The lady at the house where she was staying was very smart. She had received her tea money before and wanted to protect her. When she saw that the situation was not good, she immediately grabbed a handful of soot from the pot and wiped it on her, and then put on a tattered men's suit for her. Only then did she barely avoid being noticed by the escorts.
They went up the mountain to do hard labor for the bandits. With his small body, Xu Yixing naturally followed the old lady and several children to work in the kitchen every day. At first, he used to wipe his face, but later, his face turned really yellow from the smoke and fire, and he didn't need any decorations anymore.
Who knew that despite all the precautions, one day a bandit would see her. How could they let her go? They immediately tied her up and sent her to the eldest brother's room.
"Speaking of which, I was really lucky. Their boss almost succeeded, but that night the government army came to suppress the bandits for some reason, so I hurried out to resist." Xu Yixing said, chanting "Amitabha", and was sincerely grateful to the Bodhisattva.
Ying Wu disagreed. This was clearly a secret order from the new emperor, so local officials naturally had to conduct a thorough investigation. Even digging deep underground was understandable. "I suppose you did a lot to help them later, didn't you?"
Since the officers and soldiers have come to clear them out, how could this group of people not run away? Someone must have come up with a "clever trick".
"Yes, I was forced by the situation. Of course I know how the soldiers and officers fight bandits. Their boss successfully hid several times as I said, so he started to take me seriously. I'm so guilty..." Xu Yixing touched his chest. He had been working hard in the past month, and it was really hard to live under the hands of the bandits.
Ying Wu didn't even need to ask how she persuaded the bandit leader to follow her advice. After all, she was the daughter of the former General Fuyuan, so it was normal for her to have some fighting skills.
"That gang held their ground, and so did I, until they brought back some courtesan last night." At this point, Xu Yixing glanced at Ying Wu, convinced this was a deliberate tactic by Ying Wu to test us. "I saw they were pretty drunk, so they took advantage of the night to escape and hid until this morning. I didn't expect they'd be found anyway. But how did you know where I was?"
"I don't know. I just followed the trail all the way here. Last month, I went to the northern border and didn't find anything. So I thought maybe you were delayed on the way, so I followed this trail back. I heard there were bandits in the mountains, so I thought I'd give you a try."
We really have to thank the new emperor for this. Once his secret decree was issued, although no one was found in the past two months, the threat from nearby bandits was much reduced. There was only this one left near Xiaoxi Town, which allowed Ying Wu to hit the target with one strike.
"How do you know my destination is the northern border?" Xu Yixing had never told these things to the shadow guard. If the shadow guard could guess it, could Lu Anyuan also guess it?
"I guessed it. You previously deployed your forces but didn't send anyone to the northern border. I figured if we wanted to completely shake off the Shadow Guards, we had to go there."
"Awesome." Xu Yixing gave a thumbs up. Ying Wu was really smart. If he had said this to Ying Jiu, he definitely wouldn't have thought so much. Who would have thought that after escaping the capital for two months, he had only walked a little over a hundred miles and hadn't made a single step forward? He was very annoyed.
Seeing the slight anger on his master's face, Ying Wu sighed inwardly. She was indeed a noble lady. She was so ignorant of the people's feelings and dared to run away. She was really asking for her life. Fortunately, he had found her. Otherwise, if Ying Yi discovered that it was the shadow guard who had lost his master one day, he would probably be so angry that he would commit suicide.
"Master, let's go back to Beijing."
"What?" Xu Yixing was shocked and looked at him in bewilderment. "I went through so much trouble to get out, and now you want me to go back?"
Ying Wu said in a deep voice, "Master, haven't you had enough fun in the past two months? The new emperor has successfully ascended the throne, and there is no danger in the capital. He has been searching for you. And you are pregnant and you still want to run away?"
Xu Yixing touched her belly. Although it was still early, it was indeed slightly bulging. What a sin. If she had discovered she was pregnant when she ran, she probably wouldn't have left. But now she had already left. If she went back with a bulging belly, would Lu Anyuan be furious?
"No." Xu Yixing shook his head.
Ying Wu was full of questions. In his opinion, his master chose to leave the capital because he was afraid that the cause of the late emperor's death would be exposed. However, the situation was going well now and no one was investigating the matter. Even the portrait of Chao Jianyi that was originally posted on the city wall was turned into tattered paper by the rain and posed no threat at all.
"I ran away because I didn't want to stay in that golden cage for the rest of my life. As for asking Chao to do something, it was just to help Lu Anyuan. Now that the matter is over, I want to go out and take a look."
Look? Yingwu frowned. "Haven't you seen enough in the past two months? When will you die from watching?"
"Even though there's no official wanted notice, I've been questioning and checking you all along the way. It's clear the new emperor is looking for you. How can you possibly leave this place?"
Xu Yixing lowered his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and fixed his eyes on Yingwu's face. Yingwu suddenly felt a chill on his back, and knew something was wrong.
Before he could refuse, Xu Yixing smiled and said, "Since you arrived in the Northern Territory last month, you must have found a way to evade inspection. I now order you to take me to the Northern Territory!"
Ying Wu knew this would be the result, but he had to travel day and night to the northern border, avoiding checkpoints and cities along the way. He had to risk disguising himself and entering the city when he had no other choice. It was simply impossible for him to take a pregnant woman through those mountains.
"Master, I still think your best choice now is to return to the capital. You are pregnant now. As long as you go back, even if the emperor wants to blame you, he will not be able to bear it. If you don't go back now, there will be no such good opportunity in the future." Ying Wu has been in the palace for more than four years. After four years of watching Lu Anyuan's feelings for his master, if he doesn't go back now, it will be a disaster if that little love turns into hatred in the future.
"You also said that the emperor ascended the throne smoothly. So, I think he must have had the empress by his side when he ascended the throne. Why should I go back?"
"Maybe it's just a disguise, not necessarily a new woman."
"Maybe, but Ying Wu, I really don't want to go back. The capital is a stinking sewer. All the wealthy families, nobles, and dignitaries, the things going on inside are disgusting. I always feel that my life should not be like that." Xu Yixing raised his head slightly, as if lost in memories.
She only remembered that her happiest childhood memory was riding a horse. The only thing she cared about was winning or losing in the horse race, and nothing else. Now she thought that was the life she wanted, right?
Ying Wu looked at her fascinated expression and knew she was determined. There was no way he could persuade her. He could only stand up and bow. "In that case, I think you should wait here until the child is full-term and then leave after the birth."
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