My wife has a secret

Chapter 188 Long Road
"Even if the sky falls, won't the Yang family still be there to hold it up at Huangling Pass?"

Empress Dowager Xu's expression remained calm, as if she did not take the threat from the neighboring country seriously at all.

"Qing'er was raised bit by bit, little by little, by me. If he is safe... everything else is secondary. So you should know how important the mission you are carrying is."

Shen Shuangxu knew that it was difficult to disobey the emperor's order, so he lowered his head and responded.

Ever since she made a name for herself in the capital, she was spotted by Empress Dowager Xu and assigned to work in the court.

Although he did not have a specific official rank, he was treated with caution by the court ministers because of his special duties of investigating cases, combating corruption, and supervising all officials.

Such an experience was considered a favor from the Empress Dowager, but compared with this nephew transferred from Suzhou, the preferential treatment he had received before was nothing.

"Don't worry, Saint. When Shuang Xu arrives in Liao, he will do his best to search for the whereabouts of Marquis Guangping."

When Empress Dowager Xu saw that Shen Shuangxu looked straight ahead and was neither humble nor arrogant, she immediately looked at him again with her deep eyes and carefully considered the words he used to address her.

Although the empress dowager also understood that Shen Shuangxu and her nephew were brought together by the imperial order, this somewhat distant title still made this woman, who had seen all kinds of things in the world and was quite shrewd, feel a little strange.

But after a moment, she thought of a new idea.

"I heard that Princess Danyang sent someone to visit the fourth concubine of Marquis Guangping's mansion."

Shen Shuangxu naturally also received this insignificant news, but her attention was focused on the White Lotus Sect, the imperial mausoleum and Xu Qing's disappearance, and she did not pay too much attention to this matter.

Although Princess Danyang's behavior was a little strange, and he could roughly determine the other party's identity as the White Lotus Sect, but there was no solid evidence at the moment, and the other party was involved in too many powerful families, so it was really difficult to take action against her.

"It's true."

"This girl wanted to marry Qing'er before, so why not take advantage of this opportunity and fulfill her wish?"

Shen Shuangxu blinked slightly and looked up at the Queen Mother in disbelief.

Didn’t the White Lotus Sect send a letter saying that Xu Qing drifted into the territory of the Liao Kingdom?

Princess Danyang's biological father was Emperor Heng of Qi, and her brother Emperor Xuan was not only the previous emperor, but also the adopted son of the empress dowager. How could such a noble status allow her to get married when the groom was not around?
Empress Dowager Xu had thought about this matter long ago, and reminded him with words full of meaning: "Shuang Xu, you are Qing'er's legal wife, who was married to him through three letters and six engagements. If he wants to take a concubine, you, the legal wife, can do it."

……

An unknown place within the territory of Liao State.

In the early morning, the forest was shrouded in morning mist. When the first ray of sunlight shone through the mist into the simple campsite, the surroundings seemed to be covered with a layer of soft light.

When Xu Qing opened his eyes, he found that the birds were the first species to wake up. They stood on the branches and chirped, as if they were urging him to get up.

After a long period of running around and caring for the whole night, Xu Qing almost didn't sleep well all night, but thinking of what the heroine said last night, he also developed a new fear of the wild mountains and forests.

Xu Qingqiang pulled himself together, came to a tree with a good view, leaned against it and rested for a while.

Just like that, accompanied by the faint snoring of the heroine, the sun rose little by little from the other side of the mountain until the real morning came.

Not long after, the heroine woke up from her sleep slowly.

At this moment, she seemed to have shed the noble and chivalrous appearance and turned into a simple and honest girl. She rubbed her eyes and sat on the ground to relax.

When she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her, Yang Xianning immediately became serious and restrained her somewhat casual attitude.

Seeing this slightly wary move, Xu Qing smacked his lips unconsciously, but didn't say anything.

In ancient times, the distinction between men and women was very strict, and since the other person was her savior, she could do whatever she wanted.

After making soup with the remaining wild vegetables from yesterday and simply wiping his face and limbs with water from the nearby stream, Xu Qing took the initiative to ask, "How many days will we stay here? Do you need me to find some more food?"

"Don't bother, we'll go now."

"Now?"

Xu Qing's face was full of surprise. He had given the other person a quick physical examination and knew how serious his injuries were.

Although there were no obvious external injuries, the exhaustion and the many dislocated bones in the body made it seem like the body was not capable of walking.

If it were me, I would probably have to stay in bed for three months.

"I moved around briefly while on duty last night, and nothing serious happened."

Yang Xianning's voice was still weak, and she didn't look like she had recovered at all, but judging from the surface of her legs and elbows, the dislocations on her body had been corrected.

Xu Qing couldn't help but gasp, marveling in his heart at this woman's strong will and extraordinary abilities.

If you want to correct the dislocated bones in your body, you have to endure the pain and straighten them one by one.

But last night, when Xu Qing was sleeping, he did not hear any sound around him, which was enough to prove that the other party was doing all this silently.

"There are basically forest rangers in villages and towns in all mountain forests. They are responsible for patrolling the conditions of each mountain area and observing the conditions of the surrounding wilderness."

In ancient times, information was scarce, and many of the news among the people depended on foreign caravans and government notices.

Moreover, due to the rampant bandits and robbers, these forest rangers are also responsible for exploring the conditions in the mountains and persuading villagers who go out hunting to avoid dangerous areas where bandits are prevalent and wild beasts are rampant.

Of course, they are also responsible for preventing wildfires and checking whether upstream water sources are flooding or drying up.

"Including the two days we rested when we were rushed here, we have already stayed here for three days. It is common for us to be discovered by the forest rangers patrolling the mountains after such a long time, so we need to set off quickly."

The work of forest rangers is often passed down from generation to generation between villages and towns, and they all have extensive experience in patrolling the mountains.

Through the traces left by the two people, they can determine who stopped here and when.

When Yang Xianning led troops in battle, she often needed to take these unstable factors into consideration to prevent the enemy from exposing her position of the surprise troops and discovering it in advance.

"As you say, where are we going?"

After just a few days of getting along, Xu Qing was completely conquered by this female hero.

Previously, he thought that Yang Xianning was the kind of warrior who could only wield swords and guns, but these experiences revealed from the side that she seemed to have sufficient camping experience.

"The sun is in the east, so we should go east."

Yang Xianning made a simple analysis: "The capitals of our country and Liao are both in the west. There are dense populations, numerous towns and heavily fortified areas... If we go east along the river, we can reach Xuzhou City if we are lucky."

"Xuzhou?"

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment and understood where the two were at the moment.

Indeed, if we turn back along the route we drifted down, we will definitely encounter considerable trouble.

The border between Qi and Liao was the heavily guarded Huangling Pass. Without a pass, they could not enter the city, and if they were discovered in the wilderness, they would be reported to the government.

The origin of real refugees can be traced back to their hometowns, but these native Qi people will be easily discovered just by their accents.

"Let's go." Yang Xianning said lightly, and then simply covered up the traces of the two staying overnight, and headed east with Xu Qing.

They said they were in a hurry, but due to their illness, the two men could not walk fast, and they only climbed over one mountain after walking and stopping many times.

Watching the sunset and the winding mountain road, Xu Qing couldn't help but sigh, wondering how many days of hardship he would have to endure before he could get through it.

But I was lucky to survive the explosion.

"do not move."

Hearing the sudden voice of the female hero behind him, Xu Qing stopped.

Because of the interweaving of trees in the mountains and forests, and the fact that the sun was setting at the moment, visibility was poor, and he did not notice anything that needed attention.

However, he subconsciously stopped, held his breath, and began to observe the surrounding situation.

"Look here."

Xu Qing followed the direction the heroine pointed and saw a stiff and rotten corpse.

It was leaning against a tree trunk and had been dead for many days. Judging from the clothes it was wearing and the pattern of its clothing, it looked like a man.

Fortunately, it is late winter and early spring now, so the body is slightly frosted and does not emit too much corpse odor.

This was not the first time Xu Qing had seen a dead body. He approached the corpse, took a quick look and gave up.

"How could a body appear here in the forest?"

This place is far away from where ordinary people live. The sudden appearance of a corpse in the wilderness means that there must be potential danger around.

"The wound on the neck was caused by a sharp knife."

"A sharp blade? Does that mean that person was holding a weapon? Was it a bandit?"

Based on the clues given by the female knight, Xu Qing deduced that the people holding weapons in the forest were most likely bandits causing trouble.

"Well, let's keep going."

Yang Xianning's conclusion was roughly the same as Xu Qing's. Because she did not find a bag next to the body, it meant that when he died, his belongings were most likely robbed by bandits.

The corpse did not delay the two men's progress. After walking for a while, Xu Qing had already forgotten about it.

During the journey together, he and the heroine did not have any close relationship, but they had a tacit understanding in their daily life.

After he went out to find wild vegetables and fruits, the other party would often process them patiently and carefully, pick out what could be preserved as food, and stockpile them for future use.

Not only that, the night shifts are also like this.

Xu Qing doesn't need to say anything now. He can confirm the surrounding situation by just waking up and exchanging glances with the other party.

But such a boring daily routine soon came to an end.

About four days after the two men set out, a group of four people appeared on the road. The man in the lead wore a straw hat, a straw raincoat, and a short knife on the crotch of his cloth coat.

Not far behind him stood another man dressed similarly with deep eyes.

For some reason, when Xu Qing first saw these two people, he could see a bit of viciousness in their eyes.

When the two of them discovered them, the other team also saw him. Xu Qing subconsciously took a step forward and talked to the other team while separating the female hero from behind.

After all, the two had been walking in the mountains for a long time and had never communicated with the outside world. This resulted in the heroine's clothes not being changed from beginning to end, and part of the lining and bellyband were still exposed.

Xu Qing, who was used to seeing it, naturally wouldn't have any thoughts, but to outsiders, it might be a different scene.

The people on the other side were also very cautious. After spotting Xu Qing, they stopped where they were and shouted from a distance of more than ten meters: "Who is coming?"

“Villagers.”

"Where is the village near this desolate mountain?"

The other party obviously didn't believe Xu Qing's nonsense, and continued to ask with doubt: "Tell me the truth!"

Their suspicious nature made them put their hands on the hilt of the knife, as if they were ready to look for clues and loopholes in Xu Qing's words.

Xu Qing naturally would not rashly anger these two savages with knives, and he was worried that if he did not eliminate the problems of these two people, he would get into bigger trouble, so he began to explain.

"We used to be, but now we are not."

Xu Qing's loud reply made the two people on the opposite side look at each other in bewilderment, but one of them quickly realized the meaning of his words and whispered to the other: "A man and a woman alone, walking on our mountain road, it seems that they are stealing food from the village."

In folk culture, cheating is a synonym for adultery, a slang term.

In some villages, if men and women were found cheating on each other, they would be starved for three days and three nights, exiled from the village, and left to fend for themselves.

Because of the wild beasts and bandits, these men and women who had no food to carry and were tortured all ended up in a miserable state.

The Liao Kingdom was vast and sparsely populated, so this practice was common.

After clearing up his doubts, one of them raised his voice and asked, "I see. Do you need some dry food from us brothers?"

This was originally a good suggestion, but Xu Qing was worried that the other party would have distracting thoughts after seeing the appearance of the woman behind him, so he shook his head to refuse, and took the initiative to signal them to give way and make way for them.

The two men actually had no intention of providing export rations. After seeing that Xu Qing and the other man's actions were not threatening at all, they whispered to each other, made a decision, and walked over carefully with their men.

The mountain roads here are rugged, with steep slopes every few steps, so giving way in a relatively spacious area is the safest thing to do.

The other party obviously didn't want to cause any trouble on the road, so he just lowered the brim of his hat and continued on his way in silence.

When the group of four approached, Xu Qing was shocked to find that the things they were leading were actually two young girls.

The first girl, who was still in primary school, was wearing tattered clothes. She was thin but had fair skin.

She lowered her head timidly, not daring to say a word.

The other person's condition was not much different from hers, but her body seemed to be just skin and bones, with not much flesh on any part of her body, and the outline of bones was visible under her joints.

"Master..."

The second girl seemed to want to say something, but was greeted with a stern shout and a slap from the leading man.

"Damn it, didn't I tell you not to talk too much in front of others?"

Because the other party had just walked in front of him, Xu Qing was in a position to witness everything. He simply reached out and caught the other party's raised wrist.

(End of this chapter)