Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 49 Ah Qing
Human power is definitely no match for government agencies.

If we don’t consider Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the alliance, who is a monster with strength comparable to that of the King of Chu.

Therefore, even if it was just some silk threads, Zhu Wen had no intention of confronting it head-on.

He put his arms around Lan Suting's slender waist, retreated into the courtyard, and let the heavy rain wash over him.

The long sword swept across, and the sword light brought dozens of rain lines to hit the attacking silk threads. When the silk threads came into contact with water, they instantly became limp and drooped.

A soft chuckle echoed from the hall. "What a good young man! He discovered the flaw in this mechanism in just a moment."

He sighed regretfully, "If it were a sunny day, the mechanism would have covered the entire courtyard, and anyone who came to attack would have been cut into pieces."

Zhu Wen said calmly, "If it weren't for the torrential rain, why would I have done such an offensive thing and barged into this place?"

"You kid, do you know that it is rude to trespass into someone's house?" a female voice in the hall teased.

"Not only is it disrespectful, it's also against the law." Zhu Wen recited the Tang Dynasty law with great skill: "Anyone who enters a person's home at night without cause... will be killed immediately by the host, without further consequence."

"So if you die here tonight, there's nothing to be wronged about."

"However, in troubled times, urgency demands discretion," Zhu Wen continued. "It's not too late now, yet the house is completely dark. I've knocked on the door for a long time, but there's no response. Furthermore, the house is located in such a desolate place, it seems the owner is avoiding his enemies."

"I am merely seeking shelter from the rain with my younger sister. I am clearly not being sent by any of Madam's enemies."

"Who knows?" the voice in the darkness said lazily, "Do you think these few words can convince me?"

Zhu Wen said coldly: "If I want to leave now, Madam can't keep me."

"It's a pity that your sister has caught a cold. If you take her out in the rain now, her life might be in danger."

"Since you know this, Madam, why don't you cultivate some good karma? All we want is a place to shelter from the wind and rain. If someone had evil intentions, why would they bring a sick person with them?"

As he spoke, Zhu Wen tried his best to use his arms to shield Lan Suting from the rain that was blown sideways by the strong wind.

They were now soaked through by the rain and really needed a place to shelter from the wind and warm themselves by a fire.

"But what if I were just an ordinary weak woman? You are armed with a sharp weapon, how can you guarantee that you won't have evil intentions?"

Lan Suting raised her head with difficulty in Zhu Wen's arms: "Brother, let's go. We can always find a place to hide from the rain outside... Entering a private house without permission is a lack of etiquette on our part."

She is a very rule-abiding person.

"I won't." Zhu Wen said in an unquestionable tone, wiping the cold rain off Lan Suting's face with his hand, his eyes proud.

"Well, young man, let me ask you, what is your name?" The voice inside the door suddenly became soft.

"Qin Yan." Zhu Wen directly reported the name of Wang Xianzhi's new friend in the army.

Although after killing Yan Jingming, it is unknown whether Qin Yan still regards himself as a friend.

The woman chuckled and said, "How can I trust a dishonest person?"

Zhu Wen remained calm and asked, "Where is the dishonesty?"

"In my opinion, your surname is Zhu, and your given name is Wen. You don't have a sister either."

As the woman was speaking, a sudden flash of thunder appeared in the sky, illuminating the doorway. A slender beauty in green stood there, holding many threads in her hands.

She looked no longer young, but was still a very pretty woman, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that were clear and charming.

Her voice has a lingering and charming quality.

Lei Guang did not go, and the woman uttered the next words: "My name is Ah Qing, and I am the wife of General Qi of the Taining Army, or rather, his concubine."

Suddenly, the lights in the hall lit up, illuminating the entire courtyard.

"Young man, do you still dare to come in?" The woman put down the silk thread connecting the mechanism in her hand, covered her mouth with her white hands, and smiled sweetly.

"Why don't you dare?"

Zhu Wen held Lan Suting in his arms and strode in. The rain all over his body fell on the exquisite carpet in the hall.

He didn't know how the other party knew his identity, but this situation was far worse than the time when he faced Huang Chao when he joined the Cao army.

There were more than ten servants in the hall, all wearing armor and holding swords. They stood with stern expressions and vigilance in their eyes.

But Zhu Wen understood that the other party had no intention of killing him, otherwise there would be no need to reveal his identity to him.

"Thank you, madam, for taking me in." Zhu Wen placed Lan Suting on a beauty couch in the hall, and then bowed to express his gratitude.

"Do you know why I don't want to kill you?" Ah Qing said slowly, his autumn-water eyes suddenly showing some melancholy.

"Junior doesn't know."

"Because you killed Kou Qianzhi, I'm very happy. Marshal Qi might want to kill you to avenge Kou Qianzhi, but compared to Marshal Qi's political enemies, Kou Qianzhi makes me hate him more."

As Ah Qing spoke, his tone was already somewhat cold.

"Why?"

Zhu Wen was completely puzzled.

At this moment, a child of about ten years old suddenly ran over. He was very cute, with eyebrows and eyes that looked a bit like a girl.

Seeing Lan Suting lying on the couch, wet and weak, the little boy immediately showed sympathy. He ran to Ah Qing's side, grabbed her clothes and said, "Mother, don't hurt this sister. She must be a good person."

Then he pointed at Zhu Wen and said, "This prince is also one of them."

Then he said, "Mother, I miss my father again." Ah Qing sighed and said, "Look at this child, he should understand a little bit."

With Zhu Wen's intelligence, he naturally guessed it instantly.

He knew that Qi Kerang's first wife had died at the hands of the Tibetans when he was guarding Shanzhou with Qi Kerang in Xiliang.

But he had never heard of Qi Ke remarrying.

As Ah Qing sighed, her expression suddenly became solemn, and her voice lost all trace of charm. "I was raised by Madam Ah Xue's parents. Although we are nominally master and servant, we are truly like sisters."

"After Madam Axue passed away, since they only had one daughter, many people came to persuade General Qi to take me as his successor, so as not to leave the child without a mother."

"The old patriarch also had this idea, and he even told General Qi that it would be a beautiful thing for the old son-in-law to become the new son-in-law, and the eldest uncle to become the younger uncle-in-law."

Lan Suting coughed heavily a few times on the couch, covered her mouth and asked softly, "But what did Commander Kou say at this time?"

She looked confused, but unexpectedly she understood what Ah Qing meant.

Ah Qing's delicate chin tilted slightly. "Yes. Kou Qianzhi, the knight-errant who, despite his distinguished background, initially didn't want to be an official, and instead went to Xiliang to befriend General Qi, now jumps out to alienate the relationship, claiming that his brother and sister-in-law were deeply in love, and even though they were separated by death, how could he possibly let them down?"

"Kou Qianzhi also said that if you are worried about the inheritance of the family line, you can let your niece marry into the family in the future."

Hearing this, Zhu Wen couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

Ah Qing said sadly, "I threatened death and finally married into the Qi family, but I am just a concubine without official status. Marshal Qi has only come a few times over the years, and it was only to continue the family line and handle official business."

She pointed at the child, her eyes filled with resentment, and murmured, "This child is Kerang's only offspring."

"But Qi Shuai was afraid that he would steal the fatherly love his sister deserved, so he left him in the wilderness of Hebei, where he couldn't see his father for several years."

"If he grows up, his father will give him the connections a military governor's son should have. But now, he is just a poor child hiding in the dark, without any love from his father."

Hearing this, Lan Suting couldn't help but say, "I've heard that General Qi is a hero of the time, but he's too cruel to his wife and children."

Ah Qing said flatly, "Of course he's cruel. He loves one woman too much, so he can only be cruel to other women."

"But if he hadn't been so good to Sister Axue, how could I have fallen for this man..."

As she recalled the past, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Lan Suting nodded, as if he understood something.

Zhu Wen said, "There are no bad people in the Taining Army, and Madam Aqing, you don't really hate General Kou."

Hearing this, Ah Qing suddenly burst into laughter, like a trembling flower branch.

She laughed for a long time before she stopped.

"Yes, there are no bad people, they are all fools."

"For example, Kou Qianzhi, because of his nonsense, I can only be a concubine, but what can I do about it! It was all my own choice. Marshal Qi didn't want to marry me in the first place."

"That fool, Kou Qianzhi, not only didn't remarry after his wife died, but when famine struck Mizhou, he'd rather let his own children eat wheat rice than save money to support the children of the people! He was an important official, yet he didn't have a single servant in his household, not even a few silk clothes."

"But outside, he always dressed brightly because he didn't want outsiders to know what he was doing."

After hearing these words, Zhu Wen felt a strong sense of tightness in his chest.

He realized what a great man he had killed.

He suddenly realized that the words he used to curse Kou Qianzhi were so ridiculous.

Such a saint should not exist in today's corrupt officialdom.

"You're lying if you say I don't hate him. Not only does he suffer, but he also causes trouble for those around him." Ah Qing sighed, "But when I think about how I, as a concubine, live a much more comfortable life than he does, I can't help but feel pity for him sometimes. Why would he torture himself to such a state?"

"I can understand people like General Kou. They, like Buddha, view life as a spiritual journey." Zhu Wen said, "If General Kou feels bitter, it's only because the current government is corrupt and the people are suffering, leaving him bewildered. As for personal suffering, he simply accepts it with joy."

He was now certain that his meeting with Madam Aqing was purely a coincidence.

The other party has been holding back too much over the years and really needs to find someone to talk to.

"Wen, there's one thing I'm still confused about. How did Madam guess my identity?"

Ah Qing's expression suddenly took on a hint of playfulness. She covered her mouth with her jade hand and said, "If I said that I had learned the secret art of spiritual communication and could see Kou Qianzhi's wandering spirit following you, covered in blood, would you believe me?"

"I'll just ignore the talk of ghosts and gods," Zhu Wen said. "Since Madam has said so, I can only take responsibility for my own actions."

That being said, Ah Qing's explanation obviously failed to convince Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen speculated that since he had recently killed Kou Qianzhi, whose advice had greatly changed Ah Qing's fate, Ah Qing would undoubtedly pay some attention to him.

It was precisely because he had killed Kou Qianzhi that they dared not pass through Taining Town on their way to Pinglu. If Meng Kai had been in charge of this mission, he might have taken the risk and passed through Taining.

Zhu Wen also knew that there were not many young people as good-looking, smart and courageous as himself.

If Ah Qing first assumes that the intruder is Zhu Wen, and then deduces from this, considering that Pinglu Jiedushi Song Wei is now seriously injured and Pinglu Town is in chaos - why did Zhu Wen pass through Hebei? The answer is quite clear.

However, Zhu Wen simply agreed to the other party's speculation and had his own considerations.

It was the Cao army that made it impossible for them to attack Qi Kerang's family. For the still-strong Taining army, doing so would not actually harm them, but would instead cause Qi Kerang to go berserk and pursue the Cao army with all his might.

Qi Kerang hid Ah Qing and the child in a remote house in Hebei Province, obviously to guard against those political enemies with ulterior motives.

(End of this chapter)