CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 179: COMFORT

Chen Yongsheng saw the lit torches and instructed the villagers carrying Old Mrs. Chen, Chen Zigeng, and Mrs. Gao to stop.

The three of them remained seated. Although they knew General Song had gone to capture people, they dared not completely relax until they saw Song Xian.

"General Song is here."

Hearing Hei Dan’s voice, Old Mrs. Chen immediately sat up, eager to see the situation even before anyone could support her. However, being too engrossed in feigning illness earlier, her body had secretly tensed up, and upon suddenly relaxing, her legs and feet felt a bit numb, causing her to stumble. Fortunately, a pair of hands came forward to support her.

Song Xian supported Old Mrs. Chen, saying: "Be careful, Old Madam."

Old Mrs. Chen felt rather embarrassed. How could she let General Song serve her personally? She could not bear such an honor.

"Old age makes one useless," Old Mrs. Chen mumbled, though her heart was sincere, "Thank you for your trouble, General."

Song Xian said, "Old Madam, let’s go into the village to talk."

With familiarity, Song Xian supported Old Mrs. Chen as they walked into the village. Chen Zigeng came forward to hold Old Mrs. Chen’s other hand. Normally, Song Xian could then let go, but he remained steadfastly still, and those around felt too embarrassed to remind him otherwise.

The group entered Old Mrs. Chen’s house and sat down.

Only then did Song Xian say: "The people have been captured, including one who went back to send a message, and someone was following them."

Chen Yongsheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Gao almost slapped her thigh; the tension had nearly killed her tonight, fearing to be seen through. In the beginning, it was quite lively, just like a grand play.

What’s so hard about performing a play? Just do as one is told. Mrs. Gao even practiced twice beforehand. Truly, when it came time to perform, she got nervous, her palms full of sweat.

She blamed herself, questioning if she could have more courage. When Miss Chen was captured and threatened, she didn’t even look like this.

Now, hearing General Song say it was done, Mrs. Gao finally felt at ease.

While everyone was talking, Hei Dan brought Gouzi into the house.

Without a word, Gouzi dropped to his knees with a "thud," continuously kowtowing. Hei Dan wanted to stop him but found he couldn’t pull him back; Gouzi seemed to be using all his strength.

It was Chang An who stepped forward, grasped Gouzi’s shoulder, and finally pulled him up.

Under the lamp light, Gouzi’s forehead was blood-red, with more tears on his face than anything.

Chen Yongsheng couldn’t bear it, softly advising: "Gouzi, General Song has sent people to investigate and will find a way to locate your father and them."

Gouzi nodded, choking for a while before he could speak: "It was I... who wronged... you all, it’s all my fault..."

Chen Zigeng said: "At the last moment, you didn’t put the poison in the pot, showing you didn’t want to harm anyone."

Gouzi was silent for a moment before saying: "I agreed at first... I was afraid they would kill my father and sister... So I agreed to help them gather information at the Chen Family Village, but I didn’t know they wanted me to poison."

Gouzi felt like he was defending himself, hastily adding: "But it’s all the same... all about harming people. When I was holding the porcelain bottle, thinking of everyone’s rescuing grace, thinking my father and sister wouldn’t forgive me after they know, I just couldn’t do it."

"I’d rather die myself."

These words were true. When the wolf carried him away, Gouzi had thought that if the wolf bit his throat, it might all be over, which would feel more comfortable than living.

But he was saved, taken back to the Chen Family Village, sleeping on a warm kang bed, eating rice. Everything felt like a dream, except every dream eventually wakes up.

Gouzi’s emotions gradually calmed, and Song Xian asked: "How did you manage to come from Lingqiu to Daqi? Was it the Liao people who brought you?"

Gouzi shook his head: "Lingqiu was stricken by famine, staying meant certain death. General Zhang told us to go to Dai State, but my father didn’t want to go. After the Zhou family took Prince Guangyang’s territory, it was always chaotic, with constant battles whether it was the Liao people or internal disorder. All three of my brothers died because of the wars, and my father was afraid my brother-in-law would be taken too. Coupled with my eye sickness, my father wanted to come to Daqi.

He had some dealings with General Zhang and asked him to help facilitate, which allowed us to cross the Juma River."

"After reaching Daqi, we thought heading southward would eventually lead to life, but my father met someone he knew, named Xu Xiao, who was a Deputy General under Prince Guangyang.

Xu Xiao sweet-talked, claiming he had no other way and had escaped from General Zhang’s command to make a living in Daqi, suggesting we should follow him in the future.

We thought we found someone to help, only to realize Xu Xiao was spying for the Liao people. My father refused, and Xu Xiao harbored murderous intent. At that time, I thought I was going to die, but Xu Xiao changed his mind."

"Later, I understood why Xu Xiao wanted me to come to Chen Family Village. I should be a fellow townsman with that Mr. Xu who saved me. The gentleman liked hearing my Lingqiu accent, and Mr. Xu, Miss Xie, and the villagers were kind-hearted. Seeing me like this, they wouldn’t bear to let me suffer more and naturally kept me there."

Song Xian inferred that the "Xu Xiao" mentioned by Gouzi should be one of the two people who had just been spying outside Chen Family Village. Although Xie Liangchen hadn’t explicitly told him about Mr. Xu, he was somewhat aware.

Since Gouzi had appeared in Chen Family Village, Song Xian had Chang Yue keep an eye out because neither Gouzi’s origin nor Mr. Xu’s peculiarities could be hidden.

Xu Xiao sending Gouzi to Chen Family Village showed he had a good understanding of Mr. Xu.

Chen Yongsheng had Hei Dan take Gouzi to rest.

On the way, Hei Dan advised: "Don’t worry, General Song promised to help. In a place like Zhenzhou Prefecture, no one is stronger than General Song."

Gouzi nodded, taking a cloth bundle from his chest and opening it to reveal a small ball of rice.

Hei Dan looked at it, stunned: "What are you doing?" Immediately he understood, they had all been hungry and could empathize.

Hei Dan said: "Is this for your father and sister, brother-in-law?"

Gouzi nodded, his fingers trembling as he put the rice ball away: "Such delicious rice, I wonder if they will have a chance to taste it..."

A large tear from Gouzi fell onto the cloth bundle.

Hei Dan consoled Gouzi.

The first time Gouzi ate rice, he wanted to cry. The better the food tasted, the more saddened he became, thinking of his father, sister, and brother-in-law, the starving villagers, and General Zhang who gave them his own provisions.

After Gouzi left, Song Xian and Old Mrs. Chen, Chen Zigeng, and Chen Yongsheng could speak freely.

Chen Zigeng was the first to speak: "General, you said, the person you caught earlier intended to infiltrate the village to harm Gouzi, right?"

Song Xian nodded.

Chen Zigeng was silent for a moment before saying: "Then Gouzi’s father, sister, and brother-in-law are likely not alive anymore, are they? Gouzi might have agreed to come to Chen Family Village and then they were killed, or possibly... with the epidemic so severe now, they fell ill and were sent elsewhere."

Chen Zigeng’s words cast a brief gloom over the room.

Song Xian gestured for Chen Zigeng to sit beside him.

Faced with such matters, especially when his sister was absent from the village, Chen Zigeng found being near General Song gave him a sense of reassurance.

What others couldn’t achieve, General Song might still offer a glimmer of hope.

With exceptional patience, Song Xian said: "I will find a way to rescue Gouzi’s family. Even if we can’t save them in the end, we’ll still capture those spies. Catching them early will prevent more harm in the future. Gouzi has done a good thing."

Chen Zigeng felt comforted, and nearby Chang An almost shed tears. Sigh, when had his master ever comforted others in such a manner?