Chapter 242 The Beginning of the Northern Border
When Liu Sheng arrived at the entrance of Jiang, following the address Wang Dongdong had given, she saw that Wang Dongdong and Shao Yan were already waiting at the door.
"Sorry, I'm late," Liu Sheng said apologetically.
She had thought there was plenty of time, but she didn't expect to spend so long at the West Market, and some time had passed.
"It's alright, Jing Hao, Ruan Shizi, and Yu Ke haven't arrived yet," Shao Yan consoled her.
Liu Sheng secretly rejoiced, realizing she wasn't the only one who was unpunctual.
"It's normal for that girl Ling Yuke to be late, but Jing Hao and Ruan Shizi are always punctual, I wonder what's going on today," Wang Dongdong said, her face full of confusion.
"Perhaps they were delayed by something," Shao Yan also found it strange.
A cloud sedan descended, and a person slowly climbed out of it.
"Ruan Shizi is here!" Wang Dongdong excitedly went to greet him, but then stopped her voice.
Because Ruan Shizi's complexion didn't look very good; his already fair face was now deathly pale like a weird objects, and his lips were dry and peeling.
"Dongdong, you're really early," Ruan Shizi forced a pale smile and exchanged greetings.
Wang Dongdong wanted to ask what was wrong, but she, who was always straightforward, surprisingly hesitated, fearing her clumsy words might hurt him, so she just silently followed Ruan Shizi.
As Ruan Shizi approached, Shao Yan and Liu Sheng naturally noticed that his state was not right.
Shao Yan, always playing the role of the "caring older sister" among them, asked very naturally: "Little Shizi, what's wrong? You don't look well."
"I…"
Facing Shao Yan's concern and Wang Dongdong's worried gaze, Ruan Shizi's mouth drooped, and he was about to cry.
He sniffled, remembering his parents telling him not to cry easily when he grew up, and tried hard to hold back the sourness in his eyes.
"My father is missing," he said in a trembling voice.
"Your father? You mean Han Sima is missing?" Shao Yan exclaimed in shock.
Wang Dongdong also widened her pupils in surprise: "But, isn't Han Sima always stationed south of the Northern Border?"
Everyone knew what Wang Dongdong meant.
Protected by the Great Wall, the area south of the Northern Border was still considered safe.
Although Liu Sheng did not know Ruan Shizi's family situation, based on what she had heard at the dinner table last time, Ruan Shizi's mother was the Protector-General of the North, who often had to go to dangerous places north of the Northern Border. It seemed she was the one in more danger.
As a result, now it was Ruan Shizi's father, Han Sima, who was in danger?
While she was thinking, Jing Hao also arrived at this moment.
As soon as he came, he saw Ruan Shizi crying but trying hard to hold back his tears. Although he knew he was not good with words, he still walked forward and gently patted Ruan Shizi's shoulder, offering silent comfort.
Ruan Shizi nodded gratefully and continued to talk about his father's disappearance.
"Yes, according to the letter from the personal guards, my mother left the city seven days ago."
This 'leaving the city' was not the 'leaving the city' people were accustomed to, but rather leaving the Great Wall.
"As a result, last night, a group of weird objects suddenly appeared from nowhere..."
"For some reason, my father led a small troop of soldiers and lured them to the desert north."
"Desert north?" Wang Dongdong cried out in surprise.
Liu Sheng was also surprised, but quickly hid the astonished look on her face, just thinking silently.
Why the desert north again?
Ruan Shizi was also shocked at first, but now he knew nothing and could only believe.
"Exactly how many weird objects? What Rank? What type?" Liu Sheng asked, the world in her mind operating frantically.
Ruan Shizi didn't expect Liu Sheng, whom he had only met twice, to care about this matter. He widened his eyes and was stunned.
However, the questions were numerous and rigorous, causing his mind to churn for a moment before he shook his head and said, "The letter didn't say."
"My father only had time to send urgent letters to the imperial court and Qinghe Prefecture Yamen, ordering them to arrange troops to fill in and assist in guarding the Great Wall, and then he directly left with a troop of personal guards."
Everyone frowned deeply, feeling that there was something strange about this matter.
However, none of the people present had elders serving as officials in the imperial court, so they naturally had no reliable news.
The only ones remotely connected were Wang Dongdong and Jing Hao.
But Wang Dongdong had very little contact with the Wang family in the capital recently, and Jing Hao, as the Duke of Dingguo's heir, whose father, the Duke of Dingguo, was merely a wealthy idler with a hereditary title, could hardly be considered an imperial court official.
Just at this moment, someone they knew who had connections in the imperial court appeared.
"Why are you all staring at me?" Ling Yuke had just stepped out of the cloud sedan when she saw a circle of direct gazes, feeling a chill in her heart.
"Sister Yu Ke, have you heard anything from your father about the matters at the Great Wall?" Shao Yan asked.
However, Ling Yuke shook her head, the golden hairpins on her bun jingling.
"I haven't heard anything..." Ling Yuke said with a proud expression, "My father has been staying in the palace and hasn't come home. It seems His Majesty has assigned him some important task."
She deliberately slowed her speech and emphasized the words "important task," highlighting them.
Liu Sheng was somewhat curious about what her seemingly un-met uncle had been assigned, and asked without fear of offense: "May I ask, Miss Yu Ke, do you know what task Ling Shangshu has taken on?"
Ling Yuke showed the same stunned expression as Ruan Shizi just now, unable to understand why this person she had only met twice was so interested in her father.
However, Jing Hao and Wang Dongdong were also curious, as Ling Shangshu was one of the examiners.
"Ah? I... I don't know," Looking at everyone's expectant gazes, Ling Yuke stammered, "But he's an examiner, so it must be related to this Examination."
Thinking of this, Ling Yuke was also angry.
Although she lost to Wen Xuanning in the Examination, she thought that with her performance, which was so standardized, her final score should not be low.
At least higher than these few people in front of her.
Her gaze lightly swept over Jing Hao, Wang Dongdong, and this Liu Sheng person.
So what made her angry was naturally not the Examination itself, but that her father had been away from home all the time because of this Examination.
Originally, she had wanted her father to take her to Wen Manor, but her father didn't come home at all, so she could only shamelessly arrange to meet Wen Xuanning herself.
But Wen Xuanning kept not replying, and only returned a spirit message half a day later, near noon.
The answer was a refusal.
She was so angry that she cut up the sachet she had prepared.
She had no choice but to abandon her original plan and turn to see that Jiang Caibin.
In her opinion, that kid Jiang Caibin also deserved it; he shouldn't have played with people outside his circle in the first place, and sure enough, he suffered for it.
Thinking this, her gaze subtly fell on someone.
Liu Sheng shifted her feet, using Wang Dongdong's body to block that gaze.
【Why are you looking at us?】
【Maybe they think we don't belong here.】
【Why are you always so good at guessing?】
【Perhaps because I often do brain teasers?】
【Hehe, we don't even want to come! If it weren't for wanting to see what that old fellow Jiang Cai Zhi is up to.】
【Hope he makes his move quickly, don't delay us from going back to study, we still have to prepare for the Hall Examination.】
【Waiting online, urgent.】
...
At this point, everyone had arrived, so they announced their presence together.
In fact, the gatekeeper of Jiang had already noticed this group of young people who looked wealthy and of extraordinary status, and quietly informed the eldest young master inside the mansion.
So, after a short while, Jiang Cai Zhi was seen walking out of the mansion gate, looking visibly haggard, followed by a butler.
While writing, Ruan Shizi's father's surname accidentally became Han, which must have been destined in the dark, and it is also reasonable for the child to have the surname of Protector-General of the North.