Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

Tao'er was extremely nervous. What should she do?

Then the old man's trembling voice rang out, "Sir, you've misunderstood. My feet are really hurting from sitting on this bamboo basket, so I'm just sitting down to rest for a while."

I have rheumatism in my legs, and it flares up from time to time; when it hurts, it's absolutely excruciating.

In that instant, the old man rolled up his trouser leg, revealing his deformed kneecap.

He then swayed and knocked over a chamber pot on the cart, causing yellow liquid to spill out and creating a foul stench.

Chaos erupted outside, and the soldiers jumped three feet away, instantly getting several feet away from the old man.

A chorus of curses and swearing erupted.

"You old geezer, are you out of your mind?"

"It stinks! It almost got on me."

"What bad luck!"

"Damn it, don't even think about winning money this month!"

"I'm sorry, sir, my foot hurt a lot just now, and I lost my balance."

Taking advantage of the chaos, Tao'er lifted the bamboo basket and quickly hid under the cart that held the chamber pot.

My legs went numb from squatting for so long that I almost fell.

Fortunately, the bamboo basket was close to the cart, and she was fast enough that the soldiers did not notice them.

She knew the old man had deliberately knocked over a chamber pot because when he got up, he secretly patted the bamboo basket three times. That's when she understood.

"Boss, this old man isn't honest; he's definitely lying."

There's definitely someone hiding under that basket.

One of the officers and soldiers became increasingly suspicious.

The leader narrowed his eyes and glanced at the old man kneeling on the ground.

"Old man, since you say you're not hiding anyone, go and lift that bamboo basket yourself. If there's no one inside, I'll believe you."

"That's what the leading officer said."

The old man nodded obsequiously in agreement, then stood up shakily and walked toward the bamboo basket.

He glanced sideways at the area under the cart and saw the young master's feet.

Only then did I feel relieved.

He feigned a terrified expression, the kind that looks like he'd been scared out of his wits, and slowly lifted the bamboo basket. It was empty; there was nothing inside.

"Sir, you can see there's really no one inside..."

You'd better hurry up and catch up with those two; they'll be too far away if you wait too long.

I really saw them run in that direction, the old man wasn't lying to you!

The leader angrily slapped the subordinate who had just spoken, then waved his hand and led his group away in a grand procession.

Footsteps sounded and then faded into the distance.

Tao'er and Ayan were only completely relieved when they could no longer hear any footsteps outside.

Tao squinted and saw a hunched figure standing in front of the cart.

He was an old man with gray hair, wearing a gray cloth dress covered with patches, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles.

He bent down and picked up the chamber pot that had just been dropped on the ground.

A strong, pungent stench permeated the air, making it extremely acrid.

He put the chamber pot onto the cart.

"Come out, they've gone east to chase after us, they won't be back for a while."

The old man's voice was calm, a stark contrast to the terror he had shown when facing the Imperial Guards.

Tao'er watched him warily, without making a move immediately.

The old man sighed, squatted down, and looked them straight in the eye under the cart: "Girl, don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person."

"If I really wanted to harm you, I would have handed it over just now. Why go through all this trouble?"

That makes sense.

Tao hesitated for a moment, but quickly believed the old man's words and crawled out from under the cart.

She moved her stiff and aching limbs, then untied Ayan from her body; her shoulders were painfully constricted.

However, Tao'er remained wary and then bowed to the old man, saying, "Thank you for saving my life!"

Ayan also learned from Sister Tao'er and did a great job.

Tao'er then asked, "Old man, who are you?"

Why did you save us?

She doesn't really believe that someone would help you for no reason.

She wouldn't have been willing to do it if it weren't for that dream.

"Young lady, don't be nervous. I'm just an old man who empties chamber pots." The old man awkwardly patted the dust off his clothes.

"As for why I saved you..." He glanced at Ayan, "because he's from the Xiao family."

Tao'er's pupils contracted, and she instinctively protected Ayan even more tightly.

"Don't be nervous." The old man smiled wryly. "I have some connection with the Xiao family."

Twenty years ago, my son, who was seriously ill and had a fever, and I almost starved to death on the street. It was Grandpa Xiao who gave me a bowl of hot porridge and some money for my son's medical treatment.

"How could I ever forget the life-saving grace?"

Tao'er carefully examined the old man, thinking for a long time that she had never seen him before, but it didn't matter, since he meant no harm.

However, the old master did often help some poor people, and the servants in the mansion would occasionally talk about how the old master was "too kind-hearted".

She never imagined that this act of kindness would save the last bloodline of the Xiao family today.

It seems I still can't be the bad guy.

What goes around comes around.

Not not reporting, time is not here!

"Thank you so much for saving my life, sir." Tao'er pulled Ayan along and bowed deeply once again.

Ayan also bowed, and although he was young, he was very polite: "Thank you, Grandpa."

The old man immediately dodged and waved his hand, saying, "Young lady, don't say such things. Compared to you, you are the one who truly values ​​righteousness."

What I did was far inferior to what the girl did.

It's not safe here yet; let's not stay here any longer.

Once the Imperial Guards realize they've gone the wrong way, they'll quickly turn back.

You must leave the capital immediately.

"But the city gates must be under martial law. How are we going to get out?"

Tao asked somewhat anxiously.

Moreover, there are people arresting them all over the streets now, and she and Ayan might be arrested before they even reach the city gate.

She wished she could grow a pair of wings and fly away with Ayan.

It's much safer once you leave Shengjing.

The old man pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on his night-fragrant carriage, then looking at Tao'er and Ayan, when suddenly he had an idea.

"Miss, I have a way to get you and the young master out, but you'll have to make do with this."

The old man was both delighted and somewhat troubled, glancing at his night-scented carriage.

"Uncle, please tell me if you have any ideas."

At this point, neither of us has any grievances.

As long as I can survive, that's enough.

At this point, survival is the most important thing.

"Miss, you may not know this, but there is indeed a curfew at the city gates, and other carriages cannot leave, but my night-fragrant carriage can."

Because these are all dirty and filthy items, we are not allowed to transport them out during the day.

What I mean is, you have to hide in one of the chamber pots. One of them is empty, but it still smells a bit. You'll have to bear with it.

The old man smiled and answered Tao'er's question.

Tao'er instantly understood what the old man meant by the method!

I wouldn't say I felt wronged, it's just that the taste was so sour and unpleasant.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and nodded, "I'll do whatever the old man says."

Ayan nodded as well.

The old man took some clean rice straw from the cart and put it into one of the empty chamber pots, then let the two of them hide inside.

Tao'er was mentally prepared, but the smell still almost made her vomit.

She couldn't stand it, let alone five-year-old Ayan.

With no other choice, she took out two candies from her spatial storage, put one in her own mouth, and stuffed the other into Ayan's mouth.

Then I had Ayan pinch my nose, and I did the same to myself, and finally I felt a little better.

A moment later, a carriage carrying night fragrance slowly drove toward the east gate of Chang'an City.

The driver was a hunched, white-haired old man. There were two large barrels in the car, and the strong smell made passersby cover their noses and avoid it.

"Sir, please open the city gate!"

The old man looked up and shouted loudly.

The guard standing above asked, "Who's shouting down there? I didn't know it's curfew and we can't leave the city."

"Sir, I am Old Chen, the one who empties chamber pots."

The person above waved an oil lamp up there before they could see Old Man Chen clearly.

"Oh, it's Old Man Chen! You're here, you can wait downstairs!"

The soldiers ran down, opened the city gate, and then stood at a distance.

They could smell the odor from afar. Pinching their noses, they waved impatiently, "Hurry, hurry, get over there!"

The old man bowed and scraped as he slowly pulled his cart through the city gate.

Just as they were about to leave the city, a man who looked like a leader rode up on a tall horse.

He nimbly dismounted and walked up to them.

"Wait!"