How can the concubine be a lady in women's clothing!

Early the next morning, Yan Zhuangze and Yu An were having breakfast when a light snow began to fall outside, and it tended to get bigger and bigger.

A gust of cold wind blew in, and Yan Zhuang Zeshi put down his chopsticks without hesitation. General Meng sent the news last night that there was no trace of the Qing army. Now they are divided into several teams and continue to search in various directions.

The snow fell bigger and bigger, gradually blurring people's sight like a white curtain falling from the sky.

In the distance, a few black spots came running quickly outside the gate of the courtyard. The city lord led a few officials through the snow curtain and entered Yan Zhuangze's door, saluted and said: "Report to the emperor, Tai'an City did indeed a few days ago. A man named Jing Chi came."

Yan Zhuangze suddenly stood up and said, "Say!"

The city lord was shocked by this majesty, and quickly said: "The man arrived in Tai'an City four days ago, and he bought a house in the afternoon of the same day, but after I led people to search, no one was found!"

"No one was found?" Yan Zhuangze frowned: "Then can you find out about the woman in the painting?"

The city lord lowered his head and blamed himself: "Nothing."

Did Jing Chi and Concubine Jin separate?But why buy a house here?I still couldn't figure it out for a while, so I heard the city lord continue: "But I found the original owner of the courtyard, and he should know the whereabouts of Jing Chi."

Yu An had already put down the bowls and chopsticks and looked at the city lord with blazing eyes. Yan Zhuangze sat down again, and waved for someone to remove the breakfast: "Bring it up, I'll ask in person."

"Yes." The city lord turned sideways and whispered to the officials beside him: "Go and bring it up."

Early this morning, Li Zhuang just got up from the bed, was about to go out to eat a steamed stuffed bun, and was about to open the door to go out, when there was a knock on the door.

Who came to him so early?Li Zhuang opened the door with a puzzled face, and then a group of officers and soldiers filed in and surrounded him.

"What are you doing?" Li Zhuang looked at them puzzled and asked. Although he looked fierce, he was honest and loyal, and he had never violated the law!

The officer at the head held the handle of the knife at his waist in one hand, and said solemnly: "The city lord has something to ask you, come with us."

At this moment, he was anxiously and excitedly waiting outside a yard with a few guards guarding him, checking his hair and clothes for any irregularities. He thought he had made no major mistakes, but Li Zhuang was a commoner after all. Officials like the city lord are always in awe.

And their Tai'an city lord is open, fair and honest, and most importantly, very low-key!There are quite a few people in the city who have met the city lord, but not many know who the city lord is, and Li Zhuang has never met him, but this does not prevent the city lord from being a good official in their hearts.

Although I don't know why I can see you today, but it's also worth being happy. Although the process of coming here is not very good, maybe seeing the city lord's true face at a close distance, he can still show it for a lifetime.

Not long after, two officials came out of the courtyard and brought Li Zhuang in.

Seeing the luxuriously dressed and imposing man sitting on the main seat, Li Zhuang was so excited that he knelt down on the spot and saluted: "The grass people kowtow to the city lord."

Yan Zhuangze, who was at the top, looked up at the real city lord at the side. The city lord quickly asked Li Zhuang to stand up, and calmly explained, "I'm here."

Li Zhuang looked at the sound, and then looked between Yan Zhuangze and the city lord in a daze. The city lord coughed and explained: "This is... an official from above. I called you here this time to ask something. You don't have to be afraid."

It turned out to be the case.

Li Zhuang understood, looked at the city lord beside him in awe and admiration, his eyes were eager to love, the city lord smiled gratifiedly when he saw this, although he upholds indifference to fame, fortune, fairness and integrity, but he can leave a good impression in the eyes of the emperor. It is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As the emperor, Yan Zhuangze's ability to see everything is naturally not weak. After taking these details into his eyes, he asked Li Zhuang: "We found out that a man named Jing Chi bought a yard from you. Do you know what he is doing? Where did you go?"

"Jing Chi?" Li Zhuang was startled, not because he was afraid that Brother Jing would cause trouble for him, but because Jing Chi seemed so clean and thorough, how could he provoke the people above him?Is there some misunderstanding here?

He hesitated for a moment, and struggled under the urging of the city lord's eyes: "Brother Jing Chi did buy a yard from me a few days ago, but he is generous and cheerful, and he doesn't look like a troublemaker. ...Did you find the wrong person?"

Hearing this, Yan Zhuangze smiled lightly on his face that had been dark for several days, he didn't know if he could say this for a stranger he had just met for a few days , or to say that this man is pure and kind.

But it was all good, he relaxed his attitude, and continued to ask: "Then where did he go? Why can't anyone be found?"

"He..." Li Zhuang scratched his hair, and suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "I remembered, he said yesterday that he was going to go hunting in the nearby mountains, and I also recommended him the nearest village. I can spend the night in the village."

When Jing Chi left, he just called him to take care of him. If someone hadn't asked about it now, he might have forgotten it.

"The village? Which village? Is he alone?" When it snows heavily, isn't he afraid of stepping into a snow pit when he goes hunting? !Yan Zhuangze frowned, and asked sharply, "Tell me carefully which direction they are going!"

Li Zhuang was taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere, and said nervously and quickly: "It's the nearest village to here. Jing Chi went there by donkey cart. If he took a donkey cart, he would arrive in about an hour."

Yan Zhuangze found the village mentioned by Li Zhuang from the detailed map near Tai'an City in his mind, and asked, "But the village that turned left after leaving the city and went straight, is there a hill behind the village?"

Li Zhuang nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, that's right there!"

"Come and watch!" After that, Yan Zhuangze couldn't sit still anymore, suddenly got up and said to Yu An who was beside him: "Let's find someone immediately, let's go!"

The two walked out quickly, and the soldiers and hidden guards who were on standby at any time followed immediately, leaving the city lord and Li Zhuang looking at each other in the room.

Only then did the city lord realize that everything was too anxious just now, so that Li Zhuang was still kneeling, and he quickly bent down to help him up and said, "Get up quickly, you did a good job today."

It happened that the emperor's reward was also brought in, and he handed it to Li Zhuang himself after receiving it, saying: "This is for you, you can go back now."

Li Zhuang took the tray handed over by the city lord, and after opening it, he saw that it was a tray of silver!Immediately thanked him excitedly, carefully put two pieces of money into his clothes, and handed back the rest: "Caomin didn't do anything, it's enough to accept these two, I deserve it."

The city lord looked at him kindly, did not answer, and said: "Take it, this is given to you by a nobleman, if you don't accept it, won't you make it difficult for us?"

"Then... I'll take it." Li Zhuang happily put away all the money, feeling very excited in his heart. It's not about money or money, but that the city lord personally handed it to him!

Outside the city, Yan Zhuangze led Yu An and a group of soldiers disguised as ordinary people to ride out of the city. The snow in the sky was getting bigger and bigger, but they couldn't slow down their speed.

Yan Zhuangze ran ahead on a horse, and his voice came through the wind: "Quickly move forward! Arrive within an hour!"

"Yes!"

After saying that, he whipped the horse's butt again, broke through the barrier of wind and snow at a faster speed, and went towards the small village through the white curtain.

Yu An also made a "drive" sound and tried to catch up with him, but the distance between him was getting farther and farther away. It can be seen how eager Yan Zhuangze was at this time, and he changed his mind a little bit.

If Yan Zhuangze hadn't guessed before, he believed that he would readily agree with him and Chi Jin being together, but... Let's wait and see for a while, this is a major matter that involves two lives.

Time moves forward a little.

When it was dawn, Chi Jin woke up, and asked Xia Mian to bring some dry food that was easy to carry, as well as anti-fetal medicine in case of emergencies, and then asked her to wait for him here with the baby in her arms.

There was a light snowfall in the sky, and when Chi Jin walked to the back of the village and took out the cellar, the snow had already fallen heavily and had no intention of stopping.

The heavier the snow, the more it can block the line of sight, and the more time they have to leave here, it is God's help.

Chi Jin wasn't sure whether it was a person from another country or a bandit caused by famine, but this kind of person who slaughtered the entire village really touched his bottom line, which was appalling.

If this kind of behavior cannot be stopped, this village will definitely not be the last village now. Chi Jin not only wants to vent his anger on the people who died in vain in this village, but also wants to teach those murderers a lesson, destroy their limelight, and let them Don't dare to massacre villagers in a short time.

In this way, when he returns to Tai'an City to report the matter and the officers and soldiers come to resolve the matter, perhaps fewer people will be killed.

Firmly determined to set fire to the cellar, Chi Jin no longer hesitated, lying in the snow and groping to push away the wooden boards at the cellar entrance, jumped in and saw piles of food, cloth, and other coals and other things to keep out the cold Finally, the queen gritted her teeth even more, how many villages have been murdered, these beasts!

He no longer hesitated in his movements, the anger and hostility in his heart temporarily covered up the fear of fire in his heart, he quickly took out the fire pocket and ignited the combustibles such as pocket cloth and coal, and turned out of the cellar.

At this time, the cellar was already crackling, and Chi Jin was guarding the cellar entrance, waiting for the fire inside to fully ignite before moving the wooden plank to cover it at the cellar entrance, and deliberately leaving a palm-wide gap to prevent it from disappearing. After air the fire inside goes out.

After doing all this, the cellar had already started to crackle, it was the sound of rice and grain being burned, and the snow in the sky was even heavier, as if the sky was helping Chi Jin to cover, the heavy snow covered the cellar All the thick smoke coming out of the air was suppressed, and even if some floated into the air, they couldn't see clearly in this snowy day.

At least after Chi Jin returned to the courtyard at the entrance of the village, he couldn't even see that there was a fire behind the village, but the slightly burnt smell mixed with ice and snow in the air let him know that the fire was indeed burning.

He lowered his head and patted off the thick layer of hoarfrost on the top of his head, which was soon covered with a layer of velvet snow. He looked at the white sky and showed a satisfied smile.

Wearing a bamboo hat, Xia Mian ran out of the house with her child in her arms and a small bundle on her back. She took out the bamboo hat in her hand and handed it to Chi Jin, saying, "My lord, this is the bamboo hat that Huahua brought me to find. You can put it on quickly."

There is also a small bamboo hat on Huahua's head, which was specially made for her by her mother.

Chi Jin took the hat to shake off the snow from his head, and quickly put on the hat, which was really more comfortable, at least the snowflakes would not float into his eyes.

"Let's go quickly!" He helped carry the burden, and walked out: "Today, the snowy road can't be seen clearly, and those people must not be able to see us clearly. Let's stick to the next mountain and go directly to Tai'an City. Go smoothly, and if someone chases you, you can turn around and run into the mountains!"

"Okay, listen to the master."

After finishing speaking, both of them walked quickly to the entrance of the village. After walking out of the village, Chi Jin looked at the tree beside him. There was a wooden cart and an empty rope there, and the donkey that was supposed to be on top probably couldn't stand the cold, so he broke free from the rope ran away.

The two glanced hurriedly, and Chi Jin turned his head and continued to walk quickly: "Let's go, it's fine if it goes."

After struggling to identify the direction in the snowstorm, Chi Jin took Xia Mian to walk on the small road not far from the main road, and not far ahead was the foot of the next mountain. When the time came, they walked along the foot of the mountain and saw that the situation was not right You can enter the mountain, advance and retreat.

The heavy snow lasted for half an hour, and Chi Jin and the others walked for half an hour. They didn't know how far they had traveled, but the road on one side was still covered with mountains and forests, and they walked for about a quarter of an hour. Chi Jin and the others Xia Mian's legs were almost stiff, and this heavy snow had a tendency to decrease.

The snow gradually decreased, and Chi Jin gasped and stopped. Now he could see the road over there clearly. Only then did he know when they were getting farther and farther away from the road leading to Tai'an City. Now they can only I could vaguely see a few black dots galloping from the road towards the village they left.

It must be riding a horse to run so fast, it seems quite anxious.

Wait... black spots?A man on a horse?Who's coming here on a horse?It must be those murderers!

Chi Jin was startled, and hurriedly pulled Xia Mian and ran into the woods on the left, hid behind the tree and looked back, they could only see a little village in the distance, the snow was getting smaller and smaller, he was so far away. Can see the black smoke floating in the air, no wonder those people are so eager to rush over!

Fortunately, they had run far away, but Chi Jin continued to follow the main road back to Tai'an City. The target was too conspicuous. When the snow stopped, they would definitely be found. Two legs can't run as fast as a four-legged horse!

He stared at the black spot in the distance, and pulled Xia Mian into the mountain, "Let's go into the mountain and take a long way back."

Xia Mian nodded and followed, Chi Jin took the child in her hand, it would save effort for the two of them to take turns holding Huahua, Huahua also tried to hold on not to cry or make noise, she knew they were going to a safe place, to find their mother there .

She can't cry, if she cries, she won't be good, mother said that crying children will be thrown away, she can't cry, she has to learn to be an adult like mother.

The snow was getting smaller and smaller and gradually stopped. Chi Jin and Xia Mian got into the mountain, but they didn't dare to go deep. They only walked around the trees carefully.

Over there, after the snow had subsided, Yan Zhuangze and the others, who were on their way frantically, also saw thick smoke rising from that village. Yu An anxiously mounted his horse and roared amidst the hunting wind, "It's Jing Chi who went!" A village? Let's hurry!"

Yan Zhuangze stared at the thick smoke in the dark without saying a word, and beat his horse with anxiety in his heart: "Drive!"

At the same time, those criminals hiding in the back mountain also saw the billowing smoke.

A leader in charge of the village saw the smoke, and angrily led a group of people down the mountain, cursing, "What's going on! Didn't they all be killed? Where did the smoke come from!"

The subordinates followed behind him, not daring to make a sound, and they didn't know it. They had obviously dealt with it, even the dogs in the village were not spared.

They rushed to the village in a hurry, and when they came to the cellar, they saw that it was on fire, and everything inside could not have been burned. The leader shouted angrily, "What's going on!"

His subordinates trembled: "I don't know, we have cleaned everything up, and no one should find out..."

"Then did the fire start on its own?!"

"No, I don't know..."

The leader was anxious, and looked around the cellar, but found that the snow was falling too much, and he couldn't see the traces of the arsonist leaving, so he said angrily: "Divide into four teams and look for them in all directions!"

"Yes!" The four teams immediately went in all directions, while the remaining team followed the leader and stayed in the village to search.

After they searched the yard carefully, they still didn't see any trace of anyone, so they had to order: "Search, search the whole village, maybe they are still in the village!"

"Yes!"

About a quarter of an hour later, Yan Zhuangze and the others also approached the village. From a distance, they saw more than a dozen people coming out of the village in a uniform manner with swords and guns. Catch them, the rebels will be killed directly, and they will be left alive."

"Yes!"

The soldiers rushed forward with guns on their horses, and those murderers who were about to trace the road leading to Tai'an City were thrown to the ground before they could run, screams piercing the sky, they were unwilling and resentful The ground fell, and the snow was dyed crimson.

But those people never thought about it until their death, and those innocent villagers who died under their swords were also so unwilling and so painful.

The only survivor had his arm cut off. He looked at Yan Zhuangze and the others in horror. The severe pain made his teeth tremble and he could not speak, so he could only move around in the snow.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and said inarticulately: "Who are you guys!"

Yan Zhuangze's eyes sank, and he said sharply: "I should ask you this, tell me! What's going on in the village!"

The murderer looked at the people riding on horses and carrying guns around him, and under the stimulation of the wind and snow, his eyes gradually cleared up and said: "Are you the same as the people who set fire in the village?"

He was sure of this in his heart, and smiled presumptuously: "It's the most dreamy! I won't tell you!"

As soon as the words fell, a silver light flashed in Yan Zhuangze's hand, and the man's head fell to the ground and fell limp on the snow.

"Don't tell me, I'll go and see for myself." Yan Zhuangze put away the long sword that was not stained with blood, clamped the horse's belly with his stiff legs and said: "Drive! Go ahead, enter the village as soon as possible!"

After half an hour of rushing, their speed increased instead of falling, and they arrived at the entrance of the village not long after.

Yan Zhuangze's sharp eyes scanned the small village, and when he saw the wooden cart tied at the entrance of the village, his eyes sank. If he remembered correctly, Li Zhuang said that Chi Jin came in a donkey cart of.

The soldiers around rushed into the village, and the first thing they searched was the yard closest to the entrance of the village. While Yan Zhuangze was still thinking about what happened to the donkey cart, the soldiers over there came to report: "Report! There was no one in the yard, only a few scattered clothes thrown on the ground."

clothing?Yu An followed into the yard to check it out for himself, and Yan Zhuangze followed him in. After entering the inner room, Yu An glanced at the familiar clothes on the ground.

He rushed over to pick up the dirty and wet navy blue cloth, surprised Yan Zhuangze who was looking around, and said in a heavy tone: "This is Jing Chi's clothes!"

At this moment, another high-pitched report came from outside the door: "Master! There are people in this village!"

At the same time, on the mountain next door, Chi Jin and Xia Mian were struggling to move forward on the mountain road. It was actually more difficult to walk in the mountain. Although the concealment was high, the speed slowed down.

He walked behind a big rock, and there was a recessed place here, which was very concealed and just enough for them to shelter from the wind and rest their feet. Panting heavily, Chi Jin helped Xia Mian into the recessed small cave and said: "We are right here Let's rest here, those people probably won't come here for a while."