At the inn, the middle-aged scribe, Li Qing'er's father, packed up a written letter and handed it to Laifu who was standing aside.
"Go ahead and take care of yourself along the way." The middle-aged scribe sighed slightly.
Laifu's eyes were full of reluctance and sadness, and he gritted his teeth and turned around to leave.
At this time, there was a sudden noise outside the door.
The middle-aged scribe raised his head and asked, "What's going on?"
Laifu hurriedly opened the door and took a look. He turned back with a happy face and said, "Master, good news, Dayong and the others are back!"
"Oh?" The middle-aged scribe also looked happy, and he hurriedly suppressed his excitement and said: "I know that Dayong is reliable in doing things. Please come in quickly. Is it obvious that Zhao'er is following me?"
"I haven't seen you, Miss. I guess I'm following you." Although Laifu guessed that Dao Dayong and others might have failed in their trip, he still couldn't bear to say it first.
Not long after, Dayong and others entered the room. Without saying a word, the first of them knelt down in front of the middle-aged scribe, bowing their heads in silence.
The middle-aged scribe had some bad premonitions and asked quickly: "Dayong, let me ask you, where is Zhao'er? Where are you ladies? Why are you the only ones back?"
"I'm sorry, Master!" Dayong, a man, choked and cried.
The middle-aged scribe almost fell down when he heard this, but he still suppressed all kinds of emotions, walked up to Dayong, gently patted his shoulder, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.
"Dayong, don't be sad, tell me slowly, what's going on? What's wrong with your lady? Why doesn't she come back with you? Does she not want me as her father anymore, or, or, or …”
The middle-aged scribe was distressed and angry, but he could never say the last few words. He really didn't want to get any bad news from Dayong, but that was her daughter, and he had to hear what happened to her!
Dayong calmed down a little, looked at the middle-aged scribe with some distress and said: "Master, I told you not to be sad."
The housekeeper Laifu scolded: "Where do you come from with so many words? Say it quickly!"
"The young lady said that she was captured by the minions of Qingyun Village in the officer camp and given to the bandit leader of Qingyun Village."
"The bandit chief of Qingyun Village is a young man named Zhang Dao. According to what the lady said, the bandit leader must have taken a fancy to the lady's beauty and wanted to keep her in Qingyun Mountain to be the wife of the village."
"Ah?!" the middle-aged scribe cried out in shock. He lost his balance and almost fell down. Laifu hurriedly stepped forward to support him.
"Master, why don't you rest for a while and listen to what Dayong continues?"
"No, I want to listen now, Dayong, go on! Tell me how you went up the mountain and how you met the young lady in detail!" The middle-aged scribe shook his head after hearing this and pointed at Dayong.
"Yes!" Then Dayong told the story of how he and the others were caught by the bandits in Qingyun Mountain, how they were brought to Zhang Dao, and what happened after meeting the young lady.
After hearing this, the middle-aged scribe pinched his eyebrows in pain and sat down on the chair with Laifu's help.
He slammed the table and said angrily: "Nonsense! It's a useless thing. It doesn't make people worry at all when it grows so big! That's a bandit, a fierce bandit with a fierce blade! Not a scholar who can only reason!"
"Who does she think she is? She knows a few snarky words and reads a few books and thinks she is incomparable in wits? The bandit can only make sense if the bandit is willing to talk to her. What will happen to him if he steals the knife for the first time? What should I do? Continue to reason with the bandits? That’s ridiculous!”
After a series of angry curses, the middle-aged scribe sat on his chair dejectedly.
"Master, you don't have to be angry. The young lady was in the tiger's mouth at that time. If she hadn't been like this, I'm afraid she would have died..."
The housekeeper Laifu approached the middle-aged scribe and persuaded in a low voice, and then said: "Now that we know that the young lady is okay for the time being, our most important thing now is to quickly find a way to rescue the young lady before she is harmed! "
The middle-aged scribe suddenly raised his head when he heard the words, and his eyes were filled with hope again, "Yes, yes, Laifu, take my letter and set off now to Kaifeng to see Mr. Fan and give you 50,000 taels of silver." , please see Lord Tong, the Privy Councilor, and ask them to help rescue Zhao'er!"
"Please help me tell Duke Fan that I want to rescue my daughter here. If Zhao'er is still on Qingyun Mountain, I will not serve in the imperial court."
"Yes!" Butler Laifu took the order and turned around to leave with the letter.
"Wait, wait, wait until I ask you about the situation in detail, then you go and report the truth to Mr. Fan." The middle-aged scribe suddenly stopped Laifu.
"Yes, sir!"
After Laifu stopped, the middle-aged scribe looked at Dayong with a headache and asked, "Did you just say that the lady wrote a letter, but then she tore it up in front of you?"
"Yes, the lady said, I hope you don't arrange for anyone to rescue her, she will find her own way down the mountain." Dayong nodded and said truthfully.
"Hmph!" The middle-aged scribe snorted coldly and said with a serious expression: "You are telling me in detail what you saw and heard on Qingyun Mountain."
Therefore, Dayong once again told in detail how he and others were caught, how he met the lady, and even how many times he and others were beaten.
The middle-aged scribe looked thoughtful and asked doubtfully: "You mean, when you saw the bandit leader, he was on a very high mountain? Was it the highest mountain in that area?"
Dayong thought for a while and nodded: "Yes, that is the highest mountain around the Qingyun Mountains. There is a lot of construction work on the mountain, and it looks like a house is going to be built."
The middle-aged scribe rolled his eyes at Dayong. According to the news he got from Linxiang County, Qingyun Village has recently been purchasing wood and bricks from various prefectures and counties. It is roughly estimated that it will be at least one hundred thousand taels and upwards. To build a house?
However, he was too lazy to pursue the matter of his inappropriate choice of words, and asked suspiciously: "Besides those bandits, women and children, there are actually officers and soldiers on Qingyun Mountain?"
"Yes, I saw with my own eyes that the group of officers and soldiers seemed to be the same group we saw at the foot of Qingyun Mountain yesterday. They were captured by the bandits on Qingyun Mountain and were beaten with whips to do their work!" Dayong immediately said what he was doing Generally speaking, you can pour beans through a bamboo tube.
"Alas! I didn't expect that the army would be so corrupt!"
The middle-aged scribe sighed slightly when he heard this. Thousands of officers and soldiers were all captured by a small group of bandits on Qingyun Mountain!
This is really unbelievable, and the most ridiculous thing in the world! Even if there are thousands of pigs running all over the mountains and plains, if the bandits in Qingyun Mountain want to catch them all, they probably won't be able to do it in three to five days, right?
Linxiang County alone is within the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, at the feet of the Emperor! As for other state capitals in the Song Dynasty, they couldn't imagine how far it had reached!
It seems that the corruption in the imperial court has reached a critical stage. It is no wonder that Fan Gonggong is so anxious to urge himself and other officials to join the imperial court.
Suddenly, the middle-aged scribe's eyes lit up. Isn't this an excellent opportunity to start the New Deal?
In this current state, if we continue to maintain our strength, I am afraid that the Song Dynasty will collapse from within without the Yuan Dynasty attacking!
"You guys, please step back. You guys have worked hard this time, so go down and have a good rest!" The middle-aged scribe waved his hand a little tiredly.
After Dayong and others retreated, the middle-aged scribe sat alone on a chair, frowning as if he was weighing something in his heart, and the corners of his eyes couldn't help but feel moist.
Suddenly, the middle-aged scribe could only be heard choking and sighing: "Alas! The current government is still plagued by corruption at all levels... We can't have both the family and the country. Zhao'er, my father's good daughter, I'm afraid I can't take care of you anymore. !”
"Master!" Laifu said sadly and excitedly: "Just let me go to Kaifeng!"
"No, I will go back to Kaifeng with you. I want to enter the court as soon as possible!" The middle-aged scribe shook his head slightly.
Laifu was shocked when he heard this, "What should I do, young lady?"
"She..." The middle-aged scribe had an unbearable look on his face, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Didn't she say that she was thinking of ways to deal with the bandit leader? Just let her, let her adapt to changes!"
"What?" Laifu was shocked. Didn't the master just tell the young lady to resign herself to fate?
"Master! Maybe I still have a way!" Laifu said hurriedly.
Laifu suddenly remembered that his family had helped an expert. The expert also left them a golden dart and said that they could use it to find him for one shot.
The middle-aged scribe closed his eyes tightly in pain, shook his head slightly, and said with a sad smile: "That's all, I think that my Li family has been favored by the emperor. Now the good opportunity has arrived, and the situation in the court is urgent. The situation in the Song Dynasty is now corrupt and in danger. I How can I care about her!"
"In this case, I would like to ask you to go to Qingyun Mountain to accompany the young lady and at least ensure her safety!" Laifu knew that he could not persuade his master, so he made up his mind and said again.
The middle-aged scribe thought for a moment, sighed helplessly, and finally nodded reluctantly.
Laifu took out the letter from his arms and handed it to the middle-aged scribe with both hands. Then he kowtowed heavily and said solemnly: "Master, please take care. As long as I am alive, I will ensure that the young lady is fine!"
