The young emperor halted in his tracks. Subconsciously, he turned around and saw Shang Mozheng smiling at him through the prison gate. Despite being a prisoner, at that moment, Shang Luoze inexplicably felt that he was the winner.
Impossible!
Shaking off that terrifying thought, the young emperor maintained his calm demeanor, showing no trace of panic. He smiled and said, "Uncle, are you planning to use that so - called secret to buy your way out with me?"
"Your Majesty is mistaken,"
Shang Mozheng's expression remained unchanged. The curve of his lips didn't falter even a bit, and his posture carried a sense of resignation and relief.
"I, the guilty subject, am well - aware that my sins are so heinous that I deserve no forgiveness. I've been able to live until now only because of Your Majesty's mercy. The so - called secret is actually just some heartfelt words I want to tell Your Majesty before I die."
The expected candor still made the young emperor stunned for a moment. Maybe he wanted to see what tricks Shang Mozheng still had up his sleeve. After thinking for a while, his body honestly sat back in his original position.
"Since Uncle wants to say it, I might as well listen."
Having successfully retained Shang Luoze, Shang Mozheng didn't rush to speak. He brewed his words in his heart for a while, as if what he was about to say was truly his last words.
There was a moment of silence in the cell, and finally a voice sounded.
"A Ze, actually, I've wanted to tell you these things for a long time..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Shang Luoze was taken aback. He hadn't heard the nickname "A Ze" for a long time. Hearing it suddenly, it felt a bit strange and also a little nostalgic.
Shang Mozheng's words continued, "A Ze, after I'm gone, you and Luoshu should support each other. If you have any questions, you can ask him. After all, he is your elder brother, and you two share the blood of our Shang family."
These words were like a thunderbolt out of the blue, stopping the young emperor's thoughts and actions.
However, this was just an appetizer.
"By the way, there's also Luoshu's fiancée, the youngest daughter of Prime Minister Lu. I only discovered recently that this girl actually possesses the divine skill of the spoken word. If there's anything you can't solve in the future, you can seek her help."
"Also, there's General Feng. He is a rare general with great talent. Although there are suspicions of him colluding with the enemy, as the saying goes, when you use someone, you shouldn't doubt them. As long as Your Majesty can guide him well, I believe he will be able to help the Great Qi resist the Southern Chu."
"Enough!"
He slapped his palm down, and the shoddy table in the cell immediately became wobbly. Shang Luoze stood up, clenching his fists. The veins on his forehead throbbed continuously, and the red filaments in his eyes spread inch by inch.
Shang Mozheng's words couldn't be trusted. What he said must be false!
"I've received Uncle's concern!"
After saying that, without waiting for a reaction, the young emperor flicked his sleeve and left, leaving Shang Mozheng smiling alone in the cell. He wondered how much of these three seemingly true but also false pieces of information his good nephew would believe.
Outside the Yuheng Pass, in the Xirong Camp
Hong Rui sat alone in the tent for a long time but no one came in. It was getting dark outside, and clusters of campfires were lit one after another. It was a good time to act. She had to find a chance to leave here as soon as possible.
Having made up her mind, she deliberately lifted the tent flap with great dissatisfaction, as if venting all her anger on it. The two Xirong guards outside immediately stopped her.
They didn't say a word. Their actions were enough to express their meaning clearly.
Hong Rui took a small step back, looking a bit scared, but still said aggressively, "I'm hungry. Quickly bring me something to eat, or you'll be in trouble when the prince comes back!"
When Tuoji brought Hong Rui here in the afternoon, these two guards saw it. Although they didn't think their prince would take a fancy to this girl, what if...
After thinking for a while, one of them bowed and left. Seeing his figure gradually fade away, Hong Rui curled her lips and retreated into the tent. Soon, a pained groan came out of the tent.
The only guard was startled by the sound. After hesitating for a while, he still lifted the tent flap uneasily. Then he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
She stripped him of his clothes, dragged him onto the bed, and covered him with a quilt. Hong Rui put on the Xirong military uniform and walked out of the tent openly.
In Longxi, at the Yuheng Pass
Shang Luoshu, who had locked himself in the tent for almost a whole day, finally appeared in front of others in the evening. His expression was still serious, but it was a bit better than during the day.
"Fang Qinhu, I order you to take the token and set off for Jizhou immediately to find the local magistrate. He will tell you what to do next."
"Yes!"
Fang Qinhu retreated to pack his things. Only then did Shang Luoshu have the time to notice Lu Yinxi. He walked to her side and held her hand very familiarly.
"Xier, if things go smoothly on the Xirong side, we may set off for the capital in a day or two."
Su Anhe had already led a group of people secretly out of the pass. Many of them were the personal guards brought by Shang Luoshu. Once they received the message from Hong Rui, they would act immediately.
Without food supplies, the assembled 100,000 - strong Xirong army would be just a mob and not to be feared!
"Okay, I'll go back with you!"
As they were talking, the two suddenly noticed a gorgeous color appearing in the sky outside the pass. Although it only lasted for a few moments, it was enough to tell that it came from the Xirong camp.
Su Anhe, who had already been lurking near the army, immediately led his men to quietly move towards the place where the fireworks went up. However, Hong Rui, who was still in the Xirong camp, was in trouble.
When the fireworks went up, the guard she had knocked out was also discovered. The third prince reacted quickly and immediately issued an order to the whole army to find the spy who had sneaked into the camp. At the same time, he sent troops to protect the granary.
She couldn't wait for Captain Su to arrive before taking action!
After dodging another patrol of guards, Hong Rui took advantage of the darkness and sneaked to the back of the granary. Then she took out a fire starter.
The tiny spark flickered in the darkness, seemingly about to go out at any moment. But if it touched something flammable, it could spread like a prairie fire and engulf the whole camp.
She could faintly hear the sound of orderly footsteps in her ears. Hong Rui didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly threw the fire starter into the haystack. As she expected, the spark quickly grew. By the time the third prince led his men to arrive, there was already a raging fire in front of them.
She took off the eye - catching Xirong military uniform and threw it into the fire. Then Hong Rui immediately ran towards another granary. In order to prevent enemy sneak attacks, the Xirong had deliberately set up two granaries, but unexpectedly, both were discovered by Hong Rui.
"Miss Hong Rui..."
"Captain Su!"
The Xirong camp caught fire before their own people arrived. Su Anhe immediately thought that Hong Rui might have encountered an accident. He immediately sped up and unexpectedly met her on the way.
"Captain Su, you've come just in time. The Xirong has another granary in the east. Now that we've alerted the enemy, I'm afraid I can't destroy it alone."
"Miss Hong Rui, you don't need to worry. This is our duty."
As soldiers, Su Anhe had long guessed that the Xirong couldn't have only one granary. According to the original plan, Hong Rui would find the locations of all the granaries and then set them on fire and retreat together.
At this time of the year, the Xirong people loved to set off fireworks, so using fireworks as a signal was not out of place, and the plan was sound. It was just that the plan couldn't keep up with the changes.
The group rushed as fast as they could. When they arrived near the granary in the east, they saw that it had already been surrounded by the Xirong people.