Chapter 232: Being a Prisoner

Gray mountains, gray water, beside gray stones, squatted a gray person, writing with a tree branch on the muddy ground.

Seeing Liu Cheng is not that he doesn't want to run. Now there is no one around him, it seems to be a good opportunity to escape, and he has figured out the routes around here during this time, but precisely because he figured it out, he can't run even more.

From here to the west, wading through this piece of dead water ditch, is a vast forest, where there are wolves and bears, and the barbarians often go hunting. Even if he is not eaten by wild beasts, even if he is lucky, does not get lost, he will eventually be caught back by the barbarians. Because in the wild forest, he absolutely cannot run faster than that group of barbarians.

The east is the barbarian village, the north is guarded by people, and the south is a cliff, so unless he has the ability to climb that smooth cliff, he cannot escape at all.

In fact, when he first started, the guard against him was still very strict. But later the barbarians found it unnecessary, and after he failed to escape twice and was miserably beaten, no one monitored him anymore.

But as analyzed before, he still couldn't do anything.

To be precise, he still did a few things, such as figuring out the route; and for example, secretly grinding a bone awl, which was buried under his straw mat. He tried it, and it was quite painful to prick people; and for example, he established a relationship with several important figures in the clan, but he didn't want to mention this section.

Mainly because he can't do anything now, he can only write.

"Heaven will descend great responsibility on this person, must first suffer his heart and will, labor his muscles and bones

When Seeing Liu Cheng wrote the two characters for "sinew and bone," his hand trembled, and his vision gradually became unclear.

"Hah, Blackie, writing again!"

Three male barbarians appeared at his side at some point.

Seeing Liu Cheng hurriedly wiped away his tears with his hand, lowered his head, and continued writing, showing no reaction to the three men's words.

"You don't understand, that's poetry! It's what Blackie uses to fool the girl. Blackie, why aren't you fooling the girl, why are you here?"

"Blackie is tired, the girl is tired, it's more tiring than us hunting!"

"Blackie is reciting poetry to the girl, it's so tiring!"

The three barbarians burst into loud laughter.

Seeing Liu Cheng's face flushed red, and he just pretended not to hear.

"Blackie, why don't you talk about a gentleman forsaking profit for righteousness? Why talk about eating gall and sleeping on fishy things? Why don't you recite that long string of nonsense for us to hear!"

This kind of scene had happened more times than he could count. At first, Seeing Liu Cheng would swallow his pride, but later, when he couldn't take it anymore, he would start arguing, which was also a way to boost his own morale, saying things like "a scholar cannot but be broad-minded and resolute" or "when Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility on a man, it first exhausts his mind." Then the barbarians would roar with laughter, grinning from ear to ear.

After that, it got out of hand. People often came to mock Seeing Liu Cheng just to hear him spout a string of gibberish in classical Chinese for their amusement. Every time they succeeded in provoking Seeing Liu Cheng into spouting classical Chinese, the barbarians would act as if they were watching a comedy—the climax of the play—laughing until they were doubled over, stomping their feet, and pounding their chests. They would even imitate Seeing Liu Cheng's tone, chanting along in a strange, mocking way, which provoked Seeing Liu Cheng to the point of shame and anger. He had once been unable to stop himself from rushing up to fight, only to be beaten back.

Later, Seeing Liu Cheng learned his lesson. No matter how the barbarians teased him, he would no longer argue, treating it all as the barking of dogs!

The barbarians gradually felt it was boring and stopped coming to provoke him. But there were always those who never tired of it, and coupled with some of the "treatment" Seeing Liu Cheng had received recently, which aroused the jealousy of many male barbarians, such mockery and provocation still occurred from time to time.

The three male barbarians teased him for a few sentences, felt it wasn't enough, and grinned as they leaned in. Seeing Liu Cheng immediately stood up, holding his waist. When the three saw Seeing Liu Cheng holding his waist, they burst into thunderous laughter!

"Blackie, did you break your waist doing it with the girl?"

"If your waist is broken, you can't do it with the girl, hahahaha!"

"Tell us, which girl is the most powerful?"

Seeing Liu Cheng clenched his fists, his shoulders tensed tightly, as if he were about to explode with some kind of power at any moment.

"Hah! Does Blackie want a beating?"

"Watch out! Watch out or I'll break your waist!"

The three barbarians were just about to surround Seeing Liu Cheng when several barbarian women came shouting.

The three barbarians' expressions changed, and they hurriedly tried to leave, but were blocked by two barbarian women who stood with their hands on their hips, pointing at them and scolding them in the barbarian language. The other two barbarian women ran to Seeing Liu Cheng's side, first asking him with concern, and then shielding him behind them like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Although the four barbarian women were short, they were very brave and fierce. They surrounded the three strong barbarians, spitting out strings of barbarian language, their voices urgent and sharp, crashing down on the three barbarians like a storm.

The three barbarians argued a few times at first, but one barbarian woman wearing silver rings on her neck and wrists directly slapped her waist saber onto her left shoulder—in the barbarian tribes, this meant a duel. If the opponent also had the intention to duel, they needed to place their weapon on their left shoulder in response. But how could the three dare to duel with the chieftain's youngest daughter? They immediately fell silent, listened to the four women scold and warn them, and promised not to come and trouble Seeing Liu Cheng again before being let go by the four women and fleeing in a sorry state.

The four women surrounded Seeing Liu Cheng, showing concern and wiping his sweat. One told him she had brought him dried venison, two others said they had found him a brush and ink, and another brought him wild honey. Seeing Liu Cheng's heart was a mixture of five flavors; he was a noble son of the state, a dignified member of the Hedong Liu clan, and yet he had fallen to the point of relying on a few barbarian women for protection. It was a tragedy, but within that tragedy, there was a warmth that was hard to put into words.

"Young Master Liu, let's go, recite poetry for us."

The warmth Seeing Liu Cheng had just cultivated was instantly dispelled, and he blurted out: "Don't—"

How could the four women allow him to refuse? They directly came to pull Seeing Liu Cheng along.

Seeing Liu Cheng was so scared his face turned pale: "How can one... how can one recite poetry in the daytime... wait... wait until night... then... then recite..."

"What's the difference between reciting poetry in the daytime and at night?" The four women dragged Seeing Liu Cheng forward.

Seeing Liu Cheng was on the verge of tears, but he didn't dare to struggle hard, so he had to humbly negotiate: "Can we recite poetry one by one, not all together? If we do it together, I... I can't recite well..."

The chieftain's youngest daughter still decided to respect her lover's opinion, so she said: "We'll recite together first, then one by one."

All the women agreed, and they hoisted Seeing Liu Cheng up and walked away.

Seeing Liu Cheng's expression was miserable, a tear flowed from the corner of his eye, and he silently recited in his heart:

Father! Brother!

When on earth are you coming to save me!!

I really can't hold on much longer!!!

If you're any later, it might be too late!!!!

The lamps were flickering, and the night was deep and heavy.

Outside the city, near the Liu family's farm, there was a noisy crowd of people and horses.

Director Liu Tan Tan put on his clothes and walked out quickly, with several servants following their master, some carrying lanterns, others holding clothing.

As soon as Director Liu Tan Tan stepped out, a middle-aged man bowed and said: "Second Young Master!"

The twenty-some people outside the farm all followed suit, their movements neat and efficient.

Director Liu Tan Tan immediately helped the middle-aged man up: "Uncle Feng, what did Father say?"

Feng Yiling's expression was grave as he took a letter from his bosom and presented it to Director Liu Tan Tan.

Director Liu Tan Tan opened the letter impatiently, his eyes sweeping across the paper, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter...

"My lord."

"So fast? Sit down first, how did it go?" Wang Tai poured tea for the man wearing an eye patch.

The man said: "There was no one inside."

"No one?"

"No one special. There were a few shop assistants sleeping in the backyard; I went to investigate, and no one noticed. However, I discovered a secret passage. The passage leads directly to the back alley of the Ruyi Building, where there is a courtyard. It is beautifully furnished, but there was no one in the courtyard."

"Did you find any traces of people being held?" Wang Tai asked.

The man shook his head.

Wang Tai paced and pondered.

Was Wuqian transferred away in advance? Could it be that the news leaked?

That's not right; the move was just made, and there was no alerting the enemy beforehand.

Wang Tai couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams that the snake wasn't startled by him, but by a young lady surnamed Xie.

The man said: "Ordinary restaurants don't build secret passages, and that courtyard is also abnormal. What kind of courtyard has its front gate built in a closed alley? Furthermore, the courtyard was very clean; it should have been cleaned regularly."

Wang Tai muttered: "There is more to this than meets the eye..."

His voice paused, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he gradually revealed a smile: "If there is more to it, then it is easy to make a big deal out of it..."

The man was puzzled: "Make a big deal?"

Wang Tai stroked his beard leisurely: "Perhaps it will be a good story, but it is not the right time yet."

"I don't understand what you mean, my lord."

"Continue to look for Wuqian, and at the same time, send people to watch the Ruyi Building. As soon as that Shopkeeper Zhao appears, report back immediately!"

In the mountain room of the ancient temple, the bright moon cast a cold light.

Xiao Baoyue sat on the railing of the temple corridor, watching Xinyi playing hopscotch not far away, enjoying herself immensely.

Seeing Lian San stood five steps away from Xiao Baoyue, bowing to report:

"Zhao Quan has already headed to Wenyang. The transfer of the Ruyi Building was moved up by half a month. The Su family feels they took advantage and even wants to hold a banquet to see Zhao Quan off—"

When Seeing Lian San said this, his face showed worry: "It's just that the claim of it being a secret brothel, although it can deceive the Su family, cannot deceive those with ulterior motives. If they investigate deeply, I fear..."

Xiao Baoyue looked at the moon and said: "It doesn't matter anymore."

Seeing Lian San's worry deepened: "But what about Wang Yang—"

Before he could finish, he was immediately interrupted by Xiao Baoyue:

"He doesn't matter either. You may go; prepare according to the original plan."

"Yes."

The next morning, as soon as the city gates opened, Director Liu Tan Tan rode straight to Wang Yang's house.

Wang Yang had just finished boxing and bathing and was about to have breakfast. Hearing that Director Liu Tan Tan was visiting, he told A-Wu and Sister-in-law Song to add an extra portion of food. Director Liu Tan Tan did not decline and ate porridge with Wang Yang. Amidst the swirling steam, his face looked somewhat exhausted.

"The Emperor has nodded to the exchange of barbarian roads for Wen Shen, but the Emperor does not allow any written documents, which means..."

Wang Yang tore off a small piece of meat pancake and interjected: "The barbarians must release the hostages first without any actual gain or written guarantee."

Director Liu Tan Tan's brows were locked in a frown: "That is what it means, so the possibility of success is not high."

Wang Yang ate the meat pancake with a spoonful of porridge, then picked up a piece of pickled radish, put it in his mouth to chew, pondered for a moment, and asked: "What are the Emperor's other arrangements?"

Director Liu Tan Tan looked at Wang Yang, his gaze deep: "How did you know the Emperor would have other arrangements?"

The art of the imperial mind—even if he couldn't save the person, how could he directly give his subject a dead end? As for whether the other path given was dead or alive, the Emperor couldn't care less; in any case, giving another path was considered fulfilling his duty.

Wang Yang naturally wouldn't say this to Director Liu Tan Tan, so he just replied: "I guessed."

"You guessed right. The Emperor appointed me as the Administrator of Wenyang Commandery and transferred my father's former subordinate, Liu Senglin, to be the Commandery Commandant of Wenyang. The Ministry of Personnel's documents should arrive soon. But even if I become the Administrator of Wenyang, I can neither use troops against the Wenyang barbarians nor privately exchange silk for people, so I would like to ask Young Master Wang, what is the Emperor's intention in doing this?"

Wang Yang picked up a salted duck egg (also called a 'yuanzi' at the time) and tapped it on the edge of the table. He heard a hint of something inexplicable in Director Liu Tan Tan's words.

While peeling the shell, he asked curiously: "Why do you ask me about the Emperor's intention?"

Director Liu Tan Tan stirred the porridge in his bowl with a spoon and suddenly blurted out:

"Because the imperial envoy is your uncle."

Wang Yang's fingertips trembled, and the duck egg almost slipped from his hand!

——————

Note: The hopscotch Xinyi is playing is not the modern version, but jumping in squares drawn according to the board of a 'se' game (a popular board game at the time, also called 'ge wu').