younger sister. Sun Quan quickly opened it. The letter was short, even a bit brief, with only a few lines. In it, she said she was going away for a few months to relax and clear her head, accompanied by guards, and told her mother not to worry. But at the end of the letter, she wrote a sentence:

'I've been searching for the husband Heaven has ordained for me, a man I truly love, a man I'd be willing to give up everything for. I don't know where this destined man is, or when he'll appear. But I know for sure, Liu Bei is not that man.'

Sun Quan's heart sank. His sister was unwilling to marry Liu Bei and was using her actions to resist the marriage.

Sun Quan gritted his teeth in hatred and slammed his fist against the wall.

"No matter what, I will find her!"

At the same moment that Sun Quan was searching everywhere for his sister Sun Shangxiang, Pang Tong also hurriedly entered Gan Ning's official residence.

"Reporting to Lord Chu, an urgent message has arrived from the Dantu County Liaison Office via pigeon."

Pang Tong presented Gan Ning with a copied message sent by pigeon. Gan Ning took it and looked at it, somewhat surprised. Sun Shangxiang had actually escaped. Jiangdong was searching everywhere, under the pretext of searching for enemy spies, but everyone knew that they were looking for Sun Shangxiang.

Gan Ning confirmed a few days ago that Sun Quan and Liu Bei were secretly colluding and preparing to form an alliance through marriage. Why would they want to form an alliance? These two forces, separated by thousands of miles, could only have one purpose in joining hands: to take over their own territory.

"Lord Chu, it's a good thing that Sun Shangxiang escaped! It can break the marriage alliance between Jiangdong and Liu Bei," Pang Tong whispered.

Pang Tong is right. Sun Shangxiang is the key to the entire Sun-Liu alliance. Once Sun Shangxiang is no longer in Jiangdong, the Sun-Liu alliance is likely to be destroyed.

Gan Ning nodded. "You're right. I need to think about this carefully."

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[I'm taking another day off today to take my mother for a follow-up check-up. It seems the tumor is benign, which is a huge relief. Sorry, I'll update as usual this afternoon.]

(End of this chapter)