Chapter 555 "We are ordered by Lord Zhao to escort the young lady north"
"What happened outside?"
Zhao Ke'er felt the sedan stop and couldn't help but pull open a corner of the curtain to ask.
The maidservant following the sedan shook her head: "I don't know, it seems like there's a scuffle going on."
At this time, the military officer following the sedan chair became nervous and glanced at his subordinates: "Go and take a look."
Immediately, a soldier rushed in and joined the crowd. After a while, he returned with the result:
A drunk man ate in a restaurant without paying, and took advantage of his drunkenness to fight with the owner, attracting onlookers nearby.
"Drive them away!" The military officer breathed a sigh of relief and gave the order unhappily.
Under the threat of the rebels brandishing knives, the road was quickly cleared. Zhao Keer was a little unhappy that she no longer had the excitement to watch, so she lowered the curtain and continued to move forward.
However, for some reason, today the journey was extremely difficult.
After walking two blocks, we encountered horses going crazy and disrupting the order.
Then I saw that the shop signs on the roadside had fallen on the street, blocking traffic.
The sedan chair kept stopping and starting, and the journey that should have taken half an hour took more than an hour.
The rebels on guard were both nervous and relaxed, feeling upset and confused.
"Huh?"
As the sedan continued to move forward, Zhao Keer, who had just stuck her head out to watch the fun, suddenly noticed that there was an envelope on her skirt.
It seems like someone threw it in during the chaos.
But who can do this quietly?
Zhao Keer's pretty face suddenly became serious. She opened the envelope carefully and found two pieces of paper inside.
One of them turned out to be a precious purple talisman.
The other one had only two lines of words on a white paper:
"Be careful, Prince Mu!"
"If necessary, you can tear the talisman into pieces to save yourself!"
Zhao Ke'er was confused.
Who was warning her about the danger she was about to face?
Beware of Prince Mu? Why? Her father worked for Prince Mu's palace. Although she was under surveillance, she was also protected. Who in the city would dare to harm her?
Zhao Ke'er couldn't understand.
"Miss, we've arrived at Confucius Temple."
Suddenly, the sedan chair slowly stopped and the voice of a maid was heard outside.
Subconsciously, the girl stuffed the letter into the secret pocket of her skirt and pretended nothing had happened.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted by the maid, and Zhao Ke'er stepped out of the sedan chair. In front of her was the Confucius Temple on the lakeside in the city.
Today, she went out to relax and also to burn incense and pray for the safety of her father who was far away in Yongjia.
However, as she walked in, the group of rebels followed her closely.
Such a grand ceremony frightened the other pilgrims in the Confucius Temple and they all hid away.
Zhao Ke'er had a stern face and was not pleased by the grand occasion. She stopped outside a hall in the temple, her bright eyes cold.
"Do you want to follow me into the palace? Do you want to follow me even when I sleep?"
The stern military officer clasped his fists and said, "I dare not."
Immediately, he gave a look and several soldiers rushed into the hall. They patrolled inside and made sure that there was no one around before retreating.
Zhao Ke took a deep breath, then lifted the hem of her skirt and stepped into the hall.
Close the door with your backhand.
Leaving everyone waiting outside.
After things quieted down, Zhao Keer picked up three incense sticks, lit them, knelt on the cushion, and prayed silently.
Suddenly, her ears moved slightly, and she vaguely heard footsteps outside, as if someone was approaching.
Miss Zhao suddenly looked up, her heart moved, and she tiptoed quietly to the door, listening outside.
The man outside the courtyard came in and caught the military officer's attention. The two seemed to be talking:
"The prince has ordered, where is Zhao Shixiong's daughter? Why isn't she in the palace?"
The military officer replied, "She is burning incense in the temple. May I ask what your Highness wants? We have protected Miss Zhao very well. If she wants to burn incense, we cannot stop her."
The man said, "Hmph, there's no need to be polite to him. Zhao Shixiong colluded with the court, released prisoners secretly, and assassinated the military supervisor. The prince will no longer tolerate him. Quickly tie up this woman and bring her back to the palace. The prince is furious and wants to take her out on him."
The military officer was shocked: "...Yes."
Inside the house, Zhao Keer felt as if her head was hit by a stick, her brain briefly shut down, and her whole body felt cold!
Did his father defect to the imperial court? Did Xu Jingtang want to eliminate his father and vent his anger on him?
Although Zhao Ke'er is just a young girl and is used to being willful, she is a descendant of a military family after all and understands the situation.
I know that King Mu’s relationship with his father is not strong.
However, when this day came, it still caught her off guard. Almost subconsciously, the letter she had just received popped into her mind.
"Be careful, Prince Mu!"
So that's how it is... Zhao Ke's eyes widened as he suddenly understood.
Thinking about the recent days, the second son of Prince Mu's Mansion suddenly sent more people to strengthen surveillance of her, as well as some things that she vaguely heard about happening on the front line.
Without hesitation, Zhao Ke stepped back, turned around and ran to the back window of the temple room, pushed it open with force, turned over and tried to escape.
She did not take the talisman in the letter because she also lacked trust in the person who sent the letter to her.
Although she was from a military family, Zhao Shixiong raised her as a girl since she was young and forbade her to practice martial arts. Therefore, the girl had no martial arts skills, but was light and agile.
He easily climbed out the window and was about to escape deeper into the desert when suddenly a dark figure stepped out of the shadows around the corner ahead. "Want to run?"
Zhao Ke's eyes went dark, and he was knocked unconscious by the mysterious man with a knife, and his body fell limply.
Song Jinxi walked out from the shadows, slowly retracted his knife, held Zhao Ke'er with one hand, and turned to look at the corner.
The two secret agents, Shusheng and Hongye, also walked over silently.
But at this moment, each of them held something in their hands.
The scholar held a delicate little trumpet in his hand, which he had just put into his mouth. Now he slowly put it down. All the movements and conversations that Zhao Keer had just heard were woven by him using this little magic tool called "Phantom Sound".
In Hongye's hand was a painting with a blank face, and at this moment, her own face covered with bronze mask was slowly imprinted on the scroll.
Hongye, the gold medal shadow guard, gradually became like Zhao Ke.
The scroll named [Vision] can change one's appearance for a short period of time, but the effect only lasts for a short while and one cannot help but look at it carefully.
But it's enough.
"Hongye, you pretend to be her and escape, and everything will go according to plan."
"Scholar, follow me, and be quick. We need to put on a good show before they can react."
Song Jinxi gave the order quickly, and the two shadow guards responded immediately and soon disappeared in the Confucius Temple.
And outside the closed door of the front yard.
The military officer vaguely heard some movement inside the house, frowned, and hesitantly stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Miss Zhao? Miss Zhao?"
No response!
The military officer's face changed, and he kicked the door open with a "bang". He saw that the house was empty, and there was no sign of Zhao Ke'er.
“Run away?!”
His eyes locked onto the opened rear window, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He turned around and yelled:
"Zhao Ke'er ran away! Search the Confucius Temple immediately! Dig three feet underground to find her!"
…
Just as the rebels surrounded the Confucius Temple and began to search frantically, following the clues left by Hongye.
Song Jinxi led his men back to the mansion where Zhao Ke'er was currently living.
In Zhao Keer's boudoir.
The girl slowly woke up from her sleep, and what came into her eyes were the familiar curtains and the furnishings of her boudoir.
Wasn't I at Confucius Temple? Why did I come back home?
Zhao Ke'er was stunned for a moment and tried to sit up, but was shocked to find that her hands and feet were tied with ropes!
"I've been caught!"
Zhao Ke'er's mind exploded, and she immediately pieced together the truth in her head.
He tried to escape from Confucius Temple, but was knocked unconscious by someone who was secretly monitoring him in Prince Mu's Mansion, and has now been brought back.
Yes!
During the conversation outside the door, the messenger said that he wanted to kidnap me and take me back to the mansion. Everything matched up.
At this time, Zhao Ke'er heard footsteps outside the boudoir again, followed by a familiar voice.
"How is the person?"
"Tied up, on the bed. Ha, a weak woman wants to run away? It's so stupid that it's laughable. But Zhao Shixiong's daughter is really good-looking and has a good figure. No wonder the prince took a fancy to her."
"The prince is such a man, what kind of women has he not played with? The large group of concubines in the single palace are not comparable to her. However, the general's daughter, and such a delicate young girl, must be a special feeling to have her."
"Alas, what a pity! With the prince's temper, he would probably strangle her to death after having sex with her. However, Zhao Shixiong hasn't been caught yet, so he won't be killed for the time being..."
"What? You think you can take advantage of her? Calm down. Even after Zhao Shixiong dies, there are still many people who want to taste the general's only daughter. It won't be your turn or mine."
"What if the prince is merciful and sends her to the military camp to be a prostitute?"
"This... is not a bad idea..."
Zhao Ke'er listened to the conversation outside in a daze, and felt a piercing chill crawling up from her spine to her forehead.
She grew up in Yunfu Dao, and given her status, she was no stranger to Xu Jingtang's private habits and practices.
It is known that this prince, who appears to be eager to recruit talented people, actually has a cruel side.
If he wanted to vent his anger, it wouldn't be surprising if he targeted me... Thinking of how she was abused by Xu Jingtang and then thrown into the military camp where she would suffer a fate worse than death, Zhao Ke'er's fingertips felt cold and her face turned pale. Her former arrogance was gone, and tears welled up in her eyes.
She tried to struggle, but she couldn't free herself from the ropes on her hands and feet, not to mention that there were wolves surrounding her outside.
Even if she could run out of this house, she was a weak woman, how far could she escape?
Desperate situation...
Zhao Keer's heart sank to the bottom, and suddenly, the second sentence of the letter popped into her mind.
The girl's desperate eyes burst into a glimmer of survival!
She tried her best not to make any sound, for fear of attracting the attention of people outside the door. She curled up, twisted her waist, and put her bound hands into her skirt.
After fumbling for a few times, he finally picked up the purple talisman with his fingertips.
Zhao Ke'er hardened her heart and tore the talisman into pieces with her fingertips!
"Buzz—"
The mysterious array symbols on the talisman lit up, the magic power sealed inside began to circulate, and the purple mid-grade talisman began to burn.
A circle of light purple halo spread out in all directions with her as the center.
"Yawn... I'm so sleepy."
Outside the door, the conversation disappeared, and then there were the sounds of "thump, thump" and people falling to the ground.
This talisman can make everyone nearby fall asleep...but I am not affected...Zhao Keer's eyes lit up.
Then, without further hesitation, she jumped out of bed, managed to overturn the jewelry box, and cut the rope with the knife inside.
Because she was worried that someone would come, she got soaked just by cutting the hemp rope.
When she finally escaped, the girl was almost exhausted.
"We have to hurry..."
Zhao Ke'er used the same trick again, climbed out of the back window and fled out of the house.
The process went unexpectedly smoothly. Along the way, they met several servants from the mansion, all of whom were lying on the ground, as if they were fast asleep.
Zhao Ke walked out of the back door, then looked at the street in great confusion.
She escaped.
Can……
The entire city and half of the Huai River are under the control of Prince Mu’s Mansion. Where can I escape to?
"Come here." Suddenly, Zhao Ke noticed a slender masked woman wearing a conical hat waving at her in the alley across the street.
Zhao Ke was stunned for a moment, then mustered up the courage to run over, biting her lip and excitedly saying, "You reminded me?"
"We are under the order of Lord Zhao to escort the young lady north," said the mysterious girl wearing a bamboo hat, who seemed to be about the same age as Zhao Ke, quickly.
"Hurry up, it's not safe here. My companions are nearby and will take you away and head north to Yongjia to find General Zhao."
Zhao Ke was extremely excited: "You are my father's subordinates? My father sent you to rescue me?"
The girl in the bamboo hat paused, turned her head to look at her, and calmly pulled off her veil, revealing a beautiful and calm face.
Yunxi shook her head and said:
"No. We belong to the Kuangfu Society. To be more precise, it's a brand new Kuangfu Society that truly serves the greater good."
Behind Yunxi, several figures walked in the alley.
They are Wu Ling, an actor who cultivates the legacy of the God of Drama, Qingniao, the former maid of the Thousand-Faced God, Lin Yuebai, a female sorceress, and Kou Qichi...
Zhuang Xiaocheng was captured in Binhai Road and beheaded in the capital.
Under the arrangement of Zhao Du'an, Yunxi and his party continued to travel around the world, gradually clearing out and recruiting the remnants of the Kuomintang, fighting with other local branches, and expanding the team.
This time, this group of almost forgotten people, independent of the "Shadow Guards", belonging to Zhao Duan and created by Zhao Duan, were ordered to arrive at Huaishui.
The shadow guards led by Song Jinxi and the accomplice Nie Yurong cooperated with each other to make this move.
…
Outside Zhao Keer's boudoir.
Two figures stood under the eaves.
In the courtyard, some servants and maids who stayed in the mansion were lying all over the ground.
"Ahem," the scholar took out the [Phantom Sound] speaker from his mouth and looked at Song Jinxi, who was standing in the corridor with his hands behind his back.
"Sir, are you going to let Zhao Ke'er escape like this? She..."
Song Jinxi said calmly:
"My Lord has already ordered that Zhao Ke be escorted north. Our purpose is to protect Zhao Ke'er's departure and to perform this scene well."
The scholar exclaimed:
"Lord Zhao is a master of his craft. His previous actions in Yongjia City aroused Xu Jingtang's suspicion. If he were to orchestrate another such move today, he would surely infuriate Zhao Shixiong."
Song Jinxi said gloomily:
"In fact, the best way is to really abuse Zhao Ke'er and put the blame on Prince Mu's Mansion, or even kill her. This fraud is not thorough enough after all."
The scholar's heart moved: "You mean..."
Song Jinxi glanced at him and shook his head.
"Don't overthink it. I have no other intentions, nor any hints. I'm just lamenting that the mediocre people of the world criticize Lord Zhao for being cruel and ruthless, a sinister villain. But how can they know the heart of our Lord?"
The scholar sighed, "Master Zhao has his own ways and his own ways."
Song Jinxi said with a strange look:
"It's not necessarily about morality. In fact, when the master told me this plan, I suggested that we go all out. But the master said at the time that some things, once started wrong, will not end well."
The scholar asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Song Jinxi said unhappily:
"The adults' words are so profound and mysterious, how can we know? Well, let's go. The mission is not over yet. It's up to Nie Yurong to do it next."
…
Baishi Garden, inner hall.
"What did you say? Zhao Ke'er ran away?!"
As soon as Xu Jingtang returned, he heard the bad news from the second son. Prince Mu, wearing armor, was furious: "Isn't my life guaranteed? Why are you staring at me?!"
The second young master's lips trembled as he stammered and explained:
"Father, please calm down. I did order my trusted confidant to monitor you, but..."
Xu Jingtang's hair and beard were all standing on end, and his face was gloomy.
"Waste! A bunch of rubbish! How did she suddenly run away? Have you found out?"
(End of this chapter)
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