Chapter 11: Early morning attack

　　In the imperial city of Beijing, the dawn fog has not stopped.

　　Shen Baiyu woke up early and wanted to throw the young man she picked up out of the city. It's a hot potato, and if you leave it for a moment longer, it will be more dangerous.

　　The young man's physique was quite good. He was still half-dead last night, but when Shen Baiyu took a look this morning, he could actually walk upright. He was wearing a gray and black nursing uniform, and the two blood marks on his face were scabbed, like whip marks. His complete appearance could not be seen clearly, but the outline of his face was extremely smooth.

　　Probably looks pretty good.

　　Shen Baiyu: "Your name."

　　Young man: "Jiang Liu."

　　Shen Baiyu: "What a fake name."

　　Jiang Xun: "..."

　　After a long silence, Jiang Xun said: "There are seven brothers in my family, and I am the sixth. Outsiders call me Jiang Liu. My mother gave me a name, Jiang Xun."

　　This statement is more credible. Shen Baiyu nodded: "You pretend to be the guardian of the house, and I will take you out of the city."

　　Jiang Xun took advantage of the dim sunlight to look at Shen Baiyu secretly. It was cold in the morning, and she was wearing an old lotus-colored cotton-padded jacket. She had not yet fully grown tall, and her face was pale. She did not look like a pampered rich lady, but rather like a pampered young lady. An ordinary folk girl in gorgeous clothes.

　　Although he is young, he acts decisively and neatly.

　　However, his eyes were filled with a coldness and looseness that was not suitable for his age. It seemed that he had never seen Shen Baiyu smile before.

　　Jiang Xun secretly found it interesting.

　　In the early morning, the huge general's mansion was not yet alive, so Shen Baiyu quietly left the mansion in a carriage. The wheels of the carriage rolled over the stone pavement of the street. A young boy hiding outside the general's mansion stood on tiptoes and glimpsed Shen Baiyu's snow-white face through the gap in the carriage curtain.

　　The boy showed an expression of "Sure enough," and ran to Prince Chen's Mansion to inform: "The third lady of the General's Mansion really went out to buy steamed buns! Congratulations, the prince is going to win the bet again!"

　　Li Jingheng and several young men drank and had fun all night long. The group of young people stayed up until dawn and were still in high spirits.

　　A young man put down the jade pendant that was used as a bet: "His Royal Highness Chen has won again! Even if you want the moon in the sky, the third lady of the Shen family will climb the ladder and pick it off."

　　There was laughter all around.

　　The persistent and stupid Miss Shen family is the laughing stock of this group of people.

　　Another young man in green robe wiped the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Your Highness, let Miss Shen Jiashan make a few boxes of barley cakes next time. Her skills are better than the pastry chef in Qingtai Fang."

　　On weekdays, most of the pastries that Shen Baiyu brings fall into the mouths of these young men.

　　Li Jingheng gently placed the white jade fan on the desk: "Shen Baiyu's cooking skills are indeed good."

　　Young Master Qingpao joked: "Your Highness, the third lady of the Shen family has a deep affection for you. Could it be that you want to welcome her as your princess in the future?"

　　Li Jingheng's face turned cold, and the image of Shen Baiyu's palm-sized face appeared in his mind. He was thin, small, and ugly. Such a lowly woman could never enter his heart, and she was not qualified to be his concubine.

　　She's just a toy for fun.

　　"Let's not talk about anything else. When Shen Baiyu delivers the buns -" Li Jingheng closed the fan and gathered the pile of gold and silverware on the desk towards him, "These are all my king's."

　　The other young masters sighed and shouted that they would lose their money.

　　...

　　...

　　The carriage of the General's Mansion swayed and rushed towards the city gate at a neither fast nor slow speed. Man Chun and Shen Baiyu were sitting in the carriage, and the coachman drove the carriage. Jiang Xun, who was wearing a gray robe, followed silently outside the carriage.

　　It was still early in the day, and the streets of Fangshi were not yet lively, so they were quite lonely. The beggars and refugees were hiding in the alleys, huddled to avoid the cold wind.

　　Shen Baiyu was afraid of the cold, so she always held a beautiful Mrs. Tang in her hand and read her storybook by the light that leaked into the carriage. Just as he was looking dizzy, suddenly, the coachman outside suddenly reined in the reins, and the carriage shook slightly. Manchun opened the curtain and shouted: "What's going on--Miss, who are you?"

　　Someone stopped the car.

　　The bright yellow figure rushed over quickly, and it turned out to be a beautiful and beautiful girl. She seemed to be being chased.

　　The girl was carrying a big baggage. She looked through the opened car curtain and saw Shen Baiyu. She said in surprise: "I remember you. You are the lady of the Shen family. What is your name, Baiyu or Jasper? We met last year at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. ! Do me a favor, someone is chasing me!"

　　The girl got into the car nimbly.

　　Shen Baiyu put down his notebook and looked at the girl who broke in.

　　The woman in the bright yellow skirt is called Jiang Yan, and she is the youngest daughter of Prime Minister Jiang of Daqing. Shen Baiyu was quite impressed by her. In her previous life, Jiang Yan once became a topic of conversation in the capital, and was also a negative example for future mothers to educate their daughters.

　　Jiang Yan eloped with an actress, got pregnant and was abandoned. Her corpse was broken into the temple, and the poor prime minister was given away by the white-haired man. What's even worse is that not long after, Prime Minister Jiang's son was killed by Tantai Xuan of Tantai Hou Mansion, and the Jiang family was completely wiped out.

　　Jiang Yan opened the car curtain and urged: "You continue to drive, and don't expose my whereabouts."

　　Manchun glanced at Shen Baiyu for instructions, and Shen Baiyu nodded in acquiescence.

　　The carriage continued to drive slowly.

　　Jiang Yan was a familiar girl. Her big black eyes blinked and she looked at Shen Baiyu's palm-sized face: "What's your name? Shen Baiyu or Shen Biyu? I only remember that the fifth lady of the Shen family is called Shen Shu'er. , that girl has such a bad temper, I hate her."

　　Shen Baiyu: "Shen Baiyu."

　　Jiang Yan grinned, clasped her hands, and looked pitifully at Shen Baiyu: "Sister Baiyu, I think you are going out of the city. You can take me out of the city by the way. Liu Lang is waiting for me at Zhuangzi outside the city."

　　Shen Baiyu rubbed Tang Pozi in his hand and analyzed the "Liu Lang" in Jiang Yan's words.

　　Not surprisingly, it should be Hana Rokuro from the Qingtaifang Opera Troupe. Judging from the baggage Jiang Yan was carrying, she probably wanted to go out and elope with Hanarokuro today. This silly girl doesn't know how ruthless and cold an actor is.

　　There was still some way to go from the city gate. Shen Baiyu did not reject Jiang Yan directly, but asked: "Is your Liulang very good to you?"

　　Jiang Yan's pretty little face turned red: "Liu Lang is the best son in the world. He promised me that we will be together for the rest of our lives. He is better than the male protagonist in the storybook."

　　Jiang Yan glanced at the storybook "Lioruan Opera Dream" in Shen Baiyu's hand, and suddenly felt that she had met a close friend. She pulled Shen Baiyu and talked about the great love between her and Hanarokuro.

　　Living in a deep boudoir for a long time, her days were lonely, her father and brother were busy with official duties, and Jiang Yan was left to herself. Reading story books was her biggest pleasure. She fantasized about having the beautiful love in the story books.

　　One day she went to Qingtaifang to watch a play and fell in love with Hanarokuro at first sight. Hanarokuro is her soulmate and her ideal lover. Unfortunately, this relationship was discovered by her father, and Jiang Yan was imprisoned in the house. The more her father and brother objected, the more rebellious Jiang Yan became. She felt that she had become the heroine in the storybook, and her love was being thwarted, so she made the same choice as the heroine - elope.

　　"Only by taking a brave step can you achieve happiness." Jiang Yan clenched her fists with excitement on her face, "Sister Baiyu, do you think I am brave?"

　　Shen Baiyu was speechless.

　　I'm afraid you don't know how miserable your death was in your previous life.

　　The storybook was misleading, and Shen Baiyu decided not to read the storybook again.

　　But she couldn't just watch an inexperienced girl die. Shen Baiyu was thinking about how to stop Jiang Yan when the carriage suddenly shook violently. The horse was frightened, and the groom frantically pulled on the reins to control it.

　　As the carriage passed through the lonely streets in the early morning, the sound of horse hooves and the clash of swords suddenly came from the distance.

　　"stop!"

　　"Don't run!"

　　Manchun lowered the car curtain: "Miss, it seems that Dongwuwei is chasing the fugitive!"

　　The fugitive covered his mouth and nose with a black cloth, and his movements were extremely strong. He was tall and burly, holding a shiny silver sword. Seemingly seeing the General's Mansion sign on the carriage, the fugitive raised his sword and chopped off the carriage's shaft.

　　With a crash, the carriage fell into pieces, and both Shen Baiyu and Jiang Yan fell to the ground.

　　Tang Pozi in Shen Baiyu's hand rolled away, her soft palm grazed the rough stone slab, and instantly the skin was broken and blood dripped out.

　　The fugitive raised the knife in his hand again and struck hard at Shen Baiyu. Jiang Yan screamed in fright, even the usually calm Shen Baiyu's eyes were panicked, and she subconsciously closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come.

　　At the critical moment, Jiang Xun pulled out the guard's saber to stop the attack.

　　boom--

　　Sparks flew from knives and knives.

　　Jiang Xun fought with the fugitive.

　　Jiang Xun stopped the fugitive, turned around and whispered: "Run quickly——"

　　As soon as the word "run" was pronounced, Shen Baiyu had already picked up Jiang Yan and Man Chun and ran away without saying a word.

　　The knife in Jiang Xun's hand was slightly delayed.

　　What a crisp run.

　　Shen Baiyu ran to the other end of the long street before stopping. Looking back from a distance, the Dongwu guards and officers who were chasing the fugitives had arrived, surrounded the fugitives, and the scene was in full swing.

　　Shen Baiyu vaguely remembered that his father had been assisting Dali Temple in catching fugitives recently. It is said that the prisoner was so bold that he rushed into the East Palace and tried to assassinate the prince, which shocked the government and the public. Unfortunately, he was not caught for a long time.

　　What a coincidence, I met Shen Baiyu today.

　　"Sister Baiyu, your hand!" Jiang Yan's pretty face turned pale. She took Shen Baiyu's hand and was about to say a few words of concern when several guards from the Prime Minister's Palace ran out from the other end of the alley.

　　The guards surrounded Jiang Yan, and the leading guard looked helpless: "Miss, you'd better come back with us. The capital has been arresting fugitives recently, and the prime minister is very worried about your safety."

　　Jiang Yan turned around and ran away without saying a word, but was caught by a few old ladies and sent to a carriage in the corner.

　　Jiang Yan whined and struggled, the carriage kicked up dust and sped away. In a short period of time, Jiang Yan couldn't even think of leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion.

　　Shen Baiyu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Jiang Yan was temporarily prevented from eloping.

　　"Miss, I seem to have seen the general." Manchun's voice was full of surprise. "Miss, something unexpected happened just now. The general must be very worried about you."

　　Shen Baiyu looked from a distance and saw the tall figure of Shen Zhenshan. A secret expectation arose in Shen Baiyu's heart, and she quickened her pace: "Go back and take a look."

　　Rushing back to the scene of the crime, the extremely skilled fugitive miraculously escaped amid heavy siege. Shen Zhenshan was sitting on a tall horse, wearing a majestic black armor, and his sharp eyes were looking in the direction of Shen Baiyu.

　　But he only glanced at it.

　　Dongwuwei beside him whispered a few words in Shen Zhenshan's ear. Shen Zhenshan's expression changed drastically, he tightened the reins, turned the horse's head, and left quickly with Dongwuwei.

　　In the early morning, there were already vendors in the alley. The sky was bright and the cool breeze blew Shen Baiyu's messy hair. Shen Baiyu stood stunned for a while, and the back of Shen Zhenshan riding away gradually blurred, blending into the cold and lonely street scene in the early morning. She bent down to pick up Tang Pozi that fell on the ground. The layer of cotton wrapping Tang Pozi was covered with dust, but it was still hot. Shen Baiyu covered it tightly, as if she could survive on the remaining warmth. .

　　Shen Baiyu knew that his father was very busy. He had been very busy since he was a child.

　　Expected again and again, failed again and again.

　　Just be busy if he is busy.

　　never mind.

　　"Miss, your hands are bleeding!" Manchun then noticed that there were streaks of blood on the palms of Shen Baiyu's hands, which were traces left by rubbing the palms against the stone slab.

　　Shen Baiyu didn't care: "No problem, look at Jiang Liu."

　　Jiang Xun fought desperately with the fugitive, but he was seriously injured and his right leg was accidentally chopped by the fugitive. Jiang Xun looked pale and leaned on the broken carriage shaft. His face was dripping with cold sweat. The corners of his mouth looked pale due to excessive blood loss. Two strands of black hair hung down on his cheeks. He looked very pitiful.

　　Shen Baiyu: "Thank you for saving me."

　　Jiang Xun struggled to stand up. He was very tall and shrouded Shen Baiyu like a shadow: "Ahem... You're welcome. Jiang Liu should repay the favor of saving my life, Miss."

　　Shen Baiyu took out a green purse from his sleeve and stuffed it into Jiang Xun. His voice was clear and steady: "There are one hundred taels of silver notes in this purse. The third shop on the left at the end of the alley is a medical clinic. You can see a doctor on your own. , you and I will have nothing to do with each other from now on."

　　There was a rare flash of astonishment in Jiang Xun's eyes.

　　He thought that Shen Baiyu would continue to take him in as a nurse out of sympathy. Jiang Xun worked hard to plan, just to dispel Shen Baiyu's doubts and gain her trust.

　　She was so heartless.

　　Shen Baiyu turned around and was about to leave. She always felt that everything today was weird. She met a fugitive when she went out. Is there such a coincidence in the world?

　　Unexpectedly, Jiang Xun suddenly tilted his body.

　　He was tall, lost his center of gravity and fell, about to fall into Shen Baiyu's arms.

　　Shen Baiyu was shocked and moved quickly to avoid it. Jiang Xun rubbed Shen Baiyu's sleeve and hit the ground with a thud, motionless.

　　Shen Baiyu frowned slightly, carefully reached out with the toes of his right foot, and kicked Jiang Xun's arm.

　　Jiang Xun didn't respond, he really fainted.

　　"Miss, do you want to throw him at the door of the hospital?" Manchun was not as compassionate as Jadeite. She always looked at the problem from Shen Baiyu's perspective.

　　Shen Baiyu thought silently.

　　It was freezing cold, Jiang Xun still had some banknotes on him, and he was still wearing the clothes of the General's Guard. If he were left alone on the street, he might be robbed by beggars hiding in the corner. It's okay to be alive, but if he dies, Shen Baiyu will be in big trouble if the news spreads that corpses were found in the courtyard of the General's Mansion.

　　Finally, Shen Baiyu sighed: "That's it, let the groom take Jiang Liu back to the general's mansion. Manchun, you can go to the medical center later and buy two pairs of medicine."

　　Manchun: "Buy medicine for Jiang Liu?"

　　Shen Baiyu shook his head: "You bought it for me. When I met my father this morning, if he asks me about it later, I will have an excuse to go out and buy medicine."

　　Just in case, but Shen Baiyu didn't think Shen Zhenshan would ask.

　　This man is a good husband, a good minister, and a good father to the other four children of the Shen family, but he is not a good father to Shen Baiyu.

　　...