Adhere to the gentleman's principles

After finishing their meal, the two slowly walked out of the restaurant and strolled on the street. The beggars on the roadside were either lying or sitting, looking very peaceful. When the two were about to go riding, an old man suddenly shouted: "They have money."

When the beggars heard this, they rushed towards the two of them like hungry tigers, shouting, "Hand over the money!" Zhao Junning looked at the people surrounding them in horror, tightly grasping Li Ziyan's arm, her body shaking uncontrollably. Li Ziyan sensed her fear, protected her behind him, and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Facing the aggressive beggars, Li Ziyan showed no fear. He picked up a thick stick and watched them vigilantly. However, the beggars were not scared away. One of them even held a machete and said viciously: "The couple are quite good-looking and well-dressed. How can they have no money?" As he spoke, he moved closer and showed a ferocious smile.

Zhao Junning's heartbeat became more and more rapid. She leaned on Li Ziyan tightly, and sweat oozed from her palms. Li Ziyan's eyes flashed with anger, but he tried to keep himself calm. He knew that he couldn't let these people succeed, and he had to protect Zhao Junning behind him.

The restaurant was quiet and peaceful, but outside it was in chaos. Amidst the noise, there were a few sighs: "Another unlucky person."

Li Ziyan cautiously turned his head slightly and said to Zhao Junning in a low voice, "I'll step back a little and get closer to the horse. You take my package and ride the horse." Zhao Junning nodded nervously and responded softly, "Okay."

Li Ziyan and Zhao Junning cautiously retreated about ten steps. He counted softly, "Three, two, one, run." Before he finished speaking, Zhao Junning ran towards the horse like an arrow.

However, the situation did not go smoothly. The men noticed their plan and rushed towards Li Ziyan. Fortunately, Li Ziyan had special skills and knocked them to the ground in a few moves. But Zhao Junning encountered difficulties. She was tightly squeezed by several strong women, fighting for the package in her arms. Zhao Junning struggled hard, but it was difficult to break free from their restraints. She was about to be pushed under the horses' hooves.

Li Ziyan was extremely anxious. He rushed forward quickly and pushed the women away. He tightly grasped the knife he had just snatched from the crowd, waving it back and forth in the air, and shouted angrily: "Who wants to try again? Come on if you don't want to live!" His eyes were full of determination and anger, as if telling everyone that he would never tolerate anyone hurting Zhao Junning.

The women and men were all shocked and stopped, but Zhao Junning ran to the stable without hesitation and jumped onto a horse swiftly. Li Ziyan once again wrestled fiercely with those people, trying his best to buy more time for Zhao Junning.

Zhao Junning rode her horse and galloped over, shouting, "Zi Yan!" Li Zi Yan heard her shout, turned around quickly and grabbed her outstretched hand tightly. The two of them rode out of the crowd together, their figures shuttled through the crowd, as if fighting against fate.

They galloped all the way until they were far away from Yuancheng. Finally, they stopped their horses 500 miles outside the city. Zhao Junning was panting, and Li Ziyan said with a gasp, "Okay, we are safe now." His words revealed a sense of relief.

After getting off the horse, the two led the horses to find a dilapidated temple outside the city. Walking into the dilapidated temple, Zhao Junning said anxiously: "Sit down quickly and treat the wound." Li Ziyan sat down as she was told, and Zhao Junning hurriedly tore off a piece of cloth, took out the golden wound medicine from the package, and carefully applied it on Li Ziyan's arm. Her movements were gentle and delicate. While bandaging, she said indignantly: "How could those people be so fierce? And those women are so strong! Are they really just refugees? Looking at the strength and faces of those people, they don't look like they have been hungry for a long time." Her tone was full of doubts and worries.

Zhao Junning's eyes flashed with concern and worry. She gently stroked Li Ziyan's wound, as if she wanted to share his pain. Li Ziyan stared at her quietly.

Li Ziyan said, "Some of them are indeed not refugees." Zhao Junning looked at Li Ziyan after hearing this and said, "Did the prince really send people to kill you? He was too quick. He killed people for no reason. You have no grudge against him!" Zhao Junning said as he bandaged the wound on his arm.

Li Ziyan said, "The crown prince wanted to stir up a quarrel between the emperor and his subjects. I was ordered by His Majesty to go to Liangzhou to take up my post. If I died in danger on the way, it would be blamed on His Majesty and the prince who delivered the order. It has nothing to do with the crown prince."

Zhao Junning sighed: "This is a good plan." Li Ziyan was very calm: "The prince did this just to stir up this wave. The prince who announced the decree is the King of Qi. The King of Qi and the King of Qin are in the same team. Your Majesty has taken a fancy to the King of Qin. If something happens to me, my father will definitely rebel. If something happens to you, the two families will join forces to attack Pingliang.

When the prince gets angry and starts a fire, Pingliang will be in his pocket. Although the King of Yue also has ideas, he can't beat the prince after all. The King of Qin respects his brother and will respect the prince at this time."

Zhao Junning exclaimed: "Such ambitions. But he is too impatient." Li Ziyan nodded and said: "Indeed, he is too impatient. The prince is so impatient that he wants to kill me."

Li Ziyan looked at Zhao Junning and said, "Don't worry about it. Rest in this temple tonight. I will go to Yuancheng to buy some dry food tomorrow and continue my journey." Zhao Junning nodded and said, "Okay."

At night, Zhao Junning slept soundly in Li Ziyan's arms. Li Ziyan looked at Zhao Junning in his arms and said, "I thought my career would be smooth sailing. I was so confident. I didn't expect that the first stage of this career would be so difficult."

Touching Zhao Junning's head, he said, "I'm so worried because you're with me." Zhao Junning in his arms squirmed a few times, and occasionally smiled as if she had a sweet dream. Li Ziyan was also happy when he looked at Zhao Junning in his arms, "But I'm also glad that you're with me."

He added some firewood, held Zhao Junning in his arms, and fell asleep with his head resting on a big pillar.

The next day, Li Ziyan changed his clothes, took some silver and said to Zhao Junning, "Junning, wait here for me. I will go to the city to buy some dry food."

Zhao Junning said, "Okay, come back soon and be careful." Li Ziyan set a trap around the ruined temple before leaving. Li Ziyan rode his horse and quickly arrived at Yuancheng. Today was the day when the government was offering alms. There were so many beggars and refugees that they almost broke the thresholds of the alms shops on the street. Li Ziyan found a shop with few people and bought some cakes and steamed buns. He also went to the teahouse to fill up his two water bottles.

In the ruined temple, Zhao Junning heard the sound of the trap, picked up a stick and hid behind the statue of the ruined temple. He saw a man coming in, who was not hurt by the trap. The man said as soon as he entered the door: "Madam Shaohou, come out."

Zhao Junning took a closer look and saw that it was Lu Wu. He walked out carefully and asked, "What are you doing here?" Lu Wu touched his nose with his fan and said, "Of course I'm here to see you, Madam Shaohou."

Zhao Junning smiled softly: "Mr. Lu, aren't you tired after following me all the way?" Lu Wu smiled and said, "As expected, Madam Young Marquis is amazing. She actually knew that I followed her all the way?"

Zhao Junning shook her head and said, "No, no, no, I don't know. It's just that my husband and I felt that someone was following us all the way and we didn't expect it was you. What were you doing following us? Shouldn't you be in Jiaozhi?"

"We are not from the same path. I left Jiaozhi a long time ago."

"It seems that Master Lu has a new master?"

"clever."

Zhao Junning said calmly, "Looking at your clothes and the badge on your waist, your new owner should be someone from the Pingliang Palace, right?"

Lu Wu said, "Madam Shaohou is smart, but being too smart is not a good thing. You are not allowed to comment on my new master."

Zhao Junning nodded and said, "It seems that his identity is very special. Is he the Crown Prince, the King of Qin, the King of Qi, the King of Yue, or His Majesty the Emperor?"

Lu Wu also said honestly, "It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Then he said, "But the Madam of the Young Marquis and the Young Marquis are really amazing. We sent so many experts, but the Young Marquis and the Madam of the Young Marquis were able to get out of Yuancheng safely."

Zhao Junning said, "Mr. Lu, you are too kind, but I think you came here for more than just telling me this, right?" Lu Wu laughed loudly and said, "Madam Shaohou is straightforward. I followed the order of the Crown Prince to take Madam Shaohou away. I personally sent Madam Shaohou to Liangzhou. As for the young marquis, he is going to be killed. Madam Shaohou is in danger if he follows him. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is worried about you."

Zhao Junning's eyes were firm: "Then go back and tell your prince that he is grateful for your kindness but it is not necessary." Lu Wu was stunned for a moment, and Zhao Junning asked again: "Master Lu, are you not leaving yet?"

Lu Wu bowed and said, "I will convey every word of your message. I will take my leave." Zhao Junning bowed in return, "Goodbye, Master Lu."

After Lu Wu left, Zhao Junning's legs went limp, and she held onto the altar table and took a deep breath: "I was so scared. I was so scared. Fortunately, they didn't come to kill me."