"Okay, thank you, Xi Liang."
Hailin reached out and grasped Xiliang tightly, then thanked her respectfully.
Xi Liang gave a helpless smile. She didn't want her thanks; she would rather she be healthy.
"Ling'er, you must protect yourself. There will definitely be a way to remove the soft love threads on your body. Trust me."
Xi Liang spoke, and Hai Ling nodded. She didn't tell Xi Liang that after this parting, she might never come to Bianliang City in Beilu again, but she didn't want Xi Liang to worry about her anymore, so she spoke with a smile.
"Okay, Xi Liang, I believe you."
After she finished speaking, she reached out and hugged Xi Liang. Then the two said goodbye. Xi Liang got off the carriage and stood by the street, watching the carriage leave, getting further and further away until it disappeared from sight. Only then did she reluctantly enter the Cangwang Mansion to prepare how to help Ji Shaocheng.
Hailing rode in a carriage, leaving Bianliang City and heading towards Dengzhou.
Because of her pregnancy, she dared not travel by carriage day and night. In the early stages of pregnancy, pregnant women are most prone to miscarriage, so she prioritized the baby in everything she did. The baby was not yet visible at two or three months, but she could feel his life flowing within her body. That blood ties made it necessary for her to talk to him every night before falling asleep in order to drift off peacefully.
Moreover, every time she thought of Ye Lingfeng, her angina would flare up, and the worst time, she couldn't sleep all night.
Mingzhu watched her suffer and kept crying. Even her two maids, Shimei and Shilan, cried along with her. Hailing, on the other hand, was much more composed.
But the more she acted this way, the more uncomfortable others felt.
Along the way, Shi Mei argued with Shen Ruoxuan quite a bit, always scolding him for being useless and unable to think of a way to help the Empress. She said if he had a way, the Empress wouldn't be in so much pain.
In the past, Shen Ruoxuan would always argue with Shi Mei, but this time, he rarely argued back and let Shi Mei vent her anger.
He knew that Shi Mei was feeling bad; despite her usual coldness, she had a warm heart.
Although the group was noisy and boisterous, they were all in a bad mood and felt heavy-hearted as they traveled to Dengzhou, walking during the day and staying in inns at night.
After traveling for about ten days, they finally caught sight of Dengzhou in the distance. Dengzhou was an ancient and weathered city, its mottled green marks showing its age, indicating a history of several hundred years. The city walls were also very old.
The crimson sunset cast its light upon the city walls, giving them a magnificent appearance.
Hailin lifted the curtain and looked out. She saw that there weren't many people at the city gate, and the place looked rather desolate. Compared with the bustling capital city of Bianliang, it was obviously very bleak. Not only that, but due to the war, many places were destroyed. The old flags on the city wall were swaying in the wind, and there were shadowy figures moving on the city wall.
The carriage made its way into the city, which was very quiet. A lot of things were scattered on the streets. Occasionally, people would walk by, but they were in a hurry. There were very few shops and vendors. Only one or two shops were open, and you could only encounter a vendor once in a while.
These people are forced to do business out of necessity; if they had other options, they probably wouldn't want to go out at all.
On the quiet street, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out, attracting much attention. Hailing saw many people opening their doors in a panic, and then hurriedly closing them again. Some of them were even shouting.
"Quick, quick, the bad guys are here again, the savages are here again, come in quickly."
He slammed the door shut while cursing, and even dragged a child playing in front of the door into the house.
Where Hailing and her companions' carriage passed, all was quiet, without a single person in sight. Not only were there no people, but there wasn't even a dog. The dogs were too frightened to move. Recently, the Green Ant Clan had been harassing the people of Dengzhou City in a perverse manner. Not only people, but even animals were being harassed like never before. So, whenever there was the sound of horses' hooves on the street, not only people, but even dogs would run away without a trace.
The streets were deserted, as if the Japanese had raided a village. In the blink of an eye, there wasn't a single person in sight, not even someone to ask for directions.
Shen Ruoxuan opened his mouth again and again, but unfortunately, he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
"Hey, is this guy?"
"Bang, bang," he slammed the door shut, cursing, "Go to hell, go to hell, you damned barbarian, why don't you go to hell?"
"No, us?"
"Slap, slap," someone inside the house was venting their anger by taking out a sandbag. After venting, they cursed through the door: "Damn Green Ant Clan, why doesn't the King of Hell take these beasts and send them to the eighteenth level of hell to suffer the torment of torture?"
Shen Ruoxuan and Shi Mei, who was sitting beside him, looked at each other and poured out their grievances.
"What did I do to deserve this? This damned savage is to blame."
Shi Mei ignored him, looked up at the sky. It was getting late, and all the inns on the street were closed and locked. There wasn't a soul in sight. Where would they stay tonight? And where had all the city guards gone?
Just then, suddenly, from some unknown corner, twenty or thirty soldiers wielding long spears emerged from the street and surrounded them. Each of them had a fierce and menacing expression on their face, and their eyes were fixed on them.
When Shen Ruoxuan saw someone appear, he was overjoyed. It was good that someone was there.
"Excuse me, guys, who are you?"
However, before he could even ask his question, one of the soldiers leading the group shouted coldly, "Who are you people, daring to enter our Dengzhou? Speak, are you spies of the Green Ant tribe?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Ruoxuan was filled with pent-up anger and wanted to curse. "Damn it, can't you let people finish a sentence? Do you all have to be so paranoid?" Thinking this, his face darkened, and without any politeness, he shouted.
"Shut up, can't you let me finish what I have to say?"
The twenty or thirty onlookers were stunned. They hadn't expected this handsome fellow to be so ferocious. Their faces were filled with fear, and they all thought to themselves, "This person really is a member of the Green Ant Clan. They are all so fierce."
However, Shen Ruoxuan was no longer polite and asked, "Excuse me, where have General Lin and the others stationed here gone? We want to see General Lin."
"You want to see General Lin?" The leader raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to see General Lin for?"
"We are from the capital and wish to see General Lin."
They were originally going to see General Ji, but as they approached Dengzhou, they learned that General Ji had disappeared and there had been no news of him. So, the one in charge of things in Dengzhou now was this General Lin.
After Shen Ruoxuan finished speaking, someone lifted the curtain inside the carriage, and a fair hand handed out a token.
Shining golden in the sunlight, the leading general, who was somewhat knowledgeable, stepped forward and took a look. His expression changed slightly; it was actually a palace waist token. He immediately suppressed his previous anger and became much more respectful.
"So you're from the capital. Please follow me to see General Lin."
"Alright, lead the way."
Shen Ruoxuan breathed a sigh of relief, his face covered in sweat. Damn, it took all his strength to even see one person.