Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 83
Although the Eastern Palace had sent people to Luoyang, Lu Yan couldn’t just sit there and wait until the news came back.
Early in the morning of June 24, Lu Yan transferred the existing military forces of Jingzhao Prefecture to the twelve city gates of Chang’an in the east, west, south and north, and personally ordered that anyone holding documents entering or leaving the city, whether they were civilians or high-ranking officials, should be thoroughly investigated one by one. Those without documents would be directly sent to Jingzhao Prefecture Prison.
In the afternoon, the sun is shining brightly.
Yang Zong handed the letter to Lu Yan and said softly, “Master, since yesterday, there has been a sudden increase in the number of people entering and leaving Chang’an. It is really difficult to check. I have just collected information from various places. There are many suspicious people, but none of them are the ones we are looking for.”
“What did Bai Daonian say about the opera troupes that came into the city this morning?” Lu Yan asked.
“There is no epidemic.” Yang Zong frowned and said, “Those people are not good people. When they hear that they are not sick, they immediately turn their backs and say that our Jingzhao Prefecture has detained the people without reason and wants to go to the Ministry of Justice to seek an explanation.”
“Tell them to complain, no need to stop them.” Lu Yan sneered, “The more trouble they make, the more problematic it is. Go back to the yamen later, release half of them, and keep the other half to slowly interrogate them. I will take responsibility for anything that happens.” To be honest, what could be more important than the epidemic right now?
Yang Zong replied, “I understand.”
Two days later, more and more people gathered at the city gate. Due to strict screening, many people who had been queuing yesterday had not yet entered the city today. The people complained and argued constantly.
A woman in red clothes twisted her waist and waved a silk fan made of bamboo. She said in a coquettish voice, “My Lord, I came from Yangzhou. The girls trained by our Rong family all have clean backgrounds and have never been with anyone. You can search them, My Lord. But there are distinguished guests waiting in Chang’an. Can you please let us go in first?”
The officer’s face blushed at the woman’s tone and he coughed twice before saying, “Step back, come one by one.”
The woman in red clothes retreated angrily. A maid came over with a smile and said, “My Lord, our girl is the niece of the eldest lady of the Yong’an Marquis’s Mansion.” After saying that, she handed over the two gold leaves in her hand.
The officer subconsciously glanced at Lu Yan, and unfortunately their eyes met. He immediately turned back and waved his hands, saying, “Bribery is a serious crime! Madam, be careful with your words!”
After a while, another lady came over and bowed, “I am over sixty years old and not in good health. I have been waiting here for two days. The night wind makes my headache worse. I came to the capital to seek medical treatment, but now my condition is even worse.”
Someone else joined in and shouted, “This midday sun is going to melt us!”
At this time, Sun Xu rode up and whispered, “Lord Lu, there are foreign merchants causing trouble at the north gate. There must be at least 5,000 of them. Not to mention that the government will not easily fight with foreign merchants, even if a fight really breaks out, the number of troops that can be mobilized is…”
Lu Yan rubbed his brow with his middle finger, took off a jade pendant and said to Yang Zong: “Send someone back to the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion to borrow troops. The distances between the city gates are far, so we need cavalry.”
Sun Xu felt relieved and couldn’t help but think: Lord Lu is indeed reliable.
Zheng Zhonglian was sick at home and Lu Yan became the acting Prefect. The task of investigating the epidemic had completely fallen on his shoulders. After a few hours of silence, Lieutenant Lu came on a fast horse and reported, “My Lord, many refugees appeared at the west gate, all with sticks. They took innocent people as hostages and insisted on breaking in.”
“How many people?”
“I roughly estimated, there are more than 200 people. As for whether they have a backup plan, I don’t know.” Lieutenant General Lu frowned and said, “My Lord, should we let them pass?”
“Send a pigeon to report to the palace, and let the Emperor make the decision.” Lu Yan paused and whispered, “Tell our people to guard them first.”
The twelve gates in the east, west, south and north have been like a big drama in the past two days. There has been no peace anywhere. There have been murders, arson and robbery, but there is not a single sick person. After several commotions, the soldiers guarding the city have obviously been distracted.
On June 25, a bridal sedan suddenly appeared at the city gate, with numerous attendants and more than seventy loads of dowry behind it.
Lu Yan called a soldier over and asked, “Who is that?”
The officer nodded and said, “My Lord, the one sitting in the bridal sedan is the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jingzhou, her surname is Yu. The one who came to welcome the bride is the eldest son of the Xue family, named Xue Lu. My Lord, this marriage really requires an auspicious time, can we allow them to enter ?”
Lu Yan asked: “Have you checked them?”
The officer nodded, “Of course we have checked it. The boxes are filled with gold and silver jewelry, tea and cloth. There is nothing special.”
“I’m asking about people. It’s impossible that those more than ten carriages are loaded with gold and silver jewelry.”
The officer scratched his head and said, “Those are the maids and servants who came as dowry from the Yu family in Jingzhou. I have checked them and they are all slaves.”
“How many people?”
“Ninety-three in total.”
“Is there anyone in there with sores or a cough?”
“I didn’t see any sores, but as for the cough… they are a wedding procession, with the gongs and drums so loud, how can we hear any coughing ah?” When the soldier said this, he saw Lord Lu’s face change and he was immediately scared out of his wits. He said, “I failed in my duties.I will order them to stop.”.”
“No need.”
Lu Yan and Yang Zong looked at each other.
The wealthy businessman from Jingzhou carried the bridal sedan into the city.
Yang Zong couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “What is this? Did he hit the jackpot?”
Yang Zong then whispered, “Shall I detain them?”
Lu Yan shook his head: “If they really are carrying the disease, it will be terrible. There are so many people around us now. Once the people find out they have the disease, they will definitely flee everywhere, which will make it even more difficult to deal with them. Let them go and ask someone to follow them and wait until they settle down before taking action.”
“yes.”
At three quarters past the hour of Wei1(the period of the day from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m), Bai Daonian sent many prescriptions for preventing the plague. Lu Yan prepared to make them into medicine bags, one to hang in front of the door and the other to burn, to prevent any fish from slipping through the net and entering the capital thereby spreading the plague to others.
“Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Bai.”
Before leaving, Bai Daonian said sincerely: “Even a body made of iron cannot withstand such an ordeal. Lord Lu should have a good rest.”
Yang Zong agreed, “Master, you haven’t slept for several days. It’s time to rest.” Yang Zong had followed Lu Yan for several years and had never seen his master so tired.
The day before yesterday was relatively good, at least he returned to the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion. From yesterday until now, he has been running back and forth between the government office and the city gate and he has not even taken a bath.
Lu Yan nodded and said, “I understand. I’ll go back home now.”
Lu Yan got into the carriage and seeing that he was taking a nap, Yang Zong took the initiative to drive the carriage towards Baoning street. When they arrived at Shen Residence, it was already evening.
Yang Zong nodded his head and admitted his mistake, but his back was straight, his face saying: Master, you can scold me if you want but we are already here anyway.
Lu Yan just pinched his temple without saying a word.
After not seeing her for several days, he was indeed missing her, so he climbed over the wall and entered the house while there were few people on the road.
Lu Yan avoided the two maids sent by the Eastern Palace, reached out and pushed open the door of the inner room. After lifting the curtain, he found that there was no one in the room, and the maid beside her was also gone.
It was already the evening, why haven’t you come back yet?
Lu Yan glanced at the pigeon cage and plucked a feather, causing the pigeon to jump up and down instantly.
The yard was quiet and there was no movement. After a while, two female voices were heard from the main courtyard.
“His Royal Highness has ordered that as long as Miss Shen goes out, we must follow her to prevent incidents like last time from happening again. It’s already this late and Miss Shen hasn’t come back yet. I feel a little uneasy.”
“The one who took her away was the Marquis of Changping, a member of the Crown Prince’s faction. What is there to worry about?”
“But if the girl needs to go to the toilet or something, Marquis Changping cannot follow her…”
“Doesn’t she still have Sister Qingxi? Besides, who in the whole capital dares to snatch someone from that marquis?”
Upon hearing this, the man inside furrowed his brow and wanted to leave several times, but ultimately decided to stay.
——
It was getting dark, the moonlight was slightly visible and the shadows of the trees were faint.
It was not until the hour of Xu2(the period of the day from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m) that Shen Zhen returned to the Shen residence, laughing and chatting with Qingxi along the way.
Qingxi said: “I never thought that the Marquis would help raise the lady’s cat until now, and even let it give birth to so many kittens.”
“That fluffy kitten is so adorable. My heart almost melted when I pinched her little paws. Oh, if only I wasn’t so sensitive to their fur, I could ask Brother Heng to bring them over to play with.”
Shen Zhen had no older brother. A few years ago, she was immature and, under the repeated persuasion of Sui Yu, she recognized him as her older brother. After Su Heng found out, he became jealous and did everything he could to please her, including looking after her cats and playing with dogs.
No matter how close they were in the past, that was a thing of the past. After years of separation, a kind of indescribable politeness always stood between the two of them. Otherwise, Shen Zhen wouldn’t always avoid him.
Until just now, Su Heng skillfully tied a handkerchief covering her mouth and nose and handed her a cat that was less than two months old.Shen Zhen suddenly remembered what happened several years ago.
He used to be like this before too.
“Zhen’er, don’t tell me when you get home that I brought you to see the cats, or else your mother will definitely give me a cold shoulder.”
“Call me brother and I’ll give you the cat.”
“Put on your handkerchief. Come here and I’ll tie it for you.”
As time passed, when they looked into each other’s eyes again, the friendship they had in their youth suddenly turned into a crimson color between heaven and earth.
Su Heng picked up a cat and teased her again, “Zhen’er, should you call me brother?”
“No, what if someone hears it?”
Su Heng said: “But there is no one else here right now.”
Shen Zhen looked at the scar on his forehead, her eyes paused, and her long eyelashes drooped instantly.
When they were young, they could call each other whatever they wanted, but now everything has changed. Since they are not biological siblings, calling him brother should not be spoken lightly.
After a moment, Shen Zhen’s eyes curved as she said, “Can’t I call you Marquis? Young General or Marquis of Changping, which one sounds better?”
Su Heng’s right arm trembled slightly. He raised his hand and patted her head, saying in a hoarse voice, “Is it not okay if I just want to be your brother?”
Who could not understand the meaning of these words?
Anyone who doesn’t understand is just playing dumb.
So the term “Brother Heng” came into being.
Just as Shen Zhen was about to push the door and enter the house, she was told that Fang momo had left some sweets for her. She went to the west room and talked to Shen Hong for a while. When she returned to the main courtyard, it was almost midnight.
Shen Zhen lifted her skirt and stepped into the inner room. She opened the curtain and immediately saw the man sitting on the couch.
She took a deep breath, turned back and said to Qingxi, “Go and help me guard outside. Don’t let anyone in.”
Lu Yan frowned, suppressed the bitterness in his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice: “Come here.”
Shen Zhen walked straight up to him and called him “My Lord”.
