novelaction Chapter 119: Prince, has your personality changed?!
Chapter 119: Prince, has your personality changed?!
The turmoil caused by the palace coup has not yet affected Shen Qingge and Xiao Heng and his group.
First, it does take some time for the news to arrive from the capital.
Secondly, Xiao Mo's thoughts were all focused on usurping the throne. As for Shen Qingge and others, he had already thrown them out of his mind and forgotten them completely.
So, they continued their journey south for several days, and the weather was calm throughout.
Although the journey went extremely smoothly, they did not dare to slack off in order to reach Nanling as soon as possible.
Along the way, they sometimes traveled on wide and flat official roads, and sometimes shuttled through winding jungle trails, constantly changing routes to speed up their pace.
And those originally pampered convicts had no complaints about the Fifth Prince's tight schedule.
Perhaps it was because of the past two or three months, sleeping in the open air, traveling long distances, and even experiencing separations from loved ones, that their pampered nature as people from wealthy families had gradually worn away.
Now, walking a little further is no longer a difficult task for them.
After all, this little suffering is nothing compared to everything I have endured before.
On the contrary, in the hearts of these exiles, they actually felt that such days were not bad.
Back then, the brutal and cruel officials headed by Wang Gui were almost all dead. The few remaining officials seemed much more docile in comparison.
Especially Li Tian, who looks ferocious, is actually not that cold-blooded.
At critical moments, he also lent a helping hand to the fugitives, so he was not completely bad.
In fact, no matter whether he was kind by nature or disguised himself after assessing the situation, at least he did not let the fugitives fall into dire straits again, so he was lucky.
In addition, for some reason, the fifth prince changed his previous aloofness and took the initiative to get closer to the fugitives.
Nowadays, he occasionally lends a helping hand to the fugitives, providing them with care and attention.
Look, in the early winter, the temperature is getting lower and lower, and the cold is becoming more and more oppressive.
The Fifth Prince would occasionally send Yun Yi to visit the fugitives and give them some supplies for life.
Not only that, sometimes, the fifth prince would take everyone to the inn in the county town to rest so that everyone could adjust their state and restore their energy.
Faced with the fifth prince's sudden change, the exiles couldn't help but discuss it privately.
Someone murmured quietly:
"I really don't know what's going on with this Fifth Prince. He's suddenly become a completely different person. Back then, he was so cold and stern!
Every time I just glanced at him from a distance, my heart would pound uncontrollably and I would be terrified.”
Another person quickly retorted:
"Oh, you can't say that! After all, I'm a royal with noble blood. I usually act a little arrogant, so what's wrong?
Besides, he might just not be familiar with us before! Now that we have been together for a long time, don’t you see that His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince doesn’t dislike us? "
Then someone else echoed:
"That's right, please don't talk nonsense! After we are exiled to Nanling, we will have to serve a full five years in prison!
And this fifth prince happens to be the vassal king of this place, and he is the king of Nanling.
It would be a great blessing to be able to walk with him. We have no time to curry favor with him, so please don't say anything to offend him, or the consequences will be disastrous!"
Shen Qingge, who was walking in the crowd, just listened quietly, smiling without saying a word.
She gently held the arm of her fifth sister-in-law Bai Yu with one hand, gazed tenderly at her increasingly bulging belly, and said softly:
"Fifth sister-in-law, look at your belly. It's obvious that you're pregnant. Can you still bear walking like this?"
Upon hearing this, the fifth sister-in-law nodded gently and responded in the same soft voice:
"Don't worry about me, little sister. I'm still strong and can handle it.
But lately, I have often seen Wulang in my dreams. I think he might be missing me and our unborn child!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a trace of hard-to-conceal sadness flashed in Fifth Sister-in-law's eyes.
Seeing this, Shen Qingge hurriedly spoke to comfort the Fifth Sister-in-law, and then suddenly seemed to remember something and said:
"Fifth sister-in-law, please wait here for a moment. I will go to the prince to ask for a carriage. If he agrees, your journey will be easier."
After saying this, she turned around and left in a hurry, fearing that if she stayed any longer, her fifth sister-in-law would become even more immersed in sadness and unable to extricate herself.
In fact, ever since returning that day, Shen Qingge had kept the news that his father and brother might still be alive deep in his heart and had never revealed a word to anyone in the Shen family.
Because the news was so vague, she was afraid that once she told her family, they would find out that it was just a false alarm, which would only cause them unnecessary pain and disappointment.
So she remained silent, and everything was as usual.
When they arrived in front of Xiao Heng's carriage, Shen Qingge felt an inexplicable sense of relief for some reason.
She deliberately raised her voice and shouted, "I pay my respects to the prince. May the prince be blessed!"
Xiao Heng was sitting in the car, and when he heard her "sarcastic" words, he couldn't help feeling helpless.
He sighed softly, stretched out his hand and slowly lifted the curtain, pretending to be angry and said:
"Madam Shen, what are you doing today? I'm not in a good mood right now, so I'm afraid it's difficult for me to grant your request!"
Hearing this, Shen Qingge raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a sly smile, and responded softly:
"Well, since the prince is in a bad mood, I dare not disturb him any further. I will take my leave now."
Having said that, she turned around and pretended to leave.
"Hey...don't run! Tell me, what's going on?"
Seeing that she was really about to leave, Xiao Heng couldn't help but become a little impatient and quickly shouted to stop her.
Shen Qingge didn't hesitate and said:
"My fifth sister-in-law, isn't she getting more and more pregnant? I want to get her a carriage!
Of course, I know this is against the rules and I don't want to embarrass you.
If possible, the simplest one will do. If not, forget it!"
"Oh, that's it! Miss Shen, who has great connections, actually came to me for such a small favor..."
"Just tell me whether you agree or not!"
Yun Yi and Cang Yu, who were quietly listening to the conversation between the two, now had expressions on their faces that were difficult to control.
After being glared at by Xiao Heng, they took two steps back and sneered.
However, at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar, getting closer and closer.
Everyone thought something was wrong and looked in the direction of the voice. Only then did they see that the person coming was Cang Feng, who was sent by Xiao Heng to gather information.
He looked anxious, with beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks.
Even the horse under his crotch seemed to be out of breath, obviously it had been galloping all the way without stopping for a moment.
Without even having time to catch his breath, Cang Feng spoke impatiently, "Your Majesty, this is bad! Something's happened in the capital!"