My Fantastic Chef Wife

367. Rebellion

Translator: Kickassjo

At this time, the sky already turned dark and the guards at the city gate had changed shift so they needed to find the guards from the day shift.

However, the guards from the day shift had gone drinking now and it was not until evening did they find those guards. However, when they found them, they were already drunk and couldn’t ask anything out of them.

State Preceptor was furious and he ordered people to search the city and see if Xiao Baoshan and his wife were still in the city.

After all this fuss, it was already the next day.

When the day time shift guard sobered up, they immediately went and reported to State Preceptor that Xiao Baoshan had left the city and that he had the Official Document with State Preceptor’s seal on it.

That kind of Official Document was usually in duplicate and had a copy saved at the city gate, so there would be a copy kept at the city gate now.

State Preceptor ordered someone to bring the copy over. With a look at it, he found that there was indeed his seal on it.

He always kept his seal with him and had never let it leave him more than half a step away so how could Xiao Baoshan get access to his seal?

Did he steal it?

Impossible, he always had people around him. No matter how high his skills were, he couldn’t succeed.

State Preceptor pondered on it and suddenly thought of Empress Dowager.

He suddenly understood it all.

So that was the reason that this woman had been so enthusiastic to him these days and even invited him to drink tea, enjoy shows and did all those things to please him.

She must have found out that Ye Xiaoxian was her biological daughter, so she helped the couple escape under the radar so that Xiao Baoshan would not be threatened.

State Preceptor didn’t expect that he would be played one day.

The person who tailed after Xiao Baoshan asked State Preceptor, “State Preceptor, should we go after Xiao Baoshan now?”

State Preceptor shouted angrily, “How? They had been gone for a day and a night now, so how do you chase him?”

After that, State Preceptor went to the palace in a fury.

……

State Preceptor first found the Emperor.

It was not yet Lantern Festival so the Emperor was also in vacation, but if there was an emergency, he would still meet the officials.

When State Preceptor saw the Emperor, he said indignantly, “Xiao Baoshan and his wife have left Capital City.”

Li Chengkun asked, “Oh yah? How did they escape? Didn’t you establish the explicit rules before that without your consent, Xiao Baoshan is not allowed to leave the city?”

“It’s Empress Dowager!” State Preceptor was furious with his eyes wide open, “When I was not aware, she stole my seal and forged an Official Document. That’s how Xiao Baoshan had a chance getting out of the city.”

“Can we send someone after him?” Li Chengkun asked.

“No, we can’t. They are already far away. If they were heading towards the Beihui City, they must be going through the desert from which they return to Baoning City. If one is not familiar with the desert, it will be impossible to catch up with them.”

Li Chengkun frowned and continued, “Then, even if we stopped Yan Ziyan, we can’t send Xiao Baoshan to the north.”

“Now we can only find someone else!” State Preceptor said, “There were still a few generals who went to war with Xiao Baoshan and back to the Capital City. Let me see if I can send one of them instead. Now the priority is to bring Yan Ziyan back.”

……

After State Preceptor left from Li Chengkun’s palace, he went straight to Empress Dowager’s palace.

When Empress Dowager saw that State Preceptor came, she withheld the enthusiasm from before and lounged on the soft couch.

State Preceptor angrily asked, “Did you deliberately forge Xiao Baoshan’s Official Document for leaving the city?”

“Why do you ask when you already knew the answer?” Empress Dowager asked.

“Do you know how much we’ve lost now that he had escaped? It was highly likely that our plan would fail and the situation on the north would turn chaotic!”

Empress Dowager rose lazily and said, “I don’t know anything about your lost but I do know that if I hasn’t done that, my daughter would lose a husband. What loss in this world is worse than a daughter losing her husband?”

“…” State Preceptor looked at Empress Dowager, stupefied, “So, you do know.”

“Of course.”

“When did you find out?”

Empress Dowager said, “When I almost beat her to death, huh, whenever I thought of it, I would be too furious to sleep. Back then, we abandoned her and thereby orphaned her. It was a gift from God that I am able to meet her again. And as for you, not only did you not tell me the truth, you even tried to turn her into your pawn for power again. What matters to you in your eyes? Who is worthy of your protection? No, none, not even me, I am just one of your pawns!”

State Preceptor twitched his mouth, trying to say something but failed.

On this matter, it was indeed his fault.

Empress Dowager smiled again, “Now that I know the truth and I’m the one who let them go. What do you want to deal with me now? Poison me to death? Or hang me to death with a three-feet-long white cloth? I have no wish other than my daughter’s happiness in the future. Now that she has escaped and she has a man who loves her by her side, I am untroubled. If you wish to execute me, so be it!”

State Preceptor took a step back and stared blankly at the woman in front of him.

This woman had always been compliant with him and had never violated his order. But now, he saw the resolution of a mother in her!

This resolution seemed so strange and fightening to him, as if he had never known her before.

Although he blamed her for this matter, he wouldn’t execute her for years of friendship.

He shook his sleeves and left her palace with anger.

When he was outside of the palace, he looked up at the sky and felt that the sky was a little grey and dark as if something was about to change.

……

As soon as the Lantern Festival ended, Li Chengkun sent out an imperial decree and had it sent to the north, ordering the young master return to the Capital City and report his work.

When Yan Ziyan received the decree, he discussed with a group of subordinates by the furnace.

Wang Meng first complained indignantly, “This damn emperor, does he really think that we are having comfortable lives here? Damn it, we are so lack of funds that our soldiers had only steamed corn bread every day and meat is scacity that we couldn’t have one meal with meat in days.

The tax collected from the people here was handed over to the Capital City, and we have absolutely no money here!”

Another soldier also said, “Never mind the lack of the money, the weather here is freezing cold. Since it snowed from the beginning of winter last year, it has never stopped till now, and it’s almost freezing me to death.”

“So we have been risking our lives and suffering so much to defend the frontier city for him and what do we get in return? What is his purpose calling Bother Yan back to the Capital City now?”

“What else purpose would he have?” Wang Meng patted his chest and said, “I bet once Brother Yan returns to the Capital City, he can never return. The damn Emperor will not let him back!”

Yan Ziyan shared the same thought.

He sighed and said, “Now I understand why there are no good officials in the imperial court. It is because the Emperor and those treacherous court officials can’t tolerate good officials at all. The Emperor trusts only the treacherous court officials, they can’t tolerate good officials which the people endorse. The former master Xun is an example and now with Xiao Baoshan, and needless to say us who have won victories in war.”

Wang Meng said, “When the government presses the people too hard, the people will repel. We planned to defend the North of the city, now that this damn Emperor keeps pressing us again and again, first with the assassins he sent to kill, now with the calling of Brother Yan. Bother Yan, you must not go back. Now that the damn Emperor forces us to rebel, let’s rebel!”

Yan Ziyan couldn’t agree immediately and he was still in hesitation.

If they really rebelled, the people who didn’t know the truth would only blame them instead of the Emperor in the palace.

Seeing this, another subordinate encouraged him, “Big Brother Yan, when we first turned to you, we have already made up our minds. We will live the same life as you do. You live, we live. You die, we die. Now that the damn Emperor leaves us no way, we shall rebell and show him what we’ve got!”

.

The rest of them said one after another, “Yes, we might still have a way out if we fight but we will be waiting for our death to fall upon us if we don’t fight!”

“In any case, if we win, we will thrive and establish our own kindom and we don’t need to mind the damn Emperor!”

“…”

Yan Ziyan rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.

He spent quite some time thinking before he addressed solemnly, “Well, since you brothers all support me, if I continue to make an excuse, I will disappoint the goodwill of my brothers. I won’t go to the Capital City anymore. We will start practicing our formations for war from this day forward and we shall close the gate of Heihe City and the northern desert. All the taxes collected from people will directly go into the funds of the military camp. Once the Emperor send armed forces to suppress, we will march southward!”

After that, he threw the decree in his hand directly into the furnace, and the yellow decree slowly burned into ashes in the furnace.

…

In the desert.

Xiao Baoshan and Ye Xiaoxian had been gone for seven or eight days.

They were still in the desert.

From cold to extreme dry and hot, they had changed their clothes.

When first left the city, though they were dressed in plain clothes, the fabric of their clothes were in great quality, especially those of Little Ye. She was also wearing quite a few jewellery and a beautiful make-up, which looked exactly as a refined lady.

As she entered the desert now, she was immediately covered with dirt and even her body was covered in sand. If it weren’t for the veil, her face would probably be covered in sand as well.

What’s more, since they went to the desert in a hurry, she did not have the time to buy the protective oil they need in the desert. So now, her skin was dry and her lips were cracked.

This night, they set up a tent to rest in the desert.

Xiao Baoshan lit up a fire around them, took out the food he had prepared before entering the desert, and then took out the water bag for Ye Xiaoxian to drink some water and moisten her dry throat first.

Ye Xiaoxian drank the water and then ate the food. The food was hard and was very difficult to chew.

Xiao Baoshan looked at her and couldn’t help but smile, “Do you regret escaping with me? If you were still in the Capital City, you would still have servants serving you and have the best and freshly made food, unlike this harsh conditions you are stuck in with me now.”

Ye Xiaoxian glared at him and said, “What are you talking about? We are already out here even if I regret, are you going to send me back?”

“That’s impossible. With all the efforts I made to have you with me, I can’t bear to send you back.” Xiao Baoshan tore a piece of bread for himself and chewed slowly.

Ye Xiaoxian laughed, “Baoshan, although we left the Capital City and were now suffering in this desert, when I saw you smile just then, I can’t help but think that you must be feeling much more comfortable than when you were in the Capital City, right? In the Capital City, I hardly saw you smile and you seemed to frown every day.”

Xiao Baoshan smiled again and asked gently, “What about you?”