Chapter 207 Distress
The misunderstanding was resolved. Anyway, the three of them could talk and get along with each other like before. The identities of Prince Qi and Lin Runan were different, but Meimei felt that they didn't look like a couple at all. She deliberately fell behind and walked with Zhang Jingyun, letting Prince Qi and Lin Runan walk side by side. Unexpectedly, they stopped at the same time and looked back. Prince Qi walked forward by himself and ignored Lin Runan, while Lin Runan insisted on waiting for Meimei to come up and walk with her.
Helplessly, Zhang Jingyun looked at Meimei with a smile and let the two women walk side by side while he went forward to accompany King Qi.
The road gradually narrowed and became steeper. On both sides, there were tall salt stalks and reed bushes with slender leaves. The river on the right could not be seen, but the sound of the rapidly flowing river became clearer and clearer. Zhang Jingyun turned around and said, "Watch the road carefully, don't go too far to the right!"
Just as she finished speaking, Lin Runan stepped on a broken round wooden stick as big as a thumb. The sole of her boot slipped and she rushed down with a scream, just like Meimei who had just run on the slope. Her speed was not faster than her, but her momentum was also strong. Meimei was walking in front, thinking that she was not strong enough, and if she was hit, the two of them would have to fall down together. It would be better to let her rush to King Qi and Zhang Jingyun, where there were several trees on the side of the road that could stop them.
In a flash, Meimei subconsciously turned around and dodged, completely ignoring the terrain on the right. She took just half a step and fell into the salt stalk bushes with a bang, and disappeared instantly!
"Meimei!"
The King of Qi was leaning against a tree. He quickly grabbed Lin Runan and turned around to push her against the tree. He hurriedly followed Zhang Jingyun and ran up, pushing aside the salt stalks to look for Meimei.
There was another person who screamed in shock—Xu Junying rushed over with Baoju and Baizhan, and actually saw Meimei fall off the cliff with his own eyes!
He and the Emperor, Duke Dingguo, Marquis Changle and others captured and subdued the Silver Leopard alive. In their joy, they carried the Silver Leopard to a flatter place and planned to find a way down the mountain. At this time, he thought of Meimei, and discussed with Marquis Changle to ask people to look back for them. Unexpectedly, they only found the wife of Marquis Changle and a group of soldiers who followed her. The wife of Marquis Changle cried with red eyes, blaming herself for chasing pheasants and not taking the wife of Marquis Weiyuan with her. The soldiers said that they saw the wife from a distance when they followed her, but when they got closer, there was no trace of her. They thought they were following the wife of Marquis Changle, so they followed all the way. Unexpectedly, they only found the wife of Marquis Changle. The wife of Marquis Changle discovered that the wife of Marquis Weiyuan was missing, so she quickly took everyone back to look for her, but she could no longer find her.
Xu Junying was stunned on the spot, his hands and feet seemed to be limp. After he came to his senses, he hurriedly ordered Baoju to divide the soldiers into several teams and go back to look for him. He also told the emperor that he would go up the mountain again to look for him.
The emperor comforted him, "Don't panic! The wild animals on this mountain have also been driven away. Unless she falls somewhere, she will not be in danger. The sun is still shining. Leave a dozen people to watch the leopard to prevent it from going wild. The rest of you go up the mountain - we should be able to find it now!"
Marquis Changle scolded his wife. The wife of Marquis Changle felt guilty and just cried, but she wanted to go up the mountain with them. Everyone persuaded her to go down. Marquis Changxing's wife stayed by her side to comfort her. She thought to herself: Fortunately, I ran fast and followed the men, otherwise I would not be able to escape this scolding.
Less than half a mile away, they met an attendant sent by the King of Qi, who reported: "The wife of Marquis Weiyuan lost her way and was stuck on the mountain. She was met by His Royal Highness the King of Qi and is now heading down the mountain to the east with the large group of people!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Junying thanked the marquises and asked them to go back the same way to accompany the emperor down the mountain. He was worried about Meimei, so he took Baoju and Baizhan and hurried up the mountain to catch up with them. However, he didn't expect that when he caught up with them, before he could shout, he saw Lin Runan had an accident. If Meimei didn't avoid her, it could be one person or two people who fell off the cliff by the roadside...
Finding Meimei not nearby, several men drew their sabers and chopped away, slashing away the large patch of salt stalks and silver grass on the right side of the road. There was indeed a cliff below, with a patch of kudzu vines growing under the cliff. The palm-sized oval leaves were densely packed and dark green, but there was no sign of Meimei? And a few dozen feet below the cliff was the turbulent river!
Did he really fall into the water? Xu Junying was stunned for a moment, threw the long sword in his hand to the ground, and was about to jump off the cliff, but Baoju Baizhan stopped him: "Master, this vine..."
The King of Qi had already grabbed a handful of thin vines to test his strength, then leaped off the cliff. The vines were too thin, and even if he grabbed more than ten of them, it was still difficult to support his weight. Several roots growing on top broke immediately, and large pieces of vines and leaves were dragged down by him, revealing the green stone. Zhang Jingyun shouted:
"King Qi, be careful! The ones on the left are a little thicker. Grab them and go to the right. There is a bunch of protruding green leaves underneath. It should be a stone step. Try stepping on it!"
The King of Qi did as he was told, leaned forward to look to the lower left, and shouted, "Cen Meimei!"
The woman's clear voice seemed to come from a cave: "Here! I'm here!"
Everyone on the road was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Junying's clothes were soaked with cold sweat. He looked at the vines on the cliff. They were too thin. The King of Qi was tall and thin, and he could barely go down with his weight, but he had to be extremely careful. If one more person went down, the vines would not be able to support it.
The King of Qi knelt on the stone steps, holding the vine tightly with his right hand, and his head and upper body went into the kudzu leaves, then slowly withdrew. The vine roots on top were straining and becoming more and more tense. Zhang Jingyun and Xu Junying stared at the vine roots nervously, then looked at the King of Qi below. Meimei appeared! Her light blue skirt fluttered in the air, and her right hand was tightly clasped with the King of Qi's left hand.
Lin Runan came closer, knelt down and sobbed softly: "Buddha! Keep them safe!"
When the King of Qi pulled Meimei up halfway, he suddenly looked up and shouted, "Xu Junying! I will save your wife for you, but you have to agree to one condition!"
Xu Junying was tense and hurriedly replied, "Okay, I agree!"
The King of Qi added: "No, there are three conditions!"
Xu Junying gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness Prince Qi, please rescue them. I will do whatever it takes!"
Meimei was so angry that she almost died. What time was it now? She was so uncomfortable being hung in the air, and this Zhao Bao was still there negotiating terms!
She yelled, "Zhao Bao! My arm is going to break! If you don't want to save me, let me go!"
Damn, it was not easy to jump into the water from that position in the cave just now because there were hidden rocks underneath. Now I'm hoisted out and there is a deep water area below, a small crescent-shaped pond. The water flow is not fast, so I can still swim back to the shore after splashing a few times.
Xu Junying stopped him: "Don't let it go!"
The King of Qi cursed: "You have no conscience, I will just throw you down!"
Lin Runan was nervous, but she was angry and amused when she heard their shouting: "You stupid girl! You are still talking nonsense at this time! If that person really lets go, there will be no hope of saving you!"
Xu Junying looked around: "Baoju and Baizhan haven't come back yet. They went to find some thicker vines!"
Zhang Jingyun was reminded and said hurriedly: "Oh, by the way, I'm afraid that Madam Weiyuan can't climb up, there is a rope!"
He shouted towards the mountain: "Shan Yong! General Shan Yong!"
Shan Yong and his group hurried down, "Mr. Zhang, what's the matter? Why are you yelling? What happened? Where's the master?"
Zhang Jingyun pointed: "Down there!"
When the guards saw this, they gasped: the prince had told them not to follow too closely, so they tried to stay behind, and actually something happened!
Someone volunteered to go down and pull King Qi up, but Shan Yong shouted, "This is a slippery cliff, and these thin vines, do you want to harm me? Everyone, step back!"
The guards stepped back, and Shan Yong opened the wide belt inlaid with silver beads around his waist, and pulled out several thin and flexible steel cables from it. The cables became longer and longer, hanging straight down the cliff. Below the cliff, King Qi had already pulled Meimei up onto the stone steps. Seeing the cables hanging down, King Qi taught Meimei to wrap the cables around her arms several times, hold on tightly with her hands, and then shouted to the people above to pull up. Meimei climbed up the kudzu vines and was pulled up in a moment.
When they were almost at the top of the cliff, Xu Junying leaned over and reached down, lifted her up, and checked her body: "Where are you hurt?"
Meimei let out a long breath and smiled, "It's okay! I'm not hurt anywhere! Ah! I don't have to die again!"
Xu Junying gently stroked her shoulders, speechless for a moment, looking sadly at the bloody scratches on her pink face caused by the grass and vines. He wanted to raise his hand to touch it but pulled it back, feeling distressed, but could only ask: "Does it hurt?"
Lin Runan pulled up her right hand and rubbed it gently, saying with tears in her eyes: "It must be very painful! It's all my fault..."
Meimei shook her head, "It's my fault for being careless. Jingyun just reminded me! It's okay. I'm coming up now, aren't I? Fortunately, these vines are well-grown and hang down to a large stone cave under the cliff. I could grab two of them if I fell down. The vines were too thin and broke after shaking a few times. They threw me into the cave. There were rocks on the wall, which were just enough for me to fit in. The water was noisy and I couldn't hear you. I shouted a few times but there was no response, so I stopped shouting. After a while, I heard the King of Qi... I really have to thank the King of Qi. Come and see if he has come up?"
With the steel cable, the King of Qi climbed up by grabbing the vines without any effort. He had used up all his strength to rescue Meimei just now, so he just let the guards hang him to the top of the cliff. Shan Yong checked his whole body and made sure that he was not injured anywhere, then he felt relieved.
Xu Junying pulled Meimei to kneel down: "Come, let's thank His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi for saving our lives!"
Meimei obediently knelt down. The King of Qi pointed at Shan Yong and asked him to hold Xu Junying. He looked at Lin Runan, who then held Meimei. The King of Qi laughed happily:
"No problem! Weiyuan Hou owes me three conditions, no need to thank me!"
Baoju and Baizhan dragged back a few thick vines, which were no longer needed.
King Qi and Meimei rested for a while, drank some water, and then got ready to go down the mountain. It was already dark by then.
Xu Junying said: "Go down a little further, turn around this mountain, and you will reach our camp!"
Baizhan cut a few straight, smooth and flexible golden bars on the hillside, and the skillful Baoju used the thick rattan strips to weave two simple but comfortable chairs. Shan Yong went to cut four maple trees as thick as calves, and the other two guards went to cut some half-dried and soft dragon beard grass for mats. Meimei and Lin Runan sat on one each, and the guards carried them, walking briskly. Before they reached the foot of the mountain, a large number of people came to help. In just two quarters of an hour, they turned around the mountain and saw several blazing bonfires in front of them, as if they were waiting for their return. The evening breeze was filled with the tempting aroma of meat, arousing everyone's appetite. Everyone became excited, talked and laughed, quickened their pace, and soon returned to the camp.
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