The Xiliang soldiers were so enraged by Cheng Hao's arrogance and rudeness that their faces turned ashen. Two of the hot - tempered ones were about to climb up the wall to beat him up.
Cheng Hao kicked the snow at his feet. A large chunk of snow slid down, hitting the two Xiliang soldiers who were trying to climb up under the eaves, covering their heads and faces with snow.
Seeing Cheng Hao leap out from the eaves, the Xiliang soldiers could no longer hold back their anger and hurriedly chased after him in the direction he had gone.
The old woman craned her neck at the door for a long time but saw nothing. She had no choice but to retract her neck and go back into the house.
Cuilian sighed silently in her heart. Fortunately, Cheng Hao was quick - witted. He had timely discovered that she and Miss Wei were hiding there and led the pursuers away, allowing them to escape.
A dark shadow flashed in instantly and hid beside Cuilian. Cuilian looked up and couldn't help but feel her eyes redden. Jingzhe had also come.
Jingzhe asked softly, "Are you and Miss Wei okay?"
If Jingzhe hadn't timely noticed a very hidden trail of footprints near the sheepfold and guessed that Miss Wei and Cuilian might be hiding there, and then timely hinted to Cheng Hao to go up and distract the others, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Cuilian felt a lump in her throat. For the past few days, she had been on tenterhooks, fearing that Miss Wei might not wake up. She had been terrified. Now seeing her own people, Cuilian couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She nodded and then shook her head.
Jingzhe quickly checked the surroundings. Soon, he noticed the movement beside the haystack. He rushed forward and carefully helped Wei Dongling out. Seeing that her forehead was burning and her consciousness was still a bit hazy, Jingzhe quickly took off his cloak and wrapped her tightly in it. He said to Cuilian in a deep voice, "Zhao Chuanyi's men have been conducting a thorough house - to - house search in recent days. It's not safe to stay here. We have to find a way to get out of the city."
Cuilian nodded and followed Jingzhe as they strode away.
Cuilian was hiding in the swaying carriage. She combed Wei Dongling's hair into a man's bun, then changed her into men's clothes. She used charcoal to carefully draw thick eyebrows and stubble on her face. At first glance, Wei Dongling looked exactly like a thin and sickly old man.
Cuilian looked around and was quite satisfied. She then changed into women's clothes to disguise herself as a woman before calling Jingzhe over to take a look.
Jingzhe nodded and gritted his teeth. "There's no time to lose. Let's try to sneak out of the city first." As for Cheng Hao, he would follow them by himself after seeing the marks left along the way.
As the sky gradually darkened, Jingzhe whipped his horse anxiously. If they missed the right time and couldn't get out of the city tonight, there might be more troubles.
Finally, when their carriage rushed to the city gate of Jiangcheng, the city gate was still open.
Jingzhe was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to queue up to get out of the city.
There were many Xiliang guards at the city gate. Jingzhe pondered secretly in his heart. Rushing out forcefully might not be a good idea. Facing so many enemies, he alone couldn't protect Miss Wei and Cuilian to get out of the city safely. He could only hope that their disguises would help them get through.
As required by the Xiliang guards, all the old, weak, women, and children in the carriages in the queue had to stand out for inspection. They would be asked some routine questions before being allowed to pass or not.
Some carriages had female passengers. The guards would take out portraits and compare them one by one. Those who looked very different from the portraits would be allowed to pass, while those of a similar age would not be allowed to leave.
Wei Dongling was in Jingzhe's arms. Cuilian tightly held the reins of the carriage and walked forward step by step for inspection.
Wei Dongling's forehead was burning. In a daze, she suddenly heard the sound of a zither.
Was it an illusion? Who would play the zither in the cold wind of the icy and snowy weather?
A guard pointed at Cuilian and asked harshly, "Where are you going at this late hour?"
Cuilian quickly stepped forward and bowed. In a hoarse voice, she said, "My husband is seriously ill. Since we don't have much money, we want to go and seek refuge with our well - off youngest son. Please be kind enough to let us pass." Cuilian felt a bit speechless. After getting along with Wei Dongling for a long time, she could now tell lies without batting an eyelid.
The guard stepped forward and carefully compared Jingzhe with the portrait. Then he looked at Wei Dongling in his arms. Seeing that her face was abnormally flushed, he didn't ask any more questions. He then compared Cuilian with the portrait in his hand. When he saw Cuilian, he was a bit stunned. He looked back and forth between Cuilian and the portrait, unsure of what to do.
Cuilian's forehead was sweating profusely, and she didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
A general behind saw that the guard was silent for a long time. He got angry and came up to ask what was going on. The two whispered to each other for a few words. The general glanced at Cuilian and then looked down at the portrait. He asked coldly, "Where are you from? Where do you live?"
Cuilian was so frightened that she shivered. She really didn't know where she had revealed a flaw.
Jingzhe quickly stepped forward to protect Cuilian. He said to the two of them, "My mother is very shy. I hope the two generals won't scare her!" Jingzhe was quite depressed in his heart. How did he suddenly become the son of these two girls?
But at this critical moment, it was not convenient for him to protest.
The general sized Cuilian up and down and said coldly, "It's not that we're targeting you. But any woman who wants to leave this city has to think twice. Well, you two go out of the city to seek medical treatment first. Let your mother go back!"
Jingzhe frowned and was about to refuse, but Cuilian quickly grabbed his arm and nodded. "That's fine. My husband's illness really can't be delayed any longer." Cuilian pinched Jingzhe's arm hard. The meaning was obvious. She could stay in Xiliang alone and figure out other ways. Miss Wei couldn't wait!
Just as Jingzhe was hesitating whether to agree or not, the city gate suddenly made a loud noise and slowly closed. Cuilian shouted anxiously, "Wait! My husband hasn't gotten out yet!" Saying that, she grabbed the carriage and was about to stop the city gate.
The soldier looked at the sky and waved to Cuilian and Jingzhe. "Go back! Come earlier tomorrow!"
Cuilian's face turned black with anger.
The soldier then went to urge the carriages queuing up behind them and told everyone to return and come again tomorrow.
Cuilian dejectedly returned to the carriage with Wei Dongling. She felt extremely frustrated.
Now there were Xiliang soldiers patrolling the streets of Jiangcheng everywhere. Almost all the inns in the city had closed their doors. Every family was afraid of being associated with enemy spies and being arrested. They didn't even dare to talk to strangers, let alone take them in!
Now that they couldn't get out of the city smoothly, where could they stay on this icy and snowy night?
Jingzhe turned his horse around and rode back. Amid the bumps, Wei Dongling heard the intermittent sound of the zither in a daze. Her eyelids were extremely heavy. She asked Cuilian softly, "Huanhuan, did you hear someone playing the zither?"
Cuilian didn't hear her clearly and quickly leaned over to listen.
But Wei Dongling suddenly opened her eyes wide and shouted, "Jingzhe, stop the carriage quickly!"
Jingzhe quickly reined in his horse upon hearing this and looked a bit at a loss.
Wei Dongling gritted her teeth and lifted the curtain. She asked, "Who is playing the zither?"
Cuilian was extremely shocked. There was no sound of the zither. Had Miss Wei had auditory hallucinations?
Jingzhe closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Suddenly, he pointed to a hill near the city wall and shouted, "The person playing is over there!"
Wei Dongling's eyes turned red, and two lines of clear tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. So it wasn't an auditory hallucination. There really was the sound of the zither!
And she was very familiar with this melody. It was exactly Jay Chou's "Fireworks Fade Quickly"!