Chapter 441

When Baili Junyi heard Chen Yun’s promise, he finally released the tension in his heart. When he came back to his senses, he felt the soles of his feet floating and his head throbbing with pain. His internal strength felt as though it had been emptied. Throughout the journey, he rushed like a madman. Besides, he was also carefully hugging Shen Ninghua and protecting Baili Qingcang, which completely exhausted his internal strength.

When Shen Ninghua woke up again, a day and a night had already passed. The candlelight in the cabin flickered softly. Just as she turned her head, she heard Baili Junyi’s surprised voice. “Ninghua, are you awake?”

“Yes.”

Baili Junyi carefully helped her up and fed her some warm water. “Drink some water. Uncle Chen said you would feel dizzy and uncomfortable after waking up. You need to be taken good care of.”

She drank two mouthfuls of water from his hand and looked at the bedside. She remembered that Big Boy and Baby Girl were both by the bedside the last time she was awake.

Baili Junyi read her mind and quickly said, “I was afraid that the children would not sleep well and they would disturb you, so I ordered Qing Que and Bai Ruo to bring them elsewhere.” This time, Bai Ruo and Liu Yun had escaped together, and they were by Shen Ninghua’s side.

Shen Ninghua nodded and reached out to touch her abdomen. She felt a slight response, and her eyes could not help but turn red. “Is our child alright?”

Baili Junyi hugged her and placed his hand on the back of her hand. His heart was still palpitating. “Don’t worry. The baby is fine. Ninghua, why did you act so recklessly? We can still have another child in the future if this child is gone. But what should I do if something happens to you?” He was no longer the courageous and valiant man he was when fighting. At this time, he was just a husband who loved his wife deeply. He was worried about her safety.

Shen Ninghua could not help but lean against him. “It was a critical situation at that time. How could I have thought so far? I just wanted to protect our child. It is worth it if I can protect him, no matter how big the sacrifice is. If I fail to protect him, I will only live with regret and guilt for the rest of my life.”

“Ninghua, thank you.”

Shen Ninghua chuckled. “This is our child. Why are you thanking me?”

Baili Junyi reached out and hugged her tightly, afraid she would return to her previous lifeless condition. “Ninghua, let’s not take such risks in the future, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Shen Ninghua knew he had been truly frightened this time, so she agreed quickly. Baili Junyi sighed softly and lowered his head to kiss the top of her head. “Alright. Since you’re awake, I’ll let Hong Ling bring some porridge for you. You should eat something and take your medicine before sleeping.”

“Mm, alright. Where are we now?”

“We’ve already passed two river forks. We’re about to reach Qushui.”

“Qushui? You changed the path?” Shen Ninghua was stunned. They would not go past Qushui if they went south through the canal.

“Yes. Baili Jinyi’s people will inevitably find out about the waterway, so I switched our path at the last minute. There will be more waterways the deeper we head toward Jiangnan anyway. If we change our route a few more times, it will be impossible for him to find us.”

At this time in the capital, Baili Jinyi was so angry that he almost went crazy. He had sent out many people, but they still could not stop Baili Junyi despite many casualties. He had even lost his greatest leverages, Shen Ninghua and Baili Qingcang. It was like losing the bait along with the fish.

Xiao Jingran pressed Xiao Fengjue as the latter knelt on the ground. At this time, Xiao Jingran could hardly suppress his anger. “Crown Prince, my son was mindless. Please punish him.” The first thing he heard after waking up was that Baili Junyi had burned the city gate and successfully escaped the capital. He felt more pain when he heard this news than when his arm was broken that he almost fainted. After investigating, he realized that Xiao Fengjue had drugged him and made him drowsy, which prevented him from timely doing his duty to command at the city gate.

Baili Jinyi peered at Xiao Fengjue and wanted to tear him apart with his murderous glare, but he spoke gently and forgivingly. “Old General Xiao, there may be a misunderstanding about this matter. I think your son is not someone who is this reckless. Take him back.” The Xiao Family was still useful to Baili Jinyi, so he couldn’t punish them now. Otherwise, he would have definitely slashed Xiao Fengjue into pieces to vent the anger in his heart!

Xiao Jingran glared fiercely at Xiao Fengjue, but secretly, he could not help but feel relieved. Xiao Fengjue was his only heir. He brought him here to receive punishment with the hope of being pardoned by Baili Jinyi. This was to prevent the Crown Prince from finding out the truth when he investigated. Now that Baili Junyi, Shen Ninghua, and the others had already left the capital, it was useless to say anything more.

Baili Jinyi waved for them to leave and then summoned his trusted subordinates. “Have you found out who rushed out to stop the soldiers at the palace gate midway?”

“Your Highness, I apologize for my incompetence. I haven’t found that out yet.”

Baili Jinyi had forced himself to endure his anger for a long time, and he finally could not help but sweep the memorials on the table to the ground furiously. “No one caught them when I asked you guys to do so, and now, you did not find out what I have asked you to investigate either. Why did I even bother to provide for you guys?”

“Your Highness, please forgive us.”

“Get out! Get out of here, all of you!”

When the Crown Prince got angry at the Chengqian Hall, the news quickly spread throughout the inner palace. Noble Consort Qi was carefully trimming a pot of black chrysanthemum in her hand. Hearing this news, she sneered sarcastically, “He was angry? I’m afraid many more things are coming his way that will anger him further!”

“Your Grace, the Second Princess is making a scene again. She said that if the maids and I don’t let her out, she will fast and destroy all the food we sent.”

Noble Consort Qi scoffed, “She will fast? Alright. Let her fast then. I will truly admire her courage if she can starve herself to death. Heed my order. Ask the servants to watch over her. Without my order, no one is allowed to let her out!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Noble Consort Qi held an exquisite pair of small scissors and slowly trimmed the black chrysanthemum in her hand as if she was trimming her troubles away. She thought Baili Jinchuan would realize the severity of this matter and learn to give up after this chaos. However, he did not give up and became firmer with his thoughts instead. This time, not only did he help save Shen Ninghua, but he also even helped Baili Junyi break into the palace and help him stop the Crown Prince’s people. He did not even care about getting injured during this incident.

A woman like Shen Ninghua was like a mellow wine. Once one had a taste of her, one would become addicted. It was tough to quit. Moreover, he was willing to suffer and had never thought of quitting his addiction. Thinking about it, Noble Consort Qi slightly exerted some force with the scissors and accidentally trimmed a black chrysanthemum bud. She gasped lightly and slowly picked up the bud. Then, she crushed it with her hand and threw it aside. “Take it away. There’s nothing beautiful about it anyway. No matter how much I trim it, it won’t make a difference.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

By the time Shen Ninghua got out of bed and walked around, it had already been more than ten days since they left the capital. Although it took a bit of effort to change their route several times, it did not take them long to reach Jiangnan because they followed the wind all the way.

Ye Yi helped them disguise their identities. Baili Junyi transformed into a merchant who had business in Jiangnan, while Shen Ninghua became his wife. However, it took some effort to disguise the children. The twins were still as beautiful as angels. They were attractive, and she could only dress them down as much as possible.

Big Boy and Baby Girl were exceptionally well-behaved. They allowed Ye Yi to draw on their faces and grinned at each other as they laughed about their costumes.

“Brother, you’ve become chubby. Your face is like an apple.”

Big Boy’s eyes had become much smaller, and his cheeks were chubby. He looked especially comical.

“Sister, you still look pretty.” Baby Girl’s skin color was much darker than before. Although she did not look as stunning as before and was much more ordinary now, she was still the most beautiful girl in Big Boy’s eyes.

“Haha.”

After the children disguised themselves, they hurriedly ran to Shen Ninghua. “Mother, what do you think?”

Shen Ninghua reached out to touch their small faces and could not help but chuckle. “Very good. You two look cute.”

Big Boy blushed and held his sister’s hand like a gentleman. “Mother, I will protect you and my sister in the future.”

Shen Ninghua was stunned for a moment before smiling. “Wow, you are a man now, Big Boy. You are able to protect me and your sister.”

“Yes! I am learning martial arts from Uncle now.” Shen Xuanlin was worried about Shen Ninghua, but Baili Junyi stopped him from coming so he wouldn’t be a nuisance. Therefore, he could only hang out with the twins. Big Boy had been training squats with Baili Xuanlin for a long time, saying he wanted to learn martial arts, but he later trembled when he walked.

Baili Junyi was shocked when he found out what happened. After asking for the reason, he did not question any further. He only asked Liu Yun and the others to keep an eye on Big Boy, so he would not hurt himself. He did not expect Big Boy to be exceptionally determined at such a young age. Although his legs trembled like a feather, he did not complain nor give up.

Shen Ninghua played with the twins for a while and was helped back to rest by Baili Junyi. The children were obedient and played with Qing Que and the others by the side.

Seeing Baili Junyi’s nervous expression, Shen Ninghua smiled helplessly. “I am not that weak. It will be fine to play with them for a while.” The weather had already turned chilly. Although Jiangnan had a warmer climate than the capital, it would be more unbearable when winter came. In addition, the ship was constantly moving, so it was not easy to keep warm. They could only stay inside more.

Right now, Baili Junyi wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, fearing she would fall. Even the slightest wind could make him tremble in fear. “The weather is cold. When we settle down, I will accompany you out.”

“Alright.” Shen Ninghua had no choice but to compromise. She leaned against the bed for a while and soon fell asleep. This time, she had suffered a great deal of damage to her body.

Baili Junyi looked at her pale face and felt a pang of pain in his heart. He made a promise to himself once again. He was determined to heal Ninghua, and he would feed her until she was healthy. He would never let her be so pale and weak again. When she fell asleep, he walked out and took the latest news from Hong Ling. After reading it, he threw it aside.

“The capital is in chaos? That’s good. Hong Ling, stir up more trouble in the capital with Ye Yi according to our plan!”

“Yes, Master!”

After leaving the capital, his life was no longer in danger. Naturally, he had to create trouble for Baili Jinyi. Ninghua had suffered so much and could not seek revenge at the moment, but he still had to make Baili Jinyi suffer on her behalf. He was waiting to see Baili Jinyi in a terrible state!