On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2094 Blocking the Road in the Dead of Night

A faint smile appeared on Huo Changhe's lips.

“I had the men who arrived later tie him up; he’s in the carriage outside the courtyard now.”

Wu Liang immediately bowed and volunteered: "Your Highness, I will go and keep an eye on him right away, lest he try anything funny!"

Yan Ruyu waved her hand, and Wu Liang turned and left.

Her gaze returned to the portrait, and she tapped her fingertips lightly on the table: "Your Highness, take a look. This is what Wu Liang brought out from the Liu residence."

She looked up at Huo Changhe: "What does Your Highness think?"

Huo Changhe looked down at the portrait and pondered, "It looks like a portrait of Liu Jiulang. The signature and personal seal are both."

"But precisely because they are all, we must be cautious."

A smile spread across Yan Ruyu's eyes: "What Your Highness says is in line with my thoughts."

Because none of them had ever seen Liu Jiulang's true face, they were easily misled and misled.

Yan Ruyu's fingertip paused on the three characters "Liu Jiulang" on the portrait, her gaze darkening: "If all three doubles are just decoys, then this scheme is truly elaborate."

"The real Liu Jiulang is quite cunning."

Huo Changhe also heard about Yu Liang's situation and asked about what happened.

Yan Ruyu took out the silver hairpin: "Your Highness, please look, this is what I found at the scene."

Huo Changhe took the hairpin and examined it closely for a moment: "Is the blood on this the murderer's?"

"It should be that Yu Liang's wound was narrow but deep and extremely dangerous. This hairpin was thrown into the grass. I guess that Yu Liang used this hairpin to cut the murderer when he resisted, and it was knocked away by the murderer."

Huo Changhe held the hairpin: "It's a pity the injury isn't too serious, and there's no need to go to the clinic."

If the condition is serious and requires treatment, then one can arrange for someone to secretly investigate at a clinic or pharmacy.

"Let Liang wake up; maybe we can get some information out of him."

……

When Li Cheng received his pay during his shift change, he tucked it into his pocket. As he turned the corner, he saw the familiar pastry shop. Dim yellow light peeked out from the cracks in the wooden window, and he could vaguely smell the sweet aroma of red bean paste.

"Manager Zhang, a piece of jujube paste cake, please."

Old Zhang, who was behind the counter, looked up and saw it was him. He sighed and said, "Deputy General Li, we only have small pieces left. The wheat for milling is in short supply lately, so we can't make large ones."

She wrapped a palm-sized pastry in oil paper and handed it over, saying, "I'll give you a discount, the child is still sick."

Li Cheng took the pastry, his fingertips pinching the creases of the oil paper. He remembered how he used to be able to buy two pounds for his daughter to enjoy, but now he could only hold such a small piece.

He counted out three copper coins from his military pay and handed them over, saving the rest to buy food for tomorrow—the family's rice jar had run out yesterday, and if it weren't for the military pay being used to exchange for food first, the mother and son would probably have gone hungry.

"Thank you, Manager Zhang." He carefully tucked the pastries into his inner bag, pressed it against his heart, and turned to walk quickly home.

My mind is filled with images of my daughter. When I came home from my shift the day before yesterday, she still had a fever, her little face was flushed, and she was clutching my clothes, saying she wanted to eat jujube paste cake. Her fever should be gone by now, right? Will she still be coughing?

The sky was deep and the night roads in Rongzhou were very quiet. When I was almost at the alleyway in front of my house, a soft voice suddenly called out from behind: "Deputy General Li".

Li Cheng stopped in his tracks, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping across the depths of the alley, where he saw a tall, upright figure standing in the shadows.

"Who are you?" His voice was steady; years of military service had conditioned him to remain vigilant in the shadows, especially now, in these turbulent times. "What brings you here to block my way in the middle of the night?"

The person in the shadows didn't move or reply; they just stood there quietly.

Li Cheng took two steps forward, paying attention to the other person's movements with each step.

As they got closer, they could see that the person was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, with the collar and cuffs tightly bound, and wore a bronze mask on his face.

Li Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and he tightened his grip on the knife hilt. Among the Liu family members, Liu Jiulang was the most mysterious. It was rumored that he always wore tight-fitting clothes and a mask. Could it be that the person in front of him was him?

He was in charge of setting up the ambush for the Liu family this time. If he ran into Liu Jiulang here, it would be no small matter.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" he asked again, his voice now more serious.

The masked man finally moved, the corners of his mouth seemed to turn up slightly, and he let out a muffled laugh: "Who I am is none of your concern, but I have something to ask you about."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and let it hang down slightly. Something slipped from between his fingers and hung in mid-air.

As soon as Li Cheng's gaze fell upon it, his pupils suddenly dilated—it was a pink strip of cloth embroidered with a small rabbit, with slightly frayed edges; it was his daughter's hair tie!

"What did you do to my daughter?" Li Cheng's voice suddenly changed. He took two steps forward, then stopped abruptly—he knew he couldn't act impulsively. Since the other party dared to threaten his daughter, they must have been prepared.

The masked man pulled his hair tie back and tucked it into his pocket, his tone still leisurely: "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine, there are even some snacks to eat."

His anger surged, but he had to suppress it: "What are you trying to do!"

"Don't get excited." The masked man waved his hand. "I just want to ask you for a small favor."

Li Cheng's mind raced. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his voice steady: "How can I help you? We're complete strangers."

"Now you recognize me, don't you?" The masked man chuckled again, his voice muffled and tinged with mockery. "My request is very simple, and it's a piece of cake for you."

Li Cheng stared at the masked man's eyes—the mask had only two holes, so he couldn't see the eyes inside, but he could feel the man's gaze on him.

He suddenly realized that since the other party knew his identity and had kidnapped his daughter, what they wanted must be related to an ambush.

"You want me to take you out of the city?"

The masked man slowly shook his head, his voice deepening: "No, it's to lead me into your ambush."

Li Cheng's breathing suddenly stopped.

Apart from General Su and a few core generals, only he, the deputy general in charge of the deployment, knew the exact location of the ambush. How could the enemy even know this?

A cold sweat broke out on his back, not out of fear for himself, but out of fear for his brothers lying in ambush—if Liu Jiulang led his men into the ambush, all the previous preparations would be in vain, and they might even lose some men.

"Impossible." He refused without even thinking. "Setting up an ambush is a matter of great military importance; I cannot take you in."

"Can't?" The masked man repeated his words, his tone now colder. "What about your daughter? She's waiting for her father to come back and bring her jujube paste cakes. If she doesn't see them, do you think she'll cry?"

Li Cheng felt as if his heart was being squeezed, the pain making it hard for him to breathe.

"Don't hurt her." His voice was strained. "Let's talk this out. Why are you going into the ambush?"

"What for?" the masked man chuckled. "Naturally, to settle scores with Su Zhenhai."

He leaned forward, his mask only a few steps away from Li Cheng. "Deputy General Li, I know you're from Rongzhou and have a daughter. You've been following Su Zhenhai for the past three years, and you haven't received much in military pay. Food is scarce. You even have to be careful about buying your daughter a piece of pastry. Why bother?"