readsfreenovel Chapter 206: Stealing Books
Chapter 206: Stealing Books
Later, as the two became more and more familiar with each other, Jinglan asked Chu Xiaomu to catch a few birds and lock them up to sing, or catch a pair of crickets and put them in a small jar to compete and fight each other.
Every time when Jinglan had a cricket fight, if her cricket lost, she would pout and ask Chu Xiaomu to help her catch another one and fight again, until she won.
In order to make her happy, Chu Xiaomu deliberately let his cricket lose after the crickets had a fierce fight, which made Jinglan giggle. Chu Xiaomu thought, this little girl is so shy in front of strangers, but she is still very playful and cheerful after getting familiar with her, and she looks especially beautiful when she laughs, just like the orchids on Baihua Island. Jinglan Jinglan, she is really as her name suggests.
Zhou Bo didn't like the two of them being so noisy, but he hadn't seen Jinglan so happy for a long time. As long as the two of them didn't play too much, he would try not to control them. He thought that Chu Xiaomu was about the same age as Lanlan, and he could make her happier than the previous guards. He didn't know if Lanlan's leg disease could be cured. If not, it would be rare for her to live a carefree life like this.
On this day, Chu Xiaomu drove a carriage and took Jinglan for a ride in the grassland. The originally sunny weather suddenly became windy, and sand, stones, branches, etc. were blown onto the canopy, making crackling sounds.
Jinglan frowned and said, "The day has passed too quickly. Let's go back."
Chu Xiaomu agreed and drove his horse back to the Nanding camp. After turning around a long row of military tents, before he saw the central army tent, he heard someone shouting, "Be honest and hand it all over!" It was the voice of Deputy Central Army Xiao Zhenrong.
Another soft voice said, "That's all. There's nothing else." It sounded like Yingdan was answering Xiao Zhenrong. Chu Xiaomu was shocked. Not knowing what was going on, he hurried over.
Xiao Zhenrong was seen directing two soldiers to tie Yingdan's hands behind her back. Yingdan had no expression on her face, neither resisting nor getting angry.
Chu Xiaomu hurriedly stopped his horse and was about to ask what happened when Xiao Zhenrong caught sight of him.
Without waiting for him to speak, Xiao Zhenrong waved his hand at the two soldiers and said coldly, "They are together. Bring them to my tent for questioning!"
Chu Xiaomu was confused and didn't know what to say when two soldiers came up and ordered him to dismount. Then they grabbed one of his arms and tied him up tightly with ropes.
Chu Xiaomu did not resist and asked Yingdan: "What's going on? Why are you arresting us?"
Yingdan just glanced at him twice and didn't say anything.
Jinglan asked in the car: "Uncle Xiao, what happened?"
Xiao Zhenrong said: "These are some small matters. I'll take two people to my tent to ask about them clearly. Lanlan, the weather has been getting colder recently. You'd better go out less often." As he spoke, he signaled to the soldiers to move Jinglan's carriage away quickly.
Jinglan shouted anxiously in the carriage: "Uncle Xiao, let me ask them, Uncle Xiao..." The soldier ignored her and drove the carriage far away.
Several soldiers escorted Chu Xiaomu and Yingdan, who were tied up, to Xiao Zhenrong's military tent.
Xiao Zhenrong sat down on a chair covered with black felt, and scanned Chu Xiaomu and Yingdan with his leopard-like eyes. He shouted sternly, "Tell me the truth, what is your plan in coming to Bicheng?"
Chu Xiaomu was shocked. He didn't know why Deputy Lieutenant General Xiao brought up the matter of coming to Bicheng again today. He said, "Deputy Lieutenant General, I have said before that we were originally slaves in the Jiaoshan Mine in Jinyang City. In order to survive, we fled to Bicheng."
Xiao Zhenrong snorted and sneered twice, and said: "You can escape to Baijun City, Yutuo City, or even Xihai City to survive, why did you choose my Bicheng?"
"One reason is that Bicheng is the closest to Jinyang City; the other reason is that they admire the general's reputation. They say that the general never allows the buying and selling of living slaves." Chu Xiaomu said.
Xiao Zhenrong said: "I came to Bicheng because I admire the general, which is understandable. But why did you choose my Nanding Army?!"
Chu Xiaomu replied: "Because the Nanding Army is the most dangerous and the best place to learn skills. We...we want to learn skills here."
Xiao Zhenrong suddenly frowned and said loudly: "How dare you deceive me!"
Chu Xiaomu couldn't help but startled, thinking, where did I deceive you? Still, he said with a stiff upper lip: "I didn't deceive Zhongjun, we came here to learn skills!"
Xiao Zhenrong said: "I heard that you wanted to learn the method of opening the force in order to avenge your relatives and friends. But the military affairs of each army in Bicheng are very busy, and now we have not found a suitable coach. Who has the leisure to teach you how to practice the method of opening the force? So you teamed up with others to steal, and wanted to learn the method of opening the force of my Bicheng! How can my Nanding Army tolerate you if you are so deliberate?!" His expression was extremely stern.
Chu Xiaomu was shocked and said in a trembling voice: "I...I...how could I...how could I learn it secretly?"
Xiao Zhenrong slammed the piece of silk in his hand on the table and shouted, "This is the evidence, you still want to deny it?!" The silk was originally white in color, but it was covered with dense words, almost turning into a black cloth.
Yingdan said calmly, "Deputy Commander Xiao, copying "Qi Hai Xun Yuan" was done by me alone, and has nothing to do with others."
Chu Xiaomu suddenly realized that Yingdan had been secretly copying the Bicheng Army's Kaiyuan technique "Qi Hai Xun Yuan" in Zhou Bo's central military tent for the past few days, and somehow it was discovered by Xiao Zhenrong.
Xiao Zhenrong sneered, "I was wondering why he risked his life to escape from Jiaoshan in Jinyang City to our Bicheng. It turns out he came here for some purpose! Do you really think there is no one in our Bicheng?!"
Chu Xiaomu said quickly: "Deputy Lieutenant General Xiao, every soldier in our city practices the Kaiyuan technique. It is not a secret. Therefore... so copying this can't be considered stealing, right?"
Xiao Zhenrong's face was filled with anger. He said, "You are not allowed to practice the method of opening the Force without the permission of the generals. Even copying texts is not allowed. Those who violate this will be regarded as stealing! The lighter punishment will be eighty strokes of the cane, and the heavier punishment will be blinded and expelled from Bicheng!"
When Yingdan heard the words "blind his eyes and expel him from Bicheng", he also started to get scared and shouted, "You...you are lying! There is no such military rule in Bicheng!" The two soldiers standing behind him kicked him to the ground.
Yingdan shouted to herself, "You are lying. There is no such military rule in Bicheng!"
Xiao Zhenrong's face was covered with frost, and he said coldly: "If I say there is, then there is. Even if there wasn't before, there will be from now on!"