mtl008 Chapter 553 Fragrant Grass
Chapter 553 Fragrant Grass
"Please!" Zhang Yuntai resumed his previous arrogant demeanor and sat down again.
"Since Madam Chen has gone missing, some people in the city will likely take this opportunity to cause trouble. I'll trouble you, sir, to deal with them." Lin Er smiled as he stood up and gave him a slight bow.
"Oh, that's no big deal. It's not a big deal. I didn't need to trouble Mr. Lin to invite me here. Just send someone to the mansion to let him know." Zhang Yuntai smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits, and patted Lin Er's hand affectionately.
Lin Er frowned and subtly withdrew his hand.
A soldier entered the tent from outside the door. "Reporting to the sir, someone has come to report that there has been unrest in the western ward, and many refugees have poured in!"
Lin Er thought to himself that his arrival was just in time, and then turned to Zhang Yuntai and said, "I'll trouble you with this matter, Lord Zhang!"
"You're too kind, sir!" Zhang Yuntai thought they were just some refugees, easy to manipulate, and gladly went over.
Zhang Biao escorted Ma Ying out of the camp again. When he returned and saw Song Qing looking troubled and the Tian brothers silently shedding tears, he was overcome with sadness.
"Mr. Lin, what do we do now? The general hasn't given us any definite news, and what if Madam goes missing?" Zhang Biao looked at Lin Er with hopeful eyes.
Lin Er looked at the snowflakes whistling in from outside the camp, his face colder and paler than the snowflakes. "Wait! Wait for the letter from that man surnamed He to discuss things. He wouldn't dare kill the lady. We also need to wait for the general to return. What we need to do now is to defend this city, eliminate all the Qinglan Sect disciples and spies we know, and collect all useful information. When the general returns, we'll wipe out the Qinglan Sect's stronghold!"
"But what if..." Tian Shi hesitated, his heart filled with worry.
"I have given the order that all the brothers of the Qi Battalion search the entire Song Dynasty with all their might. They will definitely find the lady. Don't worry." Lin Er's resolute eyes, beneath his tightly furrowed brows, left no room for doubt.
Everyone looked at each other, feeling somewhat sad, not for any other reason than that Madam Chen was truly a wonderful person—kind, sincere, and extremely kind.
Zhang Biao said in a muffled voice, "I'm going back first. Hu Zi will have to make several trips to bring the soldiers' bodies back. I'll go help him."
These words were even more disheartening. Lin Er nodded, watching him step into the wind and snow. The wind whipped up the curtains, making them swirl and then fall back down, bringing in gusts of bone-chilling cold. Just as Madam Chen had said, this winter was indeed exceptionally cold!
When Zhang Biao returned to the city gate, Zhang Hu had already brought it back for the second time.
"How many are left?" Zhang Biao silently pulled back a white cloth and looked at it. It was a little brother who had come down the mountain with him last year. He didn't like fighting, so he was transferred to the personal guard. Every time, he would happily tell him where he went to play with Madam Chen. Who would have thought that one day he would die so quietly?
"There are still twenty left. It's too cold, and we couldn't find enough carriages at once. We can finish transporting them now." Zhang Hu wiped away his tears haphazardly. Blood and snot were all mixed together, making him look black and gray. He unloaded the corpses that had been dragged in along with the soldiers, waiting to transport them back to the General's Mansion for a funeral. They would be buried together afterward.
Zhang Biao remained silent, his heart heavy. Seeing that the man was struggling to move the load, he offered a helping hand.
"What happened to Ma Ying? Has the corrupt official been arrested?"
“No, Lord Song is back. There was indeed a spy, but he didn’t collude with Qinglan’s people, nor did he make a false report. He was simply set up.” Zhang Biao pushed the carriage aside with him.
"So we're just going to let it go like this? Our men died for nothing!" Zhang Hu carefully lowered his guard, his heart filled with indignation. He punched the snow, and blood stained the snow red.
"What are you doing!" Zhang Biao quickly grabbed him. This silly younger brother would hurt himself again later. "We'll deal with him naturally, but this time he was just negligent in his duties. He won't be convicted of a serious crime. We'll let him off the hook for now. These things will get their retribution sooner or later."
"Yes, I also believe that Mr. Lin will not let him go." Zhang Hu wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, and seeing that the procession had arrived again, he and the soldiers opened the city gate and let the carriage in.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, with white fluff and snowflakes swirling in the air.
The soldiers, shivering, dragged all the carriages through the city gate. The gate slowly closed, and just then, the Tian brothers and Song Qing arrived with the camp's carriages. In an instant, hundreds of soldiers covered with white cloths slowly made their way into the city on all sorts of carriages. Many civilians watched all this and stood silently on both sides of the road, not uttering a sound.
"Brother Shan!" A sharp soprano voice, trembling with sorrow, rushed over.
In the distance, Fangcao, dressed in white linen and wearing a white cloth on her head, rushed out of the snow alone.
Further away, Chen Xuanyu and Sister-in-law Nie followed behind like tiny black dots.
"Waaah... My Shan-ge... Where are you...?" Fangcao rushed over as if she were a little crazy. She saw a white cloth on a shelf and went to pull it open. She didn't even think to ask. Her knees were quite dirty, she must have fallen several times on the way here.
Zhang Hu rushed over and supported her, who was somewhat exhausted. His voice choked with emotion, he said, "Fangcao, listen to your brother, let's not look anymore!"
"No, I have to see him. I have to see him off. He just told me he's interested in me, but I haven't even told him yet." Fangcao grabbed him, tears streaming down her face, her cheeks red from the cold, her eyes bloodshot. "Brother Hu, tell me where he is, please let me see him."
Zhang Hu could no longer hold back and burst into tears, "Fangcao, you, you can't look! His face is gone!"
"Ahhh... My Shan-ge... How could you die so tragically..." Fangcao completely lost her girlish timidity; she cried out loud without any decorum, pounding her chest repeatedly, "I couldn't even see you one last time..."
Zhang Biao and the others looked at her, wiping away tears, not knowing what to do.
As they were talking, Sister-in-law Nie and the others arrived.
"Fangcao, be good, listen to me, let's go back, let Brother Shan leave in peace, he certainly wouldn't want you to be so upset." Sister-in-law Nie helped her up and tried to pull her back.
Fangcao struggled desperately, "No, let me see him just once, just once!"
Fangcao, drawing strength from who-knows-where, gently pushed Sister-in-law Nie, ran quickly to Zhang Biao and the others, knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Please, let me see him one last time! Even if I die, I will be content!"
"Alright, it's over there, go ahead!" Zhang Biao said, pointing to a location with a heavy heart.
Fangcao suddenly got up and ran over.
Zhang Hu quickly pressed down the white cloth, his eyes filled with tears, and said to her repeatedly, "Do you really want to see? You must try to be more open-minded."