"Folks! Think about how many of your relatives have fled Jeju due to hunger and migrated to Yanjing!"
"Li Muge and his Southern Army are attacking Yanjing. Your relatives will be killed one by one by his troops. The prince is leading the army to resist for your relatives!"
"What's wrong with him? It's this rotten court that's wrong!"
That's right!
Caiyu's words made the uproar in Jeju almost tear through the sky.
It's this rotten court that's wrong!
Without Li Muge and the fiefdom cut - off policy, they could travel freely between the two places and visit their relatives.
Now, although the two places are close, they are like enemies.
Relatives can't meet each other. This separation might be forever.
Once such emotions arise, the dissatisfaction in everyone's hearts is like a prairie swept by wildfire. It burns fiercely and cannot be extinguished.
"We've received many favors from the Prince of Yan. Think about how over the years, when you were exploited and oppressed by the local officials in Jeju and had no choice but to migrate to the Yan region, who opened the gates of Yanjing? Who allocated land to your relatives and let them settle in the north of Yan?"
"And who! Led the Yan Army to defend against the Tatars on the border for years, protecting the north of Yan and even Jiaodong from the danger of losing their homes?!"
The crowd was shaken.
Everyone remembered Song Yinghuai and his Yan Army standing in front of them, making Jiaodong a land of beautiful scenery and abundant fish, and allowing their relatives to raise flocks of cattle and sheep in the north of Yan.
"Remove the prison cart!" someone roared. "Don't insult the Prince of Yan!"
"If you don't remove the prison cart, we won't let the Southern Army leave the city!"
The crowd surged forward. The Southern Army was pushed around by the tide - like crowd.
Li Muge's expression was distorted. Looking at the vast crowd, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.
But he was unwilling to give up when he looked at Song Yinghuai.
That prison cart had taken him half a month to customize. Now, asking him to remove it, he was extremely reluctant.
Amid the sea of people, Song Yinghuai's face was as calm as water. His black eyes always followed that charming figure and he couldn't bear to look away for a moment.
Little girl, you're still so smart.
You know how to use public opinion to suppress Li Muge.
"Smash the prison cart!" Caiyu shouted in the crowd.
Tan Xiong and the others looked at each other and made a gesture to the Yan soldiers.
The prince didn't say not to smash the prison cart, just not to rescue him!
For a moment, the Yan soldiers pretending to be civilians surrounded the prison cart and quickly dismantled it into pieces.
Caiyu's shout finally helped Li Muge find her.
He immediately snatched a long whip from a guard and lashed it fiercely at Caiyu's face!
Tan Xiong and the others were all around the prison cart. Caiyu was standing on the outermost edge of the crowd.
The long whip flashed towards her like a venomous snake. It seemed that the tip of the whip was about to split her veil and face in half!
In the blink of an eye.
Song Yinghuai's figure blocked in front of Caiyu!
He was wearing fetters and his shoulder blades had been pierced. He was seriously injured, but his martial arts skills were still there.
With just a few steps, he crossed the path of the long whip.
"Pop!"
The tip of the whip hit his back.
The clothes on his back were torn and blood seeped out immediately.
Caiyu only heard a muffled groan above her head. She looked up in fear and saw the man's face turn visibly pale.
"Your Highness!" Caiyu whispered, with tears almost welling up in her eyes. "Does it hurt?"
He must be in great pain.
His back had been injured and his shoulder blades had been pierced. Now he was whipped hard again.
If not, he wouldn't have groaned.
Song Yinghuai frowned slightly. He lowered his eyes and took a quick and affectionate look at this hard - won meeting, then said:
"It's just a minor injury. It doesn't hurt."
Behind them came Li Muge's roaring order to arrest people. He reached out and pushed Caiyu into the crowd. "Hurry up and go!"
Caiyu was pushed into the crowd by him. Tan Xiong and the others had already turned back and surrounded her tightly.
The people of Jeju also consciously hid them behind themselves.
Li Muge rushed to Song Yinghuai's side angrily. Seeing that the figure in front of him had disappeared, he lashed another whip at Song Yinghuai in anger:
"Scoundrel!"
Song Yinghuai frowned tightly and gritted his teeth to hold back the cry of pain this time.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Li Muge roared helplessly:
"If you cause more trouble, I'll order the army to be tough on you!"
The Southern Army drew their long knives with a clang.
Seeing that the prison cart had been destroyed and Li Muge was furious, the common people immediately scattered.
Li Muge gritted his teeth and looked at the scattered crowd. Then he looked at Song Yinghuai and the well - crafted prison cart that had now become firewood:
"Get him another prison cart!"
The newly replaced prison cart was an ordinary one used by the Jeju government to transport criminals.
Although they still had to endure the hardships of traveling, at least he could sit back in it, which was much better than the specially - made one.
Caiyu was hiding in the dark and quietly let out a sigh of relief.
When she came to her senses, she felt as if someone was sizing her up behind her. She immediately turned around.
She saw Tan Xiong and the others looking at her coldly for a moment, then they left without saying a word.
"Hey, wait!?" Caiyu stamped her foot anxiously. "Weren't you here to rescue the prisoner?"
Looking at the empty space where they had disappeared, Caiyu sighed. She lifted her skirt and followed the escorting team out of the city.
They had just left the city for a day when the land of Jiaodong behind them was covered in snow.
The escorting team finally stopped. The soldiers gathered firewood in groups of three or four, started a fire and cooked.
Li Muge huddled in his tent with his precious tobacco pipe and refused to come out.
He was afraid of the cold and was addicted to tobacco. He didn't want to move at all in bad weather.
Song Yinghuai's prison cart was not far away. The cold wind blew his black hair, which fluttered against his handsome face.
Seeing that he hadn't eaten or drunk for a whole day but still looked calm, the soldiers couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.
"His Highness the Prince of Yan is truly the God of War of Daye. Even in such a situation, his unyielding spirit remains."
"Don't be sympathetic." Another soldier nudged the one who had just shown admiration. "Master Li has strictly ordered us not to give him anything to eat or drink for three days. Don't let your sympathy get the better of you and cause trouble for everyone."
The soldier clicked his tongue. He hesitated and looked at the man struggling in the snowstorm for a while, then finally sat back down.
Caiyu had been following the prison cart from a distance. She heard those words and hated Li Muge so much that she wanted to skin him alive.
As night fell deeper, Li Muge deliberately chose a wild area to make Song Yinghuai suffer more.
The soldier on night - watch was the one who had wanted to give Song Yinghuai some food.
Caiyu tiptoed towards the prison cart.
Before she got there, the man sitting in the prison cart opened his eyes.
His eyes were as bright as stars in the night. His thin lips parted slightly. "Yuer, be careful not to fall."
Caiyu was so scared that she stopped in her tracks. She put a finger through the prison rail and pressed it against his lips. "Shh!"
Her soft fingertips hadn't touched the man's lips for a long time.
Song Yinghuai almost held his breath. He closed his mouth involuntarily and nodded obediently.
Caiyu looked around. She took out the baked cakes she had bought along the way from her bosom and handed the leather water flask in as well. She said:
"Eat first."
Song Yinghuai took them. The baked cakes had been kept warm in her bosom and were still warm when taken out.
It was Caiyu's body temperature.
He held them for a long time and was reluctant to eat.
Caiyu urged him. "Hurry... If you're discovered, you won't be able to eat."
Song Yinghuai responded and took a bite, chewing slowly.
Even though he hadn't eaten or drunk for a whole day, it didn't affect his elegant way of eating.
He said softly, as if joking. "Anyway, I'll be beheaded in the capital. Isn't it better to starve to death on the way?"
"Then you should escape." Caiyu bit her lip and advised. "I've got the Yaojiu dagger with me. It's easy to cut off the prison cart and your fetters. Hurry up and escape!"
Song Yinghuai smiled faintly. He looked at her seriously and asked again:
"Then will you come with me?"