"The King of Qi is hosting a banquet, and I, Fan, have come uninvited. I beg Your Highness to forgive me." Fan Du was flexible and knelt on one knee to pay his respects.
Xiao Feng smiled and said, "Lord Fan is an honored guest. I thought that if I sent you an invitation, you might not be willing to come. I was planning to go to Gaoling in a few days, but I didn't expect you to come so hastily."
Xiao Feng had a faint smile on his face. He walked over and helped Fan Du up. "Sir, please stand up."
Xiao Feng said this, turning to look at Fan Yi who was kneeling on the side, "Your son is a handsome man with extraordinary bearing. He will definitely achieve great things in the future."
Fan Du stood up and said with a smile, "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness."
"Please take a seat, sir."
Fan Du felt a little relieved. It wasn't that he was incompetent, but it was just that a wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. It would be better to express his stance now so as not to be passive in the future.
Fan Yi held the zither and glanced at Wan Jinlan, then quickly lowered his eyes and said respectfully, "Fan Yi has heard of the princess's heroic reputation. Today, I would like to present the "Spring Thunder" to the princess. I hope you will not despise it."
The maid serving on the side saw Wan Jinlan nod and stepped forward to take the zither from Fan Yi's hand.
After opening the brocade, a pitch-black zither with delicate folds and a plump shape appeared in front of her. Wan Jinlan looked at it carefully and found that the paint on the large square pattern under the dragon pool of the zither was slightly different, which must have been repaired later.
Wan Jinlan plucked the zither with ease, and the sound was rich and clear. She smiled and said, "Mr. Fan is thoughtful. This zither really suits my taste."
The Fan family gave her the zither just to expose the previous marriage, and both parties knew it well.
Fan Du came to express his attitude. Naturally, there was no need to continue fighting Beidi County and Yongzhou, but the subsequent gathering was also a big project.
Two days later, Yu Song sent back news that Princess Anyang's wedding convoy was about to enter Yongzhou.
Fan Du had already surrendered to Xiao Feng, and Prince Su was attacking Yunzhong Commandery, so Xiao Feng had already dispatched troops to support him. As for Jiang Shan, his 50,000 troops were also approaching Yanyun Pass.
Wan Jinlan has been living in the courtyard on Yanyun Path recently, and Chuntao and Xiafeng have already arrived.
At this time in the study, everyone was discussing countermeasures.
It would be easy to keep Jiang Shan's men outside Yongzhou, but this would also expose the fact that Xiao Feng had already taken Yanyun Pass. What should Anyang do then?
Xiao Feng was very ambitious and he was determined to get Jiang Shan's 50,000 troops, so he came up with the idea of luring the enemy into a trap.
The map of Yanyunjing had been studied to pieces by everyone. After discussion, it was decided that the garrison commander on Fan Du's side would come forward to contact Jiang Shan.
Everyone had already set a trap for Jiang Shan, but they didn't expect that Jiang Shan had already received the news in advance that Yanyun Pass was captured by Xiao Feng and Fan Du had surrendered to Xiao Feng. After leaving Yizhou, he divided his troops into two groups, one group was used to confuse Xiao Feng, and the other group bypassed the small country of Jiamo west of Yizhou, and attacked Xigu City in the southeast of Liangzhou at night by passing through the southwest of Yongzhou.
Although they were caught off guard, Xiao Feng had thought of this possibility. There were already garrisons left in the border cities, and the 20,000 soldiers and horses from Jianwu City were urgently sent back to provide support. He set out with 30,000 soldiers and horses overnight to encircle Jiangshan from behind.
Wan Jinlan did not go with them this time. There were more than 16,000 people in Yanyunjing and Weixian, and this pass was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Xiao Feng felt relieved that Wan Jinlan was left here with Wan Zhijing watching over him.
Wan Jinlan stayed behind to bring Anyang back. The wedding convoy had 3,000 imperial guards, and was personally escorted by the eldest son of Marquis Wuning.
Yu Song and An Xi tried several times but were unable to get close to Anyang. Anyang was surrounded by four secret guards and two martial maids.
There was no other way, Wan Jinlan could only resort to dirty tricks.
In the middle of the night, the inn where Anyang was staying caught fire.
Just as Wan Jinlan was about to slip out despite Wan Zhijing's obstruction, he heard the regular chirping of birds coming from the night sky.
Yu Song and An Xi were delighted, "Master, the secret guards of the mansion are here."
After the two responded, two more men in black appeared.
This was not the time to talk. When the inn was in chaos and Anyang was being helped out by the maids, a man in black appeared.
Wan Jinlan didn't know which group the people who suddenly appeared were, but he couldn't let Anyang fall into the hands of others.
Xiao Feng had told her many times that he would never allow her to take any risks herself, and he even left Wan Zhijing behind to keep an eye on her. Seeing that she was about to make a move, Wan Zhijing pulled her aside and said, "Behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble."
The consequence of being dragged to the scene by his own brother was that Yu Song and his four companions were entangled by the imperial guards and secret guards, and Anyang was taken away.
Anyang was being carried on a horse and galloped away. He asked with full vigor, "Who are you? How dare you kidnap this princess?"
"Princess, rest assured. Your mother is with our master now. Our master sent us to rescue you for the sake of Concubine Wan."
The road ahead was blocked and the horse had to stop.
Wan Jinlan brought not just four people out today, but a full three thousand men. Only a hundred of them showed up at this moment, and two thousand of them were holding back the imperial guards.
"Put the man down."
Anyang shouted excitedly, "Cousin Jinlan!"
Wan Zhijing said, "And me."
"This man said that his master came here at the request of my mother." Anyang loudly told them the information he had just obtained.
"Your master is Prince Su?"
The secret guard behind Anyang completely hid himself behind Anyang. He replied, "Yes."
Wan Jinlan said, "Hand him over, or you won't be able to leave tonight."
She didn't know where her aunt was now, but Anyang couldn't be taken away by Prince Su's men. She had killed Prince Su's wife Pei and had a deep hatred for Xiao Nian. If Anyang was taken away by Prince Su's men, would it be like a sheep walking into the tiger's mouth?
The secret guard had already placed his knife on Anyang's neck, "Get out of the way, or she will die."
Wan Jinlan's face darkened, "You are Xiao Nian Shen's man."
"Wan Jinlan, what bad things have you done to make you still obsessed with this prince?"
Xiao Nianshen's emaciated figure suddenly appeared behind the army, the sound of gnashing teeth echoing through the night sky. Meanwhile, he was surrounded by several men wearing straw raincoats, their bright, cold light gleaming in the moonlight.
Wan Jinlan shouted, "Zhang Baoquan."
"Bang, bang, bang"
Zhang Baoquan fired three shots in succession, knocking down two men. Another shot hit the sharp long sword, and with a clang, the long sword broke.
"Capture Prince Su alive for me. If he dies, there will be a reward of 100 gold coins for killing him, and 1,000 gold coins for capturing him alive."
The secret guard holding Anyang hostage shouted, "Stop it, or I'll kill her!"
No matter how powerful the secret guard is, no one will pay attention to him.
Xiao Nian Shen's arrival in Yongzhou was certainly not accompanied by just a few jianghu men. He also brought three hundred guards, entering Yongzhou in batches via side roads, avoiding the attention of the authorities. He risked his life to avenge his mother. He thought he was the one who had come, but he didn't expect Wan Jinlan to be well prepared, deploying hundreds of troops to fight him on equal terms.
The martial arts people who came with Xiao Nianshen were very skilled, and some of them were even throwing poison powder into the air.
"It's poisonous, hold your breath and run!" Wan Jinlan shouted, holding a gun and leading his men towards the set trap.
Xiao Nianshen watched Wan Jinlan fleeing, his face sullen as he waved his fist and shouted, "Chase him! Whoever kills Princess Qi will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins."
Anyang looked at the previously messy place and saw it suddenly become empty. She felt a little bewildered. Did her cousin just ignore her like that?
The secret guards were also unbelievable. Weren't they here to rescue Princess Anyang? Now they weren't going to rescue her? The hostages he had taken were useless?
Just as the man was thinking this, the horse suddenly knelt down on its front legs. Amid Anyang's screams, an iron chain rushed towards the secret guard. The secret guard rolled off the horse to avoid it, and another spear came towards him.
The chain turned and circled Anyang's waist, and Anyang was tied up and flew off the horse.
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