Wei Dongling was in a very poor physical condition. Even though she was wrapped in a thick felt blanket and sweating all over, she still felt chilled to the bone. Cui Huan lifted her up to feed her some mutton soup, then carried her behind the curtain to change into dry undergarments before bringing her back to warm herself by the fire.
Wei Dongling was weak all over and dozed off until the second half of the night. Suddenly, she felt a strong arm scoop her into a warm embrace. Her eyelids were incredibly heavy, but she forced her hands to push away the person holding her.
However, Shangguan Yun held her even tighter and murmured in her ear, "Dongling, come with me! I'll take you away from Xiliang. Let's go back to the capital right away."
His secret guard had come to report that Xiliang soldiers were conducting a search nearby one by one overnight. Since there was a fire burning in this house, if they didn't leave soon, someone would surely come to search.
Wei Dongling trembled slightly and nodded almost imperceptibly in his embrace. She wanted to return to the capital. She wanted to know if Grandpa Su was safe. She just wanted to stay by Grandpa Su's side and go nowhere else.
Shangguan Yun wrapped Wei Dongling tightly, leaving only half of her face exposed for breathing. He ordered everyone to get into the carriages and set off overnight.
Outside the window, goose - feather snow was floating down. Two carriages silently headed towards the border.
The wind and snow were fierce. Jingzhe drove his carriage closely behind the carriage of the Young Master Yun in front. He wondered secretly in his heart. The city gate of Jiangcheng was already closed. Did the Young Master choose to travel at night because he had another way to get out of the city?
An old local man drove the carriage and led everyone on a long detour. The location became more and more remote. Finally, they stopped by a large frozen lake.
The old man jumped out of the carriage, stepped forward, clasped his fists and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Yun, I'm not suitable to go any further. I can only send you here."
Shangguan Yun covered Wei Dongling in his arms properly, lifted the curtain and nodded, "In that case, thank you very much!"
The old man pointed to the east and said loudly, "If you go all the way east, you'll see a mountain in the east at dawn. When you reach the foot of the mountain, you'll already be within the territory of the Celestial Dynasty. I hope the Young Master will take good care of himself!"
Shangguan Yun nodded in acknowledgement. The old man stepped aside and showed Pinhao the direction to go.
Everyone thanked the old man in unison. Then the two carriages set foot on the frozen lake and headed east.
The heavy snow outside the carriage made it hard to tell the direction. Pinhao could only estimate the position and move forward slowly.
Afraid that Wei Dongling would be cold, Shangguan Yun had someone place a warm charcoal brazier in the carriage. Wei Dongling nestled in his arms and slowly opened her eyes. Listening to the howling wind, the sound of horses' hooves, and the creaking sound of the ice and snow being rolled over by the carriage wheels on the lake, she looked up and asked softly, "Young Master Yun, how did you recognize me just now?" Clearly, Cui Huan had disguised her as an old man. How could he recognize her at a glance!
Shangguan Yun gently sniffed the fragrance of her hair and said softly, "I can recognize you no matter what you look like." During the day, although this girl was dressed like that, her eyes were tearful and pitiful when she looked at him. He recognized her at a glance. At that moment, he was both shocked and heart - broken.
Before, when she was just a small steward in General Qi's mansion, she had always been aggressive and sharp - tongued in front of everyone. This was the first time he had seen her so weak and pitiful, which instantly made his eyes redden.
Wei Dongling said in a soft voice, "Thank you."
Shangguan Yun pressed her body tightly against his chest and said seriously, "You never need to thank me. I'm willing to do anything for you! I enjoy it!"
Hearing this, Wei Dongling almost shed tears.
Suddenly, there came a noisy sound from behind. Someone shouted loudly, "Stop! Who are you?"
Wei Dongling trembled all over. In the middle of the night, there were actually Xiliang soldiers searching along the frozen lake? Could it be that those people had tracked them here along the traces left by the carriages?
Shangguan Yun gently kissed Wei Dongling's forehead and soothed her softly, "Don't be afraid. You go first. I'll be back soon." Saying that, he reluctantly let go of Wei Dongling. After carefully covering her with the blanket, he grabbed his long sword and leaped out of the carriage.
Soon, there came the sounds of fighting from behind.
Wei Dongling was extremely anxious. She lifted the curtain and looked out. The oncoming cold wind made her shiver. She could only vaguely see Jingzhe's carriage being surrounded by a group of Xiliang soldiers. It was obvious that a conflict had broken out between the two sides.
Wei Dongling's heart skipped a beat. She urgently called out to Pinhao, who was driving in front, "They're fighting. Stop the carriage quickly!"
Pinhao's face darkened. He gritted his teeth unhappily and said, "The Young Master ordered me to protect you!"
Wei Dongling stamped her feet anxiously. There were only five people in total, Shangguan Yun's secret guards Jingzhe, Cheng Hao, and Cui Huan. The Xiliang soldiers outnumbered them. This conflict was like pitting an egg against a rock! Wei Dongling quickly took out the small crossbow from her lapel and said to Pinhao, "Let me out! I'm going to help them!" To catch the ringleader first. If they could somehow kill their leader, the others would be in disarray!
Pinhao roared angrily with a scowling face, "The Young Master is risking his life to buy you a chance to escape. Can you stop causing trouble?" Women were really troublesome, especially this disaster star in front of him! Whenever something happened to her, there was never any good news. It was as if his master had been bewitched. For the sake of saving her, he was willing to go through fire and water. Pinhao was so anxious that he just wanted to jump up and curse.
Wasn't it good for him to be a care - free young master in the capital? Why did he have to cause so much chaos and go through all kinds of hardships!
Scolded by Pinhao, Wei Dongling had to give up and sigh silently. She knew that Pinhao had a point. She was still running a fever and could hardly stand steadily. Even if she rushed up, she would probably just be a hindrance to everyone. Thinking of this, Wei Dongling stammered softly, "Pinhao, how about I drive the carriage and you go and help the Young Master?"
Just as Pinhao was about to answer, a carriage suddenly rushed out from the right and rammed into theirs. Pinhao shouted loudly at Wei Dongling, "Hold on tight!" Saying that, he quickly reined in the horse and turned the carriage sharply to avoid the oncoming carriage.
Wei Dongling staggered and almost fell. She grabbed the carriage door in a hurry and barely managed to steady herself.
Seeing that Pinhao's carriage had dodged the impact, a Xiliang soldier who had flanked them on horseback with a silver spear stabbed hard at the abdomen of the horse pulling the carriage. The horse let out a tragic neigh and fell to the ground. The carriage came to a sudden stop and rolled over.
Wei Dongling let out a scream and was thrown out of the carriage. Fortunately, Pinhao rushed up in time to catch her.
The Xiliang soldier glanced at Wei Dongling and shouted to his companions who were flanking from behind, "It's this woman! General Zhao said that anyone who takes her head will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver!"
Reward, ten thousand taels of silver? Am I worth so much?
While Wei Dongling was still in a daze, Pinhao had already grabbed her and started running away at full speed.