Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 652: Confusion

Song Ying's heart suddenly trembled. In this case, it was unlikely that the person was a water chestnut picker in the morning.

In just a moment, a small boat emerged from the reeds with three people on it. A young canal soldier was rowing the boat, and two middle-aged men were sitting in the back, one of whom was Scar!

He was half lying in a very casual posture, with his eyes narrowed, looking like he was asleep. But Song Ying, as a doctor, could tell from the frequency of his chest rising and falling with his breathing that he was not asleep.

Another man dressed as a scribe leaned his elbows on the side of the boat, looking over casually.

Song Ying's eyes passed over the three people, with surprise and fear flashing across his face. Especially when he saw the scar across Scar's face, he trembled, hugged the bamboo basket tightly and lowered his head.

Nanny Zhang, who was rowing the boat, quickly pushed the bamboo pole to move the boat to the side to make way.

The young boatman rowing the boat was originally arrogant and didn't want to even look at these poor fishing boats, but when he saw Song Ying out of the corner of his eye, his eyes suddenly brightened. He felt that although this young lady was wearing coarse cloth and straw hairpins, her eyebrows and eyes were neat.

He paddled the boat, a friendly smile on his face: "Young lady, are you going to pick water chestnuts?"

Song Ying glanced at him, then immediately lowered her eyes, unconsciously hugged the bamboo basket in her arms, and replied in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes."

The soldier's smile became even more friendly. "Isn't it time to pick black water chestnuts this season?"

Song Ying nodded timidly without saying anything, looking like she was so scared that she didn't dare to speak.

"Black water chestnuts are great. They have a hard shell and soft flesh, and they can be stored for a long time without going bad. We always have some on board our boats. My dear lady, I'll take all your water chestnuts, no matter how much you sell them for!"

Song Ying's face lit up at first, but then a flash of regret flashed across his face. "I haven't even gotten to the picking place yet. I sold everything I had at home yesterday for three cents a pound."

The young soldier was delighted and was about to say he would sell it to her after she picked it. But then he remembered that they still had to go find the remaining escapees and the time was not fixed. He could only say angrily, "Three cents a pound, that's too low. Who is so unscrupulous as to lower the price?"

Song Ying glanced at him and said nothing.

The canal soldiers quickly realized that black water chestnuts can not only relieve hunger but also detoxify miasma. The shell of water chestnuts is hard and can be sprinkled around the boat to prevent frogmen from making sneak attacks. They can also be thrown into the water to block pursuing ships. Therefore, black water chestnuts are always available on both civilian and official ships.

The water chestnuts picked by the people were naturally taken to the dock to sell.

The ones who pushed for such a low price were naturally the grain transport soldiers.

He suddenly felt a little embarrassed and secretly cursed those people for being so tactless as to lower the price so harshly for such a well-dressed young lady.

He coughed lightly and changed the subject, "You can't use a fishing boat to pick water chestnuts. The sides are too high, and it's easy to capsize if it tilts. You have to use a flat-headed boat to be stable. Like ours, the sides are low, so you can reach the water chestnuts with just a stretch of your hand."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gestured on his own boat. As he moved, a piece of blood-stained bamboo-patterned brocade handkerchief appeared on his chest. The handkerchief seemed to be soaked in blood, and there were several spots of bright red on the soldiers' clothes.

Song Ying's throat tightened, and he quickly lowered his eyes, saying awkwardly, "Thank you, General, for the reminder. It's just that this is the only boat we have."

The young canal soldier wanted to say more, but Scar behind him closed his eyes and said, "Why are you talking so much? Hurry up and row the boat!"

The canal soldier shrank his neck, and the warm smile on his face seemed to be cut off by a knife. He responded respectfully, and did not dare to continue talking to Song Ying. He just smiled and quickly rowed away.

The middle-aged man who looked like a scholar helped to speak up, "It's human nature for a young man to admire someone. Didn't you and I fight over the embroidered handkerchief of an Oiran on the Qinhuai River?"

Scar snorted coldly, but didn't say anything else.

The scholar sighed and changed the subject: "It's still more comfortable to ride in a boat. Riding a horse is so bumpy that my tailbone is about to crack."

"Pfft," the young soldier couldn't help but grin. "Sir, you're indeed a scholar. Even a sore butt can be described in such a refined way."

"It's an insult to politeness..."

Their conversation faded away as the boat drifted away. Song Ying let out a long breath and realized that his shirt had been soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his back. The river breeze made him feel freezing cold.

"We finally escaped, Ma'am, hurry up and row the boat!" Song Ying stood up by holding the board and urged Ma'am Zhang. If she knew how to do it, she would definitely rush over, snatch the bamboo pole from Ma'am Zhang and row quickly.

Nanny Zhang did not move. Her skinny hands tightly gripped the bamboo pole, her knuckles turning bluish-white, but she still couldn't stop shaking. The vibrations passed through the bamboo pole, which was over ten feet long, into the water, stirring up circles of fine ripples on the calm river surface, like countless shrinking whirlpools.

Song Ying felt something was wrong. Nanny Zhang was not a timid person, so how could she be so scared that she couldn't move?

She walked over quickly and held Aunt Zhang's cold hand. "It's okay. They didn't find us."

Aunt Zhang's hands trembled even more violently, cold sweat rolling down her wrinkled forehead. Her voice was hoarse as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper, "That handkerchief belongs to our master."

Handkerchief?

Song Ying's pupils shrank, and he lowered his voice: "The one stuffed in the soldier's chest?"

Nanny Zhang nodded, her pupils filled with fear. "That was embroidered by our wife herself. It has a snow-blue background and a Xiang Fei bamboo pattern. Our wife painted the pattern herself. She said that Xiang Fei bamboo symbolizes the fidelity of a couple and the integrity of a scholar. Our master loves it and will never leave it."

Song Ying's throat tightened. This was not a matter of whether he was close to her or not. If the handkerchief appeared on an unrelated person, it could be said that Zhang Renzhi accidentally lost it and someone else picked it up.

But the soldiers chasing them looked as if they were soaked in blood...

She asked in a trembling voice, "Only a small part of it is exposed, and it's stained with blood so that you can't tell the color. How can you be sure that it belongs to your master? Maybe you are seeing things?"

"I'd rather hope my old eyes are blurring and I'm seeing things," Aunt Zhang said with a wry smile. "But the pattern on that handkerchief is very unique. Some of the leaves along the edges are only half. We tried to convince Madam that it was unlucky, but she said it was more natural, as if the bamboo had grown out of the handkerchief."

With so many details, it's almost certain.

Song Ying swallowed and looked towards the cabin, "This matter..."

"Madam must not know this," Nanny Zhang also looked towards the cabin. "Madam and Master are deeply in love, and she's weak from having just given birth. She absolutely can't handle this kind of shock."

At this time, Yuan Qing came out and saw that the two of them looked strange. He couldn't help but feel nervous, "Didn't you not get discovered? What are you two doing..."

"Shh!" Song Ying raised her index finger and made a gesture of silence. She pointed inside the cabin and waved her hand, motioning Yuan Qing to come closer, before telling Yuan Qing what Nanny Zhang had discovered.

Yuan Qing's throat trembled, and his voice trembled: "So, Brother Zhang..."