Chapter 33: Kidnapped
Early in the morning, Zhao Linxu left Luoye Garden and rode his horse for a few laps in the forest. When he returned to the manor, he saw Zhao Jiangxue painting at the stone table in the courtyard.
Zhao Linxu thought he had entered the wrong courtyard.
Was this Zhao Jiangxue?
His little sister could actually calm down and paint?
Zhao Linxu couldn’t believe it. He stepped forward for a closer look and saw that Zhao Jiangxue was copying the bamboo in the courtyard.
“Well? How did I do?” Zhao Jiangxue, with ink on her face and the back of her hand, asked Zhao Linxu smugly.
Zhao Linxu looked at it for a long while. “I can only tell that it’s bamboo.”
“And?”
“That’s it.”
Zhao Jiangxue stomped her foot in anger. What did he mean, he could only tell it was bamboo!
“At least you can tell what this is! If Imperial Brother were to paint, the bamboo would probably turn into flowers!”
“That’s why We don’t show Our shortcomings and paint bamboo,” Zhao Linxu said, looking at Zhao Jiangxue as if she were a fool.
Zhao Jiangxue angrily threw down her brush.
“Why did you suddenly want to paint? I remember when you were a child, I asked you to learn, but you refused.”
“Just… felt like painting.”
Seeing Zhao Jiangxue’s coy appearance, Zhao Linxu felt that something was wrong.
What was wrong with this girl?
Zhao Linxu was suspicious. Just then, he happened to see something under Zhao Jiangxue’s Xuan paper. He could only see a corner, so he went forward and pulled out the paper underneath to look.
“…Hey!” Zhao Jiangxue was so scared that she pounced forward to snatch it back.
“Give it back to me!”
“How can you just snatch someone else’s things—!”
Zhao Jiangxue was so agitated that her face turned red. Unfortunately, her small frame was no match for Zhao Linxu, and she wasn’t as tall as him. She jumped up and down but couldn’t get it back.
Zhao Linxu unfolded the paper that Zhao Jiangxue had hidden and saw that it was an ink wash painting of a bamboo grove in a snowy scene. It was clear that the painter of this work was a highly accomplished and skilled scholar.
Zhao Linxu didn’t understand painting and couldn’t see any artistic conception, but he could still tell the difference between good and bad.
“Who painted this?”
“Don’t ask! Give it back to me—!”
Seeing Zhao Jiangxue’s ears and cheeks flushed red, Zhao Linxu was even more unwilling to return it.
“Who!” Zhao Linxu frowned. “I’d like to see who’s flirting with you.”
It wasn’t that Zhao Linxu wanted to interfere in Zhao Jiangxue’s private affairs, but although Zhao Jiangxue was a little clever, and he had taught her a lot, she was still a little girl who had been protected under his wing. There were many things she couldn’t handle properly, and her temperament was straightforward. Zhao Linxu wouldn’t be at ease if he didn’t personally check.
“Give it back to me!”
Zhao Linxu saw it. There was a seal in the corner of the painting.
Zhao Linxu frowned slightly.
This seal…
“Prince Anding, Zhao Linyi?”
Hearing this name, Zhao Jiangxue exploded.
“I didn’t paint for him! It was just a whim! I just wanted to learn!”
Zhao Linxu’s mood was complicated.
“You, in the past, when I arranged a marriage for you with Prince Anding because of Zhao Zhanqi, you cried and screamed and threatened to hang yourself, refusing to marry. Why are you on good terms with him now?”
“I’m not on good terms with him!” Zhao Jiangxue wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
Zhao Linxu stroked his chin.
When did Zhao Jiangxue and Zhao Linyi start?
Could it be that during the last Harvest Festival, after Zhao Linyi came to Luoye, the two of them had hit it off?
Since Zhao Linxu had forcefully decreed the marriage between Zhao Jiangxue and Zhao Linyi before, he naturally had no objections to him. Plus, he could subdue his own sister, so he was really a capable person.
“If you really want to learn, you can ask the City Lord or Meng Qingshu for advice.”
Zhao Jiangxue pouted. “I’m afraid they’ll laugh at me.”
“Do you want Zhao Linyi to laugh at you, or them to laugh at you?”
Zhao Jiangxue’s eyes widened.
Th-that’s true.
Zhao Linxu rubbed his forehead.
How had she become so stupid?
“I’ll go find Li Jianyu later and ask him to teach you.”
Zhao Jiangxue nodded.
As the two were talking, a servant boy came in to report.
“What?”
Zhao Jiangxue’s eyes widened.
Zhao Linxu’s expression was also not good.
The Wan manor had sent a matchmaker with betrothal gifts and was waiting in the main hall for Li Jianyu to discuss marriage?
“Where is the City Lord?”
“The City Lord has gone out to investigate a case and has not yet returned. It is said to be in… Yunfeng Village. Yes, in Yunfeng Village.”
Zhao Linxu nodded, said a word to Zhao Jiangxue, and then rode his horse to the place the servant boy had mentioned.
Yunfeng Village was not far. Zhao Linxu asked for directions along the way and arrived in half an hour.
“Your Majesty!”
A man in black knelt before Zhao Linxu.
Zhao Linxu recognized him as one of Shuo Yuan’s men. Shuo Yuan was the shadow guard he had placed by Li Jianyu’s side to protect him. Previously, Shuo Yuan had been seriously injured in the fire at the City Lord’s manor, so for a while, it had been the person before him who had taken over his work.
“Lord Shuo Yuan sent this subordinate to inform Your Majesty that the City Lord has been kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?!” Zhao Linxu’s heart sank, and he frowned. “You just let Li Jianyu be taken away?”
“No, the City Lord was investigating a disappearance case in this village. The trick was at the small post station outside the village, and those villains who abducted the commoners were so bold that they even wanted to capture the City Lord.”
Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow slightly. He could guess what had happened.
“In order to infiltrate the enemy’s camp and wipe them out in one fell swoop, the City Lord played along, pretending to be drugged by the wine and fainting, and was taken to the villains’ stronghold. Lord Shuo Yuan has been following them to ensure the City Lord’s safety.”
Zhao Linxu shook his head.
Neither of them was easy to worry about.
He was brave and decisive. There was no better way at that time, but this move was really risky.
“Where is the stronghold?”
Zhao Linxu pulled on his reins. “Lead the way.”
“Yes!”
XXXXXX
Li Jianyu slowly opened his eyes.
Looking around, Li Jianyu found himself in a dilapidated hut. All he could see were the dilapidated walls, the windows sealed with wooden planks, and the ground covered with hay.
And besides him, there were about a dozen young men and women of similar age in the room, their limbs, like his, bound with thick hemp ropes, unable to move. Most of them had fearful expressions on their faces, and some of the more timid ones were even trembling all over.
Li Jianyu squinted slightly.
Shuo Yuan had been following him all the way. The Luoye army was probably already lurking outside. With one signal from him, the people outside could attack at any time.
But he was not in a hurry.
To cut the grass, one must remove the roots. Li Jianyu first had to find out the purpose of these people abducting and kidnapping young people, and to whom they were being sold.
Li Jianyu sighed. After coming up from the bottom of the cliff, he had found that the unfinished official business had piled up into a small mountain, and this was the most troublesome one. Li Jianyu had thought of dealing with this more urgent matter first, but he had not expected things to be much more complicated than he had imagined, with wide-ranging involvements, and he even had to personally pretend to be a victim.
“Cough, cough… cough…”
Sitting beside Li Jianyu was a handsome young man who looked four or five years older than him. But at this moment, the young man’s face was overly pale, and he was listless. His body was bent over as he coughed painfully, looking as if he were sick.
Li Jianyu also noticed that this young man was from the Great Xi.
“Cough… cough…”
The young man’s coughing grew more and more severe, and then he even coughed up blood. The others, seeing this, all moved away from him in fear.
“This sickly fellow!”
The door was opened, and the man guarding them spat. “I shouldn’t have brought you back. What bad luck!”
“Cough, cough, cough—”
The young man began to cough violently, his whole body convulsing.
Li Jianyu frowned slightly.
What should he do now? If he didn’t act soon, would this person be able to hold on until the people outside broke in?
Just as he was hesitating, Li Jianyu was stunned.
He saw the young man’s hands, which were tied behind his back, move slightly, giving Li Jianyu a hand signal.
Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow.
