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

Tao'er opened the door and said to Old Man Chen, who was guarding outside, "Uncle, Ayan has fallen asleep."

I didn't sleep well last night either, and I want to rest for a bit now.

You don't need to stay outside anymore. You all worked hard last night. You should go and get some rest!

If Uncle Ping An gets up later, please call us. I've asked him to inquire about the situation.

Old Chen nodded. "Alright, Miss Tao'er, I'll call your name when you return safely."

You've been taking care of Aiyan all night, you must be exhausted. Go back to your room and rest.

I'm going to get busy now.

This girl must have been taking care of the little princess last night and didn't get any sleep. I feel sorry for her.

Tao'er nodded and pretended to go back to her room, close the door, and go to sleep.

Through the crack in the door, she saw that Old Man Chen had left, then she lay down and began to ponder things.

How could she find a suitable person to inform the Prime Minister's old friends, disciples, and righteous people?

Perhaps the Crown Prince's men will also take this opportunity to rescue the Prime Minister.

Although the Prime Minister has always been a neutral party, he was indeed implicated by the Crown Prince this time.

It's unclear who's behind this, but Tao'er suspects it's most likely one of the Third Prince's men.

After all, apart from the Crown Prince, the Third Prince had the greatest ambition and the most powerful influence.

My mother is a favored imperial concubine in the palace. She now controls the harem and secretly wins over many important officials in the court.

His maternal grandfather's family was the Marquis of Ningyuan, who commanded 100,000 troops.

The Third Prince wanted to win over the Prime Minister, because the Prime Minister held a high position and was also the Crown Prince's tutor, so naturally every word he spoke in court carried great weight.

The ambitious third prince used this bait to lure out the enemy and also to kill the prime minister in the chaos.

One sentence silenced all dissent.

Tao'er was so surprised when she realized this that she sat up instantly. It seemed that her previous guesses were not enough. Fortunately, she had thought of this.

We need to find someone to pass on the message and inform them.

Then we'll arrange for people to block both sides, and that way...

But who should be sent to deliver the message?

There is…

Having found a solution, Tao'er lay back down and took a nap.

About an hour later, Chen Ping'an returned in a hurry.

Tao'er and Ayan had already woken up and were waiting for Chen Ping'an in the main room.

Chen Pingan placed the purchased items on the table and handed the remaining half tael of silver to Tao'er.

"Miss Tao, here's your money back. This is what's left over from shopping."

Tao'er thought to herself that he was indeed an honest man, and gently shook her head: "Uncle Chen, please keep this money. Ayan and I need to spend money on food and lodging here, so please don't give me this money."

"How can we accept that? The Xiao family is our benefactor. How can we accept your money?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and pushed the silver over.

"In that case, consider this silver as payment for the information you gathered."

Is this okay?

Tell me about the situation outside first.

I have something I'd like to trouble you with later.

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then took back the silver and said in a low voice, "I've heard two pieces of news."

One was that the emperor issued an imperial edict, saying that the Xiao family, together with the crown prince, colluded with foreign powers to betray the country and plotted a rebellion, and the entire family was exiled to the north.

I also learned that the three young masters of the Xiao family, along with their first and second wives, have all been imprisoned and will be exiled to the north in three days.

Tao'er swayed and had to grab the door frame to steady herself.

Just like in my dream, I was exiled to the north.

Ayan's face turned deathly pale instantly, but he bit his lip and didn't cry out.

Chen Ping'an continued, "There are rumors all over the streets that the young master of the Xiao family is missing. The whole city is under martial law. You can only enter the city but not leave, so the two of you can't leave the city for the time being."

There were also notices posted everywhere, one for a young lady and the other for a young master.

It also says there's a reward of 200 taels of silver for whistleblowers and 500 taels for catching the culprit, so you must never leave this courtyard.

The checks at the city gates are now very strict; everyone leaving the city has their identity carefully verified.

Tao'er was also anxious upon hearing this, but forced herself to calm down: "Uncle Chen, do you know which route they will take to be exiled to the north?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment: "It should be from the north gate, along the official road."

The north is bitterly cold, and this journey has been arduous…

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already clear.

How could a pampered nobleman from a prime minister's mansion endure the hardships of being exiled?

Especially those ladies and young misses, who were pampered and had never suffered any hardship.

Tao'er turned to look at Ayan, only to see the child with his head down and his shoulders trembling slightly.

She walked over and gently pulled him into her arms.

Ah Yan finally couldn't hold back anymore and began to sob softly, murmuring "Mother..."

Chen Ping'an sighed: "Miss Tao'er, please settle down here."

My father said that if it weren't for Old Master Xiao's intervention back then, I would have lost my life long ago.

Our Chen family will always remember this kindness.

My father and I will do everything we can to get you out of the city, but it's definitely not possible in the next couple of days.

"Thank you, Uncle Chen."

"But won't our presence here be a burden to you?"

Tao'er was afraid that the soldiers would come here.

Although this is a slum and is inhabited by poor people, there are also greedy individuals who might betray you if they are discovered.

Chen Pingan waved his hand: "Don't worry about that."

Our house is located at the end of the alley, with few neighbors around, so it's not easy to spot us.

Besides, although my parents are old, they have good connections here, so no one will suspect anything.

"You can stay here without worry. Once things calm down, we'll figure out a way to leave the city."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your help these days."

Tao'er was very grateful.

She wasn't afraid that Chen Ping'an would betray her for the reward money. If he really did that, he could just bring the soldiers to arrest them when he returned.

"Peach Girl, Ayan, you two rest first, I'll go to the yard to chop firewood."

By the way, I noticed two groups of people looking for you on the street today.

One team should be the Royal Guard, but I don't think the other team looks like that; they look more like the guards of a prince's mansion.

I even went to the teahouse to inquire, and it seems those people were the Third Prince's men.

The Crown Prince seems to be confined to his residence; I haven't been able to find out anything else.

As Chen Ping'an walked out, he suddenly remembered something and said.

"Uncle Chen, wait a moment, I have something I need you to do right now, it's very urgent."

"It's okay if the food takes a while to cook."

"Alright, Miss Peach, tell me what you need me to do."

Chen Pingan immediately asked.

"Uncle Chen, here's a letter. Could you take it and deliver it to..."

Then go to the dilapidated temple and find dozens of beggars, and have them stay there at night to keep watch and await instructions.

Take this money and give it to the beggar. Remember to give him half, not all of it. Give him the other half after you've finished your business.

When you see those beggars, cover your face so they don't recognize you...

Tao'er took out a letter she had just written from her bosom and handed it to Chen Ping'an.

He then gave him another twenty taels of silver.

Those beggars would do favors for people if they had a few taels of silver.

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away. Don't worry, young lady, I will definitely not delay your business."

Chen Ping'an carefully put away the letter and the silver, then turned and left.

The letter contained her imitation of the Prime Minister's handwriting. Once, she said that the Prime Minister's handwriting was beautiful, so the old lady asked Steward Zhou to bring over some calligraphy copybooks of the Prime Minister for her to practice.

Unexpectedly, he learned it to be 80-90% accurate. Nobody knew this except the old lady, not even Ayan knew.

Tonight she still has to give the Third Prince a big gift, because he's so wicked that he even uses the dead.