At noon the next day, the rocks and mud that had blocked the official road yesterday were cleared away. Seeing that the troops on the official road had begun to move, Yan Liqiang and his party, who had been prepared, broke camp and set off again, starting to head towards Luming Pass.
Everyone in the team had a rare good meal last night, and since they didn't have to travel this morning, they rested in the camp all morning. By the time they set out on the road at noon, everyone was energetic and happy. They all relaxed and felt that nothing would happen again. The prefect of Luquan County was very reasonable. Not only did he admit his mistake, he also sent a lot of things to reward everyone. Today, after passing Luming Pass, they would reach Gaoyi County, which was only a stone's throw away from Jinzhou. Once they arrived in Jinzhou, everything would be fine, and this mission would be successfully completed.
Yan Liqiang rode on Caiyun Zhuiyue and stood at the intersection of the camp and the official road, watching the carriages and horses in the team go onto the official road one by one.
When Concubine Rong's carriage passed by Yan Liqiang, it stopped for a moment, and the carriages behind the team also stopped. Concubine Rong's beautiful eyes appeared from behind the curtain, and she looked at Yan Liqiang with a special look. Of course, Concubine Rong's voice was still very graceful and light, and others could not hear anything unusual.
"I heard that Lord Yan didn't forget to practice and work hard after setting up camp last night. It's really rare!"
Yan Liqiang was also serious, with a solemn expression, "It is a great responsibility to protect the ladies and the two princes along the way. I dare not slack off. Naturally, I must seize every opportunity to improve my cultivation. Judging from the expression of the lady, she must have had a good rest last night!"
"Well, we have to cross Luming Pass today, so I'll have to trouble Lord Yan!" Concubine Rong glared at Yan Liqiang fiercely, lowered the curtain, and let the carriage continue on the road. Behind them, the four-wheeled carriage of Concubine Duan and others passed by, and the curtain of that carriage was also drawn. Concubine Duan and Concubine Yi, who were sitting in the carriage, smiled and nodded to Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang nodded in response. He looked at Concubine Rui, who happened to be looking at him, and their eyes accidentally met each other. Concubine Rui was a little flustered and quickly avoided his gaze. Concubine Rui's expression was still calm, but there was a sudden blush under her ears. That slightly shy posture had a different kind of beauty, which made Yan Liqiang couldn't help but take a few more glances. His heart beat faster. At this time, both of them had a tacit feeling.
"Ahem... No matter what you encounter on the road today, ladies, don't panic, just sit in the car!" Yan Liqiang deliberately reminded them.
"Okay, thank you Lord Yan!" Concubine Yi responded with a smile.
Yan Liqiang said nothing more. He gently kicked the horse's belly, and Caiyun Zhuiyue ran to the front of the team in an instant.
Concubine Duan lowered the curtain inside the car, turned her head, glanced at Concubine Rui, suddenly laughed, put her mouth close to Concubine Rui's ear, and whispered, "Sister, why does your face turn red when you see Lord Yan..."
Concubine Duan, Concubine Rui and Concubine Yi had a good relationship in the palace, like best friends and sisters. They had equal status and were not as reserved and cautious as they were in front of Concubine Rong. When there was no one around, they would whisper to each other or confide their thoughts to each other, and occasionally make a joke, but no one would mind.
"No way, you're talking nonsense again!" Concubine Rui's expression slowly regained composure, and she rolled her eyes at Concubine Duan, "It was you who was staring at Lord Yan just now, and you still blamed me. I saw that as soon as you saw Lord Yan in the Deer Garden, your heart was a little out of control..."
"Master Yan is young, handsome, capable, and responsible. He is a rare handsome man. Which girl doesn't like him? There are so many young talents in the imperial capital, but I have never seen anyone who can compare with Master Yan!" Concubine Duan's eyes became blurred and she sighed softly, "What kind of life have we sisters lived in the palace in the past few years? Our best youth has been wasted. Sometimes we don't see the emperor for half a year or a year. When we see him, he is in a hurry. He leaves after a few words. Sometimes, after a long time, I even forget what the emperor looks like..."
"Sister, this may be fate!" Concubine Yi sighed. "Since I entered the palace, I have met the Emperor less than 20 times, and even fewer times in bed with him. Before entering the palace, I thought it was the most honorable and noble place in the world. After entering, I realized that the high walls in the palace are the cages of us sisters. Many sisters have lived their whole lives within those walls. It's really scary to think about it. I have escaped from the palace these days. Although I am a little worried about my future, I don't know why I feel much more relaxed. I sleep more soundly at night than in the palace. At least I don't feel lonely and scared anymore..."
"Ah, so you feel the same way, sister!" Concubine Duan suddenly felt like she had found a soulmate, and she immediately held Concubine Yi's hand. "I feel the same way, sister. These days we sit in the car, and every day we can see different scenery outside the car, meet different people, go to different places, and occasionally there are some thrilling things. I feel less depressed in the palace. If Lord Yan can protect us all the way like this, even if the road is far and dangerous, I won't find it difficult..."
"If you can still go back to Imperial Capital, do you still want to go back?"
Concubine Rui sighed, her expression a little confused, "Don't be silly, how can we go back to the Imperial Capital? Let's go to Jinzhou first. I haven't heard from the emperor these days, and I don't know how the emperor is doing now, whether he is still alive?"
"Sister, do you think that even if the emperor is still alive at this time, he will care about the lives of us women? Something big happened that night. There were so many sisters in the palace, and the emperor did not let anyone notify others to escape through the secret passage. How many people were able to escape in the end? If we hadn't been in Ningxiu Palace with Sister Rong that night, how could we have escaped through the secret passage? Every day we live today is actually earned..." Concubine Yi smiled bitterly and shook her head.
…
Yan Liqiang led the team on the road and soon passed the section of official road that was blocked yesterday. That section of official road had been repaired, and the earth and rocks blocking the road had been shoveled to the side of the road. They traveled light and fast all the way, and in less than an hour, Yan Liqiang saw a majestic pass standing at the mountain pass in front of them, like a gate, guarding the road to Gaoyi County.
That majestic pass is naturally Luming Pass. The mountain walls on both sides of Luming Pass are straight and steep, extremely dangerous. If you have a carriage and horses, if you want to go from Luquan County to Gaoyi County, there is no other way except Luming Pass.
From a distance, there was nothing unusual at Luming Pass, and people were passing through normally. Apart from the soldiers on duty at the entrance, there was no sign of tension. Sima Qingshan, whom I had met yesterday, was on the official road three or four miles outside the pass, riding on a rhinoceros horse with two unarmed followers, waiting for the arrival of Yan Liqiang and others.
As soon as he saw Yan Liqiang's convoy coming, Sima Qingshan rode over on his rhinoceros horse and saluted Yan Liqiang on horseback, "Greetings, sir!"
"Well, have your adults come?" Yan Liqiang asked with a smile.
"My master is here!" Sima Qingshan smiled. "It is said that enemies should be resolved rather than created. Yesterday, I returned to the county city and told my master what you said. My master also thought it made sense, so I have been waiting for you at Luming Pass today. I want to solve this matter with you thoroughly. After meeting you, I will set off to Guzhou City to meet the governor. Although it takes a little time, I believe the governor can understand!"
"That's right!" Yan Liqiang waved his hand. Yan Qing rode a horse and brought Master Zhou over. He followed Yan Liqiang and said, "Let's go. When we meet your master, I will personally hand Master Zhou over to him and we'll be done with this!"
Sima Qingshan glanced at Yan Liqiang twice, then looked at the expressions of the other people in the convoy, and found that everyone looked very relaxed. Yan Liqiang did not seem to have any special preparations, so he smiled and nodded, "Sir, just follow me!"
Yan Liqiang glanced at Yan Qing, gave him a wink, and then followed Sima Qingshan towards Luming Pass.
Before they reached the pass, a group of people came out of Luming Pass and waited below Luming Pass. Luquan County Magistrate Zhou Shouren was among that group of people, surrounded by several officers and guards, looking towards Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang led the team until they were fifty meters away from the Luming Pass before they stopped. Then Yan Liqiang got off his horse and asked the team to stop. He only took Yan Qing and a few more skilled guards in the palace, and escorted Master Zhou, towards the group of people led by the prefect of Luquan County.
Seeing Yan Liqiang and several others escorting his son over, the governor of Luquan County's eyes flickered, but he still smiled, took a few steps forward politely, and made a welcoming gesture.
Seeing Zhou Shouren and others here, although Master Zhou's mouth was blocked and he couldn't speak, he seemed very excited.
"Hahaha, this must be Lord Zhou Shouren, the prefect of Luquan County!" Yan Liqiang, who was walking in the front, laughed.
"Yes, I am Zhou Shouren, the prefect of Luquan County. May I know your name?" Zhou Shouren also walked over with a smile.
"It doesn't matter if Lord Zhou doesn't know my name!" Yan Liqiang said as the distance between the two sides approached within five steps.
"Ah, why?"
"Because of this..." Yan Liqiang shouted, his figure flashed, he drew out the black scale sword, and chopped off Zhou Shouren's head with one sword...
(End of this chapter)