Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 905: Chapter 905: Old Friend

Qi Yuanzheng said a lot, but the young Taoist Yuan Jue still seemed confused.

Liu Sisi felt guilty at heart; such a good seedling must not be led astray by everyone!

Soon enough, Wang Ziyan did indeed deliver fifty thousand taels of silver, and even several dozen bags of grain were carried over, enough to feed a party for one month without any problem.

It really is easier to get things done with money!

As for Ms. Wang, Liu Sisi truly did not have the slightest fondness for her. Now that the other party had followed Wang Ziyan, it was even better; at least she no longer had to see that creepy face.

Then, over the next two days, she quietly stayed in the hostel waiting for good news, but she never heard any news about the Prefecture Governor sending reinforcements, and her heart could not help but sink, growing more and more anxious, to the point that her whole mouth was blistered and it hurt terribly to speak.

She even hated that she couldn’t burst into the City Lord’s Mansion again to see what nonsense Dong Yuan had filled his head with.

Unexpectedly, without her even leaving the door, a Post-house Minister brought over two wild fruits.

The Post-house Minister’s face was all smiles, his eyes crinkled up so much that the pupils were not visible, and he personally carried a tray with two wild fruits to Liu Sisi’s side.

“These are wild fruits stored in the cellar of the City Lord’s Mansion, their quantity extremely limited. The knowledgeable person heard that the Princess was feeling unwell and specially sent someone to deliver these,” said the Post-house Minister.

The fruit in the Minister’s hand was kiwi, sour and sweet, indeed the best remedy for treating oral ulcers.

Nowadays, it was a world of ice and snow, and being in the center of war-torn lands, apart from cellars like those in the City Lord’s Mansion which might still hide some fruits, there was likely not a trace to be found outside.

“Please extend my thanks to the Prefecture Governor,” she said.

Liu Sisi’s smile slowly faded, a chilling sensation washing over her.

While staying in the hostel, she had not gone out at will, but the fact that the other party from inside the City Lord’s Mansion knew even about the blisters that had appeared on her mouth due to her anxiety was unexpected.

This situation inevitably made Sisi’s entire back break out in a cold sweat.

The Post-house Minister kept giving a fist greeting, “It’s nothing, nothing at all. The Prefecture Governor said, should the Princess need anything, just instruct me, and I shall do my utmost to comply.”

Asking him to send troops, they had been dragging their feet until now without any actions, but it was all just “shiny on the outside like a horse dung, but full of chaff inside”!

Liu Sisi was quite unimpressed.

What she didn’t expect was that the next night, suddenly, the sounds of combat and the earth-shaking sounds of war drums and gongs made Liu Sisi and others stay awake all night. Despite wanting to inquire all around, they had nowhere to exert their strength and only learned near daybreak that the enemy troops had retreated.

Liu Sisi could no longer care about anything else; after daybreak, she forcibly burst out of the hostel. What surprised her the most was that, this time when they went out, they were not stopped by the Post-house Minister.

“Lord Dong said it himself, ‘Princess Ruyu is of the heavenly family. Anyone who dares to impede the Princess’s freedom to come and go shall be executed on the spot without discussion!'”

It was not until that moment that she truly understood the meaning of the saying “under the vast sky, all land belongs to the king, and on the edges of the earth, all are subjects of the king.”

The Post-house Minister’s words left her mouth agape for quite a while.

It turned out that her Princess’s status was so useful that it could even be used as a pass, a pity that she had only understood it now. Thinking of this, she then remembered the matter of the troops being dispatched and quickly asked,

“Has the Prefecture Governor dispatched reinforcements?”

The Post-house Minister seemed quite puzzled, “I do not know of this matter. However, on the morning that the Princess and her party arrived, the Prefecture Governor had already dispatched twenty thousand troops from the city to support Marquis Yongwu to the west…”

Her head buzzing, Liu Sisi could hardly hear anything clearly.

It turned out that Dong Yuan had already dispatched troops to support Marquis Yongwu, but he hadn’t told her, causing her undue anxiety; perhaps he was watching the show from the shadows.

At the thought, Liu Sisi’s face burned with embarrassment.

However, thinking that Di Yelei had already received reinforcement support, her anxious heart finally settled.

Another seven days passed.

During this time, Liu Sisi had also tried several times to meet with Dong Yuan, but she was unable to see him.

It wasn’t that Dong Yuan refused to meet her, but rather the rebels outside the city had started their siege.

Shouts of battle and killing filled the air, the drum sounds urging everyone on in a rush!

After discussing with Zhang Peng and others, Liu Sisi dispatched a hundred people to join the defense of the city.

Good news kept streaming into the Capital City, making Zhao Yuanlang’s face bloom with joy. Imperial Decrees of rewards were issued continuously, causing many to look on with envy.

Just when Liu Sisi had given up on meeting Dong Yuan, he actually came to the hostel to seek an audience.

Having not seen him for a few days, Dong Yuan was unshaven and had sunken eyes with prominent dark circles, “Princess, we’ve captured a woman. She says, she wants to see you.”

Liu Sisi was immensely curious, “See me? Who is she?”

“She’s part of General Gu’s family. She says she’s an old acquaintance of yours and wishes to see you.”

–

Inside the black prison of Yingchang Prefecture.

Following the torch-lit corridor, Liu Sisi meticulously observed the conditions of the black prison and entered an interrogation room, accompanied by Zhang Peng and others.

A woman with disheveled hair was bound to a wooden stake with thick iron chains, her body covered in dense whip marks, and her clothes stained with dried dark brown bloodstains—it was a pitiful sight.

Their entrance seemed not to have disturbed the woman at all, as her head hung low, evidently in a state of unconsciousness.

“She’s part of the family of Gu Da outside the city. We wanted to extract some useful information from her, but her resolve is strong. No matter how much the brothers tortured her, she didn’t utter a word. Her backbone is even harder than a man’s.”

From the moment she entered, Liu Sisi’s face was not looking good, “I indeed know this person. Wake her up first.”

Dong Yuan didn’t seem to care and gave a sign to one of the attendants beside him.

The attendant picked up a half basin of water and threw it directly onto the woman’s head.

“Ugh… cough cough cough…”

The woman let out a series of violent coughs and then slowly lifted her head, her scattered gaze finally focusing when she saw Liu Sisi.

She suddenly laughed, “Third Sister-in-law… you have finally come… hehe…”

Liu Sisi had not a trace of a smile on her face, “Ms. Xin, why is it you? How did you become part of Gu Da’s household? Where is Ah-Bao? Have you seen her, and what in the world is going on?”

No wonder Liu Sisi had so many questions, anyone experiencing this would likely be unable to stay calm.

Years ago, Ms. Xin said she was going to help Elderly Mr. Di find the Divine Doctor Elder He, but she never returned. They didn’t expect that after a few years, they would meet again in such a manner.

“What else could’ve happened? It’s just the same old story…”

Ms. Xin didn’t say much more and slowly hung her head again, motionless.

Zhang Peng swiftly stepped forward to feel her neck, then slightly shook his head, “She’s fainted again, and, she has a fever.”

“Go tell Dong Yuan, I am taking this person with me.”

Liu Sisi looked pale, her face tensed as she nodded towards Zhang Peng, who quickly turned to negotiate with Dong Yuan.

“Princess, please wait a moment.”

—

The civil war that had lasted for several years was nearing its end, and craft paper had been scarce lately. It is said that you can never tell how long an author lingers between two lines of text. Now, that saying seems quite apt!