Xie Yuancheng squeezed my hand, and I started to break out in a cold sweat. The scene from this afternoon was still vivid in my mind. For some reason, I suddenly thought of Li Ruowei. Did she know about these things?
"There is one more thing. Dongqin is preparing to cooperate with the Mongol Kingdom to take down Sizhou, Mucheng, and Sanjiaoling in one fell swoop."
“There were rumors about this a month ago; they’ve moved quickly.” Xie Yuancheng frowned. “However, there are some sorcerers living in seclusion at Triangle Ridge, so we won’t let them have their way. The most important thing now is to steal Dongqin’s tiger tally. That way, we can get Sizhou out of its predicament.”
"However, there are also some wandering monks in the Western Regions who are also skilled in magic and can even bring the dead back to life. They are very popular with those magicians. Dongqin is close to the Western Regions, and those wandering monks are trained by them."
"Don't worry, teacher. I have found the wandering Daoist Xuanxiao. He will help me in secret."
"That's good. Proceed as planned in three days."
After parting ways with the teacher, we returned along the same route. Just as we got inside, I stopped Xie Yuancheng, who was about to open the door and leave.
"Yuan Cheng, Li Zhaole."
"This is a matter for the Li family; it's simply a matter of one party being willing to give and the other being willing to receive."
But I felt things weren't simple, so I held onto Xie Yuancheng's arm tightly.
"Ying'er, she is a princess of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and also the daughter of the Empress."
"But she, she is still your sister."
Xie Yuancheng narrowed his eyes, and my heart began to sink.
“She has not been my sister since her mother conspired with her relatives to kill my parents.”
I originally had no right to speak up for Li Zhaole, but I couldn't get over it in my heart.
"But I feel guilty towards her."
"What do you have to feel guilty about? It was Consort Ji who secretly manipulated things, forcing you to 'marry' her. If you really think about it, there are a whole bunch of people who feel guilty towards her, even Yu'er feels guilty towards her."
"Yuancheng~"
"Ying'er, this was agreed upon by the Crown Prince and the Empress. Since she is willing, she must bear the consequences herself."
Li Zhaole has a loud voice and a bad temper, but she's not a bad person at heart. She was probably tricked by the Empress.
"Yuancheng, just take me to see her. If she's alright, then we can leave." After all, we're both young women, and I'm always on edge. If I don't go see her, I might regret it.
"Ying'er".
I know he's highly skilled in martial arts; he can definitely back down. No one knows better than me how to make Xie Yuancheng submit.
"Don't do that again next time."
Xie Yuancheng stroked my head, and I nodded vigorously against his chest. He knew I wouldn't stand idly by regarding Li Zhaole's situation, so he still brought me along. I had selfish motives in asking him to rescue her, yet I always felt indebted to him.
Xie Yuancheng quietly led me out of the house. It wasn't too late yet. We climbed onto the roof and saw that Mu An Mansion had many hidden compartments, so the mansion didn't look very big.
But many houses are hidden under the trees, separated from the main hall.
Xie Yuancheng stopped on the rooftop surrounded by two rings. I looked down and saw that it was full of elite soldiers.
It was pitch black behind. Following a vine down a tree, you could only see a house with some light and strange noises coming from it.
I truly admire Xie Yuancheng; he managed to evade the guards in Mu'an Mansion while carrying me, this burden.
He pulled me to squat outside the window, and I pressed myself against the wall, finally able to hear the sounds inside.
"It's not like we haven't done it before. Are you trying to get that good-for-nothing to rescue you and leave this place looking like this?"
"Get out of here."
"Let me tell you, your son-in-law can't even dodge three moves, let alone come to the heavily guarded Mu'an Mansion."
It was Li Zhaole's voice, and the other one was Lin Yu's.
I was about to get up when Xie Yuancheng stopped me; his eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.
The sounds inside started to become ambiguous. How could I forget? They used to be lovers. Li Zhaole often left the palace on the second day of her marriage, just to see Lin Yu.
Xie Yuancheng smiled and tugged at my hand. This time, I really was meddling in other people's business and even dragged him along to listen to this kind of sound.
These rooms are the innermost hidden compartments; just around the corner is the back door. Lin Yu, that cunning fellow, had already prepared many escape routes for himself; the poor ones are the loyal guards.
After entering the inn, Xie Yuancheng and Meng Anshi were discussing matters outside the window. I overheard them talking about joining forces with the Chequ Kingdom in three days, as well as alchemists. I forgot the rest of what I heard.
Cai Lu from Chequ Kingdom was still working as a female official in the palace, hundreds of miles away from Sizhou, yet she still got involved.
"Ying'er, let's leave the city after dawn."
Just as I was about to doze off, Xie Yuancheng finally came in.
"Um."
He asked the shopkeeper to bring up hot water, and after I showered, I went to bed. It had been a long time since I had slept on a soft bed, and I felt sleepy as soon as my head hit the pillow.
His hands roamed over my body, and knowing he could be petty at times, I just let him be.
Before dawn, we got ready to go out.
Meng Anshi suddenly jumped in through the window: "My lord, the crown prince has arrived."
This crown prince came to Sizhou City so early in the morning; is he trying to warn Dongqin to come and arrest him?
"Find some inconspicuous men's clothing, then stall him until we get there."
"yes."
I swung my dangling belt. "Yuan Cheng, what's he doing here so early in the morning?"
"I've come to see you."
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Ying'er, change your clothes first."
Xie Yuancheng placed a coarse linen garment on the bed. Seeing his expectant look, I didn't dare to draw the curtains.
With a coarse cloth tied around my head and my body painted dark blue, I imagined smearing some ash on my face, carrying a broken bowl, and I could go and join the Beggars' Sect.
We went downstairs, and I was all in good spirits with my hair standing on end. I almost bumped into someone as soon as we stepped outside, but luckily I reacted quickly and dodged them.
People started to appear on the streets, and everyone became ordinary citizens of Anning Sizhou again.
I'm holding a fan in my hand. I always like to carry a fan when I wear casual clothes. As Ji Shuang would say, it's to give myself a sense of security.
We walked around three streets, following a sparsely populated road, when a girl dressed entirely in green approached us. It was still early morning, not quite summer yet.
She was wearing a revealing top and looked quite pretty, but her eyes were lewd.
I moved closer to Xie Yuancheng, and she actually stared at me.
"Young man, you have a handsome face, why are you hanging out with men? Why don't you come with me?" Who wants to go with you?
Xie Yuancheng turned around and shielded me behind him, saying, "Young lady, we are in a hurry and we accidentally bumped into you."
"Lord Anle is joking. How could you offend me? It's just that this young man..."
"She is mine."
“The Marquis of Anle has already married, and I heard he has a new young marquis. How can he be hanging out with that pretty young man in Sizhou? It’s beneath his dignity. Why don’t you give him to me?”
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