Chapter 52 Escape from the Fox's Mouth
I was startled and quickly lifted the carriage curtain. I saw a group of people galloping towards us in the distance. The bright purple figure in the middle made me feel a little scared, even though I had no backbone.
With the city gate just inches away, Hua Yingxiong lashed out with his whip. The horse, in pain, let out a long neigh and charged out of the city gate like an arrow released from a bow.
We're out of Xuchang! I breathed a slight sigh of relief, then almost laughed. If I had known I would escape Xuchang in such a sorry state, would I have saved Cao Cao and stayed at the Prime Minister's residence?
"Little wolf cub, I think you should just submit to the Prime Minister. From now on, you'll have a comfortable life with plenty of food and clothing. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Hua Yingxiong said jokingly from outside the carriage, his laughter tinged with a slight pant, suggesting that he was also nervous.
I scoffed, "Enjoy that life of luxury yourself."
"Sister, don't you like Aman?" Gou'er suddenly asked in a low voice from the side.
“Who would like that big fox!” I said through gritted teeth.
"Really?" The dog stared at me with wide eyes.
"More real than pearls!"
The dog actually laughed, its white teeth contrasting against its dirty face, making it look like a doll that had received candy.
"Sister, let's abandon the car."
I paused for a moment, then thought about it carefully. Cao Cao was right behind me. If we traveled by carriage so openly, we would be too conspicuous and he would catch us sooner or later. It would also implicate Hua Yingxiong. It would be better to do as Gou'er suggested and abandon the carriage and travel on foot, which would make it less likely to be discovered.
I nodded and stood up, but accidentally stepped on the hem of my skirt. I swayed and was about to fall when Gou'er rushed over to support me.
I straightened up, leaning on the dog's hand. I looked down at the cumbersome long dress, and gritted my teeth as I pulled out a Swiss Army knife from my bag. I slashed the floor-length hem down to my knees, freeing my legs. Then I raised my hand and slashed the sleeves at an angle, cutting off the bulky sleeves down to my elbows. I felt much more refreshed.
"Doggy, we'll get off up ahead." I turned to look at Doggy, but he looked strange, his back stiff as he stared out the window, refusing to look at me. I couldn't help but wonder, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Sister...your skirt is so short..." Gou'er stammered.
"Haha, what does it matter? Hurry up and get ready to get off the bus." It turns out she's a little antique. If it were my time, she'd even have miniskirts. I laughed and pulled the dog along, saying, "Hua Yingxiong, stop the car."
"What?" Hearing my voice, Hua Yingxiong turned around and lifted the carriage curtain.
The dog stepped forward and grabbed the carriage curtain tightly, shouting, "Wait!"
"Dog, what are you doing?" I looked at Dog with some surprise as he bent down and squatted down, his face flushed. He tore the robe I had just cut off into strips and tied them thinly around my calves, covering my bare legs like leg wraps. Then he did the same thing, wrapping the sleeves around my arms.
"What are you doing?" Hua Yingxiong curiously peeked in, then exclaimed, "Wow, so modern! Gou'er, you have a real talent for fashion design!"
The dog was unhappy with the guy's sudden peeking in, glared at him fiercely, stood up, and grabbed my hand, "Sister, let's go."
I stared at Hua Yingxiong, somewhat stunned. "What did you just say? Modernity? Fashion design?" These words... coming from the mouth of someone from this era seemed rather strange...
Hua Yingxiong blinked, looking confused. "What did I say?"
I stared at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what was going on.
"What are you looking at? Aren't you leaving? Do you want to be caught and eaten by the Prime Minister?" Hua Yingxiong glared at me.
I snapped out of my daze, no longer interested in finding out where he came from, and quickly got out of the car with Gou'er.
"Wait here, I'll drive the car away and distract them. Take care of yourselves." Hua Yingxiong glanced at me, then looked warily behind him, and cracked the whip sharply, "Giddy up!"
The carriage continued on its way, and I quickly pulled my dog to hide under the city gate, disappearing into the crowd.
A short while later, a group of people rushed out of the city gate and chased after the carriage, raising a cloud of dust.
I looked at the figure in bright purple riding a horse. His thin lips were tightly pressed together, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. In just a moment, he rode his horse and disappeared from my sight, heading straight for the carriage.
He was angry, very angry, almost driven mad with anger...
I silently curved my lips into a smile. Did the missing substitute puzzle piece make him so angry? Or was he angry because I ran away during his grand banquet, offending him?
As he passed by me, a thin thread on his bright purple belt snapped, and something fell from his waist, silently settling into the dust.
I slowly stepped forward, bent down, and picked it up. It was a jade pendant, the inexpensive jade pendant I had given him. I lowered my head and gently wiped the dust off the jade pendant.
"Sister?" Gou'er's voice sounded from behind.
I tucked the jade pendant into my pocket, turned around, smiled at the dog, and declared boldly, "I'm going to keep moving forward!"
"Wherever my sister goes, I'll follow," Gou'er said earnestly, looking at me.
Leaving Xuchang, the scenery was beautiful, but there were also countless starving corpses, and the traces of war were everywhere.
Fortunately, I had collected a lot of jewelry from the Prime Minister's residence, and Guo Jia also gave me a lot of travel expenses, so I had no worries about food and drink along the way and was extremely happy.
"Doggy, where do you think we should go next?" I asked lazily, nestled in a pile of hay on a sunny afternoon, burping contentedly.
The dog turned its head to look at me, a smile spreading across its bright and pretty face. "I'll do whatever you say, sister."
For some reason, I detected a hint of doting in his voice. I frowned at him, displeased, and pouted, then unleashed my sisterly authority—no, my authoritative power! I said, "That dress you saw at the market yesterday was so pretty, why didn't you wear it?"
Looking at me with his beautiful eyes, the dog's lips twitched slightly, then he laughed and said, "Women's clothes are too flashy, and they're inconvenient for walking."
I raised my eyebrows and reluctantly accepted his explanation.
I stretched with a smile and lay sprawled out on the hay, one arm even resting on the dog.
The dog didn't move, quietly letting me rub it.
The haystack suddenly trembled, probably because the carriage had passed through a gap.
"Girls, where are you going? We're almost at Xuzhou," the old man pulling a cart and pulling hay called out.
I remained still, closing my eyes and enjoying the feeling of the sunlight.
Once we entered the city, I reluctantly jumped off the carriage; that pile of hay was so comfortable…
I gave the old man a few coins, and then I excitedly took my dog and started strolling around the streets eating snacks.
Traveling—that was something I never dared to dream of before, but now I can truly travel the world freely! Is there anything more wonderful than this?
"Doggy, try this!"
"Mmm, delicious."
"Doggy, isn't this pretty?"
"Yes, beautiful."
"Look over there..."
"Um."
A smiling woman in red was running around the street, accompanied by a quiet and handsome young man. Every now and then, the woman in red would turn around and say something, and the handsome young man would smile with his eyes crinkling.
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