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Chapter 259 Perfunctory
To avoid attracting attention, Zhu Cheng had arranged for his personal guards to set off separately the night before and meet at a designated location. Even Zhu Cheng's own guards had set off ahead of time and were waiting outside the city.

So, only five of them quietly left the capital in the dim morning light.

Before setting off, Yan Daoxin handed a small gourd to Zhu Cheng: "The medicine was prepared before dawn. Your Highness should drink it while it's hot, otherwise it will affect the efficacy and some people's blood will be wasted."

Zhu Cheng took the gourd, his gaze first falling on Zhu Yu's wrist, then looking at her face.

Zhu Yu's face was covered with a fake skin, so her complexion was not visible, but the bloodstains on the cloth on her wrist were clearly visible.

Zhu Yu felt slightly uneasy under Zhu Cheng's gaze.

She had actually cut herself the day before and bled a little, but Lu Qing had applied ointment to her wound last night, and it had already scabbed over.

So this morning, Yan Daoxin specially saved a little chicken blood and had her apply it to a cloth.

In the past, she was the one who exposed others for doing such things, but now that she is suddenly doing it herself, she can't help but feel a little uneasy.

Judging from Zhu Cheng's complicated gaze and conflicted expression, he clearly didn't see anything wrong and probably believed it.

Zhu Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still subconsciously turned her wrist to the other side.

After reuniting with Zhu Cheng's four guards, they quickened their pace, galloping along the road. Their personal guards caught up along the way, but they did not travel in the same direction to avoid attracting attention.

And so, before nightfall, they reached the pass closest to the capital.

When they arrived, the pass was still open, and people were still coming and going at the city gate.

Zhu Cheng and his men secretly observed from the vicinity for a long time and saw that the guards at the pass were all listless, yawning constantly, and standing crookedly next to the city gate, without any spirit or energy.

When passersby came to them, they didn't even bother to lift their eyelids. They would casually glance at the document in the other person's hand, without even carefully reading what was written on it, and then impatiently wave their sleeves and let the person pass.

Seeing their perfunctory attitude, Zhu Cheng was naturally furious, but he had to suppress his anger, remain still, and continue to observe.

Finally, as dusk deepened and it was time to close the city gates, a man who looked like a constable strolled over lazily and waved his hand to signal that the city gates should be closed.

The two guards were about to close the gate when several anxious passersby saw that the city gate was about to close. They rushed forward, took out some things from their pockets, and stuffed them into the guards' arms while pleading.

The two guards did not refuse, took the money, and then presented it to the captain.

The head constable took the small cloth bag from the two men, weighed it in his hand, and seemed quite satisfied with the weight inside. He nodded and casually waved his hand.

The two guards then stepped aside, allowing the group to hurriedly enter the city without even checking their documents. Zhu Yu sighed inwardly; compared to this place, the process of entering from Black Stone Mountain had been much stricter.

Zhu Cheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He was so angry that his hands clenched into fists at his sides, trembling slightly. But he still gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger. He waited until the city gate was closed, the people around him had dispersed, and the captain and two guards were lazily strolling away, preparing to leave. Only then did he wave to his personal guards behind him.

The guards quickly followed. It was clear that they were under Zhu Cheng's direct command and were therefore much more well-trained.

Several people followed silently, and before the three men could make any noise, they were subdued and pinned to the ground, unable to move.

"What brings you here, gentlemen?" The constable had tried to struggle, but after a few attempts he couldn't break free, so he immediately softened his tone. "If there's anything, let's talk it over. There's no need to make such a big fuss."

After all, we are the garrison of the Shuo Kingdom, and we are paid military salaries. If you injure or kill a few of us, it will cause you trouble, won't it?

This is just a small place called Xiaguan, with only a few of us here. There's nothing we can't discuss. As long as we don't say anything, no one will cause you any trouble. There's really no need for that..."

"You have the nerve to admit you're a garrison soldier of Shuo Kingdom!" Zhu Cheng's guard stepped forward, glaring at the captain with disdain. He squatted down, took out his waist token, and almost poked it into the captain's nose so the captain could see it clearly. "You're drawing military pay, and this is how you embezzle public funds, guarding the pass worse than an ordinary city gate?!"

The constable looked closely and realized it was the waist token of the Prince of Shuo's mansion. He was so frightened that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, the guard behind him chopped him on the back of the neck and knocked him unconscious.

"You three, change your clothes and stay here to guard this place for them," Zhu Cheng ordered his three bodyguards with a livid face. "Take these three men back secretly, lock them up, and get as much information as you can from them."

You may use whatever means you require!

Upon receiving the order, the guards who were escorting the three men immediately dragged away the unconscious captain and two garrison soldiers, and they quickly disappeared into the night.

Fu Wen picked up the small cloth bag that had fallen from the captain's hand, glanced at Lu Qing, and politely handed it to Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Cheng took it, weighed it in his hand, opened it, and saw that there was only a string of copper coins inside. He couldn't help but snort: "A mere constable from Xiaguan can let people in so easily because of this little bit of copper coins. What about other places!"

"Let's go, let's set off now and head to the next place!"

“Father, we’ve been traveling all day, and it’s night now. The passes are all closed, and no one is coming or going. I think you should rest for a bit, eat something, and then we can continue our journey and reach the next place before dawn,” Zhu Yu quickly reminded him.

She wasn't being insincere; it was because Zhu Cheng had been drinking a slow-acting poison for an unknown period of time, and had only taken the antidote for a few days under Yan Daoxin's care. In addition, he was getting old, and she was genuinely worried that Zhu Cheng's body wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Zhu Cheng was already furious at what he had witnessed, almost to the point of disregarding everything else. Only after Zhu Yu reminded him did he realize that they had been running around all day and were indeed hungry.

“Alright, let’s take a short break then!” He nodded and looked at Zhu Yu’s wrist. “You’ve been running around these past few days, so it must have been tiring. As for the prescription… it shouldn’t be a big problem if we wait a bit.”