Gan Qiongying's carriage approached the imperial city silently, waiting anxiously at the location where Yingyi had been instructed by Gan Lin.
Gan Lin, who was now traveling light and dressed in eunuch's clothes, was personally led by Eunuch Li to a side gate of the palace. He was slightly hunched over and looked just like a eunuch who had been serving people for many years.
Eunuch Li negotiated with the gatekeeper. After the palace gates were locked, it was absolutely forbidden to leave. However, Eunuch Li was the chief eunuch, and this small gate was a side gate near the Palace of the Lowly Slaves, which was the residence of the convicted slaves in the palace.
This is also the only place in the imperial city where, by paying money to find a steward, one can secretly climb over the palace wall.
After Li Gonggong intervened, he led Gan Lin along the palace wall in the shadows. Leaving the palace at night was strictly forbidden; if the patrolling palace guards saw them, they would be killed on the spot.
Li Quan personally escorted his emperor to the palace gate where he could scale the wall. He knelt on the ground one last time to see him off, allowing his emperor to step on his legs to climb over the wall. There was no sorrow in his eyes, only the genuine joy of knowing that his emperor was about to gain freedom, and some deep reluctance hidden in his eyes.
Gan Lin patted Eunuch Li on the shoulder one last time, and without much hesitation, said, "Take care."
With a quick and easy landing, Gan Lin scaled the palace wall. Outside, Gan Qiongying's men were there to meet him. Just as Gan Lin's toes touched the ground, a "thump" was heard beside him, and another eunuch dressed in a eunuch's uniform landed right at his feet.
Gan Lin instinctively stepped back, watching him warily. According to their plan, Gan Lin had not brought anyone out of the palace.
"Who are you!" Gan Qiongying's shadow guard, who was guiding Gan Lin, drew his sword and pointed it at the little eunuch.
The young eunuch immediately removed his hat, knelt down, and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, spare my life! It was me, it was me!"
Gan Lin leaned closer for a look and realized that the person who jumped out of the palace wall with him was actually Physician Xiao, Xiao Qiansong.
"you……"
"Your Majesty, please take me with you. The journey will be fraught with difficulties, but I can cure illnesses, recognize herbs, and even cook and do laundry!"
Xiao Qiansong raised his head and said, "Yes, it was Eunuch Li who agreed to let me go. Your Majesty, I will never hold you back!"
Gan Lin was taken aback, then turned around. Beyond the palace wall, Li Quan was no longer in sight; all he could see was a sparse cluster of palace lights.
He was overcome with grief, and for the first time in his life, he understood what it meant to be separated by life and death.
He ordered the shadow guards to sheathe their swords, then pulled Xiao Qiansong up and said, "Follow me and you're not allowed to call me Your Majesty anymore, you're not allowed to kneel anymore, or you'll be the first to be killed if you hold me back."
The group quickly headed towards the carriage parked in the shadows and boarded it.
On the carriage, Gan Qiongying, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward and hugged Gan Lin tightly the moment she saw him.
Gan Lin hugged back tightly. The siblings' excitement and joy were palpable. No one but them could understand what this agreed-upon departure meant to them. After half a lifetime of being unable to control their own destiny and struggling between life and death, their yearning for freedom had become an obsession.
Now that I finally see hope, I am overjoyed and my soul is trembling even before I take the first step.
The carriage quickly started moving, and the siblings finally separated. Only then did Gan Qiongying notice that Gan Lin was being followed by someone.
Physician Xiao immediately knelt down before Gan Qiongying and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets the Princess."
Gan Qiongying frowned subconsciously, and Physician Xiao immediately repeated what he had just said to Gan Lin.
She added, "You can mend clothes and even earn money!"
Gan Qiongying: "..."
Gan Qiongying looked at Gan Lin, who nodded and said, "Take him with you; he might be of some use."
Gan Qiongying didn't say anything more. Instead, she pulled Gan Lin over, handed him the piece of paper she had scribbled on, and said, "This is the route I chose. What do you think?"
Physician Xiao glanced at it and gasped. He couldn't understand it at all; it was even harder to read than the prescriptions his father had written...
But Gan Lin took it and looked at it, and surprisingly understood it. He said, "I think... this is the best way. It's almost the end of the year, and once we go into the mountains, no one will be able to find us."
The siblings quickly reached an agreement. Gan Qiongying knocked on the carriage, and soon Yingyi rode up to the carriage window next to Gan Qiongying. Gan Qiongying lowered her voice and gave him some instructions.
The group quickly headed towards the royal hunting grounds in the city.
They did not intend to leave the city through the normal palace gates; they could enter through the royal hunting grounds, change into hunting horses, and exit through the back hills of the hunting grounds.
This was, of course, also a means of stalling for time, because they would eventually return via the official road, but by then they would have changed their appearance.
When they arrived at the entrance to the Imperial Hunting Grounds overnight, Li Hua had finally dealt with everyone cleanly. This time, his methods were decisive and ruthless, allowing Zhong Li to truly see that he was not just all talk and no action.
In the end, Song Ci's life was spared as Zhongli Zhengzhen wished, but unfortunately, Song Ci's legs were crippled and his tendons were severed, so from then on he could only crawl around his master to serve him faithfully.
Who dared to use Gan Qiongying as a threat? Li Hua knew that if his men hadn't acted quickly, Gan Qiongying in the princess's residence might have already been captured.
Song Ci brought all the experts from Jinchuan this time, and Li Hua also suffered heavy losses. The lake in Zhongli Zhengzhen's mansion has been dyed red. Although Li Hua's side seems to have won a great victory, in reality, they also suffered heavy casualties.
Moreover, all his men are mercenaries, not as loyal as the Jin Chuan experts. Once Li Hua's side shows signs of weakness, these men will all leave without caring about Li Hua's life.
Fortunately, Li Hua had enough money to compensate these people even if they risked their lives for him.
So, the reason Li Hua won in the end and personally beheaded people was because all his men had already left; after taking the money, no one would stay...
If Song Ci were to send another group of people, Li Hua would have no choice but to surrender.
Fortunately, there was no real harm done. After this thorough cleansing, Zhong Lizhen will never again harbor any illusions.
Because Li Hua had already told him, quite logically, when the poison would take effect, and also told his mother and father that they had taken the same poison as him.
From now on, if anyone dares to resist again, Li Hua will show no mercy.
After completely subduing Zhongli Zhengzhen's forces, Li Hua could then safely escape with Gan Qiongying.
With the people of Jinchuan secretly helping to protect them, Li Hua was able to ensure that even if the Empress Dowager discovered something amiss, and even if the entire Kou clan mobilized to hunt them down, Li Hua could still take Gan Qiongying sightseeing without any haste.
He had dealt with everything, undone his hair, changed his clothes, and eagerly rode back to the princess's residence, but there wasn't even a servant to greet him and announce his arrival.
The entire princess's residence was dark and gloomy, like a giant beast that had fallen into a deep sleep; there was no starlight or moonlight, and it was so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
Li Hua dismounted at the gate, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the princess's residence.
As he dismounted, his foot touched something on the ground. Looking down, he realized that the Buddhist prayer beads wrapped in a handkerchief around his neck had somehow fallen off...
Perhaps due to the bumpy journey, Li Hua pulled the handkerchief out completely, leaving only the last bead. As he unfolded the handkerchief, it rolled to the ground.
It crashed silently into the soil.
The horse paced restlessly on the ground, and Li Hua, disregarding the risk of being accidentally injured, squatted down to touch it.
In the end, he only managed to pull out two beads...
Even at full gallop, it would take about fifteen minutes to travel from the Jin Chuan hostage's residence to the princess's residence, and there was no way to find where the prayer beads had fallen.
Li Hua's heart felt as if it had fallen heavily to the ground along with the two Buddhist prayer beads.
A very bad feeling welled up inside him, and without thinking, he immediately ran towards the main courtyard.
His bandages were clearly on, but he ran with a limp and stumbled.
But when he finally passed through the moon gate of the main courtyard, he found that the lamp waiting for him in the entire main courtyard was not the one that he would leave on every time he returned home late.
Instead, it was a darkness that plunged him into an abyss.
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