After passing that checkpoint and taking Master Zhou hostage, Yan Liqiang and his men did not stop on the official road except for a short rest. They bypassed Luquan City and before dusk, they had reached Luming Pass and were about to leave Luquan County.
If nothing unexpected happened and nothing unexpected happened on the road, Yan Liqiang and his men would have been able to pass Luming Pass before dark, leaving Luquan County and entering Gaoyi County. However, when they were only seventy or eighty miles away from Luming Pass, an accident happened and the official road leading to Luming Pass was suddenly cut off.
More than two miles away, Yan Liqiang saw that the official road ahead was blocked by a pile of huge rocks and mud. Next to the official road was a mountain with rocks and no grass. The rocks and mud blocking the official road seemed to have rolled down from the hillside next to it, blocking the entire road at once.
The official road was blocked, so people and vehicles could not pass through. A line of more than a mile long formed on the road, and some people in the line had even started to turn back.
Seeing this scene, Yan Liqiang, who was walking in front of the team, frowned and raised his hand. The whole team stopped on the road. Seeing that there was a car turning back in front of them with the escort agency's flag on it, Yan Liqiang directly urged Caiyun Zhuiyue to go up and politely greeted the man who looked like the leader of the escort agency who was walking in front of them.
"Excuse me, head escort, what happened ahead?"
The man who looked like the leader of the escorts was in his fifties, with a weather-beaten face and bright eyes. He wore a dark red hero scarf on his head and a large gold-threaded ring knife across his saddle. His whole body was full of capable and chivalrous aura. The escort team he led was not large, with only a few dozen people, escorting a cargo of seven or eight taels of four-wheeled carriage. It seemed to be an ordinary business taken over by the small escort agency.
Seeing Yan Liqiang riding a tall horse with extraordinary momentum, and the carriages and horses behind him like a dragon, and hundreds of cavalrymen following him, the man who looked like the head of the escort also felt that Yan Liqiang was not an ordinary person. Naturally, he did not dare to neglect him. He immediately clasped his fists in return, with a smile on his face, "You are too polite, sir. The official road ahead is blocked by rocks and soil rolling down from the mountain. We can't take this road tonight!"
"Oh, do rocks often roll down from the mountains on this road?"
"This kind of thing does happen, but it rarely happens. I have been walking on this official road for more than ten years. I remember the last time the official road was blocked by rocks rolling down from the mountain was five years ago. It was the rainy season at that time. Luquan County had heavy rain for several days in a row. A hillside slid down and blocked the official road. It took more than ten days to clear the road before it was reopened. The weather has been fine these few days, so it is rare to see rocks and mud rolling down from the mountain!"
"I see someone is already clearing the road ahead. I wonder how long it will take to clear the road again?"
"The villagers from the nearby village who are clearing the stones on the road have just been transferred here by the local headman. I just went over to take a look. If we want to clear all the stones and soil again, we have to wait until tomorrow morning at least. It is definitely not possible today. It is not safe for us escorts to stay in the wild, so I want to return to the nearby county town and stay for one night before leaving. If you are not in a hurry, it is also okay to leave tomorrow!"
"Thank you for telling me, Chief Escort!"
"You are too polite, sir!"
The two men clasped their fists and separated. The escort leader led the team back, while Yan Liqiang squinted his eyes and looked at the blocked road in front of him. A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. He wanted to see what tricks the Luquan County Magistrate could play.
"Sir, what should we do now?" Liu Xitong asked, riding on the rhino horse.
Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's go back first, find a place to camp, stay in Luquan County for another night, and leave tomorrow!"
"yes!"
The team began to turn around and after walking back five or six miles, just like last night, the entire team found a suitable place next to the official road and began to untie the horses and set up camp.
After becoming one-eared, Master Zhou became much more obedient. His mouth was stuffed and he was tied up with rubber bands. He was thrown into an empty closed carriage next to Yan Liqiang's tent. Guo Sida, Xu Shu and several soldiers took turns guarding him.
After the camp was set up, Yan Liqiang had just waited for the security guards to be arranged for the camp when the palace maid named Yingluo beside Concubine Rong came to Yan Liqiang and said that Concubine Rong wanted to discuss something with her. Yan Liqiang touched his nose and followed the palace maid to the tent where Concubine Rong was staying.
Normally, in order to avoid suspicion, Yan Liqiang seldom came to the tent where Concubine Rong stayed. But after what happened today, Concubine Rong invited Yan Liqiang to the tent to discuss things, and no one thought there was anything wrong with it.
Two palace maids were guarding outside Concubine Rong's tent and lifted the curtain to let Yan Liqiang in. As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, the curtain of the tent was lowered. Yan Liqiang felt his waist tighten and was suddenly hugged tightly by Concubine Rong from behind. Concubine Rong hugged Yan Liqiang tightly and put her face on Yan Liqiang's back.
"I was scared to death today. I didn't expect that there would be people who dared to set up checkpoints to intercept me!"
Yan Liqiang was startled. This Imperial Concubine Rong was really getting bolder and bolder. However, he still coughed twice to remain calm. "Ahem, I'm fine. Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"
"You are an adventurous person. You take action without saying a word!" Concubine Rong turned around from behind Yan Liqiang, raised her radiant face, and spoke with a sweet breath.
Yan Liqiang glanced outside the tent out of the corner of his eye and signaled to Concubine Rong that there were people outside the tent. Elder Liu was also outside, and it would be bad if anyone outside heard any noise.
Concubine Rong chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'll let Elder Liu protect Prince Min closely. Those outside the tent are all my people. I've been in the palace for so many years. How could I survive without two of my own confidants? Do you know that you almost scared me to death today?"
"Why did I scare you again?"
"At that time, there were thousands of people surrounding you, with swords and guns drawn, and you just rushed over like that. All of a sudden, you were surrounded. My heart jumped out of my throat, and it's still beating now!" Concubine Rong said, gently patting her tall and round breasts.
"I didn't expect to experience something like this today. Under the circumstances, if I didn't act decisively to capture the county magistrate's son, it would have been even more chaotic and more people would have died!" Yan Liqiang said calmly, "As for the others, your majesty, don't worry. Since I took action, I am sure of it. Those top masters are not easy to find everywhere!"
"Why did the county governor want to pick a fight with us today and wanted to check our convoy? We encountered more than one checkpoint on the road, but this one was the most rude and tough!" Concubine Rong frowned and said, "Are they members of the White Lotus Sect?"
"They are not members of the White Lotus Sect!" Yan Liqiang shook his head.
"Then why does the county magistrate want to make things difficult for us?"
"Don't you know, Madam?"
"What do I know?"
"That county magistrate's son, Mr. Zhou, was passing by where we were staying when we were taking a break at noon. He accidentally saw the ladies' looks and had evil thoughts in his mind, so he wanted to stop us at the checkpoint!"
When Concubine Rong heard this, she was so angry that her eyebrows were raised, and her voice suddenly became majestic, "How outrageous! How dare a mere son of a county governor be so bold and presumptuous? He dared to do this even though we have guards protecting him today. Isn't it completely lawless in Luquan County at ordinary times?"
"exactly!"
"So what's the situation now? Has the official road leading to Luming Pass been cut off by them? Is the governor of Luquan County trying to delay time and plot something?"
"Your Majesty, just rest assured. According to my estimation, we will be able to set off tomorrow. I will take care of everything then and will never let them hurt your Majesty!" Yan Liqiang's voice and expression were full of confidence, as if this was a trivial matter.
Concubine Rong looked up at Yan Liqiang's vibrant face. Her eyes suddenly became blurry and her face instantly flushed. "You still call me your majesty?"
"Uh... Sweetie!" Yan Liqiang felt a little awkward. He was embarrassed to call Lu Jiaying such a cheesy name in his previous life.
“Hmm!” Concubine Rong responded, her face turned even redder, she took a step forward, hugged Yan Liqiang tightly, put her lips close to Yan Liqiang’s ear, and spoke in a low voice that only Yan Liqiang could hear, “You are so heartless, you pressed against me in the water last night and took advantage of me. You made me feel so uncomfortable that I didn’t sleep well all night. How do you want to compensate me…” As she spoke, Concubine Rong’s tongue went straight into Yan Liqiang’s ear like a little loach, making Yan Liqiang’s soul float up. At the same time, Concubine Rong’s hand slowly stretched down…
Yan Liqiang had been restraining himself before, but at this time, under the teasing of Concubine Rong, Yan Liqiang's breathing gradually became heavy.
As the saying goes, a woman is like a wolf at thirty and a tiger at forty. Once a woman who is in her prime and has been living alone in the deep palace is let go, even Yan Liqiang can't control himself...
"Your Majesty, we... we are in the camp... it's not convenient..." Yan Liqiang said in a hoarse voice with smoke coming out of his throat.
"Hmm..." Concubine Rong, with her eyes closed, just snorted. She hugged Yan Liqiang tightly, and her face against Yan Liqiang became hot. Her hot lips and tongue slowly moved from Yan Liqiang's ears to Yan Liqiang's neck, kissing and licking him. At the same time, the movements of her other hand became more and more intense...
Just when Yan Liqiang felt that he was about to lose control, a voice that was like a life-saving call to Yan Liqiang finally rang out from outside Concubine Rong's tent, "Master Yan, the guest of the Luquan County Governor's Mansion is outside the camp asking to see you..."
(End of this chapter)