newbobooks Chapter 091 Defense Attacked
Chapter 091 Defense Attacked
Commander Wu and his steward seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.
"I have served as the garrison commander in the capital for many years and have never seen such a strange person. Miss Lu came to visit me so late at night just to talk to me about these bizarre and supernatural things?"
"If you don't believe me, sir, you can go and check it out on the street."
Lu Zhiyuan was too lazy to argue with Commander Wu; she just wanted him to send troops as soon as possible to save more civilians and quell this sudden upheaval.
Commander Wu gave the steward a wink, and after the steward left, he continued, "Why did I go to the street to take a look? It's because of one of your nonsensical remarks."
He sat down, his expression full of disdain: "Considering that Miss Lu once saved my son, I will not hold this matter against you tonight."
If Commander Wu hadn't mentioned it, Lu Zhiyuan wouldn't have remembered. On the day she was abducted, Commander Wu's two children had been traveling in the carriage with her. Miss Wu had used her life-saving grace to exchange for her freedom with Scarface; she wondered if they had safely returned to the capital. A thought flashed through her mind, and she straightened up: "Speaking of Young Master Wu, I wonder where Miss Wu is now?"
Commander Wu frowned, took a sip of hot tea, and looked up: "You still recognize my daughter?"
“My lord, you are a man of high birth and your memory is often short. My daughter was kidnapped along with Miss Wu and Young Master Wu. How could I not recognize Miss Wu?” Lu Zhiyuan stepped forward. “Judging from your expression, Miss Wu must not have returned to the capital. My daughter is missing, yet you have not searched for her. It seems that the father-daughter relationship between Miss Wu and you is indeed quite shallow, just as Miss Wu said.”
The word "颇" is used with great meaning.
Wu Shoubei, embarrassed, angrily retorted, "Nonsense! Just because I didn't make a big fuss doesn't mean I didn't go out to search."
Lu Zhiyuan let out a long "oh": "The garrison commander is concerned about the reputation of women and is afraid that others will find out."
Seeing that Commander Wu's expression had softened slightly, he changed his tone and said in a sinister tone, "Commander, are you really only concerned about Miss Wu's reputation? Miss Wu seems to have mentioned to my daughter that she and her younger brother were sold by your new wife. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, does Commander Wu know about this? If you don't know, it doesn't matter, just let the people in the Commandant's Office investigate."
"What do you mean by that, Miss Lu?" Commander Wu's face darkened. "My family matters are none of your concern, Miss!"
Before he could finish speaking, the steward rushed in in a panic: "Sir, there really are those strange people that Miss Lu mentioned. They broke into the manor and bit several servants."
Wu Shoubei looked at Lu Zhiyuan, suspecting that the strange man was brought by her.
Lu Zhiyuan spread her hands: "It wasn't me, it's a conspiracy by the Southern Chu people! I urge the garrison commander to send troops as soon as possible, otherwise the capital will be in chaos."
Commander Wu didn't believe it and put down his teacup to go to the front yard. The front yard was in chaos, with some biting and others hiding. The scene was strangely familiar.
Suddenly, he shivered.
"I remember now," he thought. "Eight years ago, Chaiyu Village became a ghost village, feared by everyone, because of these strange people who suddenly appeared." He took a few steps back, grabbed the steward's hand, and said in a trembling voice, "Quickly, inform Madam to keep the courtyard gates closed and not to come out."
A servant who had been bitten rushed over, but was kicked away by Commander Wu.
He was a martial artist, and that kick was delivered with almost all his might. Even if the person kicked didn't die, they would be seriously injured and fall to the ground. However, the servant only rolled on the ground once before getting up and biting the steward.
He opened his mouth wide and bit the butler's arm tightly, maintaining the same position no matter how the butler struggled.
The steward panicked and slammed his knee into the servant's stomach.
Commander Wu reacted quickly, grabbing the servant and kicking him aside. It was too late; a piece of the steward's flesh was torn off, and worms seemed to wriggle inside. He tried to grab it, but couldn't.
More and more servants were bitten, and the mansion was in chaos. The steward who had just been protecting Commander Wu had now turned into a biting monster and pounced on his master, Commander Wu.
Two fists can't fight four hands, so they had no choice but to retreat back inside.
"Seeing is believing. Does Commander Wu believe my daughter's words?" Lu Zhiyuan lightly jumped up and sat on the round table, swinging her legs. "I have no intention of interfering in the Wu family's affairs. I only mentioned Miss Wu to urge Commander Wu to send troops. The situation in the capital is critical. Even if you are not injured by the strange man, you will not escape the Emperor's wrath. What do you think, sir?"
Hearing the banging on the door outside, Commander Wu was annoyed: "Is this strange man really related to Southern Chu?"
“My daughter has no reason to lie to you, sir.” Lu Zhiyuan looked outside. “My daughter is eight years old. Apart from the time she was kidnapped by bandits, she has never left the capital, let alone seen such a strange person. Please think about it, sir. If her family hadn’t been in trouble, how could her father and mother have let her come to you alone?”
Commander Wu slammed his fist on the table: "No, my wife and children are still in the backyard, I have to go and save them."
"Does Your Excellency know how to save them?" Lu Zhiyuan stopped him. "Can you hear the sounds outside? The cries for help are getting weaker and weaker, which means that more and more people are being bitten. Lu Yun and I also encountered this kind of strange person on our way to the garrison. If they were just bitten, they can still be saved. But if they were bitten a long time ago, we can only cut off their heads and burn their bones."
“Those who have just been bitten cannot be saved either.” Commander Wu shook his head: “If they could be saved, there would be no abandoned village.”
Lu Zhiyuan then learned that Wu Shoubei had also been involved in the Chaiyu Village incident, and that his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and first wife had all died in that disaster.
Lu Zhiyuan grabbed Wu Shoubei's sleeve: "Chaiyu Village became a deserted village eight years ago, and your first wife also died eight years ago. So who gave birth to Young Master Wu?"
“He is my son with a courtesan.” Wu Shoubei looked embarrassed. “Chaiyu Village is my wife’s hometown. A few days before the incident, her father fell seriously ill, and she went back to her hometown to take care of him. She never came back. When I received the order to go and handle the aftermath, there was not a single living person left in Chaiyu Village and the surrounding villages within a hundred miles.”
Commander Wu closed his eyes: "The affairs of the deserted village must not be known to outsiders, and the death of my first wife can only be covered up. But she was a living person, and the wife of a commander, how could she disappear without a reason? We can only tell outsiders that she was unwell and recuperating in the countryside. Later, I had a child with someone else by a twist of fate. In order to give the child a legitimate identity, I said that he was born to my first wife. Later, I found an opportunity to say that she had died of illness and held a funeral for her."
"Miss Wu is unaware of this matter?"
"I don't know! She was raised by a wet nurse and her relationship with her mother was just so-so." Commander Wu took out his knife and threw the token to Lu Zhiyuan. "If Miss can get out safely, you can use this token to call for troops from the garrison camp."
Where is Young Master Wu?
Lu Zhiyuan gripped the token tightly and hid behind Lu Yun. Dozens of servants had already been bitten; if they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to escape. Commander Wu only mentioned his current wife and the child in her womb, never mentioning the child who called her "sister" on Luoxia Mountain. Afraid he would be abandoned, Lu Zhiyuan shouted, "We can take him with us!"
Wu Shoubei paused, his back to Lu Zhiyuan, and said, "He is not in the manor; the madam sent him to a temple in the mountains!"