Chapter 52: Escape

Wang Hao didn't believe that the Lu family from Cangwu really had the magical power to change fate. However, the two things he had heard recently were too bizarre to be believed.

One incident was that on the day when the Eastern Palace caught fire, the eldest princess heard the prince talking about Lu's prophecy in the Queen Mother's Palace, and he mentioned the pillar struck by lightning without any mistake.

The other incident was the He siblings. On the day they were brought before the Supreme Court, Wang Han had someone interrogate them about the failed assassination attempt on Xie Xiao. It turned out that the reason was that Lu had suddenly appeared and stopped Xie Xiao from drinking the poisoned tea.

If these two things are true, Princess Lu of Yuzhang must be on guard.

Wang Hao said, "Whether you believe it or not is secondary. It's no big deal if she arrives a day later. I just don't want anything to go wrong."

After hearing this, Wang Zhi suddenly felt a little uneasy.

"Just now, I heard from Eunuch Guo that Madam Lu seemed to say that tomorrow she would definitely arrive on time. This woman seems to have some magical powers. I wonder if she was also involved in today's events?"

After hearing this, Wang Han couldn't help but frown.

"Once we reach Jingkou, have someone guard the dock. If they see her boat, attack." He spoke slowly, "Even if you have the ability to reach the sky, you're just a human. Jingkou is not Cangwu, and the water ghosts there eat people."

Wang Zhi paused and said, "Father, she is the Princess of Yuzhang. If we act this way, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" Wang Han glanced at him. "How many times have I told you that if you want to succeed, you can't be soft-hearted. The Queen Mother has long wanted her to be buried with Prince Yuzhang. If she dies in the river, the Queen Mother will only be happy. As long as the Queen Mother is happy, there will be peace. Do you think anyone will speak up for her? The Prince of Yuzhang? A concubine who came out of nowhere and killed his father. How much do you think he likes her?"

Wang Zhi suddenly understood and bowed, saying, "Father, you are absolutely right."

——

After Sun Rong left, Sun Wei was surrounded by three people from the Taichang Palace in addition to the palace guards such as Aju and Deng Lian.

Normally, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for matters of ritual and ceremonial, and was composed mostly of civil officials. These three, though they were called officials, were dressed more like imperial guards.

Sun Wei didn't intend to wait there in vain, so he asked A'ru, "Can you ride a horse?"

Aju nodded and said, "My riding skills were taught by my father himself, so I can ride day and night."

Sun Wei then ordered Deng Lian to bring the horses for the carriage and said to A'ru, "I can't ride a horse, so take me with you."

After saying this, she turned to the Taichang people and said, "Please wait here. When Sun Zhubu returns, tell him. We are afraid of being late, so we will go ahead."

One person hurriedly said, "Let's wait for the chief clerk to come back before discussing this."

Sun Wei looked at him, half smiling, "Don't you think that Sun Zhubu's idea is more important than the Crown Prince's?"

The man was speechless, but he didn't retreat. The other two men also blocked the road, even holding the horses, as if trying to force them to stay.

Sun Wei's face darkened and he asked, "Where is Sima Deng?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Deng Lian and others acted like lightning and subdued the three men.

"Princess!" the man shouted. "Misunderstanding!"

Sun Wei looked at him with a smile: "If I am not mistaken, you are the Wu Hous who were borrowed from the imperial guards by the Taichang Temple?"

Their expressions changed slightly.

The man said, "We have been ordered to accompany you and protect the princess. Sun Zhubu will soon borrow a carriage. Please follow us back, princess, and do not stray away without permission."

Sun Wei did not answer, but said: "I advise you not to stop it, otherwise the Taichang will be embarrassed."

The three of them looked terrified and said, "Please, Princess, please come back with us. Otherwise, we will not be able to report to you."

Sun Wei said to A Ru without saying anything, "Let's go."

The horse galloped away, leaving the three people in despair.

A'ru was a little confused: "Princess, why don't you force a confession from the mastermind behind this?"

"I don't have the time for that." Sun Wei said, "Don't you even look at the sky? It's already so late."

In fact, there was no need to ask, she probably already had the answer in her heart.

Apart from Wang, there is probably no one else who can quietly reach out to the guards and the palace.

However, she did not expect to offend Wang so early, which was not a good thing.

But since she is Wang, there is no reason to let her escape easily.

The pier was not far away, but Sun Wei stopped everyone.

After pondering for a moment, Sun Wei asked Deng Lian, "I calculated that the boats at this dock are a dead end. However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope three miles downstream. Sima, do you know where that is?"

Deng Lian's calm expression suddenly fluctuated.

"When the prince returned from Jiangzhou Prefecture, he brought back two warships. They're moored three miles downstream from the pier."

"Really?" Sun Wei's eyes lit up. "I wonder if there are any boatmen on the boat?"

Deng Lian nodded and said, "Yes, the boatmen are all from Jiangzhou Prefecture and usually live on the boat."

"In that case," Sun said with a smile, "Sima, please do me a favor and ask them to give me a ride."

Sima Jun usually traveled by water between Xunyang City in Jiangzhou Prefecture and Jiankang, and his boat was usually moored outside the city. Sun Wei knew this in his previous life.

Thanks to knowing this, Sun Wei didn't have to bite the bullet and board the canal boat. After all the complications that had occurred before, Sun Wei had no idea who was hiding in the canal boat.

Deng Lian said nothing more and led everyone along a small path downstream.

Sima Jun's rule was rigorous. Even though the boat had been idle for some time, the boatmen hadn't wandered off. Deng Lian, as the Sima of the royal palace, had the power to dispatch the boatmen. At a single command, the boatmen took their positions, rowed, and set off.

The sails were hoisted high, and the ship sailed towards Jingkou with the river breeze.

But after all, they were delayed on the road and had not reached Jingkou until nightfall.

Deng Lian said that there might be accidents when sailing at night, and advised Sun Wei not to rush and to leave after daybreak.

"It's not that I'm in a hurry to go," Sun Wei said, "but I just read a fortune telling, and Jingkou is not peaceful. Isn't Sima worried about the Crown Prince?"

Deng Lian was silent for a moment, then said, "The prince is not in Jingkou."

"Really?" Sun smiled and asked, "Then let's see whether Sima's prediction is correct or mine is."

Deng Lian certainly knew Sima Jun's movements and knew that his assassin was in Jingkou.

A very accurate divination.

He didn't dare to delay and went down to the cabin silently.

Even though the boat slowed down, it was still moving. Sun Wei knew that as long as it kept moving, it would reach Jingkou before dawn.

She deliberately sent Guo Shun to convey the message that she would not violate the schedule, but in reality, she was just trying to reassure the Crown Prince. Her biggest worry was that the Crown Prince would be frightened and change his mind at the last minute, thus losing his composure and ruining the whole plan.

The night breeze was blowing gently, and Sun Wei took a short nap in the cabin.

Sun Wei didn't know how long he had slept, but suddenly he heard a commotion outside the cabin and woke up with a start.

Aju came into the room, made a quick gesture to her to keep quiet, blew out the remaining candle in the cabin, and then pulled her to a corner of the cabin.

"What happened?" Sun Wei asked nervously.

A'ru whispered, "There's a boat coming up on the river. It's so late, it's probably not a good boat."