CHAPTER XIX

The Iron Curtain Mountain is located in the southeast of Shanglin River and Shiliang River Xinhe, the mountain is not high, the main peak is only more than 70 zhang, but the range is wide, and the hills stretch for dozens of miles.

The temperature dropped at night, and the loess road from Shanglin to Huyan was frozen, and the ruts of the horses creaked as they passed. Two carriages, the one in front of which sat with a maid and a mother-in-law, and four swordsmen riding horses to lead the way.

In these years, there are as many robbers as cattle bandits, and the folk customs of Dongyang Mansion are fierce, even if the Lin family is famous in Dongyang Mansion, it does not mean that there are absolutely no thieves who cut the path to hit the Lin family.

Gu Yingsleeve sat in the carriage behind him, lifted the curtain of the car, he was too eager to talk to Lin Jian in the carriage last night, and he was also flustered, and he didn't have time to ask him where he was hiding at night, looking at the blue and black ridge of the Iron Curtain Mountain in the distance, thinking that Lin Lian would not leave Shiliang County that night, most of them would hide in the Iron Curtain Mountain, it was cold last night, and they didn't know if the cold clothes on their bodies were thin or not.

Obviously, Lin Xuzong, who was unwilling to be humiliated, had already made some moves last night, although I don't know which people Lin Xuzong sent to be ashamed of him, but the atmosphere in Shanglindu was obviously different from the past. When Gu Yingsleeve went out in the car in the morning, someone sneakily followed, Gu Yingsleeve hated and asked people to catch the two people who were following in front of him, and whipped ten whips and bloody flesh before driving them away.

Gu Yingsleeve was a little worried at this time, what if Lin Lian's hiding place at night was discovered, or on his way to Huyan? I thought that he should be allowed to leave Dongyang immediately last night, they have fast horses, and they can get to Jiangning overnight, no matter how powerful the Lin family is, they don't dare to make trouble in Jiangning, the southern capital of the empire, and it is not too late to meet with the second uncle and them after he goes to Jiangning.

At this time, it is useless to worry, thinking that he will come back this time, he is completely different from the past, and he is no longer the poor sour man who is submissive, and he is no longer the little boy who will cry when he chases and bites the dog, maybe there is no need to worry about him anymore.

Gu Yingsleeve sat in the carriage and thought about it a thousand times, the grass and trees withered in winter, and the rolling mountains looked a little sluggish, but the mountains where the tea plantations were distributed were still verdant, but the color was not as vivid as when it sprouted in early spring.

Although Dongyang Iron Curtain Mountain Tea cannot be compared with the famous teas of West Lake Longjing and Taihu Lake, it is also a well-known product of the surrounding prefectures and counties. The Lin family does not fight for tea gardens, but with the convenience of the Shixun wealthy family and the imperial court's monopoly system for tea, they firmly control the channels for tea trafficking out of Shiliang County.

Gu Yingsleeve thought that Gu Jiayuan was also one of the official tea merchants in Shiliang County, and when it was most prosperous, the Dongyang Iron Curtain Mountain Tea was transported to various places through the warehouse under the name of the Gu family as high as 50,000 catties every year, and after the Gu family was broken, although there were many tea gardens and tea mountains under the name of the Gu family, there was no political protection, and they lost their monopoly qualifications, and the tea produced every year could only be sold to the official tea merchants at a low price, and they had to bear a heavy tea tax.

In the past ten years, the clansmen who have been oppressed by the tea merchants and the tea tax and their families are ruined do not know how many, Gu Yingsleeve is anxious but helpless. Although she can now meddle in the affairs of the Lin clan and point fingers at the Lin clan, because she is standing behind Lin Tingxun; Once the matter involved the interests of the Lin clan and the clansmen, the eyes of the top and bottom were wide open, and Gu Yingsleeve knew that if she was biased to help the Gu family, someone would immediately jump out and accuse her of not.

Gu Yingsleeve thought in her heart that the second uncle could regain the trust of the imperial court and get a heavy responsibility this time, which was a rare opportunity for the Gu family to revitalize.

"There's a weir ahead!" Zhao Hu, who was sitting in front of the carriage, lifted the curtain and turned around to tell the Seventh Lady that she was about to go to the lake weir. Gu Yingsleeve looked at the rippling lake in front of her, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the Iron Curtain Lake, and asked Zhao: "Did you say that Xiucai and they went to the lake weir?" ”

"It's three poles in the morning, it should be there, right?" The Zhao family was still worried about Lin Lian offending the second son yesterday, and later heard that Lin Jian and Zhao Hu had found out the assassin in the county yesterday and rescued Gu Wuchen, so they didn't have much to worry about. The poor are inherently cheap, and if the deputy envoy of Jiangdong can't keep Lin Jian and Zhao Hu, the Zhao family will no longer complain about the unfairness of fate.

The carriage continued to move along the north shore of the Iron Curtain Lake, and after traveling for another three or four miles, the eaves of the Gu family's mansion could be seen. This house was returned to the Gu family after Gu Wuchen was pardoned and served as the review of the Hanlin Academy a few years ago, but unfortunately the Gu family has no other heirs except for Gu Wuchen's house, Gu Yingsleeve's younger brother also died of the epidemic ten years ago, and the old mansion has not been repaired for almost ten years.

Gu Yingsleeve sighed softly, she knew that she was no longer qualified to dictate the affairs of the Gu family, not to mention the water spilled by the married daughter, just the fact that she married Lin Tingxun as a concubine was a great shame in the eyes of those clansmen who had always held the concept that the Gu family was the glory of the eunuch clan. This is also the reason why Gu Wuchen's family quietly returned to Shiliang to worship their ancestors for six or seven days, and Gu Yingsleeve was able to return to her parents' house.

Who should the Gu family rely on to revitalize, will it be the cousin of Gu Siyuan who has never met?

Gu Yingsleeve was thinking wildly, and she didn't hear the chaotic sound of horses' hooves in front of her, but she felt that the carriage had stopped, and she lifted the curtain to ask why she stopped, but saw that everyone's eyes were staring at the wilderness four or five hundred steps away.

Gu Yingsleeve looked over and was taken aback, several fast horses and camels were fleeing towards the village in a hurry, and six or seven people behind were chasing after them with sabers shining in the sun and shining in the cold light.

The sky was clear and cloudy, and the people's field of vision was far away, Gu Yingsleeve instantly recognized that the person who fled in embarrassment in front of him was Lin Lian, Zhou Pu, and the two outsiders he saw in Luoma City yesterday, and suddenly his heart rose to his throat.

Lin Lian's riding level was very bad, and in the high-speed gallop, he was still caught by Zhou Pu and another person left and right before he barely lay on the horse and did not fall off.

Lin Lian and Zhou Pu galloped with a foreigner on three horses in front, and the other outsider rode very well, riding on horseback, holding a bow in his hand and shooting arrows at the pursuers behind him from time to time, but he rode on the back of a horse running at high speed, and the pursuers behind him stared at him, and he could be called a ghost if he was shot. However, the pursuers are also effective in interfering, and from time to time they have to turn their horses to avoid flying arrows, otherwise they will fall off the horse at any time with Lin Binding's riding skills, and they are afraid that they will catch up early.

More than a dozen fast horses came to the village, and the horses' hooves stepped on the ice and soil like thunder, which also alarmed the village, and I saw more than 20 armored soldiers riding out one after another, staring at the more than 10 fast horses rushing towards the entrance of the village.

Gu Wuchen's assassination yesterday alarmed Dongyang Mansion. If Gu Wuchen was assassinated on the way to office, the prefect of Dongyang Mansion might not behead him, and it would be certain that he would lose his official position and abandon his post. The prefect of Dongyang Mansion was afraid that the sword archers in Shiliang County were limited in manpower and would not be effective in guarding Gu Wuchen, so after receiving the notice, a team of elite cavalry was transferred from the Dongyang Mansion Soldiers and Horses Division Camp overnight, ready to escort Gu Wuchen to Jiangning. At this moment, I heard that the horses outside were like thunder, and the cavalry of Dongyang Mansion only gathered to attack the village as bold assassins, and hurriedly put on their armor and mounted their horses to the entrance of the village to wait for them.

Lin tied them to chase the soldiers behind, all of them had weapons in their hands, they ran away and chased one after the other, and the cavalry of Dongyang Mansion couldn't distinguish between the enemy and me, and they all took the bow and arrow in their hands, and the cavalry colonel shouted in his mouth: "Those who attack the village will be killed!" The other cavalrymen shouted and some fired warning arrows.

Gu Ying grabbed the curtain of the car with his sleeves and hands, and he didn't realize that his long nails were poking into the flesh, seeing that Lin Tie and them were about to flee into the village, but he didn't expect that the officers and soldiers suspected that they were acting assassins and fellow assassins who blocked them from entering the village. Gu Yingsleeve was hateful and anxious in her heart, and couldn't help but scold, and ordered the four healthy servants accompanying her to go down to the lake embankment to save people: "Go and save Lin Xiucai!" ”

"The head of the family only ordered us to strictly protect the safety of the Seventh Lady." The head servant was not moved by Gu Yingsleeve's words, and sat on horseback and watched the chase under the lake embankment with cold eyes.

"Are you going to save people?" Gu Yingsleeve snatched the horsewhip from the Zhao clan and whipped it towards the leading servant, and scolded sharply, "You all know that the second son wants to kill Lin Xiucai." Are you afraid of offending the second son, do you dare to offend me? Believe it or not, I can make your life worse than death? ”

Gu Yingsleeve's whip was so ruthless and accurate that the man couldn't dodge, so he slapped it in the face, wailed and rolled off the horse, but he also pretended to be dead and lay on the dry grass without moving; The other three servants all rode away from their horses, and did not dare to go down to save people.

Gu Yingsleeve jumped out of the carriage and kicked at the fallen servant with urgency and hatred. The servant held his head and lay on the dry grass and let Gu Yingsleeve kick and beat him, while the other three servant avoided it from afar, with a contemptuous smile in their eyes.

Gu Yingsleeve saw that Lin Tie was forced to stop their horses in front of the village, and the seven pursuers were only a hundred steps away, her heart was painful and anxious, knowing that Lin Tie was unlucky this time, she said to the four healthy servants who refused to listen to her orders: "You will not listen to my orders after all...... turned around and walked to the carriage, lifted the curtain and took out a ritual knife. This is what she usually puts on the car to protect herself, maybe for women, the greater use of carrying a knife is to commit suicide to protect chastity after being kidnapped by gangsters, Gu Yingsleeve doesn't like that kind of short silver makeup knife, and there is a ritual knife hidden in the carriage that is not much different from a murderous waist knife.

Zhao only thought that the Seventh Lady was crazy and wanted to rush down to save people, so she hurriedly jumped over and hugged her waist, crying: "Seventh Lady, Lin Xiu Daji people have their own natural appearance, let's go into the village quickly, and it is important to find Master Gu and beg them to save people......

The other three servants were afraid that Gu Yingsleeve would have an accident, so they rode their horses around and blocked the way down the lake embankment.

"You let go," Gu Yingsleeve calmly instructed Zhao Shi to say, "I'm wearing a skirt, it's not convenient to ride a horse, you ride a horse to the village to find my second uncle, just say that his life-saving benefactor is outside the village to hunt down people......"

Zhao let go of his hand to lead the horse, but saw Gu Yingsleeve pull out his knife and stab it in the neck of the healthy servant who was still lying on the ground and pretending to be dead. The servant wailed and covered his blood-gushing neck, he never thought that this knife would be stabbed by the Seventh Lady, and he rolled twice in the dry grass before struggling to die.

"Go and save people, if you stand by and watch Lin Xiucai kill the thief, I want you and your wives and children to die as well as life!" Gu Yingsleeve held the knife dripping with blood from the edge of the knife and said calmly and cruelly.