Chapter 605 Defying Fate (Second Update)
"Princess! Something terrible has happened!"
On Zhuque Street, Yu Jin alighted from the carriage, lifted her skirt, and headed straight for Princess Xinyang's room.
Princess Xinyang was sitting by the window practicing calligraphy. This time, she recovered from her emotional turmoil faster than usual, and in just one day, she was already able to calmly do her own thing.
As she practiced her calligraphy, she asked softly, "What's the matter that you're in such a rush so early in the morning? This isn't like you."
Yu Jin suddenly hesitated. Should she tell the princess about this?
She had followed the princess for many years; the princess was her master, while Marquis Xuanping was just a stranger who partnered with the princess.
But no matter what, the Marquis only went to assassinate the Prince of Liang for the sake of the princess. If something were to happen to the Marquis, the princess would feel guilty, wouldn't she?
Princess Xinyang asked, "What is it? Has your family come looking for you again?"
Yu Jin was a favorite of Princess Xinyang, but her family was unreliable and would often come to her for favors.
Yu Jin steeled her resolve and said, "It's not a matter for Yu Jin's family, it's for the Marquis! Something has happened to the Marquis!"
Princess Xinyang paused in her grip on the pen, and asked calmly, "What happened to him?"
Yu Jin said anxiously, "Didn't you go to the Prince of Liang's fiefdom, Lord Marquis? I just ran into the young Marquis, and he said that a natural disaster is going to happen in the Prince of Liang's fiefdom, right on your way!"
With a whoosh, Princess Xinyang's brush left a long trail of ink on the paper.
On the long street, Liu Quan looked at the curtain of the carriage. He had heard everything Yu Jin and Xiao Heng had said.
Marquis Xuanping was an unreliable man, but he was so audacious as to dare to kill even the late emperor's uncle, which surprised Liu Quan.
To be honest, he was curious about the reasons behind it, but now was not the time to satisfy his curiosity.
"Liu Lang, what do we do next?"
Although he already knew his identity as a young marquis, he still habitually called him Sixth Brother.
what to do?
This is a huge problem facing Xiao Heng.
The journey to the Liang King's fiefdom is already a hundred miles, and the Marquis of Xuanping set off last night. Judging from his pace, if we don't stop him soon, he will happen to run into a landslide and mudslide.
Every minute of delay is dangerous.
In particular, he couldn't be notified by carrier pigeons at all; those were used to rescue the villagers.
There are carrier pigeons traveling between the various relay stations. Although there is a certain error rate, such as the carrier pigeons being shot or eaten by birds of prey along the way, it seems that this is the fastest and most convenient method at present.
Pigeons cannot fly during heavy rain, so they must arrive at the post station before the rainstorm begins, and allow ample time to notify the government and the government to send troops to clear the villages.
On one side was Marquis Xuanping, and on the other side were the villagers of the village.
Liu Quan was unable to enter the palace.
If Liu Quan were to go back to find Gu Jiao, and then Gu Jiao were to enter the palace to report the impending disaster to the emperor, it would delay the rescue efforts by at least half an hour.
Moreover, it's not even certain whether Gu Jiao is home or not; perhaps she went to the clinic, or perhaps she went on a house call.
His fastest way to rescue the villagers was to go directly to the palace, but this would delay his search for Marquis Xuanping.
He had to choose between his biological father and hundreds of villagers with whom he had no blood relation.
"Sixth Brother..." Liu Quan called out to him.
Xiao Heng's clenched fist trembled slightly: "Enter the palace!"
There are less than two hours left before it rains, and the carrier pigeons need to reach the post station in Pingluo Prefecture before then!
At Huaqing Palace, the emperor met with Xiao Heng.
"How did you know it was going to rain in Pingluo Prefecture?" the emperor asked, puzzled.
Xiao Heng himself didn't know how Gu Jiao could observe the weather a hundred miles away, so he naturally wouldn't say it and increase the emperor's suspicions. Besides, now was not the time to investigate Gu Jiao's abilities; the focus was on rescuing the villagers who might be buried in the mudslide.
Xiao Heng said, "I met a merchant from Pingluo Prefecture. He said that Pingluo Prefecture has been unusually stuffy these past two days, with a gloomy sky that looks like it's about to rain. He also said that when he passed by the official road near Xishui Village, he was almost hit by rocks that slid down the hillside. I read in the books at the Hanlin Academy that this is a sign of the mountain being unstable. If there is indeed heavy rain, it will inevitably cause a landslide, and then the villagers at the foot of the mountain will be in big trouble!"
It was fortunate that he had studied a lot of geography at the Hanlin Academy, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to come up with such a reasonable explanation.
Seeing the emperor deep in thought, Xiao Heng said solemnly, "Your Majesty, more than a hundred lives have been lost in Xishui Village. It's better to believe it's true than to believe it's not!"
The emperor's expression turned serious: "If your deduction is true, then the Zhao Kingdom has been plagued by war and natural disasters this past year. Is this a warning from Heaven?"
Xiao Heng hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, saving lives is the priority!"
The emperor sighed: "I understand. I will send someone to Pingluo Prefecture immediately."
Xiao Heng said solemnly, "I'm afraid people won't make it in time. Your Majesty, you should make two preparations and send carrier pigeons first!"
The emperor adopted Xiao Heng's suggestion and summoned Eunuch He, instructing him to take immediate action.
After leaving Huaqing Palace, Xiao Heng got into his own carriage and then asked Liu Quan, "Uncle Liu, have you changed the horses I asked you to?"
“We’ve changed them, and they’re the fastest warhorses in the Imperial Guards, but…” Liu Quan looked at Xiao Heng’s arms and legs with concern, “You’re injured like this, so it’s inconvenient for you to travel. I’ll go instead! If you think I can’t catch up, you can send soldiers from the Ministry of Justice, or you can go to the Empress Dowager and the Empress and ask them to send a few top imperial guards!”
Xiao Heng shook his head: "You can't stop him."
Marquis Xuanping was a stubborn man; once he made up his mind to do something, nothing could stop him, not even a landslide or a tsunami.
Besides, would he believe it if I told him the mountain was going to collapse?
He won't believe it.
He wasn't afraid.
He probably wouldn't be the Marquis of Xuanping anymore; he probably wouldn't be able to fight so many battles, nor would he be capable of doing something like assassinating the late emperor's uncle.
"But, but didn't the Marquis leave the capital yesterday? Can we catch up with him?" Liu Quan wasn't making excuses not to go; he wanted to go himself and leave Xiao Heng behind.
Xiao Heng took out a map with his right hand and looked at the route on it, saying, "The mountain roads are rugged. Even with his mount, he can only travel a maximum of sixty li a day. He will have completed half the journey by noon today and entered the jurisdiction of Ping Le Prefecture. However, there will be a downpour next, which will greatly slow down his speed. We won't encounter heavy rain when we set off from the capital. If we hurry, we can enter Ping Le Prefecture tonight. That way, the distance between us and him won't be far."
Liu Quan exclaimed, "It's not far, but there's a downpour as soon as we enter Ping Le Prefecture. Even if the distance isn't far, we might not be able to catch up. The downpour in the fiefdom isn't just slowing down one person!"
Xiao Heng carefully put the map away with one hand: "What you said makes sense."
But he still wanted to go.
Liu Quan was both angry and heartbroken: "Fine, now I finally understand why no one could stop Marquis Xuanping, and no one could stop you either. You and your father... are so stubborn!"
One is injured but still wants to kill; the other is injured but still wants to save people.
Xiao Heng's eyes sharpened: "Let's go!"
...
After noon, Pingluo Prefecture was like a basin of water suddenly overturned, with torrential rain pouring down, and pedestrians on the official road began to take shelter from the rain.
The small tea stall, which had previously seen little business, was suddenly packed with customers.
Among the diverse group of people, one tall and imposing figure stood out.
First, his face, which could be described as the most handsome in the Zhao Kingdom, was indeed devastatingly handsome wherever he stood; second, his noble and ruthless aura, and even the horse next to him was more ferocious and bandit-like than the others.
A very strange phenomenon occurred in the teahouse: everyone was crammed together to avoid the rain, but his table was completely empty.
Marquis Xuanping was never this murderous when he went off the battlefield. He was handsome and always had a smile on his face. He was the charming and amiable type.
Today, because I was filled with a burning rage that wanted to tear Old Liang Wang to pieces, I suddenly became unapproachable.
Among the guests seeking shelter from the rain was a group of lurking robbers.
However, the robbers were so frightened they turned into quails.
Marquis Xuanping did not come to seek shelter from the rain; he came to feed the horses. After the horses had eaten their fill, he prepared to get up and leave.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a money pouch, which gleamed with gold when he opened it!
The tea stall owner's eyes lit up with greed.
As a result, Marquis Xuanping rummaged through his money bag for a long time and only managed to pull out a single copper coin, which he then placed on the table.
The tea stall owner wondered if he had misread it; it wasn't a copper coin, but a silver ingot.
He looks like a very important person, why is he so stingy?
The tea stall owner went over and counted carefully three times.
That really is a copper coin!
"Sir!"
The tea stall owner boldly called out to Marquis Xuanping.
Marquis Xuanping, leading his horse, turned back and looked at him strangely.
The tea stall owner gestured with his eyes to the copper coins on the table.
That's not enough! At least give me two!
Marquis Xuanping gave an "oh" and a knowing look to the tea stall owner before walking over.
The tea stall owner smiled knowingly.
The next second, he saw Marquis Xuanping pick up the lone copper coin and put it back in his pocket.
Tea stall owner: "..."
(End of this chapter)
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