Chapter 329 I’m Hungry
Shen Yuexi was thinking about Su Mo. Even when the carriage was far away, she still opened the window and looked out at the brightly lit manor behind her.
Yang Cong rode beside the carriage. Seeing her looking back, he said, "My lady, please stop looking. Princess Ping won't go with you. She is Xiao Beiheng's wife after all. We're lucky we can rescue Doctor Hua."
Xia Lan, who was driving, cracked her whip and agreed, "Sister Yang is right. Although Prince Ping is cruel and murderous, he has always been very kind to Princess Ping. Even if he did something excessive, Princess Ping would not leave him."
Seeing that both of them were trying to persuade her, Shen Yuexi had no choice but to turn around and roll down the car window.
Xia Lan is Xiao Beiheng's maid, and she must know Xiao Beiheng better than she does herself.
In the swaying carriage, Hua Duoduo closed his eyes and leaned against the seat half-dead, as if he had fallen asleep. Shen Yuexi said to Doctor Hua, "Doctor Hua, how is Hua Duoduo?"
Doctor Hua shakily put a robe over Hua Duoduo and said in a hoarse voice, "They are all flesh wounds... He won't die. After the executioners have cut, I will stop the bleeding immediately... He will only be left with scars on his limbs."
Shen Yuexi heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Doctor Hua say this, and said to him, "Doctor Hua, please take a rest first. I will take you home soon."
Dr. Hua nodded, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Shen Yuexi raised her hand to fan away the bloody smell from her mouth and nose, then hugged her knees and looked at Hua Duoduo.
Originally, she wanted to live a carefree life with Xiao Zhuo, but after seeing Hua Duoduo's miserable condition, her heart began to waver.
She had experienced Xiao Beiheng's cruelty many times before, and now she was witnessing Hua Duoduo being tortured up close, and she felt horrified. If such a cruel person became the crown prince, who knows how many people would be tortured.
Xiao Zhuo was also cruel and murderous during his campaign against the Northern Di, but he was better than Xiao Beiheng in two key ways: he listened to advice. When Xiao Zhuo was about to slaughter the surrendered soldiers of the Western Rong, she tried her best to stop him, but Xiao Zhuo respected her opinion and didn't insist on going his own way. Later, Xiao Zhuo no longer needed her advice; whether dealing with the Western Rong, attacking Xiao Kai, or being hunted by his teacher, Xiao Zhuo was always clear-headed.
In her past life, she occasionally read history books after work, gaining some understanding of the anecdotes of ancient emperors. "Listen to advice"—these two seemingly simple words, but they are the difference between a wise ruler and a tyrant. Ji Zhong was an ordinary citizen, as was Hua Duoduo. Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Beiheng's attitudes towards them were two opposing extremes.
Emperor Yongde had already learned from previous experience. Although Emperor Ming of Qi was wise, he was surrounded by a vicious queen and a cruel son... Xiao Zhuo was the most suitable person to be the crown prince.
She made up her mind to talk to Xiao Zhuo about raising an army when she returned to Shengjing.
While thinking, Yang Cong opened the car window, glanced at Doctor Hua and his son sleeping in the car, and whispered to her nervously: "Master, there are pursuers coming from behind."
Shen Yuexi's heart sank and she leaned over to look behind her.
There are nearly a hundred spots of light coming towards this side from behind, and they are particularly bright in the night.
Without waiting for Shen Yuexi's instructions, Xia Lan cracked the whip repeatedly, and the carriage sped along the dark road. Fortunately, the roads around the city were flat, so the carriage didn't shake too much.
"Master, there are cavalrymen following behind us," Yang Cong rode his horse after the carriage, "the carriage is too slow, we can't get rid of it."
"I know." Shen Yuexi agreed and looked at Doctor Hua.
If it were just her, Yang Cong, and Xia Lan, the three of them could have escaped on horseback. But now with Doctor Hua and his son, the three of them couldn't take anyone with them.
Doctor Hua had been woken by the carriage. He held onto the armrests of his chair and asked nervously, "They... they're chasing us?"
"Xia Lan, stop now." Shen Yuexi stood up and patted the wall of the car.
"Master, if you stop, we will be caught up." Xia Lan shouted and whipped the horse again, making it scream.
"If we keep going like this, we'll be caught up sooner or later," Shen Yuexi said, "I'll lead them away, and you take Doctor Hua and his son and escape."
Yang Cong shouted, "Master, this is too dangerous!"
Shen Yuexi patted the carriage again and urged Xia Lan: "Do as I say. I'll ride Xiaobai, they can't catch up."
Seeing her urging her, Xia Lan had no choice but to slow down the carriage. As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Shen Yuexi jumped out and took the reins of the Jade Lion of Night from Yang Cong: "You guys hurry up, I'll go and distract the pursuers."
Yang Cong and Xia Lan were about to try to persuade them, but Shen Yuexi had already mounted her horse, pulled the reins, and headed towards the pursuers, shouting, "It's okay, I'll protect myself. You guys go to Shengjing quickly."
She rode her horse in the opposite direction of the pursuers, and soon she was right in front of them. Shen Yuexi grabbed the reins with both hands, and Xiaobai neighed loudly, raised his two front hooves, stood up, and pawed the air several times.
There were hundreds of pursuers, all riding horses, holding torches, and making a lot of noise. When they saw Shen Yuexi rushing towards them, they were all stunned.
To avoid Xiaobai being too conspicuous, Shen Yuexi had painted her entire horse black. Her clothes were also dark, so no one could see clearly. They only saw a dark figure rushing towards them, and from the sound, it was a woman. Several people raised torches to try to illuminate Shen Yuexi's face.
"I am Princess An. Aren't you going to chase me?" Shen Yuexi greeted with a smile, turned her horse's head and ran away.
The pursuers were dumbfounded.
"Isn't Princess An dead?"
"Who is this woman? She's pretending to be a princess."
"Prince Ping asked us to chase the carriage, but he didn't ask us to chase Princess An. Let's go after the carriage..."
Everyone was whispering to each other when Xiao Beiheng came riding over and asked sternly, "What are you doing here?"
"Prince Ping, a woman on horseback just stopped us, saying she was Princess An and ran off in that direction." A leading guard raised his hand and pointed in the direction Shen Yuexi had fled, "We were just about to chase the carriage."
Xiao Beiheng angrily said, "That was the roar of the Jade Lion Zhaoye. No need to chase the carriage, chase Princess An."
After saying that, he rushed out first and chased after Shen Yuexi.
Shen Yuexi rode Xiaobai along another road, thinking that the pursuers could not catch up. But she had not been running for long when she heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from behind. The sound was so intense that it sounded like a horse.
She was shocked. Whose horse was this that could actually catch up with Xiaobai? Without even turning back, she squeezed her legs against the horse's belly and shouted:
"Run."
Xiaobai spread his hooves, and Shen Yuexi felt a gust of wind blowing in her face, so loud it hurt. The dark scenery around her was whizzing and left behind.
After running for a while, the sound of horse hooves behind him not only did not go away, but became closer.
A horse that could even catch up with Xiaobai, and belonging to Prince An's palace, could only be Wuzhui. And Wuzhui's owner could easily tell who it was.
Since there was no way to get rid of it, Shen Yuexi simply stopped the horse.
Xiao Beiheng rode up to her, pulled the reins, and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law is so rude. You came to Anzhou so late at night and didn't even let me, your younger brother, show some courtesy... You're in such a hurry to leave."
Shen Yuexi sighed and said, "How could you catch up with me even though I ran so fast? Are you still brooding over your last failure?"
Xiao Beiheng laughed heartily and said, "Sister-in-law is pregnant, so it's not appropriate for her to ride a horse. Let's go back to the palace together. Momo still wants to talk to you."
Shen Yuexi also knew that she couldn't escape, so she said, "I'm just hungry. I want to drink some tea and eat some snacks."
"Sister-in-law is an honored guest, so this little thing is nothing to worry about," Xiao Beiheng turned his horse around, "I will host a banquet to entertain sister-in-law when we return to the palace. Anzhou has many scenic spots, and sister-in-law can have a good time for a while."
Shen Yuexi knew Xiao Beiheng's plan was to hold her hostage. But she wasn't too worried. With the universal manufacturing machine, if she wanted to escape, she could just dig a hole and run away.
The two of them slowly returned to the palace. Shen Yuexi got off the horse and someone immediately came up and took the horse away.
Shen Yuexi was stunned for a moment. Her horse had been taken away. Even if she could escape, she wouldn't be able to get far. Besides, she didn't have any money on her... She could only take things one step at a time.
Xiao Beiheng did not make things difficult for her, but doubling the number of soldiers guarding was enough to show his thoughts.
When they got to the house, the maid brought tea and snacks. Shen Yuexi was indeed hungry, so she picked up the snacks and started eating. After eating two snacks, Su Mo's voice rang out from outside the door: "Sister-in-law, I'm here to talk to you."
Shen Yuexi looked up and her eyes met Su Mo's as she walked in.
Shen Yuexi stood up suddenly and walked quickly to Su Mo: "Did he hit you?"
The bright candlelight illuminated Su Mo's swollen cheeks, and the red handprints were as clear as if they were printed on her face.
Su Mo touched her swollen face, lowered her head and said nothing.
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