Fortunately, the Qians were all skillful horse riders, so they didn’t need carriages. With each horse carrying one or two persons, their speed was greatly increased. But they still confronted a group of soldiers who wanted to arrest them. To be exact, these men were devoted killers. They had been lying in ambush since they had received the message. If Xiao Baoshan hadn’t been alert enough to stop, they might have stumbled on a rope stretched across the road in the front of them.
Drawing the swords, they began to fight. Weaker than these men as they were, the women worked together to handle the enemies. Their unbending spirit was more than impressive. Old Mrs. Qian brandished her sword and roared, “I haven’t fought for years! It’s your fortune to see my sword unsheathed!”
Her two daughters-in-law were also in high spirits. “We should let them know the women in the Qian family are not ones to be bullied!”
Their morale boosted, the women showed high combat effectiveness. The men were also inspired by their bravery. As a result, it took them under 15 minutes to kill most of the enemies. The others had all committed suicide by biting off their tongues. Therefore, it remained unknown who had sent the killers there.
The Qians felt fortunate that they had escaped rather than staying in the capital. The killers had shown them the gravity of the situation. Immediately, they mounted the horses again and hurried to the west. There would be more dangers waiting for them on the rest journey. However, the Qians felt proud that they wouldn’t remain a burden to Qian Qi.
The capital.
A great bell tolled a dozen times before dawn. This was to signal the emperor’s death. All the people poured out of houses and began a hot discussion.
“The emperor has passed away, but he hasn’t decided who will succeed to the throne.”
“Anyway, it will be one of the princes in the capital.”
“Since the fourth prince died, the emperor hasn’t made anybody Crown Prince. So who will take the position?”
“It’s not our place to worry about this. The nobles will select a new emperor in the end.”
The discussion went on for a long time. The emperor’s funeral was the first thing to be considered.
The young empress showed up to deal with the overall situation. She claimed that the emperor had decided his successor and asked her to announce it after he died. When all the ministers gathered in the imperial court, she announced that the third prince was the new emperor.
Some ministers were unsatisfied with the result, but they could only accept it. Anyway, the third prince was better than the drowsy old man who was too old to handle political affairs.
The new emperor showed his capability after coming to the throne. He arranged his father’s funeral well and immediately dealt with the backlog of work.
Since Xiao Baoshan had contributed greatly to protecting the country, Li Chengkun said he would restore his good name. He did so also to reassure and pacify the public. However, he commanded that the troops garrisoned in the south be dispatched by the imperial court.
As for Qian Qi, Li Chengkun directly sent him to help Li Chengyi in guarding the western borders. His generosity was highly praised by the public. People said he was benevolent and sympathetic, and that he cared for his brothers, though he grew up in a highly competitive environment. But they wouldn’t know he secretly sent soldiers to hunt down Xiao Baoshan and the Qians.
…
As Li Chengkun was enthroned, the previous empress became the current empress dowager.
One day, a eunuch went up to the state preceptor and handed him a slip of paper secretly. The state preceptor then left the front palace before he uncovered it stealthily. He then went another direction and entered the front palace again through a small door, eventually entering the empress dowager’s bedroom.
It was reasonable for the empress dowager to meet a minister. After all, she still had great authority when the new emperor had just ascended the throne. At first, the empress dowager pretended to discuss political affairs with him, but, after a while, she dismissed all the maids and eunuchs.
The state preceptor couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms and suck her tender neck. “I missed you so much.”
Still keeping herself looking good in her forties, the empress dowager was as attractive as a thirty-year-old woman. Her skin was still delicate and tender.
“Be gentle with me. There’s no hurry.”
“I can’t hold myself back. When did we last spend time together? It was half a year ago!”
“Don’t you have a wife waiting for you in your bedroom?”
“How can that ugly woman rival you? She is as old as a dried log. But you are different. You’re so soft, vivacious and sweet. I love your curvaceous body so much!”
She was delighted by his honeyed words, though she tried to push him away with the slightest strength. She pounded his chest lightly and said with a pout, “Humph! You terrible smooth-talker!”
The state preceptor ripped her dress as he asked, “Do you like the smooth-talker in front of you or that old guy?”
She grumbled flirtatiously, “How could you compare yourself with that old guy?”
He kept asking, “How did you, well, handle him?”
She pouted again and replied coquettishly, “I did as you told me. I found that colorless and odorless stuff and put it in his medicine. Oh, can you stop asking about that? My heart still pounds when I think about it.”
He then stroked her breast and asked, “Really? Let me ease it a bit.”
“You’re so bad…”
Days later, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions finally reached Baoning city. Located in the border area, the city had a larger garrison and higher ramparts than other places. Many refugees were gathering outside the city.
According to the early arrivals, they needed to queue up to enter the city and they would have to wait a long time. In order to guarantee the refugees’ welfare, the sixth prince would arrange them to different nomadic tribes, which meant they could settle down there. So they only needed to wait.
Ye Xiaoxian and her companions sighed with relief. They felt delighted that they could now start a new life. Nothing could be more important than staying healthy and safe and having food to eat.
The two families began unloading the mats and other necessities from the carriages, ready for two days of waiting. But Li Chengru walked directly to the gate.
Squire Liu said loudly behind him, “Mr. Li, where are you going? You want to get a number card? We have registered just now, so you just need to wait here.”
Li Chengru ignored him and kept striding forward.
Squire Liu turned to others and said, “He might want to know more about the city. I can understand him. After all, it’s our first time coming here. I hope he can bring some useful information back.”
But just then, Li Chengru began arguing with the guards. Squire Liu was afraid this young man would offend the guards, so he rushed over to mediate the quarrel. The others didn’t follow on because they believed the shrewd squire would soon help Li Chengru out. They went on with what they were doing.
At the same time, Ye Xiaoxian was asking other refugees where to get clean water. As she was going to get some water, Squire Liu and Li Chengru came back. Squire Liu was trying hard to hold back his laughter while Li Chengru’s face was flushed with anger. Li Chengru sat down and remained silent.
Curiously, the others asked Squire Liu, “What happened? Why did you come back so quickly? What did you learn from the guards?”
Hearing that, Squire Liu burst out laughing uncontrollably.
Li Chengru stared at Squire Liu who ignored it directly.
After a while, Squire Liu stopped laughing and said, “Mr. Li said to the guards that he was the seventh prince and he wanted to meet his brother inside.”
The listeners looked at Li Chengru with surprise. The man in front of them was liberal with his money and looked distinguished. But how could he be a prince?
Wong Mudan said, “Would a prince escape with us? He can go anywhere he likes because the whole country is his home. How could he live outdoors with us?”
Chen Ju echoed, “I agree with you. A prince won’t eat the same as us. As far as I know, a prince will go anywhere in a carriage driven by four horses, have endless money and wear priceless clothes.”
Xiao Baocheng laughed and ridiculed him. “Are you a prince who doesn’t wash face? Your face is as muddy as ours. Hahaha!”
Ye Xiaoxian was also amused. She knew Li Chengru must have a wealthy father who might be a fifth-ranked official. But he was too willful to be a prince. Princes shown on tv either studied hard in the capital or wandered around the world freely, making friends. In comparison, Li Chengru looked disheveled with moldy old clothes that he had worn for days.
Liu Qianqian was also laughing. She even advised him not to be so vain, or he might be sentenced to death for posing as a prince. “The sixth prince is not a silly man. Please don’t get all of us into trouble.” she added.
Li Chengru’s face fell totally, but he could only bear it. After all, he hadn’t brought anything to prove his identity and nobody knew him here.
Fengsheng spoke for his master, “He really is a prince. You’ll believe it when you meet the sixth prince.”
Hearing that, the whole party exploded in roars of laughter again. How could they meet the sixth prince? It was easier to accept their new identities as herdsmen.
Ye Xiaoxian guessed that Li Chengru and Fengsheng might want to get a chance to work for the sixth prince, relying on their excellent skills in martial arts. That way, they wouldn’t need to live as ordinary herdsmen.