Xie Ming

Continuing from the previous article
The village at the foot of the mountain was looted, and soldiers were dispatched immediately upon hearing the screams.

Just as Xiao Xing's team rushed into the village, a half-paralyzed old man, on his deathbed, struggled to his feet and desperately tried to call out from under a stone pillar on one side of the village gate.

"Soldiers, soldiers, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty."

Hearing the commotion, Xiao was startled and, before he could react, he quickly pulled his leg back from the stirrup and rushed to the side of the seriously injured old villager, who was beyond saving, and gently supported his upper body.

"Old man, old man."

"Yes, yes, they are soldiers from the Ming Dynasty."

"Old man, when did these Tartar soldiers arrive in your village?"

Xiao asked urgent and pressing questions, without any pretense.

I didn't mean anything by it; I just could tell that the old man probably didn't have time to say more.

"Ah, well, it just came down."

"You dog, you damned turtle."

"These barbarians, I curse their ancestors!"

“Waaah—” Overwhelmed with resentment and sorrow, the dying old villager wept uncontrollably.

"Damn it, you've really made us cry."

"A family of fourteen, young and old, none of them have anything to do."

"They'll all die at the hands of such beasts."

In the heat of the moment, the villagers coughed up blood, their lives hanging by a thread.

Seeing the situation, Xiao was in a hurry and quickly changed the subject to Yuzhen, fearing that he would be unable to find her.

"Old man, old man, hang in there, just a little longer."

"Let me ask you, from last night until now, has anyone been seen driving a red-wheeled carriage through this area?"

"It's like that, the kind where the wheels are painted red." Xiao was very impatient.

Upon hearing this, the old villager, still looking distressed, coughed with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

After a long while, once he had caught his breath, he was able to regain some clarity of mind and replied in a weak, hesitant voice.

"what"

"Yes, yes, there is, there is."

"These barbarian soldiers, it was they who brought them here."

"It didn't stop at the village entrance, it's heading up the mountain road."

"It's caused us trouble. The barbarian soldiers caught up with us and started killing people as soon as they entered the village. We're looking for them."

"Me, my whole family, fourteen people in total."

"Woo-"

The old man's condition worsened, his face turned deathly pale. Guan Niansuo remembered the carriage passing through the area, and before long, he recounted the tragic scene of his family's destruction and death.

But now that Xiao Lang had discovered a clue about Yu Zhen's whereabouts, how could he possibly give up?

Seeing that the old man was senile, they didn't care about being considerate and quickly shook him to ask him more questions.

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Horse, which way did the carriage go?"

"Is it this roundabout in front of the village to the west? Huh?!" he asked urgently.

"Ah, yes, yes."

"The east side is all wasteland, with no cover. It's sure to have been targeted by someone long ago."

"Going into the mountains to avoid disaster."

"me"

The old villagers muttered to themselves, their voices growing weaker and weaker until they could no longer continue.

Startled and unaware of Xiao Jingchuan's presence, he could only hear what was to come and then turned his head to take a closer look.

But then he saw that the old man had already bled dry from his knife wound, and he no longer spoke. He died in Xiao Jiang's arms.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Lang sniffed, realizing that now was not the time to grieve.

He gritted his teeth and gently laid the old man flat on the ground, his eyes filled with murderous intent towards the Jurchen Tartars, his fierce gaze searching for him.

"Old man, old man?"

"Are there any pursuers behind Your Majesty's carriage? Huh?! How many pursuers are there?"

"Huh? This, this..."

"Ugh!"

"What should we do?"

"My lord, judging from this, they've probably already been caught up by some Tartar soldiers."

"Quickly, let's hurry into the manor and call the troops to catch up. We can't worry about this place now, or things will get complicated! Your Highness!" Nearby, Xiao Chunzi's eyes widened when she heard about the whereabouts of Consort Hui and Consort An.

He was about to press for more information when, unfortunately, the old villager had already passed away and closed his eyes completely.

Anxious and nervous, Luo hurriedly pulled at Xiao Lang, trying to urge him to make a decision.

After hearing Xiao Chunzi's rant, Xiao Jingchuan reluctantly came to his senses while pondering the matter alone.

Facing this young eunuch who was no less courageous than himself, Xiao grabbed his arm and gave his instructions resolutely.

"Okay, Xiaochunzi, listen to me."

"It will be troublesome to regroup the troops once they enter the village."

“Yuzhen is probably not far ahead. I will go and meet her.”

"You go into the manor now and relay my orders to eliminate the remaining enemies within as soon as possible."

"Once this matter is settled, lead your team to find me as soon as possible along the winding road."

"Did you hear me clearly?!"

Xiao Ming drank it down, his angry breath spitting out an aura that seemed to brook no argument.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chunzi knew that Xiao's intention to go alone to meet him was bound to be extremely dangerous.

What if the enemy has more men? Two fists can't fight four hands, wouldn't that be dangerous?

So Xiaochunzi's lips trembled, and she hesitated, not daring to reply.

Although she was deeply concerned about the safety of the Empress, the Duke in front of her was undoubtedly a true member of her family.

Xiao Chunzi was not someone who was completely ignorant of the situation. In the midst of the danger and chaos, how could he bear to let the Duke personally go into such danger?
However, despite his many concerns at the moment, Xiao had no time to pay attention to them anymore.

Seeing that it was Xiaochunzi standing there frozen in place, he turned around and in two quick steps, he was already on his horse.

Then the white horse neighed and reared up.

Xiao Jingchuan, sword drawn, stood ready and gave a final, sharp shout to startle Xiao Chunzi awake.

"Xiao Chunzi, hurry up!"

"We don't have time for that kind of nonsense."

"Go to the manor immediately and carry out the task I just gave you."

"I'll take the first step!"

"drive!"

"drive--"

Without further delay, Xiao Lang cracked his whip, and the white horse galloped away.

The bowstring releases the flying arrow; the swift horse gallops like a whirlwind.

Xiao Chunzi was left alone, eagerly awaiting General Feima's gallop away into the distance.

Startled, he snapped out of his daze, flustered and not daring to linger any longer.

Stumbling and scrambling on horseback, he entered the village in a disheveled state, following orders as instructed.

Enough of the pleasantries, Xiao Lang was in a hurry and said no more.

They reversed course, turned a corner, and started anew at the same time.

Now, when Xiao was chasing Pan Dao, not far ahead, Consort Hui Shen Yuzhen and Consort An Dong Ruining were indeed in a life-or-death situation.

At this moment, on the winding mountain road, a red-wheeled carriage sped along, bumping and jolting. The dirt road in the countryside was inevitably uneven. Two palace maids hurriedly put down their feet and shouted themselves hoarse, frequently cracking their whips to urge the carriage on.

Inside the tent, half of a crimson satin ribbon was flung out the window, too disheveled to care about.

"Yuzhen, Yuzhen, my dear Yuzhen."

"You mustn't sleep, you absolutely mustn't sleep!"

"Hang in there, it'll be over soon, it'll be over soon, just bear with it a little longer."

"Amitabha."

May all gods and Buddhas protect, protect, protect.

Inside the room, Consort Hui and Consort An, the two sisters, were leaning against each other and embracing tightly.

Consort An, Dong Ruining, was a lady from the Dong family of Songjiang. She had beautiful features, was dignified and elegant, with willow-leaf eyebrows and phoenix eyes. She was composed and graceful. Emperor Hongguang also favored her gentle and generous nature.

During the year or so that she spent in the Nanjing palace, she was suppressed by Consort De, Tang Nianci, and kept a low profile to protect herself. Within the palace walls, she only had two people she could talk to, so she called herself her sister in private and helped each other.

The two had escaped Nanjing together in the same car, and after many twists and turns, they finally got close to Hangzhou, but last night they accidentally started that incident.

Having endured fear and hardship, rushing through the night and day, not only had they failed to escape danger and predicament, but they were also being chased and bitten by four or five bandits. They were quite frightened. Seeing that Consort Hui Yuzhen was about to give birth and was struggling to endure the ordeal, they felt even more distressed and anxious.

She suppressed her fear and tried her best to comfort Yuzhen, while two lines of tears streamed down her cheeks.

It is lamentable how unfair fate is, and how human strength is powerless to resist it.

Urgent! Fearful! Sorrowful! A sigh escapes, a heart filled with unbearable sorrow. (End of Chapter)