Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 408 Missing

Meng Bian was waiting for Lu Congyi's arrival by the river. Dorgon thought that Lu Fengchun had committed self-immolation and died for his country, but he finally surrendered. Meng Bian couldn't help but think, if Dorgon finally knew that Lu Fengchun faked his death and surrendered, how ugly would his face be.

Thinking of this, Meng Bian couldn't help but laugh out loud. What Lu Fengchun did was even worse than Hong Chengchou. Although Hong Chengchou surrendered, he at least had a little shamelessness and did not submit a suicide memorial to Emperor Chongzhen. But Lu Fengchun wrote a letter to Dorgon, expressing his willingness to die with the enemy. As a result, he surrendered on the same day he submitted the memorial.

On the banks of the Liu River in the south city, the sun was setting, and the twilight was shining on the gurgling water, which was glittering with silver light, quite poetic. But in Lu Congyi's eyes, the scenery at this moment seemed so depressing, and there was an unknown dangerous atmosphere in the air.

He walked along the river bank, his heart beating faster, and various possible consequences kept circling in his mind. He didn't know if it was kidnapping, blackmail, or a conspiracy of the court's newly established Sticking Rod Office?

About a quarter of an hour later, Lu Congyi arrived at the designated location. It was a slightly remote tree-lined path. Except for the chirping of insects and birds, it was quiet all around. Just as he was looking around, a figure suddenly appeared not far ahead. It was Meng Bian in disguise.

And all around, the spies of Qingluan Guard were watching the surroundings vigilantly to prevent any accidents.

"Is this Mr. Lu?" Meng Bian spoke first, his tone steady, his eyes looking straight at Lu Congyi.

Lu Congyi's heart trembled. The other party was obviously not an ordinary person. He swallowed his saliva, nodded, and responded cautiously: "It's me. May I ask who you are..."

Meng Bian smiled slightly and got straight to the point: "It doesn't matter who I am, but I came here this time for your father's matter and for the Shandong Governor Lu Fengchun's matter."

Lu Congyi felt a little uneasy, but also asked with some expectation: "Is my father still alive?"

Meng Bian nodded and chuckled, "Yes, our Lord Lu is intact, without a scratch."

Lu Congyi was delighted at first, but still refused to give up and said, "The court has posthumously conferred upon my father the title of Prince Grand Tutor, the posthumous title of Wen'an, and enshrined him in the Temple of Virtuous and Good People. You have no evidence, so how can I believe you!"

Meng Bian nodded and said, "Of course I can't do it without evidence. This is your father's handwritten letter and his personal ornaments. If he burned himself, even if I get hold of these ornaments, they will definitely not be unscathed."

Lu Congyi took the jewelry, unfolded it and read the letter, then his face turned pale instantly. He didn't expect the matter to be so serious. This was a deception of the court and the regent. Once the matter was exposed, the Lu family would certainly face a catastrophe.

He closed his eyes, his heart was in turmoil. This letter was undoubtedly his father's handwritten letter. There were some small details in it that only family members knew. His father was still alive. Logically, as a son, Lu Congyi should be very happy, but now Lu Congyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Lu Congyi calmed down for a long time, then he opened his eyes and looked straight at Meng Bian, saying word by word: "Who are you? What is your purpose in sending the letter?"

Hearing this, Meng Bian smiled. He patted Lu Congyi on the shoulder and said, "I've said it before, it doesn't matter who I am, you don't matter, even the Lu family doesn't matter, but sending you out safely is very important to me!"

Lu Congyi didn't quite understand what he heard, but he knew it wasn't about extortion or conspiracy, so he asked hesitantly, "Sir... what do you mean?"

Meng Bian laughed and said, "What do you mean? Master Lu, do you really not know, or are you pretending not to know? Your father has already surrendered to my king. If I don't send you out, I'm afraid Dorgon will be eager to grind the entire Lu family to ashes."

Afterwards, Meng Bian informed Lu Congyi in detail about Lu Fengchun's true situation and the reason why he chose to fake his death and surrender. He also revealed the upcoming rescue operation. Lu Congyi was stunned. It turned out that his father did not remain loyal as he had once warned him, but surrendered just like that?

But things have come to this point, and Lu Congyi is helpless. After all, Lu Fengchun still cares about his family and knows how to fake his death to escape, buying time for the Qingluan Guards to rescue him. If he had been like Gao Jinku, then the grass on the graves of all the Lu family would have sprouted.

Lu Congyi nodded dejectedly to show his acceptance, and then Meng Bian told Lu Congyi to find a way to take his family out of the city, no matter what the excuse was.

The next day, Lü Congnian returned to the Lü residence from the palace. After hearing what Lü Congyi said, Lü Congnian was simply in disbelief. After a while, Lü Congnian said somewhat unwillingly: "I am now deeply trusted by the Regent King and have become a fourth-class guard. This is not something that ordinary people can do."

Then Lu Congnian suddenly had an idea and asked, "Brother, tell me, if we report this matter, will the court forgive us?"

Lu Congyi said coldly: "Do you want to disregard the lives of your mother, wife, daughter, and young son? Even if there is a chance that the Regent really forgives the Lu family, do you think the Regent will allow his son, who is an official in the enemy country, to continue to serve as a palace guard?"

Lu Congnian remained silent for a long time, and then he nodded with some pain. At the family dinner table later, Lu Congyi said that he would take the whole family out of town for an outing. Lu Congnian also said that he would have a day off tomorrow, so they could take the opportunity to go out of town and relax.

Only Lu's mother expressed her unwillingness to go out and wanted to pray for Lu Fengchun. However, after the two Lu brothers took turns persuading her, Lu's mother reluctantly agreed.

According to the information provided by Lu Congyi, Meng Bian had made preparations outside the city, ready to evacuate Beijing at any time. As long as he left Beijing, with the current strength of the Qingluan Guards, it would be easy to send away a dozen people.

The next morning, the Lu family prepared a lot of food and toys, and the whole family left the city happily, and the Qingluan Guard's action began immediately.

Faced with the sudden appearance of strangers, the Lu family was quite panicked. It was not until the Lu brothers repeatedly comforted them that everyone's emotions were slightly calmed down.

After briefly explaining the situation, Meng Bian and others quickly organized the Lu family, young and old, to get on the carriage and prepare to evacuate. As for the family's money and property, except for the two brothers of the Lu family who took some gold and silver jewelry, the rest were all abandoned. It was not until the carriage gradually drove away from the capital that everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In the Lu Mansion, the Lu family had not returned until nightfall. The servants in the house then realized something was wrong and immediately went to the government office to report to the authorities, saying that eleven people in the master's family had gone out of the city for an outing and had not returned at nightfall.