TCN: Mei Gongqing

Chapter 74: Tagging Along

Chapter 74: Tagging Along

"Go to the south gate," Chen Rong said to Old Shang the moment her carriage left the Huan estate.

Knowing she wanted to look for General Sun, he at once nodded with an "Aye" and then directed the vehicle in that direction.

They went past the panicking and murmuring crowd and soon came to the south gate.

"I'll ask around, miss," Old Shang said as he looked at the guards.

Chen Rong hummed an agreement.

Moments later, he ran back to her and nervously relayed, "Miss, they said General Sun's troop had already departed. They aren't camping outside the city anymore."

"I see, let's go home then," Chen Rong said at length.

"Aye."

Old Shang jumped onto the carriage, gave a shout and said, "Don't worry, miss. Don't you have Wang Qilang's affection? No one will give you trouble anymore."

"I just want to be a little more assured, that's all," Chen Rong softly replied.

Old Shang sighed. It hadn't crossed his mind when they had been in Ping, but when they arrived in Nan'yang, he discovered that without the elder and younger masters, his mistress was only a feeble girl and life hadn't been easy for her.

The carriage drove back to the Chen estate.

Despite also in clamoring state, the estate was much quieter than the world outside. Nobody paid her passing carriage any notice.

When they drove by Chen Wei's silent courtyard, they could not hear the girls' usual laughter.

Chen Rong knitted her brow and let her carriage proceed to her home.

There, everything was as it had always been. It was as if the storm and controversy beyond its walls hadn't anything to do with it.

A day flew by.

The next day, Old Shang asked around on Chen Rong's bidding and found that all major clans who had moved from the north were required to attend the prince's banquet. The Chen estate also participated, but nothing else was out of the ordinary.

In the blink of an eye, the third day passed by.

Just past noon, Old Shang ran over with an apprehensive face. Without finding his footing, he hastily relayed when he saw Chen Rong, "Miss, I've got news. The Xianbei army has surrounded Mo'yang. The day before yesterday, General Sun and Wang Qilang's groups had already headed to Mo'yang."

Mo'yang lay northwest of Nan'yang and along the direct route to Luo'yang. It was coveted territory despite being only a medium-sized city.

"They say Mo'yang got surrounded by forty thousand Xianbei soldiers moments after General Sun and Wang Qilang arrived there." His voice began to tremble. "Forty thousand Xianbei soldiers! Unless General Ran personally came with his army, no one will be able to defeat them. But they keep saying the north is under threat and General Ran had already gone there last night."

Old Shang received the tea Chen Rong handed over, took a drink, sighed and continued: "They say that General Sun and Wang Qilang will die in Mo'yang once it's taken, that their fates are sealed. They also say as soon as Mo'yang is taken, Nan'yang will be next. Everyone in the city is crippled with fear."

At this juncture, he saw Chen Rong staring off absently with knitted brow and couldn't help exclaiming: "Miss, miss?"

After five or six calls, Chen Rong recovered. "Wang Qilang and General Sun had gone to Mo'yang, you say?"