klisemfg Chapter 196 Extra (1) Parallel World 01
Chapter 196 Extra (1) Parallel World 01
The twelfth year of the Longyun era.
It was the height of summer, and at midnight, the bright moon hung high in the sky.
It was the dead of night, a time when everyone was asleep and doors and windows were closed, yet flickering lights could be seen along the official road in the outskirts of Beijing.
A group of people are encamped by the river.
Beside the lit campfire, Lu Yuxu placed a blanket under himself and tightly embraced his wife, who was eight months pregnant, to shield her from the night wind in the forest.
Gao Rong nestled into Lu Yuxu's arms and gently comforted him, "Your Highness need not be so nervous. It's summer after all, and the nights won't get much cooler."
Upon hearing these words, even the usually composed Crown Prince Lu Yuxu felt a lump in his throat and an overwhelming sense of sorrow.
"It's because of me that you've been dragged down."
Empress Dowager Qin favored the third prince born to the Qin family and constantly hoped that Lu Yuchang could replace Lu Yuxu as the new crown prince of Changping. Even though she knew that Lu Yuxu's position as crown prince was secure, she never gave up.
Therefore, she repeatedly sought excuses to torment and persecute Empress Bai Qiongzhu and the Crown Prince and his wife under the guise of filial piety, without any attempt to conceal it. Even after dinner tonight, she suddenly launched an attack, forcing the Crown Prince and his soon-to-be-born wife to go to Buddha Mountain to pray for her, otherwise they would be considered unfilial.
Filial piety is of paramount importance, yet the Empress Dowager Qin insisted that she had a dream from heaven foretelling a calamity. She claimed that unless the crown prince and his consort personally prayed for her before the Buddha, she would fall seriously ill. At that time, the entire world would consider the crown prince an unfilial son, unworthy of being the Crown Prince of Changping.
The argument dragged on for a long time. Even though Emperor Longyun offered to go in place of the Crown Prince as the ruler of the country, Empress Dowager Qin did not budge. It was clear that she was determined to use this opportunity to torment the Crown Prince's family.
In the end, under the urging and request of Empress Dowager Qin, Lu Yuxu could only travel light and take only a team of the Crown Prince's personal guards, and hurriedly leave the capital before the city gates closed.
However, Gao Rong was quite far along in her pregnancy and could not travel day and night. So Lu Yuxu ordered his men to make simple arrangements near the riverbank, preparing to rest until dawn before continuing their journey.
Gao Rong was also exhausted and lacked energy, so she did not refuse and sat down to rest with Lu Yuxu.
She raised her hand to tidy Lu Yuxu's slightly disheveled sideburns, and smiled gently, "Your Highness and I are husband and wife, why are you speaking so formally? It's just a trip out, and I'll be in the carriage too, Your Highness need not worry."
Lu Yuxu felt a dull ache in her heart. Gao Rong shouldn't have married her to suffer.
After a long while, he sighed.
"Don't worry, these days won't last long."
Gao Rong raised her head, somewhat puzzled by Lu Yuxu's statement, but quickly lowered her head again, tactfully refraining from further questioning and pretending not to understand.
"it is good."
Gao Rong closed her eyes and leaned closer to Lu Yuxu.
A gentle stream flowed, and insects chirped. A group of guards stood watch at a distance, creating a peaceful scene.
Lu Yuxu and Gao Rong gradually lost consciousness due to exhaustion and fell asleep in each other's arms.
"Commander." A guard returned from the direction of the official road, his steps steady yet swift.
An Lin, who was carefully examining the river, frowned for a moment, then turned around and met a somewhat panicked face that was difficult to see clearly in the darkness.
An Lin quickly realized something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Commander, your subordinates, who were on patrol in the surrounding area, discovered that there are quite a few people hiding in the woods about a mile away."
An Lin's pupils dilated for a split second.
He quickly stopped the guard who was about to continue speaking, glanced around, and pulled him to Lu Yuxu's side.
"Your Highness!"
Lu Yuxu, who was in a light sleep, was suddenly awakened, his consciousness returning.
An Lin nudged the guard, signaling him to step forward and report. The guard did not refuse and knelt on one knee in front of Lu Yuxu without saying a word, and began to report.
"Your Highness, I have discovered a large number of people hiding about a mile away. There is a strong smell of iron in the woods, which should be an army carrying equipment."
Lu Yuxu didn't doubt the guard's words at all, and just stared straight at the man, "Could you possibly know the number?"
"Listen to the breathing; it's at least three hundred, no more."
The Crown Prince's personal guards were all personally trained and selected by Lin Shihe. They were all elites, especially the scouts responsible for patrols, whose perception of the surrounding environment was extremely accurate. He said there were at least three hundred of them, so there must be no mistake.
It doesn't sound like much. But for their trip today, Empress Dowager Qin insisted on traveling light and simply, and Lu Yuxu currently only has twenty of the Crown Prince's personal guards with him.
"Have you been discovered?" Gao Rong, who had been asleep, was also woken up. Ignoring her fear, she forced herself to calm down and join their conversation.
"The numbers were too disparate, so my subordinates, having spotted them from a distance, dared not disturb them and simply pretended to have finished their patrol and returned normally."
An Lin immediately knelt down, "Your Highness, the matter is now crystal clear. Before they make their move, I will send men to escort Your Highness and the Crown Princess back to the capital!"
"Your Highness, rest assured, we are all skilled warriors from the Tingyun Army. Although we are few in number, we will do our utmost to delay Your Highness for a while!"
Lu Yuxu knew that if he and Gao Rong stayed behind, they would only be a burden to the guards, but he couldn't bear to see these prince's guards die for him.
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, clearly finding it difficult to make up his mind.
“Your Highness!” An Lin naturally understood what Lu Yuxu was worried about. He looked sincerely at the master he served, “Time is of the essence. You are the Crown Prince, and this concerns the fate of the nation. You must not worry about your subjects and risk losing sight of the bigger picture!”
Lu Yuxu closed his eyes, his palms bleeding. "Okay."
An Lin was immediately relieved.
He quickly pulled a signal flare from his pocket and shoved it into Lu Yuxu's hand.
"Your Highness, the closest camp to here is the Western Camp of the Tingyun Army. Your Highness, please leave first. I will light the first signal flare to request reinforcements from the Western Camp when they make their move."
"The reinforcements will arrive here in no more than an hour by marching at full speed. Your Highness only needs to wait out this hour to be safe. After an hour, Your Highness should light this signal flare, and the reinforcements will find you by following their direction. But Your Highness must remember that you must not release the signal flare within one hour."
"Since reinforcements have not arrived yet, Your Highness could still see the signal flare if you fired it in advance."
“The official road is conspicuous. If Your Highness takes the official road, you will surely be discovered. I have arranged for someone to escort Your Highness and the Empress away quietly through the woods. It will be a pity that the Empress will have to be helped by the guards.”
"Your Highness, rest assured, we will do our best to delay it no matter what."
*
Lu Yuxu's reaction was quick enough, but this time, the Qin family and the Empress Dowager were definitely after Lu Yuxu's life.
The Crown Prince's travel plans are always meticulous, and today was the only day they could find a loophole and work together to eliminate Lu Yuxu. Therefore, the thing that An Lin and his group feared most has come to pass.
Half an hour later, when the enemies were finally ready to launch a surprise attack, An Lin was finally able to gauge their numbers.
A full five hundred people.
It seems that today is likely to be a day of bad luck.
An Lin turned and looked at the fifteen brothers who remained there, and said in a deep voice, "Brothers, today, we have given our lives for our country."