Chapter 114: Message

Looking at the wide official road, the soldiers looked like a long dragon, marching forward rapidly.

King Dingbei Qin Yuxiao and Crown Prince Li Fu walked in the front, followed by several veterans who had followed Qin Yuxiao in battles for many years.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance ahead. As they got closer, the sounds became clearer and more rapid. Soon, Qin Nianwei stopped on her horse a few meters away from the large group.

Qin Yuxiao raised his hand and signaled the team behind him to stop.

Qin Nianwei turned over and dismounted, then quickened her pace and approached the large group. She raised her head and the first person she saw was her father Qin Yuxiao. Qin Nianwei's lips twitched, and when she turned her head, Li Fu just got off the horse.

Qin Nianwei breathed a sigh of relief and followed Li Fu to the woods beside the official road. As soon as they stopped, Qin Nianwei said, "You can't enter Beijing."

She took a deep breath and said, "According to reliable information, Shen Minghan and Li Gaoyou plan to wait for the Dingbei Army to enter Beijing and then capture them all in one fell swoop. If you enter Beijing, you will fall into their trap."

Li Fu: "Where did you get the news?"

Qin Nianwei hesitated for a moment and said, "The fifth prince Li Dingning was the one who tried to pass the news to me."

"Li Dingning..." Li Fu whispered these three words and said, "I understand. I will tell my uncle about this."

Qin Nianwei nodded: "Then I'll leave."

Li Fu asked: "Are you still planning to return to the capital?"

"yes."

Li Fu thought for a moment and said, "The capital is not safe right now. It would be better for you to stay here."

"No." Qin Nianwei refused very happily. After a while, she said, "If I stay here, Qin Yuxiao will not be happy."

After saying that, Qin Nianwei turned around and left the woods.

Li Fu saw her riding her horse and disappearing quickly at the end of the road before he walked out of the woods.

"What did she say to you?" Qin Yuxiao sat on the horse and turned his head to look at Li Fu who was already on the horse.

“She told us not to go to Beijing.”

Qin Yuxiao thought for a moment and said, "It seems that your guess is correct. They really can't hold back and want to take action. What do you think?"

Li Fu said: "My idea is to go to the palace as planned, but I will go alone."

Qin Yuxiao frowned, seeming to disagree, "This is too dangerous."

"Someone must go, otherwise Shen Minghan will definitely accuse the entire Dingbei Army of disrespect for disobeying an imperial order. Even if my uncle wants to rebel, it was they who forced him to do so, not him who wanted to rebel himself, so I must go."

"Besides, this trip may not be dangerous. They are wary of the Dingbei Army and may not dare to attack my nephew."

"Please agree to my nephew's request, uncle."

Qin Yuxiao stared at Li Fu for a while, then sighed, "Well, since you have made up your mind, then go ahead. But, you must take good care of yourself. I don't want to let your mother down."

"yes."

Li Fu bowed to Qin Yuxiao, clamped his legs hard on the horse's belly, rode away at full speed, and soon disappeared at the end of the official road.

…

The middle-aged man was dressed in a coarse linen shirt, with his chest hunched and his head lowered. He held a mahogany lacquer tray with cold food on it in his hands and appeared at the door silently.

"Are you here to deliver food again? Come in."

The guard opened the door, and the middle-aged man nodded to the two people on his left and right before walking in.

Chu Ran has been locked in this room for three or four days. Except for meal time, they would untie the ropes on him, but as soon as he finished eating, he would be tied up again.

Chu Ran watched the other party put the food aside and came over to untie him, and he couldn't help but say: "Uncle, can we discuss something? After dinner, let's not tie this rope around me, okay? I really won't run away, and I can't escape from this place. To be honest, tying me up with a rope is a waste of time, and it's also very troublesome for you to untie the rope back and forth, isn't it? Can you say something? Okay, you won't say anything, right? Then you can just nod."

Chu Ran was still chattering here and negotiating with the other party. Suddenly, the other party raised his head and Chu Ran stopped talking. He widened his eyes and stared at the person opposite who was untying the rope for him.

Xing, Uncle Xing?!

After untying the rope, Xing Ji placed the food on the table and motioned Chu Ran to come over and eat first.

Chu Ran just sat down, he couldn't help it, he glanced outside the door, saw that the person guarding him outside the door didn't move, so he whispered: "Why are you here?"

Xing Ji also turned his head to look outside the door, then straightened up slightly and quickly wrote a few words on the table with his fingers.

"He guessed it?" Chu Ran asked in surprise.

Xing Ji nodded, then shook his head, and wrote a few more words.

It's not that Li Fu had anticipated this, he was just preparing for a rainy day. When it comes to Chu Ran's safety, Li Fu will always be extra careful and cautious.

Xing Ji didn't explain much, just asked Chu Ran to be at ease.

Chu Ran didn't know what Li Fu was going to do, nor did he know how to relax. Moreover, he had a lot of questions to ask Xing Ji, but now was not a good time to ask questions.

However, since Xing Ji told him to relax, Li Fu probably already had a plan to deal with it?

"Eat first." Xing Ji glanced at Chu Ran and reminded him with his eyes.

Yes, eat first.

Chu Ran picked up the chopsticks and started eating at lightning speed.

Chu Ran stayed in the room alone, in a daze, not knowing what day it was, only that it seemed like a long time had passed. Fortunately, someone brought him meals three times a day, sometimes it was Xing Ji, sometimes it was someone else. Every time Xing Ji came, Chu Ran would secretly ask him for news.

At noon, Xing Ji came to bring him lunch and told Chu Ran that Li Fu had already entered the city.

Chu Ran was shocked and at the same time couldn't understand, "Didn't I tell him not to come into the city?"

Xing Ji shook his head. He had not had the chance to leave the house recently. He heard all this news from other servants in the house, and he had not met Li Fu himself.

What's going on?

Chu Ran didn't understand.

What went wrong? Did Li Dingning fail to pass the message to Qin Nianwei, or did Qin Nianwei fail to pass the message to Li Fu? Or did Li Fu have other plans?

Thinking of this, Chu Ran couldn't help but ask, "Did he go into the city alone, or did everyone else follow him into the city?"

Xing Ji: "He entered the city alone."

One person enters the city...

He must have known it was a trap.

Since he knew it was a trap, why did he choose to go into the city alone? Was Li Fu seeking his own death?

Chu Ran was anxious, and he really didn't understand what Li Fu was up to. But no matter what his intention was, this move was a risky one, and if he wasn't careful, he might lose his life.

But now that he was locked up here, he could only feel anxious but couldn't do anything to help.

If only I could escape.

"Uncle Xing, can you..."

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door. Xing Ji hurriedly put the leftovers on the table into the plate, returned to his hunched posture, and walked out of the house.

As Xing Ji stepped out of the door, a strange eunuch walked in.

Chu Ran returned to his smiling, nonchalant expression, "Prime Minister, have you changed your mind and are planning to let me go?"

The eunuch glanced at Chu Ran coldly, then looked at the people behind him, "Someone, take him out."