Her guards

Chapter 21 Leaving Zhao County
The Embroidered-Robe Envoy surrounded Zhao County with his troops for a day and a night, searching the area with nets and digging. They found many thieves and kidnappers, but the murderer who killed more than a dozen people in one night was nowhere to be found.

But I stopped investigating.

"The culprits actually ran away a long time ago," the shop assistant said excitedly. "Last night, the soldiers spotted them outside and gave chase."

So Zhao County stopped interfering.

The soldiers withdrew, and the city gates were opened early in the morning.

A lot of people gathered on the street to discuss it.

The guests in the hall were shouting, "I told you it couldn't be still here," "What a waste of time," "Chaos ensued," and "I don't think this embroidered lady has any real skill."

Upon hearing someone say this, the shop assistant threatened, "Be careful, they might arrest you and interrogate you again, and show you what they're capable of."

The man was so frightened that he dared not say another word. He hurriedly left with his bundle on his back, fearing that the city gate would close again if he was too slow.

In the blink of an eye, everyone in the inn had left, except for Yang Luo and Mo Zheng, who remained at the very end.

The two also had breakfast.

"The young lady was frightened, but she remained calm," the shop assistant praised.

Yang Luo said, "Anyway, I've already been frightened, there's nothing to be afraid of." Then she called out to the person behind her, "Asheng, walk slowly."

Mo Zheng leaned on a bamboo cane and slowly took steps.

The shop assistant rushed forward to help him up, saying, "Young man, you've really suffered." He then asked with concern, "Should we get a doctor to take a look?"

Yang Luo laughed and said, "I'm not that calm. Let's leave Zhao County and find a clinic on the way."

The shop assistants were amused and helped the master and servant onto the carriage, watching as the young guard used his uninjured hand to steer the horse away with his young lady.

Unlike when we entered the city, the city gates were now crowded with people, making entry and exit slow.

Yang Luo lifted the carriage curtain to look. The corpses of the Jiang and Li families in front of the city gate had been taken away, but some people were burning incense and paper money at the city gate, many of whom were children.

They were all students taught by Jiang Wangchun.

Although the Embroidered Robe said there was a secret report accusing Jiang Wangchun of treason, there was no conclusion in the end. Moreover, it was known that the Li family killed the Jiang family members. Therefore, the Jiang family saw it as an unexpected disaster, and many people did not care about avoiding suspicion and still came to pay their respects.

“This Mr. Jiang must be a very good person,” Yang Luo said softly.

Mo Zheng also watched the fireworks rising and the paper money flying around, and gently hummed in agreement. Suddenly, she turned to look at Yang Luo.

"Would you like to come down and have a fire too?" he said.

She burned it too? Yang Luo was stunned. Although she felt sorry for the Jiang family, she didn't know them after all...

“After we leave, we’ll go straight to the ferry and take a boat. It’s very fast to go south by water. We’ll be leaving Yuzhou for good today,” Mo Zheng said in a low voice, looking at Yang Luo. “You, pay your respects to your mother one last time.”

Yes, Zhao County and Lu County are adjacent and both belong to Yuzhou, so strictly speaking, it is still her homeland. But it's different when she leaves Yuzhou and enters a new prefecture.

Yang Luo looked in the direction of Lu County. In order not to reveal her identity, she did not go to see her mother's body. Now, taking advantage of the large number of people paying their respects to Jiang Wangchun, she would pay her respects and talk to her mother.

"Okay." She nodded, with a hint of gratitude. "Ah Sheng, you've really thought of everything."

Mo Zheng shook her head: "Actually, I also want to pay my respects."

Yes, he was also from Lu County. The old hunter who adopted and raised him was also buried in the mountains of Lu County.

Yang Luo jumped out of the car: "I'm going to buy two portions of cooking ingredients."

……

.......
On the rolling hills, Wei Jiao sat on the ground, twirling the small snake sword in his hand, gazing at the smoke rising from the gates of Zhao County.

"Captain, should we announce that Jiang Wangchun is colluding with the remnants of the previous dynasty?" a man in embroidered robes said from the side, his expression gloomy, "so that the people don't think we've wronged him."

Wei Jiao said lazily, "It's better if people think we've wronged him. Let everyone think we have no evidence, are just making wild guesses, and don't take it seriously. That's when those people will dare to cause trouble."

The sound of horses' hooves came from the foot of the hill. Several guards in embroidered uniforms jumped off their horses, rushed forward, knelt down with a thud, and saluted Wei Jiao.

"We were incompetent and failed to find anything," they said.

Not long after the interrogation of Old Madam Li at the Li family yesterday, news came from the embroidered guards stationed outside that the thugs who had been pursued to Lu County but whose trail had been broken off earlier had reappeared.

It is now known that the murderers of the Jiang family were Li Zhen and his son, but the Li family father and son were killed, and it was learned from the interrogation of Old Mrs. Li that there was another group of people behind the whole thing, or rather, two groups of people.

These are the people behind the scenes who are truly connected to the treasures of the previous dynasty.

So Wei Jiao immediately led his men away from Zhao County to investigate, but the search was cut off again.

However, looking at the embroidered guards kneeling on the ground, Wei Jiao showed no anger, but instead smiled. "I know we won't find them," he said, "because they deliberately lured us in."

Intentionally? The embroidered guards stared at him.

Wei Jiao curled his lip: "Why did they have to appear at the same time as us searching Zhao County? This coincidence is too stupid."

He stood up, and the small snake sword between his fingers disappeared into his sleeve.

"By exposing themselves to lure us away, their purpose was naturally to allow the thugs hiding in Zhao County to escape."

Although no suspicious persons were found during the search in Zhao County, he was not disappointed at all, nor was he in a hurry.

“As long as we make a big fuss, the thieves will inevitably feel guilty and will come out on their own.”

Sure enough, it jumped out.

He looked at the embroidered guards.

"Leave some people to keep an eye on Zhao County, and also widely distribute the information on outsiders registered during the search to various places to investigate whether it is true or false."

Wei Jiao reached out and drew a circle around the distant Zhao County town.

The fish were among them.

……

.......
A bamboo pole was gently pushed in the river, creating a ripple.

"Ah Sheng." Yang Luo waved from inside the cabin. "Don't stand at the bow. Come down quickly. You're injured and can't be exposed to the wind."

The boatman at the bow was in his forties, with a kind face. He smiled and said, "Young man, hurry up and get in. Be careful of seasickness if it's your first time on a boat."

Mo Zheng put away the bamboo pole, nodded to the boatman, stepped off the bow, and went to the cabin.

Yang Luo looked around the cabin with delight in her eyes.

"Although it's a bit expensive, chartering a boat is still more convenient," she said.

The cabin was large, with two small beds and no other guests, just the boatman, making it very quiet.

Mo Zheng nodded and placed the previous drawing on the table for her to see: "Although we were delayed in Zhao County, we can enter the capital in seven days by switching between water and land routes."

Yang Luo looked at the simple markings on the blueprint, his gaze falling on the words "capital city".

"It's pretty fast," she said softly.

Perhaps it was because of the mention of the capital that Yang Luo couldn't sleep soundly at night.

Her little face scrunched up, and she let out a sobbing sound.

"Zhu Yunxiao, why did you kill me?"

Zhu Yunxiao, Mo Zheng murmured this name.

Yang Luo's voice turned angry again.

"Uncle, do you want me to die too?"

My maternal uncle, this is Duke Ding'an.

The man in the capital whose identity was unclear, as well as her uncle, were all nightmares for this girl.

Mo Zheng watched as Yang Luo's breathing became increasingly rapid, as if she were about to suffocate in her sleep. He reached out and gently pressed on her neck, and Yang Luo's head tilted slightly before she fell into a coma.

“Since you have secrets to keep from people,” Mo Zheng said softly, “you should learn to stay awake even when you’re dreaming.”

……

.......
The river was pitch black at night, and the lights hanging from the four corners of the boat cast shimmering shadows on the water.

The small boat was still moving slowly.

The boatman, hunched over and clutching the oar, seemed to be asleep.

"Uncle Hong, were you the ones who lured the Embroidered Robe Envoy away?"

Mo Zheng asked softly.

The boatman was startled awake and turned to look at the young man standing behind him: "Young master, you scared me to death." He added, "Everyone was almost scared to death."

(End of this chapter)