Zhu's family wasn't all convicted and sent to the capital, were they?
How did Zhu Erlang appear here?
"Supervisor, we can't take him with us. If we're found harboring a wanted criminal, we'll be beheaded."
Ma Yiyang looked at the unconscious Zhu Erlang, hesitated for a moment, then mounted his horse: "Continue forward, don't delay the important matter of the Minister."
In the midst of flying dust, only Zhu Erlang's frail body lay face down on the ground, his life or death unknown.
"We're almost there. There will definitely be more formidable opponents waiting for us ahead. Fortunately, the Minister has given us all the people arranged by the Emperor; otherwise, we really couldn't hold out."
Ma Yiyang nodded: "We must not ruin the Minister's plans."
"Achoo!"
As soon as Jiang Yankun stepped into the Miao village, he sneezed. He always felt that this small village was eerie in every way.
A child stood at the entrance, laughing "hee hee hee" at them, looking foolish, but his eyes had no focus, as if he was looking through them at someone behind them.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Jiang Yankun felt a chill run down his spine.
The village was eerily quiet, completely different from the lively atmosphere of an ordinary village.
The silence was somewhat terrifying.
Tang Shiliang, dressed as a wealthy merchant, did not rashly reveal his identity. While glancing around, he reminded Jiang Yankun: "Minister Jiang, please bear with being my father for a while."
"It's no trouble, no trouble. Getting the antidote is more important than anything."
Since Yue'er chose this partner, there must be extraordinary abilities. Such a person in the palace is not someone who simply obeys orders; it should be more accurate to say they support each other.
Jiang Yankun did not put on airs.
"Who are you? Why did you trespass into our village?"
It turned out there was someone in the Miao village who could speak Mandarin.
Tang Shiliang bowed politely to the girl blocking the way: "Miss, my father and I are wealthy merchants from the city. We accidentally wandered into the mountains and saw the unique scenery here, so we inadvertently trespassed. Is this a forbidden area?"
Blatant lies, where was the beautiful scenery here?
The place was filled with eerie flags, with colorful strings hanging from them. The wind made them clink together, sending shivers down one's spine.
Most of the houses were built with thatch, and the villagers wore colorful clothes, with blue cloth wrapped around their heads like hats to shield them from the sun.
Many villagers' clothes had patches, indicating their life was not affluent.
Tang Shiliang took out a few pieces of silver from his money pouch and handed them over: "Miss, I find you kind-hearted. Could you show my father and me around? This is for your trouble."
The girl's eyes lit up at the sight of the silver, looking both eager and hesitant.
Jiang Yankun directly grabbed the silver from Tang Shiliang's hand, pulled out the girl's hand, and stuffed it into her palm: "It's not a difficult task to show us around. Why are you so hesitant? We'll be leaving soon."
The girl bit her lip: "Then follow me. If we meet anyone, just say you're friends I met in the mountains."
She pocketed the silver and turned to Tang Shiliang: "By the way, my name is Miao Linlin. I can't keep calling you 'hey' or we'll get caught. What's your name?"
Tang Shiliang hesitated, hearing that the people of the Miao region liked to use Gu (poisonous insects), he was worried...
"Are you afraid I'll use Gu on you?"
Miao Linlin smirked: "Don't worry, with this bit of silver, it's not worth using Gu. Our Gu here is very expensive; I won't waste it on you."
"My name is Pei Sinian, and this is my son Pei Zhishuo."
Jiang Yankun mumbled as he followed the girl's steps: "Really, what's there to be afraid of? You're not as open as a girl! Your grandfather will scold you again for being useless."
Wow!
Minister Jiang was about to send the entire Pei family, from grandfather to grandson, away!
"Father is right, it's my fault for being overly cautious."
Miao Linlin nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it! Let's go! There's no one in this village who knows it better than me."
That's great!
Jiang Yankun was delighted. An inexperienced young girl was the easiest to get information from. He could inquire about her family situation and see if any villagers matched with Lady Zhang.
Jiuzhou Qingyan—
Emperor Xuanwu had sighed several times today.
Wang Dequan watched the yearning emperor and didn't know what to say.
He was the one who didn't allow Lady Yue'er to come, yet he was the one who looked forward to her arrival every day.
Did he want her to come or not?
"It's too strange."
The emperor pouted: "When Yue'er was here, everyone clamored to see me. Now that Yue'er is gone, they don't come either. I said they were deliberately opposing Yue'er, and it seems I was right."
His Jiuzhou Qingyan, the emperor's residence, was now as cold and quiet as a cold palace.
"Your Majesty, the secret guards' pigeon message has arrived. Ma Yiyang and the others have been pursued all along the way, and not just by one party."
"Oh?"
The emperor raised an eyebrow: "Apart from Minister Pei of the Privy Council, is there someone else who doesn't want me to live?"
Minister Pei's actions might not be to take his life but to prevent Lord Jiang from obtaining the antidote. When he succumbed to the poison, he could use the chaos to punish Lord Jiang and eliminate Lady Yue'er.
As for who would succeed the throne after Emperor Xuanwu's demise?
There was still the Fifth Prince, recorded under the name of the late Empress, in the Eastern Mountain Mausoleum.
Supporting a prince without a maternal family as a backing would be the best choice for the Pei family.
Without a backing, he would be more likely to obey.
The secret guards didn't know who the other party was, so they couldn't answer the emperor's question.
However, their emperor was wise and resourceful. No matter what kind of demons and ghosts there were, they would eventually reveal their true colors.
"Have the secret guards protect Ma Yiyang well, not allowing him to be harmed in the slightest."
He wanted to see who could take the life of someone he intended to protect.
It was August, the hottest time of the year, with the scorching sun hanging in the sky, baking the parched fields.
The intense sunlight distorted people's figures in the eyes of those below.
All the fields in Yu Province had cracked and dried up, and the people looked at the yellowing rice with painful expressions on their dried, wrinkled faces.
Yu Province had been suffering from a drought for three months, and the local officials did nothing, ignoring the plight of the people.
The Governor of Yu Province indulged in nightly revelries, disregarding the people's suffering, refusing to open the granaries or release water from the reservoirs. The people resorted to cannibalism, many dying of thirst.
"Why won't you let us in?"
A group of young men in green silk garments were indignant: "We are traveling scholars from the capital. Our teacher said that the peonies of Yu Province are famous worldwide, and he asked us to bring back some seeds. If you don't let us in, how can we complete our teacher's task?"
The guards at the city gate pushed them back: "Look at this weather, does it look like there are peonies in the city?"
