Chapter 229: Bad News Comes to Pengcheng

Cheng Su's departure did not bring much change to life. Life at home was the same as before. Except for Li Yaoguang and his friends who knew the inside story and paid special attention to news from the north, there seemed to be no difference.

Every few days, Li Yaoguang would go to Cheng'en Mansion to visit with a lot of luggage. The days passed uneventfully, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed and it was already late autumn.

On this day, Li Yaoguang and Gu Qing had agreed early on that they would not go to Xinhai Pavilion. In the morning, Li Yaoguang greeted Li Qifeng, who was copying novels related to Xinhai Pavilion in the yard to earn money, and went out with Yaoyao. The two sisters were going to visit their aunt and others.

They left early and had no food. On the way, the two sisters saw a stall selling wontons and ordered a large bowl to share. Afraid that it would not be enough, Li Yaoguang also ordered two preserved vegetable sesame cakes from the bakery next door, which were delicious.

After filling their stomachs and paying the bill, Li Yaoguang took Yaoyao on the road again. When they saw a vendor selling candied haws, they bought four strings. Li Yaoguang himself didn't like this stuff, but he still bought one more string to please his aunt like a child.

I passed by a pastry and preserved fruit shop and went in to spend several taels of silver to buy some pastries and preserved fruits that my aunt and her family liked to eat and take them away.

The two sisters were shopping as they walked. Yaoyao was chewing on a candied haws. On the way, they saw an old man selling flowers. He was worrying about what gifts to bring to honor his host, Li Yaoguang. So he quickly spent eight taels of silver to buy two pots of the best Epiphyllums. Visiting him was just a courtesy.

Both sisters arrived at the Cheng'en Mansion with bags full of stuff, and entered through the corner gate they were familiar with. They gave a few coins to the old woman guarding the gate, and were led into the mansion with many thanks. Then they entered the backyard. Li Yaoguang was going to take her sister to pay a visit to the lady first, but on the way they met Lu Fang, who had hurried over after hearing the news of her coming.

When he saw her, Lu Fang lost his composure and hurriedly grabbed Li Yaoguang and was about to leave, which made Li Yaoguang very surprised.

"Hey, Master Lu, Lu Fang, why are you in such a hurry? Be careful with my flowers!"

Without even turning his head, Lu Fang instructed Shuqi beside him to take the two pots of flowers from her arms and walked without stopping, "Don't make a noise, I have something urgent to talk to you about."

Li Yaoguang: "What's the hurry?" Is the house on fire? "Hey, where are you taking me? I haven't met my wife yet, and my sister!"

Lu Fang then stopped and looked at the little girl who was holding a candied haws in her hand and running after him in fear with her short legs. Lu Fang sighed, slapped himself on the forehead, and then gave instructions to Shuqi.

"Shuqi, go and take this little girl to the guest house at the back and give her to Madam Cheng."

Shuqi didn't dare to delay. He held the flowerpot in both hands and tossed it left and right in a comical manner, responding quickly and telling the little girl to go away. Yaoyao refused and glared at Lu Fang with a defensive look on her face.

"My sister and I."

Lu Fang was overwhelmed and had no choice but to compromise and said to Li Yaoguang: "Ancestor, it's really a big deal!"

Seeing this, Li Yaoguang shook off Lu Fang's grip, turned around and squatted down to be at eye level with Li Qiyao to comfort the little guy.

"Don't be afraid, Yaoyao. Don't you know Brother Lu? I have something to discuss with him right now. You can go with Brother Shuqi to find Aunt, Brother Yi, and Brother Yangyang first, okay? I'll be here soon."

The little girl looked at her sister, then looked at Lu Fang beside her, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Okay, then sister must come."

"Come, definitely come."

After pacifying the little girl, he assigned Shuqi to hand over the large and small packages and flowers she brought. After watching the little girl looking back every few steps, Li Yaoguang followed Lu Er back to his yard. The guy sent the servants away with a serious face. When things finally quieted down around him, Li Yaoguang couldn't wait to point to the empty yard and ask the puzzled guy in front of him.

"Second Master Lu, tell me, what is this play you are singing today?"

"What are you talking about?" Lu Fang rolled his eyes at Li Yaoguang in annoyance. "Tsk, I did all this for you!"

"Why is it for me? What do you mean?"

Lu Fang sat down angrily and didn't try to hide anything. Thinking about the urgency of the matter, he got straight to the point with Li Yaoguang.

"This is confidential, so I'll keep it short. The court just received a report from the front yesterday that Pengcheng was under siege and in imminent danger!" "What? Is this true?"

Li Yaoguang jumped up in shock, forgetting his identity for a moment, and grabbed Lu Fang's collar tightly with both hands and questioned him.

Lu Fang didn't care about these details, and said solemnly: "It's true, but it's of great importance, and the court is not convenient to mention it to the public. That's why my father stayed in the palace last night and didn't go out until this morning. He told me and my eldest brother about it and just went to bed. I was about to look for you, but the doorman said you were here, and I lost my composure just now..."

That's it!

Li Yaoguang sat back in his chair, feeling completely confused.

Escorting grain and fodder was a confidential matter, and to ensure the safety of the grain and fodder, they were out of touch with her uncle along the way. However, according to the time, her uncle should have already transported the grain and fodder into Pengcheng.

I was just feeling lucky that maybe it wouldn't be long before my uncle would be able to return home safely and we would be reunited, but unexpectedly the bad news came.

Li Yaoguang was unwilling to believe it no matter what. "Is the news accurate? Do you have a way to find out whether the grain transport team has entered Pengcheng?"

Lu Fang really wanted to tell Li Yaoguang that he was not sure and did not go in. Unfortunately, when he saw Li Yaoguang's trusting eyes, Lu Fang could not say it out loud.

After a long silence, he finally nodded.

"An urgent military report from the front line of 800 miles away, the enemy is besieging Pengcheng because the army's food and fodder have arrived. But don't worry, Pengcheng is one of the few important cities in the north that is still defended. It cannot be lost. The court may send troops to rescue it."

"Ha!" Li Yaoguang sneered, "Do you believe this?"

She didn't believe it anyway.

If Emperor Dajing and the imperial court were virtuous, why did they flee in the first place?
Li Yaoguang knew very well the nature of the Dajing court and the emperor. He did not dare to place any hope on them and could not help but ponder over it in his mind.

"Lu Fang, the 800-mile express message we just received yesterday means that Pengcheng was just surrounded, right?"

"Yes, it has been less than five days since we were surrounded and the message was sent out."

"That's it..." Li Yaoguang made up his mind instantly, "I want to go to Pengcheng."

"What, what the hell?" Lu Fang's face turned pale when he heard that. "What nonsense are you talking about, little girl!"

Li Yaoguang didn't look at Lu Fang's changing face, and said firmly: "Lu Fang, I'm not talking nonsense, I'm serious."

Her uncle doesn't have a golden finger like herself, and once he falls, it's hard to predict whether he will suffer good or bad consequences.

She was the one who sent the person away in the first place. In order to prevent her aunt from becoming a widow and her cousin from becoming an orphan, although she was afraid of death, she had to go because she did not feel guilty about having nightmares about her in the middle of the night.

"Lu Fang, I have to bring my uncle back."

Seeing that Li Yaoguang was really anxious, Lu Fang scratched his head and tried to persuade him.

"Don't worry, little girl, can you please stop making a fuss? I'm telling you all this because I don't want you to be kept in the dark. Don't get scared when you hear the news. I'm not asking you to go and die! Besides, fighting is a man's job. You're a little girl, don't you know how difficult it is to go to the north? If you're not careful, you'll lose your life! You still managed to escape from the north, are you stupid?"

"Brother Lu, I'm not stupid. Thank you for your concern, but it's precisely because I escaped from the North that I have experience, so I wanted to go back and rescue him."

"You! You are so stubborn! Even if you are lucky enough to have a safe journey without any mistakes, by the time you arrive, the city may have been destroyed. Don't make trouble!"