Chunhua and Zhang You exchanged a glance, and Zhang You quickly understood her thoughts from her eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang You reached out and grabbed Qiao Si's hand, solemnly saying, "Princess. Let's get off the carriage and put on your clothes to distract the pursuers. You can get in the carriage and escape as far as possible!"
"Yes, Princess. Once we get off the carriage, it will go faster. Once you get to a safe place and signal for rescue, your chances of survival will be greater! Leaving us here will only be a burden!"
"The princess just said she had to send a message and wait for rescue, so she can't stay here with us!"
None of them wanted to die, but Qiao Si's life was more important than their safety.
"No! You'll be caught! They won't let you go!"
"Princess, don't hesitate! If we don't go down, it's only a matter of time before they catch up. Princess, you have more important things to do and you can't die in vain!"
"Princess! I'll go down too! I don't know martial arts, and I'd just be a burden if I followed you in the carriage! Xia He and the others and I will go down together!" Cui Liu was so frightened that her voice was trembling, but she still said through gritted teeth.
"It's not okay! Even if you leave and the carriage doesn't stop, they will still pursue us. Their target is the princess and they won't let us all go easily!" Jingzhu thought about Zhang You and the others' proposal and felt that it was inappropriate.
"What should we do? They're hot on our heels, we can't delay any longer!"
"...Why don't we go together?" Qiuyue came in from outside, lifting the curtain and said seriously, "Why don't we all wear the princess's clothes and pretend to be the princess and escape. You get off the car and run into the woods. Take advantage of the woods and run separately to confuse their sight. They won't find you easily. I'll drive the horse to divert some of the pursuers and take the opportunity to send a signal to attract reinforcements.
They don't know where the princess is, so they will definitely send troops to chase us from all directions. But after they scatter, even if they catch up with us, we can fight and carve out a way for the princess!"
“Good idea!”
"Princess! Let's do this!"
Qiao Si knew that what Qiuyue said was the best solution, but she just didn't want these people to take risks for her. She hesitated and didn't speak for a long time.
"Princess! Don't hesitate!"
The sound of the pursuers behind them was still ringing in their ears. The situation was so tense that they could no longer think.
Zhang You and the others didn't wait for Qiao Si to speak, and had already found Qiao Si's clothes in the carriage and changed into them.
"If we hesitate any longer, they'll catch up! Let's change our clothes and run separately when we reach the fork in the road ahead!"
"Princess, please change your clothes. They all know what you are wearing today!"
"Hurry up! There's no time!"
…
In the midst of the chaos, they had already changed their clothes and were ready to jump out of the car and escape.
Zhang You squatted at the carriage door, his heart pounding. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid, but what was the point of being afraid? One should always be realistic and seek opportunities for survival.
If they jump, if they are lucky, they can escape and save their lives; if they don’t jump, only death awaits them.
When the moment came to jump, Zhang You didn't hesitate much. Her adrenaline surged, and her blood was boiling. She fell from the one-meter-high, speeding carriage to the ground, her arms and knees scraping against the ground. She rolled uncontrollably twice, and every bone in her body ached.
But she had no time to stop. The roaring sound behind her stimulated her eardrums and seemed to penetrate her mind, making her dare not stop for a moment.
Ignoring the pain in her body, she staggered to her feet, forced herself to stay awake, and ran towards the woods in front of her.
Chunhua followed closely behind her, jumped out of the car according to her movements, and climbed up to catch up with her.
Just three seconds after they jumped, before the carriage had even traveled ten meters, Cuiliu and Dongmei also jumped off. A little further, Qiao Si and Jingzhu also jumped off and rushed into the woods. Without anyone else, Qiuyue drove the carriage even faster, leaving the pursuers far behind.
"General! They're both wearing the princess's clothes, so we can't tell which one is which? Which one should we chase?"
"Who cares who she is! Separate and chase her! Don't let any of them go! I'd rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go!"
"You go after the carriage! We'll go after them in the woods!"
"Don't let them get away! If they get lost, we'll all die!"
"Chase!"
The woods here are mostly low-lying grasses. Being close to the capital, there are no heavy rains like in the south, so the grasses and trees in the woods are lush and flourishing, making it a good place for them to hide from the pursuers behind them.
But they were not familiar with the terrain of the woods. Chunhua held Zhang You's hand, and the two of them hurriedly shuttled through the woods with hurried steps, tripping several times over the old dead vines and tree roots on the ground.
A group of guards were chasing after them, each one of them looked ferocious, holding swords high in their hands, their eyes wide open with anger, and shouting that they would cut them into pieces.
Zhang You didn't know if it was sweat from running or cold sweat from fear, but his brain was tense with fear, terror, and panic...
A tangle of emotions swirled around her, and she tripped several times nervously over the protruding tree roots. This repeated stumbling slowed their pace, and the pursuers behind them drew ever closer.
Zhang You's forehead was covered with sweat, and her feet felt like they were filled with lead. She didn't know if it was because of fear or something else, but her steps became heavier and heavier.
"...Chun...Chunhua...just leave me alone...huh...I...I can't do it anymore..."
Zhang You slowed down her pace. She didn't want to drag Chunhua down. She raised her right hand to shake off Chunhua's hand, but found that the hand didn't move at all.
She couldn't run, so Chunhua pulled her along.
Zhang You felt a pulling force coming from her right arm. That force had chosen her unwaveringly and just wanted to take her with it.
"What nonsense are you talking about! Aren't you most afraid of death? Why are you staying here if you don't run away!"
"...I...I'm too scared...I can't run...I'll be a burden to you..."
Zhang You stuttered. She didn't know what was wrong with her. It was as if there was a voice in the dark, criticizing her fate without a doubt, wanting her to die here and end it right there.
"Xia He! Wake up!"
Chunhua's voice was so sharp that it made Zhang You's heart tremble.
In that moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely, and in the intervening blank space, she recalled her past. Perhaps because Zhang You had experienced natural disasters and man-made tragedies since childhood, and had experienced separation and death, every time she faced such a life-and-death situation, fear and terror would fill her heart. Even if her outward appearance didn't show it, her subtle movements couldn't deceive anyone.
Others rarely noticed this characteristic of hers, but Chunhua, who was sensitive and attentive, knew it after spending every day with her.
Whenever she experienced something like this, Zhang You would always nervously twist the beads to ease the tension, but right now, how could Zhang You have the time to calm down?
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