Is Chapter 288 about Yuwen Ye?
It got dark very quickly.
Although she knew it would get dark soon, she rode at full speed, the snowflakes blown onto her face by the wind feeling like knives cutting into her skin. But Shang Ruyi still didn't expect it to get dark so quickly.
The dark clouds that hadn't dissipated all day seemed to be summoned by something, gathering all over their heads and completely obscuring the sky. Soon, it was pitch black all around, and Jiang Kesheng could only let a few people light torches to illuminate the way ahead and around them. But this forced them to slow down their progress.
It was already the beginning of the Xu hour (7-9 PM).
They passed by their village an hour ago, and according to the distance, they should be able to reach Luoyang in about an hour.
The closer they got to Luoyang, the heavier their hearts became, and the more solemn their expressions grew.
Finally, at a bend in the road, Jiang Kesheng spurred his horse to Shang Ruyi's side and said in a deep voice, "Young Madam, we can't go any further."
Shang Ruyi frowned as she looked at him, but the horse she was riding still didn't stop.
"Why?"
"According to our previous estimates, today is the day Liang Shide will attack Luoyang. Although we are taking a side road to avoid their route, the closer we get to Luoyang, the greater our chance of encountering them."
"..."
"We are short-handed. If we get caught up in the war, everyone here will die!"
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously tightened the reins.
The galloping horse immediately slowed down, and the people and horses behind also slowed down. The torches around them illuminated the expressions on the two people's faces, as well as the solemnity in Shang Ruyi's eyes.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "But Feng Chen is still ahead."
Jiang Kesheng said, "Since the Second Young Master has made an agreement with the Young Madam, we should be able to wait here until he arrives."
Shang Ruyi frowned and said, "But I... I'm worried about him. He doesn't have many soldiers, but Liang Shide is leading 100,000 troops. If we run into them, I'm afraid he'll be in danger."
Jiang Kesheng said, "But young mistress, if we really run into them, our small force won't be able to help the second young master."
"..."
"Based on my understanding of the Second Young Master, he is not a reckless person, and he would never do anything unnecessary. If he wants to leave, Liang Shide's men cannot stop him. But if he comes and the Young Madam is in danger, then that would be a real problem."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi finally reined in her horse and brought it to a stop.
Jiang Kesheng hurriedly raised his arm and waved to the people behind him, and everyone stopped. Shang Ruyi heard it clearly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Clearly, they were all apprehensive about returning to the Eastern Capital, which might already be engulfed in war.
Shang Ruyi looked up again, gazing ahead.
Of course, she couldn't see the Eastern Capital from this place. In fact, the raging wind and snow made it impossible for her to see the scenery ten steps away. The more her vision was obstructed, the deeper the shadow in her heart became, almost making it hard for her to breathe.
After pondering for a long time, she finally said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Jiang Kesheng nodded, glanced around again, and then pointed to a sloping hill in front of him, saying, "Let's go there. It's sheltered from the wind and has a better view."
Shang Ruyi agreed, so they led the people forward. Soon they reached the bottom of the earthen slope. After tying up the horse, Jiang Kesheng immediately had someone start a fire to warm her up.
But just as those people were gathering firewood, they suddenly felt a slight tremor in the ground.
Just behind them, on the other side of the earthen slope, came a heavy and rapid sound of horses' hooves through the wind and snow. It was clear that a large group of people was galloping towards them, and the hurricane they stirred up made the snowflakes in the air even more chaotic.
Shang Ruyi was overjoyed and hurriedly ran up the earthen slope to look ahead.
Ahead, many flames appeared.
Countless people were carrying torches and moving forward in the wind and snow, but just like before, the flames were blown by the wind and almost shrank into a small cluster, illuminating only a small area. Therefore, they could not see who the other party was. They could only vaguely make out that it was at least a group of nearly a thousand people, with their horses' hooves rolling and their voices like thunder, galloping towards them.
Is it Yuwen Ye?
Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat. She opened her eyes wide, and even as the cold snowflakes blew into them, almost bringing tears to her eyes, she still opened them wide with hope.
Those people are getting closer and closer.
Her vision was blurred by the wind, snow, and tears, and she could barely make out anything. She could only squint her eyes slightly. Just then, Jiang Kesheng, who was beside her, gasped and said in a deep voice, "No, it's not the Second Young Master's people!"
"ah?"
Shang Ruyi was startled. Jiang Kesheng frowned and looked ahead. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"That...it seems to be one of Liang Shide's men!"
Liang Shide's army!?
Shang Ruyi simply couldn't believe it. They hadn't avoided Liang Shide's men, so how could this be—
The people ahead had obviously spotted them and immediately charged towards them with shouts. Amid the sound of wind and hooves, there was the sharp sound of swords being drawn. In an instant, they had surrounded them and their group!
"Young Madam, be careful!"
"Miss!"
"Quick, get the horse!"
Seeing that everyone around her was in chaos, Shang Ruyi calmed down. She grabbed Tu She'er, who was holding her in the panic, with one hand and pulled Jiang Kesheng's arm with the other. She looked up at the people surrounding them. These people were all strong and wore uniform yellow collar brown clothes, but no armor. However, their movements were very neat and uniform, obviously they were well-trained soldiers.
Does Liang Shide's army have this kind of structure?
Shang Ruyi's mind was in a state of panic and clarity, as if she had realized something, but the rolling hooves of horses and the loud shouts of the people around her kept interrupting her thoughts.
She could only say in a low voice, "Don't move yet, let's see what they're going to do!"
These people had swords in their hands, but they didn't rush forward immediately. Instead, they were watching them, as if trying to identify them.
After a long pause, someone said, "It doesn't seem so."
Who are they?
"Let's not create unnecessary complications, we just—"
"Go and report this immediately!"
Then they saw someone turn their horse around and run away. The sound of hooves gradually faded away in the wind and snow, but after a while, the sound of hooves rang out again, bringing more people with them. The group of people surrounding them was divided into two lines, and a rider stepped out from the middle and looked down at them.
Shang Ruyi also raised her head in the wind and snow and looked at the person who was bending down towards them.
The moment their eyes met, Shang Ruyi almost suffocated.
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