Strong Winds Return Home – Chapter Seven


Cheng Suyue had originally wanted to go to Baihe City, and went there according to orders.
The emperor may have thought that his younger brother was surrounded by bachelors in the military camp, which was not conducive to promoting a good marriage, so he specially ordered her to help.
At least a few words could be exchanged between girls, right?

As a result, as soon as she arrived at Fuhu Mountain, she met this group of fools.

At that time, Cheng-guniang thought that it would be fine to get herself kidnapped and just light a fire to burn down the old nest, so that she could get rid of a hindrance for the people.
Who knew that as soon as she entered the mountain cottage, she would first see a big golden redwood box.
The lock was made of jade, which was inlaid with an exquisite gold-threaded lotus flower.
No matter how she looked at it, it appeared to be the batch of supplies escorted by Tan-daren more than ten years ago.

Going further inside, she found that the bandit who was in charge of guarding her was dressed in rags, but his saber was not a tawdry product.
Even though the gems on the scabbard had been picked to pieces, it could be seen that it was a masterwork.
So Cheng Suyue talked in a delicate voice.
The other party may have never seen many beautiful girls in his life, and immediately told her the story of the blade in a daze.

The group of bandits had been operating in the southeast of Dacang Mountain.
Because of the family’s wealth, they didn’t do much except eat, drink, and gamble all day long.
They played until there was no money left in the treasury, setting an example for what it meant to idle one’s family fortune away.

And when the money was gone, conflicts would arise.
The large group of people eyed one another with distaste and ultimately separated amidst turmoil.
Jiang Gui also led his men to grab a batch of property, chose Fuhu Mountain out of all available choices, and traveled all the way north to prepare to reign supreme again.

Cheng Suyue asked: “Is this sword the last thing you snatched?”

The guard nodded: “In the end, there was nothing valuable left in the warehouse, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Where did the property in the warehouse come from?”

“It was also robbed ten years ago, and I didn’t see it with my own eyes.
It is said that someone robbed a high-ranking official, tsk.”

When Cheng Suyue heard this, she didn’t dare to take it lightly, and immediately wrote that letter and sent it to Baihe City.

“Robbed a high official.” Liang Shu sat on the tiger skin chair, staring at the bandit leader shaking like chaff on the ground.
“Which high official?”

Jiang Gui braced himself and replied: “Yes, it was an official surnamed Tan.
He seemed to be going somewhere to provide disaster relief.”

As soon as these words were spoken, his face burned with pain.
There was a buzzing sound in his ears and a fishy heat flowed down from his nose, as if his brain had been blown out by this sharp blast of wind from a palm.

“At that time, there was a famine in the Baijiang area, and the people fought desperately for roots and bark to eat.
The Imperial Court worked very hard to collect the relief supplies.” Liang Shu’s eyes were cold, his words like knives.
“The lives of thousands of disaster victims, the lives of reinforcements, and the lives of Tan-daren’s entire family – you stole them all.”


“No, no, no, I didn’t steal them,” Jiang Gui defended in a panic.
“I was only doing odd jobs at the time.
The things were stolen by Feng Xiaojin and the Village Head together.
Feng Xiaojin seemed to have a bloody feud with that high official.
Not only did he steal the money, but he even went to Wangcheng to kill people!”

The Imperial Court had pursued the unsolved case for more than ten years, and just like that, the clues were shouted out.
Gao Lin asked: “Who is Feng Xiaojin?”

“He is the adopted son of the Village Head.
Although he was only fourteen or fifteen years old at the time, he was already a first-class master and was highly regarded.
This person usually talked very little.
He was the silent type and never made friends, and he disappeared completely not long after he stole the batch of money.”

A few months later, news came from Wangcheng that Feng Xiaojin had killed the whole family of a senior official and there was a reward offered for his arrest.
Since then, alive or dead, no one had seen him again.

Gao Lin continued to ask: “Where are all the participants in the robbery back then?”

“The Village Head died of illness a long time ago, and the rest of the family also separated and left during the internal strife two years ago,” Jiang Gui recalled haltingly.
In the middle, he inadvertently raised his head and met Liang Shu’s eyes.
He was frightened again and instantly sped up his speech, “But there is one person who must be named: He Rao.
She originally served the Village Head for many years, and knew a lot of inside information.
Now she has changed her identity and married the Chief Escort of the Wanli Escort Bureau.
She came to us a while ago and paid a lot of money to buy the lives of two people.”

“Have you carried it out yet?”

Jiang Gui trembled instinctively: “No……no, that person is very skillful, and we failed to succeed.”

He Rao was cruel by nature and greedy for money.
After the Village Head died of illness, she also packed her belongings and went north alone, disappearing like Feng Xiaojin.
At that time, bandits were rampant in the southeast area, and Jiang Gui always thought she was dead.
It wasn’t until He Rao took the initiative to find him a while ago that he realized that the tricky little maidservant had transformed herself into the mistress of the Wanli Escort Bureau.

Liu Xian’an stood to the side, listening indifferently.
He was not interested in this old case, and his thoughts had already flown halfway to the sky.
It wasn’t until the word “plague” drifted into his ears that he drew his attention back out of instinct due to living in a family of doctors.

Gao Lin frowned: “Plague?”

“Yes.” Jiang Gui suggested subserviently, with the mentality of atoning for his crimes through meritorious service, “If the prince wants to go to the Wanli Escort Bureau to take her, he must go through Chixia City according to the general route, but there was a famine a while ago and many people died of starvation.
Later, when the weather became hot, rats and plague appeared and the city became even more chaotic.
You must not go there, you need to go around to Qingyun City first and then take the waterway.
This is the safest and most secure route.”

Gao Lin and Cheng Suyue exchanged glances.
Chixia City was located in the middle reaches of the Baijiang River, so it was indeed vulnerable to floods.
But at the beginning of the year, the Imperial Court had already allocated a large amount of food, and it stood to reason that there should not be “many people starved to death.” What’s more, the governor of Chixia City had just published an official memorial to the emperor, eloquently boasting that the county prospered and the people were at peace, without mentioning a word of famine or plague from beginning to end.
He was beaten down by the emperor on the grounds of “do more things if you have free time and stop talking nonsense,” and it became a joke in the court.

But although they laughed, they still bore him goodwill.
After all, who didn’t like prosperity and peace?

Liang Shu asked: “What is the name of the official in Chixia City?”

Gao Lin replied: “Shi Hanhai.
He is in his forties, and before this, I always thought he was a mediocre fool with no achievements.”


Now it seemed that he had been underestimated as an idiot who couldn’t do anything to deceive the emperor – he was at least a daring idiot.

Liang Shu looked to his side again.

Liu Xian’an said: “In Chang’an City near Chixia City, there is a medical hall opened by Bahe Mountain Village.
There are at least two hundred disciples there.
If necessary, the prince can send for them at will.”

As for whether he should go with him or not, as usual, Second Young Master Liu gave it no thought.
Because one person more or one person less would not have any major impact on the plague in Chixia City.
Since going or not going amounted to the same, it didn’t matter where he ended up.

However, considering that the mission of this trip was incomplete, Liu Xian’an followed Liang Shu in the end and embarked on the road to Chixia City.

A-Ning was confused at first, not knowing why they suppressed bandits and then wanted to go to Chixia City.
But later, when he heard that the prince was going to investigate famine and plague, his attitude immediately became serious.
First, he wrote down the entire incident and sent it to Baihe Mountain Village, then he wrote down all the cities they would pass along the way and which medicine could be purchased where.
He gave this to Cheng Suyue and carefully instructed her two or three times to be sure to buy them in batches by city.

The guard next to him didn’t understand: “It’s so troublesome, why can’t we buy them all in the same place?”

Cheng Suyue said: “Firstly, it is not easy to store.
Secondly, if we buy out all the pharmacies in a city, what will the local people do if they become sick?” After saying this, she turned to A-Ning and said, “Don’t worry, little brother, I will purchase it according to what you wrote.”

A-Ning nodded, took a few bottles of prepared cooling medicinal oil from his sleeve, and gave them to Cheng Suyue before turning to run back to the carriage.
He was thin and small, and his face was tender, but when talking about medicinal materials, he was neither humble nor overbearing.
Clear and logical, he predicted all possible situations in the event of a plague.
Baihe Mountain Village was truly an impressive place.

At this thought, Cheng Suyue couldn’t help but glance at the carriage again.
The curtain was still hanging down.
Over the past few days, she rarely saw Liu Xian’an out for a stroll.
To be honest, this was the first time in her life that Cheng-guniang saw such a man who was not afraid of being shut indoors or sitting.
So she turned her horse’s head to search for Gao Lin, and asked in a low voice: “Ge, why doesn’t Second Young Master Liu have dinner with us?”

“Why do you care?” Gao Lin warned her vigilantly, “He is the one in the princess’s eyes, so don’t make trouble.”

“Aiya, I’m not making trouble, I’m just curious.” Cheng Suyue bumped him with her elbow, “Ge, you said that Second Young Master Liu is so good-looking that his younger sister must be as beautiful as a fairy.
Our prince actually looks down on her?”

When this matter was mentioned, Lieutenant General Gao immediately remembered Miss Liu’s grand, powerful, and resonating plan of jumping into the lake, and then he began to have a toothache, a headache, and pain all over his body: “That’s enough, don’t worry about things you shouldn’t care about.
This trip is for the plague of Chixia City and the Wanli Escort Bureau, isn’t that enough for you and me?”

Cheng Suyue let out an “oh,” and temporarily put away her curiosity.
She knew Tan-daren’s position in the prince’s heart.
He was half a teacher to him when he was a child, and she heard that one month before the tragedy, he was still eating and drinking with a few young masters in Tan Manor.
They made an appointment to go to the hunting grounds to practice archery together when the pear blossoms on the mountains piled up like snow.
Who would have thought that it would not take long to hear news of the entire Tan family’s deaths and the long, blood-stained street.

At that time, the entire Imperial City was in an uproar.
All kinds of rumors were raging, and some even said that the hand behind the scene was the emperor’s, and that the Tan family members had turned into wandering ghosts.
The people panicked, wishing they could stick evil spirit charms on themselves from head to toe.
The originally splendid, bustling capital seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds in an instant.


And Liang Shu was also caught in this heavy and persistent black shadow.
He was not yet ten years old at the time, and had never experienced the death of a relative or friend before.
At first, when he heard that Tan-daren was going to be thrown in the sky prison, he was already very anxious.
Little did he know that a more tragic reality was still to come.
On the day of the funeral, the dark coffins were carried out of the Tan Manor one by one, but there was not a single person crying.

Liang Shu was only allowed to climb the city wall and watch from a distance as Tan-daren and his playmates made their final journey.
When the funeral procession left the city, a gust of wind happened to blow away the stack of paper money he was holding.

Fluttering like a pear blossom snow in spring.

.
.
.
.
.
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After receiving news from A-Ning, Baihe Mountain Village quickly replied to the letter.
In addition to asking them to obey His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s arrangements, they also sent many silver notes to facilitate the purchase of medicinal materials along the way.

In addition, Liu Fushu did not forget to send his son a separate thick exhortation, telling him that it was fine for him to be lazy and doze off on normal days, but plague and rats were nothing to scoff at.
As a person of Baihe Mountain Village, even if he had no medical skills, he should help as much as possible.

When he received this letter from home, Liu Xian’an was sorting the newly bought medical herbs under the scorching sun, and his whole body was about to melt from the heat.
He felt that his father would not be able to tell the difference between “I don’t want to do it because I’m lazy” and “I don’t need to do it because it’s unnecessary,” so he didn’t make any excuses.
He only answered with a big, concise “Okay,” which achieved the inverse effect that the moment his father opened the letter, he was so angry that the qi and blood flowed to his brain and he almost passed on.

This night, they slept in the forest again.

Running around for days made everyone exhausted, especially Liu Xian’an.
He had never been on such a wild journey since he was born.
There was no place where the shoulders, neck, waist, and legs were not sore, but the soreness was just right, and he could use it to practice the cupping acupuncture technique.

“Young Master!” A-Ning screamed, having been scalded by the moxibustion.[1]

“Don’t move!” Liu Xian’an held him down with a smile.

Beside the fire on the other side, Lian Shu was wearing a big cloak.
To others, it looked like he was closing his eyes to meditate, but Gao Lin noticed at a glance that his hand was tightly pressed to his heart, so he stepped forward to express concern: “Prince, another old injury?”

“It’s fine.” Liang Shu frowned slightly and let out a soft breath.
“I can make it through.”

“……Why don’t I invite Second Young Master Liu to come over and have a look?” Gao Lin suggested.
“Seeing that he was a good hand when he detoxified Chang Xiaoqiu earlier, maybe he can also heal this injury.”

Liang Shu opened his eyes and looked across.


Liu Xian’an was presently half-loosening his clothes, and asked A-Ning to help use moxibustion on his arm.
It may be because he was idle all year round and didn’t move much, so his skin was very white.
It was the kind of fine white that could not be found among all the rough men in the Northeast Military Camp.
The two thin shoulder blades were wrapped in the inner shirt, seeming as if they would shatter if squeezed hard.

Cheng Suyue was also peeping, and was heartbroken when Gao Lin blocked her line of sight.
He stretched out a hand to twist her head to the side and reprimanded: “You are a girl, what are you doing staring at a half-dressed man!”

Cheng Suyue didn’t think it was a big deal: “It’s not like I haven’t seen a man without clothes before.”

Gao Lin glared at her: “Changing a wounded soldier’s dressings is the same as this?”

Cheng Suyue’s lips curled: “What’s the difference? Men don’t all grow–”

“Grandma!” Gao Lin covered his mouth, his brain shocked to bursting.
“Don’t worry about what the man looks like, just stay here and take care of the prince, and I’ll invite Second Young Master Liu.”

Liu Xian’an tidied up his clothes, and after listening to Gao Lin’s explanation of his intentions, he felt a little embarrassed, because he was really not good at this.
Of course Gao Lin was aware, but when he saw a doctor, he just wanted to ask a few more questions.
Anway, his prince’s injury had been delayed for many years, and it was not an urgent or fatal problem.
There was no harm in having a few more people take a look.

Hearing what he said, Liu Xian’an had no choice but to go along with him.
Liang Shu also cooperated, extending his wrist so that the other party could check his pulse.
Liu Xian’an placed two fingers on it and felt it for a long time, but didn’t notice any movement.

Frowning, he changed positions again.

He still couldn’t feel a pulse.

Liang Shu used his internal strength to suppress his pulse, raised his eyebrows slightly, and looked at him indolently: “How is it?”

Liu Xian’an was in disbelief.
He raised his head and glanced at Liang Shu.
Seeing that his expression was not abnormal, it was even more puzzling.
How could there be a living person in the world without a pulse?

Not bothering to answer, Liu Xian’an removed his fingers, crouched down, and took half a step forward.
He grasped Liang Shu’s arms with both hands and leaned sideways to place his ear against the other’s chest.

Both Gao Lin and Cheng Suyue were shocked.
How could there be such an embrace during a visit with a doctor?

Liang Shu glanced down slightly from the corner of his eye, but didn’t move.

At the same time, he also hid his heartbeat.

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