Ma Qiansi circled around in the dense forest. With such towering trees blocking the sun, ravines, weeds, bushes, and thorns blocking the way, he had to make a detour from time to time. It was already quite difficult for him to barely recognize the direction he wanted to go. Naturally, he couldn't accurately reach the original destination.
Ma Qiansi led more than ten people in a big circle in the forest. When he circled back, he was two or three miles ahead of the original destination. This was already a very accurate identification ability, mainly because his subordinates were people who were used to walking in the mountains.
This place was close to the remnants of the continuous forest, and also the edge of the area controlled by the stone pillar Ma family. There was a small village at the foot of the mountain. After Ma Qiansi escaped, he immediately noticed traces of people living in this area. Then he found the small village and saw Tian Xiufeng and the others who had already rested for a while.
"I'm out!"
Ma Qiansi greeted them excitedly. When he glanced around, he was startled, "Where's my mother?"
Tian Xiufeng came up to him, looking a little sad, "Qiansi, your mother …"
Ma Qiansi's face turned pale, and he said in a trembling voice, "Mother-in-law …"
Tian Xiufeng patted his shoulder lightly, "Qiansi, my condolences!"
Ma Qiansi's tears flowed down, and his lips trembled as he said, "My mother, she … how did she die?"
Tian Xiufeng shook her head sadly, and said in a low and hoarse voice, "We were about to escape, but … the pursuers were getting closer and closer. We had to climb over a rock by the river. Your mother was exhausted and fell carelessly. She was hit on the back of her head by a sharp rock below …"
Ma Qiansi's knees softened, and he knelt on the ground. He roared with tears rolling down his face, "Why didn't anyone help her? Why! "
Tian Xiufeng's eyes were glistening, and she said sadly, "I wanted to take back your mother's body, so that it wouldn't be exposed in the wilderness, but … the pursuers kept shooting arrows … Qiansi, don't be sad. Your mother's blood will be repaid with their blood. You have to pull yourself together!"
Ye Xiaotian watched this scene from the side, and he felt a chill in his heart. Perhaps, when it came to beautiful women, people would always subconsciously associate them with kindness and beauty. Even if they weren't, she could be flirtatious and wanton, but they would rarely equate her with viciousness. But in fact, beauty and ugliness had nothing to do with a woman's heart. This scene made Ye Xiaotian shudder.
…
After Ma Qiancheng returned to the stone pillar, the order of the pillar had completely returned to normal. Although the old Chieftain had not returned, the successor was the eldest son of the old Chieftain. The natives felt that the Ma family had completely settled down. This territory was going to be Ma Qiancheng's sooner or later.
The chieftains, headmen, and villagers were all rewarded and thanked by Ma Qiancheng. Of course, this was under Qin Liangyu's reminder. Otherwise, a rash young man like Ma Qiancheng might not have thought of it. Although the feudal vassals wouldn't have said anything if he hadn't done so, they felt that their efforts hadn't been in vain and they were very gratified to hear him say these words, especially when he said it as a nephew.
Among them, there were some who had some ulterior motives because of the internal strife in the Secretary Ma's residence, but after Ma Qiancheng's return, they dispelled their ambitions. After personally witnessing the military might of the Qin family's white stick soldiers, he was even more in awe of them. After this chaos, not only was the Ma family's position not affected at all, the internal divisions had also been separated, and they appeared to be even more united.
After the villagers and chieftains left, Qin Liangyu and Ma Bangpin were the only two people left in the Stone Pillar Manor to temporarily help him. On this day, Ma Bangpin received a piece of news that made him overjoyed, "Madam Qin is dead!"
Madam Qin's body was found by a small river at the foot of the mountain.
Back then, Tian Xiufeng allowed the experts of Mount Longhu to crush her internal organs with a single palm strike, but did not injure her skin. This was because Madam Qin's status was not ordinary. Although Tian Xiufeng wanted to kill her, she did not have the intention to torture her. She wanted to leave her corpse intact.
However, after thinking about it, Tian Xiufeng could not help but regret her kindness. She told Ma Qiansi that Madam Qin had fallen off a rock and hit the back of her head. If the corpse was found and the cause of death was found to be inconsistent, what should she do? However, this worry only flashed past her mind, and she did not pay too much attention to it.
The reason was very simple: there were many wild beasts in the forest, so the corpse might not be preserved. Even if it was not attacked by wild beasts, along the way, the corpse would not be intact. Moreover, in this era, there was rarely an autopsy. Madam Qin died while escaping, so how could there be a coroner to do an autopsy?
Moreover, it was hard to say whether the corpse would be found by people outside the mountain, and it was also hard to say when it would be found. Perhaps by the time it was found, it would already be unrecognizable. After thinking about it, the possibility of the truth being found was really very small, so Tian Xiufeng naturally would not worry about it all day long.
Madam Qin's corpse was found relatively early, but as Tian Xiufeng expected, the real cause of death was really difficult to find. Her corpse flowed along the river all the way. Fortunately, it did not encounter corpse-eating wild beasts, but the current was rapid, and bumps were inevitable. Especially when it passed a few small waterfalls along the way, when it was found outside the mountain, even her appearance could not be recognized.
If it were not for the fact that the pursuers were nearby, and Madam Qin had a few tokens that could be used to identify her, her identity would not have been confirmed so quickly. As for the cause of death, of course, no one would suspect that she died in the hands of the person who saved her after going through so much trouble to save her.
When Ma Bangpin received the news, the corpse had already been packed and was on the way back. What Ma Bangpin was most worried about was that Madam Qin was still alive. In front of Madam Qin, everything had its vanquisher. In front of the new Chieftain Ma, she was also the biological mother. As long as she was caught alive, she would definitely not die. That would be a threat to him.
Now that Ma Bangpin had let go of his worries, it was just that when he reported the news to Ma Qiancheng, he could not show a happy expression. After listening to Ma Bangpin's report, Ma Qiancheng sat in a daze for a while. Two lines of tears gently slid down his cheeks …
His mother did not love him since he was young, but she was his mother after all, so Ma Qiancheng never complained. His mother and his second brother betrayed his father and framed him to be imprisoned. After knowing the truth, he was also sad and resentful, but he still did not want his mother to be hurt. No matter what, she was his biological mother. At this moment, there was only endless sorrow in his heart …
…
After walking out of the mountain, the process of Tian Xiufeng and her group escaping to the south became easier. At least they could buy horses and hire carriages, so they did not have to run for their lives. The pursuers were limited by the fact that they were not in their own jurisdiction, so they more or less had some scruples.
When they passed through the area of Dalou Mountain and entered the Bozhou area, the pursuers completely disappeared, and they also had a chance to breathe. The news was quickly sent to Hailongtun, and they continued on their way, but they were tired all the way, so it was inevitable that they had to take a rest. They could only travel for half a day at most.
On this day, they arrived at Tongzhang, which was known as "the gateway to northern Guizhou" and "the key to Sichuan and Guizhou". After passing through Tongzhang Pass, there were eight local officials appointed by Yang Yinglong of the Bozhou Comfort Department. Each of them ruled a region. The area where they stayed that night was ruled by a long-time magistrate, whose surname was Luo.
Officer Luo respectfully welcomed the third madam into his mansion, leaving the entire master bedroom area for her. Originally, the third madam had an illustrious reputation in the Bozhou area. Since the death of Mrs. Zhang, it was even more rumored that the position of Madam of Palm Seal would belong to her. Since Officer Luo had the opportunity, there was no reason not to curry favor with her.
After escaping into the territory of Bozhou, Ma Qiansi was in mourning and only ate simple meals every day. Although there were not many conditions to observe mourning, he still tried his best to fulfill his filial duties as a son. Today was no exception. His residence was no longer decorated with silk and he slept on a hard bed, wasting Officer Luo's good intentions.
Tian Xiufeng was really like an amiable mother-in-law. She took good care of Ma Qiansi along the way and often talked to him, which made Ma Qiansi very grateful. Although he also knew that since he was Yang Yinglong's biological son, then his wife would not be Mrs. Tian's biological daughter. He still treated her as his mother-in-law.
That night, Tian Xiufeng counseled Ma Qiansi for a while more before she leisurely left his residence. Shifting her gaze, she saw a light shining from Ye Xiaotian's building. Suddenly, she thought of the matter that had been weighing on her mind. With light steps, she wanted to turn towards his residence, but she only took two steps before she stopped and turned back to her own residence …
Ye Xiaotian finished his bath and returned to the reception hall. The temperature of the tea brewed by the servants was just right. Ye Xiaotian held a cup of tea and sat on the chair in a daze. He followed the stone pillar this time, but in fact, he did not play a big role. All the arrangements had been laid out long before he went to Bozhou. It was just that … he felt that following Tian Xiufeng was less likely to be exposed than staying by Yang Yinglong's side.
Now that he returned to Bozhou, he did not know how long his undercover journey would take. He also did not know how long Borbai and Dong Ying's Japan could last in front of the Great Ming Dynasty's army. He also did not know how Yang Yinglong planned to use him as a card.
Ye Xiaotian pondered for a long time. Because he had too little information, he could not speculate a reliable result. He could only sigh and no longer worry about it.
"Tian Binfei should be picked up from Tongren now, right? If he arrives, there will be someone I can discuss with. The only thing I can do now is to play my role well and not make any mistakes. "
As Ye Xiaotian thought of this, he heard a soft knock on the door. Ye Xiaotian looked up and saw a young maid standing in the corner of the hall quickly walk over and open the door.
Under the light at the door, there was a beautiful woman, just like a cloud in the middle of the night.
Tian Xiufeng stood with her hands behind her back. She looked charming and glanced into the hall. She smiled and her cheeks turned into two dimples. She stepped in and said to the young maid in green, "Go out. I have something to discuss with Official Ye!"
The young maid bowed and left in a flash. Tian Xiufeng spread her arms, her sleeves like wings, and closed the door. She leisurely walked in, the tail of her skirt swaying like a passionate river.
Ever since Ye Xiaotian saw Tian Xiufeng's ruthless methods, he was even more wary of this woman. At this time, he couldn't help but stand up nervously. "What tricks does this fox want to play?"
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