Chapter 41 The Runaway Princess, I'm Going Crazy
Thunder roared, and carriages and horses sped through the rain.
The horse-drawn cart wheels kicked up mud and water, splashing dirty water that resembled the dark, hazy sky.
The pursuers followed closely behind like tails, step by step.
Two thousand palace guards fought them, suffering heavy casualties. Only two or three hundred men remained, crowding together and desperately protecting the carriage in the middle.
Yuan Rong and Dai Qing huddled together, holding Xie Wenjun close, their hands protecting her head from the jolting of the carriage.
His eyes were wary, and he nervously looked around.
They fled day and night, and were already hundreds of miles away from Yongdu.
Rong Jun was soaked by the torrential rain. He wiped the rain off his face and looked ahead at the muddy mountain road.
Fortunately, once we passed this mountain, we would be in the territory of Yongjia City. The garrison commander of Yongjia City was one of His Highness the Crown Prince's men.
The official road was impassable; the Prince of Qi's men had seized control of the roadblocks between Yongdu and Linxia, forcing them onto mountain trails. They were determined to prevent them from reaching Xie Yuan's fiefdom.
They headed south to evade their pursuers.
The mountain road was rugged and dark, and with the rain, the wheels often got stuck in the mud, making it difficult to travel. However, Xie Wenjun was mostly unconscious and unable to ride a horse.
They could only push or pull, making progress difficult and arduous.
Behind them, torches covered with tarpaulins lit up again, still far away, scattered like stars forming a large patch, but moving rapidly toward them.
"Move faster! Speed up!" Rong Jun ordered.
The carriage sped up a bit more.
Yuan Rong held Xie Wenjun even tighter. Dai Qing, being less timid, turned ashen-faced and nestled close to Yuan Rong and Xie Wenjun.
The three of them were tossed and turned by the carriage.
The torches, which had grown from tiny fireflies in the field of vision, were getting bigger and bigger, meaning that the group of people behind them were getting closer.
"The rearguard will cover the retreat and engage the enemy!"
As soon as Rong Jun finished speaking, the rear guard of the troops broke away from the main force and spread out into the mountains and forests on both sides, preparing to meet the ambush.
Soon after, Rong Jun realized that the road ahead was also a dead end.
As the mountain road curved, another group of people came rushing toward them, carrying torches.
"Form ranks! Prepare for battle!" Rong Jun shouted, raising his sword high.
In an instant, the central army split into two columns, forming a battle formation in front of and behind the chariot.
"Is that Lord Rong?" The troops in front were getting closer, almost face to face with their weapons, before Rong Jun could vaguely make out the voice.
"Is the visitor General Qingge, the garrison commander of Yongjia City?"
"Exactly!"
The messenger sent to the front city finally received a reply.
"Protect the Emperor!" Qingge waved his arm behind him, and the Yongjia City garrison immediately rushed to meet him.
"Lord Rong, I am late in coming to Your Majesty's aid. Please forgive me for my lateness. I must first escort the princess into the city!"
"Thank you for your trouble!" Rong Jun returned the greeting and followed Qing Ge towards the city gate.
Yongjia City is located in the south of central China. Geographically, it can be considered both north and south, but due to its rainy weather, it was later classified as part of the south.
Upon entering the city, Qingge said, "It seems unlikely that there will be any post stations available right now. If the princess and you do not mind, please stay at my residence for the time being. General Chen received intelligence that Princess Jiangning is heading south and sent someone to deliver a message, ordering me to meet her. She will arrive soon."
Rong Jun asked, bewildered, "Which General Chen?"
Qingge was even more confused than him. Were there many generals in the world with the surname Chen?
“That one from the Xuanping Marquis’s family, General Chen Liangyu. The Southern Continent has been pacified. She is currently being held up by the Southern Marquis Heng, but the messenger said that she will be able to arrive in the next two days.”
Rong Jun said "Oh," assuming that Chen Linjun had come south from the northern border. Now that Bei Yong had deployed troops to the border, Chen Linjun couldn't leave.
He had completely forgotten about Chen Liangyu, who was still quelling a rebellion in the southern region.
Chen Liangyu had 50,000 troops under her command, which would allow her to escort the princess and the items entrusted to her by Emperor Xuanyuan to Linxia.
When the carriage arrived at the Qing residence, a side room had already been prepared. Qing Ge seemed a little cramped, saying, "The residence is simple, Your Highness is wronged."
He was a martial artist, and his residence was decorated in a rough and unrefined style, with weapons discarded as soon as they were used.
"General, you flatter me."
Rong Jun lifted the carriage curtain and helped Xie Wenjun out. Yuan Rong supported her closely. Dai Qing was so frightened that her limbs stiffened. Holding the umbrella, the handle leaned forward, and she followed with unsteady steps.
"This..." Qingge hesitated, "Quickly, fetch a doctor!"
Xie Wenjun remained unconscious. She was in a coma all day long, and when she was occasionally awake, she would either stare blankly with lifeless eyes or try to hurt someone.
Rong Jun had no choice but to wrap several loops of hemp rope around her hands and feet.
Only after entering the city did Yuan Rong feel sorry for her and untie the ropes binding her hands and feet.
Chen Liangyu arrived a little earlier than expected.
She was told she would arrive in the last two days, but by evening the following day, she had already reached the south gate of Yongjia City.
Xie Wenjun's pulse was weak and feeble, and the doctor could not determine the cause of her illness, so he only dared to prescribe some mild sedative medicine.
Chen Liangyu dismounted at Qingfu and ran with long strides, her cloak billowing and fluttering in the wind.
Qingge was cursing and yelling at the doctor to leave the mansion; this was already the 10th or so doctor he had driven away.
"Where did this quack doctor come from? He's been acting like a madman every day, why is he giving him any kind of tranquilizer!"
"How is the princess?" Chen Liangyu asked.
"This is not good." Rong Jun bowed and said, "It is my dereliction of duty!"
"What do you mean by 'not so good'?" Chen Liangyu felt a chill in his palms.
Rong Jun lowered his head and said shamefully, "It was Wei Qi. Prince Qi and Lin Zhong conspired to murder His Highness the Crown Prince. His Majesty ordered me and Wei Qi to escort the princess to Prince Shen's residence in Linxia. After leaving the city, Wei Qi took advantage of my inattention and kidnapped the princess. I don't know what methods she used to torture her. The princess has been in a coma all day, and..."
Before he could finish speaking, a woman's scream came from Xie Wenjun's room. Chen Liangyu burst into the room and saw a maid clutching her chest, her eyes filled with terror, her clothes stained with blood.
If the wound went any higher, it would be fatal.
Xie Wenjun, her hands stained with blood, stared at the maid with eyes like those of a predator, pressing her closer.
Yuan Rong and Dai Qing also dared not approach, hiding behind the curtain and covering their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
"Take the people down to treat the wounded. Everyone out." Chen Liangyu cleared the servants out of the room and closed the door.
Xie Wenjun's prey had shifted to her.
Xie Wenjun's nails were a delicate color and perfectly manicured. They were exquisite hands.
Once stained with blood, it becomes somewhat grotesque.
The hand reached towards Chen Liangyu's throat, its white, jade-like nails like sharp blades, gleaming coldly as it sought to take his life.
Chen Liangyu dodged to the side, circled behind her, and delivered a chop to the back of Xie Wenjun's neck, knocking her unconscious.
She had all the sharp objects in Xie Wenjun's room removed, not even the bowls and cups. Two or three more doctors came, but they still couldn't diagnose the illness. They only said her pulse showed signs of old age.
Chen Liangyu vehemently denied it.
How old is she? How could she look so old?
The doctors shook their heads, forced to admit their lack of medical skills, and returned empty-handed.
The maids were so frightened that they refused to enter the room to serve them anymore.
Despite having grown up alongside the princess, Yuanrong and Daiqing could not hide their fear when serving her closely.
Chen Liangyu stood by the bedside, wiping the bloodstains from Xie Wenjun's hands with a damp cloth.
"Go out. You've been traveling for a long time, find a place to rest."
It wasn't a struggle; it was clearly a desperate escape.
Yuanrong and Daiqing knelt and kowtowed once before leaving the room. They didn't go far, but simply laid out mats on either side of the door outside and rested there.
The princess hadn't eaten much, and if she woke up and regained consciousness, she would need someone to bring her food and water. Chen Liangyu couldn't manage it all by herself.
A moment later, Chen Liangyu pushed open the door and said, "Find a pair of scissors."
Yuan Rong borrowed a pair of tailoring scissors from a maid in the Qing Mansion and passed them to Chen Liangyu through the crack in the door.
The night was quiet, and the air was chilly after the rain. The people from the Qing family sent two extra bedding sets for Yuanrong and Daiqing to keep warm.
Chen Liangyu pulled Xie Wenjun's hand out, exposing it outside the quilt, and with scissors, she cut off her beautifully maintained nails through the gaps between each fingertip.
It's almost completely bald.
Then, with meticulous care, she filed it down, shedding a piece of nail clippings. Until the fingertips became rounded and blunt, no longer capable of causing harm.
After doing all this, she put Xie Wenjun's hand back into the quilt, pulled the quilt up a bit, extinguished the candle, leaving only a dim copper lamp behind the small door.
She sat in front of Xie Wenjun's bed, in the lamplight.
Head bowed, motionless.
She didn't close her eyes even when it was late at night; she just sat there, keeping watch.
She's been gone for too long!
It's been too long.
The candlelight dimmed, and she went to adjust the wick and add some oil. But then she heard a faint "A-Li" behind her.
"...Is that you?"
Xie Wenjun had slept for too long, her face was slightly turned to this side, and she remained as serene and peaceful as ever.
Chen Liangyu's eyes stung with tears, "Princess..."
The lines between her brows remained furrowed all night.
"I'm going crazy."
Author's note: Thank you for reading this far!
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