Chapter 4: Escape

  The following is:

  Last time, Princess Yao heard that it was a messenger sent by Master Zong Shi to escort the sedan chair, and her heart suddenly relaxed. It turned out that she would be giving birth ahead of schedule.

  Ladies and gentlemen, at that time, Zhong Shidao was only the vice governor of Yuanzhou (now Guyuan, Ningxia) and the head of the Qin Feng Road (i.e. Shaanxi Road, governed by Jingzhao, i.e. Xi'an, Shaanxi). However, his ancestors and descendants were all generals for three generations, and Zhong Shidao was well-versed in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, enjoying great prestige in the capital city, known as a virtuous man. Emperor Huizong often sought advice from him. Later on, he even referred to Zhong Shidao as "a general promoted by myself". Therefore, Empress Yao was also deeply familiar with this person.

  Moreover, Zhong Xiangxian was an upright person and did not get along with treacherous officials such as Cai Jing and Gao Hu. This time, Cai Jing asked Consort Yao to leave the palace for Mount Hua, which was sudden and suspicious. Zhong Xiangxian wanted to remonstrate with the emperor, but the emperor trusted Cai Jing and believed in Taoism, making it difficult to intervene. He could only ask Wang Chongyang to come and protect the emperor, also as a precaution.

  "The road is long and I'll take my leave first, Ahn's family is about to give birth." Consort Yao waved her hand at Wang Chongyang. Then she looked at the little palace maid beside her who had already been stunned into silence and said: "Call the imperial physician, quickly!"

  The little palace maid hastily ran out of the cabin, called for the imperial physician and midwives, and fetched hot water, scissors, towels, etc., to attend to Princess Yao's childbirth.

  Meanwhile, Wang Chongyang picked up the black-clad man's abandoned sword and exited the cabin. Seeing that the outside had already become chaotic, he rushed to the deck.

  As soon as I came up to the deck, I saw that all the officers and soldiers had been cut down by the black-clad bandits on the deck. There were still twenty or thirty black-clad bandits left. The fourth-rank sword-bearing bodyguard Long Er was nowhere to be found.

  Wang Chongyang was enraged, and with a loud shout, his body's energy surged forth as he charged towards the black-clad crowd with a swift motion, still employing the Yang family spear technique's "Furious Charging Style". At the same time, the wooden knife in his hand danced about, unleashing the unique knife technique of Duke Murong Yan of Henan, the "Splendid Wind Twelve Styles".

  The Wind Slashing Knife Technique emphasizes the three words "fast", "accurate" and "ruthless". Once it is unleashed, it is continuous and unrelenting. A skilled user can make water unable to penetrate and wind unable to leak in. It's most suitable for group fights. As for this Wang Chongyang, who knows how much martial arts he understands?

  Although these men in black were ferocious and knew some martial arts, how could they compare to Wang Chongyang? Only seeing Wang Chongyang come and go several times, his knife rose and fell. The men in black were all beheaded, alas.

  Wang Chongyang looked around, still not seeing Long Er, but the bottom of the cabin was broken and the ship's body was tilted. The official boat might sink into the Yellow River at any time. He had to turn back and run back to Yao Fei's cabin.

  As soon as he entered the delivery room, he heard the sound of a baby crying. It turned out that Concubine Yao had given birth to a dragon heir.

  Suddenly, a loud thunderclap was heard outside the cabin, and the rain grew even heavier, almost pouring down in torrents. The river water surged forward, crashing against the ship's hull. Water began to seep into the cabin. The ship's body also shook violently, seemingly tilting further. The remaining people in the palace were frightened and rushed about wildly, wailing and screaming as they scattered and ran off in all directions.

  Wang Chongyang remembered that there was a large vase with a flower stone on the deck, so he rushed up to the deck, exerted himself to pull out the strange stone from the vase, and carried the vase back into the cabin.

  Entering the cabin, he saw that Yao Fei was still sitting on the bed, holding the newborn baby, looking confused and unsure of what to do. Wang Chongyang put the large jar next to Yao Fei, not caring about avoiding suspicion, and picked up Yao Fei and the baby and placed them inside the jar. He also casually put a water bag and some soft packages from beside the bed into the jar.

  Wang Chongyang picked up the large vat and exited the cabin. Seeing that the cabin door was quite sturdy, he kicked it in two with one foot, grabbed a piece of it and left.

  On the deck, in a stormy rain, the official boat's stern was already slanting into the river water. Wang Chongyang slid to the side of the boat, hooked his legs under the gunwale, and placed the large jar on the surface of the river water. Then he let go of the gunwale with both legs, grabbed the jar with one hand, and pinched the door board with the other hand, drifting away with the current.

  The poor remaining people on the official ship could only resign themselves to their fate.

  Wang Chongyang clamped the door panel between his legs, took off his Taoist robe with one hand, and let Princess Yao cover herself. It was unknown what material this Taoist robe was made of, but it could also slightly withstand the wind and rain.

  The water was rushing and the wind was strong, with heavy rain. Wang Chongyang had to use all his strength and skill to barely keep the big jar balanced and prevent the river water from pouring in.

  Yao Fei Niang Niang was also a strong-willed person, in desperate situations, she could only do her best to protect the dragon species, silently reciting the infinite virtues of Tiande Dashi, Namo Great Compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva and other heavenly gods and Buddhas to come and bless.

  This flood is terrible, vast and surging, covering countless villages and fields, causing many families to disperse, drifting away from their hometowns, wandering and homeless. As the poem says:

  The waves come rolling in,

  Innocent civilians suffered from air raid.

  The mountain scenery is exhausted, and the misty clouds are all gone.

  Sorrowful winds howl around Yuewang Tower.

  After drifting for an unknown period of time, the sky gradually brightened, and Wang Chongyang had already lost strength. He raised his head to see a crowd of people on the shore in front of him salvaging items from the water, so he reached out to check Princess Yao's nose, seeing that her breathing was still even, and then put his mind at ease. Then, with a final burst of energy, he dove into the water, pushed the large jar onto the shore, retrieved his Taoist robe, turned around, and left.

  ………。

  In the famous Daming Prefecture of Hebei Province, there was a village called Qilin Village thirty miles away from the city. In this village, there lived a wealthy family with the surname Wang and the given name Ming, whose wife's surname was He. The couple were both fifty years old and were well-known for their kindness in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, they had no children, which was a great pity.

  Wang Shanren got up early one morning and suddenly heard a earth-shaking noise outside the door. He was startled! Immediately, he called out to Wang An, the housekeeper, to go out of the villa together with him to see what's going on.

  Step by step, he walked to the riverbank, where he saw his neighbors scrambling for goods, and the kind-hearted man sighed endlessly.

  Wang An saw something floating in the distance, with many eagles perched on it, their wings spread out like a canopy covering half of the sky. Wang An pointed and said: "Sir, please look at those eagles over there, aren't they extraordinary?" The kind-hearted man looked up and indeed found them extraordinary.

  At first glance, it seemed to be a large flower pot floating towards the shore. Inside the flower pot was a woman holding an infant. The crowd only cared about grabbing those boxes and luggage, no one was willing to come and rescue them!

  Only Wang An walked forward and took a look, calling out: "Sir, isn't this a noble person?" The good man walked closer and looked, then called to Wang An: "A half-old woman, how can you say she's a noble person?"

  Wang Andao said, "She was carrying a child in her arms and drifted without dying. The ancients said: 'Great difficulties do not die, must have thick luck.' Moreover, these eagles and birds are protecting him, growing up to be an official. Isn't he a noble person?"

  Ladies and gentlemen, note: the appearance of these eagles is due to the presence of corpses in the river. The eagles are just foraging for food and not really protecting Yue Fei.

  The good man thought to himself, "I wonder where she drifted from? She must be a virtuous woman for me to save her." He then asked the flower pot, "Where does this lady live? What is her surname and name?"

  The good man asked several times, but didn't hear any response. The good man thought: "Could it be that he is deaf?"

  Want to know what happens next? Please listen to the next episode.