There was not even a sound of wind in the quiet woods, only a rustling sound of people stepping on the grass slowly came. After a while, I saw a man walking out of the dense forest with his hands behind his back.

Qinghan and I both gasped.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

He looked at Pei Yuanhao, and all the blood on his face faded for a while, turning pale as paper. I could hardly believe my eyes - Pei Yuanhao, he is still here?!

Qinghan and I were delayed down there for at least a month. After such a long time, falling from such a high cliff, all normal people can think about is that they will definitely die. Even if they escape by chance, shouldn't they go downstream to find us? Why -

—

There was a faint sneer on Pei Yuanhao's face, which was completely opposite to the scorching temperature of the sun. There was no kindness in that smile. Just looking at the earthworm in his hand, he could completely strangle us to death in the next moment.

"...Your Majesty."

"Are you okay, my dear?"

"..."

Qinghan said nothing, and the hand holding me was completely cold.

"I didn't expect that my beloved would be so lucky. Even after falling from such a high place, I was unscathed. I'm very relieved."

"..."

"Do you think it's strange, my dear, why I'm still here?"

"..."

"Because my men and horses were downstream and saw Shen Xiaokun."

Qinghan and I were shocked - could it be that Shen Xiaokun had been caught and killed?

No, I came back to my senses immediately. What he said just now was that his men and horses saw Shen Xiaokun downstream, and he did not say that they caught Shen Xiaokun. He should be fine now. It’s just——

I raised my head and looked at him, and those dark eyes also looked at me, as if a bottomless pool was about to completely sink the person into it, and he would never see the light of day again. "Actually, it's not easy to catch him."

It’s difficult, but I’m worried that if I just focus on catching him, I’m afraid I’ll miss my two beloved friends. So——”

Therefore, he gave up Shen Xiaokun and rushed back from the lower reaches.

Hearing this, I just felt a tightness in my chest, like an animal that had been caught in a cage. No matter how hard I struggled and struggled, I couldn't break free. My breathing and heartbeat were almost no longer mine.

At this time, there was a heavy sound of horse hoofbeats behind him. When he looked closely, it was Wen Fengxi and others who led their troops and horses to follow hurriedly. The smoke and dust raised behind them covered the sky and the sun. Those people

There was still a tired look on their faces, but they didn't dare to slack off. However, when Sun Jingfei rushed out with his people, when he saw Qing Han and me, there was a trace of almost heavy regret on his face.

There was also a rush of footsteps behind me, and I knew without looking back that it was Pei Yuanzhen running up.

The tears on her face were not dry, and she looked very embarrassed. As soon as she came up, she said to Pei Yuanhao: "Brother, don't let them go, they-"

Before she finished speaking, Pei Yuanhao raised his hand to stop her next words.

Then, he looked at us, the corners of his thin lips raised slightly, and there was an indescribable coldness in that smile that could not be called kind at all, and he slowly took a step towards us.

Following his step, Wen Fengxi's men and horses had already surrounded us, cutting off all our roads.

At this moment, my heart sank.

Really, no?

Every time, I thought that I could exchange my life for freedom, the life I wanted, and even my own feelings, but in the end, it was all in vain.

After all, you still can’t escape this man’s Wuzhishan?

Thinking of this, a fire of karma suddenly arose in my heart. The flames that wanted to destroy everything were burning brightly, and the poisonous hatred overflowed my whole chest.

Why, why don’t you let me go?

Why, I just can’t escape him, am I really going to be shackled by him like this for the rest of my life?

The hands that Qinghan and I held together subconsciously exerted force, and I could almost hear the crackling of the finger bones. It hurt me so much when he pinched me, but no matter how painful it was, I didn't want to let go. I even wished that the pain would continue like this.

As long as we don't separate from him, even if we merge into each other's flesh and blood and it hurts to the bone marrow, we will have no regrets!

I raised my head and glanced at him, and he was looking at me.

There was still only me in those clear eyes, but they were so firm that there was no flicker, and they nodded to me: "Don't be afraid."

"...Hmm!"

After receiving my assurance, he seemed to be calmer. He raised his head and looked at Pei Yuanhao. The latter's face was covered with a layer of gloom. He gritted his teeth and took a step forward: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen—

—"

Before he finished speaking, Pei Yuanhao interrupted him: "Liu Aiqing, I already know what you want to say."

"..."

"But before you speak, take a look at this."

After speaking, he raised his hand, and the attendant behind him immediately lowered his head and presented a scroll.

I recognized it at a glance. It was in the Juma Valley that Shen Gongyi had sent the eight hundred mile express from the capital before the rebellion.

I don’t know why, but when I saw that scroll, I immediately became uneasy.

The contents of this scroll had not been revealed before. Although Shen Gongyi said on the surface that the Supreme Emperor had woken up and defeated Pei Yuanhao's army, the appearance of the old Taoist priest later proved that Pei Ji had not woken up at all.

.Of course it was Shin Gongye who told a lie that was not very clever.

So, what exactly is the content of this eight-hundred-mile expedited report——

The Changsui had already sent the scroll to Qinghan. He frowned slightly, as if he was also a little uneasy and hesitant. He was silent for a moment, and finally reached out to take the scroll and unfolded it to take a look.

Suddenly, the expression on his face froze.

I looked at his appearance from the side and quickly whispered: "Qinghan?"

"..."

"Qinghan, what's wrong?"

"..."

"What happened? Qinghan!"

He didn't speak, but he pressed his hand hard and crumpled the scroll into a ball. I felt the shadow in my heart getting bigger and bigger, and my heartbeat became more and more chaotic. I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but I felt a

He looked over at me with a gaze that was as sharp as if it was about to cut off my wrist.

My heart palpitated, and when I raised my head, I saw that Pei Yuanhao still had a calm and almost cold expression on his face. He looked at Qinghan and said, "Do you understand?"

"..."

Feeling Qinghan trembling, after a while, he gritted his teeth and said: "Weichen, I understand."

"Light cold!"

I shouted his name subconsciously. At this time, Qinghan slowly turned his head and looked at me. There seemed to be many contradictions in his eyes, and they seemed to be frighteningly hollow: "Qing... Qingying...,

Civil uprisings occurred in the six provinces south of the Yangtze River."

"What?!" I was shocked and looked at him dumbfounded.

Civil uprisings occurred in the six provinces of Jiangnan?

What's going on? Why suddenly——

At this moment, several familiar figures walked out from behind Pei Yuanhao. It was Chang Qing who came with Shuixiu and the others. Although she remained calm, her eyes turned red when she saw that I was still alive: "

Qingying, you’re okay!”

"...Queen, Empress."

I looked at her dully. Chang Qing came over, held my arm and looked me up and down. After making sure that I was not injured, she breathed a sigh of relief: "You, you scared me."

I am speechless.

I should have been happy and happy to see everyone of them safe and sound again, but now Qinghan's appearance has made me feel like I have hit rock bottom, and I can no longer think about it. Chang Qing, on the other hand, looked at Qinghan

The scroll in his hand looked at me again and understood.

She whispered in my ear: "Something big happened in the south this time."

The civil uprising... is indeed a big event.

"The governors of several prefectures and counties in the six provinces who resisted have been killed, and some have surrendered."

"..."

"Now, the six provinces in Jiangnan have——"

Although I have been immersed in the haze in my heart, I still couldn't help but feel frightened when I heard Chang Qing's words.

She didn't finish her words, but I already fully understood. Now the six provinces in Jiangnan have completely separated from the imperial court and have fallen within the sphere of influence of the rebels.

But, how is this possible?!

Not to mention the importance of Jiangnan to the entire Celestial Dynasty, Pei Yuanhao's emphasis on Jiangnan in recent years has increased his control over it. How could a civil uprising occur in such a short period of time and seize the six southern provinces in one fell swoop?

Save!

This is simply unbelievable!
To be continued...