Stalemate

Xiao Liao recognized the voice and said, "Miss Li, I have important business to attend to."

The curtain was lifted on the opposite side, and Li Ranyi stepped out, curtsying and saying, "Your Highness is too kind. It's just that my horse was knocked down by yours and can't move. What should we do?"

Li Ranyi's horse was struck in the abdomen and crashed into the corner of the wall, breaking its skin and tearing its flesh and bones out. The carriage only managed to avoid overturning because it hit the wall.

At the city gate not far away, carriages blocked the official road, and long queues had formed inside and outside the city, with complaints gradually rising.

Li Jing and his subordinates, not wanting to escalate the situation while on duty, spoke up to mediate: "Your Highness, this kid is just a hothead, stubborn and narrow-minded. It's not worth getting angry with him. Here's what we'll do: I'll take him away and hand him over to the captain for proper punishment."

Xiao Heng'an flung the curtain aside and said sternly, "If there's a next time, you can forget about taking your head."

"Yes, yes, I'll keep an eye on it for you."

The captain glanced at the man on the ground, kicked him, stepped over him, and respectfully saw Xiao Heng'an off.

"I'll say it again, I have important matters to attend to. We'll discuss the horse collision another day," Xiao Liao warned Li Ranyi once more. "Are you really going to hold a grudge against me over such a trivial matter?"

Li Ranyi said seriously, "Your Highness, this is not right. A collision with a horse is no small matter. If my coachman hadn't pulled the reins in time, given the speed of your horse, Your Highness, we would have been killed.

Xiao Liao was furious and snapped, "Aren't you still alive?"

Li Ranyi was unhappy.

"Does Your Highness wish for my death? I wonder what I have done to offend Your Highness and make you hate me so much?"

Xiao Liao truly witnessed what it meant to be troublesome to deal with women and petty people. He stopped arguing with her, ordered the guards to stay behind, and walked to the city gate himself.

Li Ranyi slowly stepped forward, blocking Xiao Liao's path. "The matter should be settled on the same day. I urge Your Highness Prince Qin to give an explanation."

Xiao Liao was furious and shouted sternly, "Men, clear the way!"

Two guards surrounded Li Ranyi, asking her to come forward.

"Is Your Highness going to resort to force?"

Li Ranyi remained motionless with a smile on her face.

The gentlest knife is the most deadly, especially since Li Ranyi is skilled in both literature and martial arts.

The wind picked up, and the lush green trees around creaked and trembled.

Xiao Liao felt murderous intent.

A rumbling sound of wheels rolled by, and a carriage slowly approached and stopped behind Xiao Liao's carriage.

The carriage guard reported to the carriage: "Your Highness, a horse has collided ahead, causing a blockage."

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a gentle and kind face; it was Xiao Yi.

He recognized who was in front of him, got out of the car and greeted them, "Brother, Miss Li, what a coincidence."

He looked around and asked, "What's this?"

Li Ranyi curtsied to Xiao Yi, "Your Highness, I had no intention of blocking your way. It was Your Highness Prince Qin who was driving too fast and bumped into my carriage. I am here to demand an explanation."

Xiao Liao was displeased. "It's just a carriage. I'll compensate you. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Li Ranyi said, "If you had said so earlier, the matter would have been settled. It just so happens that His Highness the Crown Prince is here, so please bear witness. The total loss of the carriages and horses today amounts to one hundred taels of silver. His Highness Prince Qin can send it to the Li residence."

Xiao Liao snorted and turned to leave.

Xiao Yi said, "It's a small matter, why are you two so upset? How about this, I'll invite you to have a meal, and we can all sit down and chat calmly to dispel any unpleasant feelings."

"Brother, what do you think?"

Xiao Liao stopped and replied, "I need to inspect the city gates. Let's reschedule for another day."

Li Ranyi said, "It's time to change shifts now. My father will do his duty to ensure the city gates are well guarded. Your Highness, please don't worry too much."

Xiao Yi also said, "General Li is the most conscientious and dedicated. Brother, don't you trust him? You've been working really hard lately. You should have a good meal and relax."

Xiao Liao thought to himself that it was precisely because of Li Jinghe that he was uneasy.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince pretended to be a good person, and Li Ranyi's words were full of sarcasm, making him lose face. If she really showed the Crown Prince a bad attitude, who knows what rumors would spread outside.

There have been too many upsetting things lately, so it's better to avoid trouble. Xiao Heng'an can't escape anyway, so sending people to chase him won't change anything.

After some deliberation, Xiao Liao accepted Xiao Yi's invitation and secretly ordered his men to quickly find out Xiao Heng's whereabouts.

By this time, the carriage of Prince Jin's residence had already disappeared into the sea of ​​green.

The carriage traveled through hills and valleys, traversing dense forests and narrow paths, before stopping at a desolate mountain road.

Bai Sheng was already waiting on the road.

Inside the car, Gu Jinning crawled out of the mezzanine and helped the person out of the splint.

The man was emaciated, with a head of white hair, but it was neatly combed and his clothes were clean and tidy, indicating that he had been well taken care of.

"Come on, Mr. Zuo, take it easy."

Gu Jinning helped Zuo Wenzhong onto Bai Sheng's back, then jumped off the carriage and reached out to help Xiao Heng'an.

Reaching out her hand, Gu Jinning noticed that Song Hui had already raised his hand to help her. She quickly turned her hand and pointed down the mountain, instructing Song Ming, "Just go back down the mountain the way you came. Remember to erase the tire tracks."

The deep mountains are cool and secluded, with ancient trees growing in the shadows. The mountain path leading up is covered with moss and a thick layer of fallen leaves, and has accumulated a lot of dew. Stepping on it is wet and slippery.

The winding stone steps lead to the mountainside, where there is a lush and secluded bamboo forest, a small courtyard, and a half-acre medicinal herb field.

Xiao Hengan vaguely remembered that three years ago, when he and Gu Jinning left, the bamboo here was only leg-high, but now it had become a whole world.

Gu Jinning pushed open the chest-high bamboo door, turned around and said to Xiao Heng'an, "Wait for me for a moment, I have some personal matters to attend to."

After saying that, he took a few steps into the wooden house, grabbed the young man grinding medicine, pressed him down on the table, and pressed his elbow against his neck to question him: "You quack doctor, you lied to me. The medicine you gave me before was seriously adulterated."

"Ouch! You've trampled my precious herbs! Can't we talk this out?"

The wolf pawed and howled anxiously, fearing it might crush the herbs on the bamboo platform.

Gu Jinning released him and said, half threatening and half warning, "Help me heal someone. If you heal him, I won't pursue the matter of you adulterating the product. If you don't heal him, I'll burn down this place that has no reputation."

"It's not that I adulterated it, it's that you took too much medicine, so the effect was halved. I told you to take it easy a long time ago, but you insisted..."

The quack doctor rubbed his neck, complaining as he walked out, when he suddenly saw Xiao Heng'an and his eyes lit up.

"Oh, so that's why this girl dared to be so arrogant today. Turns out her backer is back. No, I should address her as His Highness Prince Jin now." Fang Fan bowed and cupped his hands in greeting. "A rare guest indeed. Please come in."

Gu Jinning truly despised the speed at which he changed his expression.

"Hey, Fang Fan, did you hear my request?"

There weren't many items in the room, and the herbs were scattered haphazardly, making it somewhat messy.

Fang Fan rummaged around to gather a tea set, moved over a few chairs, and muttered, "Good things never seem to come my way, and it's getting harder and harder to find patients to help."

He poured tea, had Bai Sheng place the person on the bamboo mat, and then went to take a look. He said, "He's probably seventy or eighty years old. Do you still want to save him?"

He reached out to check his breathing, making sure he was still alive, and then touched him all over his body.

Gu Jinning said, "Not only do we need to treat it, we need to cure it completely."

After massaging Zuo Wenzhong's leg, Fang Fan said, "You must have used a lot of medicine. This leg was broken; no amount of expensive medicine can save it. I suggest amputation to save his life."

Since being rescued, Zuo Wenzhong had been taking medicine and applying various ointments daily, but his condition had not improved. Gu Jinning knew it was a problem with his injured leg, but to ask an elderly man, especially a frail and accomplished scholar, to have his leg amputated was truly cruel.

"Is there no other way?"

Fang Fan was too lazy to reply to her.

Zuo Wenzhong stirred his drowsy eyelids and uttered a weak voice, "Break it. I am already a cripple, why should I care about my physical defects?"

He had long been prepared to die, but fortunately, a young man's passionate act saved him. As he clung to life, he blamed himself daily for the immense trouble his frail body had caused everyone.

He even considered starving himself and stopping his medication to end his life. But what was the point of running away now that it had already happened?

Day after day, he finally came to a realization: since he couldn't die, he should try his best to live and offer some comfort to the living.

There's no time like the present, so the quack doctor immediately prepared herbs and strong liquor, and sent Gu Jinning and Xiao Heng'an to the forest to cut wood for a wheelchair. With him, even the Jade Emperor would have to work.

Gu Jinning kept repeating to Xiao Heng'an, "If it weren't for the unstable effects of the quack doctor's medicine, I would have successfully faked my death and escaped this sea of ​​suffering long ago."

Xiao Heng'an retorted, "Don't you think your little tricks are childish?"

Gu Jinning retorted, "What does it matter if it's childish? As long as it works."

She has made a name for herself in the martial arts world by faking her death and changing her appearance, and that is enough.

Sunlight silently slipped through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the parched earth with dappled light and shadow. The dry fallen leaves scattered everywhere when kicked.

Xiao Heng'an asked, "What are your plans after this?"

Gu Jinning kicked him lightly and deeply, saying, "What else can I do? I can't persuade you."

Xiao Heng'an said, "I thought that when you chose to break into the prison, you had already thought it through. Once you embark on this path, you can only move forward."

Gu Jinning stopped and tilted her head to look at him. "Now that you're an accomplice, I have to take responsibility for you."

Gu Jinning tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but ultimately failed because of Xiao Heng'an's serious face. "Okay, I admit, I'm considering your suggestion."

Gu Jinning walked around to a rosewood tree, patted its thick and straight trunk, and drew the soft sword from her waist.

"Let's take this one."

Xiao Heng'an took the sword from her hand and said, "I'll do it."

The soft sword was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet incredibly sharp. Xiao Heng'an slashed horizontally across the tree trunk from a distance, the sword energy striking out, causing the rosewood tree to crash to the ground, kicking up dust several feet high and sending a flock of birds flying.

Gu Jinning asked, "Xiao Heng'an, what is your stance?"

Xiao Heng replied: "To settle down and make a living."

Gu Jinning carefully pondered those four words, "To secure a place for oneself, who wouldn't want that? Being under the protection of imperial power means accepting equal risks. The only way out for the Gu family is to choose a wise ruler to assist, relinquish power in the harem, and gradually fade out of the center of power."

"Therefore, I choose the Crown Prince."

As the dust settled, Gu Jinning's figure gradually became clear, her bright face filled with determination. "I will bring down Xiao Liao and pave the way for my cousin, the Crown Prince."

Life is a gamble; if you're going to gamble, gamble big.

Her freedom, Zuo Wenzhong's life and death injustice, the stability of the Gu family, and even Xiao Heng'an's well-being, were not in Xiao Juebai's hands, but in the hands of the monarch.

If this one doesn't work, then let's try another one.

Her enlightenment coincided with Xiao Heng'an's.

"Okay, I'll help you."

Xiao Heng'an readily agreed, promising to do everything in his power to help her with anything she wanted to do, except for the marriage agreement.

"From now on, you are not allowed to mention annulment of the engagement again."

"We'll see." Gu Jinning pouted, looking worriedly at the giant tree on the ground. "I can't make a wheelchair, so I'll leave it to you."