Ignoring the coldness on her neck, Yan Ning turned around and stared wide-eyed at You Yuanzhi, "Why did you kill Liu the midwife? This whole thing has nothing to do with you!"
You Yuanzhi held the knife close to Yan Ning's neck, preventing her from looking at him. "I thought it was related to Xiang'er, so I wanted to help Xiang'er get rid of it."
Seeing that the two were talking about something related to her, Xiang'er was afraid that she would implicate Yan Ning, so she quickly asked, "What are you talking about?"
You Yuanzhi had only heard that Fukang'an was secretly sending someone to monitor a midwife who had been to the Fucha Mansion. Fearing that this matter was related to Xiang'er, he killed the midwife to eliminate any future trouble for Xiang'er.
Yan Ning didn't want to talk about it anymore. She grabbed You Yuanzhi's hand and tried to push the knife away. You Yuanzhi didn't want to hurt Yan Ning by struggling, so he knocked her unconscious.
After You Yuanzhi carried Yan Ning to the bed, he approached Xiang'er step by step, his expression as if covered in dust for a long time, making it difficult to see clearly.
On the wooden floor of the inn, Xiang'er retreated in panic with every step. She was afraid that You Yuanzhi would knock her unconscious just like he had knocked out Yan Ning.
"Do you think I can't see through this scheme? Last time you pretended to let me out, causing the Mingqi Cult to lose nearly half of its followers. Do you think I'll still believe you if you try the same trick again?" You Yuanzhi cornered Xiang'er by the window.
In her panic, Xiang'er noticed four or five people sitting at a tea stall in the bustling street below, looking in her direction. She thought, "The Mingqi Cult couldn't have arrived so quickly; it must be Fukang'an's men." A sense of confidence crept into Xiang'er's heart. "Since you know this is a scheme, you should know that Fukang'an must have arranged all of this long ago."
You Yuanzhi laughed heartily, "Then I must thank you for sending this life-saving elixir!"
Xiang'er glanced at Yan Ning following You Yuanzhi's laughter, and a chill ran down her spine. She blamed herself for being too clever and now she had disrupted Fukang'an's plans.
You Yuanzhi sat down in front of Yan Ning, wiping the gleaming dagger against her face. Xiang'er's heart followed the movement of that dagger. "If you don't want anything to happen to her, then listen to me! I just want to save my life and leave the capital. As long as Fukang'an lets me go, I will release you immediately!" He glanced at Xiang'er as he spoke.
Xiang'er and You Yuanzhi were childhood sweethearts. Knowing his meaning, she hesitated for a moment, then took out a brocade purse from her sleeve and tossed it to You Yuanzhi.
After squeezing the silver in his purse, You Yuanzhi called out towards the door, "Tiemu!" Tiemu opened the door and had just entered the room when You Yuanzhi tossed the purse to him, "Go buy a carriage!"
Soon, Tie Ma finished buying the carriage and other necessities. You Yuanzhi picked up Yan Ning and carried her out of the inn's back door to the carriage. Xiang'er, worried about Yan Ning, boarded the carriage without You Yuanzhi helping her. After they were seated, Xiang'er tentatively said, "Fukang'an doesn't know I brought Yan Ning out." You Yuanzhi leaned back in the carriage and smiled complicatedly, "Fukang'an will find out soon enough!"
Tie Mu drove the carriage at breakneck speed to the city gate. The guards at the gate stopped their carriage, opened the curtains, and Xiang'er, holding Yan Ning, blocked the guards' view of Yan Ning's face. You Yuanzhi sat idly to the side. The guards lowered the curtains and let them out of the city.
While his men were inspecting the vehicle, the guard leader secretly glanced at Tie Mu's portrait and immediately sent someone to follow You Yuanzhi and his group. He then sent someone to report to Zhao Xing, who was in the military camp.
When Zhao Xing heard the city gate guards report that there were two men and two women in the carriage, he was surprised for a moment, then realized that the other person must be Rong Xi. Before Fukang'an went to Xiangshan, he had instructed him that if Xiang'er was willing to leave the Fucha Mansion with You Yuanzhi, he should not stop her. He should secretly monitor their movements and make sure they did not cause trouble in the capital.
Zhao Xing instructed the guards who came to report to continue monitoring You Yuanzhi's every move. If any unusual activity was detected, they were to report immediately.
The birds in the forest were startled by the carriage and scattered in all directions, flying wildly and colliding with each other. Xiang'er vomited from the jolting of the carriage, and You Yuanzhi's eyes showed a look of pity. He opened the curtain and said sternly to Tie Mu, "Slow down!"
Temu chuckled, his mustache twitching. "I was driven crazy in jail. As soon as I left the city, I forgot there was a woman in the car!"
The carriage stopped in a not-so-secluded grove of trees, next to which flowed a crystal-clear river. You Yuanzhi jumped off the carriage, closed his eyes to savor this divinely granted freedom, then took a water jug from the carriage and handed it to Tiemu to fetch water.
Temu first lay down by the river and drank to his heart's content. He was utterly disgusted with the food in the prison cell, and the cold river water made his mustache tremble as it went down his throat.
Returning from fetching water, Tiemu asked You Yuanzhi, who was leaning against the carriage wheel, puzzled, "Master, why don't we just abandon them and run away? Why bring these two women along, it's such a hassle!" To Tiemu, women were the most troublesome things, things he couldn't afford to touch!
You Yuanzhi patted Tie Mu on the shoulder, "Do you think someone as cunning as Fukang'an would let us escape so easily? That woman in the car is our lifeline; we're going to use her to make a deal with Fukang'an!"
"Alright! We can take Xiang'er with us while we're at it! That way, the leader won't be so preoccupied with worrying about her every day!" After saying that, Tie Mu chuckled to himself.
You Yuanzhi laughed and punched him lightly, then stood up and handed the kettle to Xiang'er.
Upon hearing Tie Mu's words, Xiang'er took the kettle and coldly threatened You Yuanzhi, saying, "If you dare to use despicable means to take me away, I will die in front of you!"
Because of Tie Mu's words, You Yuanzhi's face had softened somewhat. But upon hearing Xiang'er's words, he heavily pulled down the carriage curtain, his face immediately turning ashen. He found a large tree some distance from the carriage and sat down.
Yan Ning moved her neck slightly in her dazed state, the pain gradually bringing her back to consciousness. She glanced around at her surroundings, then looked at Xiang'er beside her, "Where are we?"
When Xiang'er saw that Yan Ning had woken up, she took the water jug and fed her some water. She said timidly, "You Yuanzhi has kidnapped us and taken us out of the city! Now we're waiting to make a deal with the general!"
Feeling deceived, Yan Ning knocked the water bottle out of Xiang'er's hand and angrily asked, "What are you exchanging? Did you deliberately lure me out so that You Yuanzhi would take me hostage?" Her beautiful face turned icy and frightening with anger.
Fearing she would lose Yan Ning's trust, Xiang'er quickly shook her head. "No, it was because I was too clever for my own good! I thought that having you here would make You Yuanzhi believe me more! I never expected that You Yuanzhi would see through the general's scheme and kidnap you out of the city!"
Enraged, Yan Ning refused to listen to Xiang'er's explanations any longer. She jumped off the carriage and walked up to You Yuanzhi. "You Yuanzhi, let me tell you, don't even think about using me to threaten Fukang'an. A dead person can't be used as a threat!"
Within a single day, two women threatened to kill themselves for the same man, and You Yuanzhi could no longer contain his rage. He grabbed Yan Ning by the neck with one hand, his eyes bloodshot, and said, "Then I'll see if a dead man can threaten Fukang'an!"
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