Iron Curtain Mountain is located in the southeast of Shanglin River and Shiliang River Xinhe. The mountain is not high, with the main peak only over 70 feet, but it is wide in scope, with hills stretching for dozens of miles.
The temperature dropped at night, and the loess road from Shanglin to Huyan was frozen, and the carriages made a rutting sound as they drove by. There were two carriages, the one in the front was occupied by a maid, a woman, and four people carrying knives.
Jian Pu led the way on horseback.
There are as many robbers as cattle bandits these days, and the folk customs in Dongyang Mansion are fierce. Even if the Lin family is famous in Dongyang Mansion, it does not mean that there will never be a few thieves who want to attack the Lin family.
Gu Yingxiu sat in the carriage at the back and raised the curtains. She was too eager to talk to Lin Fu in the carriage last night and was in a panic. She didn't even have time to ask him where he was hiding at night. She looked at the Iron Curtain Mountain in the distance in the blue sky.
Looking at the green and black mountain ridges against the background of the sky, I thought that if Lin Fu didn't leave Shiliang County that night, he would probably be hiding in the Iron Curtain Mountains. It was cold last night, so I didn't know if their cold clothes were thin or not.
It was obvious that Lin Xuzong, who was not willing to be humiliated, had taken action last night. Although he did not know who Lin Xuzong sent to avenge his shame, the atmosphere in Lindu was obviously different from the past. When Gu Yingxiu went out in the car in the morning, there were also people sneaking around.
Following him, Gu Yingxiu was so angry that she had the two following people caught before her eyes and whipped them ten times, until they were bloody and bloody before driving them away.
Gu Yingxiu was a little worried again at this time. What if Lin Fu and the others discovered their hiding place at night, or were discovered on his way to Huyan? She thought that he should have made a decisive decision to leave Dongyang last night. They could quickly
He could reach Jiangning in one night. No matter how powerful the Lin family was, they would not dare to cause trouble in Jiangning, the southern capital of the empire. It would not be too late for him to meet his second uncle and the others after he went to Jiangning.
There is no point in worrying at this time. I think that when he comes back this time, he is completely different from the past. He is no longer the submissive and poor man, and he is no longer the little boy who cries when being chased by dogs. Maybe there is no need.
Don't worry about him anymore.
Gu Yingxiu was thinking a thousand times while sitting in the carriage. In winter, the vegetation was withered and the rolling hills looked a bit desolate. However, the hills where the tea gardens were located were still green, but the colors were not as vivid as when they sprouted in early spring.
Although Dongyang Iron Curtain Mountain Tea cannot be compared with the famous teas of West Lake Longjing and Taihu Lake, it is also a famous product in surrounding counties. This tea mountain and tea garden are also the object of competition among wealthy families in Shiliang County and even Dongyang Prefecture. The Lin family does not compete for the tea garden.
, but relying on the convenience of the wealthy Shixun family and the imperial court's tea monopoly system, they firmly controlled the channels for tea trafficking out of Shiliang County.
Gu Yingxiu thought that Gu Jiayuan was also one of the official tea merchants in Shiliang County. At its peak, the amount of Dongyang Iron Curtain Camellia shipped to various places through the warehouse under the Gu family's name was as high as 50,000 kilograms.
Although there are many tea gardens and tea mountains in the country, they have no political protection and lose the qualification to sell tea. The tea produced every year can only be sold to official tea merchants at low prices, and in addition, they have to bear heavy tea taxes.
In the past ten years, countless clan members have been oppressed by tea merchants and tea taxes, and their families have been destroyed. Gu Yingxiu looks anxious but is helpless. Although she can now intervene in the affairs of the Lin clan and give advice to the Lin clan, because
She stood behind Lin Tingxun; once the matter involved the interests of the Lin clan and other clan members, her eyes would be brightened up and down. Gu Yingxiu knew that if she was biased in helping the Gu family, someone would immediately jump out impatiently.
It's not the one who accuses her.
Gu Yingxiu thought that her second uncle could regain the trust of the court and be given an important task this time, which would be a rare opportunity for the Gu family to revitalize.
"The lake is just ahead of us!" Zhao Hu's mother, Mrs. Zhao, who was sitting in the front of the carriage, raised the curtain and turned around to tell Madam Seven that she was about to reach the lake. Gu Yingxiu looked at the rippling lake light in front of her, and unknowingly she was already there
When I arrived at Iron Curtain Lake, I asked Mrs. Zhao: "Do you think the scholars and others have reached the lake?"
"It's already three o'clock in the morning, should it be here?" Yesterday, Mrs. Zhao was worried about Lin Fu offending the second young master. Later, she heard that Lin Fu and Zhao Hu had discovered an assassin in the county yesterday and rescued Gu Wuchen, so she didn't worry much anymore. Poor people are inherently poor.
Fate is cheap. If Jiangdong's deputy commissioner could not save Lin Fu and Zhao Hu, the Zhao family would not complain about the injustice of fate.
The carriage continued to move along the north shore of Iron Curtain Lake. After another three or four miles, you could see the eaves of the Gu family's mansion. This house was only returned to the Gu family after Gu Wuchen was pardoned and served as a reviewer of the Hanlin Academy years ago. It's a pity that
Apart from Gu Wuchen, there are no other direct heirs in the Gu family. Gu Yingxiu's younger brother also died of the epidemic ten years ago. The old house has not been repaired for almost ten years. From a distance, it looks dilapidated.
A section of the courtyard wall also collapsed, revealing an ugly gap.
Gu Yingxiu sighed softly. She knew that she was not qualified to dictate the affairs of the Gu family anymore. Not to mention the water thrown out by her married daughter, it was just the fact that she married Lin Tingxun as a concubine.
Those tribesmen who have always held the concept that the Gu family is the glory of a powerful family seem to be a great shame. This is also the reason why Gu Yingxiu was able to return to her parents' home only six or seven days after Gu Wuchen's family quietly returned to Shiliang to worship their ancestors.
Who should the Gu family rely on to revive? Will it be Gu Siyuan's cousin whom he has never met?
Gu Yingxiu was thinking wildly. She didn't hear the chaotic sound of horse hooves in front of her. She just felt that the carriage had stopped. She raised the curtain and wanted to ask why it stopped, but she saw that everyone was staring at the wilderness four or five hundred paces away.
Gu Yingxiu looked over and was shocked. Several fast horses and hunched men were escaping into the village in a hurry. Six or seven people behind them were chasing after them, waving sabers that shone brightly in the sun.
The sky was clear and the clouds were misty, and people could see far away. Gu Yingxiu instantly recognized that the person running away in front of him in embarrassment was Lin Fu, Zhou Pu and the two strangers he saw in Luoma Market yesterday. Suddenly, her heart was lifted.
to the throat.
Lin Fu's riding skills were very poor. During the high-speed galloping, Zhou Pu and another person were holding him to the left and right before he could barely lie on the horse without falling off.
Lin Fu, Zhou Pu and a foreigner were riding three horses in front. The other foreigner was very good at riding. He was riding on horseback, holding a bow in his hand and shooting arrows at the pursuers behind him from time to time. But he was riding behind him.
On the horse running at high speed, the pursuers behind him were staring at him, and it would be a ghost if he could make him shoot. However, the pursuers were also effectively disturbed. From time to time, they had to turn their horses to avoid flying arrows, otherwise they would
Lin Fu would lose his riding skills at any time, and he might have caught up with him long ago.
These more than ten fast horses came towards the village. The hoofs of the horses stepped on the ice and soil like thunder, which also alarmed the village. I saw more than twenty armored soldiers riding out one after another, staring at the entrance of the village.
More than a dozen fast horses rushed in and were ready.
Gu Wuchen was assassinated yesterday, alarming the Dongyang Prefecture. If Gu Wuchen was assassinated on his way to his post, the Dongyang Prefecture magistrate would not necessarily behead him, but would definitely abandon his official post. The Dongyang Prefecture prefect was afraid that the sword archers in Shiliang County had limited manpower and would not be able to protect Gu Wuchen adequately.
, after receiving the notice, a team of elite cavalry was dispatched from the Dongyang Prefecture Soldiers and Horses Camp overnight to prepare to escort Gu Wuchen to Jiangning. At this moment, they heard the fast horses running like thunder outside, and the Dongyang Prefecture cavalry only treated them as bold assassins and gathered to attack the village in a hurry.
They all put on armor and mounted their horses and went to the entrance of the village to prepare for the attack.
Lin Fu and others followed the pursuers, all with weapons in their hands. They ran away and chased one after another. The Dongyang Prefecture cavalry could not distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. They all took their bows and arrows in their hands. The cavalry major shouted: "
Anyone who attacks the village will be killed without mercy!" Other cavalrymen also shouted, and some fired loud arrows as a warning.
Gu Ying held the car curtain tightly with her sleeves, her long nails digging into her flesh without realizing it. When she saw Lin Fu and the others, they were about to flee into the village. Unexpectedly, the officers and soldiers suspected that they were accomplices of assassins who were acting and stopped them from entering the village.
Gu Yingxiu was so angry and angry that she couldn't help but curse loudly and ordered the four healthy servants accompanying her to go down the lake embankment to save people: "Go and save Lin Xiucai!"
"The master only ordered us to strictly protect the safety of the seventh lady." The first servant was not moved by Gu Yingxiu's words. He sat on the horse and watched the chase under the lake embankment coldly.
"Are you going to save people?" Gu Yingxiu grabbed the horsewhip from Mrs. Zhao and whipped it at the leading servant, cursing sternly, "You all know that the second young master wants to kill Lin Xiucai. You are afraid of offending the second master.
Young Master, do you dare to offend me? Believe it or not, I can make your life worse than death?"
Gu Yingxiu's whip was so hard and accurate that the man couldn't get out of the way and was slapped on the face. He wailed and rolled off the horse, but he still pretended to be dead because of the whip injury and lay motionless on the withered grass; the other three healthy servants were far away.
The horse avoided it and dared not go down to save people.
Gu Yingxiu jumped out of the carriage and kicked the healthy servant who fell to the ground urgently and hatefully. The healthy servant held his head and lay on the withered grass, letting Gu Yingxiu kick him, while the other three healthy servants were far away.
Avoiding it but with a contemptuous smile in his eyes.
Gu Yingxiu watched Lin Fu and the others being forced to stop their horses in front of the village. The seven pursuers were only a hundred paces away. Her heart felt painful and anxious. She knew that Lin Fu's trip was going to be unlucky, and she faced the four who refused to listen to her.
The servant who gave the order said: "You still refuse to listen to my order..." She turned around and walked to the carriage, opened the curtain and took out a ceremonial knife. This is what she usually keeps in the carriage for protection. Maybe it is useful for her.
For women, the greater use of keeping a knife with them is to protect their virginity and commit suicide after being kidnapped by gangsters. Gu Yingxiu didn't like the short silver makeup knife. There was a ritual knife that was not much different from the murderer's waist knife hidden in the carriage.
Mrs. Zhao thought that Mrs. Seven was crazy and wanted to rush down to save people. She jumped over and hugged her waist, crying: "Mrs. Seven, Lin Xiu and Daji have their own destiny. Let's go into the village quickly and find Mr. Gu to ask them to save him."
Talent is the most important thing..." She did not see Zhao Hu, Lin Fu and the others together, just thinking that something bad had happened to her son.
The other three healthy servants were afraid that something might happen to Gu Yingxiu, so they rode their horses around and blocked the way down to the lake embankment.
"Let go," Gu Yingxiu calmly ordered Mrs. Zhao, "I'm wearing an undershirt, so it's inconvenient to ride a horse. You go to the village on horseback to find my second uncle, and tell him that his savior is being hunted outside the village..."
"
Mrs. Zhao let go of her hand to hold the horse, only to see Gu Yingxiu pull out a knife and stab the healthy servant who was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead in the neck. The healthy servant wailed and covered his neck with blood gushing out. He never expected that
This knife would be struck by the Seventh Madam, and she rolled twice in the withered grass before struggling to death.
"Go and save people. If you stand by and watch Lin Xiucai be killed by the thieves, I will make life worse for you and your wives and children!" Gu Yingxiu said calmly and cruelly, holding a knife with blood dripping from the edge.