Escape...
Escape...
Just escape like this...
Rong Xuan was a man who had seen a lot of things, but he was still in shock after hearing this. He looked at the middle-aged man with a beard in front of him and was surprised to find that although his face was dirty, his facial features were indeed similar to Rong Zhengqing in his memory.
A cold wind blew by, stirring up the fallen leaves and dust, and the surroundings became eerily quiet.
Rong Xuan hesitated to speak, and finally said with difficulty: "... Dad, how did you escape?"
Is it so easy to escape from the Ministry of Justice prison
Rong Zhengqing snorted coldly when he heard this: "Those good-for-nothings in the Ministry of Justice, how can they hold me captive? The chains can be split open with one palm, and I can knock them out and escape directly."
Rong Zhengqing was a martial arts fanatic. When he was young, he roamed the martial arts world for many years and was said to be quite famous. But later, when he met Rong's mother, he put away his sword and returned to the mountains, changing his name and surname, and became an honest county official in Jingzhou.
He was taken to the capital for trial, and thought that the Ministry of Justice would be able to find out the truth and clear his name, but he did not expect that the three retrials would all result in the death penalty. Rong Zhengqing thought over and over in prison, what was there to be loyal to in this court, and it would be too absurd to die like this. In the end, he was so worried about his wife and children at home that he simply escaped on the eve of his execution.
He was planning to rush back to Jingzhou overnight, but as soon as he walked out of the city gate, he saw a young man standing on the side of the road leading a horse. He tried to seize the man's horse, but he didn't expect that it was his own son.
Rong Zhengqing thought about this and grabbed Rong Xuan's shoulders with both hands, wondering: "Yes, Xuan'er, why are you here?"
Rong Xuan: "I came to..."
To collect your corpse...
Rong Xuan almost told the truth, and he almost swallowed the last five words. He quickly changed his words: "My mother and I heard that you were escorted to Beijing, so we wanted to find out the situation, but I didn't expect that you..."
You just escaped like this...
Rong Xuan's language ability, which he was so proud of, suddenly failed at this moment. He had no idea how to face this father who had escaped from prison. It was unrealistic to ask him to turn himself in. It seemed strange to ask him to run away.
Rong Zhengqing saw that he was alone and looked around: "Where is your mother? Where is she?"
Rong Xuan quickly held him down and said, "Let's find a village to stay. My mother will be waiting at home, and I will go out alone."
Rong Zhengqing's wife was very affectionate, and she frowned slightly when she heard this. He put the sword back into the sheath and said to Rong Xuan: "In this case, let's go back to find your mother, hide our names, and leave this place as soon as possible."
Rong Xuan also felt that this was the only way at the moment: "Father is right."
But he stood there without moving.
There was no other reason. Now there were two men and one horse, and it seemed difficult to allocate them. Rong Xuan didn't think that this inferior old horse could bear the weight of two grown men at the same time.
#To ride, or not to ride, that is the question#
Rong Zhengqing seemed to have discovered this problem as well: "Xuan'er, you ride."
Rong Xuan felt something was not right and waved his hands quickly: "No, no, no, Dad, you ride it."
Who made you the father
Rong Zhengqing loved his only son very much. Upon hearing this, he touched his head lovingly and said, "You were hit by your father just now. I'm afraid you have some internal injuries. You ride on the horse and I will use Qinggong to hurry on."
"… "
It would have been fine if he hadn't said anything. As soon as he said it, Rong Xuan felt his lungs began to hurt again. He covered his chest without leaving any trace, but still felt that it was not good for an old man to eat and walk, so he advised: "Dad, it's okay, you can ride, if you delay any longer, I'm afraid the pursuers will catch up."
Rong Zhengqing was full of heroic spirit: "What are you afraid of? If one comes, I'll kill one. If two come, I'll kill a pair! I've never been afraid of anyone in my life, let alone those low-ranking fifth-rank officials in the Ministry of Justice!"
Starting from the ninth grade, from the eighth grade, and above the fifth grade enters Jianmen.
In Shengjing City, a swordsman above the fifth rank is considered a mid-level master, but in Rong Zhengqing's mouth, he is as vulnerable as an ant.
Is it because he is arrogant
No, it was obviously because he had enough strength to look down on that group of people.
What does it mean to be a first-class swordsman
Apart from those masters who kept their identities secret, there were only five first-class swordsmen in the world: Han Xiaoyun from Beiyan, Lu Fanweng from Wei, and Zuo Qiunian from Liang. The remaining two were Liu Xiqiong and Ye Shengchen from Da Zhou. Even Xuanyuan Qing was currently stuck at the bottleneck of the second-class.
When the Turks invaded Northern Yan, Han Xiaoyun defended Donglai City for three whole days with just his sword; in order to master the sword, Lu Fanweng escaped into the snowy realm alone for several years, and later he broke through the edge of the mountain with one sword; Zuo Qiunian, needless to say, his swordsmanship has reached perfection, and he now serves as the emperor's teacher. His descendants have protected the Liang royal family for generations. He is an old monster who has lived for more than a hundred years.
Liu Xiqiong is the only woman among the top-ranked sword masters of the time. She is currently serving the Zhou royal family and accompanying the emperor. As for Ye Shengchen, he is unruly by nature and likes to travel around the world. No one has seen him for many years.
Among these people, some were generals, some were important ministers of the emperor, and all were made marquises and ministers, which showed that their status was very important. Zhou was now slightly superior to the other three, which might not be due to the presence of two first-class divine swordsmen.
Rong Zhengqing was probably the worst among all the first-class swordsmen. After he retired from the martial arts world, he was too low-key, so low-key that no one even knew he was a first-class swordsman. In daily fights, he only used 20% to 30% of his strength at most, and regarded himself as a fifth-class swordsman. Over the years, people who were familiar with him only knew that he was good at kung fu, but they never thought that his swordsmanship had reached the first level.
This is probably the legendary hermit who is not interested in fame and fortune... right
Rong Xuan led the horse and hurried along the official road in the dark. He couldn't help but look at Rong Zhengqing who was riding on the horse. Just now, the other party couldn't resist his son's filial piety and had no choice but to ride on the horse.
Rong Xuan: "Father, Zhou is in a critical period. If you reveal your identity, maybe the court will pardon you."
There are really too few first-class swordsmen, even fewer than pandas. Rong Xuan really has no doubt that the emperor will pardon Rong Zhengqing upon hearing the news. Special talents deserve special treatment.
"Your father is innocent, so they shouldn't spare him." Rong Zhengqing was riding on his horse, thinking that his son was still too young and wanted to keep things simple. "I had too many enemies back then. If I reveal my identity, I'm afraid they will hear that Feng Xun is here and harm you and your mother."
Once a man has a wife and children, he has a weak spot.
Rong Xuan countered: "Then you are still an official?"
Rong Zhengqing slapped him on the back of his head and said, "You don't understand. Jingzhou is too chaotic. If I hadn't seen the people being harmed by bandits, I wouldn't have taken that rotten position."
After he finished speaking, he thought about the imprisonment he had suffered during this period of time, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became: "If I had known that the officials in the capital were so confused and couldn't even find out the truth, I should have taken you two with me when I was in Jingzhou. Why did I come to the capital to suffer such a living punishment!"
Rong Xuan thought that it was unbelievable that a first-class divine sword had fallen to this state. He really didn't know whether to say that Rong Zhengqing was too stupid or too low-key. But as a son, he could only comfort his father: "It's okay, knowing earlier is more valuable than gold, and you can't blame your father for this."
Rong Xuan now just wanted to hurry to the post station ahead and buy another horse, otherwise at their current speed, it would take three days to get home.
Rong Zhengqing was very relieved. His son used to be a reckless martial arts fanatic like him, who knew nothing except martial arts. He never expected that after being in prison for a while, he would become so sensible after being released.
Rong Zhengqing said in a complicated tone: "Xuan'er, Dad really didn't expect that you have grown so much after not seeing you for a while. You really lived up to my usual teachings."
"… "
Rong Xuan's mood was also very complicated. He came here to collect the body, but now he has become the family member of the fugitive for no reason. If he was caught and brought to court to cover up the fugitive, it would be difficult to overturn the case. He might even be implicated because of his family relationship.
unwise.
While Rong Xuan and Rong Zhengqing were traveling day and night, another group of people were searching in the mountains. They were dressed in plain clothes and looked like ordinary rangers, but they moved silently and were obviously well-trained.
The leading man was about seven or eight years old, with a ponytail, still youthful. He had good martial arts skills, and with a flip he jumped onto a treetop several feet high, searching the surroundings like an eagle: "His Highness landed here, you must check carefully and don't miss any place."
These people were the 3,000 Yan cavalrymen who followed the Crown Prince of Yan into Zhou as hostages. Although they were few in number, they were all fourth-grade swordsmen. Once they formed an army formation, they were incredibly powerful and could fight against first-grade divine swordsmen. They were notorious in the battlefields of Northern Yan. When Ji Fan entered the capital, the Queen Mother of Yan gave him this team to keep him safe in Zhou.
After Ji Fan disappeared, they split into six groups and searched secretly in the Nanshan hunting ground for many days. Finally, they followed the blood trail all the way here.
A soldier seemed to have discovered something while searching on the gravel beach. He raised his sword to the young man and said, "Major General, there is blood here."
Upon hearing this, Yan Fengchen jumped down from the treetop and took a closer look. Sure enough, he found mottled dark brown bloodstains and a piece of rag among the rubble. He picked up the rag and saw that it was of luxurious texture. He frowned slightly and muttered, "It's His Highness's clothes. He should be nearby. Look for him quickly."
Yan Fengchen is the adopted son of Han Xiaoyun, the Grand Marshal of the Northern Yan Army. He has extraordinary muscles and bones, and is born with martial arts talent. He has mastered the second-grade swordsmanship before he was even nineteen.
When Han Xiaoyun was defeated by Zhou, he felt so guilty that he let his hair down and apologized. He specially ordered his adopted son Yan Fengchen to escort Ji Fan to the capital and accompany him all the way.
Now that Ji Fan fell off a cliff and his life or death is uncertain, Yan Fengchen cannot escape the blame. He does not trust Zhou's people, so he secretly leaves the capital with his guards to search for him, and finds this place along the way. On the way, he encounters the troops sent by Donglin Hou, and a fierce battle breaks out.
At this moment, a sharp eagle cry suddenly came from the sky, reaching the sky. Yan Fengchen didn't pay attention to it at first, but the black eagle kept circling around him, as if it had some news to tell him.
Yan Fengchen had excellent eyesight and noticed that there seemed to be something tied to the eagle's claws. He flew up directly and captured the giant eagle in his palm with one leap.
"It turned out to be your highness's eagle!"
Yan Fengchen took a closer look and was surprised to find three tufts of white feathers on the back of the black eagle, which was clearly the falcon trained by Ji Fan. He immediately untied the letter tied to the eagle's claws and quickly unfolded it. He didn't know what was on it, his face changed slightly, and he immediately tore the letter into pieces.
Yan Fengchen: "Hurry up! His Highness has been found!"
The moonlight gradually faded, and the ground was covered with a frosty white. Taohua Village was a remote place, and usually very quiet. When the sky was just getting light, Widow Song got up and washed as usual, preparing to go to the market to sell tofu. Suddenly, she remembered that Rong's eldest son had borrowed a box of rouge and had not returned it, so she walked to the wall of the courtyard and looked over to the next door.
Outside the Rong family courtyard stood a red maple tree, under which sat a man in a white shirt. His long hair was untied, flowing down his shoulders and waist like water, and was as black as a crow's feathers. It was unknown how long he had been sitting there. In his hand he held a bamboo hawk whistle, stroking it from time to time, as if he was in deep thought, or as if he was waiting for someone.
From the angle Widow Song was looking at, she could only glimpse the other person's pointed chin and high nose bridge. In addition, Rong Xuan usually wore white clothes, so she mistook him for someone else. She waved her handkerchief and cried tenderly, "Mr. Rong, you borrowed my rouge the other day, but you forgot to return it!"
The man paused after hearing this and turned to look at her. His face was flawless, as clear as jade, and his eyes were clear and bright, yet dark and dark, making it hard to see through them. In the middle of his eyebrows was a cinnabar blood mole that belonged to Qingzi, giving off an unexplained demonic aura.
He had a kind face, with lips slightly drooping, a hint of pity and sarcasm. But he also had a pair of upturned eyes, which made people feel that he was not as kind as he seemed.
The man sitting under the red maple tree was Ji Fan.
Widow Song was dazed by his appearance, and was slow to react to realize that the man in front of her was not Rong Xuan. She stammered, "You...you...who are you? This is the Rong family's house!"
Ji Fan stared quietly, not knowing what he was thinking. He frowned and clenched the eagle whistle in his hand, without saying a word.
Widow Song was inexplicably frightened by Ji Fan's aura for a moment. She stepped back and raised her voice: "I'm talking to you. Did you hear me? Who are you?"
Rong's mother just got up to cook and heard the noise outside the courtyard. She walked out of the house with a cane and saw the widow Song next door standing by the courtyard wall talking to Ji Fan. She guessed the reason and explained quickly: "She is Xuan'er's new wife the day before yesterday. She seldom went out because of a serious illness, so you didn't recognize her. Thank you Madam Song for your concern."
Rong's mother rarely interacted with her neighbors, but she said something that was watertight: "Xuan'er is now out doing business and won't be back. When he returns home, we'll make up for the wedding with wine and a banquet, and then invite the neighbors to come and be witnesses."
Widow Song couldn't stand the flowery words. Seeing that the young lady turned out to be Rong Xuan's new wife, she cursed the infatuated woman and the unfaithful man in her heart, and told him not to talk to that little bastard Rong Xuan anymore, and turned around and went into the house.
Mother Rong couldn't see the expression on Ji Fan's face because of her eye disease, otherwise she would have noticed something was wrong. Hearing the sound of Widow Song leaving, she groped her way to Ji Fan with her cane and explained apologetically, "People in the countryside are gossipy, and you living alone in Rong's house is bound to cause criticism. I'm sorry to have wronged you."
For some reason Ji Fan didn't say anything. A maple leaf fell on his shoulder and then quietly slid to the ground.
Rong's mother: "Please sit for a while. I'll go to the kitchen to light a fire and cook porridge. I don't know when Xuan'er will be back."
Ji Fan finally stood up after hearing this, his sleeves brushing against the chair, making a slight rustling sound. He had been sitting quietly in the courtyard all night, his body damp from the dew. He reached out to stop Rong's mother, a cool feeling coming from his fingertips: "No need..."
Ji Fan paused: "The porridge is ready, I'll go serve it out."
After he regained his memory, he sat quietly in the courtyard for a night. Thinking about what happened after he lost his memory, he couldn't tell whether he was ashamed or angry. His emotions were in turmoil for a long time. But these accounts could not be blamed on an innocent woman.
The air was silent for a moment.
Ji Fan turned and walked into the kitchen, took out two bowls of porridge, and sat at the table with Rong's mother to eat breakfast. Mrs. Rong saw that the porridge bowls were still warm, obviously cooked before dawn, and gently patted Ji Fan's hand: "You kid, your injury hasn't healed yet, why are you cooking by yourself? Don't do this again next time, Xuan'er will definitely blame me if he knows."
Ji Fan was unusually quiet today. When he suddenly heard Rong Xuan mentioned, he clenched his fingertips silently, and the wooden chopsticks broke with a snap.
Rong's mother was shocked when she heard this: "What?"
Ji Fan threw away the two broken chopsticks and replaced them with a new pair. He said calmly, "It's nothing. The chopsticks were eaten by insects."
The atmosphere this morning was indeed a bit strange, but fortunately, Rong's mother did not notice it. After breakfast, she went into the house to chant. Ji Fan stood in the yard, looking up at the sky, occasionally frowning and blowing the eagle whistle in his hand, as if waiting for someone to come. Half an hour later, there was a sudden sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance. A team of people dressed as merchants rode their horses from a distance, and finally stopped at the door of Rong's house with the reins pulled.
Yan Fengchen didn't have time to wait for the horse to stop, and jumped off the horse. He saw the man in white standing in the courtyard, and immediately stepped forward happily: "Prince..."
Before he finished speaking, Ji Fan raised his hand to stop him: "There are many people here, don't reveal your identity."
Yan Fengchen immediately fell silent upon hearing this, and stopped kneeling. Although he was still young, he could not hide his joy: "Your Highness, we finally found you, why are you here?"
Ji Fan didn't want to say much, frowned and said, "I fell off a cliff and was rescued by a farmer, so I am recuperating here."
Upon hearing this, Yan Fengchen looked around and saw that it was indeed a farmer's residence. He urged: "Your Highness, please follow me back to the capital as soon as possible. On the way here, I met the troops of the Marquis of Donglin. They had a fierce fight. I'm afraid they have more tricks up their sleeves. It's better to leave here as soon as possible."
I don’t know if it was the hasty hooves of the horses outside that startled Madam Rong. Holding an oil-paper bag in her hand, she groped her way out of the house. She vaguely saw a group of people gathered at the door, and subconsciously asked Ji Fan: "What's going on?"
Yan Fengchen saw a woman coming out and thought that she might be the farmer who saved His Highness. However, before he could open his mouth, he saw Ji Fan reaching out to support her and whispered, "Mother, nothing happened. We are a group of passing merchants."
Yan Fengchen was surprised when he heard this. Mother? Didn't the Crown Prince's biological mother die a long time ago? Where did the mother come from
Rong's mother didn't doubt it. She stuffed the oil paper bag in her hand into Ji Fan's hand and patted it twice: "Xuan'er told me to remind you to drink the medicine. Before leaving, I gave this to you so that you can save some and bring it back to you after you finish your business."
After that, he gave another worried reminder: "Don't make friends with outsiders. Xuan'er said that there is a lot of chaos in the capital these days, so he asked us to stay at home and not go anywhere."
Ji Fan looked down at the oil paper bag in his hand, and saw some candied fruits inside. He paused, unconsciously clenched his fingertips, and wondered what he was thinking: "..."
Yan Fengchen was really afraid that there were pursuers behind him, so he wanted to urge Ji Fan to get on the road quickly. However, Ji Fan seemed to know what he was going to say, and a look choked back his unspoken words.
"Mother,"
Ji Fan raised his hand to support Madam Rong, and suddenly said firmly: "Come with me to the capital..."
Ji Fan narrowed his eyes, a dark mood rising up, and finally knew how to deal with that liar. His voice was calm and cold, and every word was light: "Rong Xuan is doing business in Beijing. He said he wanted to find out about my father's lawsuit. He might not be able to come back for a while, so he asked these passing merchants to take us to Beijing to take care of him..."
When Rong's mother heard him mention Rong Zhengqing's case, she was shocked.
…
Before they knew it, it was already dusk. Rong Xuan and Rong Zhengqing rode two fast horses and finally rushed home at full speed, but they didn't expect to find it empty-handed.
Rong Xuan got off his horse and noticed the messy horse hoof prints at the door. He suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. He immediately pushed the door open and entered the house, but saw that it was empty and there was nothing inside. Even the books he usually read were taken away.
There was only a note on the table in the main hall, with a line of words written in a strong handwriting, pressed under the vase:
If you want to find someone, meet in Shengjing.
If you want to find someone, meet in Shengjing...
Rong Xuan picked up the note and his heart sank when he saw it. He thought that Ji Fan would not really recover his memory and leave here. But why did he leave without even seeing his mother
Rong Xuan hurried out of the house, only to see the widow Song next door grinding soybeans in the yard. She was looking towards her house as if to see something interesting. She cupped her hands and said, "Sister Song, have you seen anyone from my family?"
Widow Song gloated: "I advise you to find someone else. Your wife ran away with a rich businessman."
Rong Xuan asked hurriedly: "What about my mother?"
Widow Song waved her handkerchief and said, "Run with your wife!"
Rong Xuan: “???”
Rong Zhengqing had just rolled off his horse when he heard these words and nearly fell to his death.