Чистое сердце в нефритовом сосуде

Глава 116

Shen Haoyu lowered his voice, making it almost inaudible: "Now that the war here is over, the next target will be my Prince Qing's mansion. Are we still waiting for him to come after us? The mansion's power has been basically transferred over the past few years. If you still have anything in the mansion, let me know so that someone can help you take it away."

So that's how it is. But he actually told me something so important? "Young Prince, aren't you afraid I'll leak this?" I have a very good relationship with Shen Tingxuan, and I'm also somewhat acquainted with Shen Zexuan…

Shen Haoyu shook his head slightly, then smiled and said, "I know I've told you, but don't even tell Zinuo."

I nodded, naturally not telling Zinuo; knowing too much isn't a good thing. I added, "Yes, in my wardrobe, there's a purple wooden box, a gift from the Second Prince's residence last year." I brought out the one Shen Zexuan gave me because I wanted to return it to him, but I couldn't bear to part with Shen Tingxuan's; even though I never had the chance to wear it, they were still treasures.

Shen Haoyu's face darkened, a hint of displeasure in his expression. I smiled and said, "The things inside are very valuable. Even if I stayed in the Prince Qing's mansion for my entire life, I couldn't afford them even after decades with that little monthly allowance." So of course they're important, but even more important is Shen Tingxuan's sentiment. However, I didn't dare say that.

Shen Haoyu then smiled and said, "Just have someone put it on for you."

"Never forget! That's all my possessions."

Now that those things had a place to go, I looked at the Crescent Moon Bow hanging above my bed. Should I take it with me on my escape, or should I have it sent back first? Such a valuable bow—if it were damaged on the way, my sins would be immense. After much deliberation, since I dared not use it again anyway, I put it back in its box and asked Shen Haoyu to have someone take it back with me.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Dai Chongyan divided his troops into three routes. One route, led by Cui Lang, launched a frontal attack on Rongzhou City, making a show of force. The other two routes, with fewer troops, searched for other passages to the rear of Rongzhou through the mountains on both sides. Shen Haoyu led us guards and a thousand men into the mountains on the left, while Shen Zexuan went to the right and demanded that we return to Caizhou City in three days.

Upon reaching the mountains, Shen Haoyu divided his two thousand men into ten smaller teams, instructing them to search separately and regroup in three days to return to the city. He then led a group of guards and two hundred soldiers on a separate journey. After traveling for a while, the direction seemed to have changed; if he wasn't mistaken, they were heading southeast. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the centurion named Yi Wu ask, "Your Highness, have we gone the wrong way? Rongzhou is over there." He pointed behind him.

Shen Haoyu glared at Yi Wu and said irritably, "Rongzhou is over there, but we're not going that way. We'll take a roundabout route. A roundabout route, you understand?" Yi Wu retreated silently, saying nothing more.

After traversing mountains and valleys, the snow was knee-deep in some places, making the journey extremely difficult. Around noon, they reached a mountain peak and suddenly heard the sound of flowing water. The group looked at each other in surprise: Water flowing at this time of year? Unable to contain their curiosity, Shen Haoyu was the first to run towards the sound. "If only I could find a place with hot springs like Zuimian Lake," I thought happily.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, a river indeed rushed by. It wasn't wide, but the current was powerful, and the water wasn't freezing. Could it be an underground river emerging from this area? Otherwise, why wouldn't it freeze?

Slightly avoiding the crowd, Shen Haoyu pulled me aside and took out a map to compare. We saw a curve winding from the mountains in the north, and our location was very close to the source. This river had several tributaries that flowed south and joined another river. The river was crisscrossed and densely packed, and we couldn't tell where it ended up.

Although this is in the north, it is also the source of numerous tributaries. Countless rivers and streams, large and small, with and without names, flow through the towering mountains, their waters mostly sourced from glacial meltwater, with a small amount from groundwater. "Upstream, it might lead underground." There's abundant geothermal energy there; the water hasn't frozen even after flowing this far. Further downstream, when it freezes, I wonder if there will be any ice jams.

Shen Haoyu shook his head and said, "Don't go up. We don't need to pay attention to this river." With that, he turned and walked away. I had no choice but to follow him back to the group and continue climbing the mountains.

That evening, we found a sheltered hillside and set up simple tents, just to keep out the wind and snow. A campfire blazed on the snow, and everyone sat around it to keep warm. In Shen Haoyu's tent, there was a candle lit, and when I went in, he was staring intently at the map again.

Seeing me come in, Shen Haoyu hurriedly beckoned me over to look with him, pointing to a thin red line and saying, "This is our route home." I leaned closer to take a closer look, and the red line led entirely through the mountains. I couldn't help but gasp, "Young Prince, you don't mean we have to cross mountains and valleys all the way back, do you?"

Shen Haoyu nodded seriously and said, "When they drew this map, they paid attention to the route back to the capital that did not pass through any cities. They have already traveled it, so there will be no problem."

"So all those times you went into the mountains to explore the route were to verify whether it was feasible?"

Seeing Shen Haoyu nod, they realized that this map could also be used to help them escape. It seemed that this was the only way. Given Shen Haoyu's status, he couldn't just sneak off on the main roads; without a travel permit, he wouldn't even be able to enter the city gates. However, the thought of having to travel through deep mountains and forests for so long made their legs weak.

"Young Prince, what if we get lost?" We have to travel before spring, when the mountains are still covered in snow, making it even more likely that we will get lost.

"Then let's walk a bit more," Shen Haoyu said lightly. But when his pampered body couldn't handle it, they'd see how helpless he would be.

For the next two days, Shen Haoyu continued to use his position to find a way to escape. Three days later, they returned to the agreed location to wait for the other small teams that had been scouting the route. They waited until late afternoon but did not see a single person. They were anxious, wondering if the other teams had encountered enemy soldiers or had returned to the city first.

After waiting for a while, seeing that it was getting late, Shen Haoyu ordered a return to the city, and the group headed out of the mountain towards Caizhou City. When they were still more than ten miles from the city, a group of people suddenly appeared ahead. Everyone's expression changed drastically. It was a group of Xuan Ying cavalry, dressed in red and black armor, which stood out brightly in the snow.

The group of men clearly recognized us and spurred their horses forward at high speed; there were a thousand of them. "Retreat!" Shen Haoyu ordered, and everyone turned and ran into the mountains. They had horses, while we only had two legs. We knew we couldn't escape on flat ground, and once we got to the mountains, they couldn't ride horses either, so we could at least try and hold our own for a while.

The whistling of weapons cutting through the air filled the air, and many soldiers fell to the ground, struck by arrows. Seeing the enemy closing in, they had no choice but to use their lightness skills to escape. The two hundred soldiers, however, were too weak to run and fell one after another, eventually either killed by arrows or hacked to death by the pursuing enemy soldiers. There was no other way; in this dire situation, everyone fled for their lives first.

Suddenly, Shen Haoyu pulled a small bamboo tube from his person, untied the lid, and a cloud of red light shot into the sky. When did they learn to use signal flares?

Only a few dozen guards from the Prince's mansion remained, and they were still relentlessly pursuing us. Remembering Song Zhixuan's words, if something happened to Shen Haoyu in the army now, Emperor Youjing would lose his bargaining chip, and the Youjing Dynasty would be thrown into chaos, allowing Xuan Ying Kingdom to seize the opportunity. I couldn't help but curse Dai Chongyan. Didn't he know Shen Haoyu's special status? Sending Shen Haoyu out on missions—wasn't he afraid of encountering enemy troops?

This enemy force is so close to Caizhou, what are Youjing's spies doing?

After running all the way, I was exhausted and out of breath. Just when I thought I had finally shaken off the enemy soldiers, another group of people came out from the side and blocked our way. There were not as many as before, but there were still three or four hundred of them, and they surrounded us.

There was still no way to escape. Everyone had no choice but to draw their weapons and fight against the soldiers of Xuan Ying, trying to fight their way through the crowd, dodging left and right, their swords flashing. In terms of martial arts, the soldiers were naturally no match for them, but there were too many of them, and it would take them a long time to kill them even if they just stood there.

This delay allowed the enemy soldiers behind us to catch up, and we could only secretly pray that the garrison of Caizhou City would come to our rescue. After running for a while and hacking away at people until my hands were sore, I was really running out of strength. I narrowly dodged an iron spear and fell hard on my backside under someone's horse. The horse's tail brushed against my face, carrying a faint fishy smell.

I wiped my face in annoyance and quickly jumped up from the ground, only to find a familiar light yellow stain on the horse's tail. I was startled and, forgetting about fighting, I dodged and ran to the back of other horses to see what was going on. After circling around, I discovered that I had dyed the tails of dozens of horses.

I was momentarily distracted when another knife came slashing at me. Zinuo, who was nearby, quickly blocked it for me, pulled me aside, and practically yelled, "What are you spacing out for at a time like this?"

"Those horses are ours!" The riders were dressed in the uniforms of British soldiers, but the horses were ours. There hadn't even been a real battle between Caizhou and Rongzhou, so how could our horses have fallen into their hands?

I pointed to a horse and said, "Remember the dyeing grass? I dyed the horse's tail. Since then, the cavalry of both sides haven't fought, so they couldn't possibly have our horses!"

Upon hearing this, Zi Nuo's face turned deathly pale. While keeping an eye on the swords and blades around him, he said, "You mean, they aren't Xuan Ying's men at all?"

I nodded stiffly, my heart as cold as the dead of winter, my hands and feet shivering.

"Go!" Zi Nuo grabbed me and charged toward Shen Haoyu. When we finally reached Shen Haoyu's side, he shouted, "Young Prince, don't linger in battle. No reinforcements will come to our rescue. The ones coming are our own army."

Shen Haoyu looked at me and Zinuo in astonishment. This place was much closer to Caizhou City than to the mountains. If we could hold out and wait for reinforcements, we might be able to get there sooner, but that seemed impossible now. Seeing Shen Haoyu still hesitating, I couldn't help but say angrily, "Young Prince, trust us. If we can't wait for reinforcements, we'll escape first. We'll explain to you when we're safe!"

Shen Haoyu nodded, gave a shout, and the group launched a fierce attack, cutting a bloody path and rushing towards the distant mountains, with the cavalry in hot pursuit. Seeing that I was exhausted, Zi Nuo and Shen Haoyu each grabbed one of my hands and ran forward. Song Zhixuan, Lin Zhao, and others closely protected Shen Haoyu, while more than ten guards brought up the rear, temporarily slowing down the pursuers.

Finally, some distance had been created, and Shen Haoyu couldn't wait to ask me what had happened. I briefly explained it to him, but Shen Haoyu just kept saying it was impossible, his disbelief so intense. Later, I learned that Dai Chongyan had always been a member of the Qing Prince's mansion's secret network. It had been arranged beforehand that before the decisive battle, Dai Chongyan would cover Shen Haoyu's departure from the city and be responsible for concealing Shen Haoyu's whereabouts. Shen Haoyu would handle everything else on the way. The signal flare was also a recent invention by a special expert from the Qing Prince's mansion, and it was intended to be used first by Shen Haoyu in case he encountered danger in the army. Once Dai Chongyan saw the signal, he would come to his aid.

However, if Dai Chongyan is indeed a member of the Prince Qing's mansion and has the power to mobilize troops, then where did the more than one thousand fake British soldiers come from?

We fled into the deep mountains, pursued relentlessly. They abandoned their horses and conducted a thorough search of the mountains, seemingly determined to wipe us out completely. We hid in the forest, exhausted and hungry, feeling that this time our chances of survival were slim.

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 100

Chapter word count: 4007 Update time: 09-09-04 08:37

Once inside the mountains, the pursuers searched relentlessly. We fled while simultaneously creating confusion by leaving chaotic footprints in many directions. Unfortunately, among their large group were skilled trackers who always managed to pinpoint our true escape route and catch up precisely, leaving us exhausted and disheveled. At first, we could leap from tree to tree, trying our best not to leave footprints, but later even crawling on the ground became nearly impossible.

Human strength is ultimately limited, and everyone slowed down. I was the most useless one, having to be carried by Zinuo every now and then. Lying on Zinuo's thin shoulders, I felt utterly ashamed. We hadn't brought much food when we left the city, and it was almost all gone in three days. The little left was given to the soldiers to carry, and now they've all died in the snow. We have nothing left to eat.

After a night of fleeing, with almost no paths in the mountains and the need to evade pursuers, I had no idea where I was. At dawn, I finally managed to climb a small hill, just as the pursuers began their ascent below. I faintly heard the sound of water, and overjoyed, I exclaimed, "Young Prince, do you remember that unfrozen river?"