"This is where the mission is stationed, so no arrogance is allowed." The guard at the entrance of Hualou knew the stakes and ordered the officers and soldiers not to trespass.
The leader came forward with a sword on his waist and said: "We are personally appointed by the county magistrate. Last night, grass bandits broke into our county and have not been captured. The county magistrate is worried that the grass bandits will sneak into this place and threaten the safety of the envoys, so he specially ordered them." I will escort you all to the county government office to rest first."
The guard's sharp eyes recognized many familiar faces in the team, and he quickly opened the door to let them in.
The leader stood in the courtyard and shouted: "Please forgive me for disturbing your sweet dreams. The county magistrate is concerned about your safety and ordered me to bring a guard to escort you to the county government office to rest first. Please be considerate and understanding." If there is any inconsideration, I will apologize first."
After that, he waved the team to go upstairs and knock on the door one by one to notify.
The current events all started because of Gu Shengchao. He naturally knew what was going on. Hearing the knock on the door, he calmly got up and got dressed and told the outside world:
"Okay, just wait a moment."
The woman next to her was panicked, and she carefully leaned into Gu Shengchao's ear and said, "They, they didn't catch Dong E, right?"
"Don't worry, as long as you don't say anything, only the three of us will know. They will come in immediately, just get dressed as usual."
He hugged the woman and told her to relax and not be nervous, and patted her back gently. With Gu Shengchao's caress, the woman calmed down and took the time to get dressed.
"What's going on?" Lu Shouwen acted quickly and was the first to get dressed and walk out of the guest room.
"My lord, please follow me. There are criminals who have not yet been captured. I hope your understanding." A guard led the way.
At this time, Gu Shengchao happened to walk out of the house, stretched his waist and said, "I was having a sweet dream in Gentle Village, and I was woken up by you."
"Let's go, we are working normally, we from the capital should set an example." Lu Shouwen was kept in the dark, so there was no risk of fraud.
As long as a member of the mission comes out of each guest room, regardless of whether the accompanying woman is neatly dressed or not, the guards will swarm in and rummage through the boxes and cabinets to check.
Especially the room where Gu Shengchao lived, it seemed that someone had specifically told it that more people would go in.
A woman screamed from a guest room and ran out half-naked with her hair disheveled. Seeing that there were officers and soldiers armed with swords and guns everywhere outside, the woman who had never seen such a battle array had her hands folded on her chest, and she was stunned at that moment.
All the women were gathered together, and someone took pictures and compared them to identify them one by one.
The envoys and deputy envoys came to the county government office together. The county magistrate greeted them outside early and ran up to greet them: "The adults are frightened. I apologize for this."
"It doesn't matter, let's do some official business first. We'll set off after dawn so that we won't delay you in arresting the bandits."
Lu Shouwen kept a clear distinction between public and private affairs, so he didn't mind being disturbed and sat down at the county government office to wait calmly for dawn.
After dawn, everyone went to the inn to prepare for departure.
Gu Shengchao stopped riding and sat on a carriage. There were windows on both sides of the carriage, and gauze curtains inside the windows to let in light. There was a small door behind the driver for people to get in and out, which was usually covered by curtains.
Everyone was carrying items to the carriage when a group of officers and soldiers surrounded them.
"Please forgive me, adults. In order to prevent criminals from sneaking into your team and escaping, we need to conduct a search."
A deputy envoy stepped forward to stop us and said dissatisfiedly: "Have you eaten the heart of a bear or the courage of a leopard? This is a mission appointed by the Holy Spirit. They come here to harass us again and again. Are they deliberately trying to make things difficult for us?"
The officers and soldiers also knew the importance of the mission and did not dare to come forward to force them.
As an envoy, Lu Shouwen was calm. He raised his banner on his horse and said, "Let them investigate. Since we are coming from the capital, we must set an example and set an example for local officials."
With a wave of his hand, he ordered everyone in the envoy: "Don't move, everyone, and we will leave after the inspection is completed."
When the envoy speaks, the people below will certainly listen.
The officers and soldiers were under orders from above. If the mission blocked them, they would not be able to offend anyone and would definitely be in a dilemma.
Seeing Lu Shouwen's words, they hurriedly stepped forward to check, fearing that something had changed.
After checking the vehicle Gu Shengchao was in, he lifted up the sedan curtain and only he was sitting inside. He also leaned under the car to check if there was anything unusual, and immediately went to search elsewhere.
The search turned out to be normal. The man who led the team saluted Lu Shouwen repeatedly to express his apology. Under the guidance of two guides, the team of more than a hundred people lined up neatly and left the county town, heading straight to the north.
The team moved forward unhurriedly. Looking back, they saw that the county town was already a small dot, and it was impossible for the officers and soldiers to pursue them. Gu Shengchao opened the wooden board under him and climbed out alone.
It is Miss Dong E.
After coming out of Cuihong Building last night, Gu Shengchao considered that this matter could not be kept secret for too long, so he went to the inn and found a carriage to hide Dong E.
She has a slender body and is hidden in a long wooden box in the carriage. She is inconspicuous when sitting on it. Furthermore, when it comes to the vehicles of the deputy envoys of the mission, ordinary officers and soldiers also know the priorities, and everyone is happy to get by in order to save face. No one will really take it seriously. If it goes wrong and gets into trouble, it will be asking for trouble.
Dong E saw that her injuries were serious. They were all skin injuries but not life-threatening. Gu Shengchao had checked the injuries last night, and then he dared to let her hide in the car alone.
At this moment, he helped her sit up, took out the food and water bag that had been prepared and put them beside her. Dong E took a deep breath and relieved the depression and tension in her heart.
She lifted up the gauze curtain on the small window and looked outside, and said gratefully to the ancient saint: "Thank you sir for saving my life. I'm not far from my hometown after about half a day's journey. Please let me go. My mother is waiting at home."
Not knowing what to say, Gu Shengchao had some questions.
Dong E was smart and saw some clues from his expression, and asked tentatively: "The little girl once drew a map for you. Could it be that you have already been there?"
Nodding, Gu Shengchao said thoughtfully: "You should know what happened to your father and brother, so you took action to hurt people. Your mother and fellow villagers also went to the coal mine and hanged themselves on the way back. When I went to Dong Village, only five old women were left to pay homage. The undead may not be alive now."
Even if those five women didn't want to die, it would be extremely difficult to survive in such a situation.
After a moment of peace, Dong E couldn't control it anymore. She lost her voice in pain, sobbed so hard that she almost fell down.
Gu Shengchao hugged her, full of comfort but unable to express it, so he had to protect her from falling.
She lost all her relatives at once, and all the hopes that supported her collapsed. Dong E was heartbroken and fell on Gu Shengchao and broke down in tears.
After crying for a long time, I stopped feeling sad.
She straightened up and said with a determined look: "Please let me go, sir. I don't want to drag you down. I will leave with my family."
Looking at her helpless look, Gu Shengchao sighed: "You, you are saying stupid things again. Didn't you say it well last night? You must live in peace and do everything you can to avenge your loved ones and let your loved ones hurt your enemies." Come on, what’s the point of dying?”
"I……"
Dong E pursed her bloodless lips and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid of injuring you, sir, and don't want you to work hard for me."
"Silly boy."
Gu Shengchao hugged her gently with compassion, remembered his unbearable past, and said softly:
"I'm more pitiful than you. My parents were killed since I was a child and I have to live in the world. Even if my life hangs by a thread, I still don't give up the chance to live. Just for revenge, this is what I am today. So, you must live well. .”
Lifting up her face with tears in her eyes, Dong E asked: "Has your lord finally taken your revenge?"
"Of course I took revenge." Gu Shengchao said with a relieved look on his face: "I found an opportunity to kill my enemy with a single blow. The heartfelt joy is, in one word, great."
Dong E made up her mind and knelt down in the carriage. Gu Shengchao was shocked and quickly helped her up.
"If I don't get up, please teach me martial arts. I just have to serve you like a cow or a horse. The little girl is willing to do it without any complaints." Dong E understood clearly and would never get up until she achieved her goal.
"You!"
Looking at her stubborn look reminded me of my childhood.
Gu Shengchao smiled: "Get up, I thought it was such a big deal. Let's see, although I got married with some help, I have no brothers or sisters. If the girl is willing, we will be like brothers and sisters. How about you recognize me as your eldest brother? ?”
"Sir, do you mean what you say?" Dong E raised her head, fearing that Gu Shengchao was perfunctory.
The more she looks at her, the more she looks like his own sister. Gu Shengchao nodded affirmatively: "A man's words are hard to follow, and every word is true."
"Brother, please accept my sister's bow."
Seeing that Gu Shengchao agreed, Dong E kowtowed hurriedly, fearing that he would regret it.
"That's enough, that's enough, don't break your head." Gu Shengchao felt distressed and quickly stopped him.
The brother and sister recognized each other, and Dong E was in a happy mood. She ate and drank in the carriage, brushing away the gloom of the past, looking at Gu Shengchao and giggling from time to time.
At noon, they stopped for some repairs. Dong E was waiting in the carriage, so that the team was accompanied by a doctor. Gu Shengchao asked for topical ointment and returned.
As soon as they entered the carriage, Dong E asked uneasily: "How come someone from the county magistrate got mixed up in the mission?"
Lifting up the gauze curtain, she happened to see it again. She pointed at the man and said, "That's him. He is the tyrant of our county and the godson of the county magistrate. He has everything he needs to eat, drink, whore, and gamble. He often comes to Cuihong Mansion to eat, drink, and whore for free." If someone dares to interfere, we will call him 'Ghost Sees Sorrow' behind his back, so why are he here?"
Looking from a distance, Gu Shengchao recognized this person and said: "These are the guides hired by the county magistrate. There are two of them. They say they can help us get out of the desert ahead and reach Beihu safely."
"That's it." Dong E thought thoughtfully and lowered the gauze curtain.
There were no female relatives in the mission. Gu Shengchao left his spare clean robe and said, "You first apply the ointment to the wound alone. I'll be back soon."
Lu Shouwen, the leader of the mission, was at the forefront. Gu Shengchao walked over and whispered to him, briefly telling Dong E the ins and outs and the problem with the guide.
Lu Shouwen was also surprised: "The whole thing that has been going on for a long time was all because of you, and I was kept in the dark."
"Second brother, it's a joke. It happened suddenly, and I didn't have time to report it to you, so I had to make my own decision. It's just that the guide and Dong E are familiar with each other. At present, Dong E can only disguise herself as a man. Don't let more people know about it. "
After listening to Gu Shengchao's words and staring at the guide wandering back and forth in the team, Lu Shouwen nodded in agreement: "That's fine. Let's see what tricks they can pull off."
