Chapter 53 Prince Charming Saves Beauty
The entrance to the secret passage was narrow, but there was a different world inside. Yu Fei went down a few steps and walked along a long and secluded path.
At first she walked a little slowly, but when she saw that it was quiet and seemed safe all around, she took advantage of the light and ran quickly.
No matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to delay Jing Yi for long by using the excuse of changing clothes. Once he found that there was no one in the room, he would definitely send people to hunt her down and force her to feed him the Changxing Powder.
According to the original text, the exit of the secret passage was in a teahouse on the street behind the palace, which was also Jing Yi's old nest.
Yu Fei estimated that it would take about half a cup of tea to get from the prince's residence to the back door street, but her legs were sore from running and the path seemed endless.
As she went up the stairs again, she saw the exit, which was still a narrow hole covered by a painting on the outside.
She poked her head around and saw that this place looked like a storeroom of a teahouse, with various types of tea stored in it and the air filled with fragrance.
She climbed out quietly, made a quick decision, and jumped out of the window to escape.
Coming out onto the street, she faced two roads.
One was to take a shortcut through the alley beside the palace and meet Jing Cang at the main gate. The other was to take a detour along the busy streets to see if she could run into the imperial army and take her to Jing Cang. Or she could cover her head and escape to the main gate.
As expected, Jing Yi's pursuers arrived soon!
Yu Fei chose the second path.
She thought that although it was convenient to go through the alley, it was risky. It was only separated from the palace by a wall, and Jing Yi's secret guards might be watching her. She would be trapped if she went there. On the street, although everything seemed peaceful, there was actually an undercurrent. Jing Cang came to confront Jing Yi today, so he must have come prepared and ambushed people around the palace.
Yu Fei ran through the gaps in the crowd. She felt that she was too conspicuous on the street in her red dress, so she pulled off a brown gown hanging on a stall nearby and put it on. Without waiting for the boss to shout, she took off a gold hairpin on her head as cash to pay the bill.
If she had the huge sum of 100,000 taels of silver given by Yu's father with her at this moment, her situation would not be so desperate and embarrassing.
Money talks. She could bribe some people to avoid Jing Yi's eyes and ears and stay away from the capital, letting Jing Cang and Jing Yi fight each other. After she disappears, Yu's father will no longer be of any use to Jing Yi, and his life may be safe, and Jing Cang can also let go and pacify Jing Yi.
Unfortunately, there is no if. The fact is that she is penniless. If she runs to some corner, she will be seen as a concubine of a wealthy family. She might be sent to the government to exchange for a bounty. If she meets a bad guy, she will be insulted by her beauty and sold to a brothel to entertain customers. She will not be able to survive! It is better for her to stay with Jing Cang and wait for an opportunity to leave the palace.
Suddenly, she heard a commotion behind her. She turned around and saw two teams of Ning Wangfu guards searching for something in the crowd. When the soldiers came out, the people spontaneously retreated to the sides of the street, and Yu Fei had nowhere to hide.
She had no choice but to walk to the side of the street and walk quickly.
Perhaps because she was too flustered and half her face was covered with her sleeves, she looked like a thief stealing other people's property. Not only did passers-by stare at her, but soon even one of the palace guards pointed at her and shouted, "You woman in brown, stop right there!"
Yu Fei ran away without thinking.
"Quick, catch her!"
"She is the one the prince wants to arrest, alive!"
…
The guards rushed towards her, talking in a flurry.
Yu Fei is considered lazy in modern times, but he was almost the same as in ancient times. There is no way he can outrun these guards who have practiced martial arts all year round.
Seeing them getting closer and closer, and shooting arrows at her from all sides while she ran, she was terrified, fearing that the arrows would accidentally pierce her body and kill her!
When she was at the end of her rope, she took off her ugly brown gown, put on a red skirt and ran while shouting: "Where are the subordinates of the East Palace? I am Yu Fei, come and save me..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a dozen masked men in black descended from the sky, wielding swords like knights in movies, blocking the rain of arrows behind her and intercepting the palace guards' pursuit of her.
"Where is the prince? I want to find the prince." Yu Fei said anxiously to a man in black.
"We have someone to report to Your Highness." The man in black turned around, put away his sword, raised his arm, and motioned for her to help him. "I will take the queen away first."
Yu Fei was surprised for a moment by the other party's address, and immediately put her hand on his arm. The man in black pointed his toes and flew with her like a big bird for a while, then landed to gain leverage and continued to glide at a low altitude.
Although they ran fast, they didn't expect Jing Yi to be even faster. He rode a horse and led a large number of palace soldiers, forcing the East Palace secret guards to retreat step by step. There were even a few men in black who seemed to have fallen to the ground dead.
Jing Yi led his men past the secret guards and rushed straight towards them to kill them.
Arrows rained down on the man in black beside him. He carried her left and right, and was forced to fall to the ground to block the arrows with his sword.
"My queen, run!" the man in black shouted.
Yu Fei wanted to ask him, didn't the prince deploy troops here? His side was beaten so badly, and those troops didn't come out to help.
On second thought, in ancient times, sending troops required the general's order or tiger talisman. If Jing Cang didn't allow it, no one would dare to act without authorization. Moreover, the East Palace Secret Guards and the Imperial Guards originally belonged to two factions.
Yu Fei ran as fast as he could again.
But the man in black could not stop Jing Yi's brutal troops. He fell under Jing Yi's horse hooves, and countless palace soldiers trampled over him. When Jing Yi saw her turn around, he curled his lips and sneered, jumped up, raised his bow and arrow and shot at her!
Yu Fei felt like a beast being targeted by a hunter, and there was no way he could escape his clutches.
With a whoosh, a sharp arrow flew towards her. Her legs seemed to be nailed down and she had no strength to escape. Perhaps she could not escape at all. In the blink of an eye, the arrow pierced her left shoulder fiercely. The strong force and piercing pain made her fall to the ground.
Jing Yi rode his horse towards her.
Yu Fei wanted to get up and run again, but he heard a loud and resounding horn sound in front of him, followed by a rumbling sound like thunder on the ground, as if thousands of troops were rushing in from all directions like a tide.
She couldn't help crying with joy. It was Jing Cang who received the news and rushed over!
Yu Fei looked up and saw Jing Cang riding a snow-white horse galloping towards her.
She thought with amusement: No wonder such cliché plots as the prince charming and the hero saving the beauty are so popular in romance novels. Which woman could withstand such a situation after surviving a near-death experience?
But when Jing Cang saw her, his face showed no joy, but worry and fear. He stared angrily behind her.
Yu Fei seemed to have a premonition of something.
She turned around and saw Jing Yi pointing an arrow at her. If she and Jing Cang made any unusual movements, the arrow would pierce her neck.