Chapter 94: Finding a Way Out
"I'll go with the Third Miss." Anliu, who was taking care of Ading, heard their conversation and immediately stood up to offer his services. The fork in the road at the cave entrance might be dangerous, so having more help would be a good thing for Qin Xiangnuan. However, it wouldn't be a wise choice for Anliu, who had ulterior motives and was always trying to pry some information and tricks out of her.
Qin Xiangnuan looked around the cave entrance. Qin Yi and Qin Feng needed to stay here to calm the unstable men. They certainly wouldn't listen to outsiders, so someone from the Qin family needed to stay and keep an eye on them. As for Xu Jian and Shou Hou'er, their martial arts skills weren't very high, so they had to continue digging at the snow at the cave entrance, while also keeping an eye on the people in the general's mansion, fearing they might commit suicide or escape.
After all, when it comes to handing over documents at the border, if one person is missing, it will be considered as their dereliction of duty and will cause quite a stir.
After much deliberation, Anliu was the only one who fit the bill. Qin Xiangnuan nodded helplessly, picked up a stick from the ground, lit a torch, and walked towards the fork in the road, keeping two steps behind him. The lack of air and oxygen in the fork in the road caused the torch to flicker, nearly going out several times. Anliu looked at Qin Xiangnuan's profile and saw no fear in her.
"The Third Miss is indeed very courageous. If it were any other daughter, she would definitely not dare to take such a risk right now."
Dark Current seemed to be praising her, but Qin Xiangnuan didn't buy it at all. This group of secret guards were used to reading people's expressions, but the psychology and body movements and micro-expressions she had learned were not easy to master. If she wanted to peek into her true thoughts, she would need to practice for a few more years!
Qin Xiangnuan lowered her eyes and deliberately gave a wry smile. She then gathered her spirits and looked ahead, saying firmly, "Ever since my father was framed by the court for treason, how can I still be the daughter of a powerful family? If I lose my status and still can't change my original personality, I'm afraid I will suffer a lot. My parents always told me that judging the situation is the wisest way."
"We are trapped in the cave now, isolated and helpless. If we are still afraid of this and that, when will we be able to get out?"
Qin Xiangnuan's words made Anliu feel ashamed. He was speechless and followed him silently.
Qin Xiangnuan snorted inwardly as she caught sight of Anliu's expression. Thinking of Jiang Lin, she put on a weak front and said, "Speaking of which, I have to thank the prince. If it weren't for his help in the capital, we probably wouldn't have been able to embark on the road of exile smoothly. Gu Mingqi hated me to the core and wished he had left me in the capital and left my life in the general's mansion. I must have caused the prince a lot of trouble."
"Even though he hasn't shown up directly, given Mingqi's personality, he's definitely going to track him down."
That day, Jiang Lin falsely conveyed the imperial decree to remove Gu Mingqi from the General's Mansion. Even if Gu Mingqi didn't realize it at the time and was deceived, he would definitely investigate the matter thoroughly afterwards. Qin Xiangnuan had always been curious: wasn't Jiang Lin afraid of the Seventh Prince, who was so powerful? Even if he was the child of the Marquis of Xiaoyao, he only had an empty title. Who gave him the courage to oppose Gu Mingqi at every turn?
"Don't worry, Third Miss. It was His Majesty who issued the decree that day, summoning the Seventh Prince back to the palace."
Anliu was clearly being tricked by Qin Xiangnuan, and he began to explain, "Knowing that the Seventh Prince would bring people to the General's Mansion to confiscate the property, the Crown Prince went to the palace early in the morning to play chess with His Majesty, hoping to soften His Majesty's heart and move him to have some compassion, so that he could issue an imperial decree." Compassion? Qin Xiangnuan stopped and looked back at Anliu, saying with sarcasm, "If he truly cared about the general who expanded the territory and defended the country, he wouldn't have believed the rumors."
"Rumors? No, he's just genuinely afraid that Dad will rebel, so he's looking for an excuse."
"The prince is just an idle young master. He was able to serve as an official in the court because of his hereditary status as Marquis Xiaoyao. Why would Your Majesty listen to him and give such great face to the General's Mansion? Even at the cost of rejecting the order to the Seventh Prince?" Qin Xiangnuan knew that the order to confiscate the property was the oral order of His Majesty.
As an emperor, once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back.
It is harder than climbing to heaven to make him take back his decision.
Anliu noticed her disbelief and immediately explained on Jiang Lin's behalf, "Our Crown Prince has been raised in the palace since he was young, and has a very good relationship with His Majesty. Back then, when the Crown Prince was nearly ill and frail, His Majesty even ate a vegetarian diet for several months and even wrote Buddhist scriptures to pray for him! It's just that the Marquis forbids us from speaking of such matters casually, so no one knows about it."
"The prince simply feels that it's not a good idea for the general to stay in the capital. Otherwise, he might not even have had to plead for the general..." Anliu spoke in a flurry of words, like pouring out beans. Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized he had slipped up and swallowed the rest of his sentence. He wanted to raise his hand and slap himself hard twice. What was wrong with him? In the past, in the secret guards' barracks, no matter how much humiliation and torture he endured, he would not reveal a single word about Jiang Lin. But in front of Qin Xiangnuan, he always lost control!
Third Miss, is there any covert method that can make people tell their secrets?
Anliu looked at Qin Xiangnuan with some fear, but Qin Xiangnuan didn't have the time to respond to him. She was thinking suspiciously in her heart, how could a mere prince have such a relationship with the emperor? The original owner's memory also mentioned that Jiang Lin could enter the palace at will.
So... is Jiang Lin's identity really that simple?
The Emperor to him! An absurd thought popped up in Qin Xiangnuan's mind, but she had no way to verify it. The two of them walked along the right fork for a long time. When they thought the road had no end, they suddenly heard the sound of shallow water coming from the front. They were both delighted and hurriedly quickened their pace to run over.
Qin Xiangnuan held a torch and followed the sound. Sure enough, she saw a channel flowing through the cracks in the rocks. She could even see a few small fish and tadpoles swimming happily in it. If water could get out, people could naturally get out too!
"I'll go check it out." Qin Xiangnuan put the torch into Anliu's hand, lifted her skirt, tucked it into her waist, and without saying a word, she groped forward in the freezing water. Anliu had no time to stop her and could only slowly follow her, "Miss San, be careful!"
Qin Xiangnuan gave a perfunctory "hmm" as a response. Following the underground river, she came to a wall. The water flowed along the bottom of the wall, without any obvious holes. "Give me the torch." She turned around, and the undercurrent immediately handed it to her. Qin Xiangnuan held the torch to a slightly lower place, holding her breath. The flame instantly swayed rapidly, and the flame was stretched out extremely long.
"There's wind!" Anliu said in surprise, "We can go out!"
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