Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 99

After regaining consciousness, Wanlan remained in the house until she finally had the strength to go out, several days later. Aunt He would take some time each day to talk to her. She would tell her stories about where her youngest daughter had run off to, how many more desperate refugees had arrived in town, and how concerned the current emperor was about the Yellow River's breach.

Upon hearing that following Rongze County, Dunqiu County and Baima County were also affected by the flooding river, the Emperor immediately dispatched the Left Guard General to inspect the Yellow River's water level, repair the river embankment, and exempt the affected people from land rent.

I wonder if Zehua will be included in this inspection?

Wanlan thought to herself, opened the door, stepped out, and took in the small courtyard where she had lived for nearly half a month for the first time. There was a melon shed on the south side, with lush, thick vines and green leaves climbing all over the wooden shed. Behind the shed, against the corner of the wall, several chickens were kept, clucking as they ate their food. As far as she knew, the kitchen was at the other end of the courtyard, and Aunt He was probably busy in the kitchen right now.

Wanlan turned and walked towards the next room, but as soon as she reached the door, the person inside opened the door, stepped out, looked up at her in a daze, moved their lips slightly, and whispered, "...Madam."

Wanlan nodded slightly, then glanced at his right arm. "Is your arm feeling better? You don't need to apply the medicine today?"

Sometimes, she felt that Lan Wu's injury might not be a bad thing for them. For example, these past few days, precisely because Lan Wu's injuries were quite serious and she had almost no ability to take care of others, they were still able to live separately even though the He family mistakenly thought they were husband and wife. Aunt He was responsible for taking care of her, while Brother He helped take care of Lan Wu.

But ever since she was able to get out of bed, under Aunt He's urging, she began to help Lan Wu change his wound dressings, and finally saw just how deep the "horrifying wound" that Aunt He had described was! Above his right elbow, there were two deep wounds that were cut by something, so deep that the bone was visible. Even though Wan Lan only took over a few days later, seeing the wounds that were healing so slowly, she could fully imagine how horrifying it must have been when he was first injured.

Lan Wu swung his right arm and smiled faintly, "Madam, don't worry, everything is fine now. If you wish to return to the capital, you can set off immediately."

"There's no need to rush."

Wanlan shook her head, gesturing for him to walk to the melon shed together before continuing, "The news of the Left Guard General inspecting the Yellow River and building dikes has been widely circulated lately. I think we don't need to return to the capital alone. Let's take some time to go back to Rongyang and have a look."

"You suspect... that the Prince was also there?" Lan Wu thoughtfully continued, "I don't think so."

Wanlan was slightly taken aback. "Why?"

“Building the river embankment is the government’s business. When inspecting the Yellow River, it is inevitable to rescue people along the way. It is impossible for Your Highness to delay with the Left Guard General. In my opinion, Your Highness must be looking for your wife alone.”

"If that's really the case, then it's terrible..."

Wanlan smiled bitterly. She really hoped that Zehua could act with the court officials. Otherwise, aside from the fact that the news of her encounter with danger in Rongze would spread in the capital, which she tried her best to avoid, she and Zehua would probably miss each other.

Although Hongfeng Town is only a hundred miles away from Rongze, it is located in a relatively secluded place and is far away from the various tributaries of the Yellow River. Based on her understanding of Zehua, he would definitely go south along the river. Therefore, he would not have detoured to Hongfeng Town for no reason. If he was with the imperial court, he might have appeared in Hongfeng Town by following the footsteps of the refugees.

Perhaps sensing her concerns, Lan Wu immediately suggested, "How about we set off back to Rongyang right away?"

"That's all we can do..."

She just hoped that Zehua would leave some message for her in Rongyang.

However, before they could even set off, the imperial court's men found Red Maple Town first. To find out if the person they were looking for was in the group, Wanlan and Lanwu disguised themselves slightly and went with the other disaster victims to the red maple tree at the town entrance, where the imperial court's men had set up a temporary relief station where the disaster victims could receive some daily necessities and food.

Under the red maple trees that had begun to turn green, an official in a green uniform stood behind several soldiers who were distributing supplies to disaster victims, occasionally instructing them on which items to give to the people.

Wanlan, her long hair disheveled, stood among the disaster victims alongside Lan Wu, who was equally filthy and disheveled. They discreetly observed the official, and the two spoke in hushed tones:

"He really didn't come."

"I'm afraid Master has taken Lan Wen and the others to see Madam alone."

"Do you know that person? No, I should ask, does he recognize us?"

“I don’t know this person either. He might be one of the Left Guard General’s subordinates. Don’t worry, Madam. Even if he knew we were here, he would never imagine that we would be mixed in with the disaster victims like this.” After a slight hesitation, he added, “Are you really not going to reveal your identity? Perhaps the Left Guard General knows where I am now, and your health cannot withstand any more travel.”

Wanlan followed the fleeing refugees for a few steps and sighed inwardly, "I was thinking the same thing. Revealing our identities to them is better than risking being recognized by the people and blending into the crowd. Do you know this General Zuowei?"

"I heard it's Lord Li Chongju of the Privy Council," Lan Wu glanced at the two or three officials in front of him, and said in a low voice, "but he's not among them. He must have gone elsewhere to investigate. If we want to see Lord Li, we must go through this person—"

"No, I don't want to cause any trouble before we see Lord Li. Go tell him that you have something urgent to report to Lord Li and that you must take us to see him. Don't rush to reveal your identities, understand?"

"Okay, I understand."

Before they knew it, the two had reached the front of the line. After taking the relief supplies, Lan Wu pulled Wan Lan away from the crowd of disaster victims and walked up to a soldier standing guard with a weapon. He said, "Please inform the lord that we have urgent business to report."

The soldier looked them up and down, then pointed to the things in their hands and said, "Take what you need and leave quickly. Lord Li said your destroyed homes will be rebuilt. Just wait patiently."

Lan Wu pursed his lips, displeased that the soldier had ignored him. "I said, if we have something to say, we should talk to the adults."

"Can't you see the adults are busy? Tell me what's wrong."

Lan Wu's face instantly turned cold. He hadn't expected this lowly guard to be so arrogant. "I need to see the lord. Please inform him!"

"Hey! How dare you, you brat! The officials are busy, and you—"

"What happened?"

The male voice that suddenly appeared carried a hint of authority, but it sounded familiar to Wanlan and Lanwu. They both turned their heads and were taken aback when they saw the man who suddenly appeared in front of them.

The newcomer was dressed in a scarlet official robe and wore a black gauze hat, with the long wings on both sides of the hat fluttering slightly.

Wanlan stared blankly at the somewhat familiar narrow eyes beneath the brim of the hat, and hesitantly called out, "Xue Weiji?" When did he enter the court? Didn't Zehua say that the emperor had given him a sinecure, and that Xue Weiji had returned to his former life of wandering the world?

"Young Master Xue?" Lan Wu exclaimed in surprise, staring wide-eyed at the man before him.

Xue Weiji's expression was no better. He never expected that when he offered to help the King of Qin find someone, he would find such a princess.

"husband--"

"Wait!" Wanlan interrupted him hastily, glancing at the stunned guard beside her, and said with a smile, "Lord Xue, may I speak to you in private?"

Xue Weiji nodded and led the two of them toward the town entrance.

"Lord Li is currently in Zhengzhou. Since Madam is safe and sound, how about you come with me to Zhengzhou tomorrow?" Xue Weiji stopped under a tall red maple tree and glanced at the woman beside him. "Madam, do you know what has happened in the capital recently?"

Wanlan raised her eyes and looked at his heavy expression. "Is this related to me?"

"Yes, the news of Madam's encounter with danger in Rongze has spread like wildfire in the capital. The Yellow River breached its banks, causing flooding in Rongze. Everyone knows clearly that at that time, the Prince of Qin was in the capital, but when the flood broke out, he rushed to the disaster area like a madman, and made no attempt to hide that he was looking for you. So—now the people are all wondering if Madam is safe and sound."

So all her worries these past few days were completely unnecessary?