Seeing Jin Fengluan pushing him, the urgency on her face was so obvious that Jin Xuan was stunned.
Didn't His Majesty say no one was allowed to leave? Wasn't she supposed to stay in the palace until the very end? How could this be...?
"What are you standing there for! Get out of here!" Jin Fengluan glared at Jin Xuan, who seemed to have just come to his senses. Jin Xuan then immediately replied, "I will obey Your Majesty's orders!"
"Where there's life, there's hope; of all the 36 stratagems, running away is the best!" Although she was flustered, Jin Fengluan had a clear mind.
"Prepare the carriage quickly, and leave the palace at once!" Jin Fengluan became increasingly anxious. With one hand supporting her crown and the other lifting the hem of her imperial robe, she passed by Jin Xuan and hurriedly ran towards the palace.
But after running two steps, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't taken the imperial seal yet, and hurriedly turned around and shouted, "Quick, take the imperial seal!" After saying that, she continued to run off the stage.
Jin Xuan immediately turned around and picked up the imperial seal from the table. At this moment, the ministers who had not yet left the hall all started to wail and cry. Some of the older ones even lay on the ground and reached out to Jin Fengluan.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty!"
"What should we do...?"
Jin Fengluan was only focused on running out, ignoring their distraught appearances. She quickly dodged the outstretched hands and shouted shrilly:
"Stop yelling, the traitors haven't even attacked yet!"
"Those who can leave, leave; those who can't... find a rope and commit suicide, lest they be humiliated by the traitors!"
ah?
The old ministers, their faces streaked with tears, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads upon hearing these chilling words. What was supposed to be a warm and gentle spring day now felt like the dead of winter.
"Your Majesty!!!" The piercing wails grew louder, but Jin Fengluan didn't turn her head, only urgently calling out:
"Jin Xuan! Jin Xuan! Are the carriages and horses ready? Where are they? Quickly take me there!"
Jin Xuan never expected that Her Majesty, dressed in that long and complicated imperial robe, could run so fast. In just a few breaths, she had already left the palace.
Hastily chasing after them outside the palace, Jin Xuan glanced at the ministers who had followed behind him, then turned to Jin Fengluan and said, "Your Majesty, go to the west gate; there are carriages and horses there."
Jin Fengluan was struggling to lift her skirt and tie it in a knot, but the jade-encrusted nail guards on her hands were really in the way. With a heavy heart, she had to remove the nail guards to barely manage to tie the long skirt. Hearing Jin Xuan's words, she didn't turn around and quickly walked down the steps, calling out:
"Okay, let's go to the West Gate then!"
As she spoke, Jin Fengluan took three steps in two, holding the crown, and jumped down the long steps. Jin Xuan's horse was right in front of her. Jin Fengluan grabbed the reins cleanly and swiftly, and leaped onto the horse's back.
His movements were fluid and graceful, like those of a seasoned veteran.
Although Kim Seon knew that the royal family had always enjoyed hunting and archery, His Majesty's actions were indeed too smooth.
Seeing Jin Fengluan about to ride away, Jin Xuan called after her, "Your Majesty! Wait for me!"
Jin Fengluan knew that she would have to rely on Jin Xuan to leave the capital. So she stopped her horse and shouted, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!"
After saying that, he loosened the reins and moved his body back a bit. Jin Xuan arrived two breaths later and immediately mounted his horse.
But then a shout came from behind:
"Your Majesty! Wait for us!"
"Your Majesty, we must follow you in death!" Several panicked ministers ran up from behind. Jin Fengluan, her face cold, said in a deep voice:
"Run!"
Jin Xuan did not hesitate and rode his horse towards the west gate.
The ministers behind them saw the warhorses carrying the two of them galloping forward in a flash, and they cried and shouted in panic, but they could only spur their feet and run forward as fast as they could.
Jin Xuan, who was riding a horse, said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we can't wait any longer."
Jin Fengluan, who was behind her, was panting heavily. She had felt fine while running, but now that she had stopped, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. She clung tightly to Jin Xuan's arm, afraid of falling.
Hearing this, he gasped for breath and said, "Do you need to tell me?!"
But the thought of all the things she hadn't brought with her from the palace made Jin Fengluan angrier. She had experienced something similar before, but last time she left the Jinling Imperial City, she had a few days to prepare.
When they left, it was a grand procession, with thousands of carriages and tens of thousands of guards. Although there were some twists and turns, they still arrived in Nanze smoothly.
But this time it was so rushed that there wasn't even a single maid or eunuch to attend to him. Such a crude arrangement was simply infuriating.
"We should have made arrangements earlier. Leaving like this now is too embarrassing!" Jin Fengluan said bitterly and angrily.
Jin Xuan sighed helplessly, "Your Majesty, no one expected this situation to occur. If we had known beforehand that we might not be able to defend the city, we would have made preparations to evacuate."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Fengluan raised her head without hesitation and said:
"When I left Jinling last time, Jiande made arrangements..."
Before she could finish speaking, she immediately stopped, her mind suddenly going blank.
When the rebels attacked Jinling last time, Xiong Qian's heavy cavalry was stationed in Bailiyuan, and General Jin Jianren also led troops to suppress the rebels. Everyone in the court believed that they would definitely be able to stop the rebels and even suppress them. However, Jin Jiande insisted on making second-hand preparations, at least to leave a way out before the war was over.
Therefore, he set out to arrange the entire plan to evacuate Nanjing, and the later results proved that his plan was correct. If they hadn't left then, the rebel army might have stormed into Nanjing and their plans would have been completely overthrown.
But now...
Jin Fengluan felt as if a stone was stuck in her throat, and her hands clenched even tighter.
Jin Xuan keenly noticed that his arm was being gripped tightly, and he whispered, "Your Majesty, don't think about it so much."
"Let's get out of the capital first. This humble general... will do everything in his power to protect your safety!"
Jin Fengluan remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, "After leaving the imperial city, do you have any plans for where to go next?"
This question stumped Jin Xuan. As the commander of the Imperial Guards, he had never imagined that he would have to leave the capital today, let alone leave Nanze. If His Majesty had not insisted on leaving, he would have been prepared to die for his country.
"Nanze is in danger right now. We need to leave Nanze first... before we can consider what to do next..."
“Now the entire Daqian region has almost fallen into the hands of the rebels, and I really don’t know where to go…” Jin Xuan said helplessly, kicking his horse’s belly.
Hearing this, Jin Fengluan was both anxious and angry. If Jin Jiande were still alive, he would have already made arrangements for his whereabouts, but now he could only face this situation.
After biting her lip and remaining silent for a long while, Jin Fengluan gritted her teeth and said:
"After leaving Nanze, we'll head straight to those barbarians' territory!"
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