After things were settled temporarily, Dai's mother calmly said to Qiu Yizi: "Thank you for saving me, young master. I am grateful. And I wonder where you came from? Why aren't you afraid of these minions of the Persuasion Department?"
Qiu Yizi had originally thought of a whole set of excuses, wanting to trick Dai Luanxiang and his family out of the capital first, and then slowly explain to them. But then he thought again, this old lady is very experienced, and the lies made up by a young boy like him might not be hidden from her. If he was found out in person, it would backfire.
So Qiu Yizi simply said, "To be honest with you, I am a nobody under the command of the Prince of Youyan. I am here on the orders of the prince to rescue Madam and Marshal Dai's family and children from leaving the capital!"
Dai's mother actually didn't expect Qiu Yizi to reveal her identity so straightforwardly. She was slightly startled, but then she regained her composure and said seriously, "I see that you are only in your early twenties. How dare you pretend to be a general under the command of Prince Youyan? Now that you have offended the Persuasion Department, you are in danger. If you have nothing to do, please leave quickly and don't risk your life. This is also for my own good!"
Qiu Yizhi heard this and knew that words were not enough, so she quickly took out her adoptive father Zheng Rong's name card from her bosom, held it in both hands very respectfully and handed it to Dai's mother, saying, "This is the name card of Prince Youyan, please have a look, old lady. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible and let me rescue you out of the capital!"
Mother Dai took the name card carefully polished with ancient black jade from Zheng Rong, and looked at it for a long time before saying, "I have had the honor of seeing this name card. It is indeed the prince's. But my son is working for the court in Henan, and is your prince's enemy. The word 'save' that you keep saying... Please forgive me for being a woman and not understanding it. Please enlighten me, young master."
Qiu Yizi kept saying "I dare not", but said: "You, old lady, are wasting my fodder by saying this! Although Marshal Dai is loyal to the court, the court does not treat him as one of its own. The old lady also saw what happened just now. My prince has also suffered from the court. If I put myself in his shoes, I am afraid that the marshal has been harmed by traitors, so I personally ordered me to come to the capital to pick up the old lady and others."
After hearing this, Dai's mother pondered for a moment and said, "I appreciate your kindness, Your Majesty. However, my Dai family has been loyal for generations and has never wronged the court. How could the court wrong my Dai family? Even if the current emperor is temporarily deceived by treacherous ministers, there are still Prince Heluo, Prime Minister Yang, Secretary Cao and others in the court. They are all loyal and open-minded people. I believe they will not let my son be wronged for nothing, right?"
Qiu Yizi knew that the Persuasion Bureau had come to his door, and the situation was urgent. If he did not refute the old lady in a few words, he might not be able to take them out of the capital, and his plan would not succeed.
So he racked his brains and said, "I accept the old lady's advice. However, the old lady is kind to others, how could she have thought that the court has long been dominated by treacherous ministers and loyal ministers have retreated. Even those who have always been known as loyal ministers are probably not doing the things of loyal ministers!"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Dai's mother asked.
Qiu Yizi asked in return: "According to the old lady, is my prince a loyal and good man or a treacherous one?"
Mother Dai answered without hesitation: "Your Majesty is loyal to the country. Although you are rebelling now, I believe there must be something hidden behind it... Well, his flaws do not outweigh his merits. He can be called a wise king. Of course, he is loyal!"
"Does the old lady know?" Qiu Yizi suddenly raised her voice and asked, "Who was the person who pointed out that the loyal prince had committed treason and murdered the king in the prison of the Ministry of Justice that day?"
Mother Dai was not frightened by Qiu Yizhi's bluffing at all, and asked calmly: "Sir, please tell me clearly, who is so bold?"
"It's the old prime minister Yang Yuanzhi that the old lady mentioned!"
"What!" Dai's mother finally couldn't keep calm and almost screamed, "Are you talking about Yang Yuanlao, who has served as a minister for three dynasties and prime minister for two dynasties? My son, you are still young and have a bright future, but you must not listen to hearsay and speak nonsense! What kind of person is Prime Minister Yang? How could he talk nonsense?"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi knelt down in front of Dai's mother and said, "I dare not hide anything anymore. I am the adopted son of the prince, my name is Qiu Yizhi. Some time ago, it was I who gathered some friends in the martial arts world to rescue my adopted father and leave the capital. This matter is known to the world, how dare I lie to his face?"
After that, Qiu Yizi kowtowed three times and continued, "What I just said, that Elder Yang Yuanzhi had come forward to perjure my adoptive father, is absolutely true. My adoptive father told me in person! If I have said even a single word that is false, there will be divine punishment in the dark!"
Mother Dai was shocked again when she heard this. She quickly reached out and helped Qiu Yizhi up, saying, "So you are the adopted son of the King of Youyan. I am old and my eyes are blurry. I am really disrespectful. Your name was mentioned by my son in his letter home, saying that you are a young hero under the king's command. Seeing you today, I find that you are indeed worthy of your reputation."
Qiu Yizhi hurriedly said a few words of modesty, and then said: "My adoptive father often said that Marshal Dai had fought with him and they were comrades-in-arms. Although we have been in contact less in recent years, our mutual appreciation has never faded. Therefore, Yizhi is calling the prince his adoptive father in vain, and the old lady is no different from my grandmother. If the old lady trusts me, please leave quickly and leave the capital before the court takes any action!"
As Dai's mother listened, she pondered. She knew clearly that the Ministry of Persuasion and the emperor behind it had already shown their distrust of the Dai family. In this situation, whether to stay in the capital and pin their hopes on the so-called loyal officials in the court, or to trust the words of this young man whom they had never met and leave the capital, this matter would determine the future survival of the Dai family. This was indeed a major matter that could not be decided hastily or rashly.
Mother Dai pondered for a long time and asked, "If I follow your advice, what will happen to the Dai family?"
Seeing that time was passing by quickly, Qiu Yizi was extremely anxious and quickly replied: "Once we leave the capital, we will naturally ask the old lady to seek refuge with Prince Youyan."
Mother Dai sneered and said, "My lord, you are joking. How can the family of our commander-in-chief go to join the commander-in-chief of the enemy army?"
Just as Qiu Yizi was about to answer, the commander of the Persuasion Division, who was tied to the ground, pushed open the linen bandage in his mouth with his tongue and started to curse, "You old woman, you and the wicked son of Yan, you dared to hit me! I'm telling you, even Dai Luanxiang himself is being brought to the capital to be tortured. Untie me now!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and several pairs of eyes stared at the commander.
The captain was a fool. He thought that everyone present was frightened by his words. He became even more proud and said, "Why, are you scared now? It's not too late! Untie me quickly. I will spare you all a beating later. You will enjoy it endlessly."
Qiu Yizhi wanted to get some information out of the captain, but Dai Song, the son of Dai Luanxiang, could no longer hold back. He raised his whistle stick high and hit the captain hard on the forehead. The captain whimpered something, tilted his head, and collapsed to the ground. He was only breathing out, not breathing in. He was already dead.
Seeing this, Dai Luanxiang's daughter Yinping complained: "Dai Song, how could you be so reckless? If someone dies like this, it will be a disaster!"
"What's wrong with that? It's great! We're hitting the henchmen of the Persuasion Department!" Dai's mother, who was leaning on a dragon-headed crutch, praised loudly, and then said to Qiu Yizi, "I have made up my mind. I will leave the city with you and go to Youyan Road. Please lead the way!"
Qiu Yizi was overjoyed when she heard this, but she tried to control her excitement and asked Dai's mother, "At present, the hawks and dogs of the Persuasion Department that came to your house to arrest people have been subdued by us, and the news will not leak out for a while. As the saying goes, sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. You can make some more preparations and it will not be too late to act later."
Mother Dai waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "They are just some worldly possessions. What's the point of preparing them? Dai Song, go get the horses and bring some gold and silver. Grandma will take you out to see the world!"
Although Dai Song had a quick temper, he was also a smart man. He had guessed what his grandmother was thinking long ago. He saluted Dai's mother and turned away.
Dai's mother nodded, and said to Qiu Yizi, "Sir, please stay here for a moment. I and my good granddaughter will go back to change clothes and will be back soon." After that, they turned around and went into the house.
The Dai family is a military family, and they have always ruled the family with military law, and they are most particular about being resolute and resolute. But in just a moment, Dai's mother came out with Miss Yinping after changing her clothes.
Qiu Yizhi saw that Miss Yinping had changed her long skirt into a short outfit, which made her look even more heroic. Dai's mother also changed into a neat military uniform, which showed her elegance in her youth. However, she wore a phoenix crown on her head, which was decorated with 19 thumb-sized pearls, which kept shaking.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "The old lady just said that gold and silver are only worldly possessions, but after all, she can't bear to part with this priceless phoenix crown!"
Mother Dai frowned and said, "Young Master is still young and doesn't understand the rules here. This is the ceremony bestowed upon me by the late Emperor. When my master was still a fourth-rank military officer, I was already a first-rank imperial edict. If I lose this phoenix crown in a hurry, I will be laughed at by the scoundrels!"
Qiu Yizhi heard the serious tone of Dai's mother and dared not laugh anymore. He apologized repeatedly, "This is my fault for being so presumptuous. I hope the old lady will forgive me."
As they were talking, Dai Song had come to the hall with a small bag on his back and three fine horses. Seeing that everything was ready, Dai's mother ordered several people to mount the horses and ignored the soldiers from the Persuasion Department and headed out of Dai's house.
After leaving Dai's house, Qiu Yizi informed Dai's mother and went to get the horse.
When Qiu Yizi turned around, she saw Dai's mother staring at the broad gatehouse of the Dai Mansion, as if she wanted to memorize every tree and blade of grass in the mansion and take them away with her, and her eyes could not leave for a long time.
Seeing that Dai's mother seemed a little sad, Qiu Yizi rode forward and said, "The old lady is only leaving your house temporarily. She will come back sooner or later. When the time comes, my adoptive father will have his own reward. Maybe the yard he gives to the Dai family will be three times larger than the current one! After some time, I believe the old lady's great-grandson will be born, and we can enjoy the happiness of family life there!"
Mother Dai finally felt better after hearing Qiu Yizhi's flattery. She said, "I will appreciate your kind words. But now I hope you can give me some advice on what to do next."
"How dare I?" Qiu Yizi said, "I see this place is very close to Ximing Gate. Can we leave the city from Ximing Gate first and stay away from this place of trouble?" But he did not dare to mention the incident of causing trouble at Jianchun Gate.
After hearing this, Dai's mother pondered for a moment and said, "This is exactly what I want." Then she took the lead and walked quickly towards the Ximing Gate. (To be continued)