A few days later, Qiao Lan finally met Chai Shao himself.
A tall, middle-aged man with an elegant appearance. Although he was wearing simple common clothes, his whole body was full of elegance.
Standing next to Chai Yuan, they looked less like brothers than a master and servant.
Qiao Lan just thought about it in her heart and did not tell anyone else.
Chai Shao stepped forward and greeted Qiao Lan respectfully: "I've heard about the queen's name for a long time, and when I saw her today, Shao has no regrets in this life."
Qiao Lan followed warmly and said, "Mr. Chai, you're welcome!"
"The village is remote and the environment is poor. I hope you can forgive me! On my way back, the people in the village have told me what happened in the past few days. You have worked hard these days, Ms. He. I have some gifts from Mr. He in the house.
The tea is delicious, I would like to invite you in for a drink."
Mr. He?
Qiao Lan thought for a while and responded with a smile on her face, "The people in the village are simple and hospitable! Since it is the tea sent by Mr. He, I have to taste it."
After saying that, he followed Chai Shao into the house.
Chai Yuan and others followed and helped bring tea and water.
After the tea leaves were soaked in the kettle, Chai Shao helped Qiao Lan pour a cup of tea, and then the others left.
Let’s get down to business directly.
The solution He Lanfeng came up with for Qiao Lan was to escape to death!
Let Qiao Lan escape first, and then use this as an excuse to let the Duan family members come out and go somewhere else together.
Since Queen Huitian is gone, the remaining Duan family members are "unfit for use", and the eyes of the court and the aristocratic family will not pay too much attention to them, nor will they stare at them.
Only this strategy can ensure that the Duan family can walk out safely in the capital without being targeted.
Chai Shao came to Qiao Lan, firstly for this plan, and secondly to ask for some tokens from Qiao Lan to appease the Duan family and make them believe in his words.
Chai Shao: "I wonder if you have any tokens or words that can help my men persuade the other children and grandchildren of the Duan family to come with us without any worries."
This token and words...
Qiao Lan thought for a while, she came in a hurry and didn't bring anything special.
The main reason is that she doesn't dress up much on weekdays, and the only thing she has handy is a hoe on Zhuangzi. As for such thoughtful words, Qiao Lan couldn't think of it for a while.
Right!
An idea flashed in Qiao Lan's heart, and she suddenly thought of something.
Qiao Lan: "If Mr. Chai wants to prepare a token, he doesn't need to prepare anything too complicated. When the time comes, bring a small box of salt over and let them see it. They will naturally believe it."
Chai Shao nodded when he heard this and wrote down what Qiao Lan said.
I couldn't help but think a little more.
The price of salt in Beijing more than ten years ago was not so cheap. It is said that an expert invented this method of refining salt.
Chai Shao thought about the token given by Qiao Lan and couldn't help but think a little more. It seems that this method of refining salt appeared during the years when Nu Jun was farming.
This should not be a coincidence, this method comes from the female queen!
Thinking of this, Chai Shao admired Qiao Lan even more!
It is indeed as virtuous as the sun and the moon, which is admirable.
Life in the village is peaceful, but Qiao Lan's heart is not very peaceful.
No matter who you are, if you suddenly lose a close relative, you may never be able to stop the grief in your heart.
-
Nüjun encountered bandits on the road, and the news of her life or death soon spread to the capital.
What everyone is concerned about is no longer the locust plague in the south, but Qiao Lan's safety.
How could such an important person as Nujun be gone just by saying he was gone?
Everyone in the Duan family was filled with disbelief when they heard the news.
You were obviously fine before going out, and there were so many people protecting you on the road. Why did you encounter bandits?
The officials who came to report the case were filled with sadness.
"A few of the guards who were lucky enough to survive said that Mr. Qiu Mingshu was escorting the queen back to move the savior."
"Lord Qiu Mingshu's body has been found, as well as the remains of the carriage..." The remaining official did not continue.
The river where the queen was killed is very wide, and many boats pass by on both sides every day. There are places with fast currents and beautiful scenery in the upstream and downstream areas.
It is said that there is a steep river bank covered with sweet apricots on both sides of the cliff, and June is the season when apricots are ripe.
Many farmers will take risks to pick apricots there, so many people fall from the river every year.
And the one who slipped and fell into the water on the boat...
In short, I see many people downstream every day, their bodies soaked to death.
There are also specialized corpse collectors who will paddle there and wait there. When the corpses come, they will take away all their valuable clothes.
The reason why Mr. Qiu Shuming was discovered was that a birthmark on his body could still be recognized by people close to him even if it was soaked.
As for the rest, it's hard to say.
Duan Mingjing's eyes were very red, and his body was shaking uncontrollably. He raised his arms and grabbed the hand of the official in front of him. "Sir, I don't believe that my mother is dead until my mother's body is found!"
The official had been on duty for many years and had probably seen many cases like this. Especially those cases where the body could not be found. The family was very paranoid and would not believe that their loved one was gone until they saw the body.
Even after seeing the corpse and its unrecognizable appearance, he was unwilling to restrain himself and continued to recruit people.
The official didn't care about Duan Mingjing's rudeness. Not only Duan's family was saddened by the Queen's departure, but he was also saddened.
What a good person you are! Serving the country and the people!
Just died at the hands of bandits!
What’s even more irritating is that His Majesty doesn’t seem to have any plans to suppress the bandits!
But he didn't say these words. He just patted Duan Mingjing's arm and comforted him: "Second Master Duan, my condolences."
After seeing off these officials, the Duan family was immersed in an atmosphere of sadness.
Without the old lady who is the master of the house, no one will be happy!
The women cried together!
The servants in the house were also infected by this atmosphere, and they all started crying. When the old lady was still here, she was the most kind to them.
The school at home couldn't hide it either. After the children knew what happened, they cried even more. They couldn't believe that grandma would be so lost.
Duan Mingjing did not cry.
He just thought for a long time with red eyes, thinking about what Qiao Lan said to him when he left, and suddenly stood up from the table.
"Mom said it! She told me before she left! She had to leave for a while for something important, and she needed to go there alone! She will pick me up soon! Mom said she would not lie to me! She has been there since she was little.
I never broke my promise!" Duan Mingjing said stubbornly.
Mr. Shang pinched the wet handkerchief in his hand and felt his eyes hurt terribly. Her husband looked so sad, he must not believe that the old lady had passed away.
Who wants to believe this?
Duan Mingjing: "My mother must still be out there, waiting for us to find her! I want to see people in this life, and I want to see a body in death! There are no corpses! I don't believe that my mother is gone! I want to go south! I want to find my mother!"
Even if my mother is really gone, I will take her home! I can’t let her be alone outside!"
When Duan Mingjing said the next few sentences, his tone became a little wet.