coobybook Chapter 175 Escape
Chapter 175 Escape
The plaque on the gate of the Zhen residence was removed and replaced with a brand new, eye-catching character "Pan," which stood out prominently in the rising morning sun. From the outside, it looked solemn and dignified, but inside, it was a chaotic mess of war.
"This is terrible! Can't a person even get a break?" the maid complained, yawning.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Her companion nudged her with his elbow while holding the tray.
The scene in the mansion was twofold: firstly, the remnants of the Zhen family had caused a great disturbance at the Pan mansion the previous day, and the servants in the lower quarters had been searching all night, their hearts filled with fear and unable to sleep for fear of being caught in the crossfire; secondly, the eldest daughter-in-law of the mansion had slipped and fallen down the steps, sustaining numerous injuries, and a doctor had been called to come to her aid overnight.
As if things weren't going to go wrong, she caught a cold before her external injury had even healed. The tray in Qinglian's hands contained the medicine she had brewed that morning, which was also the reason for Liu'er's complaints.
"Boom boom boom——"
Liu'er knocked on the door. "Young lady, it's time to take your medicine."
"Come in."
Liu'er opened the door, and Qinglian entered carrying medicine. Through the screen, one could vaguely see her figure leaning against the bed.
"Put the medicine down and get out."
"promise."
Qinglian had no suspicions. Since the young lady returned from her visit home, she had stayed in the courtyard for the past six months and disliked anyone approaching. She gently placed the tray on the table, bowed, and left the room.
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Pan Ying lifted the covers, revealing Zhen E, whom the guards had been searching for all night, lying on the other side with his eyes closed. Ye Mingzhu also crawled out from under the bed.
"Let's give Yunzhou his medicine first."
Looking at Pan Ying's pale and weak face, Ye Mingzhu felt complicated and unable to express her emotions. It was Pan Ying who discovered them and hid them last night.
However, Zhen E lost too much blood and had been soaking in the cold lake water for too long, which caused him to develop a high fever and fall into a coma. If he was not treated soon, he would really die. Ye Mingzhu watched helplessly as Pan Ying gave her a cold shower and then went out to stage a fall to trick her into giving her some wound medicine.
"Then what are you going to do?" After all, Pan Ying's injuries were real.
"It's alright. I'll just say I accidentally knocked over the medicine bowl later, and have Liu'er brew another dose."
Ye Mingzhu pursed her lips and remained silent, picking up the medicine bowl and feeding Zhen E the medicine spoonful by spoonful. The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Although the three teenagers had a past friendship, they were now standing on opposite sides.
Pan Ying clearly knew that this rescue wouldn't change anything, and without defending herself, she simply said, "This place is not a place to stay for long. I will find an opportunity to send you away from Fancheng. From now on, we will be even, and from now on... it's up to you to do what you can."
Ye Mingzhu remained silent; life's circumstances are truly unpredictable.
Pan Ying remained silent, simply watching the unconscious Zhen E. She was shocked when she learned of her father's betrayal, but by then it was too late to undo the damage. It was her unintentional words that had led to this situation, and she felt guilty. Knowing that her father was eager to take over the Zhen residence, she guessed his plan and dared not continue to be despondent. She asked to come into the residence with him, and of course, she did not refuse when her father finally asked her to come out.
As expected, something happened at the manor last night. Guessing that Zhen E couldn't escape the Zhen manor anytime soon, I inexplicably headed towards the lake, simply because I had been startled by a young man who suddenly jumped out of the water when I was a guest at the Zhen manor and boating on the lake...
"Shh~ You're hiding from my father, don't say you've seen me." Then he stuffed a blooming lotus flower into his hand.
"Here you go, thanks," the boy said with a mischievous wink.
……
He probably doesn't remember either.
·
In a daze, Zhen E felt as if her body was being tossed about in a small boat on the waves. She tried to open her eyes with great effort, but the light was so bright that she had to squint. It took her a while to adjust. When she was fully awake, she immediately looked around at her surroundings.
The surrounding vegetation was slowly receding, his body was wrapped in gauze, his wounds had been treated, and he was indeed being jostled about, with a mat beneath him, being slowly dragged along.
His heart tightened, and he immediately turned his head to look behind him. Just seeing the back of his head made him breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mingzhu, how did we escape?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingzhu paused, pursed her lips, then tightened the straw rope around her shoulders and continued dragging Zhen E along, saying, "Pan Ying covered our way out."
Pan Ying used the excuse of winning over the hearts of the people for Pan Yue to deliver supplies to the people outside the city who had suffered from the war. She and Zhen E mingled among them. After leaving the city, she took advantage of their inattention to knock down the coachman and drove straight to Tiger Head Mountain. She knew a hidden path where they could hide. Since the carriage could not go up the mountain road, she could only drag Zhen E forward with a mat.
Where are we going?
"I'm going to Xuan Kingdom to find Sister Shen."
Zhen E paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you going to betray your country?"
Ye Mingzhu's gaze was resolute. "Those fools in Xuandu are willing to abandon an entire prefecture for the sake of power struggles. What's the point of staying in such a country?"
Pan Ying's words awakened her. Killing Pan Yue was not revenge. Life is only once, and it was not worth risking her own life to kill him.
"You don't have to come with me. Once we're in a safe place, we'll go our separate ways."
"I go with you."
·
Pan Mansion —
Pan Ying handed a bowl of ginseng soup to Pan Yue, who was frowning and looking like he had a headache.
“Zhen E is just a seventeen-year-old boy. He can run away, so why should Father worry so much?”
Pan Yue pinched the bridge of his nose and said in a deep voice, "You always overlook the fact that his literary and martial arts skills are the best among the younger generation in Cangzhou because of his arrogant personality. I can only get rid of him when he is young, hot-blooded and impulsive. Otherwise, if I give him enough time to grow, he will definitely become a major threat!"
Pan Ying couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in her hand.