Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 623 - 621

Chapter 623: Chapter 621

Shangguan Xuanyi left the rest of the work to Di Shaowei.

Shangguan Xuanyi returned to the villa with Xiao’er, carrying the account books and rolls, and reported his discovery to the Emperor, handing over the documents.

After fishing in the river for the entire morning without a single shrimp to show for it, the Emperor was already seething with repressed anger.

Now, seeing these books and scrolls, he was even more furious! He had finally found an outlet for his anger.

Reporting iron mine as exhausted was already a crime of deceiving the monarch.

Mining iron privately and manufacturing weapons was a sign of rebellion!

With all these charges piled up, no matter how great his past achievements, they would dissipate like smoke!

The Emperor immediately ordered General Li and his family to be imprisoned pending later inquisition. He also sent men to arrest General Li.

Shangguan Xuanyi immediately used Pigeon Post to inform Feng Qing of the Emperor’s decree. Upon receiving the Pigeon Post, Feng Qing assembled his troops and surrounded General Li’s mansion.

At this time, the master of General Li’s mansion was already gone, leaving only some servants at home.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qing quickly sent men to pursue in the northwest direction.

Simultaneously, Commander Zhao, carrying the imperial edict, led a group of soldiers towards the northwest to arrest General Li and bring him back to the Imperial Capital for questioning.

Many homing pigeons appeared in the sky, most heading in the northwest direction, carrying messages from both friends and foes.

Mrs. Li and Madam Li had already left the city. Cunning in her old age, Madam Li was afraid their departure might attract attention. She quickly disguised herself as a commoner and found a servant in her dowry villa to pose as her son. They pretended to be merchants heading northwest, buying goods along the way.

This disguise allowed them to safely pass through several counties and towns.

As the imperial edict with the wanted notice was issued, the people felt uneasy and apprehensive. Was General Li, who had held the northwest for so many years, rebelling? Were General Li’s family fleeing out of guilt?

Was another war brewing? Furthermore, a civil war?

Having experienced two years of peaceful life, most people hoped that the country would not go to war again, otherwise they would lose their peaceful days. Therefore, many people tossed rotten eggs at Mrs. Li’s image on the wanted notice and cursed General Li’s family.

Mrs. Li, standing outside the crowd, watched the angry people and felt an intense desire to argue with them!

She wanted to shout that her family had been forced onto the path of rebellion!

Was she supposed to let Mingfang die without justice? She certainly wouldn’t accept that!

Madam Li held her back, "Let’s go! Don’t cause more trouble!"

Indignant, Mrs. Li turned around only to find her path blocked by a grubby little boy. She pushed him aside, "Get out of the way, you little beggar!"

The boy fell hard on the ground, grazing his knees and wrist. The scrapes stung like fire.

He immediately burst into tears.

The boy’s father, heartbroken, quickly picked him up and rushed him to the clinic.

The boy’s mother was not the type to back down. Seeing her husband rush the boy to the clinic and noting Mrs Li’s plain cotton clothes, she bellowed, "Hey! You hag, how dare you push people! And who are you calling a beggar? You think you’re some noble lady? Dressed in garments worth a few hundred coins, and you dare call my boy a beggar? I say you’re more of a beggar than he is!"

The boy’s attire was actually of fine brocade. However, being mischievous and active, the boy’s clothes often got dirty. His face was usually grubby too.

"How dare you call me a shrew! Don’t you know that..." Mrs. Li, having never been berated so, found herself affronted and stood hands on hips, ready to retaliate.

Seeing Mrs. Li’s reaction, Madam Li felt a headache coming on. When she heard Mrs. Li unable to hold back her true identity, she quickly tugged her sleeve, "Daughter-in-law, we need to leave! We still have a long way to go."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li finally snapped out of it. It felt unjust to be ridiculed and bullied in such a lowly place.

"You’re lucky!" Mrs. Li spits at the woman in disdain.

Just as they were about to leave, the woman reached out to stop them, "Who do you think you are to leave just like that after injuring my son! There’s no way! You owe me ten taels of silver. If that’s not enough, I’ll go to your house to take it. Leave your address here!"

"Ten taels of silver? Why not just rob us! Is your child made of gold? He’s just got a minor injury, and you’re demanding ten taels of silver! Oh, I see, you’re trying to swindle us!" Mrs. Li, unable to hold herself back any longer, stopped and started arguing with the boy’s mother again.

Madam Li was on verge of losing it, "Fine, ten taels of silver it is! Just pay her so we can finally leave. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll miss the boat!"

Observing Madam Li, the boy’s little sister looked at the wanted notice, and after going back and forth three times, she tugged at her mother’s sleeve and pointed to Madam Li’s picture on the notice, asking, "Mom, is this old lady the one in the drawing?"

"What do you mean, ’the one in the drawing’?" The woman didn’t quite catch on until she followed her daughter’s fingers to see Madam Li’s image on the wanted notice. She then swiftly turned her head to look at Madam Li.

But on hearing the little girl’s words, Madam Li quickly lowered her head, Mrs. Li too, frightened, quickly lowered her head and hurried off.

Sadly, some sharp-eyed and quick-reacting onlookers recognized them and shouted, "That’s right, they are the fugitives on the wanted notice, traitors!"

"You’re right! It didn’t occur to me before, but now that the little girl mentions it, I find that these two people look exactly like the fugitives on the notice!"

Madam Li’s portrait on the notice was depicted without a headscarf. Xiao’er had drawn it based on memory. In reality, Madam Li was wearing a headscarf. Her face was haggard from days on the run, and her aristocratic aura had faded. At first glance, she didn’t look like the person in the picture, but their features were identical. They didn’t expect to be recognized by a little girl.

As for Mrs. Li, her image on the notice was smeared with rotten eggs and was unrecognizable.

Out of respect for the elderly and love for children, the public only threw rotten eggs at Mrs. Li’s image, leaving Madam Li’s untouched. This made Mrs. Li even angrier, and she couldn’t help herself from pushing the boy.

They had been recognized. Mrs. Li was scared. She lowered her head and covered her face with a handkerchief, pulling Madam Li to run: "It’s not us, you’ve got the wrong people! Back off, we’re in a hurry!"

Despite her age, Madam Li had martial arts training and had even been on the battlefield in her youth. She ran just as fast as Mrs. Li.

"The fugitives are getting away, grab them, don’t let them escape! Take them to the government office, there is a reward of 100 taels of silver!"

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