To avoid arousing suspicion, Du Ruhui also scrambled for the pears that Yunyi had thrown down along with the other common people. As early as when the first pear was thrown down, he had already understood Yunyi’s intention. “Pear” sounded like “leave,” meaning she wanted him to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible and not try to rescue her anymore.
But… Yunyi had shown him kindness. How could he just watch her fall into the hands of Cui Ji, that despicable villain?
While Du Ruhui pretended to scramble for pears, he approached the city gate and observed the defensive arrangements there. The city gate had not yet closed, with three gate guards stationed on each side. A wooden barrier was set up in the middle, and once someone tried to force their way through, they would immediately be captured by the guards on both sides.
On his way here, he had already thought it through—he would take the opportunity to cause chaos and then help Yunyi escape the city. Perhaps he would be captured by Cui Ji, but at least he could secure Yunyi’s safety, which would be worth it. However… Du Ruhui looked at the pear he had grabbed, and based on what Yunyi had revealed, she probably would not be willing to leave with him.
Indeed, she had deep feelings for Empress Xiao. How could she bear to flee the city alone? Must he really watch helplessly as Yunyi fell into Cui Ji’s hands? He knew Yunyi’s character well—gentle on the outside but strong within. She would never willingly let Cui Ji defile her. Once it truly came to that point, Yunyi would have only one path to take—death.
Just as Du Ruhui was caught in this dilemma, the pear in his hand was snatched away by someone who stuffed it into his mouth and bit down hard. Du Ruhui was only putting on an act, so naturally he wouldn’t fight over it. At this moment, sudden commotion came from the city wall. Just as the crowd of common people turned their gaze toward the city wall, a figure rushed out from the city wall and ran toward the city’s exterior. It was none other than Yunyi, followed by Cui Ji, who was tightly gripping his right arm with dark red blood continuously seeping through his fingers, clearly injured. He shouted in exasperation, “Catch her! Don’t let her escape!”
Hearing his shout, the soldiers responsible for guarding the city gate immediately came to their senses and moved forward to capture Yunyi. Before they could touch her, Yunyi had already shouted sternly, “How dare you! I am a princess of the current dynasty. Anyone who offends me commits a capital crime!”
Having been a princess for nineteen years, Yunyi naturally possessed the intimidating presence of a superior. With her shout, for a moment, no one dared to approach her.
Seeing this, Cui Ji said in exasperation, “What princess? Yang Guang has long been dead, and this world no longer belongs to the Great Sui. What are you standing around for? Catch her!”
Earlier on the city wall, Yunyi had gone mad for some reason, suddenly pulling out a golden hairpin and stabbing it hard into his arm. Taking advantage of his unbearable pain, she then ran down from the city wall. Now she actually wanted to escape the city right under his nose—hmph, it was simply wishful thinking!
Under his rebuke, the soldiers boldly blocked Yunyi’s path, but ultimately didn’t dare get too close. Although Yang Guang was dead, having been ruled by him for so many years, they still harbored fear in their hearts.
“Princess, please return!” Facing the words of the gate guards, Yunyi paid no attention and forcibly rushed forward. The gate guards were forced to retreat repeatedly. Just as they were about to be pushed out of the city gate, Cui Ji finally caught up. In both pain and hatred, not caring whether he would be punished by Yuwen Huaji, he slapped Yunyi across the face. The blood on his palm left five dark red fingerprints on Yunyi’s face, looking quite frightening. Not stopping there, he also grabbed Yunyi’s hair with a fierce expression and said, “Run! Why aren’t you running anymore? You wench!”
Yunyi endured the waves of pain from her hair roots and gritted her teeth, saying, “I won’t let you use me to lure Ruhui out. If you have the ability, kill me! Kill me!”
“You!” Under her provocation, for a moment Cui Ji truly had murderous intent. However, firstly he was reluctant, and secondly he was concerned about Yuwen Huaji, so he ultimately didn’t act. He reached toward her arm, “Come with me!”
Yunyi quickly retreated several steps, avoiding Cui Ji’s hand, and simultaneously pulled out another golden hairpin and held it against her jade neck. Using her peripheral vision to glance in Du Ruhui’s direction, she said coldly, “Today I would rather die than return with you!”
Cui Ji waved away the soldier who wanted to bandage his wound and stared intently at Yunyi, “Without my permission, you are not allowed to die!”
Yunyi laughed coldly, “My life is in my own hands. Why would I need your permission!”
Cui Ji secretly regretted not having timely removed the pearl hairpins from her hair, giving her the opportunity to threaten him. He forcibly suppressed his anger and said, “Stop making trouble. Come back with me. Du Ruhui is not worth you losing your life for him.”
Yunyi shook her head, “Rather than fall into your hands and suffer endless humiliation, I’d rather die cleanly.”
“What about Empress Xiao? If you die, what will happen to her? Are you going to abandon even your own birth mother?” Cui Ji’s words made Yunyi’s expression freeze. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cui Ji quickly stepped forward, snatched the hairpin from her hand, and pulled out all the hairpins from her hair, throwing them on the ground so she could no longer use them to threaten him.
Yunyi stared at Cui Ji with hatred, “How despicable of you.”
“Being despicable doesn’t matter as long as it’s useful.” Speaking thus, Cui Ji approached her ear with an ugly expression and said word by word, “The more you protect Du Ruhui, the more I want to find him and slice the flesh from his body inch by inch.”
Meeting his bone-deep hateful gaze, Yunyi suddenly laughed, “You can’t find him. You’ll never find him!”
From her wounding of Cui Ji, to rushing down from the city wall, to escaping toward the city’s exterior—all of this was to attract the attention of Cui Ji and the gate guards. Only this way would Du Ruhui have a chance to escape.
Things went as she had expected. Everyone’s attention was focused on her, and no one noticed a figure slowly edging toward the city gate. When Cui Ji snatched the golden hairpin from her hand, that figure had completely walked out of the city gate. She knew it must undoubtedly be Du Ruhui—he had understood her intention and taken advantage of the chaos to leave the city.
Since Du Ruhui was no longer in the city, even if Cui Ji dug three feet into the ground, he could not possibly find the slightest trace of him. This Cui Ji thought himself clever, but didn’t know that cleverness could sometimes be one’s downfall.
Cui Ji didn’t know that the person he was looking for had already taken advantage of the chaos to leave. He glanced at the sky and said to the gate guards, “Close the city gates. Also, send people to spread word everywhere—whoever helps us capture Du Ruhui will be rewarded with a thousand jin of rice!”
While Cui Ji was bringing Yunyi back to the palace, Du Ruhui had also used the cover of grass and trees to run several li away. He stopped and looked back at the city gate that was now barely visible in the distance, his expression extremely complex.
He had wholeheartedly wanted to rescue Yunyi, but in the end, he himself had escaped from the city. This was truly somewhat laughable. Yunyi… was she really unable to escape Cui Ji’s clutches? No, he believed that heaven would not cut off all paths for people. There must be a way!
Du Ruhui walked while thinking nervously, but no matter how much he thought, he still had no clue. The city was full of heavy troops and spies of the Pei and Cui families. Even if he had wings, he couldn’t take Yunyi away without anyone knowing. But if Yunyi remained in Jiangdu City, judging by her thoughts, she probably wouldn’t be willing to live dishonorably.
If heaven had indeed left a path of survival for Yunyi, where was this path?