Xie Nanfeng, who was walking in front, turned around when he heard the voice, and in just a moment, he understood what Xie Nanjia meant.
"No!" he shouted with a pale face.
"Stop talking nonsense, otherwise no one can leave." Xie Nanjia said solemnly, "You and Wei Jun Huangfu take him to hide first, and leave the guards to me. I promise that nothing will happen."
Wei Jun and Huangfu Bing rode over and worked together to lay the unconscious Zhao Jingyu horizontally on the horse's back.
"Miss Xiu'er, if you do this, the Second Young Master will kill us when he wakes up!" Huangfu said.
Xie Nanfeng also said: "If you must do this, I will lead the guards to lead away the pursuers, and you and Wei Jun Huangfu will take him to hide."
"No, they won't be fooled if they can't see me." Xie Nanjia said, "Don't worry, I have a way to deal with them. It will be too late if you delay any longer. Don't forget your mission. I won't let you embarrass your father!"
Xie Nanfeng was in a dilemma. As the sound of horse hooves behind him was getting closer and closer, he finally gritted his teeth, called the captain of the guards loudly, and ordered him to take his men to follow Xie Nanjia, obey Xie Nanjia's command in all actions, and do his best to protect Xie Nanjia's safety. He, Wei Jun Huangfu and Zhao Jingyu turned into the mountain forest path.
Xie Nanjia led the guards and galloped away. In a flash, only smoke and dust were left.
"Sister, you have to be fine." Xie Nanfeng murmured, forcing himself to look away and walk deeper into the dense forest.
Half an incense stick later, eight hundred light cavalry led by Song Huai came rushing in like thunder and lightning, and the earth shook wherever they went.
Several people hid in the woods, listening to the sound of horse hooves coming closer and then farther away, their hearts were in a knot.
At this moment, Zhao Jingyu suddenly woke up.
He rolled his eyes in a daze for a moment, then suddenly sat up from the ground.
"Where is Xiu'er?" he asked loudly, grabbing the collar of Xie Nanfeng who was sitting opposite him.
Xie Nanfeng's eyes were red and he didn't answer.
Zhao Jingyu understood everything, and without saying a word, he got up and left.
Xie Nanfeng followed him from behind and slapped him on the back of the neck again.
"..." Wei Jun and Huangfu widened their eyes. This cousin pair was really something. They didn't take the Second Young Master seriously at all and seemed addicted to beating him.
At this time, Xie Nanjia was leading her team through a fork in the road. The sound of horse hooves behind her was getting closer and closer. She called the captain of the guards loudly and decisively ordered him to take half of the troops and go their separate ways with her in order to confuse the pursuers and delay time.
The captain of the guards was worried about her safety and hesitated: "Master Nanfeng ordered me to protect the young lady..."
"Master Nanfeng also told you to follow my orders in all your actions." Xie Nanjia interrupted him quickly, "You must do it right now. Remember one thing, if you are caught, surrender immediately to save your life. Master Nanfeng and I will rescue you."
"..." Time was running out, so the captain of the guards had to obey her order and take half of the team to take another road.
Xie Nanjia pulled out a hairpin, threw it hard on the road, and then led the team to move forward.
After a while, Song Huai arrived and stopped the team at the fork in the road.
"Prince, there are horse hoof prints on these two roads. They must have split up and fled in two directions," said the deputy general.
Song Huai held the reins and looked around, his eyes were attracted by a shiny object half-hidden in the dust.
"What's that?" He pointed to the path on the left with his whip.
The deputy general rode forward and picked up the thing: "Sir, it's a woman's gold hairpin."
Song Huai's heart skipped a beat. He took the gold hairpin and took a look at it. He recognized that it was the one Xie Nanjia usually wore, so he subconsciously wanted to follow him in that direction.
The horse had already raised its front hooves, and he suddenly changed his mind. Xiu'er was so smart, could it be that she had left clues intentionally to confuse him
"Your Highness, I don't think this is important. There are so many of us, we just need to split up and chase after them," the deputy general reminded.
Song Huai glanced at him indifferently.
The deputy general didn't know what he had said wrong and shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Song Huai gritted his teeth secretly. Of course he knew that they had to chase them separately, but he wanted to catch up with Xie Nanjia and Zhao Jingyu personally.
He had already lost once, which made him feel very humiliated, and he wanted to get back the face he had lost.
After some thought, he ordered his deputy general to take 400 men to chase along the road where the hairpin was picked up, while he led the remaining 400 men to continue forward.
He believed that he was heading in the right direction.
Xiu'er and Zhao Jingyu would never take another path.
He also thought that Xiu'er and Zhao Jingyu might act separately, but he also felt that with Zhao Jingyu's personality, he would not let Xiu'er leave him. Even if he died, he would not let Xiu'er take risks for him, otherwise he would not be Zhao Jingyu.
His guess was correct, but unfortunately he didn't know that Zhao Jingyu had been knocked unconscious twice in a row.
After about another incense stick of time, they finally caught up with the exhausted half of the team in front. The four hundred soldiers shouted and surrounded a dozen exhausted people.
The feather arrows flashing with cold light were aimed at everyone including Xie Nanjia.
In fact, if Song Huai had not been afraid of accidentally hurting Xie Nanjia and insisted on capturing them alive, they would have been shot into hedgehogs long ago.
The soldiers made way for each other, and Song Huai rode over. He immediately saw Xie Nanjia, whose hair was disheveled and whose cheeks were flushed as she ran.
"I was right..." He curled the corners of his lips proudly, but the next moment, the smile froze on his face.
Because he didn't see Zhao Jingyu in the team.
This time it was Xie Nanjia's turn to laugh.
"You didn't expect that the Second Young Master and I are not together."
The two former good friends became rivals overnight. When their eyes met, Song Huai touched his nose and tried his best to maintain the elegance of a prince: "It doesn't matter. He can't run far anyway."
Xie Nanjia smiled again, her eyes slightly curved, her eyes sparkling: "Unfortunately, the Second Young Master didn't run away at all. He is still in Nanzhao City."
Song Huai's face suddenly became gloomy.
"Impossible! Don't try to fool me!"
He had been fooled by this woman before, so he wouldn't believe anything she said this time.
Xie Nanjia said calmly: "I really didn't lie to you this time. Your people should give you a signal."
Before he finished his words, a sharp whistle was heard in the distant sky, and two flares, one red and one white, exploded in the air.
"The enemy has surrendered, but the commander is nowhere to be seen." A soldier said beside Song Huai.
"..." Song Huai was stunned, his heart sank to the bottom.
Zhao Jingyu is really not there.
"See, I didn't lie to you!" Xie Nanjia spread his hands and said with a smile.
Song Huai looked at the pretty face that was the only one that made his heart beat, and gritted his teeth secretly.
"Where is Xie Nanfeng?" he asked.
"He went back to the capital to get troops." Xie Nanjia said.
She answered too quickly, and Song Huai couldn't tell whether it was true or not. He clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white.
He originally wanted to save his face, but now, he only felt that he had been humiliated even more.
He is the most talented prince of Nanzhao and the son his father values the most. He can't understand what the difference is between him and Zhao Jingyu. Why can Zhao Jingyu predict his every move, but he can't even predict one of Zhao Jingyu's moves.
Of course he couldn't figure it out, because Zhao Jingyu didn't count him, it was Xie Nanjia who counted him.
Zhao Jingyu was just an innocent, poor guy who was knocked unconscious twice.
Song Huai was burning with rage, but he didn't want to show his frustration in front of Xie Nanjia. He suppressed his anger and ordered his men to tie up all of Xie Nanjia's men and return the same way.
At the fork in the road, they met up with the troops led by the deputy general. The deputy general briefly described the situation on his side and said in confusion: "These people are really strange. They tried so hard to escape at the beginning, but when we caught up with them, they didn't resist at all and directly raised the white flag."
Song Huai looked at Xie Nanjia depressedly. Needless to say, she must have told him about it in advance.
Xie Nanjia and the captain of the guards looked at each other and nodded in tacit understanding.
When Song Huai saw this, he became even more depressed and almost vomited blood.
"Your Highness, there is no need to be angry. With this girl, we don't have to worry about Zhao Jingyu not showing up." The deputy general comforted him, "Besides, this girl is the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo and a daughter of a phoenix. Even if the imperial court sends troops to attack us in the future, they will be cautious. So as long as we keep an eye on her, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Song Huai sighed heavily, feeling so tired that he didn't want to speak anymore. He raised his hand to signal his deputy general to lead the team back to Nanzhao.
Xie Nanfeng and a few others hid in the dark and watched Xie Nanjia being taken away, but they were unable to rush out to save her.
It was not until now that Xie Nanfeng understood Xie Nanjia's plan. She must have thought of using herself to trick Song Huai into falling for her so as to buy time for him and Zhao Jingyu to go to Yunyang.
But he foolishly believed her promise, thinking that she really had a way to avoid being caught by Song Huai.
From childhood to adulthood, he had no idea how many times she had fooled him, but he never learned his lesson and would be easily deceived by her next time.
Xie Nanfeng's eyes were red, and he punched the tree trunk, scaring away the birds resting on the tree.
Wei Jun and Huangfu also felt uncomfortable. If they had known that Miss Xiu'er had this plan, they would never have let her act alone.
When the Second Young Master wakes up, how am I going to explain this to him
The three men had red eyes, and they did not walk out of the forest until Song Huai's troops had completely evacuated, and then they headed towards Yunyang City with all their strength.
The horses took this opportunity to fill their stomachs on the mountain, restore their strength, and carried them all the way.
Xie Nanfeng hit him too hard, and Zhao Jingyu was not woken up until halfway by the horse.
Upon learning that Xie Nanjia was taken back to Nanzhao by Song Huai, Zhao Jingyu was furious and asked Xie Nanfeng why he didn't stop her and why he let her do whatever she wanted.
Xie Nanfeng was already in a bad mood, and his yelling made him even more angry, so he started arguing with him on the spot.
"Do you think I want her to take risks? She did that for you. Think about it yourself. Since she got involved with you, she has lived a peaceful life for a few days. What qualifications do you have to yell at me? If you have the ability, go to Lieutenant General Luo to borrow troops to fight back to Nanzhao and rescue her from Song Huai. It's all bullshit to say anything else now!"
"..." Wei Jun and Huangfu were both stunned. Young Master Nanfeng was indeed the son of General Wu'an. His temper was truly inherited from the general. He looked down on everyone.
Zhao Jingyu was silenced by his yelling. After a moment of silence, he said angrily, "Do you really think she has never had a good life with me?"
"What else?" Xie Nanfeng was still angry. "She hasn't had a good day since she entered your Dingyuan Marquis Mansion."
“…” Zhao Jingyu opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He whipped the horse hard on its butt. The horse felt the pain and galloped towards Yunyang City.
Wei Jun and Huangfu followed closely behind.
After Xie Nanfeng vented his anger, he calmed down a lot and rode his horse to catch up.
Song Huai took Xie Nanjia back to Nanzhao. On the way, for some unknown reason, he asked someone to get a carriage for Xie Nanjia to ride.
He also sat in and chatted with Xie Nanjia in a casual tone, as if the two of them were out for a spring outing.
"There are so many ways to the capital, why did you choose the most difficult one?"
Xie Nanjia's hands were tied behind his back and his expression remained indifferent.
"Do you remember when I rescued you last summer?" she asked, irrelevantly.
Song Huai's smile faded a little, and he lifted the curtain to look out the window, as if to hide his embarrassment. After a moment, he retracted his gaze and said, "I know you are reminding me not to forget your life-saving grace, but you have already used the jade pendant I gave you, and I kept my promise to bring you and Zhao Jingyu out of the capital. During the days in Nanzhao, I treated you as the most distinguished guests and took care of you meticulously. I think I have repaid this favor. Of course, if you think I haven't owed you enough, I can repay you in other ways."
"Ha!" Xie Nanjia gave a sarcastic smile, "Then tell me what other methods you can use."
"For example - let you be my prince's consort, and enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of your life." Song Huai said.
"Haha!" Xie Nanjia sneered, "How long do you think you can remain as the crown prince? Once the imperial army arrives, not only you, but even your father will be finished. Don't you know that?"
"No, no, no..." Song Huai shook his head repeatedly, "As long as you are here, we will not be doomed. I don't care where Zhao Jingyu hides. If he wants to save you, he can only exchange his own life, unless he is not that affectionate towards you. After he dies, do you think an emperor without children can still sit on the throne? Even if the concubines can still give birth, do you think you still have a chance to become the crown princess or even the queen?"
Xie Nanjia did not answer him immediately. Instead, she remained silent for a while under his gaze. After a while, she spoke: "You are my only friend. I thought you understood me, but now it seems that this is not the case. I am not marrying Zhao Jingyu because I want to be the Crown Princess or Queen. I have to accept the identity of the Crown Princess or Queen because I want to marry Zhao Jingyu. Do you understand?"
"..." These words were really infuriating. Song Huailian took a few deep breaths before suppressing his anger. He decided not to argue with her. "Whatever you say, I just want to know why you chose to take this path."
"Why else? Of course it was to keep it secret." Xie Nanjia said, "But unfortunately, you still found it."
"Of course. Don't forget, this is Nanzhao, my territory." Song Huai curled the corners of his lips proudly.
Xie Nanjia also followed his example and curled the corners of her lips: "I'm tired, can you let me sleep for a while?"
"Please go ahead." Song Huai politely stepped out and rode his horse beside the carriage to continue moving forward.
I have to admit that this woman is very strong mentally. Even at this time, she is still so calm and composed, as if it doesn't matter even if the sky falls.
Where does her confidence come from
Is everything she said true
Did Xie Nanfeng really return to the capital
Is Zhao Jingyu really still staying in Nanzhao City
Did she really choose to take this most difficult path just to hide
Song Huai looked around with a lot of questions in his mind. There were gentle hills nearby, rolling mountains in the distance, and even more distant, a shadowy city wall...
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, he tightened the reins, and called out loudly: "Lieutenant General Li, bring me the map!"
When Xie Nanjia heard his order in the car, her heart also skipped a beat.
Could he have guessed something
Lieutenant General Li came over and presented the map.
Song Huai rode on horseback and couldn't wait to unfold the map. After a while, his face changed suddenly.
"Deputy General Li, pass the order down and turn around and rush to Yunyang City immediately!"
(End of this chapter)