AMLFS Chapter 76

Chapter 77: Getting Away

Liang Xiuzhu hugged his sword, in no mood for jokes. His whole body was tense.

“There won’t be more people coming after us, will there?”

Deputy General Sun sat back in front of the carriage, cracking his whip. “That’s hard to say. They won’t give up so easily.”

Liang Xiuzhu sat in the carriage, still shaken.

But he didn’t regret it. The Princess Consort was a great benefactor to him. That’s why he agreed to impersonate Song Huaixi without a second thought when Zhao Fangye asked him.

If it hadn’t been for Song Huaixi speaking up for him back then, his mother would surely have had no way to survive.

Following Zhao Fangye’s instructions, Liang Xiuzhu continued to pass information to the Chancellor, hoping to confuse the situation.

But after a while, no more messages came from the Chancellor’s residence, and he himself had several close calls. Liang Xiuzhu belatedly realized that he might have been exposed.

But at that time, Prince Zhao of the Ning district was not in the mansion. After a while, he went to Hanzhou.

He finally found an opportunity to report this news to Zhao Fangye.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fangye’s expression immediately became serious. He vaguely sensed that the Song family’s affairs were complicated, and it seemed that the Chancellor was also fueling the flames.

All of this was forcing him to seize power.

Meanwhile, on a small road, a carriage was traveling in the dark.

Song Huaixi sat in the carriage, tilting his head and leaning on Zhao Qiongwan’s shoulder.

His eyeballs moved under his thin eyelids, as if he wasn’t sleeping soundly.

Zhao Qiongwan’s eyes were wide open, without any sleepiness. Learning that Zhao Fangye was going to the Ministry of Punishments Prison to rescue the Song family,

her heart had been hanging in the air.

Robbing a prison under the Ministry of Punishments. Song Huaixi didn’t understand what it meant, but she did. She vividly remembered the scene of how the Zhao family was wrongly killed back then.

Zhao Fangye’s actions were too shocking, tantamount to treason. Zhao Qiongwan didn’t know if they could escape successfully.

If they couldn’t, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Looking at the sleeping Song Huaixi beside her, Zhao Qiongwan clenched her sleeves, her eyes filled with melancholy. Seeing him getting along with the Prince of the Ning district, she could tell that he really liked the Prince of the Ning district.

If something happened to the Prince of the Ning district, what would Huaixi do then?

After rescuing the Song family, the carriage went straight towards the city gate. Zhao Fangye led his men and horses waiting at the city gate.

In the dark night, Zhao Fangye wore a black robe and a gold-glazed crown on his head. He stood on a tall horse, standing in front of the team with cold eyes.

A confidant led the Song family to the city gate, dismounting from his horse: “Your Highness, the Imperial Guard is already rushing towards the city gate.”

“Mm.” A cold voice came from the horse: “Escort Master Song and his family out of the city.”

A hint of hesitation flashed in the confidant’s eyes, but he didn’t hesitate at all: “Yes!”

Then he led the carriage towards the outside of the city gate.

The news of Zhao Fangye’s prison break quickly alarmed the emperor, and the emperor was furious and sent the Imperial Guard defending the capital. He was determined to capture Zhao Fangye.

Grand Commandant Xiao led a large number of Imperial Guards to arrive and saw Zhao Fangye at the city gate with only a few personal guards who hadn’t left.

He immediately laughed wildly.

“Prince Zhao of the Ning district, oh Prince Zhao of the Ning district. What are you doing? Are you looking for death?”

Grand Commandant Xiao was still worried about how to bring him down now that the Crown Prince had lost power. He didn’t expect Zhao Fangye to come up with such a move himself.

Zhao Fangye looked at his smug expression and opened his mouth sarcastically.

“Isn’t this what the Grand Commandant hopes for? Putting the hat of treason on this Prince’s head, there is no need to implicate the innocent.”

Grand Commandant Xiao still pretended not to understand: “Hey, what does Prince Zhao of the Ning district mean by this? Isn’t the Song family’s treason and betrayal of the country under the instructions of Your Highness? This old minister can’t bear such a big crime.”

As he spoke, he rode his horse around in front of the army, looked at the few men and horses behind Zhao Fangye, and chuckled: “Your Highness, you should just surrender obediently. At least it’s dignified.”

A sneer flashed across Zhao Fangye’s face: “Is that so? Then Grand Commandant Xiao, take a look at who this person is?”

With a wave of his hand, someone immediately brought up a figure in bright yellow.

Grand Commandant Xiao fixed his eyes and saw that the man was wearing a bright yellow undergarment.

His face, which had been arrogant just now, suddenly changed, and he exclaimed in shock: “Crown Prince?!”

The shock in his eyes was not fake. Grand Commandant Xiao looked at the two soldiers holding the unconscious Zhao Jingshuo.

He trembled with anger: “Zhao Fangye! You dare to kidnap the current Crown Prince! You! You have the gall of a bear!”

He was so angry that he couldn’t say anything.

Seeing his exasperation, Zhao Fangye looked at the unconscious Zhao Jingshuo with amusement and opened his mouth casually.

“Since this Prince has the courage to commit treason, what does a Crown Prince matter? Grand Commandant Xiao, do you still want this Prince to surrender now?”

As soon as these words came out, the meaning of threat was obvious.

Grand Commandant Xiao had not expected such a situation. No wonder Zhao Fangye looked so confident.

He dared to break into the Ministry of Punishments Prison with a team of personal guards because he wanted to use Zhao Jingshuo as a way out.

“Are you crazy? That is the current Crown Prince. I advise you to release the Crown Prince immediately!”

Zhao Fangye turned a deaf ear to his words and continued: “He is in this Prince’s hands now. If you still want him to live, this Prince advises you not to follow.”

After saying that, Zhao Fangye turned his horse and ran towards the city gate. Zhao Jingshuo was also taken away by the soldiers.

Watching Zhao Fangye’s team of personal guards leave the city, Grand Commandant Xiao couldn’t do anything in place.

His subordinate stepped forward: “Sir, are we not chasing?”

Grand Commandant Xiao slapped him backhand, staggering him.

He scolded: “That is the current Crown Prince, my grandson. You beast, do you want to kill the Crown Prince!”

If the emperor lost a Crown Prince, there would be other imperial heirs to succeed, but their Xiao family only had one Crown Prince. He must not take such a risk.

Now that Zhao Fangye has rebelled, the throne can only belong to the Xiao family. Even if he lets Zhao Fangye go for a while, he can’t reverse the overall situation.

Although Zhao Fangye holds military power, how long can he fight against the imperial court with his own strength?

It’s just courting death.

When Song Huaixi woke up, the carriage was still moving.

Seeing him wake up, Zhao Qiongwan took out the pastries and handed them to him: “Are you hungry? Huaixi, eat something first.”

Song Huaixi looked at the things in her hand and shook his head. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out.

Qing Shan and Qing Yang were sitting in front, driving the carriage. They were very familiar with the road to the Northwest.

Turning to look at Song Huaixi, they said: “Princess Consort, come in quickly. Your face must not be seen!”

They deliberately took small roads all the way, just to prevent their whereabouts from being leaked. The Prince had already told them to be hidden.

After hearing this, Zhao Qiongwan quickly pulled his body back: “Huaixi, be good.”

The unfamiliar scenery that flashed by just now made Song Huaixi very dazed.

Turning to look at her, he asked: “Sister-in-law, when will we arrive in the Northwest?”

When will he be able to see Zhao Fangye?

Zhao Qiongwan looked at his eyes with a complicated expression and said softly: “Huaixi, sister-in-law doesn’t know. The Northwest is probably a bit far away.”

However, Qing Shan and Qing Yang heard it, and the voice came from the front.

“If we travel day and night, we can reach the Northwest in two and a half months. Princess Consort, don’t worry, the Prince has already arranged for the response along the way, and we can arrive in about two months.”

“Two months? That’s a long time.” Song Huaixi muttered while counting his fingers. There was some loneliness in his eyes.

He thought he would not see each other until two months later. He didn’t expect them to reunite half a month later.

And the place of reunion was exactly the previous Hanzhou.