Lu Yuyan kept his head down among the five hundred imperial guards accompanying him, trying his best not to be discovered by Ruoling.
Lu Xiaoyun sat on a tall horse; she was the envoy accompanying the bride on this marriage alliance.
Just then, the old emperor suddenly said, "Fourth Prince, you don't need to go this time to escort the bride. I have already appointed Prince Hui as the envoy to escort Ruoling to marry into the Southern Liang. You have worked hard these past few days, so just stay at home and rest well."
Lu Xiaoyun's expression changed, and her grip on the reins tightened: "Father!"
Did this damned emperor know their plans, which is why he changed the envoy at the last minute?
The old emperor, brooking no argument, raised his hand to stop him, his attitude extremely firm: "No need to say more, I have already decided on this matter, so it shall be done this way. Also, I have ordered the selection of five hundred Northern Army soldiers to hand over to the Imperial Guards in Annam City, and the Northern Army soldiers will be responsible for escorting Ruoling."
Having said that, he turned and left without looking back, flicking his sleeve.
Zhu Dan and the others were shocked. They had arranged everything, but unexpectedly, not only were the wedding envoys changed at the last minute, but even the wedding procession was changed. No wonder the Emperor agreed so readily to let Ayan accompany them that day.
Zhu Dan was so angry he wanted to punch himself twice; he had been too careless!
What should we do next?
Prince Hui was enjoying a romantic time with his wife at home yesterday when he suddenly received an imperial decree in the middle of the night, instructing him to prepare to send Princess Ruoling to a marriage alliance today.
He was still half asleep and didn't even know how he received the imperial decree; he was brought here early this morning.
The wedding procession set off as planned. Tens of thousands of people in Shengjing City came to see Princess Ruoling off, having heard that she was going to marry alone to save the Great Zhou from war.
The roadside was lined with people who had come to see her off, waving to the carriage and saying, "Princess Ruoling, take care on your journey!"
"Princess Ruoling, have a safe journey!"
"Princess Ruoling, may your life be filled with good fortune!"
From the moment Ruoling boarded the carriage, she never lifted the curtain to look again. At this moment, hearing the cheering crowds on both sides, she covered her mouth tightly with her handkerchief and wept uncontrollably.
Lu Xiaoyun and the others hurriedly returned to the Prince An's residence, and Zhu Dan followed them there.
He brought even worse news: "Yun'er, Fourth Brother, I just learned that Father Emperor is sending a secret letter to Uncle Prince Hui every two days, telling him which route to take. So, all our original plans are useless now!"
Only the four of them discussed this matter initially, and they didn't even tell Ruoling. So it wasn't a leak from someone, but rather that the old emperor had planned to do this from the very beginning.
The old emperor made everyone believe that "Prince An" was the envoy sent to escort Ruoling to the Southern Liang for the marriage alliance. In reality, he had secretly arranged everything long ago. Ultimately, he didn't believe that they would accept Ruoling's marriage to the Southern Liang so easily.
"What do we do now?" Lu Xiaoyun was a little anxious. Not only could she not be the wedding envoy, but the guard team had also been replaced.
Zhu Yu remained calm: "Proceed according to the original plan. No matter which route they take, they will eventually need to find lodging, either at a post station or an inn."
He looked at the two of them with his phoenix eyes: "Order Feng Yan to send out all the secret guards of the Prince An's mansion, and keep a close eye on which route they take. The operation will take place in three days!"
Lu Xiaoyun grabbed Zhu Yu's wrist: "Have you ever thought about why the old emperor would send the Northern Army and Prince Hui's uncle to escort the bride?"
Zhu Yu snorted coldly: "I know. I personally trained the Northern Army. I have risked my life with them for ten years. My uncle, Prince Hui, has also been kind to me. That's why Father Emperor temporarily replaced him."
"So what do you intend to do? Let Feng Yan kill them? How will the soldiers of the Northern Army view you after that? Zhu Yu, the old emperor has already planned everything out."
The three of them sat down dejectedly. Nothing worked out. Was Ruoling destined to be married off to a foreign power?
Meanwhile, the wedding procession had already left the city gates. An'nan City was more than a hundred miles away from Shengjing, and they would meet and hand over the Northern Army by tomorrow at the latest.
Around noon, the group arrived at a dense forest. Lu Yuyan jogged up to Prince Hui and said, "Your Highness, the princess is a little tired and would like to rest for a while."
He kept his head down. Although he had only met Prince Hui two or three times and didn't know if Prince Hui would recognize him, he dared not take the risk.
Anyone could tell Prince Hui that the princess wanted to rest, but he alone could not. The old emperor must have already instructed him to be wary of him.
Prince Hui glanced at the sun, rubbed his stomach, and realized he was indeed a bit hungry. He raised his hand, and the entire caravan immediately stopped: "Everyone, rest for a quarter of an hour and have something to eat. Now we need to hurry on our way."
Lu Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Ruoling's carriage with his head down.
Prince Hui glanced at it, then turned around and took a big gulp of water.
"Princess Ruoling, I'm here to help you get some fresh air," Lu Yuyan said from the car window.
Upon hearing that voice, Ruoling's heart skipped a beat. She quickly pulled back the carriage curtain, and the face she had longed for for more than ten days was right in front of her. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
She thought he had given up on her.
Lu Yuyan smiled slightly at her.
Ruoling emerged from the carriage.
"Princess." A palace maid helped her up.
Ruoling said nothing and led the palace maids deeper into the dense forest.
Prince Hui glanced in this direction again, walked a little further away, and turned to eat the biscuit in his hand.
Lu Yuyan glanced around. After walking for dozens of miles, everyone was a little tired. At this moment, everyone was sitting on the ground eating, and no one noticed them.
Seeing that Ruoling and the palace maid had disappeared from sight, Lu Yuyan took advantage of everyone's inattention and immediately darted after them.
It was at this moment that Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu caught up with them.
Seeing Lu Yuyan following Ruoling, the two dismounted, tied their horses to the side, and walked over at a distance, following behind them.
Soon, Lu Yuyan caught up with Ruoling and the other woman. He raised his hand, about to use a chop to knock the palace maid unconscious, when Ruoling stopped him: "No!"
Lu Yuyan barely managed to put his hand down.
The palace maid immediately turned around, horrified, and spread her arms to shield Ruoling behind her: "How dare you! What are you doing!"
Ruoling pressed down her arms and said to her, "You stay here and keep watch for me. I'll just say a few words to this general and then come out."
The palace maid nodded, somewhat doubtful.
Lu Yuyan grabbed Ruoling and led her deeper into the dense forest.
After walking more than a hundred steps, making sure the palace maids couldn't hear their conversation, Ruoling abruptly shook off Lu Yuyan's hand: "Lu Yuyan, what are you doing!"
Lu Yuyan pulled her into a tight embrace: "Ruoling, let's run."
Ruoling pushed Lu Yuyan away abruptly: "I won't go with you."
"Why? The Crown Prince of Southern Liang is already quite old, are you willing to marry him?"
Ruoling sneered: "Does it matter whether I'm willing or not? I'm a princess, and I was born with this responsibility."
"Ruoling, have you ever thought that you might die on this trip?"
Ruoling walked to a high slope and looked northwest, where the Northern Qi was far away: "More than forty years ago, when my aunt married into the Northern Qi, did she not know that once she left, she would never be able to return to Shengjing? When the Northern Qi became powerful, would she also die?"
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