Chapter 169 I'll need your help to escape.
Before dawn, Yao Shisan was startled awake by a loud bang from next door.
She sat up, looking bewildered; it was barely dawn.
What happened?
Danniang from the next room also came out wearing an outer robe.
"What happened! Did the house collapse?!"
Yao Shisan glanced at the two still-unconscious children beside him and quietly got up.
"Danniang."
Dan Niang turned around and said, "Madam Yao, it sounds like the voice from next door. I hope nothing has happened."
Yao Shisan wrapped his cloak tighter around himself; aside from anything else, Zhou Congxian's sable cloak was quite warm.
"I'll go check on you. You go inside quickly, don't catch a cold."
Dan Niang instructed, "Then be careful. Although the neighbor is just a child, there are still so many servants."
"I know, I know what I'm doing."
In Yao Shisan's eyes, he was still a child, back when they were trapped in Dexing Tower by envoys from a neighboring country.
She was holding the baby.
The door next door was wide open, and two or three eunuchs looked disheveled, as if they had been blown up.
"What are you doing...?"
Before she could finish speaking, there was another "bang"!
It's even louder than before!
Yuanbao emerged, his face blackened and his hair singed. "Quick, quick, fetch Physician Cui..."
He had barely finished speaking when he collapsed straight down.
"Grandpa Yuanbao!"
Two eunuchs stepped forward to help Yuanbao up, while another hurriedly went out to fetch the imperial physician.
"this……"
Yao Shisan was speechless for a long time. What was going on? What was happening?
"Where's the gold ingot?!"
Xiao Lin's voice came from inside, "Two more people!"
Yao Shisan glanced at the two young eunuchs who dared not move, then stepped inside.
As soon as you pass through the hanging flower gate, you can smell the pungent smell of gunpowder.
She had only ever smelled this scent when fireworks were being set off.
She raised her hand to cover her nose. "Seventh Prince."
"Why are you here?"
The sound came from the roof, and Yao Shisan looked up and saw Xiao Lin sitting on the roof.
"Does Your Highness want to open a fireworks factory?"
"What fireworks workshop? You're so ignorant."
Xiao Lin climbed down the ladder on the side, "Come, let me show you the 'incomparable power' I made!"
A room filled with smoke kept pouring out from the open door.
Yuanbao, who was by the main gate outside, was still asleep. He was probably blown out from there!
Yao Shisan withdrew her hand, "Seventh Prince, this humble woman hasn't lived enough yet..."
"Not this way!" Xiao Lin grabbed her and led her straight to the room opposite.
Pushing open the door, you're greeted by a strong, pungent smell. On a large wooden table are bamboo tubes or wooden pipes of various sizes.
Xiao Lin picked up one of the bamboo tubes. "This is my unparalleled power. I'll take this hunting in the spring and show my royal brother how powerful I am!"
Yao Shisan immediately spotted a small black box on the wall.
"Black medicine?!"
Her expression changed instantly. If this box exploded, this place would be razed to the ground!
"Seventh Prince, these things are too dangerous; they could take lives at any moment."
At this moment, she disregarded social hierarchy and turned to leave.
Xiao Lin chased after him, "Don't you want to see?"
Yao Shisan paused, "Your Highness, I don't want to, I just feel danger."
He didn't care at all. "So what if it's dangerous? If it weren't dangerous, I wouldn't be able to create it with my boundless power."
Her brows furrowed. Xiao Lin was of noble status; even if he wanted the stars in the sky, someone would find a way to bring them down for him.
He seemed indifferent to the things in the world that were readily available to him.
They are so indifferent that they can disregard life, whether it belongs to others or themselves.
Yao Shisan shook his head. "As I just said, it's too dangerous. Not only am I not ready to live, but Fu'er, Pang Xi, and all of us want to live peacefully."
"Your Highness may have seen all the good things in the world, but we have not."
She looked up at the pale light on the horizon, then changed the subject, "The ice sleds were a lot of fun the other day."
"I want Fu'er to be able to play every winter from now on."
Life is of utmost importance, and she strives so hard to live with her two children for these simple joys.
Xiao Lin still held his "incomparably powerful" weapon in his hand.
Yao Shisan curtsied and said, "This humble woman takes her leave."
Just as she was leaving, the young eunuch led the imperial physician in.
The imperial physician, thinking it was the Seventh Prince who was injured, asked, "Where is His Highness?"
Yao Shisan went back and sighed deeply.
The neighbor is a little tyrant who plays with "black drugs," who knows when he might explode.
I can't stay here anymore, for the sake of my life.
The scenery here is quite beautiful; I'm a little reluctant to leave.
When Yao Shisan returned, Danniang had already woken up and was busy in the kitchen.
After discussing it, the two decided to go out and find a new place to live later.
Before the two could even leave, Xiao Lin from next door arrived again.
He also brought his two big dogs and ice sled from yesterday.
"Where's Zhou Jiafu? Didn't you say ice sleds are fun? Let's go play on ice sleds."
Yao Shisan, “…?”
Is it because she's too old to keep up with the thinking of today's kids?
They were playing with "black medicine" before dawn, and now they're acting like nothing's wrong and want to play on ice sleds.
A few kids went to play on ice sleds.
Yuanbao, whose hands were wrapped in gauze, came closer, his face full of gratitude.
"Madam Yao, you really have a way. His Highness has taken away all those precious 'black medicines'."
"……?ah?"
Yao Shisan looked completely bewildered; it seemed she hadn't done anything at all.
Yuanbao almost cried, "Your Highness's 'little gadgets,' if His Highness hurts us while playing with them, we'll die; if we hurt ourselves while playing with them, we'll still die."
"It's finally over! If Madam Yao ever needs our help in the future, please let us know!"
"Ah... okay, okay."
Dan Niang had already packed her things.
"Madam Yao, should we still move?"
Yao Shisan looked at the children who were having a lot of fun on the ice and said, "I guess we don't need to."
Fu'er and Xuan'er came back covered in sweat from playing, and as soon as they entered the door they said they were hungry.
Danniang reheated the leftovers from yesterday.
There were so many dishes yesterday! I've never seen so many dishes during the Chinese New Year!
When Yao Shisan led the already-washed young girl in, Xiao Lin, who had come uninvited, already had chopsticks in his hand.
"Isn't this the leftovers from yesterday? Zhou Congxian is too stingy. He doesn't even have any food, let alone servants."
He was impolite, his chopsticks already reaching for the roasted venison that he had so vehemently praised yesterday, which was now completely ruined.
"What are you looking at? These were all bought by me, can't I even eat them?!"
Yuanbao's eyes almost popped out of his head.
These were all leftovers from yesterday, and Your Highness actually ate them?!
Xuan'er is young, and she has already become familiar with this somewhat fierce older brother.
She didn't understand the concept of hierarchy yet, so she pulled her sister Fu'er to sit down next to her.
"Your Highness, try the pastries my mother makes later, they're delicious."
She still remembered what her mother had said: she couldn't call him "brother," she had to call him "Your Highness."
"Why wait? Bring it up now!"
Yao Shisan slowly withdrew his surprised mouth.
Fine, it's just another child.
One is to lead, and a group is to release.
*
Jiang Xingyao had been waiting for three more days. Every little sound he heard each day made him think that his sister had arrived in the border region.
He Xun, the eldest brother of the He family, even asked someone to check the roster at the Jizhou Wharf. No one named Yao Shisan boarded the ship that came from Chuzhou.
He set off immediately.
He Ran wanted to go with them, but said, "Wait a minute, I'm going to borrow something."
Before Jiang Xingyao could speak, she rushed out in a flurry.
He Xun was playing with his baby daughter, who was only a few months old.
When his younger sister's boisterous voice drifted in, the smile on his face quickly vanished.
He was about to squeeze through the back window with his youngest daughter in his arms.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the He family grabbed him, "What are you doing?"
He Xun: "Didn't you hear that? It can't be anything good!"
He gave his wife a shove, saying, "Just give me a piece of your mind and say I'm not here."
He Ran pushed open the door and entered, but He Xun had already jumped out of the back window and run away.
"Where's my older brother?"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the He family glanced at the window, then pulled her outside.
"Your older brother isn't here."
"But……"
But the maid said that the eldest brother was here.
Before she could finish speaking, something cold was placed in her palm.
He Ran opened his palm and saw that it was his elder brother's gold token.
In addition to the He family's personal guards, up to a thousand soldiers from the southwest can also be mobilized!
There's no need to mobilize the soldiers from the Southwest Camp; she can just call upon some of the local soldiers.
"Thank you, sister-in-law!"
He Ran hugged his sister-in-law tightly, exclaiming, "My sister-in-law is the best!"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the He family patted her on the back. When she married into the family, this younger sister was only five or six years old.
She watched the little girl grow up, and she was no different from her daughter now.
"Alright, be careful. If you can't win, remember to run away and don't worry about others."
This "other person" is still waiting at the entrance of the He residence.
He Ran hugged his sister-in-law with tears in his eyes, "Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry. You've been so good to me, and I even helped my brother keep it from you."
“If you weren’t mistaken, it was my eldest brother and third brother at the distillery last time. He gave me a python whip to gag me.”
He Ran grabbed the token and ran outside, not forgetting to leak the secret as he ran.
"And the eldest brother's secret stash of money is hidden with the third brother!"
She had just left the hospital when she heard her sister-in-law's powerful roar.
"He Xun!"
Then came the image of He Xun carrying his daughter, being chased all over the yard.
She just can't see it anymore.
He Ran took his elder brother's golden token and selected twenty people to accompany him.
The group set off in a grand procession.
From Bianzhou to Jizhou, then from Jizhou by boat to Chuzhou, and finally from Chuzhou to Yuzhou.
The man had just disembarked in Yuzhou and hadn't even left the dock when he was surrounded by the vassal soldiers.
"Lord Jiang, His Highness requests your presence."
He Ran looked at the soldiers and officers, who were layered upon layered inside and out.
Her expression turned cold. "Is this how His Highness Prince Cheng treats his guests? Anyone who didn't know better would think we'd done something wrong."
Chief Steward Qing's gaze fell on He Ran, who was blocking his way.
"Miss He brought so many people into Yuzhou, are you planning a rebellion?"
Jiang Xingyao took He Ran's hand, then let go and took a step forward.
"There are twenty guards, all with travel permits. It's best not to wear the steward's hat indiscriminately."
His gaze swept lightly over the well-equipped vassal soldiers. "I just don't know what I have done to warrant the mobilization of so many vassal soldiers."
Steward Qing put his hands behind his back and raised his chin.
"Investigate! Dingxian County Magistrate Jiang Xingyao is found to have embezzled river management funds!"
"You're talking nonsense!" He Ran shouted angrily.
Jiang Xingyao smiled and said, "When did Your Highness begin to act beyond the governor's office?"
The vassal kings of today are not what they used to be.
In order to pave the way for her son, the Empress Dowager had already suppressed the vassal kings to a great extent, and the remaining ones were no longer a threat.
Xiao Shu actually dared to try to use his brother and sister to extend their reach into the Northwest Camp.
Chief Steward Qing glanced subconsciously at the small building next to the dock.
Jiang Xingyao's eyes darkened slightly as he reached out and took her hand. "I'll have to trouble you to help me escape."
Excitement gleamed in He Ran's eyes. "Don't worry, with me here, I won't be able to harm a single hair on your head!"
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