Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Outside Fuyang City, on the official road leading east to Xiangzhou, a group of carriages and horses were traveling through the night.

"My lord."

The curtains were suddenly drawn back, and the dim, swaying lantern illuminated Ruyi's slightly wistful face.

"What's wrong?"

Zhu Biao, who was in a daze, turned his head when he heard the sound.

"Isn't it too cruel to just leave that young lady from the Liang family in Cizhou like this?"

Of all the people, only Ruyi had a slightly more interaction with Liang Siqi, and only she knew about the young woman's tragic past.

I felt a little reluctant.

"Yeah, that's a bit ruthless."

Zhu Biao nodded, not avoiding the question, but then he changed the subject.

"But we have to be ruthless. Xiangzhou is just ahead, where we'll soon meet up with Instructor Zhang and Madam Lin. We have to part ways with her."

For the past few days, Liang Siqi has been taking medicine, a cold medicine prescribed by Dr. Shi.

This medicine is very effective, but there is one thing to avoid: you must not drink alcohol. It won't harm your body, but you will definitely get drunk and won't wake up.

In the afternoon, Zhu Biao deliberately tried to provoke her by making her drink alcohol, hoping to get her drunk so he could then slip away.

He did do something a bit unethical, but he has a clear conscience.

This crazy woman had chased him for thousands of miles like a dog. On a snowy night in a dilapidated temple, if it weren't for a series of coincidences and his well-planned actions, he probably wouldn't have escaped death.

Furthermore, she is eccentric, stubborn, and quick-witted, in addition to her special status.

Carrying it around is like having a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

If it weren't for fear of Liang Shicheng's revenge, Zhu Biao would have killed her long ago. What kind of stunning beauty was she? He didn't care.

In my past life, I had seen a lot of the world because of my work.

While I may not reach the highest level of seeing beauty as nothing more than bones, I will never let a woman cloud my judgment.

Besides, he has a handsome appearance, a wealthy and well-off family with soldiers, and his martial arts skills are about to reach the level of a first-class master.

Would there be a shortage of women?

In addition, Zhu Biao did not touch the valuables that Liang Siqi had hidden on her person, and the travel permit that she had requested had also been prepared for her and kept on her person.

In fact, Ruyi made her travel permit overnight.

As I said before, engraving is not a difficult task in itself; the main thing is courage, given Zhu Biao's current extraordinary courage.

If necessary, he even dared to carve the imperial seal.

"What you say is true, my lord. I was mistaken and I spoke too much."

Ruyi obediently lowered her head, but Zhu Biao smiled and patted her shoulder:

"Ruyi, you are my advisor, please don't be so humble. If you have something to say, please speak freely."

"counselor?"

Upon hearing this, Ruyi's eyes immediately lit up.

"Or what?"

Zhu Biao smiled and asked in return:

"Such a talented woman like you, are you really going to be my bed warmer? That would be such a waste of your talent."

"My lord~"

Ruyi's pretty face flushed red, her eyes sparkled like stars, and her coquettish voice was full of sweetness.

Da Da Da~

Just then, the light sound of hooves rang out, and Pang Qiutang rode over.

"Third Brother, she's the strategist, but what about me?"

Clearly, this little vixen was eavesdropping the whole time.

"Hahaha! You are, of course, my deputy."

Zhu Biao was in a good mood at the moment. He paused for a moment and even managed to utter a couple of lines.

"The horse gallops swiftly like the wind, the bowstring twangs like thunder! Qiu Tang, how about I give you the nickname 'Flying Lightning Phoenix'?"

"The Flying Azure Phoenix?"

Pang Qiutang murmured to herself several times, her eyes glazed over, completely mesmerized.

"The horse gallops swiftly like the wind, the bowstring twangs like thunder!"

Ruyi was also stunned.

Although these two lines of poetry are simple and straightforward, they have a chilling atmosphere. Just reading them casually makes one feel the murderous aura. This is a poem that is worthy of being passed down through the ages.

"I never imagined my beloved would be so accomplished in both literature and martial arts. Is this poem only these two lines?"

"Uh, just two sentences. I'm not much of a writer, it was just a sudden inspiration."

Zhu Biao's cheeks flushed, a rare occurrence. Damn it, he was capable of murder and arson, but he was too ashamed to do something as despicable as plagiarism.

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the prefectural government office in Fuyang City.

Liang Siqi struggled to open her eyes and saw two unfamiliar maids in front of the bed, as well as Cui Yanping standing not far behind them.

Her muddled mind cleared instantly, and she sat up abruptly.

"Prefect Cui, how dare you barge into my bedroom? What is your purpose?"

After saying that, she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Prisoner Mengdu!"

"Sigh~"

Prefect Cui gave a helpless, bitter smile, forced himself to steady himself, bowed slightly, and said in a hoarse voice:

"Liang Yiren, stop calling."

"I meant no harm. It was only because Supervisor Meng suddenly left without saying goodbye that I took this presumptuous and abrupt action."

"Leaving without saying goodbye?"

Liang Siqi was stunned.

Immediately, she subconsciously touched her body; she also had a soft armor that covered her body, made of some kind of animal fur.

This object is impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire; it also has an inner layer.

Hidden in the interlayer were two hundred taels of red gold leaves, more than twenty top-grade cat's-eye stones, and several pieces of heirloom-level precious jade.

Not counting the gold, the value of these gems and jewels alone far exceeds two thousand taels of gold. This is the source of her confidence in leaving Liang Shicheng and settling down on her own.

Finding that everything was still there, Liang Siqi calmed herself down a bit.

"Where are my horse and its baggage?"

Prefect Cui replied:

"Mrs. Liang can rest assured. The horse is in the stable, and the bundle is in the outer room. No one has touched it."

He lied. Before waking Liang Siqi, that old fox had already sent people to check her belongings.

In her saddlebag were several dozen taels of loose gold, and in her bundle were a hundred taels of silver, a few changes of clothes, her travel permit, and the imperial edict.

And the Divine Firmament Official Seal that Liang Shicheng gave her to protect herself.

Liang was deeply favored by Emperor Huizong and held numerous official positions, including the prestigious but nominal positions of Zhongtaiyi and Shenxiao Guanshi.

In theory, he was in charge of all the Shenxiao Palaces in the world, but in reality, those arrogant Taoist priests didn't even bother with him.

Upon hearing this, Liang Siqi breathed a sigh of relief once again.

But just as the hand that was pressing on his body was about to be lowered, he suddenly touched something that was half hard and half soft—an envelope.

Her eyes suddenly narrowed. She was certain that she didn't have this envelope on her before she got drunk, and that Ruyi had helped her into the bedroom before she went to sleep.

This letter must have been left by that petty thief.

Suppressing the urge to read the letter immediately, she said in a deep voice:

"Do you know why Supervisor Meng left, and where he went?"

Prefect Cui's heart sank, and he blurted out a counter-question:

"What? Even Lady Liang doesn't know?"

Call ~

Liang Siqi let out a long sigh, leaned dejectedly against the headboard, and waved her hand at him.

"Alright, I'm tired and want to rest. It's getting late, so Prefect Cui, you may leave now. We can discuss this again tomorrow."

Prefect Cui frowned slightly, but still cupped his hands in a respectful gesture:

"Therefore, please rest well. I will take my leave now. Please take care of the maid if you need anything."

After Prefect Cui left, Liang Siqi angrily sent the two maids to the outer room, and then hurriedly took out an envelope from her bosom.

The envelope was sealed with candle wax, showing no signs of being opened. There was a line of text written on the cover.

The handwriting was barely acceptable, but the strokes were extremely heavy, written with the force of a knife or axe:

This letter is addressed to Fan Si Niang and signed by Tang Shaowu.

The names Fan Siniang and Tang Shaowu are a secret known only to her and Zhu Biao, which indirectly confirms that this letter was not forged by anyone else.

"Hmph! That damned little thief, he's as cunning as a devil, even writing a letter requires so much scheming."

Despite saying that, she looked at it several times before wiping off the candle wax and opening the envelope.

There were no letters inside, only two travel permits.

The first one is from Wen'an Town, Yanchuan County, Yan'an Prefecture. The woman is surnamed Fan, is 18 years old, thin, beautiful, and has a small mole on the side of her left eyebrow.

The reason for leaving his hometown was to go to Daming Prefecture to visit relatives.

Besides her identity information, the travel permit also contained the official seals of seven or eight prefectures and counties along the way, making it almost flawless.

The second document was from Zhang Shangyin.

Pang Qiutang used the false identity of a woman disguised as a man, Huang Ji, a shop assistant at the Xiangzhou Fur Trading Company, to travel to Tokyo for business.

"Damn thief! I spent a fortune, and all I got were these two thin pieces of paper."

As she stroked the two travel permits, Liang Siqi's eyes gradually reddened. She felt a mix of hatred, anger, and immense grievance.

The biggest challenge she faced was not forging travel permits, but how to protect herself after she removed Liang Shicheng's fake daughter as a lifeline.

Her physical condition was mediocre, her martial arts skills were mediocre, and no matter how sharp her mind was, in this rotten world, it would be extremely difficult for her to survive alone.

Now, an even more pressing problem looms before her: how to get rid of Prefect Tang and leave Cizhou.

She was a fifth-rank lady-in-waiting bestowed by the imperial court, and also Liang Shicheng's adopted daughter. She had no guards or attendants by her side. How could Prefect Tang possibly let her leave alone?

If she can't escape, her safety is not in danger, but the only outcome will be being sent back to Tokyo.

From then on, he was forever imprisoned.