266. Little brains aren't very smart.

"Go find Brother Xie?" The little dumpling was taken aback. "But... can we go out? Father and Mother Yue'er definitely won't agree."

“What’s so difficult about that! We can sneak out! Just like I sneaked out of the palace last time. I’ll slip out of the palace to find you, and you can pack your things. We’ll go straight to Qiuhe City, and no one will know!”

The little dumpling was tempted.

She really wanted to see Brother Xie and Sister Fufu.

She hesitated for a moment, still a little worried, and asked softly, "But... what if Father and Mother find out?"

"So what if we found them!" The little princess patted her shoulder, looking confident. "We just said we wanted to see the people of Qiuhe City! Besides, we might be able to help out if we go to Qiuhe City!"

"But...but won't it be dangerous on the road? The snow is so heavy, won't the carriage get stuck?"

"Have you forgotten how Lin Fuman got to Qiuhe City? By sled! You said before that sleds can run really fast on the snow, so let's have someone prepare sleds too, they definitely won't get stuck!"

As the saying goes, stuffing a dog's belly with donkey dung emboldens it.

As we all know, when a person is about to do something, they are usually hesitant and uneasy.

But when you have like-minded friends who are good at messing around—no, I mean best friends—to do things with, your courage will increase exponentially.

So, the little dumpling's heart gradually began to flutter.

She thought the little princess made a lot of sense.

If I could personally go to Qiuhe City to see Brother Xie and Sister Fufu, and to see the people who have been cured, it would seem like a very brave thing to do.

Looking into the little princess's bright eyes, the little dumpling's trepidation was slowly replaced by courage.

She nodded vigorously: "Okay! Then we'll go sneakily! We'll set off on our day off!"

"That's wonderful!" The little princess almost cried out excitedly, then quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "We need to plan this carefully. On our day off, we can't show anything unusual. When they let their guard down at night, I'll sneak out to find you, and we'll set off together!"

"good!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, their little faces full of excitement.

Clearly, neither of these young minds—one three years old and the other five—are particularly bright.

They didn't consider the dangers on the road, nor did they consider the consequences of sneaking out.

-

The day off arrived quickly.

In the early morning, the air at the Beiding Marquis's residence was filled with the sweet aroma of cooking porridge.

The little girl was sitting by the window practicing calligraphy when a soft knock came from outside the courtyard. A servant rushed in to report, "Miss, Young Master Bai has arrived and wants to invite you to go skiing outside the city."

The little dumpling's eyes lit up and it ran outside.

Bai Qingzhong stood under the porch, dressed in thick clothes, his ears slightly red. When he saw the little dumpling, he said softly, "I...I just got a new sled. They say the snow outside the city is thick and we can play with it. I want...I want to invite you to come with me."

The little dumpling thought for a moment. She and the little princess had agreed to meet in the evening and that she shouldn't show anything unusual.

So, that means—you can go out and have fun!

The little dumpling immediately turned to look at Jiang Xiyue, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Jiang Xiyue shook her head repeatedly at the mention of the city, but the little dumpling tugged at her sleeve and pleaded, "Mommy, Yue'er wants to go! Brother Bai will take care of Yue'er!"

Jiang Xiyue was still a little worried, but seeing Bai Qingzhong's honest appearance and the little dumpling's desperate attempts to be cute, she was reassured.

After thinking about it, I decided to let her take more servants with her.

Finally, he gave several more instructions, such as "Be careful" and "Don't go too far."

The servants had already prepared a heater, snacks, and a thick cloak, and a dozen servants followed along, the leader of whom was called Old Zhou.

The group rode in a carriage towards the outskirts of the city.

The sled was too big, so Bai Qingzhong specially had his servants deliver it to the outskirts of the city in advance, so they could use it as soon as they arrived.

As the carriage arrived outside the city, Bai Qingzhong's assistant was already waiting there, with a polished wooden sled beside him. The sled had a skid board at the bottom and a thick fox fur pad on top.

Bai Qingzhong blushed and stepped forward, carefully helping the little girl onto the sled, then clumsily wrapped her cloak tighter around her.

Old Zhou and Bai Qingzhong's men also prepared sleds. Old Zhou and two servants sat with them, while the others followed behind on sleds.

The little dumpling sat on the sled, holding a hand warmer, looking at the white snow scene around him. The sled glided steadily on the snow, and the cold wind blew by with snowflakes, but he didn't feel cold at all, only happy.

The sled came to a sudden stop as it glided to the edge of a grove of trees.

The little girl lurched forward, but luckily Bai Qingzhong caught her in time, preventing her from falling.

"What's wrong?" The little dumpling rubbed her arm and asked in confusion.

Bai Qingzhong whispered, "It seems... something is stuck."

Old Zhou quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and cleared away the snow from under the sled.

He initially thought it was a tree root or a stone, until he saw a patch of blood stained red.

His heart tightened, and he quickened his pace to clear the snow. As the snow was gradually cleared away, a curled-up figure was revealed, with broken sled planks scattered around. The three sled dogs were already lifeless, and their wounds were still congealed with dark red blood.

"Miss! Young Master Bai! Don't come any closer!" Old Zhou's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly and blocked the two of them, his voice trembling slightly.

But Xiao Tuanzi and Bai Qingzhong had already seen it.

The little boy panicked, but still asked from a few steps away, "Uncle Zhou, is he... is he still alive?"

Old Zhou checked the man's breathing again and breathed a sigh of relief: "He's still breathing, but he's very weak."

At this moment, the others also rushed over and went forward to check.

Old Zhou had his servants bring warm water and medicine for the wound, and carefully helped the man sit up, feeding him a few sips of warm water.

The man slowly opened his eyes, his face as pale as paper, his lips cracked and bleeding, and his dark-colored outfit stained with blood and snow, making him look utterly disheveled.

He looked around blankly, and when his gaze fell on the little dumpling, it was as if he had grasped a lifeline. He struggled to get up: "You are... Princess Fukang?"

The little dumpling nodded, its mind filled with questions: "You know Yue'er? Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I am Lord Xie's guard..." The man gasped for breath, each word seeming to require immense effort. "The Prince of Zhennan... the Prince of Zhennan sent men to attack you, sir. You escaped with serious injuries and your whereabouts are currently unknown! Qiuhe City... Qiuhe City is now entirely covered by his spies!"

"What?" The little dumpling's face turned pale.

"Why would the Prince of Zhennan do this?" Old Zhou frowned, pressing for the key question.

"My lord has found evidence of his plot to rebel and intends to report it to the court," the man coughed, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "The Prince of Zhennan, fearing exposure, struck first... We were scattered during our breakout, and my lord ordered me to go to the capital to deliver intelligence, but his men have been relentlessly pursuing me. I could only escape all the way here, but I was still caught..."

The little girl was so flustered that tears streamed down her face.

However, there wasn't much time for her to be sad.

"Miss! Something's wrong! Run!"

Old Zhou's roar suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Suddenly, several assassins appeared in the snow, brandishing their knives and rushing towards them.

"Protect Miss and Young Master Bai!" Old Zhou swung his sword to block the assassin's attack, and the servants behind him desperately surrounded them, forming a barrier with their bodies. "Quickly, get on the sleds and run down this road; our men will meet you there!"

Bai Qingzhong didn't care about anything else and pulled the little dumpling towards the sled.

He quickly helped the little girl onto the sled, then jumped on himself and gripped the reins tightly: "Princess, hold on tight!"

The little dumpling hadn't recovered from the shock and could only cling tightly to Bai Qingzhong.

Old Zhou and his servants were still locked in combat with the assassins, the screams and the clash of swords growing ever closer.

Clearly, these servants were no match for these well-trained and well-equipped assassins.

The sled dog was startled, let out a yelp, and charged forward.

The sled glided swiftly across the snow. Little Tuanzi looked back and saw Lao Zhou and his men surrounded by assassins, their figures growing smaller and smaller until they finally disappeared completely into the woods.

"Uncle Zhou..." The little dumpling's voice was trembling with tears, her heart filled with fear and panic.

Bai Qingzhong's voice trembled, but he still tried to remain calm: "Don't worry, Uncle Zhou and the others are very capable, they will be fine. Let's go down the mountain to find reinforcements first, and then come back to rescue them."

But as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a noise behind him.

It turned out that several assassins had stolen Lao Zhou and his men's sled and were chasing after them!