Her guards

Chapter 222 Wei Jiao's Good News

The lively atmosphere in the camp attracted officials and soldiers from the nearby prefectures and garrisons to gather around.

When the courier arrived, he did not go to see the local officials first as required, but went directly to the Embroidered Robe's side. They only found out from the commotion that the emperor had arranged a marriage for Wei Jiao.

"Great."

The officials couldn't help but cheer.

Now that the emperor has arranged a marriage, is Wei Jiao about to return to the capital?

Hurry up and leave, you living devil! If you don't leave now, the remnants of the rebellion will be tortured to death before we even catch them.

Wei Jiao forced them to interrogate everyone who appeared within dozens of miles, even a dog, as if they wanted to catch it and question it...

The people were filled with anxiety and resentment; they were disheveled and had no rest day or night.

Officials rushed over to offer their congratulations amidst the commotion, and some even asked curiously, "Which family's woman are you referring to?"

“The young lady from the Duke of Ding’an’s mansion,” a woman in embroidered robes replied.

At the Duke of Ding'an's residence, the official who was asking the question looked somewhat bewildered, and it took him a while to remember who it was.

There's really nothing to praise about the Duke of Ding'an's mansion.
"Oh, so it's His Majesty's old subordinate." He could only say, "What a wonderful family."

A mentally ill man was sent as a hostage, and as expected, he couldn't marry the princess.

While his mind raced with thoughts, he continued to offer compliments.

"This is truly a cause for celebration; we should also share in the joy."

Wei Jiao looked at them with a smile: "We can't let this go to waste. Go and investigate the area in the eastern valley now."

The official who had spoken immediately turned pale.

Now?!
Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't be able to rest all night?

That bastard—

Upon hearing this, the other officials not only failed to speak up for him, but also moved aside, fearing they might be implicated.

The official gritted his teeth, but dared not disobey. These days of dealing with him had made them realize that if they didn't go along with Wei Jiao, he would have even more ways to torment them!

As the official took his leave, the others hurriedly turned around, and heard Wei Jiao say something behind them.

"You haven't asked about the female disciple who is related to me yet."

"What sect?" Several officials turned around, looking somewhat puzzled.

"If you're going to ask, then find out the details. Besides her father's family, she also has a sect," Wei Jiao said with a smile. "Although her sect isn't anything special."

The officials exchanged glances: "So, what is Miss Yang's lineage?"

“Miss Yang is the newly accepted disciple of the Imperial Academy Master Wang Zaitian,” a woman in embroidered robes announced loudly from the side.

Wang Zaitian's disciple? The officials were surprised. Of course they knew Wang Zaitian; it was no mediocre sect. Wang Zaitian had fewer than ten direct disciples, yet this... woman was one of them?
“It’s normal that you’re all ignorant and don’t know what’s going on outside. Go check what’s right under your noses,” Wei Jiao said, looking at the group. “If you can’t even check what’s right under your noses…”

He smiled.

"Ugh."

Although nothing was said about what would happen next, the young man's smile and sigh before the fire sent chills down the spines of several officials, who hurriedly left without wanting to stay a moment longer.

As they left the camp, an official suddenly cried out, startling the others who were already on edge.

"Could this Miss Yang be the same Miss Yang from that story?" the official said.

Which one? The others looked at him, puzzled.

The official's eyes flickered: "Have you forgotten the rumors that circulated in the capital before, saying that His Majesty has an illegitimate daughter, from the Yang family?"

The others were stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered, yes, that's right, that absurd story, but one that was spread with great detail.
"If that's the case, then Wei Jiao is still going to marry the princess."

The noise faded into the night.

Wei Jiao stretched in front of the fire: "It's so noisy, I can finally sleep in peace."

After saying that, he got up and went into the tent.

In fact, he had already received the news of the imperial decree appointing him as his son-in-law even without the messenger's report.

A stack of letters reporting on the situation in the capital was laid out on the table inside the tent.

What, Miss Jiang was attacked, what, Miss Jiang left the National Academy and joined the army.

On the surface, they are all Miss Jiang, but in reality, they are all Miss Yang.

Wei Jiao looked at the scattered letters on the table. Sending a noble lady to serve as a soldier—only this scoundrel could have come up with such a crazy idea. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Captain." A man in embroidered robes came in carrying hot tea. He saw Wei Jiao smiling, a smile completely different from the one he had just given. He quickly smiled back as well. "Please prepare yourselves and head back tomorrow."

Wei Jiao raised an eyebrow: "There's been no progress here, how can I go back?"

"Captain," said Xiuyi, placing the hot tea on the table with a chuckle, "We could tell as soon as we arrived that someone deliberately reported this. These things might all be forgeries, so it's not surprising that there's been no progress. You can leave this to us. You should go back and prepare for your wedding."

"It's a trivial matter like marriage, I don't need to concern myself with it," Wei Jiao said lazily.

Yes, marriage is something that the elders in the family should handle. Xiuyi thought, but since it's a marriage, the wedding date should be set soon, and the groom will have to go back to have his wedding attire made.

Xiuyi stared blankly at Wei Jiao standing in the tent. What would the captain look like in a wedding dress?

The captain usually only needs to show a little bit of his red inner lining to attract attention, but when he's dressed entirely in red...

“Miss Yang has indeed found a good match,” he couldn’t help but say.

Wei Jiao smiled. Of course, otherwise why would she have pestered him so relentlessly to propose marriage?

"Captain—"

A sound came from outside the tent.

"We've found another person who claims to have seen bandits from Yunling—"

"...I only saw them once. I was chopping wood on the mountain when they said they were hunting. They were carrying weapons and had blood on them. I didn't think much of it..."

An old man, looking trembling with fear, entered the tent, knelt down, and kowtowed.

These past few days, I've searched the surrounding area thoroughly and have indeed encountered people in the Yunling Mountains, but they all had various identities: hunters, herb gatherers, woodcutters...

There were no bandits who robbed and plundered.

"Of course they're not bandits. Since they're remnants of the previous dynasty, they'd be hiding and avoiding trouble, not flaunting themselves as bandits," Wei Jiao said, pursing her lips and gesturing to Xiu Yi beside her to ask.

"Do you remember what it looks like?" the embroidered woman asked, walking to a table and picking up a pen to sketch on the spread-out paper.

There were piles of papers on and under the table, with all sorts of pictures that weren't really portraits. Some only had a beard, some only had a hat, and some only had a pair of feet wearing straw sandals...

Since it's something that can't be seen by others, it must have been disguised, and people wouldn't remember its face.

Sure enough, the old man replied, "...No, well, some are quite tall, some are quite strong, and some are quite old..."

This time the drawing was simpler; Xiuyi picked up her brush and sketched a long strip on the paper.

"...and there were also younger children, who were holding books in their hands..."

As Xiu Yi picked up her brush to sketch a book, she heard Wei Jiao's voice in her ear.

"Book?"

……

……

The old man stood trembling inside the tent, listening to the rustling sound and watching the two embroidered-clothes men rummage through piles of papers. Before long, one of the embroidered-clothes men pulled out a single sheet.

"Captain, is this the portrait we examined in Mengzhou?"

Wei Jiao nodded.

The embroidered garment was then held up in front of the old man: "Does the person holding the book look like this?"

The old man looked at the portrait, but no matter how he looked at it, it had no face.
“Try to recall how you felt,” Xiuyi said.

Recalling and feeling, the old man looked at the faceless portrait and could only stammer, "No, it doesn't look like it... it's a bit taller than this one."

Standing next to the portrait was an embroidered woman, holding a brush in her hand, sketching the portrait while asking, "Is it this tall?"

The old man looked at the figure that had been outlined in an instant and subconsciously gestured, "Too tall, a little short..."

Holding up the embroidered robe depicted in the painting, she asked again, "Do you remember what clothes you're wearing?" "What's your hairstyle like?" "Is your face round or square?"

The paintbrush seemed to possess some kind of magic, gradually bringing the old man's memories to life.

The people in the portraits are becoming more and more... like real people.

Wei Jiao stood quietly to the side, watching as a young man slowly came into view.

The boy's features were still blurry, but one could see that he was smiling slightly.

(End of this chapter)