The red gate was more than ten feet high, with stone lions with copper balls in their mouths standing on both sides, looking majestic.

On the gate was a horizontal plaque with five large gold-plated characters written by Yu himself: the Protector General's Office.

The gate was open, and one could see the tall screen wall inside. Ten guards wearing armor and holding spears stood on both sides of the red gate.

Pei Yuan rode his horse and headed straight for the gate without slowing down. The guards were shocked and tried to subdue him. They stabbed forward with their spears crossed. The leader shouted, "Who is coming?"

Pei Yuan drew out the long sword behind him and blocked the silver spear in front of his chest. The iron weapons rubbed against each other, making a flash of lightning and a crackling sound. Seeing that he couldn't resist, the leader raised the tip of his spear to stab Pei Yuan in the face. Pei Yuan leaned back to avoid it, then shook his sleeves, threw out the jade pendant with a cold face, and hung it in front of the leading guard with two fingers holding the rope: "Watch it!"

The light green jade pendant was crystal clear, with nine pythons and five claws engraved on it, lifelike, and a "Si" character in the middle.

The leading guard was shocked and knelt on one knee and said: "Fourth Prince, please forgive me. I didn't recognize the real Taishan."

The other guards also put away their silver spears, made way, and knelt to apologize.

Pei Yuan said, "I want to go in, do I need to inform?"

The guard hurriedly said, "I dare not! The general has already ordered that if the fourth prince comes, he can go in directly. The general is waiting in the study."

Pei Yuan said no more, shouted "Go", and Saifeng jumped over the high threshold and drove Pei Yuan to the inner courtyard, leaving the guards outside looking at each other in bewilderment.

The general's mansion is very spacious, with crisscross corridors and landscape gardens. Qiu Mingshan has many wives and concubines, and many children. The mansion is built so big for the convenience of future generations.

Pei Yuan often came here when he was a child. He followed Qiu Mingshan to the border when he was eight years old and could return to Beijing for two months a year. He seldom goes back to the palace, but lives here most of the time. His mother died early, and he has a palace in the palace but no home. The queen treats him very well and asks about his well-being, but after all, they are not biological mother and son, and there is a barrier between them. He is grateful, but cannot really integrate into the family.

For him, this is the most comfortable and accustomed place.

If that incident had not happened, Pei Yuan thought, he might have always kept Qiu Mingshan in his heart and respected him like a father...

"Pray--" Saifeng stopped at the door of the study. Pei Yuan dismounted and handed the reins to the servant to take down. Another servant recognized the jade pendant on Pei Yuan's waist and ran to the house in a hurry to report.

When Pei Yuan was about to enter the door, Qiu Mingshan was rushing out. The two met at the door and were both stunned.

Pei Yuan frowned, turned away, and said nothing.

Qiu Mingshan's eyes flushed, and his hand, which had been holding a knife for years, was shaking. He wanted to grab Pei Yuan, but he held back. His face was bronze after years of wind and sun, his lips were straight, and he looked serious. No one except himself noticed that he was different. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something: "You..."

"I..." Pei Yuan also spoke, and the two of them said one word in unison and closed their mouths at the same time.

After a moment's silence, Qiu Mingshan took the lead and said, "Let's talk inside."

Pei Yuan waved his hand, "No time."

Qiu Mingshan was a little embarrassed. He asked, "How come you have time to come?" After he said that, he felt something was wrong and explained, "It's not that I don't welcome you. This is your home. You can come anytime. It's just that you are..."

He said cautiously, "You don't take that matter to heart. Do you forgive me?"

Pei Yuan immediately said, "No." His tone was cold and hard. Qiu Mingshan's eyes flashed with sadness. Pei Yuan continued, "But I can help you implement the idea you proposed."

Qiu Mingshan looked at him in shock. Pei Yuan narrowed his eyes: "Don't you want this kingdom? I will help you get it. The premise is that the emperor has abdicated, and you do me a favor today."

When he said this, Qiu Mingshan was already surprised: "What favor? As long as I can do it, you can ask for anything."

Pei Yuan said: "Find someone." He paused: "My wife."

...

When Baoning woke up again, she found that her wrists were tied behind her and she was curled up on the bed. Feng Yongjia was sitting not far from her face, staring at her straight.

Baoning was startled, sat up suddenly, and took a step back.

Feng Yongjia looked at her foolishly and murmured: "Baoning, you are so beautiful."

"Mad..." This look and tone made Baoning feel disgusted. She still felt weak and dizzy, so she closed her eyes and paused for a while before she spoke: "Where did you take me?"

Feng Yongjia said: "My home." He pursed his lips: "Baoning, believe me, I really won't hurt you."

"Then why did you tie me up?"

"I was afraid you would run away." Feng Yongjia moved closer to her, his tone almost pleading, "Baoning, really, believe me, after this is over, we will be safe, I will take you to a place where no one knows, and we will live a good life, okay?" There was still a slap mark on his face, and his originally handsome face was disfigured and looked a bit wretched.

Baoning was furious: "I don't know you at all!"

"But I like you." Feng Yongjia said, "I am here to save you from the sea of ​​suffering. After this period of time, you will thank me."

This man is really a madman. Baoning felt tired, exhausted and scared. She forced herself to cheer up and deal with Feng Yongjia: "On the rainy day, the person who entered my yard was you?"

"It wasn't me..." Feng Yongjia looked embarrassed. He looked into Baoning's eyes, gritted his teeth, and changed his words, "I was forced." When he mentioned that thing, he felt blocked in his heart. The fragrance was so strong that he knew Pei Yuanding could not solve it by himself. He looked at Baoning and regretted that she was no longer a perfect body, but when he looked at her face again, he was intoxicated by her beauty.

Baoning asked, "Who forced you?"

"I can't tell you..." Feng Yongjia refused at first, but after thinking about it, he decided there was no need to hide it from her. "You wouldn't know him even if I told you. It was an important person, Lord Xu Guang, the most popular person under Eunuch Huang Ji. He wanted to kill your man." He changed the topic, "He wanted to kill that cripple!"

Baoning didn't know who Xu Guang was, but she knew Huang Ji. Baoning felt cold in her heart.

"Why did he choose you?" Baoning asked, "Do you owe them money?"

"I don't!" Feng Yongjia didn't dare to look Baoning in the eye and dodged, "How did you know..." He raised his head again, his eyes firm: "Lord Xu said that as long as this is done, I don't have to pay you back, I will take you away!"

Baoning straightened up and looked at him in disbelief: "What are you dreaming about? You owe Xu Guang money and help him kill people, how could he let you go. If this man is easy to kill, why do they need you with Huang Ji's power. If they need you, it means they are borrowing your power. They don't want to let you live at all!"

Feng Yongjia looked at her in shock, and his heart was horrified, but he quickly calmed down and shook his head: "Impossible, impossible, Lord Xu has already promised me..."

Baoning suddenly remembered something very important: "Xu Guang asked you to kill my husband, why did you take me away? How did he want to kill him?"

She said the word husband very naturally. Feng Yongjia was stimulated and stood up on the spot: "That's not your husband, fate is unfair, he is not worthy of you!"

Baoning rarely gets angry, but facing this man today, no matter how good her temper is, she can't hold back, and she also stood up: "How does Xu Guang want to kill him!"

"..." Feng Yongjia was frightened by her. He thought that a girl like Baoning, who was delicate and weak, could be easily manipulated and would not get angry.

"I don't know the details." He said embarrassedly, "Probably, if I take you away, he will definitely come looking for you, and Lord Xu will lure him to this yard, set an ambush and kill him." At this point, Feng Yongjia's eyes lit up again: "This way, we kill two birds with one stone. The cripple will die, Lord Xu will get rid of a big worry, and I can take you away..."

Baoning asked: "Have you ever thought about why he should be led to your yard?"

A trace of confusion flashed across Feng Yongjia's eyes.

Bao Ning said, "Do you know who you want to kill? The fourth prince of the current emperor. If you fail, it's fine. If you succeed, even if you exterminate your entire clan, it won't be enough to atonce for your life!"

"That cripple..." Feng Yongjia's legs softened and he fell to the ground. "No, why would the fourth prince live in such a hellish place? I thought..."

He shivered for a while and pulled Bao Ning's sleeve again. "What should I do now? I don't want to kill anyone anymore. I don't want to, Bao Ning, what should I do now?"

Bao Ning looked him in the eye. "Who gave you the courage to call me by my name?"

"I, I..." Feng Yongjia was about to cry, "Fourth Prince's Consort, Prince's Consort, I know I was wrong."

He was crying when he heard someone kicking the door from outside. After a few kicks, the door didn't open. Someone cursed, "Cry, cry, cry. Is your father dead? Why are you crying there? Speak softly and don't disturb my sleep, or I will kill you now!"

He turned around and shouted to someone, "Where is the padlock? Have you got it? Hurry up and lock the door, so that the kid won't run away and we won't have to watch him here. Go back to sleep."

"The lock is here." Another person said, "Master Zhao, Master Xu should be back soon. I think that cripple has received the news and is coming."

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Nothing will happen if we lock that pretty boy and the girl together?"

Zhao Li locked the door and said, "What can happen? It's still unclear whether the boy surnamed Feng can get hard. Besides, our Master Xu is also a man. Today, he has accomplished such a big thing, let him be happy."

There was laughter from outside.

Feng Yongjia's face flushed, and he didn't know where he got the courage from. He rushed to the door and shouted, "How can you do this? Do you have a conscience?"

Zhao Li sneered and kicked the door, "Get out!" Feng Yongjia immediately turned off the fire.

Bao Ning leaned against the bed, eyes downcast, and said nothing. She was panicking, with cold sweat on her palms. Bao Ning thought, if Auntie, Ji Yan, or Pei Yuan were here, she would definitely not be able to control herself and would cry right then and there. But she couldn't cry now, there was no one around her to rely on, she had to stay calm. She had to leave quickly.

The people at the door chatted and laughed, and soon they left.

Feng Yongjia stood there blankly, as if he had been knocked out. After a while, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Secret passage, secret passage, I remember, there is a secret passage in this room!"

Baoning looked up in surprise, "Where is it?"

Feng Yongjia said, "Behind the cabinet door!"

...

Baoning had never thought that one day she would walk in such a place, which was only half a person's height and had to bend over to pass. There were spider webs and dust all the way, and the smell of mold was strong.

But at least she saved her life.

Feng Yongjia followed behind her, trembling and screaming from time to time. Baoning pursed her lips and ignored him, calculating in her mind where she should go later.

Feng Yongjia said that this courtyard was in the western suburbs, only five miles away from the city gate. Baoning remembered that her third sister Ji Anlu lived near the west city gate. Ji Anlu married a small businessman. He was neither poor nor rich, but he treated her very well. He opened a restaurant on the street of the west city gate, called Gujing Restaurant.

Now it was not dark yet and the city gate was not closed. As long as she could insist on running these five miles and blending into the crowd, she would be much safer.

If she could find her third brother-in-law's restaurant, she would be safe.

The effect of the drug had not worn off yet. Baoning felt her legs were weak, and she relied on the strength in her heart to force herself to walk.

The exit of the secret passage was in front of her! Like the lid on the cellar, it was blocked by a wooden board. Feng Yongjia followed her closely. He was afraid of such a damp and dark environment, and even more afraid of the bugs and mice that might run over at any time. He trembled and couldn't say a word.

Baoning opened the lid and climbed out. After staying in the dark for a long time, the sunlight was particularly dazzling. She blinked, and just as her feet stepped on the ground, she suddenly saw two men about five meters away from the wall, who were about to release the water.

The two men also saw her, and there was a teasing expression on their faces, until Feng Yongjia also climbed out and showed his head.

The two men's faces turned pale and they shouted, "Someone is running out! Chase them!" Then they pulled up their pants and rushed towards Baoning, holding a long knife in their hands.

It was Xu Guang's men!

Baoning's heart shrank and she ran away. She didn't know the direction, so she walked by feeling. Feng Yongjia was so scared that he rolled and crawled behind her. The two subordinates of Xu Guang followed closely: "They went east, towards the west gate!" After shouting, all the subordinates of Xu Guang came out and chased them.

Xu Guang had just come back and had no time to rest his feet. When he heard the news, he shouted angrily and rode out with a knife in hand.

Bao Ning was a girl after all, she could not outrun those men and Xu Guang's horse, and was about to be caught up. When she was completely desperate, she suddenly saw a group of people coming from the west, all wearing armor and with murderous looks on their faces.

Bao Ning saw them and decided to take a gamble, so she turned around and hid in an alley, and Feng Yongjia followed.

Xu Guang cursed angrily, "Little girl", whipped his horse's butt, and was about to go to the alley when the group of people and horses were already in front of him. A soldier held out his sword to stop him and shouted, "Why are you running!"

Xu Guang swung his sword and chopped off his sword: "Do you know who your grandfather is? You are shouting like this, looking for death!"

The soldier's palm was numb and he was also furious: "I am here in the name of the general who protects the country to investigate someone. Who are you? You don't even care about the order of the general!"

Xu Guang was shocked: "Investigate who?"

The soldier took out a scroll from his sleeve and shook it open to show him: "Have you seen this girl!"

Xu Guang's head buzzed. He never thought that Pei Yuan would go to Qiu Mingshan. The two had clearly broken up a long time ago, so when did they get together again!

Xu Guang was panicking, but he didn't show it on his face. He said fiercely, "I've never seen this before! I just lost my servant and was about to go look for him. You blocked my way and I can't find my servant. Are you going to compensate me?!"

"This..." The soldier reined in his horse and took a step back. He was hesitating whether to let him go when he suddenly heard the sound of a horseman galloping behind him. Then a sharp arrow broke through the air, brushed the red hair on the soldier's head, and shot into Xu Guang's left eye.

The incident happened too quickly, and no one could react. Xu Guang couldn't dodge in time, screamed, covered his bleeding left eye, and fell off his horse.

There was a cry of pain.

After a breath, a tall black-clad figure on a black horse flashed before Xu Guang's eyes. Pei Yuan's long sword was inlaid with a jingling iron ring. He swung his arm and pointed the silver blade at Xu Guang's nose.

His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Thief, where did you hide my wife?"