Chapter 138 Ran Away? Chapter 138...

Chapter 138: Ran Away?

The emperor was quite satisfied with the successful capture, but there were still many things to deal with afterward. Adding to the existing problems, even someone as dedicated to their work as she was now feeling a bit overwhelmed. With one thing after another happening these past two days, she genuinely felt she needed help.

"Guards!" the emperor called out.

A figure appeared in the imperial study; he was the emperor's secret guard.

"Bring that brat into the palace." The emperor didn't say who the brat was, nor did she need to, because that was the only way she addressed Gongzi Yu. Anyone close to her knew who she was referring to.

The guards didn't leave; they just stood there, seemingly hesitant.

The emperor raised his eyebrows and looked at him, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Your Majesty, the young master left the capital last night," the guard replied.

The emperor quickly asked, "And what about A-Hao?"

"Young master left with your daughter."

Where is Feng Qingyang?

"Senior Feng has also been taken away."

"Zhu Qiqi?"

"Madam Zhu was also taken away."

"What about poetry?"

"The poems went with the young master and the others."

The emperor laughed in exasperation and asked, "Then who else hasn't left?"

The guard remained silent for a moment, then said, "Only a few maids and guards remain in the villa."

The emperor slammed his fist on the table in anger. "That damned brat! He must have known I needed his help, that's why he ran away. What's wrong with helping his own sister? Would it kill him?!"

The guard dared not reply, but a string of thoughts raced through his mind. The Emperor had asked for far too many favors, and the young master, being a carefree person by nature, would certainly not want to leave your daughter's side frequently, especially with your daughter by his side.

Of course, he dared not say this aloud. If he did, the Emperor would be enraged, and he'd have to go to the outhouse. No way! Even as a secret guard, doing such a thing would make him vomit. Absolutely not!

The emperor stood up in anger, pacing back and forth in front of the table. If she knew what her guards were thinking, she would be even angrier. "Shouldn't Gong Jiu be here?"

If we can't use Gongzi Yu as free labor, then we have to leave someone for her, right? We can't just have everyone leave, can we?

The guard replied, "The young master is still in the manor."

"Go, bring him here," the emperor said. Whoever he is, anyone who can help now is a good person; nothing else matters.

In the Prince Taiping's mansion, the Prince Taiping and Gong Jiu sat facing each other in silence.

It wasn't until a few days ago that Prince Taiping realized why Xiao Jiu had become so distant from him all these years. This reminded him of Wu Ming, and Prince Taiping was filled with both anxiety and hatred. If Wu Ming hadn't died, he would definitely have chopped him up.

Even though Wu Ming is dead, the relationship between Prince Taiping and Gong Jiu can never be the same again. A rift has formed between them, and years of estrangement have completely separated them. He himself doesn't know how much of the fatherly affection remains between them.

Whenever he thought of this, Prince Taiping felt intense hatred. He looked at Gong Jiu sitting opposite him, but didn't know how to resolve the conflicts they had accumulated over the years. As a result, he wanted even more to whip Wu Ming's corpse to vent his anger.

Gong Jiu didn't know what to say to Prince Taiping; they hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other in many years. Should he admit he was wrong? He didn't want to. Should he blame Prince Taiping? But he felt his mother's death was still related to him, and he couldn't say he didn't blame him.

I don't know what to say, maybe it's better to say nothing. Gong Jiu thought to himself.

At this incredibly awkward moment, the emperor sent someone to summon Gong Jiu to the palace, and he naturally got up and left. Of course, if he had known that he would be assigned tasks after entering the palace, he probably would have chosen to turn around and leave. However, once he entered the palace, he had entered the emperor's net, and it wouldn't be so easy to escape.

Inside the carriage, Ling Hao looked at Gongzi Yu helplessly, "Do we need to run this fast?"

“Of course.” Gongzi Yu nodded. “My sister will definitely be looking for us, so we’d better leave as soon as possible.”

"But……"

Gongzi Yu gently pressed his finger to Ling Hao's lips. "No buts, we're already out, aren't we? Don't worry, my sister said there's no one she can use, but that's not true. She has plenty of people she can use."

If it were Gongzi Yu doing the work, he could do the work of ten people. It's simply a matter of having ten people do the work of ten. The Emperor doesn't lack manpower; she just wants to get everything done in a short time, which is why she's so busy.

He used to be unwilling to be tied to Kyoto and do things when he had nothing to do. Now that he has A-He, he's even less willing.

When Wu Ming died, Gongzi Yu realized that another wave of problems was about to hit him. So, before the emperor could react, he took Ling Hao and fled.

Bringing only Ling Hao wouldn't do; we also had to bring Feng Qingyang. But even with Feng Qingyang, we couldn't leave Zhu Qiqi out, so we brought Zhu Qiqi along too. Since we were bringing them all, we might as well bring the poets and the rest of the group as well.

As long as she left Kyoto, the emperor wouldn't send anyone to chase her. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but she knew it would be futile.

Ling Hao said with a smile, "We don't look like we're running away. It looks more like we're going on a sightseeing trip." Two carriages, about twenty guards on each side, the whole caravan didn't look like a runaway at all.

“We were originally planning to travel and enjoy the scenery,” Gongzi Yu said, grasping Linghao’s hand. “Don’t you want to come with me, Ah Hao?”

"Yes, I do." Ling Hao nodded. "Of course I'd like to be with you."

Gongzi Yu picked her up and nuzzled her head with his chin. "Since we've already escaped, let's not talk about Sister anymore, okay?"

"Okay, I'll listen to A-Yu." Ling Hao hugged Gongzi Yu's waist, leaning comfortably against him. Just like he said, since they were already out, they shouldn't think too much about it. "Where are we going?"

"Where does Ah Hao want to go?" Gongzi Yu asked.

"Hmm..." Ling Hao thought for a moment, "I don't know why, but I want to go to the border, to the northwest." Since she was going to travel and enjoy the scenery, she definitely wanted to go to a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. But for some reason, Ling Hao's intuition was telling her to go to the northwest.

Perhaps it's related to her own round pendant? Ling Hao touched the round pendant on her chest with one hand. It was just a gut feeling, but she had to try it. If it really was related to her original wife, and she succeeded, that would be great. If it wasn't related, she could just treat it as a trip.

"Alright, let's go to the Northwest." For Yu Gongzi Yu, it didn't matter where they went, as long as he was with Ahao.

In another carriage, Feng Qingyang and Zhu Qiqi, who had become playmates, were playing leaf cards and chatting as they played.

"Seven Seven, you just ran off with us like that, without waiting for that brat Shen Lang to come back?" Feng Qingyang asked.

“I’m not waiting anymore. He’ll definitely find me anyway,” Zhu Qiqi said, her eyes fixed on the leaf cards in Feng Qingyang’s hand. “Besides, we might run into each other on the road. I don’t want to stay in Kyoto alone. That would be too boring.”

Her elder brother and niece were both busy with matters of the court, and she didn't want them to waste their time with her, so she sent them away. Therefore, Zhu Qiqi was not wrong when she said that she was all alone in the capital.

"And what about you, Senior Feng? Didn't you say you were going to retire to the mountains and no longer care about the affairs of the martial world? Why did you come with us?" Zhu Qiqi asked back.

Feng Qingyang said, "I am following my disciple."

“Then I also follow my apprentice,” Zhu Qiqi retorted, not to be outdone.

The two seemed to be on the verge of becoming enemies, but in the blink of an eye, they were playing cards again. They were having a good time, and sometimes when Linghao and Gongziyu came over wanting to show their filial piety, they were chased away.

Having had a good time, Feng Qingyang stopped talking about retiring to the mountains. But could the mountains be any more fun than the outside world? Zhu Qiqi also stopped mentioning Shen Lang. They had been together for so many years, and now they were just apart for a while. What could possibly be wrong with that?

"Achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo." In the desert, Shen Lang sneezed repeatedly.

Panda took a few steps to the side, distancing herself from Shen Lang. "How could you catch a cold in such a hot place?"

Wang Lianhua, who was also some distance away from Shen Lang, said, "I think that Master Shen is not suffering from a cold, but rather that someone is on his mind and can't forget him, which is why there is an 'echo'." He said this with a lot of teasing.

Shen Lang smiled smugly: "This is something you can't envy."

"Heh." Wang Lianhua rolled her eyes. "I'm living a carefree and easy life. I don't need to envy you."

The panda raised its hand, "Oh, what a coincidence, me too."

Shen Lang didn't bother arguing with those two. The thought that Zhu Qiqi was also thinking of him filled him with sweetness. He needed to quickly deal with Shi Guanyin before going to find her. They hadn't been apart for so many years; she must miss him terribly.

If Shen Lang knew that Zhu Qiqi didn't actually think about him much, he might cry from anger.

"Wait." Shen Lang suddenly stopped.

"It smells of blood," Wang Lianhua said.

The panda knelt on one knee on the sand, listening intently. "A fight has broken out not far ahead."

Shen Lang said, "Shall we go take a look?"

“Okay, let’s go take a look,” Wang Lianhua agreed.

"Old bug, are you alright?" Hu Tiehua leaped to Chu Liuxiang's side in a few bounds. "Are you alright?"

Chu Liuxiang gave a wry smile. "Thankfully, where is Ji Bingyan?"

"He's alright too." Hu Tiehua kicked away one of the men in black who rushed over. "Take care of yourself, I can't worry about you anymore."

"Same." Chu Liuxiang knocked back a man in black with a single palm strike.

"Chu Liuxiang!" Ji Bingyan shouted, "Quick, look at this!"

Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua looked over at the same time, only to see an eagle appear out of nowhere, using its talons to hook a box and fly upwards. If it were to take it away, who knows where they would find it again.

Thinking this, Chu Liuxiang prepared to fly forward to stop him.

"Whoosh—!" A small pebble flew over and hit the eagle's wing. It let out a sharp cry, lost its grip on its talons, and the box fell to the ground.

-----------------------

Author's note: Holidays are coming up soon, hahaha!