The wind was strong outside the pass. Hongrui had been jolted on a horse for a whole day. When she finally stepped on solid ground, she felt dizzy and couldn't help vomiting.
"I said, Tuoji, can we send this kind of woman to the Third Prince?"
A junior Xirong general couldn't hide his disgust at the sight of her.
"There's nothing we can do about it," replied the man named Tuoji. "Among the women we captured, she's the only one who looks decent. Do you want to send that ugly one instead?"
The junior general waved his hands hastily. He was counting on pleasing the Third Prince with a beauty to get a promotion! Reluctantly, he sized up Hongrui, who was now so weak from vomiting that she could barely stand, and then thought of the other woman they had captured...
"Fine, it'll be her!"
In a daze, Hongrui felt herself being carried again. Soon, she entered a warm room and was then unceremoniously thrown onto a bed.
The two men murmured a few words in front of the bed and then slowly walked out. Hongrui didn't dare to open her eyes immediately. She deliberately rolled around on the bed and groaned for a while. After making sure there was no one else around, she slowly opened her eyes.
In the camp of Yuheng Pass
Lu Yinxi stood to one side, looking worriedly at the tent not far away.
Shang Luoshu was troubled by the affairs in the capital. Lu Yinxi was afraid of disturbing him, so she led her people out, but she couldn't help but worry.
Perhaps her worry was too obvious on her face. Fang Qinhu, who was also guarding outside, couldn't help but say, "If Miss Four is worried about the prince, you can go in and accompany him."
After following Shang Luoshu for some time, he had already seen how important Miss Four was to the prince. If she could be by his side, the prince would surely not feel disturbed.
Lu Yinxi pursed her lips, shook her head with a faint smile, and said, "No need." As if thinking of something, she continued, "I wonder if Guard Fang has the time now. I have some questions to ask you."
Fang Qinhu was taken aback for a moment and then nodded. "Actually, I also have something to tell you, Miss."
After arranging the personal guards to ensure there were no suspicious people around the tent, the two of them found a quiet place nearby and planned to have a good chat.
"You..."
"I..."
They spoke in unison very默契ly, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Finally, Lu Yinxi took a step back. "Guard Fang, you can speak first."
Fang Qinhu didn't refuse, but he didn't speak immediately either. He hesitated for a while on the spot. Finally, under the girl's puzzled gaze, he knelt down.
"Please forgive me, Miss Four. Actually, I knew you had the power of words before the An'guo Temple incident."
"What?" Lu Yinxi couldn't help but exclaim and took a small step back.
She clearly remembered that the first time she met Fang Qinhu after coming to this world was at the An'guo Temple. Now he said that he had known about her power of words even before that...
"Fang Qinhu, explain yourself clearly!"
Originally, Lu Yinxi had called Fang Qinhu over because she was suspicious and wanted to know how he could be so sure that she had the power of words. After all, she had also used it on Prime Minister Lu once, but he hadn't noticed.
She had thought that maybe Fang Qinhu was more sensitive than others, but she didn't expect the truth to be even more exciting than she had imagined.
With this beginning, it was easier for Fang Qinhu to say the rest.
"Actually, before going to the An'guo Temple, I met a fortune - telling Taoist priest. He calculated that I might encounter a disaster during my trip to the An'guo Temple. To get through it safely, I had to get help from an old acquaintance."
"He told me that the old acquaintance had the surname Lu and possessed the power of words."
At that time, Fang Qinhu was bent on clearing the grievances of his brothers and killing that scoundrel Zhu Chengjie. He had no other choice, so he listened to the Taoist priest's words.
He went to the An'guo Temple as planned. At the same time, he recognized the little girl he had saved back then and indeed sensed that she might have a special ability. Then he didn't hesitate to seek her help in return for the favor.
"What about the Taoist priest? Do you know where he is and what he looks like?"
"I don't know!"
When Fang Qinhu came out of the prison and went to look for the Taoist priest again, he couldn't find any trace of him.
"Actually, I should have told Miss Four about this earlier, but Miss Four didn't want to see me at that time, so it's been delayed until now."
Out of guilt, Fang Qinhu really wanted to tell Lu Yinxi about this earlier, but the girl was angry at that time and refused to see him several times.
It was indeed her own fault. Lu Yinxi closed her eyes tightly and leaned against the tree trunk behind her helplessly, her mind in a mess.
When she had heard Prime Minister Lu talk about the past, he had mentioned that the eminent monk Kongshi was very accurate in fortune - telling back then.
At that time, she didn't take it seriously. After all, if she hadn't suddenly occupied this body, Lu Yinxi would have disappeared from this world long ago. How could she have had the chance to kill Shang Mozheng?
But today, after learning that a Taoist priest had predicted her power of words, Lu Yinxi suddenly became a bit unsure. If Kongshi's fortune - telling was really accurate, did he predict that she would replace the original owner when he made the prediction?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was possible!
At this moment, she suddenly really wanted to meet the Taoist priest Fang Qinhu had mentioned.
In the prison in the capital
The prison, which was originally guarded by only one team of Jinyu Guards, now had twice as many guards outside for some unknown reason, attracting the constant glances of passers - by. If they could get in, they would find that the prison, which was usually used to hold criminals, was now visited by the most noble person in the Great Qi Dynasty - Shang Luoze.
Shang Mozheng also didn't expect that one day he would see his good nephew in the prison.
"Uncle, have you been well these days?"
De Cheng placed the stool brought from the palace to one side and respectfully helped Shang Luoze sit down. Seeing his actions, Shang Mozheng just glanced at him casually and then looked away.
"Your Majesty takes such good care of this criminal official. How dare this criminal official not be well?"
There was a faint hint of sarcasm in his words, but the young emperor didn't care. Anyway, this man's life was now in his hands. He wasn't afraid!
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Shang Mozheng's eyes flashed, and he took the initiative. "But Your Majesty, why have you condescended to come to the prison?"
"I thought you were, after all, my uncle, so I came to see how you were doing. Now that I've seen you, I'm relieved." As he said this, Shang Luoze got up and was about to leave.
Actually, the main reason he came to the prison this time was to confirm that Shang Mozheng was indeed locked up by him.
The 200,000 - strong army was getting closer and closer to the capital. The young emperor also followed Prime Minister Lu's advice and ordered all the troops near the capital to be mobilized. At the same time, he also sent orders to more distant prefectures, asking them to immediately lead their troops to the capital.
Even so, the young emperor still wasn't confident. At present, the court officials didn't know that the army was approaching. Once the news leaked, it might stir up another storm.
So to reassure himself, he came to the prison. He wanted to make sure that Shang Mozheng was still in his hands. As long as this man was there, he had hope of victory!
"Your Majesty is leaving now?"
Seeing his nephew's action, Shang Mozheng suddenly called out to stop him. For some reason, there was a faint smile on his face.
"I originally wanted to tell Your Majesty something, but I didn't expect you to leave so soon?"