Chapter 259: Shang Xiang Flees
In early December, Sun Shangxiang used the excuse of going to a temple to burn incense, taking a group of servants, women, and maidservants out, with dozens of guards on horseback following her.
Halfway there, she stopped at a cosmetics shop to buy some things, then got into a carriage and continued to the temple.
Just after the group left, Sun Shangxiang quietly slipped out the back door of the cosmetics shop. She had already changed into men’s clothing and looked like a handsome young man, with two trusted female guards following behind her.
The three quickly left the cosmetics shop and hurried to the nearby dock.
As early as ten days ago, Sun Shangxiang had begun preparations, and all the plans were seamless.
Sun Shangxiang was actually a female general. She commanded Jiangdong’s only troop of female soldiers, numbering two thousand. Although most military affairs were handled by the female deputy general, she was undoubtedly the true commander of these female soldiers.
It was precisely because Sun Shangxiang was a young female general that she possessed the decisiveness and meticulous thinking that ordinary women lacked. She fooled everyone, including the surveillance maidservant her mother had placed by her side.
Only the two female guards who had protected her since childhood followed her.
The temple she chose for burning incense was relatively far away. To reach it, one had to pass near the dock. By the time the maidservants and servants discovered that the person in the carriage was not her, it would be too late.
Sun Shangxiang rushed to the dock with her two female guards. A thousand-stone passenger ship had been waiting for some time; it was the ship her female guards had booked.
“Young Master!”
The boatman recognized the female guard and hurriedly waved. “Here! Here!”
Sun Shangxiang rushed onto the ship with her two maidservants. The female guard immediately ordered, “Let’s go! To Damo County.”
The ship slowly set sail, turned around, and headed south.
Damo County was the mountainous small county where Taishi Ci had been demoted to serve as county commandant years ago. The Yushui River, a tributary of the Zhe River, flowed through the city, allowing ships of less than thousand-stone capacity to navigate.
After another seven or eight days by land route, one would reach Yushan County, the westernmost county in Yuzhang Commandery. From there, one could take a boat along the Yushui River to the Gan River, finally arriving at Chaisang. The whole journey would take about a month, and with good luck, they could reach Chaisang before the New Year.
Half a shichen later, the incense-burning convoy arrived at Jixiang Temple. Only then did everyone discover that inside the carriage was only Miss’s personal maidservant A Lian, and Miss was nowhere to be found.
Everyone panicked and rushed back to search everywhere, but Sun Shangxiang was long gone.
On the bow of the ship, Sun Shangxiang gazed at the scenery along both banks. A bitter smile appeared on her face; she never imagined that she would one day choose to flee a marriage, a method she had once scorned.
But Sun Shangxiang did not regret it. Her face showed a resolute determination without hesitation.
……….
Upon learning the news of his younger sister’s escape, Sun Quan flew into a rage. He immediately ordered the canal outlet at Jingkou to be sealed off, with every ship thoroughly searched, and all road junctions and land checkpoints to inspect every passerby.
At the same time, he dispatched cavalry to gallop south along the canal in search. They searched for a full three days but found nothing; his sister had vanished into thin air.
In the official residence, Sun Quan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. For these three days, his mother had cried in front of him every day, leaving him annoyed and extremely furious.
Sun Quan knew full well in his heart that his younger sister had fled the marriage. What she had escaped was not just a marriage, but a plan that could ruin his alliance with Liu Bei to divide Jingnan Four Commanderies and Jiaozhou.
A few months ago, shortly after he received the contract personally signed by Cao Cao, Liu Bei’s envoy Sun Qian arrived in Jiangdong. Liu Bei’s personal letter discussed the idea of a marriage alliance and various possibilities after Cao Cao annihilated Gan Ning in the future.
Although Sun Quan had no way of knowing the future ownership of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou, Liu Bei’s marriage alliance proposal made his eyes light up. He immediately asked Sun Qian and learned that Liu Bei’s wife Mi Shi had passed away from illness, leaving the position of main wife vacant.
Sun Quan was moved. He quickly agreed to the marriage alliance request, and both sides agreed that next spring he would send his younger sister to Chengdu to marry.
But he never imagined that his younger sister would resist this marriage so strongly. This was marrying Liu Bei and becoming the first madam of the Bashu political power—wasn’t this exactly what his younger sister had always wanted? How did it suddenly change?
Sun Quan could not understand how his younger sister had become like those little women, starting to pursue those illusory feelings—something she had always disliked before. That was why she had sneered at her good friend Xu Wei’s choice. How had she changed?
Sun Quan could not figure it out, but he could not worry about that now. The urgent matter was to find his younger sister and prevent her from ruining his plans.
“Reporting to Marquis of Wu, we have thoroughly searched house to house inside the city. Miss is indeed not inside the city.” Chen Wu reported from below the hall.
Sun Quan felt a surge of irritation in his heart. Neither water routes nor land routes yielded anything, and she was not in the city—where on earth had his younger sister hidden?
At that moment, an eunuch hurriedly came to report, “Old Madam requests Marquis of Wu to come over; she says there is an important matter.”
Sun Quan was startled and hurriedly went to Marquis of Wu’s Palace.
Seeing his mother, Sun Quan anxiously asked, “What happened?”
“Look at this.”
Lady Wu tremblingly handed over a letter. “It was found in her study.”
It turned out to be a letter left by his younger sister. Sun Quan quickly opened it. The letter was not long, even a bit short, only a few lines. It said she was going out to travel for a few months to relax, with guards accompanying her, and asked her mother not to worry. But at the end of the letter, she wrote one sentence:
‘I have always been searching for the husband heaven arranged for me, one I truly like, one for whom I would willingly give up everything. I do not know where this destined man is or when he will appear. But I know Liu Bei is definitely not that man.’
Sun Quan’s heart sank. His younger sister was unwilling to marry Liu Bei and was resisting this marriage with action.
Sun Quan gritted his teeth in hatred and smashed his fist hard against the wall.
“No matter what, I will definitely find her!”
At the same moment that Sun Quan was searching everywhere for his younger sister Sun Shangxiang, Pang Tong hurriedly entered Gan Ning’s official residence.
“Reporting to Marquis of Chu, an urgent carrier pigeon letter from the Dantu County liaison office.”
Pang Tong presented a transcribed carrier pigeon letter to Gan Ning. Gan Ning took it and looked, somewhat surprised. Sun Shangxiang had actually run away, and Jiangdong was searching everywhere. Although the excuse was searching for enemy army scouts, everyone above knew it was to find Sun Shangxiang.
Gan Ning had confirmed a few days ago that Sun Quan and Liu Bei were secretly colluding, preparing to form an alliance through marriage. Why ally? These two powers separated by thousands of mountains and rivers joining hands could only be for one purpose: his base.
“Marquis of Chu, Sun Shangxiang fleeing is a good thing! It can break the marriage alliance between Jiangdong and Liu Bei.” Pang Tong said in a low voice.
Pang Tong was right. Sun Shangxiang had become the key to the entire Sun-Liu alliance. Once Sun Shangxiang was no longer in Jiangdong, the Sun-Liu alliance was likely to fall apart.
Gan Ning nodded. “You’re right. I need to think carefully about this matter.”
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【Taking another leave for one more chapter today to take my mom for another checkup. It looks like the tumor is benign now, what a relief. Sorry, normal update this afternoon】
