Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1025: The Mysterious Envoy

“Just like that, we will go kill Wu Zhirong?” Shuang’er looked at Song Qingshu in surprise.

“Of course,” Song Qingshu gently wiped the traces from the corner of her mouth, “How can I let someone who has offended my Shuang’er live so carefree?”

Seeing what he held in his hand, Shuang’er’s face immediately flushed crimson: “But Yangzhou is still under the Qing Dynasty’s rule. If we kill him like this, it will probably bring endless trouble to Brother Song.”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Song Qingshu said confidently. 

Seeing his confident demeanor, Shuang’er’s eyes lit up. What woman wouldn’t love to see her lover so spirited and dashing? 

“Alright, I believe in Brother Song.”

Song Qingshu took Shuang’er’s hand, and they quietly slipped out of the Daotai Yamen (administrative office). 

Shuang’er was filled with admiration: “Brother Song, your martial arts have improved so much! The Daotai Yamen is so heavily guarded, yet you carried someone in as if it were empty.”

“If Shuang’er wants to learn, I can teach you,” Song Qingshu said gently, looking at her.

Shuang’er shook her head: “Hmm, no, I used to learn martial arts to avenge the Zhuang family, but now that Brother Song is here to avenge me and protect me from being bullied, why should I learn martial arts again? It’s ultimately unrefined for a young lady to wield swords and spears.”

“That’s true,” Song Qingshu held her small hand up to his eyes, “Such fair and delicate hands, if calluses develop from practicing martial arts, it would be such a waste.”

“Brother Song~” Shuang’er quickly withdrew her hand, her heart filled with sweetness.

Looking at her infinitely shy appearance, Song Qingshu felt a tickle in his heart, but ultimately, business was more important: “Good Shuang’er, I’m new to Yangzhou and don’t know where Wu Zhirong’s residence is, but you should know, right?”

“I wish I could tear that scoundrel to pieces, so naturally I’ve looked into where his residence is. Brother Song, come with me.” Shuang’er led Song Qingshu, and the two of them, flirting and teasing each other, arrived at Wu Zhirong’s residence. 

Wu Zhirong, merely the prefect of Yangzhou, had a guard far inferior to that of an imperial envoy’s residence. They could fend off ordinary thieves, but how could they stop a true master?

Soon, the two stood before Wu Zhirong’s bed. Looking at the sleeping man before them, Shuang’er drew her short sword, ready to stab him, but Song Qingshu stopped her: “Killing him with a single blow would be too easy.”

Shuang’er hesitated: “Then how should we take revenge?”

Song Qingshu smiled: “Didn’t I promise you I’d bring him back to the Zhuang family? Then we can hand him over to the third young mistress.”

Shuang’er nodded: “That’s right, it’s most appropriate for the third young mistress to settle this feud personally.”

The two’s unbridled discussion about how to deal with him by the bedside would surely wake Wu Zhirong, even if he was sleeping like a log.

“Who are you?” Still somewhat groggy from his sleep, Wu Zhirong’s drowsiness vanished the moment he saw Shuang’er’s face. “You…you…” How could he not understand? This was the female assassin who had tried to kill him before? But what he couldn’t understand was, this woman had clearly been captured by Lord Suo, so how could she suddenly appear here?

After only a moment’s hesitation, Wu Zhirong realized the two men were up to no good and hurriedly opened his mouth to shout, “Gu…”

Unfortunately, before he could finish the word “Guards,” Song Qingshu silenced him with a strike at the pressure point.

“Who are we?” Song Qingshu chuckled. “We’ve come to take your life.”

Shuang’er, however, slapped him twice across the face: “I will let you live a few more days, you dog, before the Third Young Mistress deals with you.”

“It’s rare to see Shuang’er angry,” Song Qingshu said with a smile, as he bound Wu Zhirong tightly and stuffed him into a pre-prepared sack.

Shuang’er blushed slightly. “I’m not usually this fierce, but this scoundrel is just too hateful.”

Song Qingshu smiled. “Of course I know. Our Shuang’er is the gentlest and kindest person in the world.”

Shuang’er was moved, her eyes shining as she looked at him. “Thank you, Brother Song.”

Song Qingshu knew she was referring to Wu Zhirong, and couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. “It was just a small favor, why thank me so much?”

Shuang’er shook her head. “It’s just a small favor for Brother Song, but for the entire Zhuang family, it’s like a second life. Now that we’ve caught this scoundrel, I want to set off for Jiaxing immediately and hand him over to the Third Young Mistress of the Zhuang family.”

Song Qingshu was taken aback. “So soon?” At the same time, he inwardly groaned. If he had known this would happen, he should have waited a few more days to settle accounts with Wu Zhirong. Now he and Shuang’er had to part again so soon after their reunion. 

Shuang’er hesitated, but after a moment’s hesitation, she finally said apologetically, “The Zhuang family has been incredibly kind to me. I want the Third Young Mistress to avenge herself as soon as possible, and for the dozens of innocent souls of the Zhuang family to find peace sooner.”

Song Qingshu, hearing her words, knew her mind was made up: “Since that’s the case, I won’t force you to stay. I’ll escort you out of the city; it’s inconvenient for you to take him with you.”

Now that the city gates were closed, Shuang’er knew that with her skills, she absolutely couldn’t carry a living person over the city wall; but if they waited until tomorrow morning and Wu Zhirong’s residence discovered his disappearance, there would definitely be layers of checks at the city gates, making it even more difficult to take him out.

Seeing how thoughtful Song Qingshu was, Shuang’er was immediately grateful and sweetly replied, “Thank you, Brother Song.”

Then, Song Qingshu, with one arm around Shuang’er’s waist and the other carrying the sack, quietly slipped out of Yangzhou City. He then found a vegetable farmer in a nearby town, bought his donkey cart for a hefty sum, and tossed the sack containing Wu Zhirong inside.

“Shuang’er, I have important business to attend to in Yangzhou and cannot accompany you to Jiaxing,” Song Qingshu said apologetically.

Shuang’er hurriedly said, “Brother Song, you’ve arrested a high-ranking Manchu official for my sake. This will surely shake the Yangzhou officialdom and might even affect your plans. I’m already very uneasy; how can I delay you any further? Don’t worry, Brother Song, I’ve traveled extensively and am quite experienced. Nothing will happen on the way, and besides, Jiaxing isn’t far from Yangzhou.”

Song Qingshu was relieved. “After you’ve delivered Wu Zhirong to the Zhuang family, come back to me quickly. I’ll be thinking of you a lot during this time.”

Shuang’er blushed slightly and softly hummed in agreement, “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Despite his reluctance, Song Qingshu had to see Shuang’er off. Only when her figure was completely out of sight did he return to Yangzhou.

Passing by Wu Zhirong’s residence, Song Qingshu quietly slipped inside and threw in a torch before quickly returning to the Daotai Yamen.

He had just learned from Lu Guanying yesterday that the real Southern Song envoy was inside the Yuqing Temple. Worried that if he arrived too late, the envoy might have already left, he needed Wu Zhirong’s disappearance to be discovered quickly, giving him a pretext to lead troops to search the temple.

While it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to search the temple alone, his primary objective was to disrupt the peace talks between Li Kexiu and the Southern Song envoy. Therefore, he needed a large-scale operation, with the Yangzhou troops involved. This would inevitably make the Southern Song envoy suspicious and suspicious, and with everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, it would be a miracle if the two sides could reach any agreement.

Not long after returning to the Daotai Yamen, news arrived that Wu Zhirong, the prefect of Yangzhou, had indeed been kidnapped by bandits. Suo’etu rushed to discuss the matter with Song Qingshu, and the two decided to conduct a city-wide search.

Suo’etu originally intended to send troops to search the area surrounding Yangzhou, but Song Qingshu stopped him, arguing that “the city gates are closed, and the thieves couldn’t possibly escape with their men.” Songgotu, finding this reasonable, abandoned the idea.

Finally, Song Qingshu volunteered to help search, and Songgotu, not wanting to refuse, assigned him several dozen soldiers.

After leaving the Daotai Yamen, Song Qingshu found a Manchu soldier, inquired about the location of Yuqing Temple, and then led his troops in a grand procession towards it.

*****

During the day, Cheng Yaojia and her husband Lu Guanying, after leaving the Daotai Yamen, wandered around the city to ensure no one was following them before finally reaching the agreed-upon Yuqing Temple.

Lu You was at Yuqing Temple discussing with the Southern Song envoy how to rescue the two. Seeing them return safely, he was overjoyed, then scolded Lu Guanying before gently comforting Cheng Yaojia.

Lu Guanying was frustrated, but he couldn’t easily reveal the reasons to his elders, especially with such an important figure as the envoy present. Could he really let everyone know about his wife’s infidelity? He could only listen to his uncle’s reprimand with a dark face before returning to his room and falling asleep.

Cheng Yaojia, seeing her husband’s suspicion, felt incredibly wronged and could only return to her room sullenly, weeping silently.

Lu You, seeing the couple’s quarrel, didn’t take it too seriously. After settling them in, he discussed with the envoy the matter of winning over Li Kexiu.

That night, everyone rested. 

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside in the middle of the night. The guards returned to report that Qing soldiers had surrounded the Yuqing Temple.

The Southern Song group was greatly alarmed and quickly gathered together.

 Lu You said to the envoy, “Lord Han, while the Qing soldiers are still few in number, let’s seize the opportunity to break out and then escort you out of the city tonight.”

The envoy, addressed as Lord Han, shook his head and said, “No need. Since there aren’t many soldiers, it proves our identities haven’t been exposed. We’ll just pretend to be ordinary tourists, meet them briefly, and send them away.”

Lu You frowned and said, “But Your Excellency, your status is noble. What if the Qing recognize you here…?”

Lord Han laughed heartily, “So what if they recognize me? With my status, do you think they’d dare touch me? It wouldn’t have mattered before, but now the Qing are preoccupied with their own problems; they wouldn’t dare provoke us. Besides, don’t forget, this is Li Kexiu’s territory. If something really happens, do you think he’ll just stand by and do nothing?”

Lu You was still uneasy: “But distant water can’t quench immediate thirst, and Li Kexiu is, after all, nominally an official of the Qing. Even if he helps us, he’ll be constrained.”

Lord Han pointed to a bearded officer beside him and said, “Don’t worry, with General Wu Tiande here, how could these people possibly harm me?”