Jing Lan paused for a moment, then raised her eyelashes and smiled faintly, "It's alright, at least it's not stuck in my heart."
An Xin paused for a moment. She really didn't know how to apologize. Admittedly, she felt guilty and apologetic, but she didn't know how to express it. Moreover, there were many urgent matters at hand, and she shouldn't be expressing her apologies here.
“The people’s hearts are hard-won, and the archers must not fire arrows. The people’s hearts are already in turmoil. Right now, it would be better to open the city gates wide and let them out. Look…” An Xin looked up at the sky, where the clouds were piling up thicker and thicker. “This storm is sure to be big. The wind is extremely strong and the rain is very heavy. It will come suddenly. We must get people out of the city as soon as possible.”
Jing Lan shifted his body, trying to get up, but An Xin instinctively supported him. She had always disliked contact with others, a feeling of aversion stemming from her past life. Apart from Yan Zhen and her family, she rarely had physical contact with other men, and whenever she did, she would feel extremely irritable. But now, Jing Lan was injured, and it was she who caused it—perhaps this was her way of expressing remorse. However, while this method would be easy for others, it was somewhat difficult for her.
Jing Lan seemed oblivious, looking back down at the city wall. The crowd was like a sea. Jing Lan's eyes shone with a jade-like brilliance. After a long while, he said, "Pass down the order to open the city gates wide."
...
The city gates slowly opened, and a terrified crowd surged out like a madman. Countless people were trampled to the ground, and the deaths and injuries were immeasurable. An Xin slowly clenched her fists. If it weren't for An Wan, how could this tragedy have occurred?!
An Xin took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger. Her mother was still in the capital, and she had to find her before Yu arrived! But where had they gone? Xu Hai should be with her mother, right? Lu Zhu and An Jin, how could they be missing?
An Xin's gaze fell on Jing Lan's arm, and after a pause, she said, "We can't stay in the capital for long. My lord, please treat your wound and leave the city as soon as possible."
Jinglan raised her eyelashes and glanced at her.
She hurt him, yet she remained indifferent, almost heartless.
“Miss An, come with me out of the city. A storm is brewing in the capital. If we leave as soon as possible, we will have a chance to survive.”
An Xin shook her head and said, "No, thank you." After a pause, she added, "It was truly unintentional to hurt you, sir. I will apologize to you after this matter is settled. I'm leaving now."
Jing Lan's eyes flashed, and she immediately reached out and grabbed her.
An Xin was taken aback.
"How can a prime minister abandon the people of the capital and flee alone?"
An Xin twitched her fingers and looked at him.
Jing Lan smiled faintly and said, "I'll go with you."
An Xin glanced at his arm: "Like this? It will hold me back..." She was always outspoken.
Jing Lan smiled gently and said, "I've finally figured out your temperament. This little injury is nothing to worry about. Physician Jiang, remove the arrow."
Jiang, the imperial physician waiting to the side, thought to himself: "My lord, is there any difference between pulling out the arrow now and pulling it out just now?"
An Xin frowned slightly. To be honest, she was used to acting alone, and suddenly having someone with her felt like a burden. But she couldn't bring herself to refuse, even though she was usually outspoken.
Somewhat anxious, An Xin walked to the battlements and looked down at the crowds below. In her anger and shock, she hadn't paid attention to An Wan. Now she suddenly remembered that no matter how much she disliked An Wan, she could not abandon her. If something happened to her in front of her, she might never be able to be her parents again!
An Xin didn't have time to explain to Jing Lan. She grabbed the rope and slid down towards the city. The crowd was surging, and the carriage was already being pushed and swayed by the throng. An Xin ran against the flow of people, pulled up the curtain, and there was no one left inside!
"An Wan!" An Xin called out as she looked at the crowd, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the throng.
An Xin's gaze darkened. The sky gradually darkened, and as the wind picked up, the clouds began to churn. An Xin disregarded everything else, avoided the crowd, and ran to one side.
The streets were deserted and desolate. Many stalls had not yet been cleaned up. An Xin kept taking deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. An Wan might have already escaped the city with the crowds, but her mother was still in the capital. Where could she have gone?
Why did An Wan want to break up with her?
An Xin only now realized that her clues were completely blank! If she had calmed down a bit in her shock and anger, she might have been able to get some clues from An Wan... But thinking about it now is useless; the important thing is to search as quickly as possible!
But where can we find it?!
In the capital, Mother had almost no close friends. Where had they gone at this moment?
An Xin slowed her pace. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of bewilderment and helplessness in the face of the unknown. This feeling lasted only a moment, and An Xin quickly calmed down.
The carriage that An Wan rode in was neither the carriage of the An family nor the carriage that an ordinary family could have. Moreover, the edges of the carriage were carved with auspicious clouds and phoenix patterns. Only royalty and nobles could afford such a carriage!
Because the late emperor died young and had few children, the only other family members besides the Duke of Huai'an were the newly enthroned emperor. The Duke of Huai'an was exiled to the southern border after the new emperor ascended the throne, so An Wan would certainly not have any connection with him.
The late emperor had three brothers, but now only one remains—the Duke of the Commandery!
An Wan's gaze suddenly darkened—the Duke of the State!?
How could An Wan be associated with the Duke of the State?! If she was riding in the Duke of the State's carriage, then she must have visited the Duke of the State's residence before coming to the West Gate!
Within the county and state government, who will An Wan be in contact with?
Mingjiao has an old grudge against her, so why would she befriend Anwan? If she is befriending Anwan, she must be harboring some kind of unspeakable secret! Suppose that Anwan suddenly wants to go to the county government to find Mingjiao, no... taking a carriage must mean she happens to meet Mingjiao, and then Anwan gets off the carriage, gets into Mingjiao's carriage, and then separates from Xu Ruolan.
Given Xu Ruolan's personality, she would definitely be worried and would urge An Wan to come back as soon as possible. She would probably even wait in the same place because of her concern!
An Xin suddenly narrowed her eyes. If she was waiting in the same spot, where would she be?
On Christmas Eve, I'll only update 3,000 words to relax a bit. I'll make up for the 1,000 words I missed yesterday and the 3,000 words I missed today on Saturday. That day, I'll update 10,000 words! Group chat, okay?
Chapter Seventy-Six: The Chase
It's about five li from the prefectural capital to Anfu, and four li from Anfu to the west gate. There are only a few roads in the capital, and the roads from the prefectural capital to the west gate and from Anfu to the west gate only intersect at one point... An Xin's eyes suddenly darkened, and she lifted her leg and ran forward.
If her assumptions are correct, then her mother must be waiting at that intersection right now!
Suddenly, a dark shadow came crashing down on her. An Xin's expression changed drastically, and she instinctively dodged. Fortunately, she was always quick-witted and reacted very fast. She narrowly avoided the attack, and then heard a "poof" sound, like something blooming.
An Xin stared intently, her gaze suddenly hardening. It was a corpse; its head had been slammed to the ground with tremendous force, instantly bursting open and its brains splattering out—a gruesome sight.
The next moment, An Xin was surrounded by several people dressed in black.
"Found her!" the man in black shouted, then lunged at An Xin.
Although An Xin didn't understand what they meant by "found," she was certain they had mistaken her for someone else! She glanced at the corpse; it was a man dressed differently than people from the Central Plains, more like people from the Northern Desert. In any case, being entangled with these people was definitely a problem!