Mrs. Zhang turned around and saw Zhang Xiaoyan. With an excited look on her face, she pulled her in front of her and asked anxiously: "Xiaoyan, why are you here? Are your parents here too?"
Hope ignited in Zhang's heart again.
After Jiang Zhiyue and the others entered the city just now, they didn't just sit here and wait.
Zhang and Dalang went to look for someone outside the city together, thinking that with so many people here, maybe her family members were also there, and if they were there, they could leave together.
After searching around, I didn't see even a single figure.
Who would have thought that Zhang Xiaoyan would find this place by herself.
Hearing Ms. Zhang ask about her family, Zhang Xiaoyan couldn't help but burst into tears again.
Seeing that she didn't answer and just cried, Ms. Zhang asked anxiously: "What's going on?"
Jiang Zhiyue comforted the two of them and said, "Mom, cousin Xiaoyan said that grandpa and the others are not here. As for what happened, let's talk about it while walking."
Seeing Zhang Xiaoyan crying all the time, Ms. Zhang thought something bad happened to the Zhang family and her whole family, so she started sobbing and crying.
Mrs. Jiang had no choice but to ask: "Zhiyue, why should we leave now? Didn't we say we would rest here for a few days before leaving?"
Jiang Yuchao took a step forward and answered, "Something happened in the city. Let's leave first."
A lot of things were already placed in the car, and everyone packed them up quickly, and they were ready to set off in a short while.
After packing up, they set off quietly to the west without disturbing anyone.
Jiang Zhiyue's idea was not wrong. Shortly after they left, a group of officers and soldiers came out of the city.
And there was a person standing next to that team of officers and soldiers.
If Jiang Zhiyue and the others saw this, they would definitely recognize that this person was the butler from the Wang family just now.
The housekeeper said sternly: "I saw those people just left the city. They must be among the refugees outside the city."
"You all saw just now that our eldest young master was beaten like that. These people must be captured and severely punished."
"Don't forget how important our Wang family's food is to stabilize these refugees outside the city. If we can't catch them, be careful our master turns his back on them!"
The leader, Lieutenant Lin, was impatient with his muttering. He had just heard the ins and outs of the matter explained clearly to the onlookers.
It was clearly Wang Yang who bullied men and women and wanted to force a pair of sisters he met on the street into his house, but was beaten in turn by others. Who was to blame?
Oh, if you do too many unjust things, you will surely die. This must be the retribution for Wang Yang who did too many bad things.
If he wants to tell his true feelings, that girl is really a hero among women!
He was not originally under the jurisdiction of the county, but was sent by General Liang to help the county magistrate arrange refugees. Naturally, he was not afraid of the Wang family.
His official rank is also the sixth rank, and the magistrate of Dashan County is only the seventh rank.
He snorted coldly and said, "Steward Wang is quite serious. I just don't know if it's your idea or your master's."
Butler Wang felt guilty and did not dare to say anything.
How could you really say this at home, so I just urged Captain Lin to find someone as soon as possible.
But they searched among nearly a thousand people outside the city but could not find the few people who were in the city just now.
After asking around, I found out that a family came last night and rested on the avenue outside the city gate.
By the time they ran there again, no one was there.
When Butler Wang and the others arrived, no one was there.
They looked at the ruts and footprints on the ground and knew someone must have been here.
Butler Wang looked at these traces angrily and said angrily: "They must have left early!"
Then he ordered Captain Lin: "Look for clues to see which direction they ran!"
Colonel Lin's disdain for the Wang family was even greater. There were so many people just now and they couldn't catch two people.
He looked at the marks on the ground and found that there were ruts and messy footprints in four directions starting from that patch.
It seemed that those people were well prepared before leaving.
Since this is the case, it will be even harder to catch them.
He said mockingly: "You have also seen the marks on the ground. Xiangbi and the others have already left. We don't recognize the faces of those people. Butler Wang can choose a direction and follow us to arrest them."
Butler Wang retorted: "Isn't this your business? Quickly find out which direction they are going!"
Lieutenant Lin glanced at Butler Wang and said, "Then let's chase him into the woods, and Butler Wang will follow him."
When Butler Wang heard that he wanted to go to the woods and asked him to follow him, he immediately refused.
Everyone has heard that there is something unclean in the forest. Although the forest is not far outside Dashan County, few locals go in.
He hesitated for a long time, then said in a serious tone: "The woods are flat, and they must have thought that if we chased them out, they would think they had fled into the woods, so they must not have gone that way."
"They must have gone up the mountain. The mountain road is difficult to walk, and they have to push the cart. They must not have gone far. Let's chase them up the mountain."
Lieutenant Lin glanced in the direction of the woods. His intuition from many years of marching and setting up defenses told him that those people should be heading into the woods.
But judging from Butler Wang's rejection of Lin Zi, I wonder if there is something inside...
He didn't say anything and went up the mountain as Butler Wang wanted.
Along the way, Butler Wang looked at the footprints and ruts on the ground. His guess was indeed correct, and his back straightened up a lot.
"The traces on the ground must be new. They must not have gone far yet. Chase them quickly."
Butler Wang quickened his pace, feeling that victory was in sight.
Although the eldest young master Wang usually only likes to live and drink, the master of the house pays more attention to the second young master born in the concubine's concubine.
But after all, it was the legitimate son of the house who became like that in front of him. If he couldn't catch those people back and make amends, his good days as a housekeeper would be over.
But as soon as they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they were greeted by two wild boars half as tall as a man.
Because Butler Wang just walked in the front, he was attacked by two wild boars first.
One of the wild boars pushed against Butler Wang's belly and sent him flying up. When he was about to fall, another wild boar hit him hard.
The two wild boars were tossing Butler Wang around in the air as if they were playing.
Butler Wang felt that his internal organs were about to be knocked apart, and he didn't even have the strength to ask for help.
It was precisely because Butler Wang was blocking the way.
Captain Lin and the others only had time to react.
Colonel Lin said: "Attention, everyone save people."
The soldiers following him quickly formed a formation and attacked the two wild boars.
With so many people surrounding him, the two wild boars stopped playing with Butler Wang.
Without the wild boar to continue to fight, the soldiers focused on besieging the wild boar.
Butler Wang hit the ground with a bang, spit out a large mouthful of blood, and lay on the ground like a dead fish.
Two quarters of an hour later, the two wild boars also fell to the ground under the siege of many soldiers.
Lieutenant Lin waved his hand happily: "Kill these two wild boars tonight and let the cook give the brothers extra food."
The soldiers also cheered happily.
Naturally, the matter of continuing to track Jiang Zhiyue and the others came to nothing.
The two soldiers lifted up Butler Wang, who was half-dead on the ground, and embarked on the journey back to the city along with the two wild boars.
Jiang Zhiyue and his party left the city gate and headed towards the woods more than an hour ago.
Before leaving, they also thought about the fact that the Wang family would lead people to chase them, and originally wanted to cover up some traces.
But seeing that there were already traces on the ground heading up the mountain, they naturally saved their efforts.
As for the wild boar that Butler Wang and the others encountered, it only means that they are unlucky.
Steward Wang, who suffered this fate, was too seriously injured and was unable to serve as a steward.
Seeing that he was so seriously injured, the Wang family did not continue to pursue any unfavorable matters concerning his protector, but they did not take care of him anymore.
Jiang Zhiyue and the others didn't know about these things, because they seemed to be in trouble too.
When they first entered the forest, they didn't know how big the forest was.
But it didn't take long for them to realize something was wrong.
When passing by a place, the lively Saburo looked at a big tree as thick as five people hugging each other and said: "The trees here are so big. I have seen three such trees. They are so tall."
It seems like that!”
After hearing Saburo's words, everyone did not feel anything was wrong, and instead picked up the conversation cheerfully.
Jiang Mingdao: "Yeah, I didn't expect the vitality of this forest to be so good. Look at the leaves of this big tree, there are no signs of drying at all."
Everyone was talking about these towering trees.
When did this forest come into being and how old are these trees? Everyone has their own opinions and they continue to argue.
The trees in this forest are all very tall, and the lush leaves are staggered together, blocking out the sun. Only fragments of sunlight cast fragmented light and shadow through the gaps between the leaves.
Jiang Zhiyue noticed something was wrong and raised her voice and said, "Everyone, stop for a moment."
The people walking in front stopped and turned to look at Jiang Zhiyue in the middle.
Old Mrs. Jiang asked: "What's wrong, Zhiyue? Are you tired? Let's rest for a while before leaving."
Jiang Zhiyue shook her head and said, "Not tired yet, but we seem to be lost."
Everyone was surprised: "Lost?"
Didn't they just follow the same direction after entering the forest? How could they get lost?
Mrs. Zhang asked everyone's doubts: "No, my dear, we have been walking southwest since we came in, and we didn't change the intersection."
Jiang Zhiyue had already walked to the big tree that Jiang Sanlang had just mentioned, and found a deep mark on the back of the tree.
She revealed her head from behind and shouted to Ouyang Ming: "A Ming, come here and see if this mark on the tree looks familiar."
Ouyang Ming walked over in two steps and found a deep scratch on the trunk of the big tree.