A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

"Yes, Your Majesty, please wait for me in this grove. This place is desolate, and no one will pass by."

Xie Chunlan grabbed a handful of wet mud from the ground, smeared it on her face and body, and ran towards Chuanzhou City with the gold ingot in her pocket.

Duan Yanxi and Ruolan then waited in the woods.

The pale moon hung high in the sky, unadorned by any stars. Its cold light fell into the woods, as if covering everything with a thin layer of frost, making everything feel chilly.

Duan Yanxi stared intently in the direction Xie Chunlan had left, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his money pouch.

Ruolan finally managed to coax the prince to sleep, and said through gritted teeth, "You bastard, you even take women's money, don't you leave me any way to survive?"

“Isn’t this your allowance from me? Why can’t you take it?” Duan Yanxi said nonchalantly.

"What you gave me is mine! If you take it now, you're stealing it!" Ever since Ruolan broke off relations, she's been dissatisfied with everything Duan Yanxi does and is eager to find an opportunity to bite him to death.

Duan Yanxi turned his face, his eyes cold, and said, "You'd better shut up. I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now, but do you think you'll get away with it when I am?"

Ruolan was already used to his threats, and coldly sneered:

"Oh, why aren't you calling me 'Imperial' anymore? Are you afraid someone will hear you and arrest you? You coward, you wimp..."

Unable to defeat Duan Yanxi, she needed to vent her anger, so she used increasingly vulgar language in her insults.

At first, Duan Yanxi ignored her, but when he saw that she was even cursing her own parents, he pounced on her and grabbed her by the neck, choking her until she foamed at the mouth before stopping.

Ruolan was almost strangled to death by him. After recovering, she trembled all over and desperately moved to the side.

Duan Yanxi's voice followed, chillingly cold.

"Come here, or I'll kill you right now."

A devil...this is a devil!

Holding back tears, Ruolan picked up the prince and had no choice but to return to his side, her body stiff.

Duan Yanxi fell silent, only staring in the direction Xie Chunlan had left, looking somewhat impatient.

The moon was setting in the west, and it was already past midnight, but Xie Chunlan still hadn't appeared; she seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Ruolan changed her position while holding the prince, muttering, "I'm afraid they've already escaped, leaving us here waiting anxiously."

Duan Yanxi was annoyed and cursed at her, "If you say another word, I'll cut your tongue out."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a carriage emerged from the city under the cover of night. Duan Yanxi was overjoyed and stood up, leaning against a tree trunk.

"coming!"

The carriage stopped outside the woods. Xie Chunlan didn't dare hire a driver, so she drove the carriage herself, put down the whip, jumped down, and ran into the woods to help Duan Yanxi out.

Duan Yanxi, his face grim, reprimanded, "Why did it take so long?"

Xie Chunlan tearfully pleaded, "The city is swarming with Eastern Qi troops; I have no choice but to be mindful of the situation..."

"Forget it, let's go quickly, or someone will find out about our hearts."

Xie Chunlan helped him into the carriage and reassured him, "Your Majesty, rest assured, no one will come after us."

Duan Yanxi snorted but didn't speak. Xie Chunlan turned around and waved to Ruolan: "Your Majesty, hurry up! What are you doing standing there?"

Ruolan hesitated as she looked at the dark woods, knowing that if she ran away now, Duan Yanxi would most likely not be able to catch her.

But where could she go after escaping? Her last remaining savings had been stolen by Duan Yanxi. Was she to beg on the streets with a child in her arms?

After much deliberation, she decided to get into the carriage. Duan Yanxi had already taken up most of the seats, so she huddled in a corner, silent. Her usually delicate and beautiful face showed signs of fatigue due to the continuous travel and childbirth.

Xie Chunlan lowered the curtain, told them to sit still, then raised the whip high and shouted "Giddy up!" as it came down.

The carriage swayed and rocked as it drove forward.

Duan Yanxi had a bad feeling ever since he got into the car, and he felt that things wouldn't go so smoothly.

Sure enough, after they had driven a few miles, the Eastern Qi army, numbering in the tens of thousands, came chasing after them from afar.

If they were caught by the Eastern Qi army, they would definitely be captured and put under strict guard, making it difficult for them to escape.

Seeing the pursuers behind her, Xie Chunlan lashed out with her whip several times, wishing she could lift the wheels of a cart and run away.

Ruolan frowned as she looked at Duan Yanxi, whose face was gloomy as he stared at the table without speaking, as if he were planning something.

She didn't dare ask, nor was she interested. She'd already lost everything she could; Duan Yanxi couldn't possibly take her life. Now she didn't even have a wet nurse. If she died, there would be no one to breastfeed her child; he himself would never take care of the child.

The Eastern Qi army is getting closer and closer; we'll be able to spot them soon.

Duan Yanxi suddenly raised his head, his eyes cold, and called out to the curtain, "Stop for a moment."

Xie Chunlan asked, puzzled, "Why? They're about to catch up."

"Stop when I tell you to, I have something to say."

Duan Yanxi's voice was so resolute that Xie Chunlan had no choice but to stop the carriage, pull back the curtain, and peek in to ask, "What is it, Your Majesty...?"

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence as a dagger was plunged squarely into his left chest, piercing his heart.

He stared in astonishment, blood gushing from his mouth and soaking the car floor.

Several strange sounds came from her throat, and Xie Chunlan fell into the carriage with her eyes wide open in death.

Ruolan had an upset stomach and almost vomited from the smell of blood. She asked incredulously, "Are you crazy? Who will drive the carriage if you kill him?"

As Duan Yanxi drew his dagger, he said, "We won't take a carriage."

"Then what are we going to sit on? The Eastern Qi army is about to catch up."

"You don't need to worry about it, just follow me."

Duan Yanxi wiped the dagger clean with Xie Chunlan's clothes, then inexplicably overturned the table, making a mess of the carriage. He then jumped off the carriage on one leg, cut the reins, and the horse pulling the carriage immediately galloped into the woods, leaving the carriage shafts leaning precariously on the ground.

Seeing their disheveled state, Ruolan roughly guessed Duan Yanxi's intention—he wanted to fake being robbed by bandits, making the Eastern Qi army believe they were dead. This way, they could escape in another direction without worrying about being captured again.

Duan Yanxi picked up a tree branch to use as a cane and impatiently asked, "Aren't you coming down?"

Ruolan, holding the child, was about to jump when she caught a glimpse of something strange: Xie Chunlan's waist was bulging.

She withdrew her outstretched foot, reached back, and pulled out a stack of silver notes.

That Xie Chunlan is something else. She's been in the city for so long, she must have secretly taken the money from the vault... Inadvertently, I've helped her.

Ruolan was secretly delighted. Without making a sound, she hid the silver note in her clothes, jumped down, and asked, "Which way do we go?"

Duan Yanxi ignored her and walked up the hillside, leaning on a tree branch.

Ruolan wanted to part ways, but seeing the Eastern Qi army that was about to catch up with them, she didn't have the confidence to escape from them, so she followed them afterward.

The night road was very difficult to walk on, and Duan Yanxi's legs were not very strong, so he moved slowly.

1 = Lao Qu said