Zhao Jingyu was so busy that if it weren't for this sudden news, he almost forgot the existence of Yun Shu.
Yun Shu had no relatives in the capital and didn't know anyone. After receiving the news, his first reaction was that Yun Shu was most likely kidnapped or killed by Mu Yuan because he had offended Mu Yuan.
But after calming down, he began to speculate on another level: Is it possible that Xie Nanjia’s disappearance is related to Yun Shu, or is it possible that Yun Shu is actually Mu Yuan’s man
In fact, he was not the only one who forgot about Yun Shu's existence. I believe that no one took this girl seriously, so when eliminating those who had a grudge against Xie Nanjia last night, no one mentioned her.
In addition, she took the initiative to tear up the marriage certificate, gave up the engagement with him, and turned herself into Xie Nanjia's loyal follower, which made everyone let down their guard against her and changed their impression of her. They thought that she was just a simple, brainless and straightforward little girl who was not to be feared at all.
Now that I think about it, could it be that all of this was a setup by Yun Shu, with the purpose of gaining everyone's trust so that she could get close to Xie Nanjia without any obstacles, understand her daily behavior habits, and wait for an opportunity to implement her kidnapping plan
If this was true, then that girl acted so well that not only did she successfully deceive the people around her, but even someone as smart as Xie Nanjia failed to notice the flaw.
So, is she the Yun Shu he knew when he was a child? Is someone impersonating Yun Shu, or has Yun Shu been bribed
And that half jade ring and that marriage certificate written in Yuze language, are they real or fake
Zhao Jingyu was racking his brains but couldn't figure it out. He didn't even dare to guarantee whether his ideas were correct, and he didn't know whether he should send some people to look for Yun Shu.
Just when he was at a loss, Cheng Zhiye came and told him anxiously that Yunshu was missing and asked him to assign some people to look for Yunshu's whereabouts.
Zhao Jingyu did not answer him immediately, but told him his guess.
"How is it possible? Do you think she has a brain?" Cheng Zhiye denied Zhao Jingyu's guess without even thinking about it. "She is just a silly girl. She is not as complicated as you think. She must have been captured by Mu Yuan. Maybe if we find her, we can find Xiu'er. Hurry up and stop wasting time!"
"Don't think I don't know that you have improper thoughts about her." Zhao Jingyu said, "I'm not against you liking someone, but now is not the time to be emotional. I can't prove that my guess is right, but you can't prove that I'm wrong either. What if the person you like is really a spy from the enemy country?"
Cheng Zhiye was hit in the heart, and he was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "Who said that? How did you see that I like her? I just treat her as an ordinary friend. I am a warm-hearted person. I can't bear to see my friends in trouble. When I see it, I want to help. That's all."
Zhao Jingyu curled her lips: "I just said one sentence, you are like a cat whose tail is stepped on. There is a saying that goes "the more you try to cover up, the more obvious it becomes." Do you understand?"
"I..." Cheng Zhiye was speechless, his face flushed, and after a long while he managed to utter, "But, what does this have to do with finding her? Even if she really kidnapped Xiu'er, don't we have to find her? Only by finding her can we find Xiu'er!"
“…” Now it was Zhao Jingyu’s turn to be speechless. Cheng Zhiye’s words were like an axe that split open his chaotic thoughts, making him realize that he had been stuck in a dead end on this issue.
"You kid, you finally got smart for once, even if it's for a woman." He rubbed his face, forced a smile, patted Cheng Zhiye's shoulder, and took out a token made of black iron from his arms, "I don't have the right to mobilize troops yet, take this to the East City Farm, and mobilize the retired soldiers my father gave me to use first. Many of them used to be scouts, and they are best at tracking and gathering information. Once you get any news, remember to inform me as soon as possible."
Cheng Zhiye was overjoyed. He took the token and shook it in his hand. He clasped his fist towards Zhao Jingyu in a serious manner and said solemnly, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Cheng will definitely fulfill the mission!"
After saying that, he turned and strode away.
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Time passed by little by little, and in the blink of an eye, another evening came.
The evening breeze blew away the scorching heat, the sunset glowed half the sky red, and on the official road leading to the north, a troupe of jugglers and performers was walking.
There were twenty of them in total, and their luggage, bedding and dry food filled five ox carts. They moved slowly along the dusty road, seemingly without any destination, and just went wherever they wanted.
Not long after, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard from behind, and a group of soldiers galloped over and blocked their way.
"Search under orders, pull over!" the leading officer ordered in a gruff voice.
A middle-aged man with a bronze face came forward with a flattering smile and bowed: "Sir, we are just a group of street performers, we have never committed any crime. We have been checked three times along the way. May I ask what exactly they are checking for?"
"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. If there's nothing wrong after investigation, we'll let you go." The officer scolded with a dark face.
The middle-aged man was not annoyed. He agreed very obediently and ordered his men to pull the ox cart to the side and line up neatly for the officers to check one by one.
These men were all big and strong men, and the few women there were all rough-handed and dusty, and they were obviously women who had given birth to several children. The officials did not even check the portraits in their hands and turned their eyes away.
The ox carts were filled to the brim with their belongings, and there was not even any cloth to cover them, so there was no way anyone could hide inside. Only on one of the carts lay a pale-faced young man with his eyes closed and a dirty white cloth wrapped around his head. He said that he had accidentally hit his head while performing in the capital the day before, and had been in a coma ever since.
The officers didn't find anything, so they let them go.
The middle-aged man bowed to express his gratitude and led the team back on the road.
After walking for a few more miles, it was completely dark. The group did not find a place to stay, but continued to drive the cart in the dark. When they were tired, they took turns lying on the ox cart full of luggage to rest.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the young man with a head injury opened his eyes.
The first thing that caught his eye was the sky full of stars, inlaid in the dark blue night sky, shining like gems.
The moon was moving through the thin sand-like clouds, and everything on the ground became flickering.
"I'm thirsty." said the young man.
Everyone in the group looked over there alertly.
"Give him some water." the middle-aged man ordered.
The ox cart stopped and a woman came over with a water bag, helped the young man sit up, and fed him water.
The young man turned his head away and refused to drink.
The woman paused and said impatiently, "You want a clean cup again?"
The young man nodded.
The woman was a little angry. It was bad enough that she couldn't rest late at night, but she also had to serve such a difficult master.
"There's no need to be so particular when you're out. It's dark now and it's hard to find a cup. Just drink a sip first!"
"Why should I make do? You kidnapped me, so you have to serve me." The young man said confidently.
"Hey!" A man nearby was so angry that he shouted, "Can you please be more aware of being a hostage? Do you think this is your backyard?"
"Shut up, Lao Liu!" The middle-aged man interrupted him suddenly and said in a deep voice, "Find a cup, go find him a cup!"
Everyone was silent. Another woman came over with a cup, poured some water and handed it to the young man.
"Pour out the first cup." said the young man.
"..." The wife was stunned for a moment, "This cup is clean. We don't have much water with us, so let's save it!"
“Why should I save? You were the ones who kidnapped me, so if anyone wants to save, it should be you.” The young man still felt justified.
The woman had no choice but to pour out the water and pour him a new cup.
The young man was given a cartilage-damaging drug and couldn't even hold a glass of water. He drank the water from his wife's hand and asked for another glass.
After drinking three cups in a row, he pursed his lips to indicate that it was enough.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and were about to continue on their way, but he said again: "Wait, I need to change clothes."
Change clothes
Everyone was stunned, thinking, in this remote place, could he change his clothes and sleep
"Changing clothes means convenience." The young man explained calmly.
Everyone: “…”
This is not a meat ticket, it is clearly an ancestor.
Our ancestors were not so difficult to please.
"Take him away, take him away!" The middle-aged man was also on the verge of collapse and ordered impatiently.
The two women helped the man out of the car and supported him towards the fields by the roadside.
The young man agreed to stop only when he could no longer hear the voices from the other side. The women helped him undress and helped him squat down.
The young man squatted in the bushes and said leisurely: "It would be nice if I were a real man. It would be more convenient to go to the bathroom."
"..." The two women looked at each other, both of them not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Miss, are you particular or not? One moment you are so elegant that you nitpick, and the next moment you are so rude."
The young man raised his head and smiled at the two of them in the moonlight. His pair of almond-shaped eyes were brighter than the stars in the sky.
“Being elegant when it is time to be elegant, and being vulgar when it is time to be vulgar, this is what it means to be truly free.”
That’s right, this young man who was a hostage but could do whatever he wanted to irritate people was Xie Nanjia who had been missing for two days.
Perhaps it was because the capital had been very stable recently, plus the festive atmosphere of the enthronement ceremony, that she relaxed her guard a little. So when those palace servants came to pick her up, she was as unguarded as Sheng Qingyun at first.
After she left the palace in the sedan chair and found that the direction was opposite to the palace, she realized something was wrong. She wanted to lift the curtain to call Liusu and Biluo, but found that she was too weak to move.
A flash of panic flashed through her mind, but she quickly calmed herself down and called out loudly to Liusu and Biluo.
A man dressed as a eunuch lifted the curtain from outside, came close and whispered to her that the two maids had been controlled by them, and if she wanted the maids to live, she should not make any noise.
Although Liusu and Biluo were servants, they were specially given to her by Zhao Jingyu and had been with her for such a long time. She could not ignore their lives, so she had to obey their orders for the time being and was carried out of the inner city silently.
After leaving the inner city, those people changed her carriage into a carriage and put aphrodisiac in the carriage when she was not paying attention. When she woke up, she found herself in the wilderness, lying on a broken ox cart, and had been dressed up as a man.
There was no village or shop nearby, and she was worried about the safety of Liusu and Biluo, so she gave up the idea of asking passers-by for help and let the group take her all the way north.
Although she had lost her freedom and had no idea where she was going to be taken, she did not panic because these people had gone to such great lengths to trick her out, they certainly did not want to kill her. If they wanted her life, they would have done it without even leaving the city.
At this time, she didn't know that Song Jingxing had escaped from prison, let alone that Yun Shu was missing. She just observed the position of the sun and the words and actions of the kidnappers and guessed that the mastermind behind them was most likely Mu Yuan.
She had met Mu Yuan last time and didn't think he was a formidable opponent, so she became calmer and wanted to see what Mu Yuan was up to.
Judging from the way they are heading north, they should want to take her back to Yuze. It would take half a month to get from Yuze to the capital by horse speed. If they drive the ox cart all the way, it would probably take two or three months.
Of course, they might be waiting to meet Mu Yuan who would arrive later. After Mu Yuan arrived, he would probably change carriages and speed up his return home.
But no matter what, half a month was enough time for her to leave a signal to the people who came looking for her. If she couldn't stay during the day, she would stay at night. She believed that Zhao Jingyu would be able to guess that it was Mu Yuan who kidnapped her and would catch up with her soon.
The only thing she was worried about now was the safety of Liusu and Biluo, as well as her three mothers, who must be extremely worried.
As for men, they are always stronger and calmer than women. She believes that no matter how anxious they are, they will not lose their composure.
After finishing her work, Xie Nanjia returned to the roadside with the help of two women, climbed back onto the ox cart and lay down.
Seeing that she had finally calmed down, the group of people drove on and continued on their way.
The ox cart was shaking. Xie Nanjia opened her eyes and looked up at the starry sky. She felt calm inside and even had the leisure to make a bet with herself about who would find her first.
(End of this chapter)