Chapter 1 A Fry of Small Fish

Back when Jade Plate City hadn't been ravaged by war, there was a famous local snack called a fry of small fish.

It used a special type of small fish unique to the Wang River, which needed to be quickly fried in oil to remove its earthy odor, but not for too long, otherwise, its freshness would be lost.

Therefore, local vendors who made this snack often used long chopsticks to quickly toss the fish in oil, displaying skillful hand-eye coordination.

What Zheng Boye is doing now is the same thing.

After all, he is currently facing a group of great Chu nobles and dignitaries.

Those who eat meat are vulgar, but those who eat meat are never stupid.

All of his arrangements must be deployed and take effect quickly; otherwise, they will inevitably regain their senses, and his performance will turn into being "caught in a jar."

There can be no negotiation, no delay.

What he seeks is to seize the initiative in a short period of time.

Of course,

when the blade pierced "A'ming's" chest, Zheng Boye couldn't help but feel a little lost. If the person being held hostage in front of him was really the Regent, that would be better.

Then, whether he was traversing the martial world or serving in the military and imperial court, he might rarely be called "Earl of Pingye" again, but rather be known as—a Kingslayer.

Truthfully,

this title might be unlucky, but in terms of style, it's undeniably impressive.

At this moment,

the gazes of Zheng Boye, A'ming, and Fourth Niang met in an instant, exchanging information silently.

Perhaps it was because they had a high level of understanding, and also because Blind Man had often used mental chains in the past, so they could really understand each other's eyes.

A'ming: Master, why did you stab my chest directly?

Zheng Fan: Should I have squatted down to stab your leg on purpose?

A'ming: This location will require more blood to heal.

Zheng Fan: I was afraid it would be inconvenient for you to run away later if I stabbed your leg.

Fourth Niang: Why hasn't Third Brother arrived yet?

Just then,

a sharp whistle came,

followed by,

a person flying down from above the crowd.

Yes,

it was the kind of entrance that often appears in martial arts movies, stepping directly over the shoulders of the crowd.

"Buzz!"

Finally,

this person landed.

He was dressed in a dark-colored long robe, and between his eyebrows, he carried a strong Yin Sha aura (evil aura).

This is a master,

because after his appearance, the other nobles' retainers either lowered their heads to salute or took a slight step back.

In fact, in this situation, the existence of such individual strength is really troublesome.

Because this is not a battle between two armies, but a small local conflict, plus, Zheng Fan's numbers are actually at a disadvantage.

This is why Zheng Fan breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the Regent would be too weak to attend the wedding, because even if the Swordsmith was excluded, there must be several true masters around the Regent; they might not be very conspicuous in a battle of thousands of troops, but in this kind of scene, they can often change the situation.

"Hehe, Qu Mingxuan of the Qu Clan, greets His Excellency, Earl of Pingye of Great Yan."

This person cupped his fists in salute,

at the same time,

taking another step forward.

Zheng Boye's eyes narrowed immediately, instantly understanding that this old dog wanted to get closer to probe the Regent's true condition.

So,

Zheng Boye directly pulled the knife out of the Regent's chest,

and then unhesitatingly stabbed it into the Regent's shoulder.

"Puff!"

"……" A'ming.

Qu Mingxuan's feet stopped.

He is not a retainer of the Qu Clan; he is a member of the Qu Clan. He was originally a collateral descendant, but because he showed extremely high martial talent from an early age, he was cultivated by the family as a direct descendant. Now, he is a Fourth Rank martial artist, considered a highly respected figure in the Qu Clan. Even Qu Peiluo's father, Qu Tiannan, received his guidance when practicing martial arts. On weekdays, he is also responsible for teaching the Qu Clan's young disciples martial arts.

Precisely because he is a member of the Qu Clan, he hesitated at this moment.

He is confident that he can break through the Yan people's obstruction in front of him to reach the ceremonial platform at the cost of a little price and without entanglement.

He is even confident that he can capture the Earl of Pingye,

Even if the biggest accident happens,

He dares to guarantee that he can at least trade his life for the Earl of Pingye's.

This does not count the help of others; it is purely him alone. This is the pride of a peak martial artist.

Naturally so,

back then, Sha Tuo Qieshi was able to constantly charge through thousands of Northern Town Army iron cavalry, and in the end, he died of exhaustion. The physique of true peak martial artists is indeed shocking.

But still,

the stubborn fears the reckless!

Zheng Boye's current decisiveness made this powerful martial artist a little panicked.

Zheng Fan looked at him,

and shouted:

"I rose from humble beginnings, a commoner, and was fortunate enough to be appreciated by His Majesty of Great Yan, who promoted me to a high position and granted me the title of Earl. Today, I am only here for the woman I love.

But if you really push me, I might as well commit regicide here and die for love with the woman I love.

Below, I will not fail the princess's deep affection for me; above, I will not fail my Emperor's imperial grace to me!

You,

can continue to move forward,

I am the one who commits regicide,

and you, the Qu Clan,

are the ones who force the death of the monarch!"

"Come, don't hesitate, kill him, kill them, kill them! I won't blame you, I won't blame you!"

A'ming roared.

Immediately afterward,

A'ming seemed to be too immersed in the role,

and even added a sentence himself:

"Great Chu does not have captured emperors. After my death, pass on my decree and invite my fifth brother, Xiong Tingshan, to enter Yingdu to preside over the court!"

Perhaps Zheng Fan's previous threats and decisiveness had an effect,

or perhaps A'ming's improvisation worked,

Qu Mingxuan stopped advancing and instead began to retreat.

Because no matter how fast his movement technique is, it is not as fast as someone else's knife.

The other nobles did not dare to say much at this time, because if the situation today goes wrong, the Regent will die and Great Chu will fall into internal strife again.

At the same time, the Regent's statement of passing the government to the Fifth Prince also made many nobles present feel a chill in their hearts.

This sentence further solidified the "fact" that this was the real Regent.

Because only the Regent can issue such a decree in this situation.

However, the Fifth Prince is located in Wutong County, and what he bears on his shoulders is the interests of the local forces and the Shan Yue tribes of Wutong County.

In other words, the Fifth Prince's base is not on the same path as these long-established Chu nobles present, so everyone does not want to give the Fifth Prince a chance.

Zheng Boye shouted:

"Let us leave, and I will return your Great Chu Regent to you!"

No one responded.

Zheng Boye directly ordered:

"Jin Shuke, fetch the horses!

Whoever dares to stop us, the Regent will die because of them!"

There are really many horses here. Leaving aside the one hundred and eight white horses brought by Qu Peiluo for the wedding, they are all fine steeds.

Led by Jin Shuke, the Snow Sea Pass soldiers swaggered to fetch the horses, completely ignoring the Chu people's weapons around them.

The horses were brought over, and Zheng Boye first mounted the horse, and then took the princess from the ceremonial platform and had her sit in front of him.

Fourth Niang, holding the Regent hostage, also sat on a horse. Everyone was ready.

The Chu nobles on the periphery were like statues. No one stopped them, because no one dared to.

Not far away, dust was flying. About two thousand Green Luan Army regulars had arrived, forming a formation in front, but they did not charge over.

Zheng Fan had one arm around the princess and the other hand holding the reins.

The princess could feel that Zheng Boye seemed calm, but in reality, his body was very stiff. He was nervous.

Indeed, he was nervous,

because life and death were in an instant.

This was different from charging into battle with the army in the past, because no matter how uncertain the future was, you always had the opportunity to fight for survival and victory, but here, once you fail, you are destined to be overturned.

This feeling of walking on a tightrope is very exciting, but Zheng Boye feels that after this walk, he should be even more low-key.

Life should be a combination of work and rest to be healthy.

"Jin Shuke, release General Tiger Might! General Tiger Might treats people sincerely and is a good person. Good people should be rewarded!"

"Yes, Boye!"

Jin Shuke threw Qu Peiluo off his horse.

Qu Peiluo rolled twice on the ground and then passed out.

"Everyone, the mountains don't turn, but the water turns. If we meet on the battlefield in the future, state your name. I, Earl of Pingye, will spare your life and complete your participation in this Earl's wedding!

Let's go!"

"Drive!"

"Drive!"

The Yan people rode away, and the more than two thousand Green Luan Army regulars who had arrived did not receive military orders from the Qu Clan's superiors, hesitated for a moment, and did not choose to stop them.

Qu Mingxuan stood in place, clenching his fists.

The Qu Clan's face can be said to have been swept away today.

But now is really not the time to worry about the Qu Clan's own face, because the Regent is still in the hands of the Yan people.

…

The Green Luan Army still mobilized. The Green Luan Army on the periphery of the royal villa first set out, and several cavalry teams of more than a thousand riders took the lead in pursuing, while military orders were issued to various places, requiring them to set up checkpoints to intercept them.

The Chu nobles had finally reacted and made a response.

Earlier in the villa, everyone was shocked by Zheng Fan's direct act of stabbing the Regent. Once Zheng Fan left, all the troops immediately took action.

However, the initial pursuit was bound to be somewhat restrained and cautious.

When the nobles over there learned that the Regent had not been captured, the pursuit would definitely intensify rapidly, and the Chu people's boundless anger would inevitably be vented.

This is, after all, Chu, Chu territory!

But there would inevitably be a time difference between the two military orders;

Zheng Boye wants to become famous, but he certainly doesn't want to become famous posthumously, so now that he has put on the act and revealed his identity, the only element at present is to return alive!

After Zheng Fan's group of people rode out of the royal villa, they went straight to Zhou County. The north gate of Zhou County was suddenly set on fire and seized, and a team of more than two hundred riders rushed out from inside. After a brief encounter between the two sides, they split into two groups and continued to gallop, one heading west and the other heading northwest.

The large number of Chu cavalry pursuing from behind also immediately split into two groups and continued to pursue.

…

And late that night,

the window of a second-floor guest room in an inn in Zhou County was pushed open from the inside.

Zheng Boye looked up at the moon in the sky and stretched.

At this time, Zheng Boye had already taken off his military uniform and changed into a merchant's attire.

Sitting on the bed behind Zheng Boye was Xiong Liqing, who was holding a candlestick, guiding the wax oil to drip down.

Yes,

Zheng Boye and the princess are still in Zhou County.

Fourth Niang and A'ming are on one route, and Xue San is leading another route, and have already set off for Qi Mountain and Meng Mountain respectively to prepare for "escape."

And they are actually bait, and Zheng Boye is not among them.

Because the road to escape is destined to be very dangerous, destined to have too many accidents, and extremely dangerous.

Many movies, the entire length, are actually about escaping and telling about the various things along the way.

Therefore, Zheng Boye chose to go against the grain, the most dangerous place is the safest place, he chose to stay first, so that the Chu people's attention was attracted by the two groups of people, it is best to besiege, intercept and use various methods, and work hard.

At this time,

looking at the moon in the sky,

Zheng Boye really has a feeling that he has jumped out of the Three Realms and is no longer in the Five Elements.

"Hiss…"

The princess let out a soft cry.

Zheng Boye turned around and looked at the princess who was dripping wax on herself. The hot wax oil was dripping on her smooth arm.

Fortunately, Zheng Boye is not stupid and does not think that the princess's dignified and virtuous appearance actually hides such a heavy taste.

He saw the mark on the arm where the princess was dripping wax, which should be the Fire Phoenix mark that only core members of the royal family can have.

She is temporarily sealing that mark.

Zheng Boye just kept watching, watching the princess complete these steps.

After finishing,

the princess leaned against the bed,

sweaty,

with disheveled hair,

red lips,

and disheveled clothes.

Zheng Boye smiled.

The princess looked at Zheng Boye and asked:

"Does it feel like you've been forced?"

Zheng Boye nodded.

The princess smiled,

and said:

"I just eloped with you, and you treat me like this?"

Zheng Boye shrugged.

The princess bit her lip and said hatefully: "My arm is so hot, tell me about the will again, so I can feel better."

"Hehehe." Zheng Boye took a long breath and said, "Who would continue to feed bait to a hooked fish?"

"So men are like this, they don't know how to cherish what they get?"

Zheng Boye walked to the bed, sat down, shook his head, and said, "Not necessarily."

The princess sighed, looked at the wax oil solidification marks on her arm, and said, "I never thought that one day, I would actually take the initiative to cover up this mark."

This Fire Phoenix mark is a symbol of the royal family and the pride of the Great Chu royal family.

"Is it safe to do this?"

The princess said, "It should be able to temporarily seal it for a period of time, unless there is a shaman nearby to investigate."

"Then it's not completely safe."

Saying that,

Zheng Fan took out a red stone from his arms and threw it to the princess.

"Carry it with you, it can completely cover up the aura of the Fire Phoenix mark on your body, even if a shaman walks in front of you, he won't be able to detect it."

"……" Princess.

After a long time,

the princess took the red stone, turned her face, looked at Zheng Fan, and asked:

"So, why didn't you tell me earlier when I was dripping wax?"

"Because I thought the slightly painful expression on your face when you were dripping wax was very beautiful, and I wanted to appreciate it for a while."

"Earl of Pingye!"

"Yes."

"General Zheng!"

"Here."

"Zheng Fan!"

"Present."

"Stinky man, bastard!"

"Heh."

"Do you have to make me regret my first night with you?"

In fact, the princess really misunderstood Zheng Boye.

The reason why Zheng Boye didn't dare to throw the magic pill directly at first was that he was worried that the magic pill would lose control and suddenly fly out and smash the princess's head.

All along, Zheng Boye has been clear about the magic pill's killing intent towards him;

At the same time, he is even more clear that the magic pill's killing intent towards the close opposite sex around him is even heavier!

I'll kill anyone who wants to be my mother!

After hesitating and weighing the pros and cons, seeing that the princess herself couldn't guarantee that this method could completely cover up the Fire Phoenix aura, Zheng Fan decided to give the magic pill out.

Because according to Murphy's Law, it is obvious that the probability of a shaman being close to you is small, and the probability of the magic pill suddenly rising up to kill a stepmother is high.

So choosing the magic pill is like giving himself a reverse milk.

In addition, Zheng Boye couldn't help but complain in his heart, the Yan royal family has been vigorously breeding Pi beasts, but the Chu royal family is busy installing navigation positioning on their core children.

"Are those two groups of people just being sold by you?" the princess asked after putting away the red stone.

"Don't say it so harshly."

"But they are indeed taking risks for you, and even, many people will sacrifice for you."

"Raising soldiers for a thousand days, using them for a moment."

"Don't you feel guilty?"

"If I don't return to Yan alive, that is the biggest guilt for their efforts."

Moreover,

Zheng Boye felt that the two groups of people, firstly, had Fan Fu's arrangements, secondly, there were also pre-arranged barbarian soldiers to respond, and thirdly, there was a demon king leading each group. Some people might sacrifice, but they should be able to go back.

The reason why he didn't follow them was to be foolproof.

Admittedly, the biggest reason is that—Zheng Boye is afraid of death.

"Your skin is really thick."

Zheng Boye replied: "You should have known when I hugged you in your bedroom.

Besides, we have been on a blind date.

For folk blind dates, the man goes to the woman's house, which is just to meet each other. The woman secretly hides behind the window and glances at the man, and then the parents agree on the dowry and betrothal gifts.

We have met many times and know each other a lot, don't we?"

"But what about the parents' orders?"

"After I take you back, I will write a letter to His Majesty the Regent. Great Chu will definitely condemn me in a national letter, but privately, His Majesty the Regent should send me a personal letter, calling me his virtuous brother-in-law.

Your brother is the emperor, and emperors are the most realistic people."

"I am now a sinner of the entire Great Chu."

"Believe me, when I lead the army into Great Chu in the future, the nobles who were present today will prostrate themselves at your feet, treating you as their greatest savior and hope."

The princess bit her lip and looked at Zheng Fan.

Not to mention,

this expression is quite cute.

Zheng Boye lay on the bed, pillowing his arm, and said:

"Let's stay here for two more days, and then we'll set off to go back."

The princess didn't speak,

after a while,

she got out of bed.

Zheng Boye raised his body and looked at her and asked:

"Where are you going?"

"To fetch hot water and wash your feet."

"Oh?"

"Don't you think it feels like a virtuous wife and good mother?" the princess asked.

"Adding the words 'this princess' will make it feel even more."

"Bah."