One

Tang Ao and Anne dressed up in disguise before setting foot in the street market in Yangzhou. After the baptism of war, everything here has a kind of waste waiting for a new breath. Although the entire market is not very peaceful now, and there are officers and soldiers everywhere who arrest traitors, even so, it cannot completely hide the demeanor of this famous city in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Big brother, is this the ancient city of Yangzhou?" asked Anne.

"Not bad. Tang Ao suddenly asked again, "Sister, eldest brother wants to take the liberty of asking, where are you from, why do you have such a strange name?"

"Oh, I'm from Chang'an, as for why my name and surname are so strange, I don't know, in short, this surname is given by my parents, and I can't help it. Anne said with a flickering tone.

"Okay, big brother doesn't ask, I've been on the road for most of the day, and it's time to find an inn to rest. ”

"It's long overdue to rest for a while, but my sister is hungry and tired now!" said Anne, patting her belly weakly, "if only there was a crispy chicken and a bowl of beef noodles now." ”

"Girl, bear with me first, we're coming. Tang Ao found a small inn as he spoke, and stayed on the spot after lunch, ready to rest for a while before looking for the person they were looking for.

After Anne was alone in her room, she changed into a new dress. In addition to grooming, she inadvertently recalled many scenes of being in a coffee house with Kang Tai in the past, drinking coffee, listening to solo piano performances, and talking about a sweet future. She began to miss the days when she spent time with Kang Tai in the past, and she suddenly frowned and said to herself: "Kang Tai, two sisters, where are you all here? Kang Tai, I really miss you." ”

Just when Anne was frowning and thinking a lot, Tang Ao knocked on the door and entered, disrupting her train of thought. She was afraid that after he knew her thoughts, he would laugh at herself for being a little woman who couldn't do without men, so she forcibly endured the feeling of longing, changed her face and expression in time, smiled slightly, and asked, "Hey, big brother, why don't you rest? Aren't you tired?"

"No, it's not that the eldest brother is not tired, but the two sisters-in-law have not heard any news so far, and the eldest brother is not in the mood. After Tang Ao finished answering the question, he stared at her a few times and asked, "Hey, sister, why did you recover as a daughter again?"

"Oh, that's because--- I hate the way I looked, it's so ugly, and the girl doesn't like it. Anne said slowly and slowly by an old bronze mirror, combing her long hair with a wooden comb.

"But now that the war has just ended, the situation outside is still very chaotic, and you may have a lot of inconvenience if you show off like this!"

"With the protection of the eldest brother, a martial arts master, the sister is not afraid of anything. Anne involuntarily changed the subject, and said, "Now it would be nice to have a cup of fragrant coffee." ”

"Stuck lungs?" Tang Ao asked confusedly, "Sister, what is this stuck lung?"

"Big brother, it's not called stuck lungs, it's called coffee, it's a drink that people don't get sleepy after drinking it, just like the nature of tea. ”

"You're such a weirdo. Tang Ao said with doubts, "There is no coffee here, only tea, what tea do you want to drink, just tell the eldest brother." Say it!"

"Hey, forget it, I don't want to drink anything now. ”

Tang Ao seemed to hear something from her words, and knew that she must have some things on her mind that were difficult to tell directly, and wanted to discuss it with herself, but she didn't dare to speak, so it would be difficult to figure out when she spoke. Tang Ao thought of this, so he took the initiative to ask her if she had something on her mind, at first she was still hiding her inner thoughts, and she didn't want to blurt it out directly. But after Tang Ao's interrogation, her inner defense line was slowly broken through, and she had no choice but to say all the things buried in her heart.

Two

After Tang Ao carefully listened to Anne's emotional expression, he involuntarily shook his head, laughed a few times, and then said: "I see, but it's no wonder, presumably my godbrother-in-law must also be a handsome and dashing man with an extraordinary bearing." ”

"Big brother, I knew you would laugh at people, really. Anne said with a red face.

"Okay--- okay, big brother won't make fun of you anymore. Tang Ao stood beside the bronze mirror and said, "After the eldest brother finds the two sisters-in-law, I will help you find your sweetheart." Well, let's rest!"

"No, big brother, my sister is not tired, let's go find it now. Anne put down the comb and stood up, smiled and said, "If we had acted earlier, wouldn't the two sisters-in-law have been able to get out of the sea of misery as soon as possible!

"You're really a little slippery, so let's go on the road!" After Tang Ao finished speaking, he picked up the necessary package, took his beloved sword, and took Anne to the chaotic street market again, and began to look for Xu Luo's wife and children.

"Big brother, do you want a sister-in-law?" asked Anne suddenly.

"You ghost girl, why did you think to ask such a thing for a while?"

"Oh! Leave it alone! Answer first. ”

"Of course. Tang Ao replied thoughtfully, "Since the eldest brother went to Beijing to take the exam, I haven't seen my wife for more than two months." ”

"Oh! Me too. ”

"What?"

"Oh, no--- nothing!" Anne replied in a hurry, and then pointed to the officials who had posted the notices in front of her and asked, "Hey, big brother, look, what are they posting there?"

"It must be putting up some arrest notices. Tang Ao suddenly sank his face and said emotionally, "It's bad, the two sisters-in-law and son-in-law are in danger now, and those must be notices to arrest them." We must find them before they do, quick, girl, we can't afford to slack off. ”

"Oh, where are we going to look now? We can't just wander the streets and look for them without a head, can we?"

"Of course not. Tang Ao meditated for a moment and then said, "The most dangerous place is the safest place, if the eldest brother is not mistaken, they must still be hiding in the mansion now." ”

"Is there such a possibility?" Anne asked again with a lot of confusion, "The current Yangzhou is not as good as before, if I guessed correctly, the Governor's Mansion has long been sealed by the officers and soldiers, how can they hide there?"

"Alright, girl, don't say it. Tang Ao said, "If you want to know if they are hiding in the Governor's Mansion, wouldn't it be clear if you went to see them?"

"That's right, let's go, let's see. After Anne finished speaking, she strode forward with Tang Ao, not at all like a young lady who came out of the palace, but like a white-collar worker who was often busy with work. This also fully proves that when she was in the palace, due to Wu Zetian's excessive favor and indulgence, she was not polluted by some etiquette and customs of the palace, and still retained her original style and temperament.

"Sister, how can you walk like this. Tang Ao said unhurriedly as he walked, "This woman should walk lightly and steadily, walk with stilts, not swaggering, and if there is a violation, it will be regarded as rudeness." ”

"Oh yes, big brother, you don't criticize the girl anymore, when is it, it's still important to find someone, let's go!" Anne pulled the animal skin robe on her body inward, wrapped her whole body, and then pulled Tang Ao forward. But before he could go far, he was surrounded by more than a dozen officers and soldiers who ran towards him, saying that they wanted to arrest the rebels and check their identities.

Soon, a young general wearing silver-scale armor, a steel knife with a crooked waist and a portrait of a prisoner came to Anne with a thief's eyebrows, holding the portrait in one hand and checking the paper with the other, and checking it very carefully. I don't know how long it took for the young general to ask, "You're not local, are you?"

"What's the matter with you, have you checked it out, let us go when it's done, we still have something to do!" said Anne impatiently.

"Ahh

Three

At this time, the soldiers, who had long coveted Anne, after listening to the young general's teasing words, all involuntarily approached her slowly, and each face had that very annoying obscenity.

Suddenly, Tang Ao quickly turned around, protected Anne, and saluted, "Ah! My sister is still young, and she doesn't know how to be sophisticated. Please let us go if it's convenient for you!"

"It's nothing to fuck with you, get out of the way, don't get in the way of the good things of the old men. After the young general pushed Tang Ao away, he said foul language to Anne, "Little beauty, you are so fucking beautiful! I'm afraid it's hard to find a woman like you in the whole Yangzhou City and even in the world------.

"You dog minions, you dare to be so unreasonable to this princess, you don't want to live anymore. Helplessly, Anne had no choice but to move out of her princess status to scare them. She knew that if she clashed with them now, it would definitely cause other big trouble, so she revealed her princess identity when she was forced to do so, but they obviously didn't believe it.

"Hehe, do you have proof that you are a princess? Let me tell you, pretending to be a princess is a capital offense. The youngster asked incredulously.

"Hmph, what do you straw bales know, don't you tell your General Li Xiaoyi and Li to come to see me!" said Anne, picking up the princess's shelf.

"Hmph! You really think of yourself as a princess," the young general suddenly laughed wildly and said, "Ha--- haha--- let me tell you, our family General Li is busy with military affairs, how can he waste his time on you." I don't think you look like a princess, but like a fellow party of the traitor Xu Luo, come and take it for me. ”

"Stop. Anne took out the princess golden order given by the Empress Dowager Wu and asked, "Open your dog's eyes and see clearly, what is this?"

The young general rubbed his eyes and stared at the finely made, small and delicate gold medal. The front of the sign is engraved with the words "Seeing the card is like seeing the king" and the pattern of the dragon and phoenix, and the reverse side is engraved with the word Jin Yao, which is very eye-catching. This gold medal is a special royal item and can be said to be unique.

"What is this ---, I don't know it, you don't play tricks in front of Lao Tzu, take it." As soon as the young general had finished speaking, the soldiers began to approach Anne again. Just as Tang Ao was about to draw his sword to clean them up, they were stopped by a high-pitched and loud shout, so they all stopped moving forward, and quickly turned around to see that it was General Li Xiaoyi and Li Da who were riding a tall horse and approaching them with a large number of guards, and they were so frightened that they stepped forward and knelt down to meet them.

"What's going on here?" asked Li Xiaoyi very irritably.

"General, the last general has just caught two rebels, please send the general. ”

"Who is the chaotic party?--- who is the chaotic party? Ah! Your eyes find that we are the chaotic party? Is it impossible for us to have the word "chaotic party" engraved on our faces?" Anne stepped forward and asked vividly, "Li Xiaoyi, is this your good subordinate? ”

"Who are you?"

"Hmph! The general is really a noble man who forgets things!" Anne stepped forward a few more steps, took out the princess's golden order and asked, "It doesn't matter if you don't know me, then you don't even know it, right?"

Li Xiaoyi saw that it was the princess Jin Ling given by the Empress Dowager Wu, so he jumped off the horse in fright and bowed down with his hands, and said: "The last general has no eyes, I don't know that His Royal Highness is coming to Yangzhou lightly, and it is really a crime to miss the distance and deserve death." ”

When the young general and the soldiers heard that Anne was really a princess, they knelt before her alive and begged. This kind of scene made Tang Ao, who was preparing for the battle, feel very unbelievable, he never dreamed that he would become a sworn brother and sister with a princess, which was something he couldn't imagine, but now it has become a reality, it's really impermanent!

Four

After Anne and Tang Ao got rid of the entanglement of Li Xiaoyi and others in an official tone, they still came to the Governor's Mansion with a seal according to their original ideas.

As they tore off the seal and pushed the door open, they suddenly heard the sound of clash of armor and chaotic footsteps behind them. They suddenly looked back, and it turned out that it was Li Xiaoyi who led the troops to appear in front of the two of them. It's really ghostly, Anne cursed secretly in her heart.

"Oh, it's getting late, and Her Royal Highness the princess is a daughter, how can she condescend to this, it's better to go back to the palace with the last general as soon as possible to rest. Li Xiaoyi said respectfully.

"Hmph, are you following us?" asked Anne with a raised eye.

"The last general will not dare. Li Xiaoyi bowed and said, "It's getting late, please go back to the house with the general!"

"Who said it was getting late, go back first! We have business to do, and the general only needs to leave a few men at the disposal of Princess Ben, and let the rest go back!" said Anne in a commanding tone.

Li Xiaoyi knew that the princess Jin Yao in front of her, like the princess Taiping, was the daughter of the female emperor. He also knew that this Princess Jin Yao still held a high position in the heart of the female emperor, so he couldn't be offended, so he obeyed her order and prepared to take someone away.

"Whoa!", like the cacophony of some kind of ceramic clay pot after it had been broken, mixed with the sound of a cold and dry wind, came from the inner chamber, and everyone present heard it. Soon, everyone rushed into the inner room to take a look, and it turned out that these sounds were made by a wild cat who accidentally touched a ceramic jar. Tang Ao and Anne saw that it was a wild cat that made the movement, and it seemed that there had been no one living here for a long time. When they thought of this, the heart that hung in their throats finally fell.

"Okay, it's just a wild cat touching a broken jar, it's nothing!" Annie finished saying and was about to leave there with Tang Ao, but Li Xiaoyi stared at a landscape painting hanging on the wall in a daze, as if he had discovered some kind of secret mechanism. This made the hearts of the two of them hang again in an instant. It's bad, that's the entrance to the dark pavilion, I hope the sister-in-law they are not hiding inside, the Buddha blesses, Amitabha. What was he staring at that landscape painting for? Could it be that there was a secret passage behind it? If anything, I hope it was empty. In their hearts, they thought and prayed over and over again.

Suddenly, Li Xiaoyi took a few steps forward, came to the landscape painting, and lifted it violently, and there was a very flat wall in front of him, and his white body color was spotless. Tang Ao and Anne were frightened, but when they saw that he had been tossing for a long time without any results, they calmed their hearts a little.

Anne stepped forward and sharply stopped: "Okay, General Li, don't waste any more time, there's nothing here." How can the weather become so cold, let's go home!"

"It's Her Royal Highness the Princess. After Li Xiaoyi saluted, he was very unwilling to hit the flat wall three times with his hand, but there was still no response. Just as he was about to leave disappointed, suddenly from behind the flat wall came the voice of a woman, so bright and clear that everyone could hear it. After a while, she called again: "Is it you?" ”

Li Xiaoyi replied ecstatically: "It's me." ”

The woman thought that her father-in-law had returned, so she opened the door to the dark chamber. Under the reflection of the candlelight, a young woman with beautiful facial features, gold ornaments, plump body, and a luxurious body appeared in front of everyone. Instantly, the atmosphere began to become tense. Although Tang Ao had already recognized the young woman as the Mrs. Xu he was looking for, due to various reasons, they could not recognize each other.

"Hmph, who is your father-in-law? Is it Xu Dudu?" Li Xiaoyi said triumphantly, "This is really a nowhere to find a place to step on iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get there! ”

"Everyone, run, it's the officers and soldiers, the officers and soldiers are coming to arrest us, run. After Mrs. Xu hurriedly shouted a few times into the dark pavilion, she was about to close the pavilion door and escape from the tunnel dug in advance, but it was too late, Li Xiaoyi had already rushed in with his troops. Cheng Chang, Xue Peng and others, who were protecting Mrs. Luo and the two little sons in the secret pavilion, saw that the situation was so critical, so they rushed forward with swords in their hands and snatched out Mrs. Xu. Immediately after, they quickly formed a circle hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, and surrounded the two ladies and the little prince in it to protect them.

Five

Anne and Tang Ao stood between the two sides of the confrontation, temporarily preventing a bloody tear up.

"Your Royal Highness, get out of there, it's dangerous. Li Xiaoyi hurriedly stepped forward and walked a few steps and said.

"Stop. Anne scolded loudly, "General Li, please stay, and they will be handed over to the princess to deal with, right?"

"Your Royal Highness the princess can't! they're a group of rebels!"

"You don't need to say much, this princess has her own arrangements, and this is also what her mother meant, can General Li dare to disobey. ”

"The last general doesn't dare, it's just that they are the felons that the court wants to arrest, if there is a mistake, the last general can't afford it! Your Highness, get out of there, it's too dangerous, Princess. ”

Anne pretended to slip on the soles of her feet, deliberately took a few steps backwards, came to the middle-aged man named Cheng Chang, and said in a low voice: "Quick, hold me hostage with your knife, I'll take you out, hurry!"

"Offended. After that, Cheng Chang pulled Annie into his arms, held her hostage with a knife and shouted, "Don't move, get out of the way, you all get out of the way for me, otherwise Lao Tzu will kill her." ”

"Ah, don't mess around! My mother is the current queen mother, and you don't want to live anymore. Anne pretended to shout and said, "General Li, tell your people to leave, don't force them, they will really kill me, get out of the way!"

"This strong man, please be merciful, she is just a weak woman, please don't hurt her, I will guarantee your life. Tang Ao stepped forward and continued, "General Li, get out of the way! If the princess has any three long and two short, you will not be able to eat and walk around, get out of the way." ”

Li Xiaoyi knew very well that this princess's life was more precious than his own, and there could be no mistakes, otherwise he would die without a place to be buried, so he ordered his soldiers to all withdraw from the dark pavilion and took the initiative to get out of the way.

Soon, Cheng Chang took Anne and Tang Ao hostage, took the two ladies and the little son, and left the Governor's Mansion under the protection of Xue Peng and others, and escaped from Yangzhou City at night. But the strange thing is that they have all run away for a long time, and still no one has gone out of the city to pursue them, as if there is a trap set up in front of them, which makes people feel uneasy.

"It's strange, how could they let us go so easily, something is wrong!" Cheng Chang suddenly stopped and said puzzled.

"What's wrong, do they dare to chase after you without the order of this princess!" said Anne triumphantly, "besides, I am still your hostage, and even if they chase after you, I will not dare to do anything to you." ”

"Okay, the girl has something to say and unintentionally. Tang Ao was afraid that Annie would show her identity excessively and arouse the resentment of Cheng Chang and others, after all, Wu Zetian was her mother, but Cheng Chang and others did not hate her because of this, but unexpectedly treated her with respect.

"Her Royal Highness the princess's life-saving grace to the two ladies and the little son, my brothers first wrote down for Lord Luo and Luo, if His Royal Highness is useful to our brothers in the future, please just ask, my brothers should do their best to help, even if they are broken. Sung Chang knelt in front of Anne and said.

Suddenly, Xue Peng and the others all knelt down in front of her and said something like "The princess's great kindness cannot be repaid, and I am willing to serve the dogs and horses".

Six

Anne had never seen anything like it before, so she felt a little overwhelmed.

She suddenly hurriedly stepped forward to help Cheng Chang and Xue Peng and the others and said, "Don't be like this, everyone get up quickly." Don't call me a princess in the future, everyone will call me a sister like Brother Tang!"

"Sister, Brother Tang, what's going on, and how did you meet?" Cheng Chang asked suspiciously, "How did this noble princess come to this chaotic Yangzhou because she should live in the palace?"

Just as they were talking in the form of questions and answers among the trees, suddenly from a small hill not far away, there were bursts of shouts and screams from far and near. They were nervous and focused all their eyes on the small hill, and they were very frightened by the countless shaking fires and floating crowds in front of them, and each of them had a sense of crisis in all sides.

"They're not here to get us. Anne took a few steps forward, pointed to the flickering fire, and said, "You see, they look like they're chasing a bunch of people." ”

"Let's go, go over and have a look. After that, Tang Ao climbed a big tree with Cheng Chang and others and observed. The group was getting closer, and their faces were terrified in the silver-gray moonlight and dark red firelight. It turned out that the group of people were Wei Siwen, Tang Zhiqi and Du Qiuren, who were the advisers under Xu Dudu.

At the moment when Tang Ao was about to go down to help them, he was stunned by a woman's shout, and he said thoughtlessly, "Madam, this is Madame's voice." No way! Madame must still be at home now, how could she be here? But this is indeed Madame's shouting! It can't be wrong. ”

Tang Ao pondered silently for a moment, then flew down the treetops desperately, rushing into the crowd like a gust of wind, looking around for the source of the sound, while struggling to resist those pursuers. In the chaos, a very familiar call came from behind him: "Xianggong, is it you?"

Tang Ao suddenly looked back, and sure enough, it was his wife Lin who was calling him under the protection of Wei Siwen and others, which made him feel both excited and surprised. Suddenly, he was full of strength, waved the long sword in his hand and got rid of the entanglement of those pursuers with one move to "sweep away the thousands of troops", quickly moved his feet to Lin's side, hugged her into his arms and asked emotionally, "Madam, is it you? I'm not dreaming, right?"

"No, Xianggong, it's me------ it's me, it's not a dream------ it's not a dream, I've finally found you, Xianggong. ”

"Madam, there is chaos here, why don't you stay at home honestly and recuperate, and come out to find me rashly, you are not afraid of the fetal gas, you really make Xianggong worry to death. ”

"Thanks to the protection of Brother Wei along the way, otherwise I am afraid I will never see you again, Xianggong. Lin cried in Tang Ao's arms.

"Okay, madam, don't talk about it, don't stay here for long, go quickly. Tang Ao escorted the Lin clan and asked everyone to retreat into the woods, but it was too late, and the chasing soldiers who came up had already surrounded them. Helpless, they had to do the same as last time, hand in hand to protect the woman and the child in the middle, trying to fight a way out, but there were too many enemies, and it was not so easy to rush out, and the situation was out of control for a while.

The fierce battle continued into the night, but they still did not break out of the encirclement, there were so many enemies, it can be said that they could not be defeated with two fists and four hands, and they would soon be overwhelmed by the influx of people.

At the critical moment, Anne had no choice but to expose her identity again, she wanted to get out of trouble again with her status as a princess, but due to the loss of control of the situation and various invisible interferences, her attempt came to naught. Suddenly, with a "whoosh!", one of the enemy's feathered arrows pierced through the dusk of the night, mixed with the breath of blood and rain, through the crowd, and shot directly into Madame Luo's chest. In an instant, the screams, roars, and cries of children merged, and a sense of fear of life and death gripped everyone's hearts.

"We've been saved------ we've been saved, look there, my guardian fairy is about to fall from the sky. Anne suddenly pointed to the two beams of light falling from the starry sky, and shouted vividly, "Eldest sister, second sister, we are here!"