Chapter 181: Unable to Escape the Calamity

On the cold suburban official road, horse hooves clattered.

Du Shanü rode her horse in the wind, her mood could not be described by just one word 【refreshing】.

Before, the crowd kept saying she was the Heaven‑Chosen Maiden, but Du Shanü actually didn't think much of it.

Because she knew that, even when she went out, she still had a semblance of a person......

Ah no, it's that although she looked like a decent person, she had in fact stumbled along this road.

In Cang Cheng grain had been seized, Ju Cheng could not be saved, and even the deaths of Liu Er and Zhao Daniu before the Zhoufu left her a period of decadence.

Moreover, her money pouch was empty from the flood, and she was surrounded by danger ahead and behind......

It could be said she was hindered on all sides.

However, now, it is precisely now.

Du Shanü, however, had begun to believe a little—what exactly is meant by 【Heaven's Mandate】?

Too coincidental.

Too coincidental.

Who would have thought that the person she had previously ambushed to guard against a distant enemy would now become her aid?

Using the tiger to swallow the wolf—nothing more than that!

Horse hooves stepped over the city gate, sweeping past half the city.

Du Shanü slightly restrained the ambition in her eyes, tightened the reins:

"Whoa!"

Dun Cheng Xian Xie stood as usual, upright in the wind.

Du Shanü felt a moment of joy, not minding the extra chill here compared to before, she cast aside everything behind her and strode straight through the door, calling out:

"Yu Baobao!"

"I'm back!"

This voice pierced half the Xian Xie, yet no one answered.

Du Shanü called a few more times, still doubtful, when a faint voice came from the rear hall:

"Don't shout anymore; that person just left yesterday, heading back to Cang Cheng."

The figure coming slowly down the corridor had a tranquil air, resembling an ancient moon.

It was Chen Weifang, whom Du Shanü had not seen for some days.

Du Shanü furrowed her brows slightly and walked toward her:

"Left?"

"Nobody told her about this!"

"Is Yu Baobao uncomfortable staying in Dun Cheng? Why does she have to go back to Cang Cheng again?"

Du Shanü was somewhat puzzled, but upon drawing near she discovered that today there seemed to be no shortage of things that baffled her——

Today Chen Weifang surprisingly had no hair bound in a cap.

She wore plain old nightclothes, wide sleeves hanging down, her disheveled hair ends fluttering and falling in the wind.

It made one momentarily unable to tell whether the chill came from the winter wind or from the person under the eaves being even colder.

Chen Weifang always had a certain grace, and Du Shanü had known this for a long time.

Some people are like aged Chen wine that needs time to develop flavor; without enough years they seem restless instead.

However, her sudden appearance like this still gave Du Shanü a start.

Du Shanü quickly averted her gaze, catching the end of that sentence:

"...... Although it's at home, you ought to dress properly, right......"

"After all, she's a woman too—you should at least be on guard against her!"

Chen Weifang's brows showed a hint of weariness; hearing this, she gave Du Shanü not even a glance, only looked straight at the person behind her before speaking:

"If you took in a few fewer, the rear courtyard wouldn't be so chaotic; I could free up my hands and naturally manage to present myself as a proper person."

Du Shanü fundamentally disliked hearing this; in all her years she had only met two people who suited her taste—Yu Baobao and Chinu.

"Afang's peerless beauty, she merely glanced and looked away—how could there be talk of a 'rear courtyard in chaos'?"

"Slander!"

"This is utter slander!"

Du Shanü drew a deep breath, about to rebut, when Chinu's voice from behind interjected, asking:

"What about that newcomer from the Ruan Family?"

Chen Weifang, seeing at last someone who understood her, finally sighed:

"He left too."

"After Ruan Jintian arrived, he kept inquiring about the lady's whereabouts, but the lady wasn't present, and I had ordered the servants not to leak anything to outsiders, so he got no news."

"Who knows what's on his mind—seeing no progress, he went straight to the Young Emperor, first asking how he could allow women to go out on official business, then asking whether you had consummated with him, while outside rumors claim the Young Emperor lacks desire, so how will he produce an heir, and just how many concubines and male favorites do you now have in the rear courtyard......"

That scene was truly chaotic, like chickens flying and dogs jumping.

The Young Emperor is pure‑hearted and usually ignores worldly affairs—how could he answer such blunt, unpleasant remarks?

Yet the other side wouldn't let up; when the Young Emperor didn't reply, he kept asking, and if not today then tomorrow he'd ask again.

Originally the Young Emperor was staying quite comfortably in the Xian Xie, but after a few days he said he still missed Cang Cheng and wanted to return, asking him to convey a message to the lady......

A heap of such talk fell into Du Shanü's ears; even though she hadn't witnessed those scenes firsthand, her face gradually darkened.

She clicked her tongue, her words unconsciously carrying a hint of fire:

"Since Yu Baobao prefers Cang Cheng, going back wouldn't be a problem—but why does Ruan Jintian keep chasing and bullying Yu Baobao?!!"

"Never mind whether it's right or wrong—just looking at it, it's hardly something a normal person would do!"

Ruansizong's sent grandson might be even more troublesome than she previously thought.

Chen Weifang heard that, and her gaze barely withdrew from the face of the person behind Du Shanü, without responding.

Du Shanü was very annoyed, and without entering the main house, she retied her whip, grabbed her servant's waist, and was about to go out.

"Besides, I have something to attend to in Cang Cheng; I'll leave Afang to watch the house here, and I'll go see what's going on over there."

She came in a hurry, and when leaving her steps were not slow either.

But this time, Chen Weifang spoke up:

"Wise Lord, please wait."

Du Shanü halted her steps, looked back, and heard that aloof scholar speak carefully:

"Ordinary duties aren't worth mentioning; Wise Lord, just leave them to me. But there's one matter I can't decide on, so I came to ask for your guidance...... The group of scouts who went to Ju Cheng to investigate and fell ill with plague—do you still remember them, Wise Lord?"

Scouts?

Of course I remember!

When I came back before, I even bumped into them on the road; otherwise why would I return to Cang Cheng to look for Ouyang Wu's relics?

Du Shanü's eyes showed a hint of doubt, while Chen Weifang let out a heavy sigh:

"Among those scouts, there is a person named Liu Liu who is quite capable and also trusts us."

"But the problem is—he's only in his early thirties, yet he holds a public document stating he's forty-seven, and he doesn't speak the local dialect of his native place."

"I probed him several times and found he's not only skilled at investigation and tracking, but also very familiar with military regulations; his martial arts clearly come from a prestigious family, each move rather fierce......"

Now is exactly the time when we lack people.

He naturally intends to recruit talent for the Wise Lord.

But the trouble is, the rule that has persisted for thousands of years is 'poor study literature, rich practice martial arts'.

Poor people can study without spending much and still achieve fame through exams; rich people practicing martial arts must spend money and grain to hire masters, which ordinary families cannot afford.

Since he has studied under a master, his background must be extraordinary; he simply cannot be an ordinary person.

Thus, whether to use him or not has become a major issue, naturally requiring a report.

Chen Weifang weighed each word carefully, guessing that Du Shanü must have some reservations in her mind.

However, what he never expected was that, whether it was Du Shanü or Chinu standing before him...

Their expressions were equally strange.

The two almost spoke at the same time, overlapping in asking:

"Forty-seven?"

"Forty-seven?"

?? coming coming......