Let Me Go, I’m Not Pregnant - Chapter 58

Madam Gu’s expression was grim. “They’ve indeed tracked us down here.”

 

But how did they know Luo Shen would return today and ambush us along the way?

 

Could something have been leaked?

 

“It seems they’ve hidden themselves well along this journey,” Madam Gu said, drawing her sword. “His Majesty’s plan has been uncovered. I believe that if we don’t eliminate them quickly, it might be detrimental to His Majesty.”

 

She had originally thought that those “flies” would follow them, but once Luo Shen and Liu Kuang switched places, they would naturally disappear.

 

But now, it seemed that the other side had already anticipated Luo Shen’s strategy of secretly crossing the river.

 

The only ones who knew about this plan were themselves and Liu Kuang, so how could it have been leaked?

 

Could it be that Liu Kuang…

 

As if guessing what Madam Gu was thinking, Luo Shen shook his head. “It shouldn’t be Liu Kuang.”

 

He frowned and glanced at the similarly silent Madam Gu, then slowly uttered a name.

 

Madam Gu’s eyes widened instantly. “Changqing? But he hasn’t even been in contact with you; how could he know?”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, she glanced toward the door and lowered her voice. “What’s going on here? Could it be that when we were in the palace…”

 

Luo Shen wasn’t entirely sure, but it was a possibility that couldn’t be ruled out. After all, Changqing had once sent someone to steal his leftover medicine. Perhaps he had figured it out back then.

 

At that time, Luo Shen’s attention was entirely focused on Gu Xingzhi, so he had somewhat overlooked it.

 

When they were in Luo Town, Changqing’s probing and suspicion had finally yielded results.

 

Madam Gu looked at Luo Shen in confusion. “Your Majesty, what should we do next…”

 

Luo Shen walked to the window, opened the woodEnshutter, and the cold night wind blew into the room, lifting his hair.

 

Moments later, a dark figure leaped into the room, kneeled on one knee, and bowed.

 

Luo Shen said, “Madam, you might have to endure a bit tonight. We’ll rest tomorrow.”

 

Madam Gu understood and smiled. “It’s not about enduring or not. If someone wants to bully one of my people, they’ll have to get my permission first.” After that, she bowed to Luo Shen and said, “I’ll take my leave then.”

 

Luo Shen nodded, watching her leave before turning to the shadow guard.

 

The door opened and closed again. Madam Gu looked around and noticed that several doors nearby were slightly ajar.

 

Being watched so closely was uncomfortable. She wanted to draw her sword and fight them off, but she held back, worried that if things escalated, someone might take the opportunity to harm Luo Shen. So, she restrained herself and walked toward her own room.

 

Her room was right next to Luo Shen’s. Once inside, she immediately opened the window and saw a shadow guard carrying Luo Shen horizontally as they leaped into the room.

 

When they landed, Luo Shen’s stomach churned, and his waist went limp. The shadow guard quickly supported him to prevent him from falling.

 

Luo Shen got up, took off his outer clothes, handed them to the shadow guard, and then put on the cloak the guard handed him.

 

Madam Gu, concerned, helped Luo Shen to the bed. “It’s been a bumpy ride, Your Majesty should rest now. I’ll keep watch here.”

 

Luo Shen didn’t respond and instead said softly, “Madam, please extinguish the light first.”

 

Madam Gu nodded, walked to the table, and blew out the candle before sitting down.

 

From Luo Shen’s angle, he could only see a tall, unmoving figure sitting by the door, with a long sword resting on the bench, ready to be drawn at any moment.

 

He silently counted the time. After about half an hour, there was movement outside.

 

Madam Gu raised her hand, signaling something. Luo Shen immediately pulled the blanket over his nose and mouth, his eyes fixed on Madam Gu.

 

She, having spent years in the field, was an expert at holding her breath. The white smoke that drifted in and brushed her cheek didn’t affect her at all, proving she wasn’t breathing.

 

Footsteps could be heard outside, deliberately light, but still noticeable in the quiet.

 

Luo Shen instinctively held his breath, remaining perfectly still until—

 

The door to the adjacent room was opened, and the footsteps stopped.

 

Moments later, the sound of clashing weapons echoed, followed by someone stumbling and crashing into the door. As one foot stepped inside, Madam Gu raised her hand, and a flash of white light followed.

 

“Close your eyes.”

 

As soon as Luo Shen closed his eyes, blood splattered onto the table.

 

There were eight men lying in ambush at the inn. Three were killed by the shadow guards when they entered Luo Shen’s room, and three were dealt with by Madam Gu after they barged into her room. The coachman, being an ordinary man, was indiscriminately killed by them.

 

The remaining were all taken care of by the shadow guards who arrived afterward.

 

They probably never expected that their identities had been exposed from the very start.

 

None of the eight men sent out survived.

 

Luo Shen opened his eyes and saw a blurred figure standing by the table, seemingly watching him. He couldn’t help but yawn.

 

“Your Majesty, please sleep. We’ll take care of things here.”

 

As the voice faded, a hand gently pulled the blanket down a bit. The faint smell of smoke on the fingers wafted into Luo Shen’s nose.

 

Suddenly, that hand clamped over his mouth and nose, while the other pressed down on his arms. He tried to struggle, but gradually, his consciousness began to drift.

 

In his daze, he heard the innkeeper’s exaggerated shout from outside, “Wh-what’s going on here?”

 

Madam Gu’s voice seemed far away. “Find three more rooms. You’ll be paid well.”

 

The innkeeper replied with a bitter face, “It’s not about the money. They…”

 

“…”

 

Before Luo Shen lost consciousness, he vaguely wondered whose hand that had been.

 

—

 

Luo Shen had considered that everyone in the inn might be Changqing’s people, or that they would be ambushed after leaving the inn. He had even thought about the possibility of his shadow guards betraying him, but he never expected that the entire inn, including the innkeeper and the servant, were also in on it…

 

He opened his eyes, feeling a severe headache. He tried to lift a hand to rub his temples but found his body weak and limp, so he leaned back again, scanning the surroundings.

 

This was clearly the inn’s basement—damp, humid, and reeking of mold.

 

He could even hear footsteps tapping above his head, but when he tried to speak, no sound came out.

 

Above, swords clashed, accompanied by Madam Gu’s angry voice, “Hand him over!”

 

The innkeeper, panic-stricken, stammered, “G-guest, what are you talking about? Hand over who?”

 

“The young master who came in with us last night—where is he?”

 

“I-I didn’t see anything. Could it be that you… last night… those people… you…”

 

He was about to cry: “You’re harming people, but don’t pin this on me! I’m just running a small business!”

 

Madam Gu narrowed her eyes slightly and said coldly, “You don’t want to drink the wine I offer, so you’ll have to drink the punishment wine.”

 

She then gave a signal to the hidden guards, who continued to search the area, while Madam Gu picked up the shopkeeper like a chick and kicked open a room, tossing him inside.

 

The noise was very close to his location.

 

Luo Shen struggled to get up, but his whole body was still weak. He barely managed to raise his hand, clench it into a fist, and strike the wall, but the sound was too faint to attract attention from above.

 

He took a deep breath. Was he left with no choice but to wait for Madam Gu and the others to leave?

 

Luo Shen felt for the short flute around his neck, slowly raised his hand to it, and then pressed the switch. With a whoosh, the small knife emerged and cut a gash in his arm. The pain made him frown, but he forced himself to regain some energy. He put the knife away, climbed down from the bed, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, his calves went weak, and he fell to the floor.

 

His head was groggy again for a moment. He braced his forehead, shook it, and was about to get up when he saw a pair of boots in front of him.

 

Luo Shen was stunned for a moment, then looked up following the boots. When he saw the person’s face, he was startled and then remembered: “En… Shu?”

 

“The Emperor still remembers this humble servant,” Enshu said with a slight smile and extended his hand.

 

Luo Shen looked at the hand and realized that it was him who had knocked him unconscious last night.

 

He shrank back, reluctant to be touched in such a situation. Enshu’s hand paused in mid-air but then he smiled and said, “What is the Emperor afraid of?”

 

Luo Shen opened his mouth and weakly asked, “What… do you want to do?”

 

“Nothing much.” Enshu glanced at his abdomen and chuckled lightly. “Just moving the Emperor to a different place for a more secure confinement.”

 

Luo Shen tightened his grip. He tried to stay calm: “What did they promise you in return?”

 

“Naturally, it’s something the Emperor cannot imagine,” Enshu said as he picked him up. “Since the Emperor is awake, there’s no need to waste any more effort. Just come with me.”

 

Luo Shen had a strong intuition that leaving now would make it even harder for Madam Gu to find him. He shook his head and then sat down on the ground. “I’m hungry.”

 

He said, “I don’t have the strength to move.”

 

His voice was still very low and hoarse.

 

Enshu was not angry. He took out a bag of melon seeds from his pocket and tossed it to Luo Shen. “Right now, I only have melon seeds. Please don’t mind, Your Majesty.”

 

Luo Shen didn’t mind. He picked up the bag, slowly tore it open, and pinched a melon seed between his fingers, asking, “Enshu, what is your relationship with the former Prime Minister?”

 

“No relationship,” Enshu said with a good temper. Seeing that Luo Shen was moving slowly, he crouched down and helped open the melon seeds.

 

Luo Shen asked in confusion, “Then Chang Qing treats you well? So well that he’s willing to do this for you?”

 

Enshu smiled. “Not particularly.”

 

To Chang Qing, Enshu was just an expendable servant.

 

But as for why…

 

Luo Shen suddenly said, “I met En Cheng last time.”

 

Enshu’s actions came to an abrupt halt.

 

Luo Shen noticed his reaction and guessed, “He had an older woman with him, saying she was his relative, and took En Cheng to Luo Town to find a marriage partner, but the marriage was called off.”

 

Enshu’s smile became stiff, even twisted with anger. “In Luo Town? You didn’t do anything to him, did you?”

 

Luo Shen pondered the tone and said, “Not yet.”

 

The fire in Enshu’s eyes intensified. “Why didn’t you kill him? You should have guessed that he was meant to test you, right?”

 

Luo Shen was puzzled. “Why should I kill him?”

 

Enshu laughed angrily, his eyes seeming to spit fire, which made Luo Shen feel uneasy.

 

It was clear that Enshu cared deeply about En Cheng, yet he also wanted En Cheng dead?

 

He hesitated and asked, “Do you want him dead?”

 

At Enshu’s words, he instinctively shouted at Luo Shen, “He must not die!!!”

 

Luo Shen flinched from the shout, instinctively retracting his neck. His gaze quickly scanned the ceiling, thinking that Madam Gu should have heard the noise by now, and next—

 

Before he could finish his thought, Luo Shen was suddenly grabbed by his collar and forced to the ground. Enshu, realizing he had fallen into a trap, was enraged. He grabbed a handful of melon seeds and shoved them into Luo Shen’s mouth.

 

“Mm…” Luo Shen was caught off guard and choked. He struggled to push Enshu away, but still under the influence of drugs, he couldn’t break free.

 

He felt a burning pain in his throat, likely from the melon seeds scratching it, and his breathing became difficult.

 

Fortunately, it seemed that the commotion had been noticed. Madam Gu, having scared the nearly dead shopkeeper, slammed him against the wall and demanded, “Where is the basement here?”