Chapter 65: The Road Back to the Palace

Giving birth is inherently a life-threatening matter. In this ancient era, where conditions were backward and there were not even painless injections, the risk factor soared to the highest point.

After Grandmother Wu learned that her daughter-in-law was about to give birth, she hurriedly had her eldest granddaughter run to the village to find neighbors for help.

Before long, Wu Daya called over three middle-aged women, and they all walked into the room together; both Dawu and Xiaowu were chased out.

No one had expected that the Wu daughter-in-law would give birth at this time. Several grown men stood in a row outside the door, looking at each other with embarrassed expressions.

In the end, Wei Qing simply led everyone to the entrance of the village to continue repairing the road out of the mountains, striving to get out as soon as possible.

Hearing his mother's painful cries, the younger Wu brother also wailed loudly outside the house, and Wu Daya could only hold her brother in her arms to soothe him.

The dilapidated house could not mask the smell of blood inside, especially in this damp environment after the rain, where the scent was even more pronounced. The Wu daughter-in-law's shrill screams pierced the sky, as if tearing a gash into this quiet evening, sharp and ear-piercing.

Liu Li, a six-year-old child standing outside the door listening to such cries, felt a faint chill in her heart.

The three middle-aged women called by Wu Daya to help with the delivery were not professional midwives; they were just a few women in the village who had given birth to many children and had some experience, which was why Grandmother Wu had invited them to help Xiaohui deliver.

Xiaohui lay on the only decent bed in the house, her hands clutching the bedding tightly, the veins on her forehead bulging from the pain. Her voice had gone hoarse from screaming, but the child in her belly seemed to be stuck, unable to be born no matter what.

Grandmother Wu stood to the side, anxious: "What is going on? Wasn't Xiaohui's previous delivery very quick? Why is this pregnancy so difficult?"

Woman A said: "The position of this fetus seems a bit wrong; the head is not at the birth canal!"

Woman B also said: "We must find a way to guide the child's head to the birth canal so the delivery can continue; otherwise... the child will suffocate."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Wu panicked: "This is truly life-threatening!"

Woman C brought over freshly boiled hot water, and Woman B washed her hands with it: "I will reach in and try, but I cannot guarantee it will work. You must be mentally prepared, elder sister."

As she spoke, Woman A and Woman C pressed down on Xiaohui's legs, allowing Woman B to work. Xiaohui looked at Woman B with a deathly pale face; she was in so much pain she nearly went into shock.

"I've touched the child's head," Woman B said. "Hui, push harder, the child will be out soon."

After the previous ordeal, Xiaohui had long since lost her strength. She lay on the bed as if collapsed, murmuring: "I have no strength left..." Tears welled up in her eyes for no reason, and she felt inexplicably sad; she felt that the child in her belly was taking her life away.

Xiaohui stared blankly at the dilapidated roof above her head, suddenly wondering why she had wanted to have this child.

Woman A said: "If only there were ginseng, it could sustain her for a breath."

"Hui, think of Dawu; you cannot let go at this time," Woman C encouraged Xiaohui from the side: "If you let go now, not only will you lose your life, but the child in your belly will not survive either."

The voices in her ears grew increasingly hazy, and Xiaohui's hands, which had been clutching the bedsheets, gradually relaxed. She was in too much pain, so much pain that her lower body had lost all sensation; she did not want to give birth anymore.

"Hui, Xiaohui..." Someone was calling her name, but Xiaohui no longer wanted to respond; she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, to have a good, long sleep.

Xiaohui slowly closed her eyes, and her vision plunged into darkness.

"Ahui!" Seeing Xiaohui close her eyes, Grandmother Wu stepped forward and shook her, but she would not wake up.

Woman A stepped forward and felt Xiaohui's breath and pulse, her lips trembling: "Elder sister, Xiaohui has already..."

Woman B stared at Xiaohui's protruding belly; the child seemed to be struggling in the mother's womb because of the mother's death. She hurriedly said: "The child is still alive; we must find a way to save the child!"

Grandmother Wu seemed to age ten years in an instant. Hearing that the child was still alive, she braced herself and asked the three experienced women:

"How do we save it? You must save my grandchild."

"We can only perform a cesarean section now," Woman B said. "You decide, elder sister."

"Do it, saving the child is what matters." Grandmother Wu held Xiaohui's hand with one hand while turning her head away, unable to bear the sight.

There was no time to worry about much else now. Woman A found the scissors, but after hesitating for a moment, she still could not bring herself to cut into Xiaohui's corpse.

Woman B had helped deliver babies in town before and had seen and experienced more than the other two. Seeing that Woman A could not bring herself to do it, she took the scissors directly and, trembling, reached toward Xiaohui's abdomen.

The wailing cry of a child seemed to sweep away the gloom in the hearts of those waiting outside the room. Dawu wept with joy, looking nervously at the door.

Before long, Woman C walked out holding an infant wrapped in a gray cloth and, seeing Dawu, said: "It's a girl."

Hearing it was a girl, the smile on Dawu's face faded somewhat, but he still walked up happily and handed the few copper coins he had been clutching to Woman C: "Thank you, auntie."

Woman C pushed them away, only saying: "Dawu, go inside and see your wife for the last time; she has suffered."

Woman A and Woman B also walked out one after another. Woman C handed the infant in her arms to Wu Daya, and then they all left together.

Inside the room, Dawu's painful and sorrowful roar suddenly came: "No!"

Liu Li only learned later that Xiaohui had lost too much blood while giving birth and had gone into shock. The midwives thought she had died and, in order to save the child in her belly, had cut her open with scissors.

Who knew that while being cut open, Xiaohui was awakened by the pain. In the end, she watched with her own eyes as her child was safely removed from her belly before she finally breathed her last.

Just hearing this process made Liu Li's scalp tingle; she only hated this backward ancient society for not even having cesarean sections.

She secretly decided that she would absolutely never give birth in the Western Han!

Because the heavy rain blocked the mountains, coupled with the Wu family's funeral, Liu Li and Liu Che's group stayed in Xiaoliang Village for a full five days, finally waiting until the mountain road was clear.

The village head was quite considerate of them; knowing that the Wu daughter-in-law had passed away due to childbirth and that they might be unable to attend to them, he specifically borrowed a vacant house in the village for them to stay in temporarily.

Liu Che and his daughter Liu Li squeezed into a small room, while Wei Qing and the other five lived in a slightly larger room. Thus, their group managed to live in Xiaoliang Village for five days.

This day, the road out of the mountains was finally clear, and Liu Che impatiently had everyone pack their luggage to leave the village.

He had never lived such a hard life in his entire life.

Considering that it was a long way from the village to the town, they decided to set off early the next morning.

Tonight was their last night in Xiaoliang Village.

The villagers knew they were leaving early tomorrow morning, and several households living near their house specifically brought them a few eggs.

Perhaps in Liu Che's eyes, these few eggs were nothing, but for the villagers, these eggs were something they had saved up by scrimping and saving.

It was mainly because Wei Qing and the others had often helped the villagers with work over the past few days, earning everyone's respect.

Liu Li suggested washing these eggs clean and boiling them in a pot to take with them to eat on the road, and everyone had no objections.

"Is Brother Huo here?" A young girl's crisp voice came from outside the house, and everyone inside looked at Huo Qubing in unison.

Chen Fei raised his arm and nudged Huo Qubing: "Qubing, someone is looking for you."

Huo Qubing blushed from everyone's gaze; he stood up with a 'whoosh' and muttered: "I'll go out and see what's the matter." Then he slipped out of the house.

Seeing that there was excitement to watch, everyone hid behind the window to peek at the situation outside.

Seeing this, Liu Li also squeezed over, but because she was too short, she couldn't see outside even when jumping. Seeing this, Chen Fei reached out and lifted Liu Li up so she could also see the gossip outside.

The one looking for Huo Qubing was Wu Daya. Under the sunset glow, her eyes were still red, and she seemed to have lost a circle of weight. She lowered her head slightly, her hands seemingly very

nervous as she tugged at her sleeves.

Huo Qubing stood in front of her and asked: "Is something the matter?"

"Brother Huo, I heard that you are leaving our Liang Village tomorrow, is that right?" she asked cautiously.

"The road out of the mountains is clear, we will leave tomorrow morning," Huo Qubing answered truthfully.

Wu Daya bit her lip, then gathered her courage and said: "Then... then can you take me with you?" This was the decision she had made after thinking about it all night.

Huo Qubing was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said: "This... how can that be?" Although he was only ten years old now, he knew that one could not just take away someone else's daughter.

"I am willing to go with you," Wu Daya said hurriedly: "Mother has passed away to give birth to my little sister, and there is nothing left in the family to pay for Mother's funeral. Seeing that the 'poll tax' will have to be paid soon, I thought that if I left home, it might reduce the burden on the family a little."

Huo Qubing fell silent upon hearing her words, and after a long while, he said: "You are a girl; what can you do if you leave home?"

Wu Daya choked with sobs: "I heard my father say that you might not be refugees. I am willing to follow you as a slave or servant, I only ask that you be willing to take me in."

Huo Qubing: "..."

"Since your father can see through our identities, then you should also know that whether I can take you with us is not for me to decide," he said, frowning: "This matter still requires the consent of my master."

Wu Daya nodded: "Brother Huo, then are you willing to intercede with your master for me?"

"I will convey your thoughts to my master, but I will not intercede for you," Huo Qubing said, turning directly to return to the house. Who would have thought that as soon as he turned his head, he would see everyone peeking at the gossip from the window.

Seeing that they had been discovered by Huo Qubing, everyone scattered in a rush and returned to their original positions to stand before Huo Qubing entered the house, as if nothing had happened.

After Huo Qubing entered the house, he glanced at everyone. He originally wanted to call Liu Li out to talk about what Wu Daya had mentioned. As a result, a soldier deliberately mimicked Wu Daya's voice in a sharp tone: "Brother Huo."

"Hahahaha." This sound made everyone else in the room laugh, and Liu Li laughed the loudest.

Huo Qubing: "Shut up, you are not allowed to call me that!" He glared at the soldier who was mimicking him, a flush of embarrassment and anger appearing on his face.

Wei Qing protected Liu Che to go to the village entrance to look at the road out. He had originally thought about buying a carriage or an ox cart from the village head as a means of transport, but there was only one old ox in the entire village, which had been bought with money from all the villagers.

The village head relied on this ox cart to pull things from the village to the town to exchange for food, so it really could not be lent to them.

In the end, Liu Che had no choice but to give up and return to the house with Wei Qing, and then he heard everyone's laughter.

Liu Che raised his eyebrows slightly and asked: "What is the matter, why are you so happy?"

Seeing that the "Empress" had arrived, everyone immediately restrained their laughter. Only Huo Qubing remained, turning around in embarrassment to explain the situation to Liu Che.

After listening, the expression on Liu Che's face appeared meaningful: "They saw through our identities long ago?"

Everyone remained silent. Wei Qing said in a low voice: "They saw through it but did not expose it, which shows they are also smart people. But why did the Wu family's girl look for Qubing?"

"It's useless to look for anyone; the palace is not short of people," Liu Che said, looking meaningfully at Huo Qubing, raising his eyebrows: "If Little Huo wants to take a wife, it wouldn't hurt to take her along."

Huo Qubing shouted directly: "I don't want to!" He subconsciously glanced at Liu Li sitting next to him, but noticed that she seemed very happy facing such a situation, and suddenly felt a bit depressed.

Liu Che was just joking with Huo Qubing, so he didn't care about his rudeness.

The next morning, while the sky was still dim, Liu Che's group was already prepared to set off. Because there was no ox cart for transport, they had to set off early to reach the town before dark.

Everyone had said goodbye to the people in the village yesterday, so they didn't notify the villagers this morning and left quietly.

Who knew that just as they reached the village entrance, the Dawu and Xiaowu family chased after them. Liu Che turned and looked at their family, his brows furrowing.

Wei Qing protected the "Empress" behind him, "Brother Dawu, is there something the matter

?"

Dawu paused and knelt directly in front of them with his family: "Brother Wei, I beg you, for the sake of our family having taken you in before, please buy my Daya. You know our family's situation; we really can't afford to raise so many children in the future."

Hearing Dawu's words, Liu Li frowned reflexively. If such behavior were placed in modern times, it would probably be scolded to death by netizens, but this was the Han Dynasty.

Since the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, it had been stipulated that children between the ages of seven and fourteen had to pay a "poll tax" every year. And if a woman did not marry by the age of fifteen, she would be fined and have to pay five times the poll tax.

In the Wu family's situation, they really could not afford to raise so many children. The second Wu daughter was already seven years old this year; when the taxes were collected, their family's burden would definitely be even heavier.

Wei Qing could not make the decision on such matters, so he turned to look at the "Empress," hoping the "Empress" could give an instruction.

Liu Che actually really disliked being "kidnapped" like this. He raised his eyebrows: "Aren't you afraid that we are bad people and will sell your daughter to other places to suffer later?"

Dawu said hurriedly: "No, I can tell you are not that kind of person."

"We don't have many Zhu coins on us, I'm afraid we can't afford it either."

"You just need to give Daya a bite to eat." Dawu naturally was reluctant to sell his daughter like this, but his wife Xiaohui had just passed away, and the family really couldn't make ends meet.

These past few days, their family sat together to discuss how to live in the future, and Daya stood up and suggested this method. If Daya left with Brother Wei and the others, the family could save twenty taels every year.

Wu Daya also hurriedly kowtowed: "Madam, I beg you to take me with you."

Liu Che stared at this family for a long time and suddenly said: "In that case, why don't you let your second daughter go with us? She is about the same age as my daughter and will be a servant girl by my daughter's side in the future. If you agree, come with us now; if you don't agree, then let it be."

Dawu was stunned and turned to look at his second daughter, who was as thin as a bean sprout.

Wu Er-ya raised her head, somewhat confused, and met her father's expectant gaze. She blinked her eyes, suddenly stood up, turned around, and ran toward the village.

"Er-ya!" Dawu called out, but he couldn't call Wu Er-ya back.

"It seems your daughter is not willing to go with us," Liu Che said lightly: "In that case, let's drop the matter."

Dawu still wanted to strive for it: "Madam, Er-ya is young and ignorant. Daya is already sensible and can take care of your young lady."

Impatience had already appeared on Liu Che's face. Seeing this, Wei Qing hurriedly spoke: "Brother Dawu, let's leave it at that; it won't be good if we keep talking."

Just as both sides were deadlocked and preparing to say goodbye, Er-ya, who had already run away, ran back holding a cloth bundle. She stood in front of everyone, panting, and then said slowly: "I, I am willing."

Everyone: "..."

Facing her father, Er-ya knelt before him and kowtowed: "Father, I am willing to follow Sister Xiaoli and reduce the burden on the family, it's just that from now on, daughter cannot fulfill filial piety by your and Grandmother's side."

Dawu's expression changed abruptly. He almost choked as he helped Er-ya up, reached out his rough hand to touch his daughter's face, and then looked at everyone: "Madam, Brother Wei, I leave my Er-ya to you."

Er-ya stood up and looked at everyone timidly. Finally, meeting Liu Li's gaze, a simple and honest smile appeared on her small face.

Liu Che glanced at the cloth bundle in Wu Er-ya's hand and raised his eyebrows. This child suddenly ran away just now; was it to go home to pack a bundle?

"Ah Li, are you willing to take her with you?" Liu Che still asked for Liu Li's opinion.

Liu Li looked at Wu Er-ya, nodded with a somewhat solemn expression, and whispered: "Take her." She was not sure if taking Wu Er-ya to Weiyang Palace was the right choice. But at least for now, it was right.

After hearing this, Wei Qing stepped forward to check Wu Er-ya's small bundle, and after confirming there were no problems, he let her go with them.

Wu Er-ya bit her lip and carefully opened her bundle; inside there was only one set of clothes,

and a small wooden carved whistle, and there was nothing else.

Seeing that whistle, Dawu's eyes instantly turned red. He looked at Liu Che and Liu Li and only said one sentence: "Er-ya is a bit slow; if she makes you angry in the future, just hit her twice to let her learn a lesson. She will definitely remember it, just don't hit her a third time."

Because they had to take care of the "Empress" and the Princess's pace, their group finally arrived at a small town in Yunyang County in the evening.

There would be a curfew before sunset. Wei Qing first arranged for a soldier to go to the town's office; if they could find the person in charge, that would be best, and if not, they would have to find a way to find a place to spend the night themselves.

Several people took out the Zhu coins they had on them and pooled them together, finally managing to scrape together three strings of coins. Wei Qing kept this money on him and waited for the soldier who had just left to return.

Fortunately, the soldier really found the town's local administrative official, and the soldier brought everyone over. Wei Qing went to negotiate with the local administrative official and stated his identity.

The local administrative official was also an official sent by the county, and his monthly salary was 100 shi.

However, the highest official the local administrative official had ever seen was the County Magistrate, and he had no concept of Wei Qing, this so-called Feathered Forest Guard Leader. Moreover, the clothes on Wei Qing's body were tattered; where was there any appearance of a leader?

Local administrative official: "You say you are a leader, do you have any proof?"

Wei Qing searched his whole body but could not find anything that could prove his identity.

The County Chief said with disdain: "Without proof, I would dare to say I am the Son of Heaven."

The real Son of Heaven, Liu Che, heard the County Chief's words, and his face suddenly darkened. He scolded angrily: "Presumptuous!"

The County Chief was startled. Seeing that the one scolding him was a woman, he stood up and slammed the table in anger: "You dare to speak to me so loudly? I think you are the one who is presumptuous!"

The next moment, Wei Qing had already used a very handsome grappling move to press the County Chief onto the table.

The County Chief was stunned for a moment, then began to struggle. Seeing that he couldn't struggle free, he began to beg for mercy: "Hero, spare my life, I have eyes but failed to recognize you, it was my rudeness." This was treating Wei Qing as some kind of wandering hero.

Wei Qing turned his head to look at Liu Che for instructions. Liu Che's anger remained unabated, and he sneered, "What a spineless, bullying dog! To have a person like you serve as a village head is truly a dereliction of duty by the county magistrate!"

The County Chief gave a dry laugh, and because he was being pressed by Wei Qing, he could only admit defeat and say yes.

Liu Che directly led everyone into the room, kicked the County Chief's butt, and then said: "Go and arrange for someone to bring your county's Magistrate over."

The "Empress's" act of a playboy really shocked the other soldiers. Little did they know that in his early years, Liu Che was just such a rampant and domineering playboy.

How could the County Chief dare not to obey? He hurriedly agreed, and Wei Qing let him go. Once he gained his freedom, the County Chief shouted directly: "Someone, come quickly, someone come quickly."

Several small officials under him heard this and hurriedly rushed in to try to rescue the County Chief. As a result, how could these few people be the opponents of the soldiers who were seriously trained every day?

They were cleaned up by the soldiers in a few moves.

County Chief: "..." He knelt down and begged for mercy with a thud; this time he was truly honest.

It was already dark, so everyone simply rested here at the County Chief's place. And the County Chief also arranged for people to send a letter to the County Magistrate overnight, hoping that the County Magistrate would come quickly to save him.

Having a place to rest, Liu Li sat on the cushion without any image, rubbing her calves that had been running for most of the day, calling out that they were so sore.

While rubbing, Liu Li suddenly thought: "What if the County Magistrate doesn't believe us either?" They couldn't put a knife to the County Magistrate's neck again, could they?

Liu Che sneered after hearing this: "Those county-level magistrates are all appointed by me... by the Emperor himself. If this County Magistrate dares not to believe it, he won't be a County Magistrate in the future."

Liu Li suddenly realized: "Then may I ask, what is the name of the Yunyang County Magistrate?"

Liu Che suddenly paused: "..."

Liu Li stared at him and blinked, as if saying, didn't you appoint him yourself? How come you don't even know what his name is?

"There are more than 1,500 counties in the entire Great Han, how

can I remember them all so clearly?" Liu Che defended himself.

Alright.

Liu Li curled her lips; this couldn't be blamed on Liu Che for not remembering.

It wasn't until noon the next day that the Yunyang County Magistrate arrived late. After seeing the County Magistrate, Wei Qing immediately stated his identity, and even Liu Che's identity as the "Empress" was not hidden.

Yunyang County Magistrate Su Xiang was horrified in his heart after hearing what Wei Qing said, but he maintained respect on the surface, secretly observing Liu Che's appearance.

The Empress and the Jianling Princess had been missing from the palace for more than half a month, and the magistrates of Chang'an had basically received the Emperor's order to pay attention to finding the Empress and the Princess.

Now the Empress and the Princess, who had been missing for a long time, suddenly appeared like this, which really made people suspicious. Su Xiang also understood that if what these people said was true, then finding the Empress would be a great achievement.

Thinking of this, Su Xiang still maintained a rigorous attitude and asked: "I wonder if you have anything to prove your identity?"

They really didn't have any tokens on them to prove their identity. Liu Li thought for a while and said: "Does County Magistrate Su know about the Jianling Princess?"

Su Xiang nodded repeatedly: "Naturally I know, the Jianling Princess has a goddess protecting her, blessing our Great Han."

Liu Li took out the mineral water bottle she was drinking from and showed it to Su Xiang: "Then do you recognize this object?"

Su Xiang took the mineral water bottle in his hand, and a light of wonder and ignorance appeared in his eyes: "This... so icy and transparent, it is even more translucent than crystal, what is this?"

"May I ask, besides the Jianling Princess, who else in this world can possess such an object that even County Magistrate Su has never seen before?" Liu Li said with a smile.

Listening to Liu Li's words, Su Xiang only felt that it was exceptionally reasonable. When he looked at Liu Li again, his gaze changed completely. He even knelt down to Liu Li and Liu Che: "Your subordinate pays respects to the Jianling Princess and the Empress."

Liu Che was a bit unhappy that this Su Xiang had paid respects to Ah Li first, and then to himself. However, seeing that his attitude was not bad, he endured it and didn't care anymore, only saying: "I am now in distress in your Yuanyang County, I order you to prepare a carriage and escort us back to the palace."

Su Xiang: "Nuo."

There must be no carriage in this small town, so Su Xiang needed to take the "Empress" and the Princess to the county seat, and then arrange a carriage to escort them back to Chang'an.

The County Chief didn't expect that these people were really high officials, and he was already dumbfounded. When Liu Che and the others were about to go to the county seat with County Magistrate Su, he hurriedly came to beg for mercy, which earned him a contemptuous glance from Liu Che.

That glance made the County Chief's heart go cold.

On the way to the county seat, Liu Che and Liu Li sat in the carriage that County Magistrate Su had come in without any hesitation. Liu Li let Wu Er-ya sit on the side of the carriage as well, while the others walked beside the carriage.

Finally, she didn't have to walk anymore. Liu Li sighed comfortably while lying in the carriage, and then complained to Liu Che: "I have walked more in these few days than I have in my entire life."

Liu Che reached out and pinched her dusty cheeks: "How long is your life? Isn't half of the road walked with me and Chen Fei carrying you?"

Liu Li said righteously: "Because I am a child."

Wu Er-ya, who was sitting outside the carriage, suddenly stretched her head into the carriage and tilted her head to ask Liu Li: "Master, what is a Princess?"

Asking this question stumped Liu Li. Liu Che watched Liu Li calmly without making a sound, waiting for Liu Li's answer.

Liu Li thought for a while and said: "A Princess is the daughter of the Son of Heaven."

Wu Er-ya asked again: "What is the Son of Heaven?"

"The Son of Heaven is the Emperor, the greatest person in this world," Liu Li explained to Wu Er-ya seriously.

"Is he bigger than the village head?" In Wu Er-ya's heart, the village head was the greatest person in their village; she didn't know anyone bigger.

Liu Li nodded: "Of course, he is bigger than everyone, and everyone has to listen to him."

"Then do I have to listen to him too?"

Liu Li bent her lips and smiled, saying: "You don't have to listen to him, you just have to listen to me."

Wu Er-ya concluded: "So Sister Xiaoli... no, no, it's Master. Master is a person even more powerful than the Son of Heaven." Previously, Wu Er-ya called Liu

Li sister, but was corrected by Wei Qing, who told her to call her Master.

Liu Li thought, anyway, now that they had found the County Magistrate and were returning to the palace, it seemed a bit strange to let Wu Er-ya call her Master. So she said: "Er-ya, you can call me Princess from now on."

Wu Er-ya nodded: "Princess."

Liu Li blinked her eyes: "Er-ya, let me give you a name. Your current name doesn't sound very good."

"Okay." Wu Er-ya's eyes lit up.

"How about Er-ya?" Liu Li said: "It's both literary and ladylike."

Wu Er-ya scratched her head when she heard this: "Is there any difference from my current name?" Her little head couldn't understand what the difference was between Er-ya and Er-ya.

Liu Li: "Uh..." She was literary for once, and she was actually defeated by Er-ya.

"Er-ya is quite good," Liu Che expressed his opinion, then looked at Liu Li: "I didn't expect Ah Li to know the 'Erya'."

The "Erya" was the first dictionary-style literary work in ancient China, but Liu Li wanted to rename Er-ya to Erya not because of this, but simply because she thought of the Mandarin homophone of Er-ya as Erya.

So, under Liu Che's praise, Wu Er-ya later had a formal name, Wu Erya.

Everyone didn't arrive at the county seat until evening. County Magistrate Su hurriedly arranged for county officials to entertain everyone well and arranged rooms for them, preparing to escort the Empress and the Princess back to the palace with a carriage early the next morning.

On this day, everyone could finally wash up well in the County Magistrate's mansion and change into clean clothes, and Liu Li didn't have to squeeze into a small bed with Liu Che and be unable to turn over.

Even Erya changed into a set of clean clothes. She was so happy that she didn't want to take them off even when sleeping; she had never worn such good clothes in her life.

After resting in the County Magistrate's mansion for a night, the next day County Magistrate Su prepared breakfast for everyone. After finishing breakfast, he transferred several county officials from the mansion to escort the Empress and the Princess back to Chang'an with Wei Qing and the others.

"Empress, your subordinate has already arranged for someone to rush to notify the Emperor of the news that you have been found. I believe the Emperor will soon know the news that you have been found." Before Liu Che left, County Magistrate Su reported some things to Liu Che.

Liu Che was very satisfied with County Magistrate Su's arrangement and nodded slightly: "Hmm, when I return to the palace, I will have the Emperor reward you."

County Magistrate Su said he didn't need a reward, but he was still looking forward to it in his heart.

Wei Qing drove the carriage for the "Empress" and the Princess, and the other soldiers were also equipped with horses, striving to reach Chang'an before dark.

Liu Che and his daughter leaned in the carriage, neither of them speaking, but both could feel a sense of eagerness to return home in each other's eyes.

They had been wandering outside for nearly half a month, and they didn't know what Weiyang Palace was like now, or how A Jiao was.

Liu Che suddenly found that he seemed to miss A Jiao a little.

No, not a little, but very much.

Under Wei Qing's fast riding, they arrived at the city gate when the Chang'an city gate was about to close.

Wei Qing shouted: "Stop for a moment." Why was the city gate closed early before dark?

The soldiers closing the city gate looked at the carriage galloping from outside and actually accelerated the action of closing the city gate. It was about to get dark, and if they let people in at this time, if something happened, they would lose their jobs.

So they simply pretended not to hear and closed the gate first; if they wanted to enter, they could wait until tomorrow morning.

Seeing that the city gate was about to close, Chen Fei, who was riding in front, suddenly drew the sword from his waist, aimed at the gap in the city gate, and threw it out fiercely, livingly sticking the sword onto the gate.

The soldiers closing the city gate were stunned, staring blankly at the sword handle still vibrating on the gate.

It was also at this time that their group arrived at the city gate. Wei Qing said sternly: "Weiyang Palace Feathered Forest Guard Wei Qing is escorting the Empress and the Jianling Princess back to Weiyang Palace, why haven't you opened the gate to welcome us yet!"

The soldiers at the city gate hesitated when they heard this: "But we just received an order from our superiors to close the city gate early today."

Liu Che in the carriage heard the soldiers' words at the gate. He slowly opened the carriage door, narrowed his eyes, and asked: "Whose superior's order did you receive?"

"Naturally, it was our Lieutenant who came personally."

The Lieutenant was the leader of the Northern Army, responsible for protecting the safety of the entire Chang'an. These guards guarding the city gate were members of the Northern Army.

Liu Che walked out of the carriage: "Even if you want to close the city gate early, now that you have seen me, why don't you open the gate to welcome me?"

The soldier said: "Lieutenant did not let us open the city gate, so we cannot open it!"

Liu Che: "???"

"Then let your Lieutenant roll over here," Liu Che said, suppressing his anger. He never expected that even after arriving at the gates of Chang'an, he could still be blocked by his own army.

However, at this moment, a scene that no one expected happened. A cold arrow from the city tower pointed directly at Liu Che.

With a 'whoosh', before everyone could react, the arrow hit Liu Che's heart.

Liu Che only felt a shock in his heart, finally spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell backward with a blackness before his eyes.

Liu Li, who was sitting in the carriage, exclaimed: "Father Emperor!"

Fortunately, the scene was already chaotic at that time, and Liu Li's cry was not noticed by anyone.

Wei Qing looked up at the gap in the city tower, at the figure of the assassin who flashed by, and shouted: "Protect the Empress!"

The soldiers at the city gate were stunned; they never expected such an accident to happen. And the two soldiers following Wei Qing directly used their bodies to ram the city gate open.

Wei Qing asked while driving the carriage: "Empress, are you alright?"

Liu Che had already been held in Liu Li's arms. He coughed muffledly and said: "I'm fine."

As he spoke, he took out the token that had been dented by the arrow from his arms: "Fortunately, this token saved my life." Otherwise, with the power of that arrow just now, he would have died without a doubt.

This token was what Wei Qing had searched from the assassin at Ganquan Palace before.

However, even with the token blocking it, Liu Che was still shaken and suffered internal injuries, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

While Liu Li breathed a sigh of relief, she asked: "Who is so bold as to dare to shoot a cold arrow at you on the city gate? And didn't that County Magistrate Su say that he had already arranged for someone to notify... Father Emperor? Why did the soldiers guarding the city say that they wanted to close the city gate early?"

All of this was too unreasonable.

Logically speaking, after A Jiao knew that they were still alive and were coming back, she should have opened the city gate to welcome them. Why was it the opposite now, and someone even wanted the "Empress's" life?

Liu Li couldn't understand what was going on.

Liu Che thought and thought, his expression becoming more and more dangerous, and finally even faintly revealing a hint of anger. He lowered his voice and said: "Only the Son of Heaven can mobilize the city guards. I'm afraid A Jiao doesn't want us father and daughter to go back."

Liu Li was stunned when she heard Liu Che's guess, and then denied it: "This is impossible." She didn't believe A Jiao would do this.

Liu Che had a gloomy face, holding the token tightly in his hand. He didn't want to doubt A Jiao either, but at present, the only one who could do this was A Jiao.

Wei Qing drove the carriage into Chang'an City. The city-guarding general had already brought people down from the city tower. He seemed to know Wei Qing, and the two didn't exchange pleasantries, directly asking: "How is the Empress?" The Empress was assassinated at the city gate, and none of these people could escape accountability.

Liu Li's sad crying came from the carriage: "Wow, Mother Empress, don't die, woo woo woo..."

The city guards felt a chill in their hearts, thinking it was over.

Wei Qing raised his hand and said: "Brother Gongsun, you should control everyone on the city tower just now as soon as possible. I will send the Empress back to the palace for treatment first. If the Empress really encounters a disaster..."

The young general guarding the city was Wei Qing's friend Gongsun Ao. He nodded with a solemn face: "Brother Wei, don't worry, I will definitely find the assassin."

The two parted ways, and Wei Qing continued to drive the carriage to Weiyang Palace, escorting Liu Che and Liu Li back to Weiyang Palace all the way.

The Southern Army guarding the palace gate let them pass directly, and finally, the carriage arrived in front of Jiaofang Hall without encountering any obstacles.

Wei Qing jumped off the carriage and ordered the palace maids of Jiaofang Hall to summon the Imperial Physician. He guarded the carriage, waiting for the "Empress" to get off.

Liu Che frowned: "I have already arrived at the door of Jiaofang Hall, why hasn't the Emperor

appeared yet?"

Liu Li was also puzzled. She whispered: "Otherwise, should I go down and ask first?"

Liu Che responded. Seeing Liu Li get off the carriage, he thought that since he was acting, he should do the whole set, so he inserted the arrow into his chest, held it with his blood-stained hand, and then called Wei Qing: "Wei Qing, come and carry me off the carriage."

Wei Qing was stunned for a moment, lowered his head slightly, and said: "Nuo."

When the palace people of Jiaofang Hall saw Liu Li, they were almost all weeping with joy. Woo woo woo, their Princess had finally returned.

Liu Li hurriedly asked: "Where is my Father Emperor?"

Zhuqing, who came after hearing the news, said: "The Emperor has taken the daughter of the Zhouyang Marquis family to live in Shanglin Park. I'm afraid he doesn't know you've returned, Princess."

Liu Che: "???"

Liu Li: "Uh..." ===== CHAPTER 66 =====