A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 236 Escape

On New Year's Eve, every household decorated with lights and colors, celebrating reunion, and the whole city was filled with the sound of firecrackers. Only the Li family remained in mourning, with a deserted house.

At the same time, the territory of Lang State in the north was already devastated and filled with grief. After months of desperate resistance, Lang State finally reached the point of exhaustion and powerlessness. Seeing that the Xiyue army was about to approach the city, Xuan'an City was in chaos. The people in the city fled on New Year's Eve, and the inner courtyard of the imperial palace was also in chaos.

"Jiuyi, stop!"

Shangguan Jiuyi had just walked out of his house when he was stopped by his father Shangguan Jue.

"Father, I must bring Luoying out." Shangguan Jiuyi closed his eyes helplessly and sighed, then turned to look at his father.

"Shangguan Jiuyi, you have to think carefully. Taking such a beautiful princess from a fallen country with you will only bring you endless disasters. You may not be able to protect her!" Shangguan Jue frowned and advised his youngest son in a stern voice.

"Thank you, father, for your reminder." Shangguan Jiuyi said nothing more. He just raised his arms and saluted to his father. Then he said, "After the Shangguan family flees to Xuanmeng Country, remember to go to Qi Hou's Mansion to find Qi Hou's son Qi Xuanlin." After that, Shangguan Jiuyi turned around and left. Time was running out, and he didn't have time to talk much with his father. He would just wait until he arrived in Xuanmeng Country in the future to apologize to his father.

"You..." Shangguan Jue sighed helplessly with tears in his eyes as he watched his youngest son hurriedly leave.

In the princess's mansion, Luoying sat in the pavilion and listened to the noise outside the wall with a calm face. Langguo was about to be lost. Emperor Ning Xi of Lang ordered that the palace gates be opened tonight, and the concubines and palace maids who wanted to escape could follow the people in the city and leave Xuan'an City. Most of the palace maids in the princess's mansion also ran away, leaving only the personal maid Liuli and a loyal eunuch. The queen came to persuade Luoying to leave the palace, but Luoying saw that the emperor's sister-in-law wanted to stay and share the national crisis with her eldest brother. How could she, as a princess of Langguo, be afraid of death?

"Princess, look who's here!"

Liuli's joyful voice suddenly sounded from behind Luoying. Luoying thought it was Jiuyi who came. She slowly turned around and saw her long-lost brother.

"Royal brother!" Luoying was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy, and threw herself into Li Xu's arms and burst into tears.

"Today is New Year's Eve, and we are reunited as brother and sister. Don't cry." Li Xu's face was haggard at this time, but he was still warm in front of Luoying. He comforted the little sister in his arms, and tears in his eyes could not help but slide down.

Li Xu's army fought with the Xiyue army for several months, but was eventually defeated and retreated all the way to a city a hundred miles away from Xuan'an. Today he rushed back to Xuan'an for his sister Luoying.

"Royal brother, you are finally back. I thought I would never see you again..." Luoying was still crying heartbrokenly in Li Xu's arms.

"Okay, now is not the time to cry. My royal brother has made arrangements. You should leave Xuan'an City immediately." It was the first time that Li Xu interrupted his younger sister before she could finish her words. Time was pressing. His army could not hold out for long a hundred miles away. He was afraid that after dawn, the Xiyue Army would arrive at Xuan'an City.

"You want me to leave, what about you and my eldest brother?" Luoying stopped crying and looked at her eldest brother Lixu nervously.

"We agreed that I would come back when you reached the age of 15. Now my royal brother has come back earlier than expected, but he has also prepared a coming-of-age ceremony for you." Li Xu did not answer his younger sister's question, but put a pink pearl hairpin on Luoying's head.

"Will you and my eldest brother leave Xuan'an City?" Luoying still grabbed Li Xu's sleeve and asked crying, but her brother's expression had already told her everything.

"It is my brother and I that Lang State has fallen into such a state. If we had not fought against each other, how could the West Moon State have taken advantage of the opportunity to invade? We are ashamed of our clan, our father, the emperor, and our mother, and even more so, the people of Lang State..."

"Stop talking, stop talking... If you don't leave, you will die for your country, but I am your sister and the princess of Langguo. How can I possibly live in disgrace?" Before Li Xu could finish speaking, Luoying covered her ears with her hands, shook her head and cried.

"Luoying." At this time, Shangguan Jiuyi, dressed in white, also hurried over.

“Jiuyi…” Luoying looked at Shangguan Jiuyi and was about to speak when she was knocked unconscious by a black shadow that suddenly appeared and then fell into Shangguan Jiuyi’s arms.

"Your Majesty, time is running out. The princess must leave the city as soon as possible." After receiving a glare from King Xian, Chen Ming hurriedly explained.

"Luoying and Yingyan are now handed over to you. Protect them well." Li Xu did not care about it anymore. Instead, he looked at Luoying reluctantly and gave instructions to the two people in front of him.

Shangguan Jiuyi picked up the unconscious Luoying by the waist, nodded to Li Xu, and turned to leave, but heard Li Xu behind him say: "Jiuyi, you must never let Luoying down in this life."

"In this life, I, Shangguan Jiuyi, will never let Luoying down. If I break my promise, God will punish me with lightning!" Shangguan Jiuyi looked at Luoying in his arms affectionately, looked up at the night sky, made this oath, and then left quickly.

Chen Ming bowed to King Xian and chased after him.

In the East Palace, the little prince Ying Yan also tightly grasped the hands of his father and mother and refused to leave. He was also knocked unconscious by the guards beside him at Ning Xi's suggestion and was carried out.

"Yan'er is still young, you should come with them." Emperor Lang Ningxi took Empress Su's hand and advised.

"As the queen of Lang, how can I abandon Lang and my husband? As long as you live, I live; as long as you die, I die." Queen Su wiped the tears from her eyes, looked up and smiled gently at Ning Xi.

"Queen... I'm sorry. I was too careless before and caused you to suffer." The Queen's words made Ning Xi feel even more guilty and self-reproachful. He hugged his wife tightly in his arms and couldn't hold back his tears.

"Your Highness." After Shangguan Jiuyi took Luoying away from the princess's mansion, Liuli came to Li Xu and bowed.

"Are you really willing to die for the princess?" Li Xu looked at Liuli in front of him, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes.

"Liuli is willing." Liuli lowered her head, but there was no hesitation in her tone.

"Do you have any other wishes?" Xu Li sighed and asked again.

Liuli then slowly raised her head and looked at Li Xu with tears in her eyes, but the coldness in his eyes made her lower her head again and said, "Liuli's wish is that the princess can be safe and sound."

Li Xu seemed to see what Liuli was thinking, and then took two steps forward to hug her in his arms, and said sincerely in her ear: "Thank you."

Liuli didn't know how to respond. Her hand stopped in mid-air and she hesitated for a moment, still not daring to touch him. She just trembled and burst into tears.

All along, she had often reminded herself not to have such unreasonable thoughts, but every time she saw the noble and jade-like King Xian, her heart could not help but surge.