Chapter 373 Li Sanqi's Disheartened Heart
Madam Min's face darkened, and she looked at the old woodcutter with icy eyes. "If possible, please bring Ajiu and Jiang Hongling back alive."
As for Min Pan'er...
From the moment she replaced Li Sanqi as Princess Xihe, her fate of death was already sealed.
It's just a matter of whether you die sooner or later.
No, it should be said that from the moment Min Pan'er caught the eye of Old Madam Min because of her beauty, her fate was sealed.
So she didn't want to ask or think about Min Pan'er.
But Ajiu and Jiang Hongling are insignificant people, and there's no need for them to die with her.
Now, all she wants is a promise from the old woodcutter to ensure the safety of Ajiu and Jiang Hongling.
"I'll try my best," the old woodcutter said, not giving a definitive answer.
He knew that the safest course of action was to kill the two people who were with Princess Xihe, in order to ensure that nothing went wrong.
Madam Min did not press the old woodcutter any further, and simply said, "I hope you will not disappoint me."
***
While Min Qiaoshi and her two companions were staying at a farmhouse, Wen Xiu had already taken Li Sanqi in disguise and entered Yuping County, which was dozens of miles away from the place where they were attacked the night before.
As for the clothes used for disguise, they were naturally stolen by Wen Xiu.
Wen Xiu was skilled in light-footed martial arts; before the owner could even notice, she had already vanished with the clothes.
Fortunately, Li Sanqi had experienced hardships on her journey from the capital to Huizhou, so she was not pretentious at all. She changed her clothes when asked and continued on her way when asked, which greatly changed Wenxiu's opinion of her.
When Madam Min Qiao first asked her to protect Li Sanqi, she was somewhat resistant. She always felt that princesses were proud and arrogant, and definitely difficult to serve.
Who knew that Li Sanqi would be even easier to serve than Min Qiaoshi.
Ugh! Wenxiu secretly slapped herself in the face. She was so ashamed to have such thoughts!
The old lady was their savior! How could I think like that?
"What are you doing?" Li Sanqi turned his head to look at Wen Xiu, who had contradicted herself, with a curious look in his eyes.
Wen Xiu smiled awkwardly and waved her hands repeatedly, "It's nothing. Miss Sanqi, let's find a place to stay first, and I'll go and find out more information."
"Alright." Li Sanqi nodded in agreement, but when he thought of the others who had fled, his expression became dejected. "Sigh, I wonder how the old lady and the others are doing now."
“The old lady is being protected by Zhen, so she will definitely be safe and sound.” Wen Xiu thought for a moment and then added, “His Highness Prince Chu is also protected by experts, so he will definitely be fine as well.”
Yes, she discovered on the way that the four people who often accompanied the King of Chu were all experts.
Although he's not as skilled as Lao Qiao and the others, he's definitely better than her, A Jiu, and Zhen Huan, who are just mediocre.
However, given the King of Chu's status, it wasn't surprising that he would be accompanied by several skilled bodyguards. Therefore, they hadn't taken it seriously before.
Looking back now, His Highness the King of Chu truly had foresight!
Li Sanqi frowned slightly. "You mean the King of Chu has a master strategist by his side?"
"Yes, there are at least four. And each one of them is a master, much more powerful than me. You don't need to worry about the King of Chu."
Wen Xiu said this to comfort Li Sanqi.
But after hearing this, Li Sanqi's face darkened.
The King of Chu was not yet eighteen years old, unmarried, and had not yet participated in politics; he still lived in the palace and had no one to his name.
Therefore, the several experts following him could not possibly be his own people.
In other words, these people were specially assigned to the King of Chu by the Emperor.
It seems only natural to arrange for several skilled warriors to protect the King of Chu when he goes on a long journey.
But why wasn't she protected by any skilled guards arranged by her father?
If her father could so thoughtfully arrange for Min Pan'er to marry in her place, why couldn't he think of arranging for a few experts to protect her?
Or is it that in the Emperor's heart, he is not as important as the Prince of Chu?
etc!
wrong!
The Emperor seemed never to have said a word about Min Pan'er's marriage in place of him.
It was all just the old lady's speculation!
The old lady deduced this from the various coincidences surrounding her marriage and Min Pan'er's trip to Da'e.
But is the truth that the old lady deduced really what the emperor meant?
Is it possible that everything was just wishful thinking on her part and that of the old lady?
Perhaps, from the very beginning, the Emperor truly intended to use her life to create an opportunity to subdue Da'er?
The more Li Sanqi thought about it, the more heartbroken, chilled, and disheartened he felt.
***
Meanwhile, the King of Chu and several soldiers who had helped him escape were resting in a mountain valley.
"Your Highness, let's turn back and get reinforcements immediately!" one of the soldiers suggested solemnly.
The others also responded.
"Your Highness, the people of Da'an are incredibly audacious! They dared to ambush the marriage procession halfway through their journey. They clearly don't take our Dayan seriously! We must send this message back immediately!"
"Yes, yes, Your Highness, let's go back quickly. We must make Da-Dai pay the price!"
...
"You all go back and deliver the message. I'm staying here to find the Seventh Princess and Old Madam Qinghe."
He also had to find Princess Xihe and bring her back safely.
The King of Chu looked exhausted, but his eyes were very determined.
Princess Xihe has already taken Li Sanqi's place in the marriage alliance. When he heard that she might die in Li Sanqi's place in the future, he felt reluctant to do so.
However, if he could only choose one between Li Sanqi and Min Pan'er, he could only choose his younger sister, Li Sanqi.
But now that Da Xi has taken the initiative to attack and kill the marriage alliance, it is clear that she does not genuinely want a marriage alliance.
That would also give him the opportunity to take Princess Xihe back with him.
In this way, Princess Xihe wouldn't have to die in Li Sanqi's place, and he wouldn't have to feel guilty.
"Your Highness!"
The men wanted to persuade them further, but suddenly they heard the sound of approaching hooves. Alarm bells rang, and they all gripped the hilts of their swords.
Soon, the sound of hooves drew near, and two familiar figures dismounted and galloped over. Before they even reached him, they knelt on the ground and respectfully exclaimed, "Your Highness, we have finally found you!"
The people who came were none other than the second and third sons of the King of Chu, whom the old woodcutter had sent to find.
"Aren't you the old lady's guards?"
Upon seeing the two, the King of Chu's eyes lit up.
He had a deep impression of these two people. To be precise, he had a deep impression of all six guards around Madam Min.
His guards had repeatedly told him that the six men, led by the old woodcutter, were all highly skilled fighters. They all warned him to be careful of them.
Although he didn't think there was anything about Min Qiao's guards that warranted his wariness, he was indeed quite annoyed at just how skilled these experts were, that they could make his guards so nervous.
So, during his travels, he would often observe these people, intentionally or unintentionally, whenever he had free time.
That's how it is; after seeing so many people, you naturally start to remember them.
"How did you get here? Shouldn't you be looking for the old lady? Or have you already found her?"
In the end, the King of Chu's tone carried a hint of hope.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com