In early autumn, inside and outside the city of Yangzhou, the green hills have just added a touch of autumn yellow color, but they are still a lush and lush scene.

A quiet and elegant courtyard hidden at the foot of the mountain is particularly quiet at this time.

In the dark secret passage, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy wearing a moon-white brocade robe looked anxious and anxious: "Sister-in-law, what on earth are you going to do!"

She brought him here early in the morning, saying she wanted to show him some treasure - but as soon as he came in, his hands and feet were tied up by her maid Azhu!

Could it be that his unreliable sister-in-law was bribed by the imperial court to hand him over?

But if that’s the case, why bother?

Although the boy is still young, he has experienced the destruction of his family and the death of his close relatives in just a few months, so he still has a sense of caution and the ability to distinguish situations.

Even though the woman in front of him secretly shot and killed his aunt, Empress Wu, who was hanging at the city gate a few days ago.

The young woman squatting in front of her spoke with comfort in her tone: "I asked Ah Zhu to dig this secretly two years ago. It is the most suitable place to use it for refuge. Even you, the Wu family, don't know about this secret passage... You

Just wait here with peace of mind, Ah Zhu and Divine Doctor Qiu will be with you, and you will have enough food and water to survive for two months."

And two months later, King Yan's army must have broken through Yangzhou City.

Xu Mingyi stood up.

Seeing that she was about to leave, the young boy hurriedly said: "Sister-in-law, why don't you stay here together!"

"If I stay, I'm afraid they will find this place sooner or later."

The young boy's eyes suddenly tightened.

He knows...!

"You are going out to die and lure those people away for me!"

No wonder he had to be tied up!

He wanted to break free, but couldn't, and was so anxious that he burst into tears.

Xu Mingyi looked at him with slight disgust: "You don't have a very handsome face to begin with..." Crying like this without caring about one's appearance and image only made things worse.

Wu Ran's cries grew louder.

She had no choice but to say: "You should know that I have been sick for many years and my body's foundation has been damaged, so I don't have long to live -"

I don’t know if it would be easier for the child to accept this. After all, she is not good at coaxing children.

Doctor Qiu, who was in a depressed mood, raised his eyes and glanced at her.

You really don't have much time left to live.

If there were no natural or man-made disasters, it would only last forty or fifty years.

Wu Ran was still shouting, but his voice was hoarse.

Xu Mingyi had no choice but to knock the person unconscious with one palm.

Well, it's much quieter.

Sure enough, she is better at spanking children than teasing them.

"Uncle Qiu, remember to burn some paper money for me later. Burn more. My family has a large population and there are many places to use money."

After saying this, Xu Mingyi left the secret passage without looking back.

Azhu, who was waiting at the entrance of the secret passage, knelt down towards her.

"Take good care of Wu Ran and be sure to hand him over to King Yan yourself."

"My maid obeys your command!"

Azhu's voice was trembling slightly. Xu Mingyi could tell that she was crying even without looking.

Ah Zhu has been by her side since she was a child. In more than 20 years, Xu Mingyi heard her cry for the first time.

Seeing Xu Mingyi raising her feet, Ah Zhu knelt and approached her, then slammed her head heavily on the green brick floor and said: "Madam, Ah Zhu dare not disobey your instructions. I will wait until Ah Zhu tells you what to do."

Once the errand is done, I’ll come find you!”

"good."

Xu Mingyi did not greet her politely. He did not stop or look back.

Just after noon, the sky turned cloudy.

A group of people quietly surrounded the other courtyard.

Xu Mingyi, who was sitting in the hall, put down his tea bowl with a cold look in his eyes.

It came quickly enough——

Zhan Yunzhu, who was sent to trace Wu Ran's whereabouts this time, never gave up until he achieved his goal.

Although the secret passage is secretive, it cannot withstand repeated and detailed searches. After all, Yangzhou City is still the territory of the imperial court.

Maybe she could be lucky enough to survive their search, but it was just a possibility. If she was the only one, even if she was a bit coward, she should live one more day if she could survive.

After all, it’s better to be alive.

King Yan's army has captured Lingbi and will reach Yangzhou in ten days——

But there is another Wu Ran in this courtyard.

She couldn't risk the only descendant of the Wu family.

The Wu family treated her well. Since they sent people to her as their daughter-in-law, she could not let down this trust.

What's more, for her, this is also an opportunity she has been waiting for for a long time——

She has revenge to take.

A bloody feud.

A burst of quick and orderly footsteps approached the place, led by a man wearing an indigo robe.

He was very young, looking no more than 23 or 24 years old. His eyebrows were light and gentle, but Xu Mingyi knew that this was just a false appearance.

When he entered the hall, he saw a young woman sitting there with a cold and beautiful face. His steps faltered, and his eyes suddenly trembled, full of disbelief.

"Zhaozhao... you are actually still alive, you are really still alive!"

At first he didn't dare to believe it when he heard about it!

There was undisguised sarcasm and hatred in Xu Mingyi's eyes: "Zhan Yunzhu, it was you who killed my entire Xu family back then -"

"No, Zhaozhao, that's not me." A bitter smile escaped from Zhan Yunzhu's lips, "That was what my father did. By the time I found out, it was already too late... But he had already received the retribution he deserved. Three years ago,

He is already dead, the capital is only two hundred miles away from Yangzhou, you should have heard about it."

Xu Mingyi felt a chill in his heart.

He made everything clear about what he had done, even his father's death was said so lightly.

"Zhaozhao, I know you won't believe me at this time. My Zhan family does owe you a lot... Don't worry, I will compensate you well in the future and never let you be wronged again."

Zhan Yunzhu looked at her, his tone was gentle and gentle, his eyes were full of sincerity and guilt, and his words were full of persuasion: "Zhaozhao, give Wu Ran to me, and I will take you back to the capital."

"Wu Ran? I've never seen him before."

"Zhaozhao, since I've come here to find you, you can't deceive me. The Wu family is all dead. Wu Ran, a weak young man, where else can he go but to join you."

Only then did Zhan Yunzhu step into the hall and ordered his followers to close the door from the outside.

Before that, two young women disguised as followers had already searched for the dagger hidden in Xu Mingyi's sleeve.

Zhan Yunzhu stood in front of her and just smiled.

"It turns out that Zhao Zhao really wants to kill me."

But her thoughts were pure and simple, and she never hid them deeply enough. Ever since she was a child, he could see through her thoughts at a glance.

You can still guess that he came here today, which is already very sharp. Or maybe his men alerted Wu Ran's guards when they came to inquire last night.

Xu Mingyi straightened the corners of his mouth slightly: "If you keep me with you, sooner or later I will find an opportunity to kill you."

Zhan Yunzhu just pretended not to hear this sentence.

He was obviously confident of winning, so he was not in a hurry to ask anything at this time. Instead, he bent slightly, reached out to hold her shoulders, stared at her greedily, and whispered: "Zhaozhao, I haven't seen you in five years... I take it seriously.

I miss you so much. You know, even though I have everything now, I can’t fit anyone else in my heart.”

Xu Mingyi suddenly broke away from his hand and raised her hand to attack his neck while standing up.

The bracelet on his wrist concealed a sharp thorn from a machine. While Yunzhu was dodging, a wound was still cut on his neck.

"Zhaozhao, we can't make any more trouble. With your skills, it's impossible to kill me. Since you know that I will come today, this move is just to delay Wu Ran's escape. But he can't escape from Yangzhou City.

Don't waste your efforts. You are a remnant of the Xu and Wu families. Only I can save you, so you should be more obedient."

He restrained one of Xu Mingyi's arms, his tone was slightly cold, and his patience was waning.

"yes."

Xu Mingyi suddenly smiled.

Of course she was trying to delay time. Otherwise, was it because she was just listening to him talking nonsense just to make herself sick?
To be continued...