Chen Tang threw the knife he had used to dig the pit to the ground.
He said angrily, "Why would I go to Xiaocheng? To walk into a trap? Besides, what's so good about that shabby place?"
Respect her character as a fugitive!
"Young Master Shen, aren't you worried about the other relatives?"
Shen Tang hesitated when he heard this.
Qishan’s words hit the nail on the head for her.
In any case, she was using this body now, so she should learn about the past of the original owner, so as to avoid being discovered by someone the original owner knew in the future, which would only cause trouble. She didn't know if the original owner had any relatives. If they survived the suffering of exile, she could take care of them secretly. If their relatives couldn't survive and died, she could collect their bodies so that they wouldn't be exposed in the wilderness.
Qi Shan saw the change in Chen Tang's expression, and the latter's eyes showed visibly joy.
He was sure that Chen Tang’s choice would be what he wished!
"I can see that Mr. Shen has great potential and may make great achievements in the future. I am not talented, but I am honored to be called a famous scholar. Although I am not as good as those famous scholars and teachers who have students all over the world, I am more than enough to teach Mr. Shen the basics..."
Chen Tang had a plan in mind, but he didn't say it.
She deliberately said, "I have memorized all those books by Yuanliang."
Qi Shan laughed dumbly, raised his hand and pointed at his own brain, and said confidently: "Young Master Shen, the truly valuable content is here. If you can master the control of the literary mind by reading a few volumes of the Word Spirit, it would be too easy to steal the teacher."
"Yuanliang's words make sense, but Xiaocheng is a place..." She had gone through so much trouble to escape, and in the end she had to run back there. If she was unlucky enough to run into the officials escorting her in Xiaocheng, she would be so embarrassed. "You have to give me a promise."
"For example?"
Chen Tang: "For example, a word spirit that can change its shape and appearance."
Qishan: “…”
He really doesn't have this thing here, and in his cognition, there is no such unorthodox word spirit - all the word spirits in the world are used for power, strategy, and force. Why is Mr. Shen's brain so strange
Although he has no spiritual power, he has something else.
"What's this?"
Shen Tang caught the small bottle he threw.
I opened the bottle and squinted to look inside. It was a bottle of black, fine powder. I had no idea what it was used for.
Qishan revealed the answer: "Pot ash."
Chen Tang: “…”
"Put some on your face, or run more, get more sun, and sweat more. If you don't bathe or wash for seven or eight days, who will recognize you?"
Chen Tang imagined himself sweating for seven or eight days without taking a shower, and he seemed to be able to smell the pungent sour odor that was hard to describe.
"Is this your bad idea?"
"How is this a bad idea?" Qi Shan's smile faded a little, without any emotion, "This is just based on experience."
Chen Tang was slightly surprised.
Words of experience
However, Qi Shan obviously did not want to dwell on this point, and raised his voice again: "Young Master Shen, there is no need to worry so much. Those escorting officers are far more 'dereliction of duty' than you. If the fugitive escapes, it is unlikely that they will report it. The most likely possibility is that they cut off another person's ear to fill your place. Therefore, you don't have to worry about seeing your wanted portrait at the gate of Xiaocheng."
Even if the official did not "commit dereliction of duty" and reported Chen Tang's escape, and the painter drew a wanted portrait, what would that matter
Given the level of abstraction in the portraits drawn by those painters, unless the facial features are very obvious, even the mother would not be able to recognize the person, not to mention the city gates where people enter and exit every day. The possibility of Chen Tang's identity being exposed is too small.
These words gave Chen Tang some peace of mind.
"Okay, let's go."
She dug a huge deep pit with great effort, dumped all the bodies in, and filled it back with soil. When she was done, the moon was already high in the sky. Qi Shan lit a bonfire and baked the cakes that Chen Tang's words had transformed into. She could eat them hot as soon as she sat down.
"hot!"
I misjudged the temperature of the pancake and nearly burned my tongue.
This kind of pancake has no taste, except for the burnt part which has a bit of burnt fragrance, everything else is the same. The more you eat, the thirstier you get. You have to drink a sip of water after every two bites, and your mouth feels very bland. She couldn't help but wonder why it couldn't be stuffed with something, such as preserved vegetables and meat.
For some reason, Qishan went to bed unusually early tonight.
There was no reading or practice of words.
Chen Tang was not sleepy and stared at the campfire in a daze.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she heard the faint sound of grass being trampled - someone was approaching her carefully, but he meant no harm, so she ignored him.
The man sat down not far away. In the light of the fire, she saw that it was the stupid son of the Chief Censor. He was staring at her intentionally or unintentionally, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and wanting to say something again, as if he wanted to confirm something.
She opened her mouth several times but didn't know where to start. Shen Tang became impatient and finally she took the initiative to bring up the topic.
"Has the Minister of Justice fallen asleep?"
The man was startled, as if he didn't expect Chen Tang to talk to him: "Well... Daddy has fallen asleep, but he didn't sleep well and has a slight fever. He has suffered too many injuries along the way, and his wounds are red. I have to find a way to get some herbs tomorrow..."
As he spoke, the man's eyes turned slightly red.
My father is in much better health than the average person, but due to his age, he cannot withstand major bumps and torture.
Chen Tang said, "There should be a village nearby. You can go get some herbs from the villagers. By the way, I haven't asked you your name yet. How should I address you?"
"My name is Tian Zhong, and my courtesy name is Shouyi."
"Why did Shouyi look at me like that just now?"
"I feel that you look exactly like someone I've met, except for your gender. Also, I heard you talk to Mr. Qishan during the day and said that you were..." Tian Zhong swallowed the word "fugitive", "so I thought you had a connection with her."
Chen Tang: “…”
Good things don’t work, but bad things do.
Did she run into an acquaintance of the original owner of this body
Chen Tang asked, "Who is that person? Do you know him well?"
Tian Zhong waved his hands repeatedly: "Not very familiar, just met once. In terms of relationship, she should be considered my niece-in-law."
Chen Tang was greatly shocked: "... niece, niece-in-law?"
"Strictly speaking, not really." He explained, "I was a classmate of Yun Chi's father and we were of the same grade, so we became godparents. Yun Chi is considered my nephew, and if the two of us are married, he should call me 'Uncle Tian' according to our relationship."
"Who is Yun Chi?"
"Gong Cheng, courtesy name Yunchi."
Chen Tang: “…”
Good job!
She exclaimed, "What a guy!"
This body is only eleven or twelve years old!
“Why didn’t the ceremony take place?”
"On the wedding day, before we could even do the three bows and the ceremony was completed, the officials broke into the Gong residence to arrest someone. The entire residence, including that person, was taken to jail, and within two days, he was exiled. I was also a guest at the time... What a pity."
He sighed after he finished speaking.
He had been busy dealing with the exile of the Gong family, but he never expected that just a few days later, his entire family would suffer.
Chen Tang asked, "Where is Gong Cheng now?"
He smiled bitterly: "If I'm lucky, I'll probably be on the road to exile. If I'm unlucky, I'll probably be on the road to hell."
Chen Tang suppressed his throbbing veins and continued to ask indirect questions, trying to get information: "Which family is Gong Cheng's new wife from?"
"She was born in the Shen family, but..."
"Just what?"
He said, "It's just that within two days of Gong's exile, Zheng Qiao ordered the extermination of all nine clans of Shen's family. It's really tragic."
Chen Tang: “…”
The Yi Nine Tribes…
In other words, apart from Gong Cheng, who is unknown whether he is dead or not, the original owner’s current family relationship is a true orphan