hitchhiking
Two guards escorted Quan Zijin over.
Quan Zijin lowered her head and remained motionless, with no signs of torture on her body.
Quan Zichu ran over and caught her, calling out urgently, "Sister, sister, what's wrong?"
Xiao Liao was even more nervous than him, and asked, "What's going on?" He clearly hadn't even started the torture yet.
Wu Da sighed helplessly, "Miss Quan collapsed as soon as she entered the cell; she must have fainted from fright."
"Alright, now that things are clear, we won't disturb Your Highness any longer. Farewell."
Qinglian entered and helped Quan Zijin up. The group came in a great hurry and left triumphantly, extremely arrogant.
Xiao Liao's pent-up anger suddenly surged up, and he smashed the glass bottle on the shelf next to him.
"Gu Jinning, my patience is limited."
Some things don't have to be fought for to be useful; they can be valuable even if they are destroyed.
Xiao Liao conceived an extremely malicious idea, and darkness slowly grew in his heart, making the already dimly lit hall even more sinister.
"wrong."
Xiao Liao suddenly thought of something, walked out, stood under the corridor and kept scanning the courtyard, recalling the face of Gu Jinning's personal guard at the academy that day.
No, there was no one from that day.
She brought more than a dozen people with her, but none of the guards from that day were there. This shouldn't be happening, it's so wrong.
"Gu Jinning, was this your doing?"
Xiao Liao, driven by his suspicious nature, hastily ordered Wu Da to conduct a secret investigation.
Dark clouds obscured the sun, but a gentle breeze swept in, instantly dispelling the gloom.
Gu Jinning took Quan Zijin to the Princess's residence for a check-up. Fortunately, she only had bruises on her knees and was otherwise unharmed.
"Cousin." Quan Zijing woke up, her pale face full of guilt. "Have I caused you any trouble?"
Gu Jinning helped her sit up, handed her warm water, and said, "What are you saying? Xiao Liao is arresting people randomly. He's gone mad. What does it have to do with you? You could have just said that the sachet was a gift for me, and I would have confronted him."
Quan Zijin bit her lower lip and murmured softly, "Actually, I saw it."
"What do you see?"
"You climbed into your brother's room after getting injured."
Gu Jinning was stunned. "So you were afraid of implicating me, which is why you deceived the King of Qin?"
Quan Zijing shook her head, "It's not deception. I was originally going to make it for my brother too."
She explained, "That day I went to find my brother and bumped into you by chance. Then my brother did that again, and I was terrified. Later, when the King of Qin investigated the mansion, I learned that the Grand Tutor had been kidnapped, and I was very scared."
"The Grand Tutor is old and demanding, but his scholarship, character, and dedication to his students are all the best. He is the senior I respect the most."
“You saved him, and you were seriously injured. It was already a difficult time for you. I cannot betray you, and I cannot let the King of Qin suspect anything.”
"Giving you the medicine pouch was a thoughtless act on my part. I was just worried about the severity of your injuries and wanted to do something for you, but I never expected to be targeted by the King of Qin..."
Quan Zijin's eyes were filled with tears.
The King of Qin intends to torture her today in order to force her to confess under duress, to twist the truth into falsehood, and to implicate the thief and the Quan family.
She entered the private prison with the determination to die, but she never expected that Gu Jinning and Quan Zichu would break into the Qin Prince's mansion for her sake.
Guilt and gratitude were deeply intertwined; self-blame, emotion, and fear surged into my heart all at once, and tears instantly streamed down my face.
"I'm sorry, cousin, I..."
Gu Jinning hugged her, letting her vent her pent-up emotions.
"It's okay. You did a great job. You're resilient, brave, and smart."
Gu Jinning's eyes slowly tightened. Xiao Liao wanted to take the opportunity to divide the Quan family and take over this big bone, but that would depend on whether he could withstand it.
Within half a day, news of Gu Jinning's trespassing into the Prince of Qin's residence spread throughout the capital.
Such shocking news would be a major event for anyone else, but it's not surprising since the protagonist is Gu Jinning.
After all, she was someone who dared to challenge the Emperor, and more than once.
Upon hearing this, Quan Xiangyi personally ordered someone to bring Gu Jinning and Quan Zichu, the brother and sister, to him.
All three gave the same story: the medicine pouch was made by Quan Zijing for Quan Zichu in her spare time. Xiao Liao, because of this small medicine pouch, privately interrogated Quan Zijing, attempting to extract a confession through torture.
Without needing to elaborate, Quan Xiangyi could guess that Xiao Liao had long disliked him and now wanted to use a pretext to frame him, bring him down, and remove the Quan family's "Marquis of Wu'an" as a protective shield.
"Enough. The King of Qin is treacherous and unscrupulous. You have suffered an undeserved calamity."
Quan Xiangyi instructed Quan Zijin to rest well at home and not to go to the academy for the time being. Quan Zichu assigned more guards to accompany her, and she was only allowed to go between the mansion and the academy. She was not allowed to run around, talk nonsense outside, or fight or cause trouble.
As for this granddaughter, Quan Xiangyi both loved and hated her. His daughter, Quan Yuxuan, was so gentle and quiet; how could she have given birth to such a shrewish child? It was all the fault of the Gu and Xiao families for spoiling her.
"Jin Ning, what are we going to do about you constantly offending people?"
Quan Xiangyi was extremely distressed.
"I think you should marry into the Prince of Jin's household as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Prince of Jin will be snatched away by someone else."
Gu Jinning, who had been casually tugging at the tassels on the beaded curtain, burst out laughing at the end.
“Grandfather, you are sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, you know everything.” She teased, then said proudly, “I’m not afraid of the King of Qin. He started the trouble first, I can’t back down, can I? I am your granddaughter, the dignified Marquis of Wu’an. Xiao Liao is nothing to me.”
Quan Zichu couldn't help but laugh out loud, but Quan Mingxiao coughed seriously, and Quan Zichu quickly shut up.
Madam Quan stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, let's eat first, the food's getting cold. Jin Ning, you've come all this way, eat more."
The incident of the Prince of Qin arresting people was not pursued by the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion. Xiao Liao remained silent, and Xiao Juebai, upon hearing about it, also kept quiet. The matter ended quietly.
Gu Weiju, as usual, ordered Gu Jinning to be confined to her home, doubled the confinement, and kept her confined indefinitely.
Xiao Liao's men searched the Gu residence thoroughly and confirmed that the guard who had accompanied the academy that day had been in the residence for several years and had just returned to his hometown on leave a few days ago.
Xiao Liao's only suspicions were wiped out, and he seemed to be trapped in a dead end.
Once the seed of suspicion is planted, it will take root and sprout, and cannot be stopped. This was the case with Xiao Liao. He suspected Gu Jinning, so he attributed all the suspicions to her, trying to reasonably deduce that she was the mastermind behind it all.
Time was ticking away; more than ten days had passed since Zuo Wenzhong was abducted. Encirclement and suppression had resumed at the city gates, but checks remained stringent. Soldiers were stationed at all the major pharmacies in the city, and all medicines for wounded were strictly controlled.
Zuo Wenzhong's condition is not optimistic; his leg injury is too deep to be treated with ordinary medicine. Bai Sheng said that if a doctor isn't found to scrape the bone and set his leg soon, Zuo Wenzhong won't live much longer.
How could Gu Jinning let the person she had finally rescued die?
Gu Jinning once again climbed over the wall and entered the Prince Jin's mansion.
Without Chu Lang's prior reconnaissance, Gu Jinning was spotted by Yang Yu as soon as she climbed onto the wall.
Yang Yu met her gaze and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Princess, what do you mean by this?"
Gu Jinning gave an awkward laugh. "I came to see Prince Jin. Where is he? If you're here, he must be here too."
Yang Yu kindly reminded him, "You can use the door."
Gu Jinning jumped down from the wall, clapped her hands, and came over, saying, "Let's go through the door and take a detour; this way is faster."
She wore a narrow-sleeved, fitted dress and carried a bundle on her back as she swaggered into Yunshu Courtyard.
"Xiao Heng'an, I'm here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, like a child coming to find a playmate.
Xiao Heng'an came out of the house upon hearing the noise and saw her leaving as if she had just said "say something," and asked suspiciously, "Were you kicked out?"
Gu Jinning said smugly, "Of course not, it's that I'm running away from home."
Xiao Heng'an stepped aside to let her into the house. Gu Jinning boldly invited, "How about you come with me for a few days? Go and relax."
Where to?
“The mountain villa. You haven’t been there since you returned to the capital, have you? I haven’t been there in a long time either. Let’s go visit Grandma together.”
Gu Jinning tilted her head to look at him, her lips curving upwards, her eyes crinkling with stars, twinkling in them.
Xiao Heng'an asked, "Go now?"
"Why not seize the day? Let's hitch a ride in your carriage."
Xiao Heng'an stared at her for a while, then gestured for Yang Yu and the others to leave before asking, "Do you need something from me?"
"Hehe, you guessed it again." Gu Jinning chuckled awkwardly and waved her hand, "Anyway, you already know my background, so I don't need to hide it from you. I do need your help."
"What kind of help?"
"Help me get someone out of here."
"Do you know that the King of Qin is investigating you?"
"I know, that's why I asked you for help."
Xiao Heng'an tacitly stopped asking questions and simply said, "Give me half an hour."
It was still early, and the sun was not yet high in the sky. Outside the Prince of Jin's residence, a carriage slowly glided along the long road, heading towards the city gate.
On the towering city walls, a line of soldiers stood ready. Below, on either side of the vermilion gate, two squads of soldiers searched passersby in an orderly fashion.
"Shift changed, shift changed."
It was shift change time, and the two teams came to hand over their duties. They seemed to dislike each other and stared at each other as they moved to their new positions.
"Check the face, check the package. Pass."
The soldiers, who already knew their duties by heart, impatiently urged, "Next, next."
"Whoa~"
As the carriage approached the city gate, Song Ming tightened the reins and said, "Prince Jin, leave the city."
The captain of the soldiers hurried over and greeted him politely, "Your Highness Prince Jin, please go first."
This team consisted of Li Jinghe's subordinates, who recognized Song Ming and Song Hui, and held Xiao Heng'an in high esteem.
The soldiers who had just retreated turned back upon hearing the sound and shouted, "His Highness the King of Qin has ordered that anyone leaving the city must be checked, including His Highness the King of Jin."
He asked the person behind the curtain with a firm tone, "Your Highness Prince Jin, I am acting on orders, please do not take offense."
Xiao Heng'an lifted the curtain and said, "Alright, you investigate, I will cooperate."
The soldier actually stepped forward and peered into the carriage. Seeing that there was another person inside, he was about to ask a question when Xiao Heng'an said, "I am accompanying my cousin back to the Ji family's old residence to pay respects to my maternal grandmother. Do you have any questions?"
After saying that, he tossed out the only two packages in the car for them to inspect.
The soldier wasn't afraid. He opened the package and checked it; it contained only a bag of clean clothes and a bag of items for worship.
Xiao Heng'an peeked outside and asked, "Do you want me to check my face?"
The soldier actually reached out to touch his face.
"presumptuous!"
With a sharp shout, Xiao Heng'an kicked the soldier to the ground.
"Even your master wouldn't dare to be so rude, who do you think you are?"
The soldier, now filled with fear, knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, "Your Highness, spare my life! I was just following orders and was momentarily blinded by greed. I did not mean to offend Your Highness."
Across the street, Xiao Liao's carriage was speeding towards them. He had intended to go to the palace, but halfway there he learned that Xiao Heng'an had left the city. Feeling uneasy, he decided to catch up with Xiao Heng'an and find out what was going on.
"Yo~"
Suddenly, a horse neighed, and a carriage darted out from the street corner. Xiao Liao's coachman tightened the reins, but it was too late. The horse couldn't stop and crashed into the side of the horse that was pulling its hooves back.
Seeing this, Xiao Liao impatiently scolded, "Go around to the side."
"Wait!"
A voice came from the carriage opposite: "You bumped into my horse, and you think you can just walk away?"
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