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

In the dream, Tao'er and Ayan escaped while being escorted to exile, but it was too late, all their supplies were lost, and they faced numerous difficulties.

Now that they have evaded the first round of searches, if they can escape the capital with sufficient supplies, they can avoid exile.

When she takes the young master back to the original owner's hometown, will she not have to suffer those hardships, and will she not die a tragic death?

Perhaps one day the Xiao family will be exonerated and return to Shengjing, then she can send them back, and her mission will be complete.

Then she would ask for a generous reward, so that she could live a life of ease.

But to achieve this ideal future, the first step is to escape!

During the day, the Prime Minister's residence is guarded by imperial guards, so it's definitely not allowed to go out.

Only by hiding in this secret compartment can one have a chance of survival.

Let's wait until it gets dark before discussing anything further.

The best course of action now is to remain still and observe the situation.

Once these imperial guards are tired during the day, they will naturally be much more exhausted at night.

When people are tired, they relax their vigilance, giving them an opportunity to go out.

For now, I have no choice but to stay here.

"Sister Tao'er, I'm hungry," Ayan whispered.

Tao'er then realized that it was already noon.

She took out two compressed biscuits and two cans of milk from her storage space and shared them with Ayan.

She dared not prepare any other food, fearing that the aroma would waft outside and expose them.

Once exposed, there's nothing left but to wait for death.

"Ayan, let's figure out a way to get out when it gets dark."

Remember, no matter what happens, stay close to me, okay?

Ayan nodded seriously.

Then, crying, she asked, "Sister Tao'er, have Father, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle been kidnapped by bad guys?"

Tao'er didn't want him to be too sad, so she could only lie to comfort him, "No, they were just sent by the emperor to a very far place to take up their posts, and they will come back later."

They might not even make it to their place of exile alive.

The little guy pursed his lips, wanting to say something but ultimately said nothing.

Seeing the little boy like this, Tao'er wondered if he had realized he was lying.

But that's all there is to it now; she can't say anything more to comfort her.

The wait for nightfall felt exceptionally long.

While keeping an eye on the commotion outside, Tao'er was mentally planning her escape.

There are ropes, grappling hooks, and other tools in the space. If you can find a place with relatively weak defenses, you might be able to climb over the wall and get out.

I just don't know if there are any imperial guards stationed outside.

But climbing over a wall with a five-year-old child is extremely risky.

Are there any other options?

Tao'er suddenly remembered what the old lady had told her before.

There was also a package given to her by the old lady.

Tao'er took out the cloth bag from her spatial storage and examined it by the faint light filtering in from the dark.

There were several silver notes inside, all of considerable denomination.

Several land deeds are located outside the capital.

There is also a jade pendant with the character "Xu" engraved on it.

"Xu..." is the old lady's maiden name.

In the dream, the old lady did mention that she had relatives from her maternal family in Yongzhou, and that the original owner and Ayan didn't make it to Haozhou during their exile...

A sudden commotion outside interrupted Tao'er's thoughts.

"Found it! It's here!"

Tao'er's heart tightened, but then she realized that the footsteps were not coming towards them.

Has someone else been discovered?

Taking advantage of the commotion, she slipped to the door again to observe.

Several imperial guards were escorting a thin, small figure across the front yard. It was Xiaodouya, a kitchen helper, only ten years old, who was hiding in a water vat out of fear.

Tao'er felt sorry for her, but she was too busy taking care of herself.

Besides, she couldn't save him at all. There were so many imperial guards outside; if she went out, she'd probably be chopped into eight pieces.

In this fictional dynasty that devours people without spitting out the bones, dead people are not a rarity.

It finally got dark.

Peach decided to take the risk.

She dressed Ayan in dark clothes, changed her own attire, and then took out ropes and grappling hooks from her spatial storage.

"Ayan, we're going to climb over the wall to get out later."

Close your eyes, hold me tight, and don't make a sound.

Ayan nodded and hugged her neck tightly.

Tao'er pushed open the hidden compartment, and after confirming that no one was outside, she quickly slipped out of the small house and moved along the wall towards the west side of the courtyard.

It was near the stables, relatively secluded, with a deep alleyway outside the wall.

Just as they were about to reach the west wall, a patrol of imperial guards suddenly turned a corner.

Tao'er quickly pulled Ayan behind a pile of hay, patting her chest several times in fright, her heart pounding in her throat.

This is so exciting, no, it's so dangerous.

"Tomorrow morning, they will be escorted out of Beijing and exiled to the northern frontier."

"The Prime Minister's residence is truly finished this time; over a hundred people..."

"I heard the young master hasn't been found yet?"

"They said they're not looking anymore, so he's probably already dead."

Tomorrow, escort them according to the list.

The imperial guards whispered among themselves, gossiping amongst themselves.

After the Imperial Guards had gone far away, Tao'er breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems the Imperial Guards have given up searching for Ayan, which has given them an opportunity.

Before long, the entire Prime Minister's residence was engulfed in flames, and Liu Tao'er felt a chill run down her spine.

It turns out that what they meant by giving up was not true abandonment, but destruction.

It doesn't matter if we can't find anyone, we can at least burn them to death!

Fortunately, she brought the young master out; otherwise, even if they didn't burn to death, they would have choked to death by the smoke.

These people are truly ruthless!

This is an attempt to wipe them out completely, to eliminate them at the very end!

It's a pity that the old lady's remains may really turn to ashes.

The ancients believed that fallen leaves should return to their roots and that burial brings peace.

Why………

Tao'er held back the tears welling up in her eyes and pulled Ayan to kneel down in the direction of the old lady's room. "Ayan, let's kowtow to the old lady!"

Ayan's eyes were red, and he kowtowed three times with Sister Tao'er.

Tao'er then thought of how the journey of the master and the others into exile was not peaceful either!

Someone wants them dead, but no one knows who's in charge!

It could be one of the Prime Minister's political enemies, such as Right Prime Minister Qi Longde.

It could be a prince, such as the third prince, Xie Jingxing, born to the concubine who tried to win him over but was rejected.

Of course, the most likely candidate is the emperor himself.

Tao'er helped Ayan up and wiped away his tears, saying that now was not the time to be sad.

Silently wishing the old lady a safe journey!

She then suppressed her sadness; she couldn't afford to be sad now, she had to leave the Prime Minister's residence with Ayan first.

Under the cover of darkness and the raging fire, she reached the corner of the west wall, threw her grappling hook in one go, and vaulted over the west wall, landing safely in the alley.

She then put the tools into her storage space, clapped her hands, and thankfully no one was around.

She was too happy too soon.

"The young master of the Xiao family is ahead."

The shouts were deafening!

"Sister Tao'er, the bad guys are coming!"

Ayan, who was on his back, shouted anxiously.

Tao'er looked back and saw that although it was pitch black, she could still tell that they were the Imperial Guards who were raiding the house. They were chasing after her with torches in hand.

"Regardless of life or death, a generous reward will be given!"

Someone shouted.

Damn it, they were just playing the waiting game, we were careless.

Tao'er spat on the ground and cursed.

Without time to think, I could only turn and run in the opposite direction.