novelraw Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Ye Chutang took the letter passed on by Nan Xiao.
When she saw that the mastermind behind the scenes was the deposed Crown Prince, she wasn't surprised at all.
"The dog emperor's entire family, from the old to the young, is completely rotten!"
After cursing, she asked, "Did Nan Xiao catch Zhao Chengyu?"
Qi Yanzhou shook his head. "No. Zhao Chengyu is very cautious. He is hiding in the military encampment in Bingzhou. It's very difficult to get close to him; we can only figure out a way to lure him out."
It was a good idea, but extremely difficult to execute.
Because the garrisons in Bingzhou and Dingzhou were both unwavering royalists.
Ye Chutang handed the letter back to Qi Yanzhou. "Have you thought of a way?"
"After nightfall, we force our way in and snatch him."
Qi Yanzhou's men were highly skilled in martial arts. As long as they found a way to stall the garrison, snatching a person wouldn't be too difficult.
"If you do that, it will cause too much of a commotion. It will be hard for your men to retreat unscathed; there will be sacrifices."
It wasn't worth losing subordinates over the dog emperor's family!
"Does Atang have another way?"
Qi Yanzhou knew that Ye Chutang could have the Ghost Thief capture Zhao Chengyu alive.
But he wouldn't bring it up himself, so as not to put her in a difficult position.
Ye Chutang smiled and said, "It's very simple. Have the subordinate with the best lightfoot martial arts carry a rat and pretend to be infected with the plague. Have him appear before Zhao Chengyu and tell him that if he burns the city, he will definitely die too."
Actually, she could also have the Ghost Thief go to the military encampment and abduct the deposed Crown Prince.
That would be safer and more effective.
But she was currently the center of attention; she couldn't just disappear without anyone noticing.
Sun Chu, who had just returned with groceries, heard Ye Chutang's words.
After handing the vegetables to Concubine Xu, he volunteered.
"My body is almost fully recovered. Let me go."
Qi Yanzhou refused, "No need, my men..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Sun Chu.
"Only someone who breaks out from Dayang Town can make Zhao Chengyu afraid."
Ye Chutang nodded in agreement. "That makes sense, but do you know Zhao Chengyu?"
"No, but I know that the most heavily guarded place will be where Zhao Chengyu is staying."
After Sun Chu finished speaking, he looked at Qi Yanzhou.
"I'll have to trouble Young Master Qi to help me put on a diversion, and then have your subordinate give me a fast horse."
Qi Yanzhou didn't agree to Sun Chu's request, instead reminding him, "The military encampment near Lai County is nearly fifty miles away from Dayang Town. With your current physical condition, can you ride a fast horse for that long?"
Sun Chu's injury was on his shoulder blade. When pulling the reins, he would have to use force in his arms, which would pull on the wound.
"Of course I can. It's just a minor injury, it won't get in the way."
Saying that, he looked at Ye Chutang.
"Don't worry, I value my life very much. I absolutely won't run away."
Ye Chutang stood up, took out her silver needles, and pierced Sun Chu's wound a few times.
"These few needles will reduce the blood flow at your wound."
After speaking, she searched through her medicine bundle and took out a bottle of topical medicine from her spatial storage.
"This ointment can soften the blood scabs and prevent the wound from splitting open. Apply it."
Sun Chu's eyes widened, and he looked at Ye Chutang accusingly.
"Why didn't you take out such a good thing earlier?"
"Softening the blood scabs will slow down the rate at which they fall off. Do you still think it's good?"
"Of course it's not good at all!"
Sun Chu waited for Ye Chutang to remove the silver needles, then went into the inner hall to take off his clothes and apply the ointment.
"I'll leave Dayang Town first and pretend to escape to attract the soldiers' attention."
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he put down his belongings and left the pharmacy.
When Sun Chu came out after applying the medicine, he could already hear the shouts of the soldiers outside the town uniting to deal with Qi Yanzhou.
"Shoot arrows to the east! Don't let him escape!"
Hearing this, Sun Chu took the token Ye Chutang handed him and left from the west side of the town gate.
With half the troops focused on Qi Yanzhou, he easily dealt with the soldiers attacking him and used his lightfoot technique to leave.
After he had walked far enough in the direction where Nan Xiao was located, he shouted, "Come out!"
Nan Xiao had been closely following the exiled group, so he naturally recognized Sun Chu.
He immediately emerged from the dense forest.
Sun Chu handed Qi Yanzhou's token to Nan Xiao.
"Give me your best horse. I'm going to the Bingzhou garrison's territory to catch the deposed Crown Prince."
As he said this, a wicked smile curled the corners of his mouth, and his face revealed his excitement.
Since he couldn't avoid the affairs of the nation and the struggles of power, he might as well participate and enjoy the process!
Nan Xiao led a Ferghana horse out of the dense forest and handed the reins to Sun Chu.
Sun Chu agilely mounted the horse.
"Hyah!"
The clattering of hooves rang out, kicking up dust as the man and horse disappeared into the night.
Today was the eighth day of the lunar month. The pale light of the crescent moon barely illuminated the whitish dirt road.
Sun Chu was highly skilled in martial arts, had excellent eyesight, and was familiar with the route. He galloped all the way to the Bingzhou military encampment.
The Ferghana horse ran fast, taking only thirty minutes to reach Lai County.
He happened to encounter yamen runners dragging two unconscious beggars into the city.
Because there was a plague in Dayang Town, the nearby Lai County was under martial law; people were allowed to leave but not enter.
Sun Chu looked at the situation before him and knew there was definitely something fishy about the yamen runners dragging beggars into the city.
But he had more important things to do, so he didn't follow them to investigate. Instead, he turned his horse around and bypassed Lai County to head to the Bingzhou military encampment.
The guards defending the city saw Sun Chu on horseback and shouted, "A plague has broken out in Dayang Town, and Lai County might be affected! If you don't want to be infected, leave immediately!"
The guards said this to use passersby to spread the news of the plague, laying the groundwork for burning down Dayang Town.
"Understood, thank you for the warning!"
Sun Chu replied briefly and quickly left.
While passing a cornfield that was wilting from lack of water, he dismounted and caught a field mouse.
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived near the Bingzhou military encampment and dismounted.
The area around the encampment was barren, glowing white under the moon's silver light.
There were people keeping watch on the observation towers. No one could silently approach the encampment without being discovered.
Unless there was no moonlight!
Sun Chu originally wanted to wait until midnight, after the moon had set, before making his move.
As luck would have it, a dark cloud drifted over and blocked the moon.
He took the opportunity to slip into the encampment, found the most heavily guarded tent, and quietly waited for his chance.
Soon, someone lifted the tent flap and came out.
Sun Chu seized the moment and tossed the dead field mouse inside.
Zhao Chengyu's panicked voice rang out, "Men, quickly throw this rat out!"
The attention of the soldiers guarding the tent was drawn by the shout.
Sun Chu immediately darted into the tent and grabbed Zhao Chengyu by the throat.