Next to another fire, Song Lin used Shen Xu's crossbow to hunt some fish and game, cleaned them and roasted them on the fire. Shen Xu used a knife to carve wooden sticks. She plucked half of the hair from the tails of several horses and woven them into several long ropes.
She took apart the retractable bat knife that Captain Song carried with him, modified it slightly, and put the collected rabbit blood into it.
Xiao Mingcheng's throat was hoarse from thirst. He frowned, licked his cracked lips, gently tugged at Song Lin's sleeve, and asked, "Brother Song, when can we have some water?"
"You can drink now." Shen Xu picked up the kettle, handed it to Xiao Mingcheng, and whispered, "Don't open your eyes no matter what you hear."
"What are you doing!" Song Lin and Captain Song hurriedly stopped him, saying, "What if it's poisonous?"
"I've already diluted the water. If it was poison, they wouldn't have let Cheng'er die. I suspect it was an anesthetic or knockout drug, something that would incapacitate us, so they could seize Cheng'er while we were weak. Putting aside Pei Zhiyuan's stance, the two Mirror Masters who attacked my uncle were definitely Hua Guoshi's men."
"Then why don't you let me kill them?"
"Just now, I used the excuse of resting to let them go back and spread the news. They will definitely attack us tonight. So we have to pretend to be poisoned. If they want to kidnap us and take us to the capital, it will just fulfill our original plan. If they have murderous intentions, then we will have no choice but to go to the capital ourselves."
Shen Xu told the three of them the detailed plan and took out the topographic map of the Rock Imperial City drawn by Xiao Mingcheng. He laid out in detail what everyone needed to do after entering the imperial city, as well as how to deal with emergencies, evacuation routes, and so on.
For the past few days, she had been hiding in the carriage, discussing the details of the palace's interior with Xiao Mingcheng. Although Xiao Mingcheng was only eight years old, he was very smart and described many details very clearly. He also told her the layout of the guards before escaping the palace, leaving no detail unsaid.
Shen Xu returned the modified bat knife to Captain Song and instructed him, "Uncle's task is quite difficult. You will use this knife to stab yourself in a moment. It is filled with blood plasma and the blade is movable. When you stab yourself, blood will flow out."
"Then, Uncle, pretend to be injured and run away. Once you've shaken off them as quickly as possible, follow us. If they're chasing you, you can injure them. Once you catch up, try not to let anyone discover your whereabouts, okay?"
Captain Song nodded and said, "Well, I'll try my best to act as convincingly as possible."
Song Lin asked with some concern: "Uncle, can you really sneak into the palace alone? If the risk is too great, you only need to meet us outside the palace for the rest of the plan."
"Yes, it's possible." Captain Song nodded confidently. "When your uncle was young, he took you to escape. The pursuers chased me for seven days and seven nights, but I managed to shake them off. Not to mention me alone, even with this little kid, I can definitely get away. You don't have to worry about me."
The four of them sat around the fire and shared the game. Xiao Mingcheng soon fell into a deep sleep.
"This move by my niece-in-law is too risky."
Chen Xu explained, "Because we're not sure of the type of poison, we only have Cheng'er to try. Now that we've confirmed it's a knockout drug, we can just pretend to be asleep."
Captain Song frowned and shook his head in dissatisfaction. His opinion of Shen Xu had changed a lot during this period. Although she was very good to Song Lin, showing concern and obedience, and her attitude was also very gentle, her extraordinary intelligence and beautiful face made him feel a sense of crisis.
In addition, Song Lin was obedient and caring towards her. Wherever she was, his eyes would always stay on Shen Xu. It was as if everything she said was right, and she never considered the pros and cons herself.
But such a beautiful and scheming woman stayed with them. If one day she used her scheme on his uncle and nephew to achieve some purpose, he and Song Lin would die without knowing how.
Captain Song suddenly felt uncomfortable and inevitably became wary of Shen Xu.
Song Lin noticed his uncle's unhappiness, patted Shen Xu's back gently, and asked her to take Xiao Mingcheng to the carriage to rest first, while he and his uncle cleaned up the things on the ground.
"Uncle, are you worried?"
"Alin." Captain Song hesitated for a moment, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
"Uncle, you can just say whatever you want to say." Seeing this, Song Lin couldn't help but frowned. He saw that his uncle was dissatisfied with Shen Xu, and he was also afraid that the two would have a conflict.
The time when Shen Xu said she wanted to escape to Yanyang Country, her uncle had already rejected her face very rudely. Today, asking Cheng'er to test the poison had aroused his disgust even more.
Captain Song said sullenly, "Ah Lin, Miss Shen's background is unknown. What if she has any plans..."
"Uncle, Xiuxiu is loyal, filial, well-educated and polite. She will not harm us." Song Lin immediately strengthened his position.
Captain Song grabbed Song Lin's arm and said earnestly, "Ah Lin, you don't know that women's hearts are as treacherous as the sea. The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to deceive. Don't be fooled by her appearance. You must be careful about everything. Don't listen to your wife on everything. When you encounter doubts, you must ask your own heart."
Song Lin pursed his lips and said nothing. He also had his own concerns about Shen Xu.
He had promised her that he would take her to find her family, to restore her memory, and to live with her, but now he no longer had the courage to continue the search.
He even worried that she might have remembered her high and mighty status as the eldest daughter of the northern Xue family, and whether she would regret and resent him, or feel sad about her experiences.
She is so beautiful, born into a noble family, proficient in multiple languages, and has been well-read in poetry, music, literature and mathematics since childhood. She is like the stars and moonlight in the sky, out of reach.
But he had picked up such a star, and it had to live on the ground with an ordinary stone like him, enduring wind and rain, and now it was even more scattered in the wind and rain.
He should have stopped her from going to the capital, but now the north has become a traitor and is fighting against the king's army. No matter what her position is, it is not a good thing for her to go to the capital.
If the Xue family overthrew the dynasty and became the new ruler of Haoyue Kingdom, then she would be a noble princess. With her status, how could she desecrate a princess?
If the Xue family was wiped out by the royal army and convicted, she would be implicated and become a lowly prostitute. With her status, how could she protect her?
Song Lin asked Captain Song with a heavy heart, "Uncle, why are you unwilling to escape to Yanyang Country?"
Captain Song's eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of moisture, and the burning flames were reflected in his eyes, leaping fiercely.
After a while, he lowered his head and sighed slightly, then answered, "There is no home for me in Yanyang Country."
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