As soon as she moved away from the carriage, arrows were relentlessly fired at her, one after another: "Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"
Xie Lanzhi casually swung her Ebai sword, striking down each arrow, before rushing towards the dense forest from which the arrows were being shot. She stopped at the forest's entrance, sensing the irregular falling leaves on either side. She subtly applied some internal energy, sweeping the Ebai sword with it. A powerful gust of wind cleaved an entire row of trees in half horizontally.
As the tree fell, a dozen or so people dressed as refugees landed. "It's Xie Ying!"
"She's spotted us!"
"Fight her!"
"I hate you scoundrels who use sneak attacks the most." She spurred her horse and charged through the group, her sword flashing and slashing with incredible speed. In just three movements, she was covered in blood. The sneak attackers in the dense forest were instantly killed.
With a sullen face, Xie Lanzhi rushed out of the dense forest again without looking back to find Xie Shangguang.
Xie Shangguang's side was originally safe, but then something happened. Who knew that the coachman would suddenly betray them and drive the carriage towards the nearby cliffs.
The carriage kept speeding straight ahead, veering further and further off course, and was just a short distance from a river.
Si Xitong drew Xixian and stabbed it fiercely at the coachman's position. The coachman immediately spat out blood and fell off the carriage.
Si Xitong lifted the carriage curtain, stood in the coachman's position, and reined in the horses to stop the carriage.
"Qiqi, are you alright?" Si Xitong asked after parking the car, noticing that there was no movement inside.
She lifted the curtain and found the carriage empty; Yelü Qiqi was not there.
Yelü Qiqi jumped off the carriage early, but unfortunately she chose the wrong direction and jumped directly into a nearby stream.
Xie Shangguang caught up from behind. Without hesitation, he jumped off his horse, leaped into the river, and pulled Yelü Qiqi out of the water.
Seeing that Yelü Qiqi's eyes were closed, Xie Shangguang disregarded the proper separation between men and women and began to give Yelü Qiqi mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
When Xie Lanzhi arrived, the carriage was hanging by the edge of the woods. She saw Si Xitong leading people to search for Yelü Qiqi.
"Little Phoenix!"
Si Xitong looked nervous. She said to Xie Lanzhi, "I'm fine. It's Qiqi who jumped out of the car and is now missing."
"The coachman is your man, how could he betray you?" Xie Lanzhi's face turned cold. The thought that the coachman was an acquaintance and yet he betrayed the young girl made her not only doubt how many people were loyal to the young girl, but also how many people obeyed her.
It seems that after she dealt with the traitors in the Xie family and took complete control of the Xie family, the young girl encountered the same problem as her.
"We'll find out later. Finding Qiqi is the priority right now." Si Xitong told the burly men from the Northern Region to search in the woods, while she led her men to the riverbank.
Xie Lanzhi dismounted and grabbed Si Xitong, ordering Xie Bing to stay put and protect the lady.
She went to the riverbank to look for it herself.
As soon as I arrived at the riverbank, I saw a girl in a red Hu-style dress lying there.
Xie Lanzhi's eyelids twitched, and she thought to herself, "This little princess is really a troublemaker."
She ran to the little princess and found that her clothes were completely wet and her chest was rising and falling, indicating that she had fallen into the water and been rescued.
But who saved them?
Xie Lanzhi didn't have time to think too much. She took off her cloak and covered the little princess with it, then picked her up in her arms.
In her dazed state, Yelü Qiqi opened her eyes and saw that familiar chin and the cold, hard black armor on her body. Suddenly, she felt cold all over and couldn't help but move closer to her, the source of warmth.
Xie Lanzhi felt that the little princess was trembling all over and her lips were turning blue from the cold, so she had to hurry to send her back to the carriage.
As she escorted the person to the carriage, Si Xitong instructed the burly man from the Northern Region to take off his own coat: "Quickly, take off your warm clothes."
Xie Bing and his companions also took off their coats and pieced them together to make a quilt to cover the carriage.
"Alright, she's fine. She might catch a cold." Xie Lanzhi helped the woman into the carriage, and Si Xitong also climbed in. Since there were no palace maids accompanying them, only the men, they had to do it themselves.
Si Xitong helped Yelü Qiqi change into her underwear, and Xie Lanzhi rubbed the little princess's hands to warm them up.
As soon as she looked up, a familiar cloak was draped over her head by Si Xitong, covering her eyes.
"Don't take it off," Si Xitong commanded. "And don't look at it."
Xie Lanzhi: "Luan..."
The little girl never treated her like this before, what's wrong with her today?
Does marrying her really turn her into a perverted man that all women like?
Xie Lanzhi suddenly felt wronged. She covered her eyes, and her hearing suddenly became unusually sharp. The sound of clothes rubbing together, whether it was the little girl's panting or the little princess's, made her ears twitch.
After changing, she was finally allowed to take off her cloak.
Xie Lanzhi's expression turned serious: "Little Phoenix, I think you need to explain your behavior just now."
Si Xitong covered Yelü Qiqi completely, then frowned and said, "I will investigate the matter of the groom thoroughly."
"No, not this one, it's you... why did you..." She hadn't finished speaking.
Xie Shangguang's hurried voice came from outside the carriage.
"Marshal, Marshal, save me! A group of refugees are trying to kill me!"
Shang Guang? !
Xie Lanzhi rushed out of the carriage, thinking Xie Shangguang was being chased, but to her surprise, he was covered with sweet potato vines, and a dozen or so ragged farmers were chasing after him with hoes, shouting: "You little thief who stole sweet potato vines!"
"Grab him, don't let him get away!"
"Give us back the melon vines!!"
Xie Lanzhi slapped her forehead and ordered Xie Bing to stop the people and not to hurt them.
The farmers, seeing the soldiers, dared not pursue them any further. Instead, they looked at Xie Bing with fear, but because of a few melon vines, they still refused to retreat.
Xie Lanzhi walked to Xie Shangguang's side and saw that he had draped the melon vines over himself like a ghillie suit, his whole body camouflaged so that he could be hidden in the forest and not be found.
She took the melon vine from his hands and returned it to the farmer. Only then did the farmer willingly go back.
"Where did you go just now? You didn't look for people or catch thieves." Xie Lanzhi slapped his head.
Unexpectedly, Xie Shangguang lowered his head, looking extremely guilty. He secretly glanced at the carriage and asked with concern, "Yelü, is Princess Yelü alright?"
"It should be alright," Xie Lanzhi said. "Where did you go just now?"
Xie Shangguang said, "I, I didn't. I was chasing someone and accidentally wandered into the melon field. I bumped into a melon vine."
As he spoke, his eyes flickered, clearly indicating he was lying. He wasn't good at lying either.
Xie Lanzhi sensed something amiss, but since everyone else was alright, she let it go.
However, I still reminded him: "This is a one-time exception."
"Yes! I understand." Xie Shangguang didn't dare to look up.
Xie Lanzhi was about to return to the carriage when Si Xitong pushed her out as soon as she peeked out.
Si Xitong gently pushed with both hands, but unexpectedly Xie Lanzhi came straight at her and bumped into her hands.
Si Xitong's tone was one of refusal: "Don't come in!"
Xie Lanzhi took a few steps back and squatted down in front of the carriage, looking puzzled: "Little Phoenix, you can't do this. You haven't answered my question yet."
The woman inside the carriage seemed a bit off. She said in a low voice, "Business is important. Don't be unreasonable."
"What? I'm being unreasonable?" Xie Lanzhi was kicked off the carriage, looking utterly dejected. What had she done wrong? The little phoenix seemed angry.
Xie Shangguang dared not look at Xie Lanzhi.
We continued until we entered the border town of Jiujin, which was considered the center of Jiujin. The streets were bustling, but most people were distributing sweet potato vines. Everyone's clothes were patched, and many people were queuing to receive rice. Only the children were running around happily in the streets.
When Xie Lanzhi rode her horse into the city and saw this scene, she was somewhat moved. Although they were poor, the people of Jiujin no longer showed fear and apathy towards life, and they distributed sweet potato vines in a very orderly manner. The younger people would even let the older people go first when receiving rice.
The initial signs of national peace and prosperity are emerging.
This is all thanks to Little Phoenix.
Why did Little Phoenix suddenly get angry? Xie Lanzhi's face darkened, completely baffled.
Only Si Xitong stared at Yelü Qiqi with a complex expression, realizing that Yelü Qiqi had fallen into the water and knew that she couldn't swim. Her current safety was all thanks to Lanzhi, but Lanzhi... wasn't she...?
Si Xitong couldn't help but bite her lip. Just then, Yelü Qiqi woke up. She opened her eyes, looking confused at first, then sat up and subconsciously covered her lips.
This action made Si Xitong's eyes darken even more.
Just then, Xie Lanzhi, still puzzled, decided to try and comfort her. She deliberately peeked out the window and asked, "Little Phoenix, are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry. Please, Marshal, don't do anything lewd." As a result, the heartless woman shoved her book out the window, which hit Xie Lanzhi right in the face. Xie Lanzhi's face was pressed against the book, and she stumbled back several steps along with her horse.
She held the book up high, her head full of question marks: ???
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 10:32:45 and 18:40:47 on December 6, 2021!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 47436880 for 4 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 50 Little Phoenix's Self-Calming
The Ziguang Palace in the border city was the main residence of the ruler of Jiujin.
Because Xie Lanzhi couldn't bear to see Si Xitong leave, Si Xitong never moved to Jiujin.
The purple light spot is usually cleaned and maintained daily by the elderly people of Lanzhang Palace.
After Xie Lanzhi entered the palace, she found that the decorations were the same as those of Lanzhang Palace, only the color scheme was more elegant. Lanzhang Palace was more magnificent, but it was still pleasing to the eye.
Si Xitong summoned the old women from Ziguang Palace to settle Yelü Qiqi in the secondary palace.
When Yelü Qiqi dismounted, Xie Lanzhi was standing beside her. She could feel the little princess's gaze drifting towards her, scrutinizing her. When Xie Shangguang saw the little princess, he quickly lowered his head and dared not look at her.
Each one is stranger than the last.
Yelü Qiqi moved into the inner palace, and Xie Shangguang patrolled the area next to it.
Xie Lanzhi held her breath.
Instead of abandoning her duties, she instructed Xie Bing to investigate the identities of the attackers, including the stable boy.
Xie Bing also had those skilled in reconnaissance. Although he was unfamiliar with the place, he could identify the weapons as short bows used by the Jin soldiers. The reason for the groom's sudden defection was still unknown.
When Xie Lanzhi entered the hall, she saw hot tea and poured herself a cup to drink. She then saw Si Xitong engrossed in writing a letter at his desk. She immediately got up to take down the birdcage hanging outside the hall, took out the pigeons, and released the letter.