Chapter 56 - Siege

Chapter 56: Chapter 50 SiegeAs the sky began to brighten, Ji Yuan and the others divided into several teams and arrived at the West City Gate. Their families were also carrying large bags of luggage squeezed amongst the convoy.

The group was sizable, but among the massive crowd wanting to leave the city, they weren’t very conspicuous; the most eye-catching part was their convoy.

The soldiers guarding the city kept glancing at them and stopped their convoy, "Who are you?"

Ji Yuan immediately stepped forward with the document, "We are from the Shangcai Marquis Mansion. These are the belongings of the former marquis to be sent to the manor. The former marquis will be buried soon, and these are all burial items."

The soldier clicked his tongue in surprise at the quantity.

However, they weren’t suspicious, as there were even people buried with living beings. So what did a few more items matter?

As long as people have money.

It was well known that Shangcai Marquis was good at business and frugal, so he must have saved a lot of gold and silver.

The soldier’s sharp eyes swept over their carts and allowed them to pass through the city gates.

As the convoy exited, the citizens behind them immediately surged forward, trying to follow.

The disturbances from the previous night and day had frightened them, causing many to decide to leave Luoyang. Knowing that the West City Gate would open today, a lot had gathered here.

Zhao Hanzhang’s group of over eight hundred was hardly noticeable mixed within.

Once they were out of the city, the group of more than eight hundred gathered together, becoming a force no one dared to provoke.

The troops pulled out hidden weapons from the carts, protecting the people and the convoy in the center. Many who had been watching the convoy from the shadows quickly drew back their gazes upon seeing the cold glint of the weapons.

They had just safely exited the city when someone immediately went back to inform Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and instructed, "The ones staying behind should continue to stay in the West City and follow Uncle Qianli’s orders."

"But the captain hardly returns to the West City now."

Zhao Zhongyu had sent Zhao Ju to organize the staff in the mansion, making him so busy he hadn’t even had a chance to see Zhao Hanzhang, let alone return to the West City.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "He’ll soon have time to return."

Tomorrow would be Zhao Changyu’s seventh-day ceremony, and after that ceremony, she would be getting married. Because it was a period of mourning, the wedding would be a simple affair, as were the customs.

There would be no nuptial chamber, nor any customary three-day homecoming visit.

Zhao Hanzhang decided to marry the day after tomorrow and return the day after that to prepare for taking the coffin back home.

Whether Zhao Zhongyu leaves or not, she will, anyway.

Zhao Hanzhang went directly to Zhao Zhongyu to request people, "Great Uncle, we need people to escort us back home with the coffin. Uncle Qianli is highly skilled; can you have him escort us back home?"

Zhao Zhongyu had no objections and even said, "I’ll assign more people to you; it’s not safe on the road."

Zhao Hanzhang was deeply moved and decided to accept whoever came, "Thank you, Great Uncle."

She said, "I’ve decided to set off the day after the wedding—should I have someone call Uncle Qianli back?"

Zhao Zhongyu was surprised, "So urgent?"

He frowned, "Why the rush? I’ve decided to temporarily store the coffin at the temple. After you get more acquainted with the Fu Family after the three-day visit, then you can set off."

He was not very supportive, "In such haste, I’m afraid the Fu Family might be dissatisfied, and with such a short period of interaction, what if Fu Dalang bullies you?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "Rest assured, Great Uncle. By then, I’ll bring enough people. The Fu Family has fewer people than us; it’s not certain who will bully whom."

Zhao Zhongyu: "...Also, don’t bully Fu Dalang yourself."

Zhao Hanzhang remained firm on leaving the day after the wedding.

After all, they were separated by a generation, and Zhao Zhongyu had experienced enough of this tenacious grandniece’s strong-willed nature, so he no longer persisted and nodded, "Alright, I’ll have Zhao Qianli select some people to return."

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang finally let out a sigh of relief.

The next day was the seventh-day ceremony, and tonight, Zhao Ji and his son were keeping vigil. Zhao Hanzhang, who had been awake since dawn, had not slept and was now feeling drowsy.

She returned to her room early to rest.

In the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up with a start.

She lay still on the bed, listening intently, confirming she hadn’t misheard. There was indeed the sound of something heavy falling, like... like a large pickup truck passing under her building.

But this is Great Jin—where would such a sound come from?

And such intermittent heavy thuds, like a landslide...

As this thought occurred to Zhao Hanzhang, she immediately widened her eyes, sat up, and got out of bed, pulling off the covers.

Ting He awoke groggily, hearing the commotion and seeing Zhao Hanzhang dressing to go out; she was instantly alert, jumping down from the wooden couch, "Third Lady, what’s wrong?"

"Shh—" Zhao Hanzhang stood at the door, tiptoeing to look into the distance. The overlapping buildings obscured the scene, but she could see the north and eastern sky were orange-red, unmistakably fire.

Ting He noticed too and grew nervous, "Is it a fire?"

"No," Zhao Hanzhang’s expression was somber, "Someone is attacking the city. The rumbling noises are the sounds of siege."

Ting He listened carefully and, indeed, detected a rumbling sound. Her face turned pale, "Who—who is it? Third Lady, will they breach the city?"

Zhao Hanzhang turned back into the room, "Dress."

Once dressed, Zhao Hanzhang headed out. The servants in the courtyard had been awakened; Zhao Hanzhang instructed them to stay put and took a lantern to find Zhao Zhongyu.

Zhao Zhongyu was already awake, sitting on his bed, still a bit dazed, when suddenly a servant came in to announce, "Master, Third Lady requests an audience."

Zhao Zhongyu came to his senses, frowned, and got out of bed, putting on his clothes and dragging his shoes to go outside.

Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t in the reception hall but stood in the courtyard, gazing into the distance.

Zhao Zhongyu approached her from behind and gave a light cough.

Zhao Hanzhang turned to greet him, "Great Grandfather, someone is attacking the city. Should you and Uncle go to the palace to have a look?"

Zhao Zhongyu stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Alright."

Zhao Hanzhang was about to withdraw after paying her respects when Zhao Zhongyu suddenly said, "Third Lady, with this turn of events, your marriage to the Fu Family might have to be delayed."

Zhao Hanzhang paused and responded, "Then let it be delayed. The urgent matter at hand is escorting the coffin back home for Grandfather’s burial."

She intended to bring Professor Fu with her.

Zhao Zhongyu nodded, "It should be the refugee army causing trouble. Prince East Sea commands the army; it’s only a matter of time before peace is restored. Once the enemy is repelled, I’ll have Qianli see you off."

Zhao Hanzhang agreed, turning to leave when suddenly a loud explosion startled Zhao Zhongyu, who muttered complaints, "Attacking the city in the middle of the night—couldn’t they wait until daylight?"

But Zhao Hanzhang’s face changed dramatically, hearing shouts and wails.

"They’ve breached the city."

"What?" Zhao Zhongyu looked at Zhao Hanzhang.

Her face pale, Zhao Hanzhang said, "They’ve breached through the North City Gate. Someone, extinguish all lights and gather all women and children in the mourning hall."

Zhao Zhongyu quickly caught on, grabbing her, "How do you know they’ve breached the city?"

"I heard it," Zhao Hanzhang looked seriously at Zhao Zhongyu, "Great Grandfather, trust me, they’ve breached."

Zhao Zhongyu didn’t hesitate much, quickly turning to the attendant beside him, "Extinguish the lights! Lock the doors tightly! Have all the family members and guards go to the mourning hall, quickly!"