RWNEFE -Chapter 275 At Mosang Town by the Salt Lake, Sun Qian Has Finally Been Caught!

Soon, Song Daoxi was summoned by Zhou Ruan to discuss matters in private. It was not until close to noon the next day that someone came to inform Shen Lanxi that Zhou Ruan had agreed to the conditions Liang Shao proposed: five hundred dan of grain were to be delivered first, with her escorting them over.

The suggestion Shen Lanxi had given Liang Shao earlier was precisely to demand grain supplies. Clearly, Zhou Ruan had taken the bait. He agreed so readily that the contribution of that so-called Ghost Valley successor must have been considerable.

Zhou Ruan wanted to send her away while leaving no room for criticism. Shen Lanxi gladly took the opportunity to disappear from public view.

“Order people to count out five hundred dan of grain and deliver them to Liang Shao. After the delivery, wait one day, then press Zhou Ruan again for more supplies.”

Wei Dongzhu noted it down.

“When are you leaving?” he asked.

Shen Lanxi looked at him. “As soon as the grain is loaded.”

Ever since he returned from Xiling, all the time they had spent alone together added up to less than two hours.

“There’s no need to rush things on Liang Shao’s side,” Wei Dongzhu said heavily, preoccupied.

“I’m not going to Liang Shao,” Shen Lanxi replied.

Wei Dongzhu looked at her in confusion.

“I’m going to the Salt Lake. News from the capital should be coming soon.” She had deliberately exposed Sun Qian’s trail at the Salt Lake earlier; judging by the timing, those hiding in the shadows should be making their move by now.

Wei Dongzhu frowned. “Something happening over there?”

The information had been brought back by Liu Yanhui. Shen Lanxi said, “Recently, there have been many unfamiliar faces appearing around the Salt Lake.”

The Salt Lake was remote and desolate—no one would even flee famine to that place.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Wei Dongzhu asked.

“This time I don’t plan to take many people,” Shen Lanxi said. “I don’t want to alert the enemy.”

Wei Dongzhu’s gaze dimmed slightly as he looked straight at her. A trace of attachment surfaced in his eyes, and deep within them lay a bottomless longing.

“I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Shen Lanxi looked at him and curled her lips into a smile. “Alright.”

Because of Song Daoxi’s appearance, the peace talks were delayed once again. After receiving the grain, Liang Shao tightly restrained the three Turkic tribes.

If the tribes advanced one li, Liang Shao advanced one li with his army. If they retreated one li, he retreated one li as well.

Seeing how compliant Liang Shao was, Zhou Ruan was overjoyed and had Shen Lanxi send another five hundred dan of grain.

Soon after, the Northern Suppression Army faced an urgent shortage of supplies.

Song Daoxi immediately advised Zhou Ruan to borrow grain from the two cities of Xiling and Hailing.

Zhou Ruan could not ask the court for grain, so he could only turn to his two fathers-in-law. He now had to support the consumption of both the Northern Suppression Army and Liang Shao’s forces. Within a few days, the borrowed grain was exhausted, and he had no choice but to beg from his two fathers-in-law again.

With no support from the court, relying solely on two cities to supply two armies was unsustainable. After lending grain several times, both fathers-in-law refused to continue.

After borrowing grain for the fourth time, the garrison commanders of the two cities unanimously cried poverty and refused. Following Song Daoxi’s advice, Zhou Ruan had no choice but to personally travel to more distant cities to beg for supplies.

In short, after Shen Lanxi left, Zhou Ruan was either collecting grain—or on the road collecting grain.

…

By the Salt Lake, Mosang Town.

“Ever since we took over the Salt Lake, the court hasn’t sent anyone,” Liu Yanhui reported to Shen Lanxi.

Ban Sicao looked at the vast salt fields and the people constantly working to produce salt, and curiously went over to take a closer look.

Shen Lanxi’s gaze was deep. “The northwest appears calm, but in reality, the cities have long been acting independently. The prefectural offices are little more than empty shells.”

A carrier hawk flew in. Cheng Zheng removed the letter from its leg and handed it to Shen Lanxi.

It was a letter from Dongchuan.

After reading it, Shen Lanxi dictated while Cheng Zheng drafted the reply.

“Have Wang Songbai and Chang Daoyan bring people over,” she said.

She handed the letter to Liu Yanhui.

“That useless Zhou Ruyuan lost Baihe and the three counties of Fuchun within ten li!”

Liu Yanhui’s expression darkened. Those places had once been taken by them. Everything had been fine when they left—yet not long after being handed to Zhou Ruyuan, they were lost.

How could he be so incompetent!

Liu Yanhui said grimly, “Once the two rebel kings taste the sweetness, they’ll definitely keep encroaching on Dongchuan’s territory.”

“Tell Che Mingyuan,” Shen Lanxi said, “to use the excuse of taking in refugees to relocate households and register them.”

Liu Yanhui felt regret for the vast tracts of land in Dongchuan, and for all the arrangements they had made there.

“Where is Sun Qian?” Shen Lanxi asked.

Liu Yanhui glanced at the guards behind her and said, “One is in a broken house near the Mosang Inn, one is herding sheep at the town entrance, and the remaining two—one is guarding a wine cellar at the distillery, and the other is hiding in a household in Sanyang Alley.”

A total of four fake Sun Qians had been set up. The intelligence gathered from them was far more than what one real Sun Qian could provide.

“Right now, we’re watching the broken house near the inn.”

The waiter brought the dishes over, and Liu Yanhui went to open the door.

The two of them were on the second floor of the Mosang Inn, looking down from above, with a clear view of the courtyard where the fake Sun Qian lived.

Several suspicious figures had appeared near the fake Sun Qian’s home—some disguised as peddlers, some as farmers, and some even dressed as women.

Once the dishes were laid out, Ban Sicao tasted each one. His expression turned strange.

“These dishes are a bit bitter.”

Shen Lanxi’s expression did not change. “Dispose of them.”

The guards quietly got rid of the food. When they returned, they brought back another set from outside.

Liu Yanhui pressed his lips together tightly, not daring to say another word.

Ban Sicao smacked his lips and said, “It’s a knockout drug. The person who used it is quite skilled—he dosed each dish separately. If I hadn’t tasted every dish, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

Liu Yanhui was worried and said in a low voice, “General, we’re in the open while the enemy is hidden. Let’s leave first.”

The thought that they had been drugged as soon as they arrived sent a chill down his spine.

If the people targeting Sun Qian were also the ones who drugged them, then every move they made was completely exposed.

The more Liu Yanhui thought about it, the more frightened he became. This feeling of being held in someone else’s palm made everyone around him seem like an enemy.

Except Shen Lanxi.

Ban Sicao rolled his eyes at Liu Yanhui. “Coward. Since someone dared to drug us, they must be nearby. It’s the perfect chance to flush them out—such an opportunity won’t wait!”

Shen Lanxi sneered, then suddenly her expression changed as her eyes swept toward the door.

“Someone’s coming.”

“General, we should leave now!” Liu Yanhui said anxiously.

“Pretend to faint,” Shen Lanxi said, immediately slumping onto the table.

Liu Yanhui glanced anxiously at the door. Seeing she wasn’t leaving, he clenched his teeth and collapsed onto the table as well.

Ban Sicao and the others found comfortable positions and lay down.

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

“Sir, the soup is here!”

“Sir…”

After several calls, the door was pushed open. Two breaths later, it slowly closed again.

After a while, there was still no movement outside. Shen Lanxi opened her eyes, stood up, and looked toward the courtyard of the fake Sun Qian.

“Everyone, get up and take a look.”