Zha Gong's evolutionary path

A soldier in casual clothes ran to the top of the mountain to explore the way, and then ran back, knelt down on one knee and reported: "King Huiyan, there is a footprint of a person walking alone in front of him. The footprint is heavy, and it should be caused by the weight of a person on his back. Judging from the wetness of the footprints, it can only be left by trampling in the past two days at the latest."

The eldest grandson sat upright on a snow-white horse, with a long whip in his hand, and his face was gloomy.

He said concisely and neatly: "Let the dog out and follow the trail."

"My lord, earlier that unscrupulous man deliberately left his beloved horse in the forest, and used the stream to hide his breath, but he went in the opposite direction, causing us to chase the wrong horse for several hours; will this happen? It is also a trick to lure the enemy..."

Changsun Yuying had a cloudy look on his face, and said coldly: "Do you have other ways?"

The scout was so blocked by King Yan that he didn't dare to say a word, he kept saying yes, but he didn't dare, and hurriedly retreated to pass on the prince's order.

The eldest grandson stared at the sunset that was gradually setting from the top of the mountain in front of him, his heart was restless and angry.

This unknown boy not only managed to evade his usual shooting in the Wuji camp, but also knew how to hide his tracks in the wild and seduce people astray; this is obviously not a rough villager who just entered the military camp, Things that can be easily done.

He wasn't worried about what would happen to Changsun Dan if he fell into his hands, but what he was worried about was that if Cheng Yaojin, who had been killed halfway through, got involved, would something go wrong in his grand plan.

It's all the fault of Changsun Dan, that wimpy man, who failed to accomplish anything but failed.

He was in a state of anxiety, but Wen Yao hurried over immediately, and said in a low voice: "My lord, that black horse riding on flames, my lord really wants to..."

The eldest grandson said coldly: "Kill it, make it into dinner and distribute it to everyone. The horses that have been touched by such thieves will be salty if I want to come."

"That is the mount that the prince loved since he was a child..."

The eldest grandson glanced at him, Wen Yao immediately silenced, and obediently rode away.

In a short while, the mournful hiss of a generation of good horses sounded, which sounded particularly miserable and soul-stirring in the evening wind.The eldest grandson quietly listened to the last gasp of his beloved horse who had been with him for many years before his death, with a motionless expression, as if it was a trivial matter.

The team moved on in wordless oppression.Most of the pursuers witnessed the end of the famous horse that was once the prince's favorite, and they were terrified in their hearts, with an inexplicable fear of hurting their kind.

If he can catch up with the kid who kidnapped the prince, he might still survive; if he can't catch up, I'm afraid that those who participated in the pursuit today will end up dead in the wilderness...

Suddenly there was an exciting call from the front, and someone rushed over immediately: "My lord, there is a farm ahead, and the footprints seem to lead to that house."

Without waiting for this person to say it a second time, Changsun Qi kicked the horse's belly and galloped forward first.

Chang Sun Dan heard that Lin Gongru went out with the old farmer and drank two bowls of chicken soup, and couldn't lie down anymore.He groped and slowly put on his clothes, walked slowly to the door, and opened the door.

The old woman who brought him chicken soup just now was squatting in the yard picking vegetables for dinner. The cabbage stalks were separated from the leaves and stacked neatly on two plates.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, he raised his head and showed him a caring smile: "The young man is up? Your friend went up the mountain to find medicine for you. You can rest for a while and wait for him to come back."

Changsun Dan said: "He's not Ben... not my friend."

The old woman smiled and said, "It's not your friend who would take care of you so hard? When you were unconscious, that young man stayed by your side and didn't close his eyes all night." Wiping his hands on his trouser legs, he moved another short He asked Sun Dan to sit down, "It's good to come out and get some fresh air, come on, sit down."

Changsun Tan sat down according to his words, was stunned for a while, and said: "Grandmother, let me help you choose vegetables." He reached out to pick up the unfinished cabbages.

He lived in the palace since he was a child. At the age of 17, he became king and went to the fiefdom. He always stretched out his clothes and opened his mouth to eat. He had never done a single thing in the kitchen.

Even though I drew a gourd according to the old woman's method, the cabbage I picked was still connected with the green stems, the tendons were rough, and I was ashamed to panic when I saw it.

The old woman smiled and took it again: "It's okay, you just sit here and chat with the old woman. The mountains and fields are clean, and I haven't seen a living person for a long time. The old man and I are very lonely."

Changsun Dan asked, "Did he really guard me all night?"

The old woman was nimble, and while picking vegetables, she responded: "Ah? You said your friend, yes, he told my old man that you would pass out. To some extent, it was because of his troubles. He couldn't just sit idly by. When the old woman got up at dawn, she saw the oil lamps in your room, and the young man kept bringing you warm water to wipe your limbs, I heard it was to cool down."

No wonder when I felt drowsy, I felt that someone was wiping my whole body with a warm cloth. It turned out to be that guy...

He is obviously a daring villain who dares to kidnap and flee even the prince in order to survive; when something happens, he ignores the risk of being hunted down and wholeheartedly takes care of himself who is dragging him down.

Does this person act as he pleases, with no regard for what happens next?

Chang Sun Dan said in a low voice, "I don't even know his name."

The old woman smiled and said: "He said his name is Lin Gongru, oh, you are really not friends?"

Changsun Dan showed a strange expression, as if he wanted to say something, but stopped talking.

He could never tell the white-haired old woman his real identity, let alone tell her that he was kidnapped by Lin Gongru, and his imperial brother was leading troops to chase after him.

Thinking of the emperor's younger brother, Changsun Dan suddenly became excited, and felt a chill in his heart for no reason.

He stood up, looked at the distant mountain, frowned, and said softly: "It's almost dusk, why hasn't Lin Gongru come back yet? We should also leave—"

Before he could finish his sentence, human voices came faintly in the wind, and the old woman said happily: "Isn't this the return?" She also stood up.

The eldest grandson turned his gaze to the source of the sound, but his complexion turned pale.

At the end of his line of sight, under the fading twilight sky, his imperial brother, whom he hadn't seen for a few days, was riding a snow-white steed, and was riding forward with a group of armored soldiers.

Changsun Kui saw this from a distance, and saw Changsun Dan standing in the yard with a white-haired old woman. The old woman was dressed as a peasant woman, presumably she was the mistress of this farm family.

He met Changsun Dan's eyes, and without waiting for Changsun Dan to make a sound, he waved his hand and shouted to his soldiers: "Go into the house, and let me find that kid." As he spoke, he rode his horse and approached the farmhouse at the same time.

The old woman was dazed, first she heard the neighing of the horse's hooves, and then she saw a pile of dust billowing in, she was still holding unpicked cabbage stalks, standing there at a loss.

"This is……"

Before she could finish her perplexed words, Changsun Yu drove the horse up to her, and the long whip cracked, causing the white-haired old man to fall back in shock.

The eldest grandson hurriedly supported her, and when she leaned back, she finally saw the face of the eldest grandson who was sitting upright immediately. The panic just now turned into surprise, and then turned into surprise: "You are so handsome——"

She turned her head away, and kindly told Changsun Dan, "This noble man with beautiful clothes looks exactly like you, little brother..."

With a snap, the riding whip pierced the air, tore through the clothes, and hit the old man's body directly.

The eldest grandson suddenly supported the old woman's body that fell forward, startled and panicked, and shouted at the twin brother who was sitting upright on the horse: "Don't mess around! She is a lifesaver for my brother!"

The eldest grandson looked down at him from above, but this time he didn't pull down the long whip, he just raised his eyes and glanced at the soldiers who scattered into the house and searched around.

After a while, they rummaged through all the boxes and cabinets of the farmer's family, and the soldiers who were only three feet away from the ground came out and reported that they did not find the thief who had been chasing for many days.

The corners of Changsun Qi's mouth were tensed, feeling unhappy, could it be that he came a step late and let the boy run away after hearing the wind?

Chang Sundan lowered his head, busy observing the situation of the old woman, the corners of his eyes turned red almost instantly.

His imperial brother's whip was really steady and ruthless, without showing any mercy.Not to mention the elderly who are over seventy years old, even young people in the prime of life, if they are caught off guard by this whip, they will still be overwhelmed.

"Old man, old man..." he whispered.

The old woman fell into his arms, dying, she didn't even have the energy to open her eyes and speak.He hurriedly went to pinch her again, pinched her for a long while, but the old man did not open his eyes.

The eldest grandson asked: "Brother Huang, where did the thief who took you here go? In which direction did he escape?"

He asked himself where Lin Gongru had gone without changing his face, after beating an innocent old woman cruelly! !

Changsun Dan's lips trembled, and a feeling of grief or pain filled his heart, pulling him left and right.He whispered: "Imperial brother, you should pass it on to this old man first, she is not at fault..."

The eldest grandson jumped off the horse, took a rough look at the body in his arms, and said to Wen Er, "Aren't you going to help your master?"

Wen Er hurriedly responded, and stepped forward to support Changsun Dan.

King Hao struggled helplessly for a while, and immediately someone came up and dragged the old woman away from his arms. He watched her being thrown aside in disgust like a heavy sack of flour.

A suffocating air welled up in his throat, and the bowl of unpalatable soup that he had swallowed during the day seemed to surge up.

"Emperor brother..." He supported his head, dizzy, and his body was on the verge of falling.

The eldest grandson shouted: "Search around again! That kid can't run far on foot!"

Suddenly, the dozen or so hounds they brought, as if they smelled something, turned their heads and barked in one direction.Immediately, an old voice sounded along with stumbling footsteps: "Who are you... Old lady, old lady!!"

Chang Sun Dan raised his eyes and saw an old man with white hair throwing firewood and running wildly.

Tragedy flashed through my heart, I opened my mouth and wanted to shout, don't come here, old man, don't come here...

But when the white-haired old man saw his wife fall to the ground, his life and death were uncertain, and he didn't know where the strength came from under the great grief, he ran all the way past the scattered soldiers standing in the courtyard.He threw himself at the body that had fallen to the ground, and tremblingly stretched out his arms to hug him: "Old woman..."

A cold light flashed in Chang Sun's eyes, and from the corner of Chang Sun Dan's eyes, he saw his imperial brother raised the long whip in his hand again, and without thinking, he pulled it down towards the old man whose back was turned to him, knowing that something bad was going to happen.

But he could only shout hoarsely: "Stop—"

The long whip fell, but there was no crisp whipping sound as expected.Changsun Yu tried to twitch the horsewhip, but the whip rope remained motionless as if glued, and a strong force grasped the other end of the whip tightly.

Lin Gongru flashed in front of the old man, holding Changsun Yu's long whip tightly with one hand, so hard that the tiger's mouth almost immediately spattered dark red blood.

A pair of peach blossom eyes stared viciously at King Yan, who was close at hand. Their eyes met, and Changsun Qi clearly saw the anger in the man's eyes that was about to erupt, as if a volcano was about to erupt.

He tried to pull back the long whip again, but the opponent was much stronger than him, and he was still standing still.

Lin Gongru gritted his teeth and said, "Why implicate the innocent! You want to attack me!!"

King Yan grinned at him, let go of his hand gracefully, took a step back, and said, "Come here, let me arrest him."