#961 - The beginning of chaos
Three days later, Great Qian, Xiling Prefecture.
As a prefecture bordering the capital of Great Qian, after entering the territory of Xiling, it was only four or five days away from the capital of Great Qian.
In normal times, the official roads of Xiling were bustling with activity day and night. Merchant teams and travelers from various prefectures in the east of Great Qian would enter the capital through these routes, with a constant stream of vehicles.
However, these official roads have been very deserted in the past few days, and sometimes it is difficult to see a single person for a long time.
Many people would rather take a long detour than pass through Xiling again, for fear of accidentally running into the so-called “righteous army” and inviting disaster.
Therefore, even the post stations and tea stalls along the road have lost their business, and most have simply closed their doors to avoid the limelight.
But there are also a few stubborn ones who still hang their banners, hoping to pick up some business while their peers are closed.
“Husband, do you think the emperor will really be changed this time?”
A small tea stall was set up under the shade of trees by the roadside, and a man and a woman were sitting on wooden chairs chatting.
The woman was dressed as an ordinary woman, with a chopstick acting as a wooden hairpin to hold up her somewhat dry and rough long hair.
The man looked honest and simple, with a long towel draped over his shoulders.
Obviously, these two should be husband and wife, running a small tea stall here to make a living.
Since there were no customers in the stall at this time, they had to sit and chat to relieve their boredom.
“Who knows...”
The middle-aged man pursed his lips. With his limited knowledge, he undoubtedly could not answer the woman’s question, so he just muttered casually:
“Anyway, who becomes the emperor has nothing to do with us, as long as this war ends sooner.”
“That’s true.”
The woman nodded, glanced into the distance at the end of the official road, and then disappointedly retracted her gaze: “Still not a single person.”
“Husband, why don’t we close the stall? Old Wang from the west of the village said yesterday that the rebels are coming soon, let’s not get into any trouble.”
“Hey, but we haven’t made any money for several days in a row. If we don’t open... Huh?”
The man suddenly froze, looking at the woman with a puzzled expression: “Weren’t you at home all day yesterday? When did you run into Old Wang?”
“I... I ran into him when I went to the village well to fetch water, and we only said a few words.”
The woman’s eyes were a little evasive: “Oh dear, let’s go quickly, I’ll go pack up the stall now.”
“You stop right there!”
The man’s face instantly turned red, he stood up with a “whoosh”, glared at the woman and questioned:
“You explain yourself clearly! Are you having an affair with that bastard Old Wang?!”
“You, what nonsense are you talking about!”
“I’m talking nonsense?! Good! I’ll go find him right now!”
“If it’s true, I’ll definitely chop him up!”
Rushing into a small thatched hut next to him, he grabbed a knife, and the man angrily ran towards the distant village.
Seeing this, the woman hurriedly chased after him, wailing:
Not long after they left, as a burst of smoke and dust rose from the end of the official road, the “culprit” who caused all this also arrived here.
In the muffled sound of “rumbling”, a long army passed by the tea stall, and black flags fluttered in the wind.
The empty tea stall quietly watched all this, and the copper pot on the stove churned with bursts of heat, like a lazy spectator.
“Young Master, Xiling Prefecture is ahead.”
Behind the thirty thousand righteous army, in the bumpy carriage, Su Qi’s face was extremely tired at the moment.
He was just a civil official before, where had he ever done such a thing as following the army, he couldn’t eat well or sleep well, and after a few days, it could be said that he was already very exhausted.
More importantly, compared to the physical fatigue, the psychological burden made it even more difficult for him to sleep and eat.
The closer he got to the capital, the greater his pressure became, and the more haggard he became.
Wei Changtian was much more relaxed, and there was not even a trace of tension on his face.
“Is that so? Then we’ll rest in Xiling for one night tonight, and then march directly to the capital in one go.”
After giving the order, Wei Changtian casually asked: “By the way, is there anything unusual in Xiling Prefecture?”
“Reporting to Young Master, no.”
Su Qi answered truthfully: “All the cities have closed their gates tightly, and no troop movements have been seen.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
Wei Changtian nodded and looked at Su Qi.
“Sir Su, you seem very tired.”
“I...”
Su Qi paused, and without concealing anything, he shook his head and replied: “Mental fatigue is greater than physical fatigue.”
“Haha, I understand.”
Wei Changtian laughed twice, then turned his head and glanced at the densely packed soldiers outside the car: “Sir Su, I can guarantee to you that not many people will die this time.”
“Hopefully this can ease your mind a little.”
“...”
His eyes froze, Su Qi was obviously a little surprised.
He didn’t expect Wei Changtian to say that. Just as he was about to ask something, the latter waved his hand to interrupt him:
“Don’t ask, you’ll know when the time comes.”
“Yes.”
With a complex expression, the carriage slowly stopped, and Su Qi quickly got out of the car and left.
A few breaths later, the empty official road was full of traces of the army passing by, and two carriages were parked in the middle of the road, surrounded by four or five people.
After staying for three more days, Xu Sui Sui was finally going back to Xinfeng.
In fact, she didn’t do anything special in these three days. Basically, she just followed Wei Changtian around in the army, and took the time to match Xu Quan and Zhi Li.
By the way, Xu Quan’s misunderstanding of Xu Sui Sui and Wei Changtian has been cleared up.
Well... At least Xu Quan has verbally believed that there is nothing between the two of them. As for whether he believes it in his heart, only he himself knows.
“...Little sister, be careful on the road.”
Standing opposite Xu Sui Sui, Xu Quan said everything he needed to say with a serious expression, his eyes full of reluctance.
Xu Sui Sui just agreed absentmindedly, and then immediately turned her head to Wei Changtian.
“Well, I’m leaving...”
“Go quickly.”
Wei Changtian waved his hand, with no hint of “reluctance to part” in his tone.
“After you go back, just do as I said. I’ll go to Fengyuan when I’m done here.”
“Hmph.”
Seeing that Wei Changtian was so indifferent, Xu Sui Sui couldn’t help but snorted softly, but at least she didn’t argue with the latter in front of so many people.
“I remember, don’t worry.”
She glared at Wei Changtian, nodded to Zhi Li, Yang Liushi and others, and turned to get into the car.
But at this moment, Zhang San suddenly ran over from not far away in a hurry.
“Young Master!”
In front of everyone, Zhang San didn’t care whether it was appropriate or not, and ran all the way to Wei Changtian, leaning close to the latter’s ear and quickly said something.
Wei Changtian’s eyes widened instantly, and he almost subconsciously blurted out:
“Is this true?!”
“Yes, it’s true, it’s already spread...”
“...”
Standing there blankly, Wei Changtian was silent for a long time in the surprised and uncertain gazes of everyone, and then turned to look at Xu Sui Sui and said:
“Don’t leave yet, something big has happened.”
