Chapter 35 The pursuers sent by Xiao Mingzhang? ...
Yunzhu and Ayan stayed in Luozhou for a few more days.
Since they had decided to keep the child, they naturally had to listen to the doctor's advice.
The doctor told Yunzhu to rest more, so Yunzhu refused to go any further.
They stayed in the inn for almost three days before resuming their plans to set off.
In the past few days, Yunzhu and Ayan have become quite familiar with the little beggar at the entrance of the inn. Yunzhu invites her to have meals with her every day, and through her, she has learned some things about the current situation in Luozhou City.
Luozhou and Yunzhou are now in the same boat, both suffering from low rainfall and having to take in disaster victims from Qingzhou and Jizhou. The only difference between the two cities is that Yunzhou has the Huan Prince's Mansion in charge, while Luozhou has to report everything to the court and has very little autonomy.
The little beggar was also a refugee who fled from Qingzhou. The reason she didn't leave after arriving in Luozhou was because her parents and younger brother got separated from her near the city of Luozhou. She could only stay in Luozhou, waiting for the day when she might be able to reunite with her parents and younger brother.
After hearing her words, Yunzhu did not offer any further comfort. Instead, on the day before she left, she handed a gold ingot to the innkeeper.
Yunzhu said, "This gold ingot is my payment for taking care of her for me from now on. I think she is very good at reading people and she is also hardworking. Why don't you hire her as a shop assistant to run errands? If possible, it would be even better if you could teach her some characters."
This was the first time the innkeeper had ever received gold, only to be asked to take in a little beggar.
He looked at Yunzhu in surprise and asked, "Why did you come to me, young lady? I'm not a very kind person. You gave me this gold ingot, and who knows, the moment you left, I might have pocketed it and kicked her out! If you have such a kind heart, why don't you take her in as your maid? Wouldn't that be wonderful!"
Yunzhu smiled, seemingly expecting the shopkeeper to say this. She explained, "Originally, I wanted to take her with me, but she has parents and a younger brother waiting for her. If I took her away, what if her family found us here one day? Wouldn't I have wasted their time reuniting with their family? As for why I came to you..."
Yunzhu said sincerely, "To be honest, I've been observing you closely these past few days, boss. This girl has come to the inn many times to steal other people's steamed buns, but you've never hit her. At most, you've just chased her out. I asked her about it, and she said that you're actually very kind. Every time you seem angry, you never take the steamed buns away from her. Moreover, you let her come in to shelter from the rain when it rains, and you shield her from the wind when it's cold. She's willing to work for you, so I feel at ease."
"Why……"
Since she had already said all that, the innkeeper naturally had no need to pretend to be the villain anymore.
He glanced at the little beggar squatting at the door. In fact, Yunzhu already knew perfectly well that she had been separated from her parents and brother, and that her parents and brothers would probably not come looking for her.
However, Yunzhu was kind-hearted and was still willing to leave her with some illusions.
The innkeeper's gaze lingered on the bustling street outside the door. After thinking for a long time, he finally accepted the gold ingot from Yunzhu's hand and said, "Since you've said so, young lady, then I'll take her in as a handyman. As for the school, I'll send her there. This gold ingot is for her schooling. You're very generous, young lady. Next time you come to Luozhou, stay at our inn again, and we'll give you a special rate!"
"good!"
The worst thing about asking someone for a favor is that they won't agree. Luckily, this boss was right.
After Yunzhu finished this matter, she had nothing left to worry about in Luozhou.
The next morning, she called for Ayan to harness the horses, and they set off together to continue their journey back to the Western Regions.
In the early morning in Luozhou, a thin mist hung in the air. Although the rainfall in Luozhou this year was somewhat affected by Qingzhou, the wildflowers along the way were still blooming quite brightly. Yunzhu and Ayan admired the flowers through the mist. After leaving Luozhou, they headed north along the official road.
After walking for several miles, the population became increasingly sparse.
This was because they had previously passed through a fork in the road, one side leading to Yunzhou and the other to the Western Grasslands. Fewer people were destined to go to the Western Grasslands than to Yunzhou, and once they embarked on this road, they were destined to be separated from the majority.
"Princess, let's rest." Seeing that there was no one around them, Ayan opened the water pouch that Yunzhu carried with her because of the scorching sun.
Yunzhu took a sip of water, but shook her head and said, "No need, let's keep going. We don't know where we'll get today."
Ayan could only nod.
She instructed, "But if you feel unwell, Princess, please tell us immediately. We're not in a hurry!"
Yunzhu slightly tugged at the corners of her mouth. She naturally knew that the Huanwang Mansion had not sent anyone to chase after her. Their return to the grasslands wouldn't make a difference if they waited a little longer.
But she didn't know why, but ever since she became pregnant, she had become increasingly eager to return to the grasslands.
The few days she spent in Luoyang were out of necessity to recuperate. Now that she had recovered enough, she just wanted to return to her motherland as quickly as possible.
They walked for another half an hour and finally came across a teahouse for people to rest on the desolate official road.
Yunzhu had been riding horses all morning, and this time Ayan wouldn't allow her to continue no matter what she said. So they rested in this simple teahouse.
While Yunzhu rested, Ayan led the horses to the stable at the back and fed them some grass.
This teahouse is located on the side of the official road leading to the Western Regions, far from any village or shop in sight. It was midday, and there was hardly any business.
Ayan led the horses to the stable and then looked around. She expected the stable to be empty, but she was surprised to find several rare and fine horses.
The Western Regions are famous for their Akhal-Teke horses. Ayan grew up on the grasslands and had seen countless fine horses. She could tell at a glance that these horses were no ordinary breed.
But such a fine horse appears in such a desolate wilderness?
When necessary, Ayan always thinks very quickly. Suddenly, she let out a startled cry of "Ouch!"
Yunzhu was holding a teacup served by the shopkeeper when she heard this. She immediately put down the teacup and rushed over.
"What's wrong?" she asked with concern.
"This damn horse! It suddenly stepped on my foot for some reason!" Ayan raised her voice deliberately and winked at Yunzhu, signaling her to get on the horse quickly.
Yunzhu was completely bewildered and did not know the reason for Ayan's move. However, when traveling, she always listened to Ayan. When Ayan told her to mount the horse, she immediately mounted it without the slightest hesitation.
After Yunzhu mounted her horse, Ayan also leaped onto hers. She patted the rumps of both horses, and the two precious horses from the Western Regions swiftly and in perfect unison rushed out of the stable.
Hearing the sound of hooves, the assassins hiding in the shadows stopped hiding and peeked out. When they saw Yunzhu and Ayan riding horses, they were stunned for a moment, then immediately mounted their horses and chased after them.
Even though Yunzhu didn't understand Ayan's purpose, when she heard the sound of horses' hooves behind her, she knew what had happened.
There are pursuers!
Someone is chasing them!
As Yunzhu rode her horse, she couldn't help but glance back. She had hoped that the men would be guards from the Prince Huan's residence, but instead, she saw a group of masked, burly men dressed in black riding on horseback, constantly approaching them.
Their eyes were fierce, and they didn't seem to be there to "invite" her home at all, especially since Yunzhu also saw the swords and knives in their hands.
She dared not be distracted and slow down her movements, so she tightened her grip on the horse's belly and rode even faster, closely following Ayan.
"Princess, this way!" Seeing that there was another fork in the road ahead, Ayan made a quick decision and chose the right path.
This road leads to Jeju and Cheongju. Yunzhu looked at the dense forests on both sides of the road ahead and roughly knew that Ayan was planning to go up the mountain.
This was a tacit understanding they had since childhood. The girls from the Western Regions were skilled in horseback riding and archery from a young age. Yunzhu and Ayan loved riding horses and going on all sorts of adventures when they were young, going up mountains and down deserts, doing all kinds of things.
Sure enough, when they reached the foot of the mountain ahead, Ayan and Yunzhu exchanged a glance, and suddenly, the two of them tacitly rode their horses onto the mountain path.
She and Ayan kept going up the mountain, and for a while, they made the group of assassins who had grown up on the plains of the Central Plains seem less agile than them.
A group of men in black caught up with Yunzhu and Ayan on the mountain, but they couldn't find them. They were all sweating profusely.
They held their breath and began to discern the sound of horses' hooves in the jungle.
Just as they were all straining their ears and focusing their attention, suddenly, a whooshing sound broke the silence of the forest, and then a man in black fell to the ground.
Everyone looked down and discovered that it was an arrow that had struck the horse's calf!
Suddenly the positions of light and shadow reversed, and the men in black dared not underestimate their enemy anymore, watching warily in the direction from which the arrows were coming.
Just as they were fully focused and preparing to close in, suddenly, two more arrows whistled through the forest! This time, the arrows came from another direction!
They wanted to react, but it was too late.
"Ah!" Two screams were heard, and two more people fell off their horses.
So the two of them separated?
The men in black immediately rolled off their horses to avoid falling into enemy hands again.
They worked in perfect unison, exchanging a few glances before gathering around one of the sources of the sound and slowly approaching.
Just when they thought they were about to succeed, they heard "whoosh whoosh whoosh"—another burst of arrows shot from behind them.
They turned around and found that all their horses had been killed, while the two culprits were now riding on a horse.
They galloped away on horseback, disappearing into the forest before they could even react.
—
Yunzhu and Ayan were riding on the back of a horse. Yunzhu glanced back and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was chasing after them anymore.
"Princess, where do we go next?" Having finally escaped, Ayan looked ahead but didn't know whether she should continue.
"Let's keep going," Yunzhu said, clutching her lower abdomen and gritting her teeth.
"Princess, are you alright?" As Ayan rode her horse, she glanced at Yunzhu's expression and saw that she was sweating profusely. Ayan was very worried.
Yunzhu looked ahead, wanting to say she was alright, but under the blazing sun, she seemed unable to even utter the words "I'm alright"...
"Xiao Mingzhang"... Before losing consciousness, Yunzhu only remembered murmuring Xiao Mingzhang's name.
Xiao Mingzhang, are these the people you sent?
Is it... you really trying to kill me? You won't even let me go after I've already escaped?
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