MTL - Perfect Encounter-Chapter 14

I haven't seen him for more than a month. Zong Ze has grown darker and stronger, but he still looks like that, with a very kind smile on his baby face. An Zhifu was polite and asked him to stay for dinner. Zong Zeqing was not polite either, and agreed without hesitation. He also said that he happened to be here to deliver posts to An's family, so it would be nice to have dinner and talk together.

Dinner is served in the lobby hall.

An Zhifu became more thoughtful, thinking to himself that Zong Zeqing was easy to win over, and it would be great if he could match his daughter. So with hope in mind, he called the whole family over to accompany him. An Ruoxi and An Ruolan were arranged next to Zong Zeqing. Zong Zeqing didn't seem to be able to see it, and he just talked about his busy days, patrolling the border and training soldiers and horses. An Zhifu took the opportunity to ask about the border defense situation, is war really going to happen?

"Master An, don't worry, there will be nothing wrong at this moment, but it's hard to say whether there will be a war. If there is a war on the front line, the county government will definitely issue a notice. Besides, the front line at the border is some distance away from Zhonglan City, and you can't hit the city. Come on. If there is a call, there will be a notice in the Yamen."

An Zhifu's face twitched, what's the difference between that and not saying anything?

Zong Zeqing said again: "Did Master An hear about Nan Qin insulting and provoking me by the Great Xiao? Don't worry, Master An, it's just a lip service, we are not afraid of it. General Long said, It's good to have a response. No, I'm here this time to send a post to Master An. In three days' time, on the first day of October, our Long Family Army will hold a military training competition and an oath meeting in the eastern suburbs. The prefect has already arranged for people to set up a stage in the school grounds in the eastern suburbs, and invited all the officials and common people to watch. The general said, we don’t scold each other, it would be disrespectful. The previous oath ceremony has been done. This is our attitude, show it to Nanqin, and show it to the people of Pingnan County. We are not afraid of Nanqin, and we will fight whenever we want."

As Zong Zeqing said, he raised his head and drank a glass of wine, quite heroic.

An Zhifu hastily said some flattering words. An Ruoxi couldn't help asking: "Will General Long go there that day?"

Zong Zeqing smiled and said: "It's natural. General Long has to be here for such a scene. This is to show Nanqin the majesty of my Great Xiao Army. You have never seen the oath meeting before, so it is impossible to have such an opportunity. Missed it. With the post, I can go to the viewing platform closest to the school. I ate a few meals of Mr. An, and this post is a reward. You know, ordinary people can only watch from a distance. Mr. An can bring the whole family Going to the viewing platform will earn enough face. Master An, please don't let me down, the whole family will be there. You must go and have a look."

While talking, he looked around the An family members, and when he said the last sentence, his eyes fell on An Ruochen so cleverly.

An Ruochen listened carefully to Zong Zeqing's words, and she intuitively felt that Zong Zeqing's coming here was related to what General Long had ordered earlier. General Long said that he would find an opportunity to meet her and told her to leave home. She waited for nearly a month, and although she was anxious, she also believed that the general would not break his promise. Now that the opportunity has really come, she is secretly delighted that she will not miss it on the first day of October.

The military training contest and the oath meeting are major events in Pingnan County. Not only the military is mobilizing, but the prefect Yao Kun also ordered all yamen to cooperate. Apart from the purpose of demonstrating, Yao Kun thought it was a good bait to catch spies. If there were indeed Nanqin spies lurking in the city, they would definitely come among the common people to inquire about the military situation. Therefore, manpower was arranged to take strict precautions. Not only ordinary people outside the fence had to check carefully, but also those who entered the viewing platform with posts had to be registered and recorded.

For several days, the whole city was busy with this matter. In the evening, when a tall and thin man in a government uniform walked through the back alley of the county government office, he passed a man with a note in his palm. He returned home as if nothing had happened, took out the note and read it carefully. After reading it, he put the note in front of the candle and burned it.

Laijin Tavern is located in the west of the city. It is an ordinary small restaurant. There are two staff members.

Xie Jin was a tall man, he had studied martial arts for two years, relying on these two skills, he often bullied his neighbors. Bullying the weak and fearing the hard, and being greedy for money, has a bad reputation.

One day, Xie Jin went to the backyard of his tavern, and suddenly saw a few copper plates scattered on the ground. He bent down to pick them up, and when he looked up, he saw that the backyard door was open, and there was another piece of silver at the door. He looked left and right, no one, and he didn't know who had broken the money bag and left these behind. Xie Jin was secretly happy, and ran to the door to pick it up. Looking up again, there was another ingot of silver outside the back door.

Xie Jin was overjoyed, strode over, bent down to pick it up, and became confused again, hesitating, suddenly heard a man's voice behind him: "Don't turn your head, or your life will be lost."

Xie Jin was startled, and replied stiffly, "Okay, okay." But he turned around abruptly and wanted to make a move. Before he turned around and didn't look at anything, he saw a blur in front of his eyes, and a force slapped his face, with a heavy "slap", and his face was burning with pain. Xie Jin was slapped so hard that he turned his back, his back sank, his arm hurt, he screamed "ah", and his arms were twisted and he stepped on the ground. His face was pressed, and the bridge of his nose was almost broken. The pain made him almost cry. But before he had time to cry, a dagger stuck into the ground close to his face.

Xie Jin was so frightened that he did not dare to scream. He knew in his heart that he was no match for the people behind him. "Hero, hero, spare your life." Xie Jin trembled and almost peed his pants.

"Can you hear what I said?"

"I hear you clearly, I hear you clearly." Xie Jin couldn't click, so he had to answer repeatedly.

"What did I say?"

"Don't look back, or your life will be lost."

"Very well, it seems that the ears are not damaged. Then you should listen carefully to what I say next."

"Yes Yes."

But the man behind him was not in a hurry to speak, he put down a money bag, put it beside the dagger, opened it, and let Xie Jin see the silver inside. "These ten taels of silver are for you."

Xie Jin swallowed, not daring to say yes or no.

As soon as the foot on the back was exerted, Xie Jin let out a cry of pain, and hurriedly said, "Thank you, hero."

"On the first day of October, the East Suburb Oath Assembly, you go to attend, find someone, pass a word, that's it. It's very simple, isn't it?"

"Yes." Xie Jin swallowed again, not daring not to answer.

"After the task is completed, you can go to the grove outside the school grounds to get another twenty taels of silver. That's a reward for you to complete the task."

Rumors are worth so much silver taels? Xie Jin gritted his teeth: "Then, who are you looking for? What message?"

"I'll tell you then."

Xie Jin rolled his eyes: "It's just, is it just a message?"

"right."

"After passing the word, it will be considered a success? Can I get another twenty taels?"

"right."

Xie Jin was a little hesitant. It sounded simple, and it was easy to get thirty taels, so he was very excited, but things were indeed weird, and he was not a fool. While hesitating, the man behind him leaned forward and grasped the hilt of the dagger with force, and said: "Since you know the matter, if you don't do it, you will die. If you let the news slip, you will die."

Xie Jin's face twisted in pain, and he felt that his spine was almost broken, and the blade was right next to his face, and the light of the blade made his eyes hurt. How could he not agree?

Xie Jin replied yes repeatedly, the pressure on his back was relieved immediately, the dagger beside his face was pulled out, and a burden was thrown in front of his eyes. Behind him said: "On the day of the swearing-in meeting, if you wear this dress to the meeting place in the eastern suburbs, I will contact you again."

Xie Jin tremblingly agreed, and after waiting for a long time, there was no order from behind him, and no sound was heard. Xie Jin hesitated for a long time, then turned around quietly, but saw that behind him was empty, without a single figure. Xie Jin fell limp to the ground. If it weren't for the silver and clothes in front of him, he would feel that it was just a dream.

In a blink of an eye, the first day of October arrived.

An Zhifu led a group of concubines and children to the meeting place in the eastern suburbs. There were many banners and flags along the way, and the guards were mighty. Everyone in the An family saw this scene for the first time, and they couldn't feel a little excited. Especially An Ruochen, thinking that he would be able to find out about his plans for leaving home today, his heart was beating like a drum, and his face was hot with excitement. When they arrived at the school grounds, there was a crowd of people, An Ruochen followed his aunt and father through the checkpoint and entered the inner court. Unexpectedly, he ran into Qian Pei again on the way.

An Ruochen felt disgusted when she saw Qian Pei, she turned her eyes away, but saw her father and second aunt smiling obsequiously at Qian Pei from a distance. An Ruochen subconsciously glanced at Qian Pei, and saw that there was also an indescribable smile on his face. It seems to be different from before, but I can't tell what's wrong. An Ruochen was puzzled, but after thinking about it, she was leaving anyway, and it had nothing to do with any dirty collusion of these people.

Not far behind An Ruochen, Xie Jin tremblingly entered the venue holding the post. Ordinary people are separated from the school field, and those who can enter the field are either rich or expensive or have some kind of relationship. Xie Jin considers himself an ordinary person, this post is very hot to handle, and the clothes on his body fit him well, so he was also startled, the other party knew his size when making the clothes? With these thoughts in mind, Xie Jin looked nervous and guilty, causing the soldier who checked the post to look at him a few more times.

Xie Jin broke out in a cold sweat, but escaped danger and entered the infield.

When the mysterious person handed him the post, he asked him to care about a girl in the No. 3 viewing tent in the East District of the infield. That girl's name is An Ruochen, she has no mother by her side, only an old nanny who is accompanying her. His mission is to say to An Ruochen: "Miss has been in trouble recently, be careful with your life."

After saying this, he considered that he had done his job, and he could go to the forest to the west to find a man, hand him the post, repeat the message, and the man would give him twenty taels of silver.

Xie Jin entered the infield and headed towards the East Zone, and found a seat in the stands of the East Zone. He looked around and soon saw the No. 3 viewing tent. The viewing tent has only the top of the tent, which is open on all sides to ensure that the view of the people in the tent is not obstructed. This is convenient for Xie Jin to inspect. He looked closer to the tent and saw the girl the mysterious man had mentioned. It is true that she has no mother by her side, and an old lady is behind her.

An Ruochen has been paying attention to the movement around her, wondering where the general is and how she can meet him without letting others find out. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that someone was staring at her. She turned her head and saw that the other person was a tall and strong man. The man's eyes met hers, and he turned his head quickly, pretending to look away.

An Ruochen frowned secretly, she bowed her head and lowered her eyebrows, took a teacup to drink, and peeked at the man's direction from the corner of her eyes. I saw the man turned his head and watched her secretly. An Ruochen put down the tea bowl calmly, smiled and listened to the fourth sister An Ruofang. Inadvertently saw the second younger sister An Ruoxi looking at the fourth younger sister, there seemed to be some soft emotion in her eyes. pity? mercy? An Ruochen was not sure. An Ruoxi caught An Ruochen's gaze, turned her head away quickly, and nonchalantly praised the grandeur of the military training competition with her mother Tan.

I really saw a ghost today, one or two are so weird.

An Ruochen glanced at the man outside the tent again, he had already found a seat to sit down, and that seat was not too far from her tent, in the direction where she could see her. The man sat in the crowd, looking a little nervous and restrained.

This must not be General Long's subordinate, An Ruochen thought so. But who is he? Why are you staring at her?

An Ruochen quietly looked at that person a few more times, feeling that she had never seen him before.

Not long after, the meeting began. The soldiers lined up in groups and poured into the venue in an orderly manner. Banner soldiers go first, followed by cavalry, chariot soldiers in the middle, and infantry last. Groups of people raised flags and lined up, which was very majestic. Everyone's attention was attracted by the formation in front of them. With the mighty slogan issued by the troops, the crowd of onlookers responded with warm applause and cheers.

An Ruochen's eyes were fixed on the field, but out of the corner of his eyes, he was watching the man. The man glanced at her from time to time, which made her nervous. She searched for memories in her mind, and suddenly thought that the back of Mr. Xie's clothes that she saw that day seemed to be wearing the dark blue clothes. An Ruochen froze immediately.

At this time, the field was full of soldiers. The flag soldier shouted suddenly, and the flag waved. As soon as the flag order is issued, all the soldiers will move in unison, and the uniform movements will make a loud noise. The crowd cheers, and then several soldiers in armor ride into the venue on fast horses, majestic and majestic. The handsome and tall general in the middle who is riding a black horse is particularly eye-catching, it is Long Da.

The surrounding crowd cheered and applauded, the soldier in the field Xiao Mu stood up straight, without being affected at all. After entering the arena, several generals lined up in front of each battalion. Long Da slowed down and rode from the front of the team to the end of the team. Wherever he passed, the flag soldiers waved their flags, and the soldiers behind them raised their knives and shouted in unison. They were well-trained and majestic. The surrounding people automatically quieted down and watched with bated breath.

Many girls stared at General Long with flushed faces and glowing eyes, but An Ruochen couldn't care less, because just when everyone's attention was attracted by the field, a person quietly passed by her and walked towards her A ball of paper was dropped on the lap. The ball of paper hit her hand, startling her.

She quickly held the paper ball in her hand, turned her head to look for the figure of the person who threw the paper ball, but only saw a figure in military uniform walking into the crowd. An Ruochen looked around, there was nothing suspicious, she acted nonchalantly for a while, and looked carefully so that no one was paying attention to her, the man in the dark blue clothes was also staring at the field, she quickly opened the paper ball, bowed her head took a look.

"After the oath, wait in the woods to the west. The general has something to ask."

An Ruochen looked at it at a glance, raised her head, and quietly kneaded the paper into a ball again as if nothing had happened, and hid it in her sleeve pocket. Her heart was beating fast, and she subconsciously glanced at the man in the dark blue clothes. He was still staring at the school grounds, as if he was quite shocked.

On the field, Long Da had already stepped onto the general's platform, and the drummers beat the drums and trumpets, and the soldiers in the field changed their formation. Everyone watched intently, but An Ruochen cast his eyes to the west. There was indeed a rather large forest over there, and he had passed by the periphery when he came in a carriage earlier. Looking from this direction, it seems that there were flags flying not far from the forest. I don't know if there will be guards guarding it. An Ruochen thought about it, since the general asked her to meet there, it will be arranged properly, so don't worry.

At this time, a trombone resounded through the sky, and the soldiers in the field stood upright, and the audience involuntarily held their breath. An Ruochen glanced at the field, Long Dawei stood on the stage, his eyes were piercingly scanning the soldiers and generals, as if he didn't know what was going on outside the field. Look at the man in the dark blue clothes again, he is following the crowd staring at the field, and has no time to look at him. An Ruochen frowned, carefully observing the surroundings.

A general in the field shouted loudly, and the oath meeting seemed to have begun. An Ruochen seemed to sense a peeping gaze from the crowd on the other side, but when she turned her face away, she didn't see anything unusual. An Ruofang stood up in the tent. She was small, and An Ronggui blocked her view, so she couldn't see ahead. An Zhifu scolded her in a low voice, An Ruoxi pulled An Ruofang to his side. An Ruofang saw the scene clearly and sat down obediently.

An Ruochen's heart was beating like a drum, and she always felt that something was wrong, and she also felt that maybe she was too suspicious.

"Those who leaked the military—" This is Long Da's voice, I don't know how he did it, but the sound is like a drum, resounding all over the venue.

"Cut!" All the soldiers in the field responded loudly, stepping on the ground with their shields, spears and knives, and the sound shook the sky.

An Ruochen looked at the field, the awe-inspiring scene made her blood warm up.

"He who surrenders without fighting—"

"cut!"

"Private communication with the enemy—"

"cut!"

"The lost general—"

"cut!"

"Those who lost their banners and festivals—"

"Company cut!"

One sentence and one response resounded through the sky. An Ruochen looked at it for a long time, and suddenly realized that she had been staring at Long Da. This is not the time to lose your mind. After the oath, we will meet in the forest. Maybe she will get a way to get out of here, but she was actually watching the excitement in a daze.

An Ruochen stabilized his mind, looked around again, and confirmed that the whole family was staring at the venue, so he quietly got up. After getting out of the tent, she looked back and saw that everyone's attention was still on the field, so she breathed a sigh of relief and quickened her pace to leave.

An Ruochen went to the woods to the west, thinking about what to say if he was stopped. But after walking for a while, no one stopped her, and the soldiers standing in the distance were also staring at the field, not paying attention to An Ruochen's movements. An Ruochen went further to the woods, farther away from the venue, and gradually left the guard circle.

Maybe things will be easier than she imagined. An Ruochen thought so. The sound in the school grounds has changed, and the oath seems to have ended. Then there was the clash of weapons and the sound of shouting and shouting, perhaps the military training contest had begun. In that case, it was time for the general to leave the scene to see her. An Ruochen's steps couldn't help becoming lighter.

Getting closer and closer to the forest, when turning a corner, An Ruochen turned his head and looked behind him, and was shocked by this sight. The man in the dark blue clothes actually followed her. Seeing her looking back, he seemed to want to avoid it, stopped to look elsewhere, but only paused, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he strode towards her.

An Ruochen was shocked, turned around and walked quickly. Something came to mind, but it wasn't real.

It's him? no?