The next morning, Old Liu and the others finished their breakfast, packed their luggage, and set off for the next target that Old Liu had set for Shangdang.
The distance between Huguan Pass and Shangdang was not very far, but it was mainly by mountain roads. At that time, Bingzhou was not very peaceful because it bordered the Xianbei and Xiongnu. Therefore, the land was vast and sparsely populated. In order to prevent being robbed by the Xianbei people, almost all the people lived in the city in winter. On the way, Old Liu and the others could hardly see any inhabited villages.
There was snow everywhere in the wilderness. In order to prevent sneak attacks, Old Liu and the others tried their best to move forward in an open area. Yan Liang led three team members to scout the way in front, maintaining a distance of about one mile from the others.
Finally, they bypassed another mountain. They could already see the outline of Shangdang City in the distance. They probably wouldn't encounter any more ambushes today. Old Liu ordered everyone to speed up and enter the city as soon as possible.
All of a sudden, a woman's cry for help came from afar. Looking over, it turned out to be a few strong men riding horses. They were circling around a woman dressed in white. From time to time, someone would poke the woman in the middle with a horsewhip, causing the woman to cry out in surprise. The few strong men burst into laughter.
In broad daylight, someone was actually teasing a commoner girl. Old Liu naturally could not sit idly by, so he led the crowd to the front of the few strong men.
Seeing that someone was meddling in their business, those people seemed to be very angry. They shouted at Old Liu and the others, as if telling them not to meddle in their business. However, when Old Liu and the others approached, they realized that it was a dozen well-equipped cavalrymen. They hurriedly rode their horses and fled into the mountains.
When the woman saw that the few strong men had run away, she waited for Old Liu and the others to come near. She quickly knelt down and bowed to Old Liu and the others, thanking them for saving her life.
"You're just a woman, why did you come out of the city alone? Don't you know that Xianbei people often appear here? And who were those people just now?”Old Liu asked.
"My home is in Shangdang City. Today is the death anniversary of my husband. I came here to pay my respects to him. I didn't expect to meet these mountain bandits. They insisted that I go back with them and be their wife. I didn't agree, so they killed several servants and maids who came with me, and even tried to force me to go up the mountain. Thanks to the timely arrival of several strong men, I was able to keep my innocence. I thank you, strong men.”
"You're welcome. We're just passing by because we have something to do.”Old Liu answered when he saw the corpses of several servants and maids lying on the ground in the distance, as well as a carriage.
As the saying goes, if you want to be pretty, you have to be dressed in black. Although this woman was dressed in black, her figure was very good. No wonder those mountain bandits wanted her. Therefore, Old Liu said,"We're going to Shangdang County. We can send you back.”
"Thank you, Young Master. My family is a big family in Shangdang. My husband's surname is Wu.”
Hence, Old Liu ordered a few of his personal guards to rush the carriage over and invited Madam Wu to get on it. Everyone walked towards Shangdang County together. With the carriage accompanying them, it was even more impossible to be fast this time. Old Liu followed beside the carriage and chatted with Madam Wu as they walked.
Yan Liang brought a few team members into the county town and went to find the Zhen family's inn to arrange accommodation for everyone.
"Young Master seems to be a book…
Sheng, why did you come to Shangdang in the middle of winter and bring so many soldiers? Young Master must be from an official family.”
Seeing that the woman was about twenty years old and looked dignified and quiet, Old Liu answered truthfully,""I'm Liu Bei from Zhuo County. I'm on my way to Luoyang for some important matters.”
"Why did you come to Bingzhou from Zhuo County to Luoyang? Isn't that a detour? Why didn't Young Master go from Jizhou?”
It seemed that this woman had some knowledge and was actually very clear about the geographical environment of the Great Han Dynasty. She was probably not a woman from an ordinary family.
"I left from Bingzhou because I had to go to Shangdang first. I had some things to deal with, so I took a detour. It seems that Madam Wu is very familiar with the geography of the Great Han Dynasty.”
"My family once had a teacher who taught me some of the geography of the Great Han Dynasty. That's why I know that my father-in-law is an official in Shangdang City. If Young Master has any difficulties, I can ask my father-in-law for help.”
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Wu. If you have any difficulties, I'll definitely ask you for help.”
"Well, I live in the Wu Mansion, which is not far from the city. If you can't find it, you can ask someone. Most people in the city know where the Wu Mansion is and will tell you how to get there.”
"Okay, thank you, Mrs. Wu."
"Young Master, you don't have to be so polite. You are my savior, and it is my honor to help you.”
The two of them chatted as they walked and soon entered Shangdang County.
Yan Liang had already found the Zhen family's Yuelai Inn in Shangdang and arranged for everyone's accommodation. He was welcoming them at the city gate. He heard from Madam Wu that her house was not far from the city gate and that she would be a good person to the end, so Old Liu sent her back first.
Sure enough, not far into the city, they saw a tall courtyard with the plaque of the Wu Residence hanging high above the door.
When they arrived at the door, Mrs. Wu went to knock on the door. Old Liu and the others were waiting outside.
Soon, the door opened, and a person who looked like a butler came out. When he saw Mrs. Wu, he hurriedly bowed." So it's Young Madam. Why aren't the people you brought back? Did something happen?"”
Lady Wu said," I met bandits on the way. Those servants and maids were killed by them. It was all thanks to this Young Master Liu that I was able to come back. Quickly go and get some money. Help me thank Young Master Liu for saving my life."”
"Don't stand on ceremony, Mrs. Wu. I still have to go to Yuelai Inn. Goodbye." Old Liu said hurriedly.”
Afraid that Madam Wu would pester him again, Old Liu hurriedly led everyone away and went to Yuelai Inn under Yan Liang's lead.
In order to be safe, he still booked the backyard of the inn and arranged for guards. Old Liu asked the innkeeper to find someone familiar with the terrain of Bingzhou. Because after passing Shangdang, there were no big cities on the road, so they had to choose the route first. Otherwise, it would be difficult to get lost.
After a while, the boss came in with a waiter and told Old Liu that the waiter's hometown was in Wenxi, Hedong Prefecture, which was very close to Ji Pass. Therefore, he was very familiar with the road there and could be a guide for Old Liu and the others.
"Hedong? Is there a Xie County under your rule?" Old Liu asked.
" Yes," the waiter replied." It's not far from Wenxi. How did Young Master know?" That place isn't famous."
"It's nothing…
I've only heard of it, so I'm just asking.”
"This is called hitting the jackpot." Old Liu thought. Xie County was the hometown of his second brother, Guan Yu. It was already 181 AD this year. Guan Yu should be 19 years old. He had planned to wait for him to arrive in Zhuo County in a few years before meeting him and becoming sworn brothers with Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. He didn't expect that Zhang Jiao would force him to come to Bingzhou. He decided to take a detour to find his second brother and bring him along. That way, he would have another general in his camp.
He then asked the waiter how far the journey was, how the road was like, and how to rest on the way. The waiter answered one by one.
"Alright, go and prepare. We'll set off tomorrow morning. According to the route you've taken before, how many days will it take for us to reach Hedong?”
"Usually, it takes three days to ride a horse. If Young Master's horse is fast, he can arrive in two and a half days.”
He asked the innkeeper to prepare some food and water for everyone to eat on the way. Then, everyone went to the dining hall for lunch.
While everyone was eating, the innkeeper came in to look for Old Liu." Young Master, there's a young woman looking for you outside.”He looked at Old Liu with an ambiguous gaze, making Old Liu feel very awkward.
He hurried to the entrance of the inn. Just as Old Liu had expected, the person standing outside was the curvaceous and youthful Mrs. Wu. However, she was alone with a bundle. Her eyes were red and swollen as she cried at the door.
"So it's Mrs. Wu. Is there anything you need?”
Hearing Old Liu's question, Mrs. Wu cried even harder and could not speak. Seeing that there were already many people around, Old Liu quickly let Mrs. Wu into the inn and invited her to talk inside.
When they reached the house, Madam Wu sobbed and told them the whole story. After Liu and the others sent her home today, her family heard that the servants and maids who went with her were all killed by the bandits. She was the only one who survived and was sent back by a group of soldiers. The butler had never been on good terms with her, so he exaggerated her father-in-law's description. He said that she must have had an affair with the elegant young master. Her family divorced her and chased her out of the house at that time. He only asked her to bring a few pieces of clothing with her.
Her family was in the east of the river, and she had no relatives or friends to go to. She had no choice. She remembered that when Old Liu said goodbye to her, he seemed to have said that he was staying at Yuelai Inn, so she came looking for him. She hoped that Old Liu could help her and think of a way to send her back to her family.
What a coincidence. Old Liu thought that he was going to Xie County to look for Guan Yu, so he should bring her along. However, he didn't know if she could ride a horse. Otherwise, it would be too late to bring a carriage.
"Madam Wu, don't worry. Since we've implicated you, we'll send you back to Hedong. I just don't know if Madam Wu can ride a horse?”
"Yes, I know how to ride a horse when I was very young. Moreover, I have also learned medicine from my master. I won't cause any trouble for you on the way.”
"You know medicine? "That's good. My brothers are slightly injured and haven't seen a doctor yet. We treated their wounds and bandaged them ourselves. Can you take a look?"”
"Alright, then please bring me over to take a look.”
Old Liu brought Mrs. Wu to the residences of the wounded. After checking their injuries carefully, Mrs. Wu seemed to be very surprised and turned her head to…
Old Liu asked," Young Master and the others 'injuries are not serious. They are just superficial wounds. They did not hurt their bones and muscles. Moreover, the wounds are treated very well. There is no infection. They will be fine in a few days. But you said that you treated them yourself. From the way you bandaged and treated them, I think it was done by a doctor. Is there a doctor among you?"”
"No, it's just that we've all learned some first-aid knowledge on the battlefield, so everyone knows how to deal with it simply.”
After chatting happily with Old Liu, Mrs. Wu had already forgotten about the unhappiness of being chased out by her husband's family. She began to discuss medical skills with Old Liu.
After chatting for a while, Old Liu realized that Mrs. Wu was not just a doctor. She was proficient in medicine. It seemed that the master who taught her was not an ordinary doctor. However, when he asked Mrs. Wu, she only said that she was hired by her family. She seemed to be surnamed Huang. She did not know anything else.
Mrs. Wu and Old Liu were even more surprised when they talked. Although Old Liu claimed to be ignorant of medicine, the symptoms and treatment methods he mentioned sounded ridiculous at first, but after thinking about it, they were very reasonable. Moreover, he knew more about the structure of the human body than she did, so she had learned a lot.
What Mrs. Wu was most interested in was what Old Liu told her about the inevitable pain that the patient had to endure when he needed to operate on the patient. If she could invent a medicine that the patient could take first, by the time the surgery was performed, the patient would already be unconscious due to the effect of the medicine. When the medicine wore off, the treatment would be completed. This would greatly reduce the patient's pain, and it would be much more convenient for the doctor to operate.
Unknowingly, the two of them chatted for the entire afternoon. It was not until Yan Liang came to call Old Liu for dinner that the two of them realized that time had passed so quickly.
He quickly invited Mrs. Wu to have dinner with him. Mrs. Wu declined, but Old Liu said,"You will be eating with us for the next few days, so don't stand on ceremony.”
Mrs. Wu thought about it and agreed. She hadn't eaten lunch either. She had only forgotten that she was hungry because she was talking to Old Liu. Now that she said she wanted to eat, her stomach was already growling.
Mrs. Wu looked at Old Liu in embarrassment and whispered,""Alright, I'll go eat with you now.”
At the dining table, Old Liu noticed that Mrs. Wu only ate vegetarian food and did not eat meat at all. He could not help but become suspicious. Because at that time, Buddhism had not yet spread to China. Only those who were truly practicing Buddhism had to stick to being vegetarian.
Thinking back to his encounter with Mrs. Wu and everything that happened after that, coupled with the medical knowledge he had talked to her in the afternoon, it seemed that there was something wrong with Mrs. Wu's background.
They were still in danger, so they had to be careful. Although Old Liu still treated Mrs. Wu the same as in the afternoon, he was already on guard. She knew medicine, so she might poison them. Thinking of this, Old Liu stared at Mrs. Wu, afraid that she would poison them when they were not paying attention.
When Mrs. Wu saw that Old Liu kept staring at her, she couldn't help but show a trace of displeasure. She thought that Old Liu was coveting her beauty. Yan Liang and the others were the same as Mrs. Wu. They thought that their lord was also a lecherous person. He had fallen in love with another woman right after he got married. However, this kind of thing happened to the man at that time...
It was nothing at all, so Yan Liang and the others did not change their thoughts of following their lord because of this.
After dinner, he arranged a separate room for Madam Wu. After Madam Wu went back to rest, Mr. Liu quickly called a guard and asked him to keep an eye on Madam Wu. He must pay attention to her every move and report to her immediately if he found anything. The guard followed the order and left.
Looking at Yan Liang and the others 'surprised gazes, Old Liu told them his thoughts. Yan Liang and the others then understood that they had wrongly blamed their lord. Thinking about today's matter, it was indeed as their lord had said. It was too strange. It seemed that their lord's thoughts were much more meticulous than theirs.
"My lord, if that's the case, why did you agree to let her go with us? Isn't that very dangerous?" Wen Chou asked.”
"Bujun, think about it. We're in the open now, and our opponents are in the dark. If we don't get rid of them, we'll always be in danger. However, we don't know where they are and how to get rid of them. Now that they've sent Madam Wu to follow us, they'll definitely find an opportunity to attack us. We just have to watch Madam Wu closely and be careful of our diet. We won't fall into their trap. Moreover, we can act according to the situation. When necessary, we can pretend that we've been poisoned by them. Lure them to show themselves. Then, won't the initiative be in our hands again?”
"My lord, your idea is too high. I, Old Wen, admire you so much that I prostrate myself in front of you!”
"Alright, we still have to hurry on tomorrow. Everyone, rest early. Although the assassin yesterday took a few arrows from us and is definitely heavily injured, and won't come looking for trouble for a while, we still have to be careful.”
Old Liu's last sentence confused everyone, but they still replied,""Yes, I will obey your orders."
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