Chapter 290 Poisoning
Taking advantage of the dead of night, Su Qingyan led her men and quickly followed the clues given by her father, chasing after the enemy ahead.
It has now been determined that this group of rebels is most likely heading to Songhe County.
The group rode their horses and quickly chased after them.
After Mr. Gao Huan produced the will, he joined the others. They had just arrived in Songhe County a day earlier and were now waiting for Lin Changning and the princess.
Nearly half of the people Changning arranged are now here. It is said that on the night of Rongcheng, when their people arrived, they happened to see someone chasing after Lin Changning and the princess, but they only managed to intercept half of them.
The other half escaped.
Changning and the princess also fled into the forest and disappeared without a trace. However, no news is the best news. At least it can be confirmed that Changning and the princess have not fallen into the hands of others. According to the people who came, this Lin Changning, the commander of the border, can hold off a hundred men. Presumably, the princess is safe with him.
At that time, the eldest princess sent people to help, which disrupted their plans. Apart from the secret guards who were tied up with those nails, none of the spare carriages and personnel were used. However, since the opportunity had been presented to them, they directly sent people out of the city.
By the time the secret guards realized what was happening, Changning and the others had already escaped. Those who remained in the capital split into two groups: one group went to receive the imperial edict sent by the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, while the other group went to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence, set it on fire, and spread false information, hoping to buy Changning and the others more time.
After finally shaking off the government troops and the secret guards sent by the emperor and the marquis's mansion, when they went to chase after them again, Changning had already escaped the city with the princess. When they tried to catch up, they found that there were government troops behind them.
To avoid alerting the enemy, we had no choice but to wait in other towns first.
Fortunately, Changning had made many plans when he left, and now one of them had come to pass. So the others shook off their pursuers and arrived in Songhe County, where they joined up with the caravan there.
Mr. Gao Huan held the will in his hand, somewhat hesitant. It would be best to hand this to the Prince in person, but since the Princess and the young lady had not yet returned, he was still a little worried.
Therefore, Mr. Gao Huan decided to wait here with his men for another day. If the princess and Lin Changning did not return after a day, he would send someone ahead to deliver the imperial decree back to the palace.
Then he led the remaining men to meet Lin Changning and the princess.
A group of people sat scattered around the room, drinking water that their teammates had just brought them.
Mr. Gao wiped the water from the corners of his mouth and looked up at the clear sky outside the window.
In a corner unnoticed by Mr. Gao Huan, a figure silently turned and went outside.
One of them seemed to notice the other's unusual behavior, put down his hand that was about to drink water, frowned and followed him out, but was spotted by the other as soon as they stepped out the door, and the two laughed it off.
"Brother Zhao, where are you headed?"
The man who had sneaked outside earlier smiled somewhat stiffly: "Ah, come out to the outhouse."
This was a soldier handpicked by Lin Changning, named Wang He, a collateral descendant of the Wang family of Taiyuan. He was quite meticulous and noticed the man's unease in an instant. His heart skipped a beat, and he chuckled and said, "Perfect timing, I'm going too, let's go together."
As she spoke, she put her arm around the man's shoulder and started to walk out the door. The man's body was a little stiff, but he still followed her out.
As soon as the two reached the outhouse, the man pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed Wang He in the back. Wang He felt a cold wind blow past him and quickly bent over, dodging the man's knife.
Then he turned around and stared at the man with a cold look in his eyes. This man was the one who arranged the caravan. In fact, he didn't know their plan. In the past few days, he always felt that this man was a bit sneaky. When Mr. Gao Huan was explaining things to them, he would always inadvertently ask some things that he shouldn't ask.
I immediately sensed something was wrong with this person. Right after Mr. Gao Huan finished handing over the things, this person immediately began to sneakily prepare to leave.
Wang He had a feeling that this person was going to send a message out, and sure enough, he immediately attacked him after he came out.
Wang He shouted in the courtyard, "Sir, there's a traitor among us!!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, instantly alerting the others in the house. A group of people ran out and looked at the man confronting Wang He.
A group of skilled fighters surrounded the man and restrained him. A murderous glint flashed in Mr. Gao Huan's eyes: "Good spies, they managed to follow you here. Leave no survivors!"
After he finished speaking, the others stepped forward, drew their swords, and confronted the man. While the man was entangled in the fight, Wang He knocked the man's dagger away, kicked it away, drew his own sword, and stabbed the man in the chest.
The blade twisted across the man's chest, and the man coughed up a mouthful of blood, half-kneeling on the ground, then collapsed, seemingly lifeless.
Mr. Gao waved his hand without changing his expression: "Throw it into the well in the backyard, cover it with a stone, it's hot now, don't let the smell get out."
After saying that, he turned to leave. The others looked at each other in confusion. Just as they were about to lift the body, they suddenly saw the man flip over, pull something out of his pocket, and shoot it into the sky.
The sharp screech made Mr. Gao turn his head instantly. Wang He was startled and thrust the knife tip toward the man's heart again, but unfortunately, he was a step too slow; the man had already sent out his signal.
Mr. Gao Huan's face was grim: "Pack your things immediately. We can't stay here any longer. Move to Area Three as Chang Ning said!!!"
After speaking, Mr. Gao Huan placed the imperial edict in Wang He's hand: "Wang He, you take three people to Area Four and send the ruins back to Taiyuan! The rest of you come with me to Area Three. We must wait for the Princess and the young lady!!!"
Just as he finished speaking and was about to take action, Mr. Gao Huan suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. His face was ashen, and his lips were purplish-red. Mr. Gao Huan suddenly realized something, pulled out a small knife from his body, and cut a very deep wound on his wrist.
Dark blood dripped onto the ground, and Mr. Gao Huan spat out another mouthful of blood. He turned to look at the people around him, and apart from Wang He who had just gone to the toilet, everyone else's faces had turned ashen.
"The water is poisonous!!!"
Wang He's expression changed, and he hurriedly helped Mr. Gao Huan: "Sir!!!"
Mr. Gao Huan shoved Wang He away abruptly: "The water is poisonous. We can't hold out much longer. You must leave immediately and go to Area 4, which Commander Lin mentioned. You must deliver the will back to Taiyuan!!!"
Wang He was stunned for a moment, his hands trembling slightly. After bowing to Mr. Gao Huan, he turned and ran outside. After finding a horse, he quickly mounted it and galloped out of the city.
Mr. Gao Huan clutched his stomach in excruciating pain and moved step by step toward the door. Once there, he picked up a stick from the ground and drew a circle on an inconspicuous corner of the door, with an X inside.
This is a symbol that Changning drew on paper during the journey, representing a change in circumstances and an emergency evacuation.
After finishing drawing the symbols, Mr. Gao Huan finally fell to the ground. Lying down by the door, his pupils slowly lost focus, and he gradually stopped breathing.
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