Chun Tiao felt that the name "Xiao Ling" sounded familiar, and silently said: "Xiao..."
She suddenly widened her eyes, and was speechless. After a long while, she said: "Xiao... It's that Xiao..."
The woman who claimed to be a personal guard smiled and said, "Yes, it's General Xiao."
Chun Tiao shook his head, as if to shake out the water, and muttered: "How could it be... Wait, didn't General Xiao already..."
Didn't everyone say that General Xiao had died on the battlefield? How did he become a hunter girl, and even the concubine of the King of Qi...
Sui Sui said: "It's a long story. I'll tell you when we're on the road."
Before he finished speaking, someone came in from the door and bowed to Sui Sui: "General, the carriage is ready."
Chun Tiao thought the voice was strangely familiar, and taking a look by the light of the candle, he found that the person coming was the shop assistant from Chang's cosmetics shop.
She looked at his face carefully, and it was indeed the shop assistant with the scar on his left eyebrow. However, he was now dressed in black, with a knife on his waist and a bundle in his hand. He did not look like a shop assistant at all.
Sui Sui took the bundle from him and said to Chun Tiao, "Go in and change all your clothes, shoes, socks and accessories, inside and out, don't leave anything out."
Chun Tiao didn't understand her intention, but didn't dare to ask more questions. He took the bag and went behind the screen.
After changing her clothes, Sui Sui looked her up and down, nodded, and said to the shop assistant, "Take Sister Chun Tiao to the carriage."
The waiter said "Yes, sir" and winked at Chun Tiao: "Please come in, sister." That friendly and generous smile made Chun Tiao a little dazed.
Chun Tiao glanced at Sui Sui blankly.
Sui Sui said: "Please get in the car, we still have to clean up."
Chun Tiao then followed the shop assistant out.
The shop assistant said, "The yard is a bit messy. If you are afraid, sister, just close your eyes and hold on to my scabbard."
The yard was dark, and the night wind carried a strong smell of blood. Chun Tiao took a sneak peek and saw black shadows lying all over the ground. He knew they were the bodies of the bandits. His heart was pounding, and goose bumps appeared on his arms.
She quickly grasped the scabbard handed to her by the shop assistant, closed her eyes tightly, and followed him across the yard tremblingly.
The shop assistant was also talking to her enthusiastically about a batch of new products that had recently arrived in the cosmetics shop: "This time the powder is ground very finely, with dried jasmine buds and crushed pearls ground together. It is light, transparent and shows the complexion... Customers often ask about it. Our shop has also ordered some face powders and flower ornaments, all of which are new and exquisite patterns from the south. You can get a set if you buy two boxes of powder..."
Chun Tiao couldn't help but shook his head again.
The shop assistant was talking excitedly until he led her through the three courtyard gates. He stopped talking with a look of unsatisfied desire and said to her, "Sister, you can open your eyes now."
Chun Tiao's heart sank back into his stomach. He opened his eyes and saw that he was already outside the gate. Looking back, he realized that he was in a villa in a valley. There were dark mountain shadows all around him and the sound of gurgling water in his ears, but he didn't know which mountain it was.
There were two carriages parked outside the door, and a dozen strong horses were tied to the trees, pacing leisurely.
The shop assistant walked her to the carriage and said, "Sister, please wait in the carriage. The general and his men will be there for a while."
Chun Tiao asked, "I wonder what your name is, Xiao Lang?"
The shop assistant said, "Sister, you are too polite. Just call me Xiaoshun. I am also under the command of the general."
Chun Tiao nodded numbly: "Please."
She got into the carriage and leaned against the cushions. She began to wonder if she was having a strange dream. The soft flesh on her cheek was still aching. She pinched her thigh hard again, but she didn't wake up. It was real.
She shuddered. The "outside woman" she had been serving was the female Shura Xiao Ling, who was said to be big and strong, ferocious, with a face like a diamond, who could stop children from crying at night and make the Turks and Tibetans tremble in fear.
So she persuaded General Xiao to seek favor from the King of Qi, and later persuaded General Xiao to go out and find a decent man to marry. She also ate countless Gulouzi, Hu Bing, roasted goose and lamb, fish soup and crab soup made by General Xiao himself...
Chun Tiao wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it. He whimpered and buried his face in his hands.
…
Haruyo sat in the car, wanting to close his eyes and take a nap, pretending that nothing had happened. However, he had slept too much before, and now he couldn't fall asleep. He could only sit in the car and wait anxiously.
As she was waiting, she smelled smoke coming into the carriage. She lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see flames rising from the courtyard, smoke rising into the sky, and the occasional crackling sound of wood exploding.
The fire grew so big all of a sudden that it definitely couldn't have spread naturally. Chun Tiao guessed that they must have poured fuel on it.
About half an hour later, Sui Sui and others finally came out of the door and got on Chun Tiao's carriage.
The blood stains on her face had been washed off, and she had changed into clean clothes, still women's attire, but the hairpin on her head and the jade pendant around her waist had all been changed.
Chun Tiao looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar woman and carefully moved to the inside of the carriage.
Sui Sui's attitude was no different from before. He smiled at her and said, "Are you scared just now?"
Chun Tiao shook his head, then nodded cautiously: "Mother... General..."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Let's just call him as before."
Chun Tiao then said: "Madam, what on earth is going on..."
Sui Sui simply explained the whole story: "I knew that the bandits were going to kidnap me and sell me to the south, so I just played along. I thought you would sleep through the night after taking the medicine, but I didn't expect that I got the dosage wrong."
Before Chun Tiao could figure out what it meant to turn a trick on someone, he suddenly cried out, "Oh no! It's already late at night and we haven't returned yet. Grandma Gao and the others must be so worried!"
Sui Sui thought of the hard-mouthed but soft-hearted old nanny and the people in Shanchiyuan, and felt a little depressed. They must have been sad and guilty for a while when they received the news of her "death", but there was nothing they could do about it. If she was really Lu Sui Sui, Zhao Qinghui would have succeeded, and she would still be crippled and sold to Lingnan.
Chun Tiao added: "Granny Gao will definitely scold me to death..."
Sui Sui patted Chun Tiao on the back and said, "We are not going back to Shanchiyuan."
As they were talking, the wheels started rolling.
Chun Tiao opened his mouth, not understanding, "If not going back to Shanchiyuan, then where are we going?"
Before Sui Sui could answer, the guard said outside the car, "Go to Youzhou."
Chun Tiao was shocked: "Just leaving without saying goodbye? They will definitely look for us everywhere, and Qi... His Royal Highness Prince Qi..."
Everyone has seen how His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi has treated his wife recently. He is fighting in Huaixi now. If he comes back and finds that his wife has run away, won’t he be furious
Sui Sui said: "No, they will find two charred female bodies in the fire scene and think we are already dead."
Chun Ting was stunned, and then she understood why they asked her to change her clothes.
"Then... where did those two bodies come from?" Chun Tiao asked. She didn't expect that even hers were already prepared.
Before Sui Sui could answer, someone said through the car curtain: "We just picked two people of similar stature on the way here." It was the voice of the personal guard just now.
Chun Tiao's face turned pale: "This..."
Sui Sui was helpless, he lifted the car curtain and glared at the people outside the car: "Tian Yuerong, you scared her again."
Then he said to Chunjo, "Don't listen to her nonsense."
The guard named Tian Yuerong then smiled and said, "I know I was wrong. It's just that Sister Chunjo loves people so much that I couldn't help but tease her."
Chun Tiao also felt that he was stupid for believing such a joke, and his face turned red.
Tian Yuerong said to Chun Tiao: "The general is very strict in disciplining the army, how dare we kill people recklessly."
Chun Tiao knew that these people were very powerful and finding two suitable corpses would be a piece of cake for them, so he didn't ask any more questions.
Sui Sui asked, "Is everyone here?"
Tian Yuerong replied, "Reporting to the general, leave two people to watch the fire so that it won't spread to the forest, and the rest of you are on your horses."
Sui Sui nodded: "Okay, let's work hard today and get out of Tongguan as soon as possible."
Tian Yuerong said "Yes, sir", and casually lowered the curtain, looking at Chun Tiao: "I brought you out without asking you anything. If you want to go back to your hometown, I can ask someone to send you back."
Chun Tiao quickly shook her head: "I have no relatives in my hometown, and I have no relatives in Chang'an. Wherever my lady goes, I will go."
Sui Sui nodded: "Okay."
The matter was settled, Chun Tiao was relieved and asked Sui Sui: "My lady, why do we have to go to Youzhou?"
She vaguely remembered that the Heshuo Jiedushi Mansion seemed to be located in Wei Bo.
Sui Sui said: "We can't go back to Wei Bo right now. The commander of the Youzhou Army is my man. We will settle down in Youzhou first, and then go back to Wei Bo when the time is right."
She paused and said, "Your slave status is in the Prince Qi's mansion. After what happened, your original identity is no longer valid. I have prepared one for you. You don't have to call yourself a slave anymore."
Chun Tiao opened her mouth, and was so happy that she was at a loss. She was sold to a boy by her own mother when she was young and became a slave. She thought she would be a slave all her life, but who knew that one day she would be able to escape from slavery and become a good citizen.
After a while, she calmed down and said, "Madam, don't you want me to serve you?"
Sui Sui said, "I don't have anyone to serve me anyway. If you want to continue to accompany me, that's fine. If you want to earn your own living, you can do business or find a job in the army. General Ye, the commander of the Youzhou Army, is a woman, and one of the troops in the army is made up of women."
Chun Tiao was startled: "I don't know how to fight, I don't even know how to ride a horse or shoot a bow..."
Sui Sui couldn't help but smile: "There are also civilian positions in the army, and you can learn everything from scratch. Don't rush to settle down, and talk about it when you arrive in Youzhou."
Chun Tiao nodded blankly. Now that she was free, she didn't know what to do. Thinking back on what she had experienced in the past two years since she met Lu Sui, it seemed like a dream.
…
The guards who followed Sui Sui out of the city took drugs and fell into a deep sleep until dusk, when they were pushed awake by the monk in charge of reception at Linghua Temple.
When the guards saw the sunset glow filling the sky, they immediately realized something was wrong. Ma Zhongshun, who was in charge of the team, rushed straight to the inner courtyard and stood outside the bedroom and asked, "Is Madam Lu awake?"
Someone in the room answered, and Ma Zhongshun didn't care to avoid suspicion, and pushed the door open and walked in: "Mrs. Lu, Chun Tiao, are you in there?"
Still no one answered. It was quiet inside, with only the sound of the wind blowing the curtains and the curtain hooks hitting the bedposts.
Ma Zhongshun took another step forward and saw that the room was full of afterglow, the bedding on the bed was dishevelled, but there was no one in the room.
He left the bedroom and walked along the corridor to the back of the yard, only to see that the small door, which had been locked all this time, was half open and the lock had been pried open.
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately turned around and ran back to the outer courtyard, asking the monk in charge of reception, "Have you seen our lady and her maid?"
The monk in charge of reception was surprised: "Why, aren't the two donors in the room?"
He touched the back of his head and said, "I didn't see anyone go out, and I was wondering why the donors didn't make any noise, so I came in to take a look and ask if the donors want to prepare dinner..."
Ma Zhongshun had no intention of listening to his chatter, so he interrupted him and asked, "Are there any carriages or horses entering or leaving the temple today?"
The monk in charge of reception rolled his eyes and tried to recall: "There are only a few pilgrims in our temple today. Four or five of them came on horseback, and two came on donkeys. It's impossible to hide them..."
He suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, right, there are carts carrying vegetables to the city to sell today..."
Ma Zhongshun asked, "Is that car from your temple?"
The monk in charge of reception shook his head and said, "I hired him from a carriage and horse shop in the city. The owner of the shop I had been hiring from had a family funeral more than a month ago, so he closed the shop and returned home, so I found another one..."
Ma Zhongshun asked, "What's in the vegetarian food you gave us?"
The monk in charge of reception was so frightened that he kept shaking his hands: "Amitabha, Amitabha, I don't know anything. It's still the same vegetarian food and tea... No, a new monk came last month..."
Ma Zhongshun's face turned from pale to ashen. He knew as soon as he heard it that this was a setup. Perhaps someone had been eyeing Lady Lu for a long time and had been carefully planning for many years, but only took action today.
He immediately asked one person to go back to Chang'anfang to report the news, and the rest of the people went to look for him separately.
When Gao Mai and Grandma Gao heard the news, they were so frightened that they quickly sent more people to search for her all night long.
Hundreds of palace guards, together with the Jinwu Guards, searched for a day and a night before they finally found the thieves' den in Zhaoying Mountain.
The villa had been reduced to a scorched earth by the fire. The guards found two female corpses in the ruins. Their bodies had been burnt beyond recognition and their clothes had turned to ashes. However, judging from their body sizes and the hairpins and other items that had not been burned, they were undoubtedly Lu Suisui and Chun Tiao.
Besides, there were about thirty bandits who were also engaged in making coke.
It is unknown what caused the fire and why all thirty bandits died in the den overnight.
…
Gao Mai, Grandma Gao and the servants in Shanchiyuan were anxiously waiting for news, but what they got were two coffins.
Grandma Gao almost fainted. Her legs went limp and she sat down in front of the car. "It was fine when I left. How could it be gone just like that? There must be a mistake..."
Xiaotong hurriedly helped her up and wanted to say a few words of comfort, but she herself was already crying uncontrollably.
Grandma Gao held the coffin absentmindedly: "Let me take a look..."
Gao Mai hurriedly stopped her: "It's hard to recognize his face. Madam is too old to see this..."
He winked at Xiaotong and the others: "Help Madam go in and have a rest. If Madam gets hurt, how will we explain to His Highness?"
Grandma Gao then remembered that His Highness was in Huaixi and they still had to report to him. She was not only grief-stricken but also anxious: "Your Highness entrusted my wife to me, and I didn't take good care of her. How can I face His Highness again..."
His heart ached as if it was about to burst. He clutched his clothes and cried bitterly: "My wife said that she had a bad fate, but I have always been skeptical. I think the Buddha must be blaming me for not being sincere..."
Xiaotong and others tried their best to persuade her to return to the courtyard.
Gao Mai ordered his men to carry the two coffins into Tangli Courtyard for the funeral and told his servants to prepare funeral supplies.
After everyone received the order and went to work, he stood in front of the two coffins and cried for a while. He wiped his red and swollen eyes with his sleeves, and then began to feel troubled.
Now that things have come to this, how should I report this to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi
All of them who served him closely knew that although Lu Suisui was not famous, she held a special position in the heart of the King of Qi. Normally, such a big thing should be reported to His Highness immediately, but this time the situation was a little special. First, the King of Qi was fighting in Huaixi, and he must have been very upset when he learned that his beloved concubine had passed away; second, Lu Suisui died in an accident, and the case was also a little strange, so the King of Qi must have been unwilling to accept it, but the battle in Huaixi would take at least a year or so, and he couldn't get away, and it was a torment to keep worrying about it.
But if I take the initiative to hide the news of my death from the King of Qi, who knows what will happen when he finds out a year or two later.
Gao Mai thought about it and decided that no matter what choice he made, he alone as a servant could not take the responsibility for it, so he had to find a few capable people to make the decision.
Just as he was thinking about it, a eunuch came to report: "General Manager Gao, Prince Yuzhang is here."
Gao Mai seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and rushed out to meet him.
Huan Minggui was wearing a plain white dress, no longer as elegant and vigorous as usual. There was some sadness and fatigue between his brows, and it was obvious that he had not slept all night: "How could something like this suddenly happen..."
How could such a good person just die so suddenly
Gao Mai took him to the place where the coffin was placed, and the lid of the coffin had already been sealed.
Huan Minggui received the news early in the morning and knew that the body had been burned to charcoal and could not be identified at all, so he did not want him to open the coffin to check. He just stroked the coffin lid sadly and murmured: "She was not a mortal. I think she went to heaven..."
As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.
He wiped his tears with a silk handkerchief and turned to ask Gao Mai: "Has this news been sent to Huaixi?"
Gao Mai was just about to discuss this with him, so he bowed and said, "I should have reported this to Your Highness immediately, but Your Highness is away at war, and I don't know what to do. Please enlighten me, Your Highness."
Huan Minggui thought for a moment, nodded and said, "This matter is of great importance. No wonder you dare not make the decision. I cannot make the decision either."
He paused and said, "I will write a letter. You can take it to Princess Qinghe's residence and discuss it with the eldest princess."
Gao Mai was enlightened when he heard this. There was indeed no one more suitable to make the decision than the eldest princess. Ever since the queen avoided the third son, the eldest princess, the eldest sister, had taken on some of the responsibilities of a mother and started to care about the third brother. She was a straightforward and responsible person and would not shirk responsibility by fear of it. Besides, it was she who asked for the imperial decree to confer the title of Xiangjun on Lu Suisui. They had this relationship, so it was not like she was overstepping her authority.
Gao Mai nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty has thought it through."
Huan Minggui said, "Don't bother writing letters anymore. There's no time to lose. I'll go to the princess's mansion with you."
Gao Mai immediately ordered his men to prepare the horses, gave a few instructions to his subordinates, and went to Princess Qinghe's mansion with Prince Yuzhang.
The eldest princess also learned that Lu Suisui was kidnapped by thieves and burned in the sea of fire. She was filled with regret and sigh. After listening to Huan Minggui and Gao Mai's intentions, she pondered and said, "We shouldn't have kept this from Sanlang, but he is leading an army to war, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers are depending on their commander. If he loses his mind because of this, it will affect the lives of thousands of soldiers, not just his own."
She paused, looked at Gao Mai, and said firmly: "Let's put this matter aside for now, and tell him after the Huaixi war is over. Don't worry, this is my idea. When he returns to the court, I will explain it to him in person and won't let you get involved. Sanlang is a reasonable person, and he knows that you subordinates can't make the decision on this matter, so he won't vent his anger on you."
Gao Mai bowed and said, "Thank you for your compassion. I am not afraid of your punishment, but I am afraid that I will make a big mistake if I am not careful."
The eldest princess said, "I know you are loyal. You have been diligently managing the affairs of the mansion for Sanlang over the years. You have worked hard."
Gao Mai's eyes turned red: "This is my fault..."
"Don't blame yourself. Who could have thought of such a thing? There is no way to prevent it," said the eldest princess. "The kidnapping of this gang of bandits was strange, and the death was even more strange. They must have asked the person behind the scenes to silence them. What does Jingzhao Prefecture say?"
Gao Mai frowned and said, "The prefect has sent someone to investigate, but..."
He had only said half of his words when the eldest princess understood. If someone dared to attack the prince of Qi's concubine, and did so when he was away at war, anyone would guess that he was plotting against the prince of Qi. Jingzhao Prefecture might not dare to investigate further. If they waited until Huan Xuan came back from the battlefield in a year or two, much of the evidence would have been destroyed, and there was no certainty that anything could be found.
She pondered for a moment and said, "A good person cannot die in such an unclear way. Not to mention what will happen if Sanlang comes back, I can't just let it go like this."
She said to Gao Mai, "How about this, I will dispatch some people from my palace to investigate together with the guards of your palace. If you find any clues, please report to me."
Huan Minggui was relieved that the eldest princess was willing to take on this matter. "If any cousin can help, please feel free to help."
He, a rich and idle man, could not help much in such matters. But the eldest princess was different. She had a good reputation in front of the emperor and the empress. With her as a representative, even the crown prince would not dare to act rashly. What's more, she had a son-in-law who was the censor. She could defeat a hundred people in a verbal battle.
The eldest princess said, "Sixth cousin, you are thoughtful. I will not be polite to you if there is something wrong."
She thought for a moment and said, "The most urgent thing is to prevent someone with ulterior motives from sending messages to Huaixi."
Although Lu Suisui's affair was not widely publicized, it could not be hidden from those who were interested, especially the person who set up the trap.
Although the eldest princess was open-minded, she knew about the conflict between her two brothers, but she didn't expect that their conflict had reached such a tense situation. When Lu Suisui's incident happened, the first person she suspected was the crown prince.
She said thoughtfully, "I will go to the East Palace tomorrow."
Huan Minggui understood the meaning of the music, and she went to the East Palace naturally to warn the prince - both of them were her biological brothers, and she was stuck in the middle, always trying her best to be impartial. However, the Battle of Huaixi concerned the country and the lives of tens of millions of soldiers, and no one could do whatever they wanted.
The princess said to Gao Mai, "Mrs. Lu has an official imperial decree, so this matter cannot be kept secret. Send someone to report to the palace that she has died."
She arranged everything in an orderly manner, and Gao Mai remembered them one by one.
Although it was already autumn, the weather in Chang'an was still hot, and the coffins could not stay in the mourning hall for too long. Three days later, the coffins of the two were sent to a cemetery in the suburbs for burial.
Sui Sui and his entourage left Tongguan, disguised themselves as traveling merchants, headed north, and arrived in Youzhou in October.