The people around could only wait patiently for the Jin Jinyiwei to leave the city one by one, not daring to utter a word of complaint.

Wuhejialou pressed down his hat again, glanced at a horse-drawn cart across the street, and walked in the other direction.

The cart was loaded with a heavy wine barrel. The driver, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, was gulping down the wine from the wine bag. His thick beard almost covered most of his face. He was slightly hunched over and reeked of alcohol, which made some people around him stay away.

It was clearly a cold winter with snow all over the sky, but the five Hao people hiding in the wine barrels were already sweating profusely.

Half an hour ago, they were rescued from the Jinyiwei by a group of people. One of them, who called himself Bichawen, said that they were secret agents lurking in the capital and were ordered by the Prince of Andaman to rescue them.

In addition to him, the Prince of Andaman also sent Yala back to Beijing from the Xiyuan Palace to meet them. Now they need to meet up with Yala as soon as possible.

As time was running out, the Jinyiwei would definitely search the city, so Bi Chawen had no time to say much and said that they would escape from the capital first and discuss other things later.

Bichawen spoke standard Hao language, and one could tell from his accent that he was a Hao person, unlike those Qi people who were fluent in Hao language. Moreover, he took out the token of the Prince of Andaman as a token of trust, and they hid in the wine barrel as he instructed.

They couldn't see outside, so they could only hear the voices of passers-by outside. They knew that they were about to leave the city and that the Jinyiwei had arrived.

The sound of horse hooves was still so loud through the layer of wine barrels, and the chattering of passers-by could be heard: "The Jinyiwei is making such a big fuss, what are they doing?"

"What can the Jinyiwei do? Either they confiscate people's homes or they arrest wanted criminals."

"I just heard from a Jinyiwei that there is a wanted criminal on the run..."

“…”

Suddenly, a cold male voice interrupted the discussion unhappily: "The Jinyiwei are handling cases, so you are not allowed to criticize them. All the outsiders, please leave immediately!"

The few Hao people hiding in the wine barrels couldn't help but hold their breath, and their hearts suddenly tightened.

In this small wine barrel, their heartbeats were particularly clear.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Soon, the sound of horse hooves faded away, and someone outside shouted for everyone to line up and leave the city.

They could feel the carriage starting to move out of the city again. After a while, the carriage continued to move forward, and the speed was getting faster and faster...

They should have gotten out of the city safely and reunited with several other Hao people who participated in the rescue.

A line of horses and carriages galloped forward, accompanied by the sound of whips. The wine barrels they were in were shaking slightly due to the movement of the carriages, and occasionally several barrels collided with each other.

The Hao people hiding in the wine barrels felt that this small space was really uncomfortable. Not only could they not stretch their limbs, but they also felt extremely stuffy.

Time became very torturous.

But they were all well-trained soldiers who had been in worse environments. They all kept silent and maintained absolute silence for fear of exposing their whereabouts.

After all, this is the territory of Da Qi, not their Da Hao.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently, and then the frequency of the whip waving became faster and faster, and the speed of the carriage also increased.

“Pah pah pah…”

They could vaguely hear Bichawen's rapid and heavy breathing outside.

"…caught up." Bichawen's voice was a little hoarse.

Another Haoren outside also nervously echoed, saying, "Faster!"

The few Hao people hiding in the wine barrels were also infected with this nervous mood, thinking: Could it be that the Jinyiwei later discovered something was wrong, so they turned around and chased after us? The carriage continued to accelerate, running all the way, and the cart was shaking even more violently.

Even so, the hurried sound of horse hooves from behind was getting closer and closer...

"parking!"

"Jinyiwei is investigating the case, why don't you stop immediately!"

A rough male voice accompanied by the sound of horse hooves clearly penetrated the wine barrel, so domineering.

The carriage stopped with the sound of horses neighing.

"I don't know what the general has..."

Bichawen asked politely in Qi language, but before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by the other party: "Stop pretending, you are from Hao country, right?!"

"What's in your carriage? Get out immediately. We want to search it!"

The other party asked questions repeatedly in a very impolite tone.

Bichawen said again: "I am a Haoren, and I am going to the hunting ground on the orders of the envoy, the King of Andaman. This is my token."

"You guys are acting suspiciously, kill them!" a rough male voice said coldly.

The sound of swords being drawn could be heard, and someone outside shouted in Hao language: "Bi Chawen, you go first! We'll cover you!"

Then, the carriage they were in continued to move forward, and behind them were shouts of killing and the sounds of swords and knives, filled with murderous intent.

The Hao people hiding in the wine barrels also wanted to go out to fight together, but the wine barrels were sealed with lids. Moreover, they had been hiding in the wine barrels for too long, and their limbs were somewhat numb. When the carriage sped, the cart and the wine barrels shook violently, shaking them like a lone boat in a stormy night...

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently and turned over. The wine barrels also rolled off the carriage, and the Hao people hiding in the wine barrels felt dizzy...

After a few loud bangs, the wine barrel they were in was smashed into pieces, and they finally saw light in front of them.

The snow is still falling and the wind is still howling.

The surroundings were in a mess, with broken pieces of wine barrels and a cart that had been smashed to pieces after it overturned.

The five Hao people were all in a mess. Some had bruises on their foreheads and elbows, some had messy hair, and some had a tooth knocked out...

"Bichawen, how are you?"

One of the hook-nosed Hao people shouted excitedly.

The other Hao people then noticed that Bichawen was pinned under a huge rock, with blood vomiting from the corner of his mouth. His body was also covered in blood, which quickly dyed a large area of ​​snow below red, which was a shocking sight.

Judging from the amount of blood he was bleeding, it was obvious that he was in critical condition...or in other words, he was beyond saving.

One of the Hao people said with a bit of reluctance: "Brother, please be patient, we will move the stone away..."

"No, no need." Bichawen, who was pressed under the rock, only said three words before vomiting blood again, with blood dripping from her teeth. "I... I can't do it anymore... You... go away!"

"Go and meet Yela!"

“De de de…”

The sound of horse hooves from behind was getting louder and louder, and the pursuers were approaching.

Hook-nosed Man and the other Hao people looked at each other. They had no weapons now, and they were weak and frail after being locked up in prison for several days. It was impossible for them to fight the Jinyiwei head-on.

The hook-nosed man gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

The five people left quickly and hid in a gloomy forest nearby.

The cold wind brought large flakes of snow, which made the trees creak like crazy, making the five Hao people who were fleeing unable to breathe and unable to speak.

All they can do is keep running forward, forward, and forward.

However, the pursuers behind them were too difficult to deal with. Occasionally, they thought they had gotten rid of them by using the terrain as a cover, but after a while, they would appear behind them again and could not be shaken off like a dog-skin plaster.

They didn't dare to stop for a moment and ran forward with all their might.

At some point, the gray-blue sky above changed color. The sky gradually became darker and darker, so heavy that it seemed to be pressing down on their heads.

When it was getting dark, Hook Nose stopped panting and said to his companions: "Let's... take a break... we should have gotten rid of them."

There was a thick, inky black color behind us. The heavy snow reduced visibility and everything was quiet all around.

There was no sound except their breathing.

The others also looked in the direction they came from and listened for a while, and they felt relieved when they were sure that there was no sound of pursuers.

The hook-nosed man recovered a little and wanted to say that they had to reunite with Yela as soon as possible. But before he could finish his words, another Hao man screamed, "Someone seems to be coming over there!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to a path outside the woods in the west.

The first reaction of the hook nose was to suspect that the Jinyiwei had caught up with them, but then he thought about it and felt that the direction was wrong. The Jinyiwei should be behind them, but the people in the west came from the front.

"Hide first!"

At the command from Hook Nose, they carefully hid behind several big trees and rocks, concealing their figures.

Gradually, the three people coming from the west were getting closer and closer. All three were riding horses. Leading the group was a middle-aged man in a green robe. Although he was wearing the clothes of Da Qi, the five Hao people including the man with the hooked nose recognized him as a Hao person at a glance, and he was also an acquaintance of theirs.

"Yala!"

The hook-nosed man shouted in surprise at the newcomer.

Since they were one of their own, Hooked Nose and the others didn't hide. They quickly rushed out of the woods and waved to the newcomers.

Yela and the other two were also startled when they saw someone blocking the road and pulled the reins.

The three horses suddenly stopped and breathed heavily.

"Pushen, you...how come you guys are here?!" Yela, who was riding on a brown horse, looked at the five embarrassed people in front of him in shock.

Yela also knew that Pushin and his five companions were captured by the Five Cities Bingmasi. The reason why Prince Andaman asked him to rush back to the capital was also because of this matter. But how did Pushin and his companions escape from the Five Cities Bingmasi?

Looking at their disheveled and injured appearance, you can tell that they most likely escaped, and it was with great difficulty.

"Come on, drink some water first. I have some dry food here."

Yela quickly handed water bags to Pushin and the others, and distributed some dry food to them, thinking that he would talk to them in detail after they had caught their breath.

However, something unexpected happened.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”

Suddenly, there were bursts of sounds of breaking air mixed with the sound of wind and swaying branches. Countless arrows shot densely from the woods on the other side of the trail. The arrows fell like rain, tearing through the night wind with murderous aura.

"Be careful, there is an ambush!" Yela shouted with a changed expression.

Before he could finish his words, a Hao man behind Ye La was shot in the head by an arrow. The arrow tip entered his ear and pierced through his head, splashing blood and brain matter.

Before the Hao man could figure out what was going on, he slowly fell off his horse with his body stiffened. His eyes were wide open and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. He died with his eyes open.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”

More arrows shot over, and the sky full of arrows covered them.

A strong smell of blood permeated the night wind, along with the sounds of people wailing, groaning, and falling horses, which was miserable and desperate.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo!”

The cold wind grew stronger, as did the snow, drowning out the mournful sounds in the wind and snow.

The heavy snow fell overnight and then stopped.

The next day, the snow had cleared and the sky was clear, with the fragrance of plum blossoms filling the air. It was already the fifth day of winter hunting.

Early in the morning, a letter was delivered to Gu Jue by carrier pigeon from the capital.

Thinking that Chu Qianchen had been looking forward to the progress of this matter, Gu Jue finished reading the letter sent by carrier pigeon and went around to the back of the hall to find Chu Qianchen.

After a night of heavy snow, the outside world has become a white world. The thick snow on the corrugated roofs, tree branches, wall piers, and the ground is reflected by the sunlight, looking crystal clear and bright, just like a silver-white world.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Gu Jue walked straight towards a small red plum forest in the northwest of the courtyard.

Clusters of red plum blossoms are piled up on the majestic branches. The flowers are small and look like sculptures. They bloom quietly in the cold wind. The more the wind and snow oppress them, the more beautiful the plum blossoms bloom. The rich and clear plum fragrance comes with the wind...

In the forest, a young girl wearing a bright red cloak with white sable fur trimmed in it was concentrating on sweeping the white snow off the plum blossoms with a goat-hair brush, again and again, carefully sweeping the snow into a small jar in her hand.

The breeze blew gently, and the red plum blossoms on the tree swayed rustlingly, with a few petals falling occasionally.

Gu Jue walked towards her slowly. Even though he tried to lighten his steps, his short boots still made a slight "crunching" sound on the soft snow.

When Chu Qianchen heard the sound, he immediately stopped, turned around, looked at him, and smiled sweetly.

"Your Highness," Chu Qianchen waved at him, holding the small jar, "I'm almost done sweeping the snow. I'll use the snow water to make tea for you later."

The golden sunlight after the snow gently caressed her face, giving her a faint golden halo.

The girl's skin was as white as cream, her lips looked like cherry blossoms, her black pupils seemed to be shining with starlight, and her smile was so charming that even the beautiful red plum blossoms behind her were eclipsed.

Watching a beauty under the flowers is touching.

Gu Jue smiled slightly, and Chu Qianchen's words rang in his ears: "The snow has stopped, I have to go to the plum forest to sweep the snow. The water from the newly melted snow has the fragrance of plum blossoms. It can not only be used to make tea, but also porridge to relieve heat and quench thirst."

This little girl is very easy to raise, but she is also very particular about it.

This is true for food, clothing, housing and transportation.

For example, the deerskin gloves they wore. After coming back from picking wild mushrooms two days ago, she said that the leather of the deerskin gloves was not soft enough, the cuff was a little long, and it was inconvenient to wear them. She planned to improve the deerskin gloves. In the past two days, she not only measured the size of his hands, but also drew several drawings of new gloves, saying that she wanted to make him a pair of gloves first to see.

"Aren't you cold?" Gu Jue quickly walked to Chu Qianchen's side, and seeing that her ten slender jade fingers were a little red from the cold, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Chu Qianchen: "Cold!"

Amber took the small jar and the brush from Chu Qianchen's hand very well, then took a step back, and then another step.

Gu Jue held Chu Qianchen's cold fingers in his palms and covered her hands.

Chu Qianchen felt that his hands were too cold and was afraid that Gu Jue would be frozen. Just as he was about to struggle, he heard Gu Jue say, "I just received a letter from the capital via carrier pigeon..."

"What do you mean?" Chu Qianchen's eyes lit up and his attention was diverted in an instant.

So, can she finally hear “Next Time”?!

Gu Jue smiled, hid Chu Qianchen's hand in his wide sleeve, and continued casually: "Yesterday morning, the five Hao people imprisoned in the Wucheng Bingmasi were taken away by Lu Siji on the emperor's order. However, on the way back to the Beizhenfusi, they were kidnapped by another group of Hao people."

Chu Qianchen chuckled in great amusement.

She could imagine that Lu Siji must be extremely worried now. This time, the Jinyiwei had lost all their face! Lu Siji would never have thought that the one who rescued the prisoner was someone from Wuhejia Tower.

Although the previous emperor of Nanhao is dead, Wuhejialou, as the eldest prince of Nanhao, already has some connections and secret lines.

These people only obey the orders of Uhajalou and hide in the dark, unknown to the public.

Holding Adaman's token, they disguised themselves as Uhaduro's secret agents lurking in the capital, which was enough to gain the trust of the five Hao people in such a chaotic and urgent situation.

And when the time is right, the people from Prince Chen's Mansion will lead the Jinyiwei to the west city gate, and the five Hao people hiding in the wine barrel will just happen to hear the voices of the Jinyiwei. Naturally, they will believe that they are being hunted down by the Jinyiwei.

Everything went smoothly.

Seeing her happy smile, Gu Jue calmly took her hand and walked back, continuing, "Last night, they met up with Yela on the road and were ambushed again. Only a Hao man named Pushen rolled down the hillside and managed to escape."

The soldiers who were chasing the five Hao people last night were sent by Gu Jue. They deliberately led the five Hao people to meet Yela, and also deliberately let Pushen go alive after the ambush, just to make the other party believe that it was the Jinyiwei who were chasing them, the Hao people, and to kill them all.

Gu Jue was as concise as usual. He finished his speech in just a few words, and he only talked about what happened on the surface.

As for the tricks behind the scenes, even if he didn't say it, Chu Qianchen could understand it. Gu Jue did not hide it from her when he set up this plan.

"Then what?" Chu Qianchen asked, his pupils sparkling.

"Wait." Gu Jue said dryly, "Pushen is on his way to the Hunting Palace..." Pushen broke his leg when he rolled down the hillside, so he might not be able to reach the Hunting Palace so soon.

Chu Qianchen blinked and continued to look at him, as if to say, what next? Gu Jue had nothing to say, so he coughed lightly and could only say, "I'll ask someone to take a look."

Chu Qianchen pursed his lips and smiled, then sighed inwardly: It seems that nothing went wrong with the monk.

She couldn't help but mutter, "What a hassle!"

If something goes wrong with Wuhejia Tower, the prince can just ignore him.

Chu Qianchen's three words were incoherent, but Gu Jue could vaguely guess what they meant, and he touched her head with a smile.

"Can I make some tea?" he asked the little girl coaxingly.

Chu Qianchen immediately forgot about all those trivial matters and nodded repeatedly: "Okay!"

She likes the tea brewed by the prince the most.

Now, it was Chu Qianchen who was holding Gu Jue's hand and walking back, as if he was afraid that he would go back on his word.

Gu Jue responded casually, but what he was thinking about was where to take the little girl to play tomorrow.

Three days later, they had to return to the capital. According to the ancestral system of the Great Qi Dynasty, royal family members were not allowed to leave the capital without reason. By then, he could only take her for an outing and boating in the suburbs.

Gu Jue searched his memory. He had been to the Xiyuan Hunting Palace many times before and was very familiar with the surrounding area. He immediately remembered that Xiping Town, which was closest to the Hunting Palace, was not very prosperous, but it was also quite interesting.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to Xiping Town to play, okay?"

"good!"

How could Chu Qianchen go against his good luck? He should be happy with it.

Over the next two days, the two men left behind the servants and maids and went to Xiping Town and nearby villages to have some fun.

On the afternoon of November 17, when they returned from Xiping Town, Jingfeng, who was guarding the gate of Zichen Palace, ran over and reported: "Prince Andaman and his two followers just left the hunting palace."

Gu Jue's people kept an eye on Andaman every day. In the past few days, Andaman had never left the Hunting Palace and had only visited the emperor in Chongming Palace several times.

"People have arrived? They come really quickly." Chu Qianchen blinked and muttered softly. For a moment, he couldn't remember the name of the survivor.

She originally thought that the survivor was injured and it was inconvenient for him to travel, and she was afraid that they would have to meet him on the way back to Beijing.

Jingfeng nodded and replied, "The Prince of Andaman has just received a secret letter."

Indeed, the Prince of Andaman hurriedly left the hunting palace after receiving a secret letter from Pushin.

Andaman hurried all the way to Xiping Town. Following the secret code left at the entrance of the town, he found his way to a quiet and deserted alley and left his two followers guarding the entrance of the alley.

A man with a hooked nose walked out of an abandoned pig shed. He was unkempt, his clothes were tattered, his wounds were hastily bandaged, and he exuded an unpleasant odor with a hint of blood.

"Pushin..." Andaman blurted out.

Of course he recognized Pushen, who was left in the capital by him to be in charge of the affairs of Uhaga Tower.

Pushen knelt down directly, his slightly sinister triangular eyes turned red in an instant, and he said in a low voice: "Prince, I am not doing my job well." His voice was hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

Andaman's heart sank and he felt cold all over.

He knew something was wrong the moment he received the secret letter.

Now seeing Pushin's miserable appearance, Andaman realized that things might be worse than he expected.

Pushin clenched his fists and said with difficulty in his trembling voice: "Prince, Bichawen...Yela...They are all dead, died at the hands of the Jinyiwei."

When he mentioned the three words "Jinyiwei", Pushen's teeth chattered and hatred surged.

What?! Andaman's eyes widened and he stared at Pushin in disbelief.

It's also dead, even Bichawen is dead!

Bicham was a secret agent that Uhaduro had placed in the capital for many years. After Andaman arrived in the capital, he contacted Bicham and others. His original intention was to ask them to support his actions. Unexpectedly, Bicham and others were killed by the Jinyiwei.

Andaman felt a dull pain on his forehead. He could imagine that when he returned to Hao Kingdom, Hao Emperor Uhadula would be furious... Unless he could capture Uhadjar Tower, he could offset his mistake and make up for his sin.

He took a few deep breaths and calmed down a little. He said to Pushin, "Tell me the whole story in detail."

Pushen's voice was still a little tense, and he recalled, "That night we set fire to the house next door to Prince Chen's Mansion. Later, in the chaos, we climbed over the wall to Prince Chen's Mansion, and I saw the big... Uhajia Building!!"

Gu Jue actually dared to do this! Andaman was shocked again, feeling that it was just as he expected.

In any case, after so many sacrifices, we finally got some results and finally found the Uhaga Tower.

Andaman's mood was complicated, including shock, joy, irritation, annoyance, worry...all kinds of emotions mixed together and surged through his heart.

Pushen continued, "The guards at Prince Chen's Palace were too strict. We wanted to take a look, but we were discovered by the palace guards. They were so numerous and powerful that we couldn't escape and were captured."

Pushen lowered his head in shame. "At that time, the Five Cities Military Division was on night patrol, and the five of us were handed over to them and detained in the South City Military Division. No one interrogated us during those days. At that time, I thought it was because we were Hao people, and they planned to wait until the Emperor of Da Qi returned to Beijing before dealing with us."

"I didn't expect that early in the morning on the 14th, we were suddenly handed over to the Imperial Guard by the South City Military Division..."

(End of this chapter)