Chapter 5: Recognizing the Third Prince as her Sister
"I took the Fengyi County feng shui map and was chased here by the rebels. The people around me have already..." Two soldiers carried a young man covered in blood and came in front of He Zhaojun.
"My lady, the rest of the attendants have been killed. After identification, they were all found to be from the imperial palace in the capital."
This person had a delicate face, no Adam's apple, and an unusual manner and conversation. Suddenly, He Zhaojun had a flash of inspiration: could this person be a court lady from the palace who had drifted away and dressed as a man for ease of movement?
Ahem, this scene is very familiar. She whispered, "Don't be afraid, sister. I will definitely escort you back to the capital."
He Zhaojun frowned and pretended to be serious: "Where's the picture?"
When the Third Prince heard the word "Sister," his vision went dark. He didn't know if it was from the excessive blood loss or the anger of being mistaken for a woman. Because of his handsome appearance, he hated being mistaken for a woman the most. But today, he couldn't refute it.
So he gritted his teeth and said, "It's lost... But I've memorized it in my heart. Give me some time, I can redraw it."
He Zhaojun only glanced at him, then took off her outer garment and used it as a canvas. "I don't know if he's a friend or foe, so tie him up first and have someone watch him while you paint... Don't tie him too tightly."
She understood that when Prince Yong and his son missed their target and fled, they would think that the He family had come prepared. Prince Yong, nearly sixty years old, dared to rebel, which showed that he was more cautious than impulsive.
The actions of himself and his men as they advanced all the way towards the enemy's base camp seemed to be fearless in the eyes of Prince Yong and his son. They had no idea whether they had support, so they certainly did not dare to act rashly.
These pursuers must have received orders to be careful of ambushes on the road, which is why they were reluctant to move forward.
Sure enough, until the smoke and dust in the woods dissipated a little, the enemy was still lying in ambush and surrounding in the distance, refusing to move forward.
They had almost rested when a scout from the front came back with a report: "My lady, the enemy has five thousand men. It's just as you said. They want to encircle us, but they haven't advanced yet. What should we do?"
He Zhaojun was eating a stone cake and choked when she heard this.
Five thousand?
I had originally thought that my poorly planned plan would attract 1,800 men, which was already a good number. Who could have imagined that 5,000 would show up? It seemed that Prince Yong and his son were truly determined to kill the He family without mercy, and they wanted to put the entire family to death.
She looked at the people following her, each of them with admiration in their eyes, and felt a little guilty.
He just knew in advance that King Yong was going to rebel and made some preparations, but in their eyes, he became like a god.
He Zhaojun bravely said: "Let's hold our mouths shut and our horses take off their bells[4] and continue our journey towards Linjin County!"
She climbed onto the horse's back, sitting unsteadily. The group of people rode forward again. Comparing the picture on her robe, there was indeed a quiet and deep forest here. He Zhaojun stopped the group.
"The terrain here is dangerous and suitable for an ambush. We will go around the woods and hide in a nearby cave. We will leave ten of us behind to cover our retreat and eliminate any nearby footprints."
Wu Bi was puzzled: "What's the reason?"
"The empty city plan... In short, it's a deliberate attempt to confuse the enemy." He Zhaojun pretended to be mysterious, but in fact she was unsure.
They climbed into the cave. It was already dark, and they didn't dare to light a fire to keep warm. He Zhaojun was freezing like a grandson, with a big runny nose: "Fighting is too much suffering..."
The skin on her thighs and buttocks was rubbed raw, but except for the two maids, the rest were men, so she couldn't say this.
The man she had rescued was now suffering from a high fever and looked weak and powerless. He Zhaojun couldn't bear it and quickly reached out to hug him. He Zhaojun swallowed two bites of the biscuit, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and grabbed some straw to cover the two of them for warmth.
"You...what are you doing? How outrageous!" The third prince's face flushed red, and he was extremely embarrassed.
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