Upon hearing what Hu Yan Longhao said, Chu Qing's heart sank instantly.
Sure enough, he was going to use her as a shield.
"I wonder what the Second Prince means by 'going on a trip'?" Chu Qing continued to ask coldly. She couldn't just follow him around without knowing the details.
"Your Highness the Princess need not worry. This prince won't do anything to you. It's just that I need Your Highness to send this prince to... Chuanzhou City." Hu Yan Longhao hooked the corner of his mouth, raising a smile he thought was very gentle.
Chu Qing's face darkened as she continued to raise her voice and ask, "As long as this princess goes on this trip with you, you'll let this innocent little girl go?"
"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond." Hu Yan Longhao narrowed his eyes. When his hand subconsciously wanted to make a dashing fan - waving motion, he just realized he didn't have a fan.
Chu Qing was silent for a while. Just when everyone thought she wouldn't agree, she pushed the crowd aside and stepped forward, saying, "In that case, this princess will accompany you on this trip. However, the Second Prince must keep his promise and let the little girl go."
"This prince needs to see the sincerity of the Princess of Ning first! This prince still hasn't seen where Your Highness the Princess is!" Saying this, Hu Yan Longhao frowned.
He suddenly realized... he had heard the voice of the Princess of Ning without seeing her!
Was it a trick?
Or... was the Princess of Ning actually...
Highly skilled in internal energy?
Neither of these was what he wanted to see, so he urgently needed to see the Princess of Ning!
Thinking of this, Hu Yan Longhao continued, "Your Highness the Princess still hasn't shown up. Are you afraid of this prince?"
Chu Qing wasn't angry at Hu Yan Longhao's sarcasm. She just prepared to walk out expressionlessly.
But just as she lifted her foot, she was stopped.
"Your Highness the Princess!" Wei Zhi was a bit nervous. And Luoluo desperately held back the urge to cry, looking at her with a worried and tense face.
"I'll be back soon. He can't hurt me." Chu Qing comforted them.
Wei Zhi still didn't let go of her blocking hand. With a serious face, she said, "Your Highness the Princess, this subordinate can't let you take this risk! If you go with him, with Hu Yan Longhao's character, he will surely use you to threaten our master!"
"His Highness the Prince of Ning knows what's more important." Chu Qing lowered her eyes, hiding the darkness in them.
Their statuses simply didn't allow them to act on their own will. It was the same in her previous life, and it seemed... the same in this life too...
Seeing that Wei Zhi was about to say something else, Chu Qing put her hand on the one that was blocking her and continued, "If I don't go out today and let that little girl die in vain, how can I face the promise I made to the common people? Even if they don't say anything, I can't get over this hurdle myself. Especially... she went out because of me."
Seeing that Chu Qing had made up her mind, Wei Zhi bit her lower lip and lowered her head as if thinking.
When she raised her face again, it had become determined: "Your Highness the Princess, since you've already decided to go, then fine. Let this subordinate go in your place."
Saying this, without waiting for Chu Qing to react, she took out a mask as thin as a cicada's wing from her bosom.
Chu Qing was a bit shocked and then said, "You? You should know the consequences of going out..."
"Your Highness the Princess has more important things to do. This subordinate just feels it's an insult to you when thinking that you're going to see Hu Yan Longhao."
Seeing Wei Zhi's determined face, Chu Qing felt a bit sour in her heart.
Although she hadn't spent as much time with Wei Zhi as with Luoluo and Liuxin, Wei Zhi seemed to have accompanied her in many of her deeds.
When Wei Ying wasn't around, Wei Zhi seemed to be a particularly reassuring presence in her heart.
And... this girl actually...
"You've always carried the mask with you?" Chu Qing's face darkened.
"This is this subordinate's... mission." After saying that, Wei Zhi quickly started to disguise herself.
Watching her skillful movements, Chu Qing was at a loss for words.
She finally understood why Wei Ying always let Wei Zhi, who was good at disguise, follow her.
When needed, Wei Zhi would be her substitute.
Feeling mixed emotions in her heart, but Chu Qing knew this was the best way.
"Why hasn't the Princess of Ning come out yet? Could it be... she's having second thoughts?" Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Hu Yan Longhao's patience had long been exhausted. So he exerted a little more force on his foot. The little girl under his foot had already fainted. But because Hu Yan Longhao exerted force again, she woke up after tossing and turning and then cried out in pain.
Feng Ya's eyes were already blood - red. She wished she could rush up immediately and tear Hu Yan Longhao to pieces.
"Is the Second Prince so eager to go back?" Before Chu Qing could speak, Wei Zhi had already finished her disguise and spoke first.
Chu Qing was stunned. She didn't expect Wei Zhi to imitate her voice and tone so... similarly.
Fortunately, their clothes in the mountain villa weren't very different, so Wei Zhi didn't need to spend time changing. After taking a look at Chu Qing, she walked out directly.
Watching her gradually receding back, Qu Ling and the others were also a bit moved. After looking at each other, they also followed her out.
Seeing this, Luoluo looked at Chu Qing and said, "Your Highness, please... wait here and don't go anywhere. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain. This maid... will follow Wei Zhi. After all... this maid is your personal maid." After saying that, afraid that Chu Qing would stop her, Luoluo trotted out.
While running, she shouted at Wei Zhi's back, "Your Highness, please wait for this maid! This maid will go wherever you go!"
Chu Qing stood still on the spot.
In her previous life, although she was the Grand Empress Dowager, yet...
It seemed that no one had ever protected her so selflessly and fearlessly.
Now, there was more than one person who could stand in front of her.
...
Wei Ying saw that Hu Yan Longchang's mouth was finally gagged, and he looked like he was about to be fainted by his smelly socks.
It was a bit pleasing.
"Master, someone found a passage in a house near the city gate!" Wei Yi rushed to Wei Ying's side in a hurry and quickly reported.
Hearing this, Wei Ying put away the smile on his lips, narrowed his eyes and glanced at Hu Yan Longchang.
"The Second Prince has a passage but didn't take the First Prince with him. The brotherly affection of the Xiliang royal family is nothing but this." After saying that, regardless of Hu Yan Longchang's strong struggle, Wei Ying turned around and walked towards the place Wei Yi had reported.
After arriving at the house, Wei Ying first sized up the surrounding environment. After finding no ambushes, he walked in.
Sure enough, he saw a passage leading underground.
It seemed that it had just been dug not long ago.
"Have you sent anyone down to check?" Wei Ying asked calmly.
"Back to master, several death - soldiers have gone down. They should come back and report soon." Wei Yi answered seriously.
Undoubtedly, this situation was their dereliction of duty. They hadn't discovered the location of this passage in time.
If they hadn't locked the Xiliang people in the city, they might have been attacked by the suddenly - entering Xiliang people.
The passage that was originally intended for a sneak attack had actually become their escape route.
Just when Wei Yi was blaming himself, several figures emerged from the passage.
Wei Yi was about to make a move when he was stopped by Wei Ying. Only then did he see that the death - soldiers who had gone to investigate had returned.
"Master, this subordinate and the others found that this passage not only leads outside the city gate but also to... the Fengyue Mountain Villa in the south of the city!"