Perfect Encounter - Chapter 20.1

PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 20.1

Big Long brought An Ruochen into the Purple Cloud House.

He found she had passed out when he carried her to the bed. He summoned the army doctor, Wei Xingzhou, to look at her injuries. While waiting for the doctor, Zong Zeqing and Xie Gang stood in the room frowning and staring at the unconscious An Ruochen.

“It’s harder to explain why the bride was kidnapped than to explain the report about the spy.” Xie Gang said.

“Let’s say we found her during the night patrol?” Zong Zeqing thought of something to say.

“Found her, but why not bring her back home at once?”

“To ask how she came about such serious injuries before sending her back, ah.”

“Then why didn’t you notify the An House immediately, and why didn’t you send her to the county government office?”

“……” Zong Zeqing did not know how to answer and jumped up: “She is not awake. How can we talk about sending her anywhere, naturally whoever found her will ask questions first, ask her.”

“When the emperor gave you the name of General Hu Wei, did he know you were so noisy?” Xie Gang coldly said.

“……” Zong Zeqing choked and punched him with a fist. An Ruochen moved on the bed and opened her eyes.

“General.” Her voice was faint and almost inaudible.

Zong Zeqing hurriedly corrected his face steadily and came over: “Miss An, you are awake.”

A large palm behind him reached over and pushed him aside: “She didn’t call you.”

Zong Zeqing was squeezed to the side, looking quite aggrieved. The girl called a ‘General’ and did not say which. Well, looking at the eyes of Big Long and An Ruochen, that ‘General’ was indeed not meant for him.

Zong Zeqing stretched his neck to watch, afraid to miss any exciting gossip.

Big Long opened his mouth first: “You did not go as promised. Old Jiang did not meet anyone. I have checked your family’s affairs, is your fourth sister missing? Your wedding date has also changed to tomorrow. How did you escape tonight, and what are your plans?”

An Ruochen looked shocked. Zong Zeqing criticized the Great General for being heartless. He could at least say, ‘you are safe now’ first instead of coming up and talking about serious matters and interrogation.

“Master Jiang has not received anyone?” An Ruochen was so surprised that she began to panic, “What about my sister? What does the General mean by missing?”

“Did you ask your sister to go and join Old Jiang in your place?” Big Long heard her and guessed.

“Did he not see my sister at all, or has he decided not to take her in?”

“Didn’t see.”

An Ruochen closed her eyes.

Big Long said, “I originally intended things to go like this. After you left, your disappearance would have spread through the city, and I would have arranged false clues so that Mr. Xie would have been led to think you’re  hiding somewhere on the city’s outskirts. In the previous incident, we publicly concluded he had killed himself, so by now he likely thinks he had planned well and would take the next steps lightly. There would have been a clue that the military hid you. With his suspicious mind, he would think you actually had something on him. Otherwise, the military would not have decided to hide you. After all, Xu Matchmaker has died, and what she has said and given you, he could no longer verify. He would have gone after you again. This way, we could capture him in one fell swoop. On the outside, we would have spread word that dome killers wanted you dead, with our life and death uncertain. After searching for some time, the government would have still failed to find you or your corpse. Over time, in all probability, you would have been pronounced dead. Just like this, you can live peacefully in another county. But now you have not escaped. The previous plan has to change.”

Zong Zeqing wanted to sigh. General Long was a dumb and wooden man. He can’t use this trick to pursue a girl. He should keep the heroic image, so the girl is grateful. Gently talk about the virtues and then say: I will help you find your sister or something, while Miss An, afraid she will suffer disaster, would pledge her body … Oh, pledging her body was unnecessary. To go through the trouble to help catch the spy would be good enough. Now, the cards have been revealed. He only assisted her in escaping in order to capture the spy. The girl’s heart should turn cold, right?

Sure enough, An Ruochen opened her eyes with tears, “So that’s how it is. I thought… I thought that my sister had managed to catch up with Master Jiang’s caravan, and that General Long knew I had not left ……”

So, she thought General purposely came to rescue her? Zong Zeqing’s heart sighed again. Big Long didn’t make good use of this opportunity to play the benefactor card. Zong Zeqing interjected: “Indeed, we knew that you were trapped, so we thought of going to save you ah.”

However, the two parties involved did not pay any attention to him, not even sweeping him a glance. Instead, Xie Gang glared at him, blaming him for talking too much.

An Ruochen asked, “What is General’s plan now?”

“This is what I should ask you. You are seriously injured. How did you escape?” If someone else was involved in this matter, he had to deal with it accordingly.

An Ruochen blinked her eyes and thought back to the past few days. The success of her fourth sister’s escape kept her spirits up until now, but it turned out the fourth sister did not make it. Now, she did not know where she strayed. An Ruochen began to cry before she spoke. She raised her hand to wipe her tears, only to find her ten fingers injured because of digging. She stared at her fingers and remembered it was her fourth sister who dug the hole for her to help her escape, and now she got out through the hole, but her fourth sister was missing.

Tears flowed down again, but An Ruochen knew it was not the time to cry. She wiped them away and said: “My father left me in the woodshed. Miscellaneous things are kept there, including some discarded firewood knives or broken blades. I found two of them that were small and easy to hide and hid them on my body.”

Big Long looked at her quietly.

“I was badly injured and slept every day. Many people searched for my fourth sister, but not many were guarding me. Tomorrow is the wedding day, so they became negligent and went to bed early. I used a woodchipper to pry the window open and climbed out. My fourth sister ……” An Ruochen sniffed, “My fourth sister told me she dug a hole in her backyard wall, just not big enough. I got there, found the hole, and continued digging with my knife and my hands until I could drill out ……”

With her life on the line, she met General Long. An Ruochen turned her head and met Big Long’s eyes.

“So there was no one to help you? No one else knew about it?”

“Yes.”

 “Since no one was there to help you, what could you do after you got out?”

An Ruochen said, “They found out earlier than I expected, or I moved too slowly. I thought they would search my courtyard first and the fourth mother’s place later. The gatekeeper would confirm I have not gone out, and since I am injured and cannot climb over the wall, they would think I couldn’t have gone out and must’ve hidden somewhere in the courtyard. Then I would still have time.”

 “What would you have time for?” Zong Zeqing couldn’t help but ask.

“There would be time to allow me to get to the courthouse in the county government office. I wanted to beat the drum to report a case ……” without legal documents, she couldn’t request a lawsuit to be accepted, and couldn’t meet the officer to report the case, but would only be able to beat the drum.

Big Long’s eyebrows raised, she dare to do anything, ah.

Zong Zeqing opened his mouth wide in surprise: “Beat the drum to report that your father arranged a marriage for you that you do not like and that he abuses you?”

Xie Gang glanced at him. Zong Zeqing waved his hand. “Okay, okay. The emperor knows everything. Do not interrupt, and listen to what Miss An says.”

It is obvious that you are the one interrupting, okay? Xie Gang did not bother to pay attention to him.

An Ruochen bit her lips: “I wanted to report to the governor that I have seen some movements of the spies in Zhonglan City and am an important witness. This way I would hope to meet with the General.”

The corners of Big Long’s mouth curved up.

“Originally, it would be best to report this matter to the General’s office in the Purple Cloud House, but it’s too far, and I’m too injured to walk. The county government office is closer. I thought I should be able to hold on.” An Ruochen was nervous, not knowing whether this plan would upset Big Long. She could not hide from him. She lowered her head and continued, “Parents’ orders, matchmaker’s words, I disobeyed them and allegedly tricked my sister into leaving home. Although I am wounded, the magistrate cannot control this matter. As the General said, it is a family matter and no one can control it. My father can say that he disciplined his naughty and rude daughters. I am not dead, just wounded. Which law can control it? I would be sent back home and thrown into a palanquin at dawn to be taught a lesson by another person at a different place. But, if I am an important witness in military matters, according to the law, the government will have to take me into custody and hand me over to the General for investigation. Not only the General, because I would publicly beat the drum at the county government office to report to the official, the governor would also have to keep a close watch on me. In such a situation, the marriage will not happen for a while. If I can delay for a while, I will have a chance to change things later on.”

Zong Zeqing peeked at Big Long’s expression and then looked at An Ruochen. He underestimated this girl. Suddenly he remembered what Big Long said: when he met An Ruochen, he could solve all those problems and find the reasons. It was indeed true.

“I guess you also wrote the book “The Biography of a Spy” and could talk to the officers in detail for half an hour. Make them cautious and report the news immediately, so that I can make a move.” Big Long said.

Really? It’s bullshit, right? Zong Zeqing almost rolled his eyes. Wait, General, are you teasing a girl? But with such a serious tone, it’s easy to misunderstand.

An Ruochen turned red: “This, although I am stupid, I also know the truth that saying too much could lead to a lot of mistakes. The General knew Mr. Xie had fraudulently died, so you must have a plan in place. I would not say much. Instead, I would wait for you to arrive, listen to you, and then improvise.”

“If you can’t put your words into action, how can the governor believe you? If he didn’t believe you, why would he call me there? Tell me, what do you plan to say to the governor?”

An Ruochen bit her lips. General Long was afraid she would perform badly. She said in a low voice, “I would tell him Xu Matchmaker was a spy.”

“The Governor will surely ask you what proof you have.” Big Long said.

“I am the proof.” An Ruochen raised her head and said as if she was reporting a crime. “The marriage Xu Matchmaker arranged for me is with the Qian House of the county magistrate of Fu’an County. When I marry over there, I will become the stepmother of the magistrate. Xu Matchmaker had hinted many times that I should not forget her after I pass through the door. She said that after marrying into the Qian family, I would encounter various problems, such as competition for Master Qian’s favor. She knew I was unfavored in the family,  living with fear that my family would not take proper care of me after marriage. In contrast, she would let me live a good life as long as I listened well to her instructions.”

“And then what?”

“I didn’t understand what she meant at first, but I panicked I would have a hard time after becoming the official wife. My mother was unable to compete with the other wives in the family and eventually died of illness, so I wanted to hold on to Xu Matchmaker to see how she could take care of me. I asked her how she could make my life better. She said, in addition to her looks, a woman must make a profit for her husband’s family, so they think you are useful and will get more favor. Even more, to hold some power in the family. She said I was still young and she would teach me. She also told me to think carefully about why the second wife of my family is the most favored and can hold the residence firmly in her hands. It was her mother’s family that brought a lot of benefits to my father. I thought what she said is true, but I also doubted it. She is a matchmaker, and I cannot give her any benefits. Why would she help me? She didn’t explicitly say anything, only that I should remember her and help her with something.”

Zong Zeqing peeked at the General. She spoke as if it were true. Is it true?