Perfect Encounter - Chapter 19.2
PROOFREAD BY AFREANA
Chapter 19.2
On this day, Big Long stayed in the barracks to deal with military affairs, and the next day he went back to the Purple Cloud House in the city. Xie Gang has finished investigating and came back to report. The marriage between the two families has undergone some changes, but not on An Ruochen’s side. An Zhifu promised to marry the fourth girl, An Ruofang, and An Ruochen on the same day. But two days ago, the An family sent two maids to Qian Pei. The Fourth Miss would not enter the Qian Manor’s door, while the wedding date of the First Miss has been changed to tomorrow.
Big Long was stunned. Tomorrow? Five days only, what was the meaning of advancing it? Unless the other party was afraid that things would change again. The An House must have lost someone, not An Ruochen, but her fourth sister, An Ruofang. Surprisingly, the additional marriage and bride…
Big Long raised his eyebrows, remembering the rumors that Zong Zeqing checked when he first entered the city. Qian Pei’s intention, seeing the situation right now, he already has a clear idea in his mind.
“That doctor is probably for An Ruochen, right?” He said.
Xie Gang did not answer. In order not to startle the snake, the scout did not dare to probe too much. The An House and the doctor kept their mouths shut, and the scout did not inquire further to avoid suspicion. This inquiry would take some time. The condition of the First Miss An now, he did not dare to assert.
“General, the previous plan may have to be changed.”
“Yes. Must be changed. An Ruochen did not disappear. This show naturally can not continue.”
“Then should we wait until she marries into the Qian family ……”
“No.” Big Long sounded resolute. “Once she enters the Qian family, things will be out of my control.”
“Qian Pei indeed will be harder to deal with than An Zhifu.” Xie Gang said. It would be much harder to get around Qian Pei if they wanted An Ruochen to work for them. Qian Pei will neither agree nor cooperate. And he was the father of the county magistrate of Fu’an County. His identity was hard to deal with.
Big Long shook his head.
Xie Gang was unsure what Big Long meant when he shook his head. Did he think he was wrong and Qian Pei was not difficult, or did he think things were indeed tricky and had not yet thought of a good idea? He waited, but Big Long did not say anything. Xie Gang couldn’t help asking, “General, what should we do?”
An Ruochen will be on the palanquin tomorrow. Things that needed to be decided, had to be decided quickly.
“For the time being, I can’t think of a way to take the bride away without alerting the criminal.” Big Long replied.
Xie Gang’s serious face couldn’t help but fall. General, is it appropriate for you to be so calm and frank when you say such things? Not to intercept the enemy army, but to hijack the bride of the people, is that what you mean?
“Go and get Zeqing.”
Xie Gang touched his nose. Let Zong Zeqing rob the bride is also inappropriate, right? He still followed the order and called the guards outside the door to call the person. After a while, Zong Zeqing came.
The situation inside the room was different now, although Big Long still looked the same, but Xie Gang’s expression was not quite right, ah. Zong Zeqing felt happy. Xie Gang was uneasy. There must be a big piece of gossip waiting.
“What does General want from me?” Zong Zeqing looked excited.
Big Long did not answer, thinking.
Xie Gang deliberately said, ”He wants to ask you to steal a bride.”
“Ah?!” Zong Zeqing opened his mouth wide, “To give to me as a wife?”
“……” Xie Gang was speechless. This guy’s shame was not ordinary.
“For Xie Gang.” Big Long diligently answered.
Zong Zeqing was laughing hahaha hard, pointing at Xie Gang. Laughing so hard that his waist couldn’t straighten up.
“……” Xie Gang’s face stiffened. ”Hurry up and go.” He said seriously. “Please, brother.”
Zong Zeqing’s smile froze, fingers stopped mid-air for a long time, and he cautiously asked, “Really?”
“No.” Big Long and Xie Gang answered seriously at the same time.
Later that day, Zong Zeqing went to the An House. The spies were not convenient to enter the house to inquire in person, but he was. He returned from the trip but did not bring back any good news. “Master An is still quite enthusiastic but has something on his mind. He accepted my congratulatory gift and said he would invite me to play at the Flower House another day but did not ask me to drink the wedding wine or stay for dinner. In the past, the whole family was eager to greet me to attract my attention, but this time it was low-key. The girls did not show their faces. The old man was also cautious in what he said, so I couldn’t ask too many questions. The residence is quiet, with no idle people moving around. Happy red ribbons hanging in all places as if to host a happy event.”
Big Long’s eyes pondered and he said: ”Zeqing, you take two teams of guards. Quietly surround the An House at night. Once the hour arrives, enter and search the residence. There is no need to make a fuss. Tell Master An that a spy has infiltrated the residence, and you need to search it.”
Zong Zeqing nodded his head. Big Long has explained the layout arrangements, and he naturally knows the importance of the matter. ”Master An will not dare to stop me, but what if I search the residence and see Miss An? She will be going to the palanquin tomorrow, and there will be maids around. Master An will follow when I do the search. I can’t abduct her.”
“If she needs your help, she will say something. You just follow her words and improvise.” Big Long said.
“What if she sees me and starts to cry and shout: ‘General Zong, I do not want to marry, my father beat me’? Then what will I do?” Zong Zeqing asked with a straight face.
Xie Gang couldn’t hold back: “When the emperor gave you the name of General Hu Wei, did he know you were so stupid?”
Zong Zeqing turned around and threw a punch at him: ”Damn you. Humor, do you know humor? I’m just trying to make fun to lighten up the atmosphere, right?”
Xie Gang lifted his arm to pluck away the punch: “Very funny, huh.”
Zong Zeqing kicked again, ”Damn scout, laughing so insincerely.”
“Stop fooling around.” Big Long’s voice was not loud but effective in stopping Zong Zeqing and Xie Gang’s scuffle. Big Long said, “She is smart and resourceful. She will surely give hints in her words to let you know what is happening. If there is a chance, she will ask to see me. You won’t be able to find the spy who infiltrated the An House, so naturally, you will have to report to me.”
Zong Zeqing scratched his head, so in the end, it was just an excuse for the General to meet the girl. “But in any case, she will have to go to the palanquin tomorrow morning. Moreover, how and why would the spy sneak into the An House? How could we be sure it is a spy? All of these questions will be asked by the governor. After that, if it failed to round up the field, you would be in trouble.”
It was necessary to have the exact information to be sure that the search was to arrest the spy only. Dealing with ordinary thieves fell under the jurisdiction of the Governor. The military having concealed something from the Governor and acting rashly on its own, it was inappropriate. But if they informed the Governor first, the opportunity to act would not even be there.
Big Long did not panic: “After I meet An Ruochen, all those problems you mentioned would be solved.”
Is that so? After meeting her?
Zong Zeqing was not sure, but whatever General Long said he would follow.
Zong Zeqing led the men to set Big Long’s arrangements in motion. At night, two teams of people quietly surrounded the An House. Zong Zeqing waited while still speculating. What would she say when she met him, surely she would not shout for help with tears in her eyes, right?
In the Purple Cloud House, Big Long was feeling annoyed. Obviously, it was just a small matter, even if the plan has changed, there are ways to adapt. But somehow he was restless. As if the enemy was pressing on the battlefield, and he had not yet thought of a way to win. Even if An Ruochen did not escape and married into the Qian House, so what? He was sorry for her but he gave her a chance, nothing to feel guilty about. It’s just that she’s smart and resilient, bold and uncommon for a woman. Everything was arranged. All she had to do was arrive on time, and she would have gotten what she wanted, but it didn’t happen.
Big Long decided to order someone to prepare his horse. He couldn’t wait until Zong Zeqing sent someone back. He led two guards and ran into the night, heading for the An House.
The streets at this time were dark and quiet. Only the starlight and the lanterns outside some houses and stores gave faint light. Big Long saw the An House from afar and the light of some lanterns through the wall. He frowned. The time has not yet arrived. Why did Zong Zeqing act early?
While he was wondering, a man came out from the dark of the street corner. It was Zong Zeqing.
“General.” Zong Zeqing ran to the side and whispered: “There’s lights and shouts suddenly coming from the An House. It seems that something happened. I was planning to go in and search the residence on the pretext of passing by during the night. It also saves us the excuse about the spy infiltrating it.”
“Wait.” Big Long stopped him. Although he knew Zong Zeqing was right, this accident appeared just in time to solve their difficulties. But he intuitively thought that something was wrong. “Wait a little longer.”
“Wait for what? When?” The timing was important when fighting a battle at the front line, so naturally, Zong Zeqing had to ask for clarification.
Big Long looked at the An House, which was getting brighter, and it seemed like the commotion was getting bigger.
“Wait for me to come back.” Big Long pulled the reins of his horse and galloped his horse toward the An House.
Big Long did not enter the An House but rode around the walls of the residence. He controlled the horse to go slowly, quietly observing the situation outside of the An House, listening carefully to the movements inside . When he reached the back wall of the residence, he stopped.
In front of him was a surprising scene.
A small figure crawled out from a dog hole under the wall.
At this moment, the moon jumped out of the clouds, shedding light on the scene at the back wall. Big Long saw more clearly. There was a girl with messy hair, her body seemed to have blood on it, looking wretched. She climbed out of the dog hole but was unable to stand straight. Her legs seemed to be injured. Her chest was heaving. Panicked and gasping for air, she turned to look around and saw a black figure riding a horse not far away, suddenly freezing.
Big Long did not move. The girl did not move either, just like that, staring at each other. Then he saw the girl’s eyes widen in surprise as if she recognized him. She opened her mouth and silently called out, “General.”
Someone in the backyard of the mansion called out loudly. “There’s nothing here either. She must have escaped.”
“How can she escape? Can she have wings?”
“Go outside and look. She must not be able to run far.”
Big Long clipped his horse’s belly and flew to An Ruochen’s side, bending down and extending his hand, holding it around her waist and carrying her onto the horse’s back.
“General.” That’s when he heard her voice. Weak, but with a hint of surprise.
When he saw her, he knew what to do about all the problems.
Big Long tossed a cloak and the girl in his arms held it steady to cover herself up. The two people rode into the night street.
Zong Zeqing waited patiently for Big Long to return and give the order, but instead he saw Big Long galloping up to him with a person hidden in his arms. He didn’t even stop but only shouted, “Retreat!”
Then he turned his eyes and ran out of sight on his horse.
Zong Zeqing was dumbfounded.
What the hell! The General himself went to kidnap someone? Kidnap or snatch? How dare he do such a thing! Not even a word in advance!
Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! This is more exciting than entering the house and searching! Ah, no, also troublesome.