Chapter 464 Window! Go through the window!
On the shaft, An Yi's body was stretched as tight as a bow, and he leaned forward in an almost crawling posture, almost merging with the cold shaft. His rough palms tightly grasped the reins, leaving deep marks between his fingers. The whip in his other hand swung in the air with a sharp whistle that seemed to tear through the air. "Snap! Snap!" It kept hitting the hips and back of the horse that was struggling forward, and every time it fell, it brought up a cloud of splashing sweat and snow dust.
"Go!!" The short and sharp command burst out from between his clenched teeth, like a death horn on the battlefield.
Thick white mist was spewing out of the mouths and noses of the two horses pulling the cart, and their heavy breathing turned into clouds of white smoke that rolled and dissipated in the cold wind.
Just as the carriage rushed to the tightly closed city gate, An Yi's ears moved slightly, and he keenly caught the sound of horse hooves coming from far away, as rapid as rain behind him.
He pulled the reins suddenly, "Whoa!" The carriage barely stopped under the huge inertia, and the wheels dragged two deep ruts on the snow.
An jumped off the shaft of the carriage, his sharp eyes piercing through the wind and snow, instantly locking onto the person who was coming.
"Princess," he turned quickly, his voice low but clear, penetrating the wind and snow into the carriage, "Young Master Lan is here."
Inside the car, Lan Xiyue's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, a subtle wave of emotion flashing across them. She almost immediately pushed open the window, and a cold wind rushed in, blowing her hair into the wind. She leaned out, her voice carrying a subtle tension, "Brother."
"Whoa!" Lan Shenye pulled the reins suddenly, and the horse under him stood up, let out a long neigh, and stomped its front hooves down heavily, stirring up a large amount of snow and mud.
He was dusty and exhausted, his shoulders and hair covered in snow. He was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed anxiously on Lan Xiyue's face. He asked urgently, "Yueyue, how much news did the secret guards report? Is that true?"
Lan Xiyue nodded vigorously, her jaw tense. "Yes! Brother, you're just in time. Let's go find Duoduo now!"
"good!"
An Yi had already stepped forward and took out a dark token from his arms, flashing it in front of the soldiers guarding the city.
When the soldiers saw the token clearly, their faces became serious. They did not dare to delay in the slightest and immediately worked together to push the heavy city gate.
"Squeak--click--" The huge friction sound of the door hinge seemed particularly harsh in the silent snowy night. The city gate slowly opened, revealing the vast snowfield outside the city, which was even darker and deeper.
An Yi swiftly turned over and jumped back onto the shaft of the cart, shaking the reins: "Go!"
The carriage started again and rushed out of the city gate like an arrow.
Lan Shenye suddenly squeezed the horse's belly, "Gee!" The horse under his crotch neighed loudly, and followed closely behind. The agile figures of man and horse instantly merged into the snow mist rising behind the carriage.
Meanwhile, in a remote courtyard in the eastern suburbs, Qian Duoduo held her breath again and carefully moved to the closed door. She pressed her face tightly against the crack of the cold wooden door, peeking out with only one eye.
In the yard, the two men on guard were already drunk. Their bodies were leaning against each other as if they were falling apart. They staggered, one step deep and one step shallow on the thin snow, mumbling incoherently, and staggered into the room next door.
With a muffled "bang", the door of the next room was slammed shut. The sound was particularly harsh in the silent snowy night, and it seemed to hit Qian Duoduo's heart.
She then suddenly exhaled the breath she had been holding for a long time. Her back was already soaked with cold sweat, and when it pressed against the cold door panel, she shivered.
She quickly turned around, slid down to the ground with her back against the door, then immediately forced herself to stand up and walked quickly towards the shivering figures huddled together in the corner.
"They... went back to their room." Qian Duoduo's voice was very low, with a slight gasp of relief, but full of urgency. "Hurry, we must find a way to leave now!"
A woman raised her head, her face still stained with tears, her voice choked with despair: "The door... the gate is locked with such a thick iron chain, and outside... it's so dark outside, and it's snowing, where can we... run to?" Her eyes swept across the thick night and the silently falling snowflakes outside the window, and her body shook even more violently.
Qian Duoduo did not answer. Her sharp eyes scanned the prison-like room, finally stopping on the tightly closed window on the other side of the room.
She walked over quickly, pressed her hands against the window frame, and pushed upwards with all her strength - but it didn't move at all!
The window frame made a dull creaking sound. She leaned in to take a closer look. With the faint sunlight reflected from the snow outside the window, she saw that several thick iron nails were deeply wedged into the wooden frame at the edge of the window lattice, nailing the window sash firmly.
"Window! Go through the window!" Qian Duoduo's voice was filled with desperate determination. She suddenly pulled out the hairpin on her head that had been worn to a sharp point. "It's better to escape than to stay here and wait for them to send you away like an animal tomorrow!"
Her words were like a faint flame, igniting the remaining desire to survive in the other women's eyes.
They supported each other, struggled to stand up, and staggered to the window.
Qian Duoduo didn't hesitate and used the sharp end of the hairpin to stab the thick paper used to paste the window.
"Swish!" A sound like tearing cloth was particularly clear in the dead silence, scaring several women so much that they gasped.
She quickly scratched it a few times, and an irregular hole was torn in the tough window paper. The biting cold wind, carrying icy snowflakes, immediately rushed in and hit their faces like a knife.
Qian Duoduo put the hairpin back into her bun, ignoring the stinging coldness, and stretched out her hands. Her ten fingers tightly gripped the thickest wooden bar of the window frame, and she used all her strength to bend it to the side!
His knuckles turned white from excessive force, and his arm muscles were tense and trembling, but the nailed wooden bar only swayed slightly, making a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, but it did not loosen at all.
"Miss, let me try!" Seeing this, Xiaohong immediately squeezed forward.
Qian Duoduo gasped and took half a step back. Xiaohong was small but strong. She imitated Qian Duoduo, holding the wooden stick tightly with both hands, exerting strength from her waist and abdomen, clenching her teeth, her cheeks bulging, and a low "uh ah" sound coming from her throat.
The other women seemed to have seen the only hope, and they stretched out their trembling hands, grabbing, pushing, or helping Xiaohong to pry the stubborn wood apart.
Several pairs of slender hands, each bursting with astonishing strength, were tightly clasped on the wooden bar. In the darkness, there were only suppressed gasps, the groaning of wood, and the faint sound of nails scratching against sawdust.
Time passed by little by little in the silent struggle, and sweat mixed with dust slid down their foreheads and dripped onto the cold windowsill.
I don’t know how long it took, “Crack…Bang!”
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