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

Tao'er's heart sank, almost leaping out of her throat. But apart from cursing the damned bastard in her heart, she had no other choice for the time being. She could only try to get through this and hope that she wouldn't be recognized.

Although she was angry inside, she dared not show any abnormality on her face. Instead, she pulled Ayan aside, turned halfway, and pretended to be frightened and confused.

Winter Mallow lowered her head, and her body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

King Cheng strolled closer, his gaze lingering on their faces for a moment.

Tao'er secretly glanced at Cheng Wang; it seemed that the bastard hadn't recognized them.

After all, there are now three of them, and their appearances have changed, so Ayan's gender has also changed.

Tao'er calmed down a little.

The gatekeeper hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Highness, these three people claim they lost their travel permits and are in a hurry to leave the city for a funeral. I am currently checking..."

"Attending a funeral?"

King Cheng repeated lightly, his gaze falling on Tao'er's deliberately painted, sallow, and rough face, then shifting to Dong Kui's delicate features, which were still evident even when she lowered her head. "Where is the funeral taking place?"

Where is my hometown?

Tao'er forced herself to keep her voice steady and answered with a sob in her voice, "Replying to Your Excellency, my husband and I are from Chuzhou. We received a letter from our hometown saying that my uncle has passed away, so we are in a hurry to get on our way."

Road signs...

"I was in such a rush on the road, I don't know where I dropped it."

As she spoke, she secretly pinched Ayan again.

Ah Yan was quite clever; he pouted and burst into tears, crying out, "I want to go home!"

The direction of Chuzhou was not the same as the south they really wanted to go to; this was a deception planted by Tao'er in her quick wit.

King Cheng remained silent, only scrutinizing the situation carefully.

He noticed that the scholar was thin and had slightly hunched shoulders, as if he were afraid.

The woman spoke earnestly, her eyes brimming with tears.

The child's cries were very real.

His attire was indeed ordinary, coarse linen clothes, even somewhat disheveled; he didn't look like the person he was looking for at all.

But his doubts did not dissipate; the timing was too coincidental.

"Without a travel permit, they shall not be allowed to pass according to the law."

You can go to the county government office to reissue the document, verify your identity, and then leave the city.

King Cheng looked him over and said calmly.

This statement blocked their path.

Tao'er felt a chill in her heart as she frantically tried to figure out how to handle the situation—should she continue pleading, or...?

Just at this critical moment, a commotion suddenly broke out on the other side of the city gate!

"A fight has broken out!"

"They're robbing us!"

"My steamed buns!"

Don't step on it!

Ouch!"

"Are these beggars crazy?"

Suddenly, seven or eight ragged, filthy beggars appeared out of nowhere. They pushed, shoved, and grappled with each other over a few pieces of cornbread or leftover food that someone had dropped, quickly creating chaos at the edge of the queue.

The people queuing to leave the city were startled and scattered, causing chaos in the queue, with screams and curses erupting everywhere.

The gatekeepers' attention was immediately drawn to it, and some of them shouted and went forward to drive it away.

King Cheng frowned slightly and looked toward the source of the commotion.

opportunity!

Tao'er knew this was the "chaos" arranged by Uncle Chen, though late, it was finally here!

In the blink of an eye, Tao'er took out a handful of copper coins and scattered them on the ground.

Dongkui and Ayan also learned to scatter the copper coins that Tao'er had given them in different directions.

"oops………

My coin fell...

Copper coins were scattered everywhere.

So the beggars rushed over to grab the coins, and the people coming and going from the city also flocked to it.

The scene became increasingly chaotic.

Xie Jingxing only brought Liu Wei and one personal guard with him, and they were pushed aside by the crowd.

Although Prince Cheng is a prince, he cannot kill people in broad daylight.

Verbal attacks can be very powerful!

Besides, beggars don't care whether you're a prince or not!

They naturally looked down on those few copper coins, but the two gatekeepers didn't care that much and mingled among the common people to pick up the coins as well.

Don't be in vain!

Taking advantage of the chaos, Tao'er acted decisively, tightly gripping Dongkui's cold wrist with one hand, and said urgently in a low voice: "Lower your head!"

"Hurry up!"

Dongkui was strong and carried Ayan on her back.

Taking advantage of the moment when King Cheng and the gatekeepers were distracted and the crowd was in disarray, the three of them shrank back and mingled among a few people who were rushing forward in fright, trying to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. They moved outwards, almost touching the edge of the city gate.

My heart was pounding like a drum, every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, and I felt needles pricking my back. I was terrified of hearing a reprimand or feeling a pair of iron clamps grabbing at me.

The chaos lasted only a moment before it was quelled, and the beggars were dispersed.

The gatekeeper turned around and, noticing the family of three was nowhere to be seen, exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Where did they go?"

One of them thought, "If he's leaving, then he's leaving!"

Anyway, I got two taels of silver.

King Cheng had already turned his gaze back to the direction of the city gate exit, where he saw all sorts of people hurrying by, all going to participate in the temple fair.

The three figures seemed to have merged into the crowd and were difficult to distinguish immediately.

He narrowed his sharp eyes and whispered a few words to a close attendant beside him.

The prince immediately accepted the order and led the two men out of the city to investigate along the main road towards Chuzhou.

What King Cheng didn't know was that the place name Tao'er gave was completely different from the place they were going to.

Outside the city gate, Dongkui was practically half-dragged and half-pulled by Tao'er, mingling in a small crowd, walking along the official road for a while without daring to look back, before quickly turning onto a dirt road that branched off into the countryside.

Only when the city gate tower was completely out of sight did the three dare to stop at the edge of a small grove of trees, all panting and drenched in cold sweat.

Dongkui's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground, her face as pale as paper.

Tao'er put Ayan down, clutching her chest, still shaken: "I was so scared... Finally... finally out."

She looked toward the city gate, still shaken. "Why would King Cheng come to the city gate in person?"

Fortunately, the beggar arranged by Uncle Chen arrived just in time, and it was also thanks to our attire.

Ah Yan tugged at Tao'er's sleeve and said with a smile, "Sister, we've finally escaped."

Tao'er nodded and patted Ayan's head.

Dongkui caught her breath and looked at Tao'er, her eyes filled with dependence and gratitude, as well as lingering fear: "Sister Tao'er, what should we do now..."

Is it safe?

Tao'er pursed her lips, shook her head, and pulled her and Ayan up: "It's not safe here yet. Prince Cheng is meticulous and may not believe our story of going to the funeral. He might send people to check along the way."

However, they will likely head towards Chuzhou. We need to stick to the original plan and head south to Yunnan as quickly as possible. For now, we'll go to Wulipo.

Tao'er thought to herself that Uncle Chen must have made all the arrangements.

"Sister Tao'er, didn't Grandmother tell us to go to Youzhou?"

Why do you want to go to Yunnan?

After holding it in for a long time, Ayan finally asked the question that had been on his mind.

He remembered everything his grandmother said to his sister Tao'er on the night she passed away.

"Ayan, my sister in Youzhou doesn't think it's safe, so we can't go there for the time being."

Going to your grandmother's hometown in Yunnan would probably be better.

King Cheng probably wouldn't have thought of that place.

We'll go over there and deal with things for a while.

Tao explained.

But in his heart, he was thinking that if things could settle down over there, he could do some small business.

If that doesn't work, she'll have to take the two of them back to the original owner's hometown.

Before entering the Prime Minister's mansion, the original owner was an orphan without parents.

Actually, that's not the case. She was transferred to several places, and the slave traders were afraid that the Prime Minister's Mansion wouldn't buy her. Knowing that the Prime Minister's Mansion's master was kind-hearted, they said that the original owner's parents were dead.

Therefore, King Cheng could not find out anything about her; he only knew that she was an orphan.

Although the future remains uncertain and the crisis has only been temporarily averted, Tao'er feels that successfully escaping the city is a first step in the right direction.

"Alright, let's rest for a bit and then continue our journey!"

Tao'er took out a water bag and handed it to the two of them, letting them drink a few sips of the spiritual spring water.

This allows you to quickly recover your strength.

They have now broken away from the crowd and are walking alone in threes.

The three of them got up, straightened their emotions and slightly disheveled clothes, and helped each other as they once again ventured into a more secluded country path, heading towards Wulipo.

Taking the back road was also to avoid passersby, so as not to reveal one's identity.

Seven Killings Pavilion Inner Chamber

A man in black was reporting back, "Master, I have already sent the girl named Dongkui to the girl named Tao'er. I just saw the three of them leave the city!"

However, King Cheng and Liu Wei also went to the city gate.

The man's eyes darkened, and he spoke in a cold voice, "Does Prince Cheng have any doubts?"

"Reporting to the Pavilion Master, there is no suspicion yet, but Prince Cheng is treacherous and ruthless, and extremely suspicious. I'm afraid he will soon realize what's going on."

"Send one person to follow them secretly, without letting them discover it."

"Yes, Master, I will make the arrangements immediately."

The man waved his hand. "Go down!"