Yuan Jiuding's family was the first to leave the city, but he forgot that although the city gate was closed, there were still many people outside the city.
After walking out of the ten-mile land, the carriage of the Minister of Officials was caught in the crowd, the group of vehicles, the group of cattle and horses, and it could only follow a little bit forward.
Madam Yuan was anxious and angry, opened the curtain and glanced outside, turned to her husband who was sitting in the innermost compartment, and said, "Lord Shang Shu, give us some advice."
Yuan Jiuding panicked and hurriedly said: "Don't say the word 'Shangshu', be careful to cause trouble."
Yuan Jiuding didn't dare to bring too many people, only one wife, two sons and three grandchildren, his daughter-in-law was left in the capital, and he was called a housekeeper, as well as one entourage and five coachmen. He couldn't help being careless.
He originally planned to reach Luoyang all the way smoothly, with a new home and new servants, but he did not expect to be trapped halfway.
A son came in and was about to speak when Yuan Jiuding said sternly, "Don't mention me to anyone, understand?"
The son nodded and hummed, put down the curtain, and said nothing.
Although they walked slowly, they were still advancing in the end. The Yuan family was anxious but helpless.
The next afternoon, a group of soldiers came from the capital and ordered all the people to move to the right to pass through, giving up half of the road to the "nobles". The soldiers were in a hurry. Pushed out of the way.
The fleeing people hurriedly gave way, and the already congested road was even more crowded. It used to be able to move forward slowly, but now they are all standing by the side of the road.
"It must be the empress moving to the palace." Yuan Jiuding guessed.
"Oh, that's great, you show your identity, let's go to see the queen and follow the brigade, it's better than being among the people." Mrs. Yuan was overjoyed.
Yuan Jiuding couldn't be happy, so he lowered his voice and said, "I went out of the city without permission, how can I reveal my identity?"
Mrs. Yuan's eyebrows stood upright, "Didn't you say that the Prime Minister will definitely give you a replacement order to leave the city? What's so scary?"
"I felt very sure at the time, but now that I think about it, it may be a little too big..."
"It's really useless, let me tell you, as long as I find Wang Cuilian, I don't believe she dares to refuse."
"Wang Cuilian is a close friend of the Queen Mother. If the Queen Mother doesn't leave, how can she leave?"
Mrs. Yuan sneered, "The queen mother is just pretending, I don't believe she really dares to stay in the capital."
Yuan Jiuding pondered for a moment, "Call the boss, I will tell him."
The Yuan family's son leaned in and listened to his father's face-to-face instructions on the appropriateness, and quickly turned around to squeeze out of the crowd, looking for an officer who could speak.
There are not many soldiers who open the way, and there are not many people everywhere, but there are often cavalry galloping back and forth on the road, and the people are afraid that the officials are used to it, and no one dares to cross the line.
The Yuan father did not think he was a commoner, so he stepped across the middle of the road, came to the left, and waved his hands at a group of cavalry galloping to attract their attention.
The cavalry immediately noticed the daring "trickster", and one of them came quickly.
"May I ask who is leading the team..."
Before Yuan's son could finish speaking, the cavalry swung a whip and shouted, "Back off!"
The Yuan family's son was whipped in the head, his face was burning with pain, he screamed, and hurriedly retreated to the right side, covering his face with his hands.
The cavalry threw the whip again, "Don't make any noise."
The father of Yuan took another whip on his hand, put his hand down and saw that there was a long bloody scorpion on the back of his hand. Seeing that blood was about to ooze out, he had never suffered this kind of pain. When he made a threat, the other party glared, and he was timid at first, then immediately took two steps back and entered the crowd of people.
The cavalry returned and continued to move forward to maintain order.
An old man said to the Yuan family's son: "Child, is this the first time to go out? The people don't fight with the officials, just bear with it, wait for the noble person to pass, and then we will be on our way."
"I'm not a citizen, my father is an official, a high official!" The Yuan family's son shouted angrily, turning around and crowding towards his father's carriage.
The old man shook his head and said to the others: "At first glance, he is a foreigner. He is a small official in his hometown. When he arrived in the capital, he thought he was very big, but in the end, like us, he was stuck here and couldn't get out."
Everyone who heard it laughed.
The Yuan family's son couldn't laugh, and when he opened the sedan curtain, his whole body trembled, "I was beaten, mother, look at my face and hands. Father, I recognize that they are soldiers from Huben Ying. I take my revenge..."
Mrs. Yuan was both distressed and anxious, but Yuan Jiuding was only annoyed, "Useless guy, can't even understand a sentence, get out."
Yuan's father and son stepped back embarrassedly.
"My son was beaten, but you don't care!"
"Can I manage it? No one recognizes me here. Wait a minute. When the team passes, let's take a look and see an acquaintance shout."
Madam Yuan couldn't, so she nodded.
After half an hour, the team in the palace finally arrived, and the people on the side of the road obediently took a few steps back. Many people knelt down, and those who did not kneel hid behind carts, oxen, and horses.
The only exception was the Yuan family. The two sons raised the curtain, and Yuan Jiuding and his wife knelt at the door of the carriage, stretching their necks to look at the team on the road.
The first is a team of ceremonial drivers. Even if they are fleeing, the royal pomp cannot be small.
After the ceremonial car was a group of gorgeous carriages, there were at least fifty carriages, and no one could tell which one belonged to the queen and which belonged to the wife of life.
It was getting dark, the couple couldn't see clearly, the line was almost halfway over, and no acquaintances were seen.
Mrs. Yuan was anxious first, and shouted loudly: "Here is Yuan Jiuding, the official secretary of the Ministry of Personnel..."
The road was full of the sound of hooves and wheels. Her voice was drowned out, and only people nearby could hear her. Several people kneeling on the ground turned around and looked at her sternly, their eyes full of warning.
Yuan Jiuding's eyes lit up, "Ning Su, isn't that Ning Su, the general of the Xiaoqi Battalion?"
"Hurry up and call." Mrs. Yuan urged.
Yuan Jiuding cleared his throat and said loudly, "General Ning, General Ning! General Ning!! It's me!"
Ning Su turned his head to take a look, his face was expressionless, his eyes didn't stop at the faces of Yuan Shi's husband and wife, and he even walked away.
Yuan Jiuding was stunned.
Mrs. Yuan said angrily: "He saw you, he clearly saw it. You arranged for Ning Su's nephew to be the county magistrate..."
Seeing that the team was about to finish, Yuan Jiuding couldn't bear it anymore and raised his arms, "I'm Yuan Jiu..."
A few people on the left and right got up at the same time, and pushed the Yuan family and their two sons into the carriage. A man with a vicious appearance whispered: "Be honest, don't cause trouble for everyone."
The family of four was frightened by this person and hid in the carriage and dared not move.
Yuan Jiuding was especially frightened. He was admitted to the jinshi examination when he was young, and soon became an official. When his career was not smooth, he never left the officialdom. He had long forgotten what ordinary people's life was like. What a serious mistake, leaving the court, he is nothing.
The carriage actually moved, and the two sons of the Yuan family jumped down to check, and quickly replied: "The team in the palace has passed."
Yuan Jiuding nodded, feeling empty in his heart.
Mrs. Yuan would only blame Ning Su for being ruthless.
"Let's go to Luoyang first." Yuan Jiuding slowly recalled, "It's useless to shout on the road. When you get to Luoyang, you can restore contact with the palace through the Zeng family. If Zhuo Ruhe reissues the order, everything will be fine. If not, You have to find a way to get the approval of the queen mother and the queen. You need to come forward at that time, don't be stingy with gold and silver jewelry, as long as my position can be kept, everything will be there. "
"Ning Su is unforgivable. I don't care about other things. Your Excellency must teach Ning Su a lesson in the future."
Yuan Jiuding laughed a few times.
The speed of travel is still very slow. Yuanjia has many and heavy cars, so the speed is slower than others. After a full ten days, they finally reached Hangu Pass. After passing the pass, the people are divided into different places, and the road should be smoother.
Yuan Jiuding has been more cautious recently, and asked his son to go to the city gate to inquire about the situation.
The eldest son is also a lot more honest, and even changed his fancy clothes and changed to ordinary people's clothes.
After a long time, the eldest son came back, opened the car curtain, jumped directly into the carriage, and then quickly pulled the curtain down with a look of panic.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Jiuding felt ominous.
"Don't let me pass the test?" Mrs. Yuan was also a little scared.
"You can pass the customs, but you have to check your face one by one. The city wall... There is a father's head on the city wall."
The husband and wife were stunned for a moment, and Mrs. Yuan scolded: "Bastard, how do you talk?"
The eldest son waved his hand hastily, "No, no, it's a portrait, father... Father is wanted!"
Mrs. Yuan was taken aback, Yuan Jiuding was even more expressionless, and murmured, "Zhuo Ruhe is so cruel, so cruel."
"Prince Zhuo Ruhe avenged his personal revenge, let's... let's file a lawsuit against the imperial court." Mrs. Yuan said so, but she didn't have the slightest idea in her heart.
The driver asked outside, "Master Yuan, are you still leaving?"
Yuan Jiuding was startled again. The driver and entourage all knew his true identity. If it were leaked out... He said to his wife, "I'll go out and have a look."
"Sir, there is a portrait of you on the wall." Mrs. Yuan grabbed her husband's sleeve.
"It's okay, I have my own way." Yuan Jiuding pretended to be calm and got out of the car.
Mrs. Yuan said to her eldest son, "Don't worry, your father has a solution."
The two sons of the Yuan family were riding horses. Yuan Jiuding jumped on the eldest son's horse and was about to leave. He saw the second son staring at him not far away, so he beckoned him to come over and whispered, "Don't make a sound. ,Come with me."
The second son nodded, followed his father obediently, and was surprised to find that his father did not enter Hangu Pass, but ran in the opposite direction.
There are still many people on the road, and going against the current is even more difficult, but the father and son are still farther and farther away from their families.
The second son couldn't help but ask, "Father, where are we going?"
"Don't ask." Yuan Jiuding said coldly, urging the horse forward as much as possible.
After nightfall, the road was a little easier to walk, Yuan Jiuding kept going, no matter how the second son asked, he would not open his mouth or even stop and wait. The second son almost failed to catch up with his father several times.
After midnight, there was a sudden riot on the road, and people everywhere shouted: "The enemy is chasing!"
The second son was horrified and kept calling his father. Yuan Jiuding didn't listen at all, but urged the horse to run faster.
Yuan Jiuding didn't turn his head, he just rode his horse, there were fewer and fewer people in front of him, and his speed was getting faster and faster.
The horses couldn't stand this kind of running style, and suddenly fell forward, throwing the owner on their backs far away, Yuan Jiuding got up, didn't look at the horse, and didn't care whether he was injured or not, and ran desperately forward.
There was no one on the road, Yuan Jiuding was so tired that he was out of breath, but he was still running.
The sky was bright, and a group of soldiers appeared in front of them. The clothes and weapons were very strange, obviously not the Chu army.
"I am the Minister of Chu! I surrender! I surrender!" Yuan Jiuding shouted loudly.
The soldiers on the opposite side were indifferent, Yuan Jiuding suddenly felt that something was wrong, stopped and turned to look.
There was also an army behind him. I don't know when they caught up. The flag fluttered in the rising sun, and he recognized the Yellow Dragon Flag at a glance.