The Three Kingdoms: My Wife is a Great and Good Teacher

Liu Zhaoqing did not answer immediately. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Lu Hong for some reason. Lu Hong lowered her head slightly, also feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed.

She understood the look in Liu Zhaoqing's eyes, which was saying: Look at them, this is what it means to beg for help.

"Old man, tell me what happened first."

The old servant looked around and then said, "Please follow me to the room and we'll talk."

The old servant is so anxious, yet he still acts like this, so this must not be a trivial matter.

Sure enough, after Liu Zhaoqing and others followed the old servant into the room.

The old servant closed the doors and windows and sighed, "To be honest, my young lady...is gone."

"what?"

Liu Zhaoqing and others were stunned for a moment.

"This county residence is heavily guarded, and there are soldiers patrolling at night. How could a living person suddenly disappear?" Zhang Liao asked puzzledly.

"The 'young lady' the old man is talking about should not be from an ordinary family..." Lu Hong could also tell that the "young lady" the old servant was talking about was of extraordinary status.

Liu Zhaoqing naturally thought of this, so he looked at the old servant and said.

"Can you please tell me who your young lady is?"

The old servant hesitated for a moment, then said, "Young lady is from the Xun family of Yingchuan, a lineage of Xunzi. She is the descendant of Xun Shu, the 'divine lord' of Langling, and the nephew of Xun Shuang, the 'great scholar'. This year, she was selected as a filial and honest official and is serving as the imperial palace guard."

"Name: Xun Yu."

After hearing this series, even if it wasn't written down, one could still feel the dazzling and brilliant life story. Zhang Liao and Lu Hong were stunned. Is this a true famous family?

The same was true for Liu Zhaoqing, and when he heard the last name, he opened his mouth in surprise and remained speechless for a long time.

Chapter 65: The "Father" in the Mountain Two-in-One

Half an hour later.

In the wing room of the county residence, Liu Zhaoqing listened to the old servant's description of what had happened.

"That is to say, your young lady Xun Yu went to Jizhou to look for her brother Xun Yue who was living in seclusion. Then, after experiencing the Yellow River Rebellion, she stayed in Jizhou for a while longer. She only set out to return to Luoyang after the ferry was restored, which delayed her for some time."

Liu Zhaoqing briefly reviewed what the old servant had said and asked, "Moreover, you just said that she came to Yanzhou East County with the help of the Xun family's servants, and she just rested in the county mansion for one night today. And...if I am right, your young lady should be a great person, right?"

The old servant was surprised that Liu Zhaoqing, a visitor from Qingzhou, had also heard of the young lady's reputation, but he nodded immediately: "Yes, the young lady became famous at a young age and felt that she was gifted by heaven. The famous scholar He Yong once said of the young lady: 'Xun Yu of Yingchuan is a tool for the king'. At that time, the young lady was already a heavenly person."

"Since she is such an outstanding person and is only staying here for one night, it is unlikely that there will be any thieves to harm her." Liu Zhaoqing frowned and gave his own speculation: "Unless...she went out on her own."

"Go out by yourself? How is that possible?" The old servant denied it flatly.

But after pacing back and forth for a long time, he couldn't think of a second reason.

"Although the young lady is a natural talent, she is not good at martial arts. Her civil and military skills cannot protect her from hidden arrows and swords..."

The old servant murmured to himself, then thought about it and finally agreed with Liu Zhaoqing's guess.

He bowed to Liu Zhaoqing again and said, "Then... Sir, where do you think the young lady will go if she leaves on her own initiative?"

The old servant, Zhang Liao, and Lü Hong all looked at the seated Liu Zhaoqing. Liu Zhaoqing put his hand on his chin, thought for a moment, and then replied, "The one who could make Xun Yu leave without saying goodbye in the dark must be something extraordinary."

"Either she suddenly realized that a priceless treasure had appeared in the world, or there were other things around that she was very concerned about..."

"The young lady is not a greedy person, and the Xun family is not short of treasures. It should be impossible for the young lady to leave alone without saying a word just for the treasure." The old servant shook his head and denied the first possibility.

That leaves only the second guess.

Although the old servant felt that this guess was not quite accurate, because no matter how much the young lady cared about something, she should not sneak away in the middle of the night, but Liu Zhaoqing at least gave him a direction.

That is: Xun Yu's departure should be her own wish, and she was not forced. Although the purpose of her leaving is unclear, considering her ability as a scholar, she should not have gone too far and should have stayed nearby.

"I have sent my followers to search the surrounding mountains and forests, but because there are many people crossing the river, the bandits can easily hide among them and are difficult to find. The followers are safer when they travel in groups, so the efficiency of searching is not high."

The old servant sighed: "Although the county government has been informed, most of the county government's soldiers have gone to provide disaster relief and maintain order at the ferry, and they can't be mobilized to help with the search, so..."

The old servant looked at Zhang Liao beside Liu Zhaoqing.

Liu Zhaoqing also understood what he meant and said with a bow.

"Don't worry, old man. We will also participate in the search. If we have any news, we will come to this county mansion to inform you as soon as possible."

The old servant bowed his head and saluted again: "Thank you, Master Liu."

After the old servant left, Liu Zhaoqing sat there for a long time without getting up.

"Xun Yu, Xun Wenruo... has she changed as well?"

"Sir, do you know this...Miss Xun?" Lu Hong asked.

Liu Zhaoqing shook his head: "I have only heard of her from one side, she probably doesn't know me."

"I think they must know each other, otherwise her servants would not have found the benefactor." Zhang Liao said on the side.

This woke Liu Zhaoqing up. He took out the white jade pendant from his pocket. After thinking for a while, Liu Zhaoqing said, "Just now the old servant said that if we need anything, we can go to the first floor of the county mansion to get it. Let's go prepare it and then set off immediately."

"Are you really going, benefactor?" Zhang Liao was still a little hesitant.

Liu Zhaoqing smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the fact that if no one helped us yesterday, we might have been sleeping outdoors. If Xun Wenruo got into trouble under my nose, I would probably be woken up in the middle of the night in the future."

"Ah?" Zhang Liao was surprised, and then he understood.

In Liu Zhaoqing's eyes, "Xun Yu" is also "an outstanding person among outstanding people".

But Xun Yu’s background... is too dazzling. Although it sounds a bit unpleasant to say, she should definitely look down on her benefactor, right?

But Zhang Liao then thought about it and realized that even if he could not gather such outstanding people, if Liu Zhaoqing could make friends with such a prominent family, it would be extremely beneficial to his development.

Zhang Liao had no other thoughts and completely agreed to go find Xun Yu.

"Wenyuan, have you ever seen someone like him in Yanmen County who has achieved success solely by relying on his wisdom, wisdom, and military prowess?" Liu Zhaoqing asked Zhang Liao curiously while preparing supplies and protective gear.

Zhang Liao thought about it, and while wiping the long sword he would need to carry later, he frowned slightly: "...It seems that there really is none."

This also made Liu Zhaoqing look forward to meeting Xun Yu even more.

Even though Liu Zhaoqing fought with four great men a few days ago, he was lucky to meet Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao at the beginning. In this vast land of Han Dynasty, great men are extremely rare, and people like Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhao are all more inclined to fighting or balanced types.

Liu Zhaoqing was still quite curious about what this pure scholar was like. Could he be the wise man like a demon as mentioned in the legend?

And just as Zhang Liao thought, Liu Zhaoqing also felt that if he could make friends with Xun Yu, who had such a prominent background, his trip to Luoyang would be worth it even if he did not receive any reward.

-

Another quarter of an hour later, Liu Zhaoqing and Zhang Liao, wearing light armor and casual clothes, appeared together in a small forest not far from the county residence.

Picking up the machete and chopping away the thorns, Zhang Liao cleared a path and went in, and Liu Zhaoqing followed him.

After resting for a while on the mountainside, Liu Zhaoqing looked back at the county residence which had become as small as a leaf at the foot of the mountain.

"This mountain looks quite low, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to climb." Zhang Liao sighed.

"Looking at the mountain, the horse is walking backwards." Liu Zhaoqing said, and then looked at her with a smile: "But I see Wenyuan didn't even break a drop of sweat, is he pretending to be tired so that I can take a rest?"

Zhang Liao, whose little thoughts were seen through, smiled embarrassedly.

"The bandits are good at hiding and are very familiar with the mountain conditions. There may also be people with the gift of the word "Jue Ren", so we have to maintain our physical strength." Zhang Liao then explained.

Liu Zhaoqing nodded. He was not so arrogant as to ignore dozens of bandits.

He can kill the dragon, but it doesn't mean he can kill bandits indiscriminately. Maybe he can, but if Liu Zhaoqing spends another ten years of his life just to kill a dozen or twenty bandits, that would be a foolish act and a huge loss.

"Let's take a break and continue walking." Liu Zhaoqing took out the water bag from the package on his waist, took a sip and said.

Zhang Liao nodded and looked towards the county residence: "That Lü Hong... is it okay for her to be alone there?"

Lv Hong did not come with the two of them. As a young girl, it was not appropriate for her to get involved in such matters. Although Lv Hong had told Liu Zhaoqing before that she had learned some martial arts and knew some sword moves, Liu Zhaoqing still let her stay in the county residence.

"Wenyuan shouldn't be worried about her safety, right? Is he worried that she will run away?" Liu Zhaoqing asked.

"Ah."

"Don't worry, she has no reason to run away. And I'm not bragging. She probably won't be able to find someone like me even with a lantern if she sends me to Luoyang without any feelings for me," Liu Zhaoqing seemed a little shameless.

But Zhang Liao agreed: "Your Excellency is indeed not attracted by beauty."

After she finished speaking, she frowned again: "But what I'm worried about is... the color of the benefactor..."

"What am I?"

"Nothing..." Zhang Liao stopped talking halfway, causing Liu Zhaoqing to roll his eyes.

Liu Zhaoqing was really not worried about Lv Hong. Apart from the reasons mentioned, Lv Hong also suffered from a natural disease and was vigilant by nature, so it was even more impossible for her to run around aimlessly.

The two continued on their way, and after passing through another thorn bush, they came to a winding path.

Zhang Liao suddenly stopped, bent down and touched the ground with his hand, as if he had gained something.

"This grass was folded, but the folds are not yet dry. Someone must have passed by here not long ago."

Liu Zhaoqing took a closer look and saw footprints, and there were more than one.

There is a path walked by people on this sparsely populated mountain. Who else could have done this except bandits?

After searching for about three hours, from the time they left the county residence and climbed the mountain in the morning until now, it was almost noon, and they finally found a clue about the bandits. Liu Zhaoqing actually breathed a sigh of relief.

At least it proves that their judgment was correct, there are bandits here.

"Can Wenyuan roughly tell how many people there are?" Liu Zhaoqing asked.

"It seems that there are three or five of them, but that doesn't mean there are only three or five bandits."

Liu Zhaoqing nodded slightly. These three or five people might be like the two who ran to the ferry before. They were just responsible for exploring the way or acting as pioneers.

"If Xun Yu was captured by the bandits, he must be in his lair. Even if not, we have to capture a few bandits and interrogate them to make sure there is no trace of Xun Yu in this mountain, so that we can continue searching on the next mountain."

Liu Zhaoqing quickly formulated a plan: follow this trail and find the bandits.

The two of them walked quickly forward along the path, crossing the dead grass, climbing over the moss-covered boulders, and stepping over a trickling stream. Finally, they found traces of people.

There were two big men wearing coarse linen clothes and grey scarves on their heads, one tall and one short. Both of them had a worn machete on their waist. They were definitely bandits.

Seeing that the bandits were found, Zhang Liao was ready to draw the sword at his waist to capture the two men.

But at this time Liu Zhaoqing held her arm, made a gesture to keep quiet, and listened carefully to the conversation between the two bandits.

"Another person? Tender skin and meat? Hey, that should taste delicious, right?"

"I don't know about that. I have to ask the boss, but I guess he doesn't know either."

"Speaking of which, it's being consumed really quickly. There are so many people coming to the ferry every day, and there are more than a dozen people going up the mountain every day, and it's still not enough."

"Yes, and we are not the only one on this hill..."

At this moment, a bird's cry suddenly came from the distance.

After hearing this, the two bandits stopped chatting.

"The boss is urging us, don't waste time, let's go pick him up right away. I heard he's a scholar, so he should be easy to deceive."

"Hehe, then maybe we can make a small fortune."

……

Scholar, delicate skin and tender flesh...

Zhang Liao and Liu Zhaoqing deduced some horrifying things from the conversation between the two bandits.

Considering that Yanzhou has just suffered a major disaster, if this is the case... it would not be surprising.

"Let's go, we'll follow them." Liu Zhaoqing said quickly when he saw the bandits were about to leave.

Judging from the descriptions of the two bandits, he seems to be very similar to Xun Yu.

Although Liu Zhaoqing was not very good at tracking, fortunately he had Zhang Liao by his side, so they were always able to keep a proper distance from the bandits.

Soon we came to a path from the woods.

Then Liu Zhaoqing saw the two bandits met a scholar.

He is indeed a scholar, and he is indeed delicate and tender, but he is definitely not Xun Yu.

Because the scholar was a man.

And what was strange was that the scholar didn't look like he was tied up. His hands and feet were not bound at all, and the bandits were polite to him.

Zhang Liao even saw that the scholar actually took the initiative to give money to the two bandits.

"Go ahead and take those two down."