Chapter 197 The Shadow
Lin Changning smiled, "Commander, what did I tell you? Hehe."
Qi Rong heard the voice behind him: "You're always full of tricks."
Qin Zhong snorted coldly: "Keep pretending, keep us waiting all day. Just keep going and pretend you didn't hear anything."
After saying this, he ordered the team to speed up. The old prince was nearly 60 years old this year, and the journey on horseback was already very bumpy. Seeing the team ahead speeding up, he couldn't help but get a little anxious.
He lashed the horse hard with the whip, but the whip seemed to have hurt too much, and the horse galloped forward like a madman, almost causing the old prince to fall off the horse.
The Duke of Qi, who was following behind, was startled and hurriedly chased after him.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!!!"
The old prince dropped his whip and clung tightly to the horse's neck: "Quick, quick! The horse has gone mad, find a way to control it."
Lin Changning looked back: "Commander, the horse has gone mad..."
Qin Zhong ordered the column to halt, then turned to look at the galloping horses and laughed, "Serves them right!"
Qi Rong watched the horses gallop with great interest, showing no intention of offering any help.
When he saw the Duke of Qi following behind the horse, his eyes turned even colder. He gripped the reins tightly, and although his face seemed calm, the veins on the back of his hand were bulging.
Lin Changning noticed that his commander's mood was a bit off. He squinted at the people riding over and frowned.
He certainly couldn't forget how he burned down their granary, leaving Daxing isolated and helpless.
Lin Changning's eyes darkened: "Order me to rescue them."
Qi Rong nodded: "Don't get hurt."
Lin Changning rode Moyun directly towards the old prince's direction.
Seeing the galloping horse approaching and the two horses about to collide, the old prince shouted in a hoarse voice, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
Lin Changning ignored him and waited until he got close enough to rein in Mo Yun. He then jumped down and, seeing the horse charging towards him, punched it hard on the head.
The old prince was so frightened that he didn't dare to open his eyes. He felt a sudden dizziness, fell off his horse covered in dust, rolled around on the ground twice, and then cried out in pain as he lay on the ground clutching his foot.
As the Duke of Qi rode his horse over, just as he was about to rein in his horse, a pebble flew out of nowhere and struck his horse squarely in the eye.
The horse suddenly reared up, and the Duke of Qi, caught off guard, was thrown off with a thud. He clutched his leg, his face turning pale with pain.
My leg injury from last time hasn't healed for long, and this fall must have fractured it again.
Lin Changning quietly rubbed his palms against his clothes behind his back.
He exaggeratedly stepped forward and helped the old prince up: "Oh, sir, are you alright?"
The old prince twisted his ankle. Since he was old, his bones were brittle, and this fall not only hurt his ankle, but he felt pain all over his body.
However, he did remember that it was this young man in front of him who had saved him, and he grabbed Lin Changning's sleeve and said, "Ouch, my ankle is in excruciating pain, come here, help me up."
Lin Changning easily lifted the person up with one hand, nodded and smiled at the old prince's somewhat surprised gaze, looking both innocent and harmless.
The old prince turned his head to look at the Duke of Qi, and was about to walk over there when Qi Rong and Qin Zhong surrounded him.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Where are you hurt?
Seeing the two people who dismounted to show concern for him, the old prince breathed a sigh of relief; at least they hadn't left.
We've finally caught up.
The old prince waved his hand: "He twisted his ankle, but it's nothing serious. How is the Duke of Qi?"
Qi Rong pretended to be worried and turned to look at the Duke of Qi. Seeing that his men had already helped the man up, he said, "Father was worried about you. He was riding too fast and fell off the horse."
The old prince nodded, and seeing that the Duke of Qi, who had been helped up, seemed to be unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "What happened today is my fault. When you informed me this morning, I had someone check your identities before letting you in, but I got caught up in other things and forgot about it."
"I forgot about the young master outside the city. Those people below are such blockheads; they just notified me, so I rushed out in a hurry. Please forgive me, young master."
Qi Rong nodded to indicate that he understood: "Your Highness is busy with official duties, which I understand. I just thought that there were enough people in Baoding City, so I was taking people back with me."
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this was a lie. The old prince frowned, but said nothing, since he had deliberately made things difficult for the prince first.
Of all the royal guards around, only Taiyuan was closest to Baoding. Qi Rong said he thought there were enough people in Baoding, which was clearly an excuse and also an expression of his dissatisfaction at being left outside the city for a day.
The old prince changed his tone and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Please, young master, lead your men into the city."
Qi Rong nodded: "Please mount your horse, Your Highness, and we will enter the city now."
After saying that, he led Lin Changning and the others onto their horses, and Wan Jin and the others gave up one horse for the old prince.
The Duke of Qi was helped forward step by step.
Seeing the old prince being helped onto his horse, the Duke of Qi said with a dark face, "You unfilial son, why don't you get down and give me a horse?"
Qi Rong sneered, "There really aren't any extra horses. Please, Father, return to the city."
After saying that, he led his men into the city.
The old prince glanced at Qi Rong's expression and thought to himself that what the Duke of Qi said was indeed true.
Judging from their posture, who would guess that these two are father and son? Anyone who didn't know better would think they were enemies.
The two are now truly at odds.
However, he is currently riding on someone else's horse, and the person who just rescued him is also under the command of that prince. It would be inappropriate to make demands at this time.
Seeing the Duke of Qi, who was being helped along and limping behind him, she hesitated for a few moments before offering her advice.
"Young Master Qi, the Duke is still your father, no matter what. Perhaps he did some things wrong before, but you are still father and son. Why don't you give the Duke a horse?"
Qi Rong stared at the old prince with a forced smile, his eyes swirling with emotions the old prince couldn't decipher.
"Your Highness must have heard about how my mother passed away back then, right? Although it's an old story from the Duke's mansion, some people in recent years may not know about it, but Your Highness should have heard about it too."
The old prince understood almost instantly which matter Qi Rong was referring to; that matter was indeed not very honorable.
Seeing Qi Rong's increasingly grim expression, he added as a gesture of advice, "After all, he is your father. Don't go too far."
After saying that, he turned his head to the side and stopped talking, while Lin Changning was a little curious.
What happened many years ago that turned this father and son into this?
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