Chapter 313: The Imperial Court's Prisoner
Tong Huaqiong hardly slept all night.
She got up after the rooster crowed twice and went to Gu Jingzhe's room to see the patient.
Gu Jingzhe did not sleep a wink the whole night and happily told Tong Huaqiong that although Su Chengmin did not wake up, his fever had subsided.
As long as the fever goes down, the person will get better.
Tong Huaqiong didn't bother to pay attention to Su Chengmin's condition.
She thought about it all night. If Maner's plot was the same as in her previous life, then this Xiaolong would be the son of the deposed prince, and an undoubted remnant of a traitor.
He and Su Chengmin were the mines buried in the Gu family at this moment.
Tong Huaqiong asked Gu Jingzhe: "Did you learn anything about the emperor in school?"
Gu Jingzhe raised his head and looked at Tong Huaqiong in surprise.
He didn't understand why his mother, who never cared about current affairs, asked this question.
In the past, I always said that no matter who becomes the emperor, it won’t affect everyone’s life.
Why do you care now?
Gu Jingzhe said, "Master Su mentioned that the current emperor was the least prominent prince back then. Because the previous crown prince rebelled, the previous emperor killed the crown prince and several other princes. Before the previous emperor passed away, only the current emperor had reached adulthood among all the princes, so he was made the heir."
No wonder this emperor was so suspicious, it turns out he picked up the throne.
"Mom, do you still remember Aunt Hong mentioned that she fled to our side from Shengjing with her family? That was when the crown prince rebelled and the rebels entered the city. The situation was unstable and many wealthy families in Shengjing were afraid that they would be affected and fled desperately."
Tong Huaqiong nodded, and then asked: "What is the relationship between the current emperor and the prince?"
Gu Jingzhe said: "Master Su also mentioned that the emperor is very suspicious."
Tong Huaqiong understood.
Gu Jingzhe couldn't figure out Tong Huaqiong's thoughts, so he asked, "Mom, why are you asking these questions?"
Tong Huaqiong looked towards Gu Jingzhe's house and was about to speak when the village chief stepped into the gate in the early morning sunlight.
The village chief saw Tong Huaqiong and said with a smile: "Dashu Niang, I just returned to the village and passed by your house. I heard someone talking and knew you were back."
Tong Huaqiong asked in surprise: "Where did the village chief come from so early in the morning?"
The village chief sighed and said, "Don't mention it. Several of our villages were called to a meeting by the village head last night. The meeting lasted until midnight, and we were dragged to the surrounding mountains to search for people. We were busy for half the night."
Tong Huaqiong's heart moved and she asked, "Why?"
The village chief said, "Oh, don't mention it. It is said that the prince rebelled a month ago and was executed, and his men fled with his son. I don't know where the news came from, but they said that the two of them fled to our Yanguan Town, and last night a group of soldiers led people to search the mountains. The head of the village called our village chief over last night and he also followed the search."
Tong Huaqiong's heart was pounding with fear, and she asked, "Did you find anything?"
The village chief said, "I didn't find anything. I thought they were just bored. What does the prince's rebellion have to do with us? The affairs between him and his father, the emperor, have nothing to do with us ordinary people. I followed the officers and soldiers from Shengjing to search for a while, and then I hid in the haystack and slept. In the morning, when everyone withdrew, I sneaked back to the village. I couldn't stand it anymore. I heard that they would search every village for the prince's remnants."
"I'm here to inform everyone in the village not to let strangers into the village, to avoid being misunderstood by the soldiers. By the way, Dashu Niang, when you came back last night and passed through Yanguan Town, did you encounter anyone suspicious?"
Tong Huaqiong shook his head and said, "That's not the case."
The village chief shook his head and said, "I think it's all nonsense. As for the remnants of the crown prince, I think they are just searching for them so that they can report to their superiors. Why would the remnants of the crown prince come here? This is not a border where they can hide."
The village chief shook his head, put his hands behind his back and left Tong Huaqiong's yard. He was going to inform the villagers not to let strangers into the village in the next few days.
Tong Huaqiong had a sullen face and didn't move for a long time.
Gu Jingzhe locked the door tightly, his face pale, and shouted, "Mom."
Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe is so smart, he should have guessed the identities of Su Chengmin and Xiaolong.
If they are really caught and wiped out, all the members of the Gu family, including Tong Huaqiong, will be finished.
If things go wrong, the entire Qinghe Bay will be a river of blood.
Tong Huaqiong was trembling a little.
She knew too well how terrifying the imperial power of this era was.
The more Tong Huaqiong thought about it, the more frightened she became.
I was struggling with my thoughts, wondering whether I should send Su Chengmin and Xiaolong away.
Seeing his mother, who had always been confident, now showed a look of fear, Gu Jingzhe began to panic.
Gu Jingzhe asked, "Mom, are we going to send these two away?"
If we send both of them away, one will be covered in wounds and will not wake up, and the other is an unarmed child. He will probably be killed by the soldiers or starve to death.
Tong Huaqiong calmed down and said, "It's impossible to send them away. At least, we can't send them away now. The soldiers will come at any time. Not only will we not be sent away, but we will be caught by the soldiers."
"Mom, the village chief said...these two people in our family couldn't be..." Gu Taohua asked in a trembling voice.
Gu Dahan, Chen Sufen, Liu Yue'e and Gu Taohua stood together, each with a solemn expression. Tong Huaqiong knew that they had obviously heard what the village chief had said and guessed the identities of their two children, the big and the small.
Hiding a serious criminal of the imperial court will result in the death penalty. Who wouldn't be afraid?
Liu Yue'e cried, "Mother, please send him away. Hiding a serious criminal from the imperial court is no joke. We have finally lived a good life, and we can't let it be ruined."
Not only Liu Yue'e, but also Chen Sufen, who was always gentle and kind, agreed to send the person away.
Chen Sufen said, "My sister-in-law is right. Mother, why don't we let Dahan secretly send the people to the mountains to hide them? We can bring them silver and food."
Tong Huaqiong glanced at Chen Sufen and Liu Yue'e, and said with a cold face: "Who told you that our family hides a serious criminal of the imperial court? One of the two in our family is a coachman I hired. He was trampled by a frightened horse, and the other is the coachman's nephew. I felt sorry for him because he had no parents, so I let him follow his uncle to drive the carriage."
"Don't talk nonsense to me, one or two of you."
Gu Dahan was the first to wake up. He said, "That driver was so careless. Why was he in such a hurry to get on the road at night? He was stepped on and injured. I spent money to treat him. It was only out of kindness. If it were a normal employer, he would have been fired long ago."
"Remember the money he owes us, and let him work for us and pay it back slowly in the future." Gu Taohua said.
"Yes, yes, we can't let him go. We can't do that if he can't pay the money back." Chen Sufen said.
Tong Huaqiong nodded.
Very good, everyone is starting to show off their acting skills.
At this time, Tong Huaqiong saw a man coming out of the side room. Oh no, it was the Lu family's coachman.
As soon as I saw his drooping head, I knew that he had taken the village chief's words to heart.
What kind of family is the Lu family? Every one of them is very shrewd. How could he not guess who the two people in the room are?
Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Jingzhe: "Jingzhe, go get a knife."
Gu Jingzhe glanced at the coachman, nodded and said, "Okay, only a dumb person won't speak."
The Lu family coachman almost fell to his knees.
This widow Tong is so cruel that she wants to kill people to silence them.
No, after hearing what the village chief said, he decided to keep the fact that he saved two people last night to himself and would never tell anyone until he died.
Otherwise, if something happens, there is a possibility that the property will be confiscated and the whole family will be exterminated.
No, does Widow Tong think he is stupid?
She thought he was confused about this matter, and what did he do to make Widow Tong think he was a fool.
The Lu family's driver fell into self-reflection.