Xun Qi was the chief of the White Barbarian Tribe in the Yao Province of Jiannan. There were very few who knew that he was related to the local merchant, the Chen Clan, and even fewer who knew that he was currently staying in the Chen Clan.
In fact, although these leaders had power and influence, in the eyes of most Han people, they were stupid and rich country bumpkins. Ordinary people who didn't know much about them really couldn't see through their identity from their clothes. Therefore, even the Chen family's neighbors only knew that the Chen family had a guest, but they didn't know the identity of this guest.
Xuelian, who had already changed her surname to Chen, became Xuelian's best playmate. Xun Er, who was extremely close to Xuelian, became Xuelian's best friend. Xun Er's prejudice against Han people caused her to try to prevent Xuelian from interacting with Yang Fan. As a result, it was impossible for the nostalgic Xuelian to find Yang Fan to chat.
As far as Yang Fan was concerned, he could move much more freely without Xuelian, the silly little girl's entanglement. Early in the morning, he indirectly inquired about the situation in the city from Xuelian. After asking a few questions, Xun Er impatiently pulled Xuelian away. Yang Fan tactfully left the Chen family to wander around the city under the pretext of finding a job.
Yang Fan wandered around the city for the whole morning. He mainly lingered around the Martial Governor's Office to monitor the movements of the Martial Governor's Office. At the same time, he also learned about the living conditions of the refugees in the Feng Province. At noon, Yang Fan arrived at a small shop. He casually ordered a few snacks such as smoked chicken, cured meat, and pickled fish, and ate his meal leisurely.
This small restaurant was built on the street directly opposite the Martial Manor. With Huang Jingrong's status as an imperial envoy, if he wanted to leave the Martial Manor, he would definitely go through the main entrance. From here, Huang Jingrong could monitor his movements.
Yang Fan finished his lunch and asked for a pot of tea. Before tea became the mainstream drink of the Tang dynasty, tea drinks in the middle of Sichuan had been popular for hundreds of years. Yang Fan had tasted tea without any seasoning at Shen Mu's place and felt that the taste was acceptable, so he specifically asked the innkeeper to brew a pot of "tea" for him.
The afternoon weather made people a little sleepy. After lunch, the restaurant's business gradually cooled down. In the end, only Yang Fan, who was sitting at the table facing the door, was still leisurely drinking tea. Even the owner had fallen asleep on the counter.
Just as Yang Fan's large pot of tea was about to be emptied, the gates of the Military Governor's Office suddenly opened.
Yang Fan immediately perked up and looked warily at the Military Governor's Office.
From the back of the Military Governor's Office, a group of about three hundred soldiers hurriedly ran over. They gathered in front of the door and lined up. The swords and spears in their hands flickered, and the cold air was oppressive. The commoners on the street immediately quieted down and moved to the side of the road. They whispered to each other and asked each other.
A moment later, a few people came out of the Military Governor's Office. Someone brought their warhorses in front of them. They mounted the horses and galloped toward the main road. Hundreds of soldiers ran behind them.
Yang Fan coldly swept his eyes over them and saw Huang Jingrong among the people riding on horseback. Yang Fan immediately lowered his head and pressed down on the bamboo hat he had bought this morning while wandering around the small city. He got up and walked to the counter. He bent his finger and knocked on the table. The innkeeper, who had been dreaming of the Duke of Zhou with his mouth wide open, opened his sleepy eyes and looked at him blankly.
Yang Fan said, "I'll pay the bill!"
…
Hundreds of soldiers escorted Imperial Censor Huang Jingrong and the armored general next to him out of the city and toward the mountains in the southeast direction.
Yang Fan, who had been tailing them all the way out of the city, guessed that the armored general was probably Luo Shudao, the Military Governor of this prefecture. Yang Fan trailed far behind the large group of soldiers. About seven or eight li out of the city, they gradually passed by a riverbank and grassland.
Yang Fan glanced in the direction they were heading. On one side was a river, and on the other side was a continuous mountain range. There was only one road in front of them. Their only destination could only be the valley in front of them. According to the information Yang Fan had gathered from the commoners in the city, the exiled people who had been sent to this place had been settled there.
Yang Fan wanted to take a shortcut, but just as he turned the corner, he suddenly felt something strange behind him. He turned his head and saw a few men with cloth wrapped around their heads and blankets draped over their shoulders. They were barefooted and dressed like local people. They were still a stone's throw away from him.
Yang Fan frowned and immediately became alert. There were naturally pedestrians on this road. Along the way, Yang Fan had already seen farmers leading water buffaloes, porters pulling mules and horses, and village girls carrying bamboo baskets. But these four or five people … seemed to be following him from a distance.
"Are they coming for me? No way … No one here knows who I am. Huang Jingrong doesn't know, and no one in Xuelian's family would notice me. Who in this prefecture would pay attention to me? If they're here to rob me, then I don't have anything valuable on me that would attract covetous eyes. "
Yang Fan pondered to himself and suddenly quickened his pace. On one side of the path was a tall reed pond, and on the other side was a grassland about half the height of a man. In the middle of the path was a rugged and uneven path. It was not suitable for carriages or horses, so it could only be walked. Yang Fan hurried for a while. When he came to a relatively straight section of the road, he suddenly turned his head and saw the figures of those people again.
He saw the figures of those people again. They were still behind him. When they saw him turn around, one of them subconsciously wanted to dodge.
"Sure enough, they're coming for me!" Yang Fan's curiosity was piqued. He really didn't understand why someone would pay attention to him in a place like this, and what their purpose was.
An idea came to Yang Fan's mind, and he suddenly changed from walking to running. The people following him became anxious and immediately chased after him with large strides. The two groups of people ran as fast as they could, startling flocks of birds and wild ducks in the reeds.
After running for a while, Yang Fan suddenly stopped and ducked into the reeds on the side of the road. He wanted to wait for those people to catch up so he could intercept them and ask them why. To his surprise, when he parted the reeds, he saw two children squatting in the reeds.
They were a boy and a girl. The girl was slightly older and dressed like a village girl. She wasn't very pretty, but she had delicate features. She was about twelve or thirteen years old, and she carried a bamboo basket on her shoulder filled with wild vegetables. Next to her was a boy, about six or seven years old. He had a strong head and a healthy ruddy face.
The little boy was holding a duck egg in his hand, and the surprised smile on his face had yet to fade. It seemed that he had just picked up a wild duck egg from the reeds. Suddenly seeing a man rush in from the side of the road, the little boy was a little scared. He grabbed the duck egg tightly and timidly called out, "Sister." Then he hid behind the village girl.
The village girl vigilantly stood up and threw away the plant root she had just dug out. She gripped the small wooden shovel tightly and protected the boy behind her.
Seeing their ragged clothes and thinking about where they were at the moment, Yang Fan was sure that they were the children of those bandits. Looking at this pair of siblings, Yang Fan's heart ached. From this pair of siblings, he seemed to see his distant childhood. He saw the little sister who carried him up the mountain and hid him in the wild grass.
Yang Fan sniffled and tried his best to put on the most friendly smile. He said in the most gentle voice, "Don't be afraid. There are a few bad guys chasing after uncle. Uncle will beat them away. This place isn't very safe now. Little sister, quickly take your brother and leave. "
At this time, the few people chased after them with heavy footsteps. From the gaps in the reeds, they could already see their figures getting closer and closer. The little girl was startled. She timidly looked at Yang Fan and took her brother's little hand. She didn't dare to step on the main road, so she ran forward in the reeds one step at a time.
Yang Fan turned his head and glanced at the few people who were running closer and closer. He shouted to the little girl, "Don't worry, uncle will stop them. Take your brother and walk on the road. Be careful not to be bitten by snakes or insects."
The few people caught up and heard Yang Fan's words. Then, they looked at the little girl and her brother who were running away from the reeds. They all had a puzzled look on their faces. After sizing up Yang Fan, a tall and thin man in his forties with a long face and hooked nose turned to another person and asked, "I say, Old Six, is this person really rich? Don't tell me he's a penniless bandit. "
A sinister look flashed in the eyes of a thin man with a centipede scar on his face. He said, "I can't be wrong! I recognize him. He's not a bandit. He's one of his relatives who was banished here. Hehe! You also know that most of the bandit banished here are from the families of officials. This person is here to visit his banished relative. Do you think he didn't bring money? "
This person was Liu Junfan. Back then, he was able to coax Madam Yao into working with him, so he could be considered a man of eloquence. Now that he saw that Yang Fan was in contact with a bandit, his companions who had been coaxed by him became suspicious. Suddenly, he had a bright idea and immediately made up a set of lies. Combined with the current situation, it was quite plausible. Immediately, his companions' doubts were dispelled.
The few people separated and blocked Yang Fan's way. One of them was fiddling with a badly worn Ronin sword and said in a sinister voice, "Brat, us brothers only want money. If you know what's good for you, hand over all your valuables and I will naturally spare your life. Otherwise … hehe!"
As he spoke, he slowly pulled out the sharp Ronin sword from its sheath to intimidate Yang Fan.
Yang Fan ignored him. The reason why he was entangled with these people was that he wanted to figure out their intentions. When he found out that these people were just a group of bandits, he wanted to end the battle quickly. He had to quickly kill these fugitives and see what Huang Jingrong was up to.
If Huang Jingrong wanted to kill these bandits, he had to step forward to stop her. Although he did not bring any troops with him, he could easily be suspected of defying the imperial edict to escort the princess to Chang 'an if he appeared so early. But he couldn't care less. He believed that as long as he stepped forward, he would be able to stop Huang Jingrong from committing murder.
The ones responsible for killing must be the local soldiers. Unless they had no other choice, they would not be willing to stain their hands with blood. After all, most of the bandits were from the families of officials. Who knew who would come back in the future? In the past, the Shangguan family had been cursed by everyone. In the end, before the men could stand up, a heroine had appeared. Although the Shangguan family had not publicly exonerated them, who would dare to slight them again?
If it was not necessary, no one would ask for trouble. As long as he showed himself, Huang Jingrong was an imperial envoy, and he was also an imperial envoy. With the idea that it was better to avoid trouble, these local officials would definitely take measures that would not help either side. At that time, only Huang Jingrong and her three to five servants at the Imperial Envoy Station would be left, and they would not be able to accomplish anything.
Yang Fan was about to make a move when the words of the man with the centipede scar on his face caught his attention. Yang Fan looked at him curiously and asked, "Who are you? Do you recognize me?"
…
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