The two found a place that was shielded from the wind. Fen Ling moved two rocks over and he and Su Rong each sat down on one.
A guard brought over a rabbit, collected some firewood, and cleaned the rabbit. Su Rong and Fen Ling sat on the rocks around the fire roasting the rabbit.
Fen Ling guessed, "Do you think Lord Thursday and Ning Ze let Zhang Mao escape?"
"Don’t jinx it." Su Rong turned the rabbit over, watching it sizzle on the fire.
Fen Ling made a spitting sound twice and said, "They’re definitely going to catch him." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
He pulled out bottles and jars from his pocket, some filled with oil, others with salt, or a special blend of five spices for roasting meat.
Proficiently, he unscrewed each cap and poured the contents onto the roasting rabbit. Seeing the oil sizzle and the aroma spread, he was in high spirits, "Sis, we have a great harvest tonight."
"Hmm." Su Rong also thought that their two days and one night of hard work hadn’t been in vain. They had at least uprooted most of the secret agents in Nanping City, eliminating at least eighty to ninety percent of the threats. As for the rest, they could be slowly taken care of by Ning Chi after he had dealt with the eighteen gangs with Zhou Gu. This was probably still the best outcome they could expect.
Fen Ling smirked, "I wonder how Marquis Nanping would feel after discovering that we’ve dug up more than a dozen of his hidden agents."
"He probably wouldn’t be so stubborn anymore, and would willingly step down to let Ning Chi support the Eastern Palace." Su Rong replied.
Fen Ling nodded, "As long as he isn’t stupid, he should understand that the position of the Crown Prince is more stable than Mount Tai. Plus, Ning Ze is with us and both of his sons are on our side. Unless he is crazy, he shouldn’t be thinking of anything else."
Su Rong hummed in agreement.
The rabbit was cooked. Each of them took a leg and enjoyed the deliciously aromatic meat.
As they were halfway through their meal, they suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps not too far away. It seemed like there were hundreds of them. Fen Ling raised an eyebrow, while Su Rong continued enjoying her roasted rabbit unconcernedly.
In a moment, the cacophony of footsteps barge in from the side, and their eyes were drawn to the pair sitting by the campfire roasting rabbits.
One person was being guarded by the group. He was a young master who looked quite handsome.
Su Rong squinted her eyes, then suddenly laughed. She had found what she was looking for without even trying. Zhou Gu and Ning Chi had besieged eighteen gangs with great effort and the person they were after had just practically walked right into her hands while she was roasting a rabbit.
She had seen the portrait of Zhang Mao, the legitimate son of Zhang Ping, in the secret chamber of the Eastern Palace’s treasures. Plus, she had a photographic memory.
Even though Fen Ling hadn’t seen Zhang Mao’s portrait, it was obvious to him that these men had escaped from the eighteen gangs. And the young master who was being protected by so many people could only be Zhang Mao.
He too was instantly delighted.
Fen Ling dropped the rabbit leg, stood up, wiped his hands with a handkerchief and snapped his fingers.
He didn’t say anything, but in a split second, hundreds of secret agents appeared from all directions and surrounded the hundreds of intruders.
The calm and composed expression on Zhang Mao’s face changed instantly.
He had recognized Su Rong. When Su Rong had stirred up a storm in the capital city of Daliang, the Pingxi General’s Residence in Jibei had received the news, along with portraits of her and Fen Ling.
Zhang Mao had hastily fled from the eighteen gangs with his men, never anticipating that he would run into Su Rong, who was casually roasting a rabbit in this place. He suspected that the two were lying in wait for him.
Matching his gaze, Su Rong, who still held rabbit in her hand and remained seated, reassured herself, "Young Master Zhang, you’re overthinking. I happened to be roasting a rabbit here and had no intention of waiting for you."
After finishing her statement, she laughed, "But well, I have always been a lucky person. I often stumble upon good things that others can’t find."
Zhang Mao didn’t quite believe Su Rong’s words, as he refused to believe that he was this unlucky.
Looking at the secret guards of Su Rong who had surrounded him, he saw hundreds of them, several times more than the men he had brought with him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have more secret guards, but because he was going to the eighteen gangs and needed to keep it a secret, he had deliberately brought only a few men with him. But now, he regretted it.
He had managed to dodge thirty thousand soldiers and Zhou Gu’s secret search, but had not avoided running into Su Rong.
He could only grit his teeth and bow to Su Rong, as there was no room for idle chatter. Knowing that time was of the essence, he worried that if he delayed any longer, Zhou Gu would arrive with his men. He straightforwardly said to her, "Miss Su Qi, nice to meet you. I am Zhang Mao. If Miss Su Qi were willing to let me go today, I would unequivocally support Miss Su Qi’s claim to the throne of Nanchu. You should know that the Nangong Family has already reached out to Pingxi General’s Residence. My father has agreed to give up half of our family wealth to the Nangong Family. Your journey back to Nanchu wouldn’t be easy, but with the support of the Zhang Family, things would be different. I will assure you a smooth transition to the Nanchu throne, and will also breach the agreement with the Nangong Family, allowing Pingxi General’s Residence to fully support you and help you counter the Nangong Family."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong raised an eyebrow, "How can I trust you, Young Master Zhang?"
Seeing her wavering, Zhang Mao was delighted. He quickly reached into his waistband, pulled out a token and threw it to Su Rong, "This token serves as a symbol of my promise."
Su Rong reached out to catch it, looked at it, put it aside, still holding onto the roasted rabbit, and shook her head, "No deal."
Zhang Mao’s face changed, "Then what guarantee do you want?"
Su Rong shook her head again.
Zhang Mao skilfully asked, "May I ask Miss Su Qi what I should do to gain your agreement?"
Su Rong sighed, "Young Master Zhang, you’re quite clever. Sadly, you’re a Zhang, son of the Pingxi General, and as such, it’s all in vain."
Zhang Mao’s face turned pale. Looking at the token he had just thrown over, he asked, "Were you just making fun of me?"
"Not really, you just threw over the token too quickly." Su Rong reminded him kindly, "Young Master Zhang, you better act fast! If you delay any longer, you really won’t be able to escape. Let’s see who is stronger, your secret guards or mine."
Zhang Mao struggled with his words, "I am indeed Zhang Ping’s son, but why is that in vain?"
Su Rong laughed and replied, "Because your father is ambitious and your family wants to rebel. You should have no hope of me letting you go since you know my identity. My mother played a major role in preserving Daliang, and now, do you think I would let you destroy the royal family with surname Yan?"
Zhang Mao had no more words to say. He turned white and draw his sword, ordering his guards, "Kill, break out."
As soon as he finished his order, both sides of the fight began to move. Just then, Zhou Gu and his secret agents caught up.
Zhou Gu arrived and was stunned for a bit. Watching the relaxed woman who was eating roasted rabbit by the fire, he exclaimed in surprise, "Su Rong?"
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