That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

He paused for a moment, then his tone became serious again:

"Young Miss, aren't you afraid of being scolded and blamed by your father for this?"

When a fugitive openly opposes the Imperial Guards, although it won't actually put the young lady in too much danger, it's certainly not something that can be easily explained.

After all, she is the eldest daughter of the Divine Capital Guard, yet she is siding with outsiders, going against her father and following some wild boy she met from who-knows-where.

If Xie Jichuan found out, he'd probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

Jiang Jingming recalled the man's sharp, hawk-like gaze from ten years ago and realized he was probably about to get into real trouble.

Xie Yunqi shook his head, then realized he couldn't see right now, and slowly added:

"I'm not afraid."

She said that not out of bravado, nor because of Xie Jichuan's doting affection.

In fact, on many matters of principle, this commander was not as indulgent towards his daughter as the rumors suggested.

When Xie Yunqi was a child, she would get into fights with other classmates at school. If she lost, Xie Jichuan would not stand up for her; he would just laugh at her and say that this was the consequence of not practicing swordsmanship properly.

If they beat someone up badly, Xie Jichuan would have to personally visit them with Xie Yunqi to apologize.

Xie Yunqi thought that her father always taught her that if she wanted to become the number one female knight-errant in the world, what was more important than martial arts skills was a profound understanding of righteousness.

At that time, Xie Yunqi was still young and naive, and did not yet understand what it meant to be a true hero who serves the country and its people. But she knew what loyalty and righteousness were from birth.

If you can't even protect your friends, how can you call yourself the number one female knight-errant in the world?

Once you've decided you're on the right path, don't waver or look back.

This is also a lesson Xie Jichuan taught her.

Xie Yunqi possessed the courage to never turn back even after hitting a brick wall.

She was initially a little scared. She had been afraid of the dark since she was a child, and this was her first time in a death row cell. She felt that the cell she was in was full of wronged souls who had been beheaded.

Now she was no longer afraid. She was determined to stand with her friends, and her eyes remained bright and piercing even in the dimly lit death row.

Jiang Jingming leaned quietly against the stone wall, as if he could feel the burning will within the young lady.

After a long while, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

He almost wanted to tell the young lady everything.

It makes one's conscience burn with unease to harbor lies about such a girl.

But we can't say anything right now.

Jiang Jingming sat up, grabbed the iron railing with one hand, and tried to shake it, but it didn't budge; it was quite sturdy.

"Young Miss, if I told you I don't plan to take you with me, would you be angry with me?"

"meeting!!!"

Xie Yunqi rushed to the iron bars in a panic, the shackles on his hands clanging loudly.

"If you leave me here alone, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life! Jingming!"

“I feel guilty for trafficking innocent young girls.”

Jiang Jingming leaned against the iron railing and said something that was half true and half false.

"Stop arguing!"

Xie Yunqi reached out through the gap in the iron bars to grab him, as if afraid that he would sneak away if he wasn't careful.

The young lady's hand was still some distance from him, slightly red from the force she was applying, thrashing about like a stranded fish.

Jiang Jingming watched for a while, then finally reached out and grasped her fingertips:

"Okay, I promise you."

Upon hearing his voice, Xie Yunqi fell silent instantly.

The two men's hands clasped together over the stone wall, as if they were signing some kind of contract.

After a long while, I heard her mutter to herself:

"You need to say it completely."

What constitutes completeness?

"In short, Jingming and Xie Yunqi will always stand together through thick and thin."

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Irredeemable Calamity

"That's too cheesy."

Jiang Jingming suddenly laughed.

"!!!"

Xie Yunqi quickly shook off his hand as if he had touched a hot potato.

She only now belatedly realized how ambiguous her words had been.

"Don't get the wrong idea! It's not just the two of us, there's also Aqing and Sister Fang!"

"I didn't mean anything by it, who did?"

Jiang Jingming smiled and asked in return.

"..."

Xie Yunqi turned his face away, determined not to speak to this lecherous man again.

In such a difficult and sacred moment, he actually had the mind to think about these nonsense things!

"..."

"..."

"..."

For a moment, no one spoke.

In the end, Xie Yunqi couldn't hold back any longer. He wanted to lose his temper, but then felt that it would make him seem too concerned, so he abruptly changed the subject.

“How are you going to get us out of here, Ah Qing? Even if you can pick the lock, the guards on death row are very strict.”

"In such death row cells, the guards are often at their loosest not in the middle of the night, but in the early morning."

Jiang Jingming tilted his head slightly, listening to the snoring that rose and fell in the darkness.

The death row inmates were not interested in these newcomers, or rather, they had lost interest in everything.

Since I'll be beheaded in a few days anyway, I might as well sleep for a few days in a daze and wait for my last meal before I'm executed.

Then I can have another bowl of "Wenxinzui" (a type of soup), preferably with a braised pork knuckle.

They couldn't understand what these young, innocent-looking boys were saying, and of course, they didn't believe they could escape.

“The night is when accidents are most likely to happen, so the guards on duty will be on high alert and patrol very frequently. In the short time we’ve been talking, we’ve already heard footsteps twice at the end of the corridor.”

Jiang Jingming's fingers rested on the iron bars, tapping them lightly and intermittently.

"Then why in the early morning?"

Xie Yunqi knelt down because she didn't want to sit on the damp grass, her small face pressed against the iron railing, leaving a red mark that she herself didn't notice.

"As dawn breaks, the guards who were on night duty leave in a relaxed mood, and the guards who take their place will relax their vigilance because the night has been peaceful. They will subconsciously feel that the darkness provides cover, while the daytime leaves criminals nowhere to hide."

Jiang Jingming smiled slightly as he finished speaking:

"They might still be thinking about that hot pancake in their pocket, which will get cold if they wait any longer."

"Pancakes should definitely be eaten hot."

Xie Yunqi looked completely empathetic.

"..."

Jiang Jingming felt like he was choking.

"In short, the early morning is the best time."

"So, should we—?"

Xie Yunqi made rustling noises as he spoke.

Although Jiang Jingming couldn't see her face, he could guess that she was making a throat-slitting motion with her hand raised in a chop gesture.

"No, we just want to escape, not become real murderers."

"That's good."

Xie Yunqi breathed a sigh of relief.

Being a fugitive is fine, it's actually quite fun, but if it really comes down to killing someone, the young lady is still a little scared.

"The path into this death row is like a maze, so be careful and stick close to us. If you are discovered, don't get angry and shout things like 'Look who I am!' Be sure to keep a low profile."

Jiang Jingming gave detailed instructions.

Xie Yunqi listened to him speak, occasionally giving an obedient "Mmm!"

In this situation, the guilt of abducting innocent young ladies is even heavier.

As Jiang Jingming was thinking this, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the end of the corridor, in a direction different from that of the patrolling prison guards.

"Shhh."

Jiang Jingming lowered his voice, leaned against the stone wall, and mentally estimated the time.

It is now around midnight.

Xie Yunqi held his breath, his heart pounding with nervousness.

Could I be so unlucky as to get caught right after I've planned something bad?

The jailer led the two guards into the dim candlelight, without stopping in front of Fang Zhiyi and A Qing's door, and went straight to Jiang Jingming.

The two guards exchanged a glance and nodded.

The jailer bowed and scraped as he unlocked the lock. The lock was unusually heavy, and when it landed in the man's hands, it pulled him forward.

"Jingming?"

The guards glanced at him and asked to confirm his identity.

"I'm."

Jiang Jingming nodded, not yet able to guess the two's intentions.

"The Vice Envoy has something to ask you. Come with us."

The guards approached and slipped the chains into the shackles on his hands, making it easier for the two of them to drag him away.

"The Vice Envoy was looking for me?"

Jiang Jingming raised an eyebrow slightly.

This was truly unexpected.

Chen Sha had only been gone for less than two hours, so why would someone suddenly come looking for him again?

"No need to ask any more questions."

The guards of the capital city lowered their heads, confirming that the shackles were locked.

"We were just following orders; we didn't know anything else."

Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

These two Divine Capital Guards gave off a different vibe than the previous lowly soldiers. They were probably Chen Sha's personal guards, and their attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, making them clearly not easy to deal with.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Xie Yunqi pounded on the bars, which woke up many of the snoring death row inmates, and a chorus of complaints and curses erupted.

"Fine, anyone who dares to utter another curse, I'll tear you to pieces!"

Xie Yunqi's words contained a hint of anger.

After these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent again.