Chapter 198 Guarding
Jiang Li was pushed awake by Wen Renyao.

When she woke up, the people who had slept on the ground with her last night were all asleep in groups of three or four. Wen Ji was gone, but Zhao Ke was still there. Wen Renyao was still holding Lin Yao, looking at her and saying, "Second Miss, are you awake?"

"What's going on?" Jiang Li looked around and woke up completely. She asked, "Is it over?"

"King Cheng's troops have temporarily withdrawn, and everyone has gone home." Wen Renyao said, "They should not come again today. According to Ah Heng's prediction, as long as we defended last night, King Cheng would not be able to attack the city." He approached Jiang Li and said, "Your Majesty has sent the general of the Wuwei to relieve the siege."

Jiang Li heard this and said, "When General Wuwei arrives, the only one who can be used is General Pingrong. General Pingrong cannot leave the station. Could it be that Prince Xia is coming back?"

"Nine out of ten." Wen Renyao stood up. He was holding a child in his arms and had been sitting on the ground all night, so he almost lost his balance and stumbled. Jiang Li also stood up. Zhao Ke said, "Second Miss, let's go back first."

Although Jiang Li didn't know where they meant by "going back", she nodded anyway.

Along the way, the streets were in a mess. Even though Jiang Li was forcibly abducted when she first arrived in Huangzhou, she still remembered that although Huangzhou City was not as prosperous as Yanjing City, it was still lively and beautiful. Now that the city was destroyed by the fire last night, only charred black remained, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. There were dried blood and corpses on the ground. Some people were kneeling in front of the bodies of their family members and crying in pain, while others were dragging their tired bodies and began to clean up their destroyed homes.

As long as they were not completely burned, they had to be saved. They couldn't just sleep on the street for the rest of their lives. In front of the houses that could not be saved and burned to ashes, the owners sat at the door and cried loudly. The place where they had made their living was destroyed. Everyone would be sad. These cries were heard by people, and they were also very sad. Overnight, how many families were separated from their wives and children. These people usually lived well in Huangzhou City. Who would have thought that this natural disaster would suddenly befall them? It was really an unprovoked disaster. The world is unpredictable.

Jiang Li walked along, sighing and lamenting. When she reached the gate of Huangzhou City Government Office, she saw several rows of black-clad men lying neatly in front of the two stone lions. All of these black-clad men were dead, but there were no wounds on their faces or bodies. They were all killed with a single blow. Some of them had dirty blood flowing from their mouths.

Jiang Li asked: "Are these the people who came out to prevent the fire last night? Are they the people that King Cheng arranged in Huangzhou City?"

Zhao Ke said, "Yes. The Lord has sent people to search for their whereabouts. These people are all dead men, and nothing can be learned from them. If they are caught, they will be killed without mercy. These are the ones we have found, but there is no guarantee that there are no remnants in the city, so the second young lady must pay attention to safety."

Jiang Li nodded: "I know."

Zhao Ke led Jiang Li and Wen Renyao to continue walking forward. At the end of the road, they finally saw a house. This house was probably burned, but the fire was quickly put out, so except for the blackened door frame, the rest of the house was still intact. Zhao Ke led Jiang Li and Wen Renyao inside. Wen Ji was already inside. When they walked into the hall, they saw Lu Ji. Lu Ji might have not slept all night, and his expression could not hide his fatigue. His neatly trimmed beard became a little messy at this moment. Seeing Jiang Li and Wen Renyao, he said, "You are back."

"Lu Ji, why do you look so tired?" Wen Renyao said, "If you are tired, take a rest. Don't push yourself."

Lu Ji was about to say something when his eyes fell on Lin Yao in Wen Renyao's arms. When Lin Yao saw Lu Ji looking at him, he turned his head and buried it in Wen Renyao's arms. This boy was cute and timid like a girl, and he just experienced a huge change in his family, so he didn't trust people at all.

"Where did this come from?" Lu Ji asked.

"Miss Jiang Er was rescued from the assassin last night. His parents, brothers, sisters and family are all gone, and he is the only one who escaped. I think he is a good fit for our Jixian Sect, so I am thinking about whether to accept him as a disciple."

"Become a disciple?" Jiang Li didn't know what Wen Renyao was thinking, and asked in surprise, "What do you mean by suitable for the Jixianmen?"

Wen Renyao was frank: "People like us, leaking secrets and tampering with the fate of others, are going against fate. God certainly won't allow it, so people like us are born to be doomed. Ahem, of course, this is just a meaning. The disciples of the 'Jixianmen' are mostly those who have experienced major changes in their families since childhood, and their parents, wives, children and elders are all dead. I am the same, I am an orphan, and my father entrusted me to my master when he died. I have been down the mountain for so many years, and I have never accepted any disciples. It is because most of those whose families have died are too old. Even if there are young ones, they are bent on revenge for their families. As soon as I said I would accept them as disciples, they drove me away. This little guy is not bad. He is much younger than me, and the enemies of his parents and family have been solved. He has nothing to worry about in the world. It is most suitable for him to come to our sect and be my disciple."

He spoke a lot of words, and Jiang Li was stunned. She asked why Wen Renyao always stared at Lin Yao before, and she thought Wen Renyao was a curious child. Unexpectedly, he had this idea. Jiang Li said: "No matter what, even if Master Wenren wants to take in a disciple, it's better to ask Lin Yao's opinion. This is his business after all."

"Of course, of course." Wen Renyao answered, but it seemed that he didn't take Jiang Li's words to heart. Jiang Li sighed and didn't say much to him. At this moment, he really didn't have the energy to care about these things. It would be better to calm Xiao Linyao down first, and talk about the future later.

Lu Ji said to Jiang Li: "The master is in the room."

Jiang Li looked at him, and Lu Ji replied, "If the second lady has anything to say, she can go to the house to find the master." He stood up and said, "I'm going to rest for two hours. Wenren, you guard the door. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji are also tired after a night, so they should rest." After that, he turned and went to another room and closed the door.

Wen Renyao shrugged and said to Jiang Li, "I'll take this kid back to the room first."

Jiang Li stood in front of Ji Heng's door, hesitated for a moment, and finally pushed the door open.

The people in the room sat at the table.

After the night attack last night, it started to rain in the morning. The rain continued and the sky became gloomy. The morning in the house was like evening. When Jiang Li walked in, she could only see a back figure. When she got closer, she saw Ji Heng leaning on a wooden chair with her eyes slightly closed.

She sat down on the chair next to Ji Heng.

Hearing Jiang Li's movement, he opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Li.

"Sorry," Jiang Li said, "I didn't mean to wake you up." Ji Heng smiled lazily. Although he didn't say anything, he could feel that defending the city that day was not easy. Although Jiang Li didn't see it with his own eyes, the frenzied King Cheng had already prepared for last night for a long time, and those who had to defend the city must have made great sacrifices.

Jiang Li's eyes fell on Ji Heng again. Perhaps for convenience, he did not wear red clothes, but black armor. This made his usual charming aura fade a little, becoming cold and solemn. However, when he smiled, it was indifferent, as if he was an outsider.

The black clothes made it impossible to tell whether he was injured or not. Even if there were bloodstains, it was not visible. Jiang Li asked, "Are you... okay?"

"Of course." Ji Heng said, "I heard that you saved a child?"

"Yes, that child's family is dead."

"Jiang Yuanbai will be so angry that he will die." Ji Heng raised an eyebrow, "He is as cunning as a fox, but he raised a daughter who loves everyone in the world."

"It's not that I pity everyone in the world." Jiang Li said lightly: "I just thought of A Zhao. A Zhao was like him when he was a child."

Ji Heng stopped talking. He knew that Jiang Li was also Xue Fangfei. Of course, he knew that Xue Fangfei had a younger brother, Xue Zhao, who was later killed by Princess Yongning. In addition to Xue Huaiyuan, the Xue family only had this pair of siblings. You can imagine how deep the relationship between the siblings was, and how much of a blow it was to Xue Fangfei after Xue Zhao's death.

"Then you can keep him." Ji Heng said, "You can also let him follow Xue Huaiyuan."

Lin Yao has lost his parents, and Xue Huaiyuan has lost his son, but they can be a companion.

Jiang Li smiled slightly. Ji Heng was thinking long-term. She looked at Ji Heng again and asked, "Will King Cheng continue to attack the city? When he gets the news that General Wuwei is coming, he will go to Yanjing immediately."

"Of course." Ji Heng said, "All the way from Huangzhou to Yanjing, King Cheng's troops are hidden. When he arrives in Yanjing, his troops will be strong and unstoppable. Even if he just stands there, it will be enough to make the people of Yanjing panic."

"But isn't Prince Xia coming?" Jiang Li said, "Your Majesty has no choice but to recall Prince Xia. Prince Xia went to the northwest before Your Majesty ascended the throne. Over the years, Your Majesty probably has no other thoughts about Prince Xia and will not be on guard against him."

Ji Heng turned his head and looked at Jiang Li quietly. His amber eyes were dark and bright in the bright and dim light. There was no more love for the occasion, but something that Jiang Li couldn't understand.

"Duke," Jiang Li was silent for a while before saying, "The person you really want is actually Prince Xia, right?"

Ji Heng did not answer.

Jiang Li started talking to herself: "I don't know why the late emperor expelled Prince Xia to the northwest, but Prince Xia has stayed in the northwest for many years. Your Majesty has no reason to recall him, unless Prince Cheng causes trouble. When Prince Cheng causes trouble, Prince Xia will return to the capital. All this is because the Duke of the State painstakingly created a three-way split in the court. Otherwise, if either side falls first, Prince Xia will appear at the wrong time. Perhaps Prince Xia will return to the capital sooner or later, maybe not now, but later. The Duke of the State chose this time because it is not the most perfect time for Prince Xia."

"But there is one thing I don't understand," Jiang Li said, "If you want to deal with Yin Zhan, you can use other methods. Why do you have to do this and recall Yin Zhan back to Yanjing openly? I don't know why..." She lowered her head and said, "It reminds me of the Xue family and Princess Yongning. I tried my best to avenge the Xue family and bring Princess Yongning to the attention of the world, because only in this way can Xue Fangfei's death be brought to light. I am trying to overturn Xue Fangfei's case, and you, what are you doing?"

Her voice was clear and gentle, and she spoke slowly and leisurely, as if she was telling someone a gentle story. The dim light outside shone on her side face, blurring the red spots on the girl's face, revealing her delicate outline.

The young man chuckled, the sound still meaningless, and said, "Just for what you just said, you can die."

Jiang Li said: "Of course I know."

"Then you still ask?"

"I hope I can help."

Ji Heng didn't push back. It was unknown whether he was tired or didn't want to talk about it. He just said, "You can't help, don't waste your energy."

Jiang Li frowned, and he closed his eyes again, as if extremely tired.

He still didn't answer Jiang Li's question, but he didn't deny Jiang Li's guess. Jiang Li had already slept for a while and wasn't sleepy, so he just sat beside Ji Heng in a daze.

From a distance, it looked like it was guarding him.

(End of this chapter)