Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 779 Life-Saving Master! Young Master, run!!! 8 [Thank you! Bow again! 15k words owed]

The setting sun hangs in the west.

The Great Zhou Imperial Palace

The Gongchen Gate, located in the northeast of the palace, is near the rear garden.

On the palace walls,

A group of elite imperial guards dressed in black armor stepped forward.
Looking at Zhang Shipan standing by the palace wall, the black-armored imperial guard cupped his hands and said, "Young master, a messenger from the Crown Prince's side has sent word that Xu Wulang has entered the palace. Please go to the southeast corner tower for temporary refuge."

Zhang Shipan frowned: "Xu Zaijing is just entering the palace. Do I have to hide here for the time being?"

The black-armored imperial guard nodded: "Yes, young master! The eunuch said that Xu Wulang may come to the rear garden for a walk later, so please leave."

Zhang Shipan sneered: "Tell the eunuch that I, this young master, know."

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

Seeing that no one was around, the black-armored imperial guard said worriedly, "Young master, we received a secret letter from Xijin Prefecture when we returned to the palace from the outer city."

The secret letter from Xijin Prefecture mentioned by the black-armored imperial guard was delivered to Zhang Shipan by the monk who was striking a wooden fish when he left Kaibao Renwang Temple around noon.

The secret letter contained no orders and was more like a private letter to Zhang Shipan, but it contained earth-shattering news: the Northern Liao would launch a major military campaign against the Great Zhou in a few days.

The letter writer also said that this military campaign was a desperate gamble by the Northern Liao, and that they would suffer the consequences if they were not careful. He hoped that Zhang Shipan would take good care of himself in the Great Zhou.

It must be known that this was March, and the warhorses of both the Great Zhou and the Northern Liao had lost a lot of weight after a winter.

The rivers and marshes within the Great Zhou territory had long since thawed, and spring was different from autumn and winter, so the people's homes basically had no more stored grain to plunder.

The only advantage of launching a military campaign against the Great Zhou at this time might be that the Great Zhou's surrounding army becomes somewhat complacent, since everyone knows that this is not a good time to wage war.

Zhang Shipan immediately understood that the reason the Northern Liao royal family could make such a decision could only be because they knew that something earth-shattering would happen to the Great Zhou court in the next two days.

For example, what happened at Jinming Pond today.

The letter was full of concern, but what it implied was: if the Northern Liao fails, or if you, Zhang Shipan, do not cooperate, someone will report you, and you can just wait to die.

“They’re wary of us!” Zhang Shipan said.

The black-armored attendant said, "Young master, the Northern Liao are ruthless, so they can't blame us for being unjust! In that case, why don't you just tell the Emperor of Great Zhou directly?"

Zhang Shipan shook his head: "If I had known about the Jinming Pond incident earlier and informed the emperor before it happened, thus averting this disaster, then that would have been fine!"

"But what's done is done! The Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and high-ranking officials of the Great Zhou have narrowly escaped death! What's the point of me saying anything now?"

"Even if the emperor pardons me, will the crown prince let me go?"

"Do as I say, get rid of Xu Zaijing."

Black-armored Imperial Guard: "Yes."

Half an hour later,
The sun sets in the west.

The southeast corner tower of the palace.

The corner tower is located high up, and from inside, one can look out into the distance and see the inner city walls of Bianjing under the sunlight.

Above the city wall in sight, wisps of smoke could be faintly seen rising from something burning.

"Dudu."

There was a knock on the wooden door of the corner tower.

“Come in,” Zhang Shipan said, standing by the window.

The door opened, and the black-armored imperial guards entered the corner tower, cupping their hands and saying, "Young master, the eunuch of the rear court has sent word that Xu Wulang is preparing to leave and requests that you go to Xuande Gate again."

Zhang Shipan, somewhat lost in thought, asked, "Hmm, has the message been sent out?"

The elite imperial guards whispered, "Don't worry, young master! I sent out the message as soon as I arrived!"

"Hiss!" Zhang Shipan gasped, realizing something was wrong: "Xuande Gate? Didn't Xu Zaijing leave through Xuande Gate?"

"No, young master. The eunuch said they left through the Donghua Gate. We had already notified the Xu family's attendants to move the carriages there."

"Donghua Gate?" Zhang Shipan took a few steps, looked out the north-facing window, and then turned back to ask, "What about this matter?"

"The news has spread!" said the black-armored imperial guard.

"Good!" Zhang Shipan breathed a sigh of relief.

The East Gate of the Palace City
The setting sun slants down,

A sliver of sunlight shone onto the floor of the doorway, making the doorway somewhat bright.

On the open ground outside Donghua Gate,

The maids from the Chai and Rong families stood beside the carriage, glancing towards the palace gate every now and then.

“Someone’s coming out,” said Yunmu, who had been watching the palace gate.

The surrounding maids all looked over.

"Sister Xibu, is the man beside our young lady the young master of the Xu family?" Rong family maid Ningxiang asked incredulously.

She nodded slightly: "Yes."

"Why is our young lady here too? The three of them just walked out like that? They're standing too close!" said Zifeng, the maid of the Chai family, bewildered.

Fuyi, who was standing to the side, quickly looked around. Hmm, there were quite a few people around.

Yunmu frowned and said anxiously as he watched the three people leaving the palace gate, "This, this, why is the young lady still smiling at Young Master Xu! Heavens!"

Fu Yi quickly glanced at the Xu family members and their attendants who were grooming the dragon steed not far away.

Alan and Xunshu noticed the gazes of the maids and shook their heads blankly.

Then they saw their young master come out with two noble ladies.

While the maids were getting anxious, Xu Zaijing had already left the palace with two noble ladies.

Seeing the two noble ladies' personal maids glaring at him, Xu Zaijing could only return a smile.

Upon arriving at each carriage, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan bowed to Xu Zaijing before stepping onto the carriages using the horse stools.

The maids of the Chai and Rong families glanced at Xu Zaijing with either reproach or anger before hurriedly getting into the carriage and following their young mistresses.

Alan and Xunshu led their dragon steeds and their respective mounts over.

"Young master, what's wrong with you today?" Alan asked in confusion, "Why are you out with two noble ladies like this?"

Xun Shu nodded as he looked at the two carriages: "Yes, young master! The maid across from us just now gave us a really fierce look!"

Xu Zaijing deftly mounted his horse in the stirrups: "Follow me."

"Oh, oh." Xun Shu and Alan quickly mounted their horses and followed the dragon steed.

When they realized that their young master was heading towards the carriages of the Chai and Rong families, the two attendants from Northern Liao exchanged a surprised glance.

Once inside the carriage, Yunmu looked at Chai Zhengzheng, who was smiling, and whispered, "Miss, what's wrong with you today?"

Chai Zhengzheng tried hard to suppress her smile and said, "It's nothing! We'll talk about it when we get home!"

"Oh!" Seeing that Yunmu hadn't gotten any information, Fuyi sighed. Ziteng then lifted the carriage curtain a crack and said, "Hey! Why is the top scholar still following us?"

Chai Zhengzheng looked at the carriage on one side, as if she could see someone outside the carriage, and said, "Hmm—it was the Crown Princess who ordered him to give us a ride."

"Tai," Yunmu looked at his daughter with some confusion.

In the Rong family carriage on the other side,
Seeing Rong Feiyan staring blankly at the roof of the carriage after getting in, Ningxiang whispered to Xibu, "Sister Xibu, is the young lady happy or unhappy?"

Upon hearing this, Rong Feiyan frowned slightly with a smile as she looked at her maid.

"Miss, it's just leaving the palace with Xu Wulang, you don't need to do this!" Xi Bu gently advised.

“Yes, yes!” Ningxiang nodded repeatedly.

"You two!" Rong Feiyan reached out and gently pinched Xibu and Ningxiang's cheeks, saying solemnly, "You don't understand!"

“Girl, we don’t understand, so please tell us,” Xi Bu asked curiously.

Rong Feiyan touched the faces of the two maids again, then took a deep breath and said with a smile, "This afternoon, I took a walk in the back garden with Brother Xu Wu! There were only three of us!"

Xi Bu stared in disbelief: "Huh?"

Ningxiang looked at Rong Feiyan anxiously, stammering, "Aunt...he..."

As she spoke, Ningxiang reached for Rong Feiyan's belt.

Rong Feiyan slapped her maid's hand away and said angrily, "What are you doing! There are three people! The other one is Miss Zhengzheng!"

"Huh? Oh!" Ningxiang awkwardly withdrew her hand and smiled at Rong Feiyan.

She leaned closer to Rong Feiyan and whispered, "Miss, could it be that Her Majesty the Empress has bestowed this marriage upon you?"

Ningxiang froze.

"Mm." Rong Feiyan nodded gently, her cheeks flushed.

Xi Bu was also stunned.

"Snapped."

The coachman shook the reins, and the carriage began to move.

The sounds of horses' hooves and rumbling carts filled the air.

Xu Zaijing rode his own white dragon steed, following between the carriages of the Chai and Rong families, with Alan and Xunshu on horseback behind him.

And so the group drove across the moat bridge outside Donghua Gate, preparing to head south.

Because there were still unrest in some parts of Bianjing, most of the shops on the street outside Donghua Gate were closed.

However, troops of cavalry and infantry still passed by from time to time, and many of these troop formations were accompanied by wagons carrying armor and provisions.

An officer who was leading the cavalry passed by, and after seeing Xu Zaijing and his entourage's carriages and horses, he bowed respectfully from his horse.

Xu Zaijing nodded in acknowledgment.

After watching the cavalry depart and glancing at a group of infantry coming from the north not far away, Xu Zaijing accompanied the two carriages to turn south.

The Chai family mansion was located on the banks of the moat, not far from the Donghua Gate.

Soon the group arrived at the Chai family's gate. "Whoa!"

Rong Feiyan's carriage stopped by the roadside.

Chai Zhengzheng, who was in the carriage in front, lifted the curtain and looked at Xu Zaijing, who was riding a horse, and said, "Fifth Brother Xu, you and Sister Feiyan don't need to get off."

Xu Zaijing glanced back and smiled, "She has already disembarked from the carriage."

Chai Zhengzheng was stunned for a moment.

While they were talking, the Chai family carriage had already crossed the street and arrived at the Chai family's door.

"Stop the car," Chai Zhengzheng said.

After Chai Zhengzheng and the maid got off the carriage, the carriage entered the gate.

At the main gate,
The gatekeeper of the Chai family, Peel Shrimp and Gecko, stood to one side, looking at their young lady and the older sisters in the inner courtyard with puzzled expressions.

Before their daughter came to Beijing, they worked at the gatehouse. In all these years, they had never seen their daughter get off the car at the gate and smile and wave at a man from another place.

"This young master and his white horse look so familiar," Gecko scratched the back of his head.

“It’s the top scholar! We met before at Mingyue’s place in Zhouqiao!” Peeling Shrimp said in surprise.

"Oh! Right, right! He's the top scholar!"

The two spoke in hushed tones.

"Young master, be careful!!!"

"ha!!!!"

A heart-wrenching alarm sounded.

The sound was so loud and shrill that it startled the two servants.

Chai Zhengzheng and Yunmu, along with the other female servants not far from them, were also stunned and mechanically looked towards the source of the sound.

Rong Feiyan and Xibu, who were standing outside the car on the side of the road opposite Chai Zhengzheng and the others, also turned their heads to look.

Before they could see clearly...

"Buzz—"

"Buzz—"

Two sounds of bowstrings vibrating rang in everyone's ears.

The sound of the bowstring vibrating had not yet faded from everyone's ears.

"Xilulu——"

The neighing of horses rang out again.

"Young master, run!!"

Another piercing scream rang out.

Standing beside the carriage, Rong Feiyan stared blankly in the direction the crowd had come from!

There, Xu Zaijing's two most skilled horsemen had already reined in their horses and stood still!

The two fine horses, standing upright, were nearly as tall as a person, completely blocking Rong Feiyan's view.

"Whoosh-"

Rong Feiyan suddenly felt a heat on her face, but she couldn't smell anything yet.

"Bang!!!"

A loud bang came from not far behind her!
Rong Feiyan instantly felt her body lift off the ground.

"Whoosh-"

Another sharp, piercing sound rang out beside Rong Feiyan.

A hardening sensation between her chest and abdomen made Rong Feiyan realize that she was lying on the saddle, with the white mane of the dragon steed in front of her.

"Go in."

"You two, keep up!"

Xu Zaijing's extremely cold voice came through.

Before Rong Feiyan could react, she lost her balance.

When she came to her senses, she found herself inside the gate of the Chai family's house.

"Xilulu——"

"Xilulu——"

Two more horses neighed outside the door!
The neighing of the two horses was much weaker than before. Rong Feiyan didn't have time to think about why she could tell, and could only reflexively dismount.

As her feet touched the ground, Rong Feiyan looked at the panicked Chai Zhengzheng and the personal maid who had followed her in.

Not far from Rong Feiyan's sight, the Chai family's servant was helping the coachman, who was running through the gate on all fours.

"What's wrong? What happened?!" Rong Feiyan said, and was about to run outside.

But she had only taken one step when Chai Zhengzheng pulled her back.

"Buzz—"

"Buzz—"

"Huh?" Rong Feiyan looked at Chai Zhengzheng blankly as she heard the vibration of the bowstring reaching her ears.

"Don't go and cause him trouble!" Chai Zhengzheng's voice trembled as she pointed to a spot not far away.

Rong Feiyan looked over.

Just then, one of Xu Zaijing's close followers was seen lying on the back of a horse that had just stood up, his lower body stained red with two gushing spurts of horse blood.

The steed of Xu's family, standing on its hind legs, was weak and trembling due to its injury, but it was still desperately trying to maintain its balance by moving its hind legs to support its weight, following the rider's orders.

But things didn't go as planned for this fine steed. Because of its large movement and the external force, it lost its balance and, along with the rider on its back, its back tilted back and its head slammed into the ground.

Before Rong Feiyan and Chai Zhengzheng could clearly see the situation of the Xu family's attendants who were pinned down by the mount, they were caught off guard.

In their field of vision, another attendant, who was standing on horseback, suddenly flew off his horse.

Xu Zaijing was positioned much closer than Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan.

He saw it very clearly.
A sharp crossbow bolt pierced the belly of the horse that was searching for books, and coincidentally emerged from a gap in the bones.

The crossbow bolt flew backward, piercing Xun Shu's saddle, tearing the saddle's girth, and sending Xun Shu flying. If Xun Shu's saddle hadn't been made of good material, he probably would have been injured in the groin.

"Clap."

Xun Shu, who had fallen to the ground with half of his body covered in blood, was still somewhat dazed from the fall.

Before he could react, he found himself being dragged aside.

“Hissing sound, his ...

Looking at his dying mount lying on the ground not far away, and Alan trapped under the horse, Xun Shu angrily pounded the ground.

"Young master! Let's go!"

"Don't worry about me! Don't worry about me!"

Not far away, Alan, pinned beneath his mount, felt the mount's breath on his body and turned his head to wave repeatedly at Xu Zaijing:
"Go! Don't let me die in vain!"

Seeing Xu Zaijing walking towards him, shaking his head as he went, Alan cried out in grief and indignation:

"Looking for a book! Looking for a book!"

"What the hell are you doing! Take the young master away! We made a vow!"

As soon as Alan finished shouting, he tried to run out to find the book, but was desperately held back by the Chai family's servant.

suddenly.

Xu Zaijing lay sprawled on the ground in a very disheveled manner.

"Buzz—"

"Buzz—"

The sound of a bowstring vibrating could be heard, and Alan looked at Xu Zaijing, who was walking towards them, with a look of alarm: "Young Master, be careful!"

"Clap!"

A commotion came from a distance behind Xu Zaijing, and two crossbow bolts suddenly appeared on the wall of the Chai family's courtyard.

Even though he was lying on the ground, Xu Zaijing still used his hands and feet to crawl towards Alan like a gecko clinging to the ground.

“Young master! It won’t work!” Alan shook his head and said, “It’s alright if I die! If something happens to you, the two of us will definitely go with you!”

Xu Zaijing smiled with satisfaction at Alan, glanced into the distance, and laughed, "It worked! Those bird-feeding bastards are out of crossbows!"

"what?"

Alan was stunned.

"what--"

Alan, who had been pulled off his horse by Xu Zaijing, cried out in pain from the intense pain in his leg.

Subsequently,

Alan was then easily hoisted onto Xu Zaijing's shoulder by Xu Zaijing, who had stood up.

Alan strained to look up and saw that the fully armored infantrymen he had seen earlier by the bridge outside Donghua Gate were marching in formation toward him.

"Feather arrows!"

Alan said urgently.

"It's okay, you'll protect me!" Xu Zaijing said as he ran.

Looking at the rapidly receding ground and the arrows falling from it, Alan was both amused and exasperated: "Young master, you still have the leisure to joke!"

(End of this chapter)