If possible, they will be able to return to the palace in the next few days.
But seeing the cruelty in the Queen Mother's eyes, he knew that things would not be that simple. She wanted to kill him now. Dongfang Jin became secretly alert, but she would not be so cruel to Dongfang Run, her only grandson.
The empress dowager coldly observed the family standing in front of her. The pretty look on An Qingran's face made her feel suffocated. Lou Wanyue's miserable look that day was still in her mind. She was not surprised that Dongfang Run liked An Qingran, but she was surprised that her grandson didn't even love Jiangshan, which was quite similar to Dongfang Jin in front of her.
"Well, you really have the style of the late emperor." The Queen Mother laughed in anger, "You can go back and wait for the news."
Dongfang Jin returned to the yard where they were imprisoned. An Qingran's forehead was covered with sweat, so fine and dense that even the tip of his nose was sparkling.
Dongfang Jin gently wiped her with his sleeve and said with a smile: "Now you know my trick, right?"
"How did you do it? Dongfang Run's kung fu is not weak either, and he is often followed by a group of guards. Lou Wanyue and the child are all in the front yard, so I think there must be a lot of guards."
"But they did it." Dongfang Jin smiled, "With my life on the line, the secret guards will do it no matter how difficult it is. But I didn't dare to do it because I thought you were in the hands of the Queen Mother, so I had to take the risk to come and see you. I felt relieved. You don't think that I am willing to be captured just to die with you stupidly, but don't want to live happily?"
"Okay, stop bragging. I know you're great." An Qingran said with a smile, "I hope Ran'er can be as smart as you."
"As smart as you." Dongfang Jin held An Qingran's waist. "You were able to escape from Dongfang Run's villa. If it hadn't been for the mistake, we would have met a long time ago. It's because I'm too stupid that I couldn't find you and lost you."
"It's not your fault, nor is it Ren Dong's fault. We deserve this hardship. From now on, everything will go smoothly."
Dongfang Jin didn't say anything when he heard this. He looked up at the sky. It was still sunny, which was rare, just like his face at the moment. However, he didn't feel as relaxed as he looked. If there was any mistake in the process of kidnapping Dongfang Run, he would put the three of them in danger. For example, Dongfang Run escaped, someone got injured, or something happened to the child. All of these were unpredictable.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother still cares about it.
More than just caring!
The kingdom of Dongze was built for Dongfang Run. Dongfang Bo is old and the possibility of having another child is small. If anything happens to Dongfang Run, Dongfang Bo will probably be defeated without a fight. The same goes for Princess Shou. Can they let an old woman like her go into battle?
Princess Shou is now crying in front of her, and has been crying all the time. Ever since they learned the news of Dongfang Run's disappearance, Prince Shou and Princess Shou have been in disarray. Fortunately, the Queen Mother thought of Dongfang Jin and got the exact news. Princess Shou was the first to come to the Queen Mother and asked her to rescue Dongfang Run and his family of three at all costs, and to agree to any conditions proposed by the other party.
"Look, Emperor Yunqi is still fine, and Dongfang Jin and his family of three are still in our hands. You look like you've lost the battle, and it's really hard to stick it on the wall." The Queen Mother glared at Dongfang Bo.
Dongfang Bo just lowered his head and did not refute.
In this scene, the usually docile Princess Shou suddenly stopped crying. She didn't even wipe the tears from her face. She just looked at the Queen Mother with a resolute expression: "Please, Queen Mother, make the decision. I want to go see Dongfang Jin."
"It's no use for you to go see him. He obviously came here without preparation. Do you think he can say anything useful? You'd better wait."
"I'll go see him." Princess Shou repeated.
"Okay, go ahead." The Queen Mother waved her hand impatiently. Why didn't I realize before that she was also a person with a bad temper?
In fact, if a person who is usually gentle becomes stubborn, it can be fatal.
Princess Shou met Dongfang Jin with tears on her face. Dongfang Jin and An Qingran stood up. Neither of them greeted her, but they still called her aunt.
Princess Shou didn't care about these distractions, but said to An Qingran: "I didn't know you were here, and I didn't know Run'er had taken you to the other courtyard. Are you okay? I asked the Queen Mother for permission to come and see you."
Her tone was urgent. As she spoke, she took a closer look at the baby, with a unique maternal glow on her face. She said with emotion, "It really looks like Jin'er. Has the child been named?"
At this moment, there was warmth flowing in the room, as if they were no longer enemies but still relatives as before.
An Qingran whispered the name, and Princess Shou nodded and glanced at Dongfang Jin: "Jin'er is still thoughtful and really cares about you. It's all because of Run'er's stupidity that he trapped you. Fortunately, he hasn't made any big mistakes. Otherwise, I, as a mother... It's all because of me, as a mother, who didn't educate him well. If you want to blame someone, just blame me."
An Qingran shook his head: "Now the two armies are facing each other, and national affairs are at the forefront. This is all later."
"Yes..." Princess Shou sighed, with embarrassment on her face. "You know, I didn't mean to distance myself from the matter. I am the person who least likes to cause trouble and prefers a quiet life. But I didn't expect that I would make such a big mistake in my life. It cannot be made up. Jin'er, if you can go back, apologize to the emperor on behalf of Prince Shou and me. Now..." She stopped here in embarrassment.
Dongfang Jin then spoke up: "Aunt, we also know about this matter. It was the Queen Mother's intention, and Princess Shou is filial... Also, aunt, you came here to ask about Dongfang Run, right? I admit that I arranged this matter, and I had no choice. I hope aunt won't blame me, but I have to tell you the truth. I have ordered my secret guards not to hurt them at all. Will this make aunt feel more at ease?"
Princess Shou showed gratitude in her eyes: "I understand. I really am too embarrassed to see you. To be honest, if it weren't for Run'er, I would never be able to see you in my life."
An Qingran had a faint smile on her face, she believed that she was telling the truth.
If she were to extend this to others, if it were her own son, she would only hope that he would live a peaceful life. As for power and position, she really wouldn't put it at the top of her priority list at the moment.
After talking for a while, Princess Shou left. An Qingran sighed, "This is truly the heart of a mother."
Dongfang Jin snorted coldly: "Dongfang Run and I have a grudge. I let him go before. It seems that I was too careless."
An Qingran just sighed, she had no way to persuade him.
Think about it again, if another woman had detained Dongfang Jin, she would not be less angry, right?
Two days later.
The weather is slightly cloudy.
Finally, Dongfang Jin and his family of three were taken out.
After getting on the carriage, Dongfang Jin and An Qingran smiled at each other. They knew that today was an extremely important day. If everything went well, they would return to Beijing.
If things don’t go well…
An Qingran hugged the child tightly in her arms, she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Dongfang Jin said softly, "If we exchange hostages later, I will hold the child and you can walk as fast as you can in front of me. Do you understand?"
An Qingran nodded. How could she not understand?
I just don't know where to choose to exchange the hostages.
The carriage stopped soon.
The place for exchanging hostages was chosen at the junction of the two armies' spheres of influence.
It is an open plain between two mountains.
An Qingran knew this place. Not far ahead was where the robbers appeared that day.
This is where she and Honeysuckle passed when they escaped.
She looked at the mountains on both sides and felt a little uneasy.
Dongfang Jin looked at the camps of both sides, with their guns and armors shining, each of them arranged in a long snake formation. Under Dongze's banner, there was also a general's flag with the word "An" on it which was very eye-catching. An Qingran felt warm at the sight, for it was his father who had come to greet him in person.
On this side, amid the sound of war drums, the Queen Mother sat on a high sedan chair, wearing a phoenix robe that looked majestic and imposing. Prince Shou and his wife were beside her. The wife looked a little nervous, and Prince Shou had a gloomy face, and no one knew what he was thinking.
In the open area in the middle, there are thin grasses and unknown wild flowers blooming, red and white, spreading out in dots. There is no tension of the coming war, and it is very leisurely.
Facing the wind, An Qingran held Dongfang Jin's hand tightly, and they smiled at each other.
Ten feet away, one could see Dongfang Run and his family of three, also standing tall.
The hostages on both sides have handsome figures and are particularly pleasing to the eye.
Finally, the drums sounded again from both sides, and both sides agreed that after the drums stopped, both sides would send out the hostages.
The beats of the drums were like a beating against her heart. An Qingran felt that her heart was beating in unison with the beats of the drums, and her palms slowly began to sweat.
Finally, the drums stopped and the guards pushed them forward. An Qingran walked very quickly. Dongfang Jin walked behind her holding the child. Because she was so excited, An Qingran almost didn't know which leg to step with.
The hostages on both sides walked very quickly.
When Lou Wanyue and An Qingran passed by each other, their eyes met. Lou Wanyue had something to say, but An Qingran didn't listen. She could see her apology. She smiled. Dongfang Run also walked behind Lou Wanyue. Just when the two hostages were staggered, suddenly, Dongfang Jin found that there was something moving in the grass, as if something was winding underground. He shouted to run, and he shot out like an arrow, stepped on the bulge, and there was only a scream, and he was not able to get out completely. The knife was kicked off the ground. However, there was more than one person hiding under the grass at this moment. Dozens of people came out with arrows in their hands and shot at Dongfang Jin and the other three. He protected the child in his arms, while An Qingran was only concerned with running. The arrow went straight to her. Dongfang Jin felt a great pain in his heart. He watched the arrow go straight to An Qingran's back. She could not avoid it. As he shouted, he saw a white shadow blocking behind An Qingran. An arrow pierced her shoulder. The person turned around and kicked the person who shot the arrow to the ground...
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