The First Marquis of Leisure

After another day and night of driving, Nanjun was finally in sight.

Everyone stopped. Bai Shuang and Bai Li, along with eight hundred riders, dismounted and bowed deeply to Bai Xinghe!

"My lord, the journey to Yan is fraught with peril. No matter what, you must survive. Only by surviving can there be hope!"

"Our brothers will quickly disperse among the various kingdoms, awaiting only the opportune moment. At your command, we will brave fire and water, ready to die for our cause!"

Bai Xinghe quickly helped Bai Shuang and Bai Li up and shouted, "Uncle Shuang, Uncle Li, brothers, you are my last family in the world."

"Take care, not just me, you all!"

The group embraced tightly, and then Bai Xinghe and Zhao Xing strode towards Nanjun City ahead!

After watching Bai Xinghe and Zhao Xing's figures disappear into the distance, Bai Shuang and Bai Li then led their men away!

Nanjun was the most important military stronghold of the Zhao state, consisting of a total of sixteen cities.

It has now been ceded to the State of Yan by Zhao Xing, but it will take some time before the State of Yan sends troops to take over.

To this day, this area still belongs to the State of Zhao.

Bai Xinghe and Zhao Xing dared not be careless at all, because they might be recognized at any moment.

Neither of them were ordinary people; one was a prince, and the other was the heir of a very famous marquis's family.

Both of them are now wanted criminals of the imperial court, plotting to usurp the throne, according to the timeline.

The portraits of the two men must have already been sent over from the capital by fast horses through the post stations along the way.

Sure enough, just as the two of them, disguised, arrived at the city gate...

At a glance, one could see the portraits of the two men posted on both sides of the city gate.

"Heh, Zhao Xing seems to have gone all out. Brother, your head is still worth a lot!"

Bai Xinghe smiled, because according to the description on the wanted poster.

Anyone who provides clues about Zhao Xing's whereabouts, or directly captures him, will be rewarded with 100,000 coins and granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!

You should know that Bai Tianque fought his whole life and only managed to be granted the title of Marquis.

Although he himself was also very wealthy, he only received a reward of ten thousand and was granted the lowest rank of Marquis of Baili.

Zhao Xing's eyes flashed with anger: "It seems that as long as I'm alive, this bastard Zhao Xing won't be able to sleep."

The two joked around for a while before heading into town together.

After entering the city, the two dared not linger and continued eastward.

The sixteen cities of Nanjun were actually sixteen passes.

Only by passing through the last pass can one truly be considered to have left the territory of the Zhao state.

In order to avoid attracting attention and accidentally revealing their whereabouts.

The two were extremely cautious, not even daring to stay in an inn. When they were hungry, they would simply eat something simple, thinking of escaping Zhao territory as soon as possible.

Fortunately, on the third day, the two of them passed through the first fifteen passes without any major incidents.

Now, only one city remains in front of us, which is also the largest and most crucial of the sixteen cities in Nanjun.

But just as the two of them, based on their past experience, were about to leave the city without delay, they decided to act quickly.

An unexpected event occurred: the garrison suddenly closed the city gates.

"Sir, why are the city gates closed for no apparent reason? Is there some kind of war going on?"

Some civilians, also puzzled, went forward to ask the soldiers guarding the city.

"I just received orders from above that my Princess Zhao and her wedding procession will pass through this area tomorrow."

"Oh, I see. It seems we can only leave the city after the wedding procession arrives tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, the people dispersed.

Upon hearing this news, Bai Xinghe, who was in the crowd, felt a surge of anger.

He clenched his fists tightly, feeling very uncomfortable.

On that day, the Eighth Prince resolutely stayed behind to delay his death, and his last words were to entrust him with the task of taking good care of Zhao Sisi if possible.

"Brother Bai!" Zhao Xing saw Bai Xinghe's reaction of standing still and guessed what was going on, so he quickly reminded him.

"This is not a place to linger!"

Bai Xinghe nodded, and he and Zhao Xing immediately blended into the crowd and left.

The last of the sixteen cities was very large and bustling, with everything imaginable.

It took the two of them most of the day to tour the entire city.

As night fell, he thought that he could leave the city smoothly and escape Zhao territory the next day.

The two relaxed a bit and decided to find an inn to rest for the night.

But not long after the two entered the inn, Bai Xinghe keenly sensed that something was wrong.

He noticed that a table of guests were staring at the two of them.

"Brother Zhao, leave this place immediately!"

Bai Xinghe dared not be careless and called Zhao Xing to quickly get up and walk outside.

Sure enough, not long after the two left, a group of soldiers burst in.

"Sir, those two men just now looked a lot like wanted criminals!"

The leading officer's face darkened, and he immediately led his men to give chase.

Bai Xinghe and Zhao Xing ran wildly down the street. Fortunately, they had spent half the day exploring the city and were somewhat familiar with the terrain.

Arriving at the east side of the city, in the alley closest to the city gate.

They exchanged a glance, then climbed over the wall and went inside.

Not long after, footsteps could be heard outside.

"Immediately dispatch more men to search every house, even digging three feet into the ground. His Majesty will reward them handsomely for their capture!"

Bai Xinghe and Zhao Xing, who were hiding in a simple courtyard, overheard the conversation between the soldiers outside.

The two men were on high alert, slowly drawing their weapons, ready to fight to the death.

Just then, the creaking sound of a wooden door opening came from behind them.

This really startled the two of them. When they turned around, they saw a thin old man and a hunched-over woman looking at them with curiosity and surprise.

Zhao Xing immediately stood up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent, and drew his sword, rushing forward.

"Brother Zhao, you mustn't!"

Bai Xinghe quickly stopped Zhao Xing, knowing that Zhao Xing wanted to silence him.

"Old man, we meant no harm. We just sneaked into the house to escape the soldiers. We'll leave after they've gone."

Bai Xinghe gestured to the two elderly people not to be afraid, and also told Zhao Xing to put away his sword.

The old man and the old woman nodded, and then said, "This place is too simple to hide people. Please come with me, gentlemen."

As they spoke, the old man and the old woman led the two into the inner room.

Then he parted a pile of straw and lifted the lid of a cellar, indicating that the two could hide inside first.

Zhao Xing hesitated because once they entered the cellar, the old woman and the old man would close the lid and then go to inform the soldiers.

Then the two of them were truly trapped, since their heads were extremely valuable.

That's 100,000 jin (50,000 kg), enough to make someone a marquis of ten thousand households.

Bai Xinghe knew Zhao Xing's concerns, and he looked up at the two elderly people.

Seeing that the two elderly people had gentle eyes and kind faces, they could tell they were not bad people.

Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to take the risk.

Seeing that Zhao Xing was still hesitant, Bai Xinghe took the lead and entered the cellar.

Zhao Xing remained silent for a moment, then threatened coldly, "If you dare to betray us two brothers, I will definitely not spare you!"

After saying this, Zhao Xing also crawled into the cellar.

The two old men then covered the cellar with the lid and covered it with straw again.

The cellar was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but you could hear sounds from outside.

"Old woman, go out and buy some food for the two young masters. I think they must be hungry."

Then came the sound of footsteps, followed by the sound of the old woman opening the door.

However, shortly after the old woman stepped outside, the voices of soldiers could be heard from the courtyard.

Hiding in the cellar, Zhao Xing roared in anger: "Brother Bai, something's not right! Those two old bastards betrayed us. Otherwise, how could soldiers have come in so quickly after we left?"