In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuan suddenly spoke:

"Then it's up to you."

Pei Zhao raised his head.

Yang Xuan looked at him and said calmly:

"We're not traveling tomorrow morning in a hurry."

"It's so that the group that came in the afternoon won't find anything."

"Since we're going to see them fail, we should at least leave them some traces to show for it."

"Take two men and leave the post station half an hour early. Not to scout the way, but to test the route."

"See which section most resembles the place where they would wait for someone."

"Don't go to the gentle slopes."

"Don't go where the road is wide."

"Go somewhere where you can park your horses, hide two or three groups of people, and where there is water and hay nearby."

Pei Zhao's eyes flickered.

"The section south of Sancha Pavilion."

"I glanced at it before entering the post station today. There was a shallow forest on the left, an old ditch on the right, and a broken stele in front."

"If you need to wait for a sick vehicle or a slow vehicle, that place is the most convenient."

Cui Shen immediately continued:

"Moreover, just two miles ahead of Sancha Pavilion, there is a small shed selling hay and fodder."

"If the 'fodder dealer' that the porter mentioned tonight wasn't just making things up, then it makes perfect sense."

Afu's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Isn't that it?"

"Tomorrow, if we leave the post station early, we can catch them empty-handed around the Sancha Pavilion area in the afternoon..."

What happens after you come up empty-handed?

Yang Xuan asked him casually.

Afu paused.

"Does...do he swear?"

Cui Shen couldn't help but raise his hand to rub his forehead.

Pei Zhao chuckled softly.

"Swearing at your mother is the least of your worries."

"If it's just someone who takes money to do things outside, I'll first suspect that the information is wrong."

"If there is someone else responding behind them, the first thing to do is to send a reply as soon as possible."

"The more you add a letter, the longer the thread becomes."

Yang Xuan nodded.

"That's exactly what we need him to do."

"The porter who sent out this night was only pretending to be safe."

"If we come up empty-handed tomorrow, what we'll have to make up for is genuine surprise and doubt."

"As soon as those who come after believe and doubt, the next move will change."

"With each change, we can see another layer."

After those words were spoken, everyone in the room understood.

After the matter was settled, the group said no more.

Afu left first, and then, as Yang Xuan instructed, went around to the back to take another look.

Cui Shen then took the scroll and the few lines of post station records he had copied to the next room to make another copy, just in case something went wrong before dawn.

It was nearly midnight when the room became completely quiet.

Yang Xuan sat alone for a while before slowly leaning back.

Leaning down like that aggravated the wound, and the deep pain in my back almost shot upwards along with my breath.

He closed his eyes and rested for a while, but suddenly heard very light footsteps.

Yanhe is back.

She didn't speak immediately, but instead placed one hand on his wrist.

The hand was slightly cool.

Very stable.

After a moment, she whispered:

"We've already knocked on the door in the inner courtyard."

"I've already asked Cai Fan to keep an eye on two of them who have unsteady eyes."

"We've almost finished collecting everything from Uncle Wen's side. Any medicine and money we really need to take will all be loaded onto the back cart before dawn."

"But you'll need to change your medication again before you get on the bus tomorrow morning."

"Just because outsiders see you as injured doesn't mean you can actually tough it out with this body."

Yang Xuan opened his eyes and looked at her.

Her expression was extremely indifferent under the lamplight.

It is not gentle.

But the more she acted this way, the more people knew that her trip out just now was not just a formality.

She was helping him to slowly push back the half of the team that should have fallen apart.

Yang Xuan suddenly smiled.

"The princess is acting like a military clerk tonight."

Yanhe glanced at him.

"If you hadn't gotten yourself into such a state that you were barely alive, I wouldn't have had to learn this."

"Furthermore, we are not in the Princess's residence now."

"Since you've put me in this situation, I can't just stand by and watch from the sidelines."

Yang Xuan didn't respond to that, but just gave a soft "hmm".

But this sound carried a meaning it hadn't before.

As the night deepened, the inn seemed even more peaceful.

The fire in the front yard hadn't gone out.

The medicine furnace was still gently emitting white steam.

Even the lazy footsteps of the courier were no different from before.

This "nothing special" is precisely what makes it so valuable tonight.

By the end of the Yin hour, it was still dark.

But the backyard had already started to move silently.

Wen Bo led his men to collect the medicine first.

Change the water again.

The medicine pot that was still visible on the outside was still burning, but there was already a layer of ash underneath, making it look like it was being boiled, but in reality, it was just a little bit of heat left.

With documents and registers in hand, Cui Shen went ahead to make a final check of the route permits, number of people, and number of vehicles.

Pei Zhaoze was like a wolf lurking in the night, looking at each carriage shaft and each horse, even touching the buckles of the reins.

Ah Fu is the busiest.

He would go to the backyard one moment, then to the side gate the next, and then dash back to the woodshed to see if the porter surnamed Tian was still panting.

He returned crouching low just before dawn, and whispered:

"Young master, that man surnamed Tian just begged to see you."

"He said that if you spare his life, he can still speak up for you."

Yang Xuan was changing his dressing and didn't even look up when he heard this.

"not see."

The less he saw him, the more he believed he was still useful.

"Tell the people watching him to give him water but not to reply."

Afu responded and left.

As dawn approached, the heaviest layer of darkness in Yongxing Post Station was just beginning to recede into the horizon.

Wen Bo had already led his men to shut down the last two hidden boxes.

Yanhe got into the car behind.

Cai Fan and two other steady old women first moved the people in the inner courtyard, without saying a word.

Cui Shen whispered the message aloud from the front:

"One main vehicle, two auxiliary vehicles, and one rear miscellaneous vehicle."

"Leave two fires visible."

"The medicine furnace will not be removed."

"There are still three horses with their reins half off in the front yard, as if they need to be groomed again before noon."

Pei Zhao continued:

"I'll take two people with me and go out first."

"The road continues as before, and the ruts remain as before."

"But half a mile after leaving the post station, we will deliberately split up again so that people cannot tell that the main carriage has actually passed first."

Yang Xuan then slowly got up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed.

The injury is still there.

But once she regained her footing, her complexion was even calmer than the night before.

He glanced outside.

Outside the window paper, it was still a hazy darkness.

This is the best moment.

Those guarding outside are mostly exhausted and numb, while those inside the post station are most likely to relax a little at this time and become unable to see clearly.

At the beginning of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the gate of the post station opened a crack.

Pei Zhao and two men who were escorting the horse went out first.

A moment later, the lead wagon, the one carrying the most medicine and people, slowly rolled out of the post station.

The wheels made little noise as they rolled over the old earth in front of the post station.

Even the old guard at the gate only slightly raised his eyelids, as if he were half asleep.

The main vehicle passed by.

The secondary vehicle passed by.

Behind that were miscellaneous carts.

Finally, it was Ah Fu who led a spare horse, yawning as he walked, looking just like someone had really dragged him out of bed early in the morning to drive the carriage.

The entire breakup was so fast it didn't feel like a rushed event.

Instead, it was like a group of people holding their breath, wanting to take advantage of the cool weather to travel a few more miles.

Half a mile outside the post station, there was still no sound of people on the official road.

Only the intermittent crowing of roosters could be heard in the distance.

Yang Xuan lifted the carriage curtain half an inch and glanced back.

The lights at Yongxing Post Station had been half swallowed up by the pre-dawn gray fog.

It seems that everything is still going well.

Two hours later, the eyes of those in the post station who should have gotten up in the afternoon to see people off will gradually come to their senses.

I really want to see how ugly their faces looked back then.