AMLFS Chapter 107
by VolareChapter 108: A Plot
Liang Xiuzhu was dragged along, not knowing where he was being taken.
“Let go!”
Liang Xiuzhu reached out and fiercely knocked away Sun Shu’s hand that was grabbing his collar. “Why do you always interfere with me! Are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?”
“Sun Shu! Have I offended you in some way!”
After everything that had happened, Liang Xiuzhu was truly annoyed. He was already anxious about his mother’s situation, and Sun Shu had to create obstacles for him at every turn.
He couldn’t understand why. Even if Sun Shu disliked him, he didn’t need to go this far, did he?
“Making things difficult for you?” Sun Shu almost laughed out of anger. “Do you even know what kind of stupid things you’ve been doing?”
“You want to follow the army to the capital? With your build, you’d probably die on the battlefield before you even get there. And even if you did make it to the capital, so what? You don’t have any identification, and you’re coming from the Northwest. Do you think you can pass through the checkpoints safely? Can you use your brain for once!”
If Sun Shu hadn’t been stopping him every time, this person probably would have lost his life halfway there. Instead of being grateful, he thought Sun Shu was getting in his way?
Thinking of this, Sun Shu wanted to curse himself for being nosy.
After being lectured by him, Liang Xiuzhu felt suffocated but didn’t know what to say. Indeed, he hadn’t considered any of the things Sun Shu mentioned. He was only focused on getting to the capital as quickly as possible. Coming to his senses, he realized that he didn’t even know where his mother was being housed.
In an instant, the resentment he had felt earlier vanished without a trace.
Seeing that he was speechless, Sun Shu continued, “Also, today you were even thinking of going to see the Princess Consort? Don’t you know that the Princess Consort doesn’t understand worldly matters? Everyone in the mansion is afraid to mention the war in front of him, fearing he’ll overthink things. Yet you charged straight into the line of fire.”
“Now is a crucial time for the Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district to enter the capital. If anything were to happen to the Princess Consort, the Prince would never forgive you when he returns.”
Hearing this, Liang Xiuzhu’s face turned pale. He hadn’t thought of that.
“I… I just wanted to ask the Princess Consort… I didn’t think about these things…” Liang Xiuzhu took a few steps back, his body leaning against the corner of the wall, looking fragile. He lowered his head in frustration, “I just want to know about my mother’s news. Why is it so difficult…”
Sun Shu crossed his arms, his gaze falling on Liang Xiuzhu’s face. He suddenly remembered the night he passed by Liang Xiuzhu’s tent and saw him sitting alone inside, his eyes red.
He didn’t know why, but he had impulsively done something troublesome.
“Alright.” Seeing that he had learned his lesson, Sun Shu didn’t want to say anything more to blame him.
He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to him. “This is your mother’s handwriting. Take a look.”
Suddenly looking up, Liang Xiuzhu first glanced at Sun Shu, then looked at the envelope in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The hand that took and opened the envelope trembled slightly. Liang Xiuzhu quickly scanned through the letter, as if he were still in a dream.
In the letter, his mother said that the Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s people had already taken her out of the prison and given her a residence in the suburbs of the capital. Although the capital was turbulent, they hadn’t been affected. She hoped that he would return to the capital soon.
A huge weight lifted from Liang Xiuzhu’s heart, and then he became puzzled. The handwriting was indeed his mother’s, but why would Sun Shu have it?
“This letter… where did you get it?” Holding the envelope, Liang Xiuzhu looked at the stern-faced man before him.
“That’s none of your concern. Now that you know your mother is safe, stay put and don’t think of any crooked ideas to cause me trouble.”
After saying that, Sun Shu walked away with his sword, leaving only his back view.
As he walked, he thought that he had to treat the hidden informants to drinks when he got to the capital. Sun Shu was already feeling the pain in his wallet. That person was notoriously invincible when it came to drinking, and he only drank the finest liquor.
He had put in a lot of effort for this letter, going through many twists and turns to contact the hidden informant in the capital and ask him to inquire about the location of Liang Xiuzhu’s mother.
Thinking about his actions just now, Liang Xiuzhu felt a bit awkward. After all, he had been narrow-minded and wronged Sun Shu.
But to ask him to apologize? He really couldn’t bring himself to say it. Looking at Sun Shu’s gradually receding figure, Liang Xiuzhu stroked the envelope in his hand and thought silently, “Okay, Sun Shu isn’t so annoying after all.”
Song Huaixi had dinner with everyone.
“Huaixi, I heard that you’ve been learning to paint with Zhao Qiongwan recently? How is it going?” At the dinner table, Song Zigen asked Song Huaixi with a smile.
Song Huaixi paused and said embarrassedly, “I’m a bit slow. My sister-in-law has been teaching me for a long time, but I still can’t learn it.”
He couldn’t even write properly, so painting was very difficult for him.
“Haha, it’s alright. Painting is not easy to learn. If Huaixi likes it, take your time, and you’ll eventually succeed.” Seeing that he was discouraged, Song Zigen comforted him with a smile.
“That’s right.” Zhao Qiongwan also said, “I think Huaixi has a lot of talent. If he learns slowly, he might be able to master it. Even if he doesn’t, it’s good as a pastime.”
Hearing this, Song Huaixi gained some confidence. He loved reading picture books, so he was naturally interested in painting.
As everyone chatted, Song Huaixi thought of Liang Xiuzhu’s words that afternoon and asked, “Father, is there going to be a war in the capital?”
He knew what war was, but he didn’t understand the power struggles behind the change of imperial authority. In fact, he didn’t really understand why Zhao Fangye of the Ning district had to lead his troops to war.
All he knew was what he saw. No one had carefully explained to him why he had to do this.
The people at the table clearly paused, and then Song Zigen asked, “Where did you hear that, Huaixi?”
“Someone told me this afternoon.”
Song Huaixi put a small vegetable in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and then continued, “Is Zhao Fangye of the Ning district also going to fight in the capital? It’s so dangerous. Can’t he not go?”
Everyone didn’t know how to answer, because the war in the capital was started by Zhao Fangye of the Ning district. It was for the sake of changing the dynasty. And changing a dynasty often required blood and tears.
What’s more, they didn’t want Song Huaixi to be exposed to too much of the dark side of the world. Some things were tacitly understood and not mentioned in front of Song Huaixi.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit silent.
“Don’t worry, Huaixi.” Zhao Qiongwan took the lead and said, “The Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district is a general. He’s usually only responsible for commanding and won’t really go to the battlefield. There won’t be any danger.”
“Really?” Song Huaixi was skeptical.
“Really!” Zhao Qiongwan said firmly.
But she didn’t expect that the Zhao Fangye of the Ning district, who she said wouldn’t be in danger, was currently sitting in his tent with an arrow stuck in his shoulder.
The military camp was treating him. After breaking the arrow shaft, they used a sharp knife to dig out the arrow that was embedded in his flesh.
Sweat dripped from Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s forehead, but he didn’t say a word.
On the other hand, the other generals in the tent, seeing this scene, paced back and forth in the tent, cursing in anger.
“These bastards! They actually dare to use dirty tricks!!”
General Sikou Lanfeng also rarely lost her temper. “How dare they!! They actually use civilians as shields to hinder the advance of our army. It’s simply despicable, shameless, and inhumane!!”
Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s army had broken through Shiyuan County. The imperial army was fleeing everywhere, and Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s army was advancing north.
When they attacked Jia City, an outer city near the capital, the defending general saw that he couldn’t resist the attack.
He actuallyAll the bets were suppressed out, all the bets were suppressed out, all the bets were suppressed out, all the bets were suppressed out, all the bets were suppressed outhadBets all outbrought all the civilians in the city out, chained them together, and forced them to stand outside the city gate as a human wall to block Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s attack.
Not only that, but he also ordered people to hide among the civilians and secretly fire cold arrows, trying to assassinate Zhao Fangye of the Ning district. Fortunately, Zhao Fangye of the Ning district reacted in time, preventing them from succeeding.