My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

Zhengyang Gate is still open.

Many people within the sect have already heard Tian Cheng say that he will recognize me as the young master of the southwest on the granary opening platform three days later.

I glanced back.

The city gate guard's expression was quite interesting.

Just now, they were loudly seeing off the Censor as he left the capital.

In the blink of an eye, I heard someone in Yong'an preparing a grand ceremony for me, the young master.

The officials of Daliang have experienced too much in the past two days.

They all developed the ability not to scream on the spot.

The garrison commander only asked:

"Lord Shen, should we seal off the city?"

"Who should be sealed off?"

Lan Gu could be anywhere.

Now that Zhengyang Gate is sealed off, the only one who can be sealed off is me, who just came out.

"Closed as usual."

"What you hear today shall be recorded in the city gate register."

"Not a single word should be omitted."

The constable followed beside the horse, explaining the news from Yong'an in detail.

Yan Xiaoyi and A Liu arrived outside Yong'an City last night.

The mortuary has been abandoned for many years, and only three leaky houses remain on the surface.

There is a side path in the well in the backyard.

Go down the side path to reach the drainage ditch of the Yong'an Old Warehouse.

Yan Xiaoyi did not allow anyone to light the fire.

They only took Ah Liu inside in the dark.

I admire that.

Yan Xiaoyi didn't light the fire because he was cautious.

Ah Liu didn't light the fire, probably because he was afraid he'd see what was inside.

The two followed the secret passage to the underground warehouse.

There are seventy-two people imprisoned inside.

The oldest is over sixty.

All of them are listed in the Yong'an County epidemic death register.

They were only given two meals of thin porridge each day.

I don't know how much time has passed outside.

I don't even know how many times I've died.

"Has the person been rescued?"

"Guard Yan did not open the door immediately."

Why?

"The underground warehouse's exit connects to the county government's back warehouse."

"Sun Jing will know if the lock is touched."

"Guard Yan said to leave two people inside to guard the place first, and then look for an outside route."

Saving seventy-two people isn't something you can just do by opening the door and running away.

Many of them were sick or weak.

Once they retreat through the secret passage, they will need food, water, medicine, and vehicles.

If the county government discovers it first, they can put a smoke bomb inside, and the secret passage will become a grave.

"Where's Ah Liu?"

"Leave it underground."

"Himself?"

"There is one more interior defender."

The constable said, "Ah Liu said that the people inside don't recognize Guard Yan."

"He looks like a murderer."

"I look like one of the people I was imprisoned with."

I was unsure whether I should praise him or not.

That makes a lot of sense.

Ah Liu squatted down among the disaster victims, making it easy for people to believe that he was also unlucky.

He naturally had a face that always looked unlucky.

How did Tian Cheng end up in Sun Jing's hands?

"After he was taken away by fake constables in the capital, he pretended not to know."

"I overheard them on the way that they were going to dress up seventy-three people as rebels."

"Then he sewed the message into his military uniform."

Upon arriving in Yong'an, Sun Jing discovered that he was missing a set of clothes.

"We found him."

Tian Cheng did not reveal the location of the underground warehouse.

They also did not provide that picture.

Sun Jing then decided to let him live until the day the granary was opened.

A person whose registration was changed back to active status yesterday.

Standing on the Yong'an warehouse opening platform.

He publicly claimed that he was ordered by me to infiltrate the county town and organize the dead to rob grain.

This witness is extremely useful.

It works better than any fake letter.

Because Tian Cheng did indeed meet me.

Indeed, I changed his household registration in the south of the city.

He was indeed a fellow townsman of the descendants of Shen Lie's former subordinates.

If the accounting committee gives him a story and then uses the lives of the seventy-two people underground to coerce him, he is very likely to confess.

After he finished speaking, Sun Jing killed him.

The witness is dead.

The constable then handed over half a county seal.

"Who got this?"

"Magistrate Lin."

"Lin Huan is awake?"

"woke up."

"Where?"

"A convalescent village outside Yong'an City".

It turns out that after Lin Huan was brought back from the capital by Sun Jing, he was not sent to the county government.

Instead, it was hidden in an old Wang family estate outside the city.

Controlled daily with dream-locking drugs.

When the county needed him to appear, he would reduce his medication.

Let him meet some local gentry behind the carriage curtain.

When an official seal was needed, Sun Jing would simply take the county seal.

When Yan Xiaoyi chased after them through the secret passage of Shunyi Village, he happened to spot the medicine transport vehicle.

They followed the car and found Lin Huan.

Hearing this from the rear carriage, Physician Song lifted the curtain.

"Can the person speak now?"

"Guard Yan said it was possible."

"Can you walk?"

"cannot."

Physician Song's face darkened further.

"Another one to be lifted up."

I said, "Lord Song, you will have a place to use your skills on this trip."

I don't want to have it.

After he finished speaking, he still asked the bailiff to bring Lin Huan's recent prescriptions.

Being stubborn and being responsible are not mutually exclusive.

Just like Ah Liu's fear of death and his desire to stay are not contradictory.

According to the original route, the first night should have been spent at the Tongzhou official post station.

But Tian Cheng only has three days left.

I instructed the convoy not to enter Tongzhou city, but to change horses directly.

The postmaster held the emperor's dispatch token, his face showing great difficulty.

"Lord Shen, the official horses need to be registered for their destination."

"Yong'an".

"How many?"

Replace them all.

"Even the princess's carriage has to travel at night?"

Xiao Lingyi sat in the car.

"Change."

The advantage of the princess not having a ceremonial procession is that officials along the route don't have time to prepare.

The downside is that they always have to confirm first whether she's serious.

Angelica dahurica was used to check the horse register outside the post station.

After observing for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Earlier today, did someone exchange twelve fast horses?"

The postmaster said, "There is an urgent dispatch from the Ministry of War."

"Where to?"

"Jiangbei".

"Where are the documents?"

The postmaster took out the register.

The order to transfer horses was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs.

The MCA Youth Committee announced its illness three days ago.

Today, his name rides twelve horses north of the river once more.

I asked, "What time is it?"

Two hours ago.

"How many people?"

"Twelve people."

"appearance?"

"They're all wearing emergency uniforms."

Are there any women?

"The leader's voice was soft."

"Wear a straw hat."

"His left hand was always hidden in his sleeve."

She was two hours ahead of us.

Mrs. Wang's car might also be among them.

They did not take the slow, winding path through the Qingxia Gorge.

Instead, they used the official seal of the Ministry of War to change horses along the way.

At this speed, we should be able to reach Yong'an tomorrow.

I asked, "What did they bring?"

"Six long boxes."

"The box is labeled 'Ministry of War Ordnance'."

Bai Zhi asked, "How much will it grow?"

More like a knife, bow, or a set of military uniform.

The second false battle report claimed that nineteen soldiers escorting grain died on the northern post road.

After the group from the Ministry of War's western camp was stopped, Lan Gu had to prepare for another attack that would leave behind corpses.

Six arms crates.

She did not give up on the North Post Road.

They simply changed their target from the nineteen officers and soldiers to us.

I looked at the map south of Tongzhou.

The eastern road is wide and passes through many prefectures and counties.

The western route is closer, but it inevitably passes through the dry riverbank.

Further south from the dry riverbank lies the northern post road.

The postmaster said, "The Ministry of War's urgent dispatch took the western route."

She was afraid we wouldn't know where to chase after her.

Xiao Lingyi got out of the car and looked at the map.

"We cannot take the western route."

"I agree."

The postmaster visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness is wise. Although the eastern route is a day's distance, it is safe."

Xiao Lingyi said, "We'll take the old salt route."

The postmaster's smile froze on his face.

Many sections of the road are only wide enough for one rider.

However, they were able to get out from behind the dry riverbank.

"What about the car?"

"Leave."

"Where's the bill?"

"Recite them separately."

Bai Zhi had already packed the most important grain contracts, false urgent reports, and the five-line handover book into a waterproof leather bag.

She was clearly prepared long ago.

Physician Song got out of the carriage, carrying a medicine box.

"Your Highness."

"Riding a horse along the old salt route takes at least one night."

"Lin Huan is seriously ill."

"After I arrive in Yong'an, I will still need to save people."

Xiao Lingyi looked at him.

"Did Physician Song ever ride a horse?"

"I rode it."

"That's good."

The physician's complexion indicated that he was not in good condition at all.

The group abandoned their carriages and switched to horses.

Keep only the most essential items in your luggage.

The rest were handed over to Tongzhou Post Station for safekeeping.

Before leaving, I instructed the postmaster to register as usual:

Princess Zhaoning and the Censor-in-Chief traveled west along the dry riverbank.

"Not taking the old salt route?"

"Register West Road".

"What if the Ministry of War urgently dispatches someone back to investigate?"

"Then tell them that we have caught up with them."

The fake route must be recorded in the real postal register.

Sometimes, using someone's own methods against them isn't a very clever approach.

It was already dark when we entered the old salt road.

This road is indeed difficult to travel.

The Song physician had been riding for less than an hour when he started cursing the road construction workers.

"Why isn't this road repaired?"

Bai Zhi said, "After the new official road was completed, the salt road was abandoned."

"Why can he still walk if he's crippled?"

"The poor leave."

Physician Song stopped scolding.

Abandoned roads are not necessarily unused.

The person who left was not listed in the official road register.

Porters who couldn't afford to stay at the inn.

There are also those who don't want to be seen on the official road.

We encountered two groups of people carrying salt along the way.

I heard they're investigating Yong'an Grain Depot, so they're not hiding anymore.

One of the old salt workers told us that twelve fast horses passed by ahead this afternoon.

Instead, they turned back to the dry riverbank at Laohuaikou.

"Are you bringing a suitcase?"

"bring."

"How many?"

Six.

"What's in the box?"

"Not open."

"But blood was dripping down."

The physician Song immediately asked, "What color?"

"Dark red."

"Human blood?"

"picture."

The six boxes did not contain military equipment.

The twelve urgent messengers were not scrambling for soldiers.

There were six corpses.

By simply changing into Southwest Army uniforms at the dry riverbank and leaving behind a few old arrows, a counter-insurgency ambush can be staged.

Who the body belongs to is not important.

What matters is what you wear after you die.

I asked, "Did they stop at Laohuaikou?"

"It paused for a moment."

"What are you doing?"

"Wait for a bus."

What kind of car?

"White-covered carriage."

"Did anyone get off the bus?"

"A woman."

"Wear the clothes of a noblewoman."

She no longer wears the grey-blue veil.

Once outside the capital, the identity of Qing Yijiaqi was no longer valid.

She put her clothes back on as Madam Wang.

Because once they arrived at the destination, Lady Wang was better able to open the door than the nameless Lan Gu.

I asked, "What did she say?"

"It's far away."

"I only heard one sentence."

"What?"

The old salt worker recalled for a moment.

"It seems like..."

"The young master will come tonight."

I have not yet given my consent.

There are already people everywhere outside who have taken over my place.

Xiao Lingyi asked, "Where are they now?"

The old salt worker pointed to the north hillside.

"Dry River Slope".

"There was a fire over there just now."

Lights peeked out faintly through the gaps in the trees.

It was a row of lanterns lined up along the road.

White banners hung between the lanterns.

When we circled around from the old salt road to the back of the slope, we could just see the official road.

The six long boxes have been opened.

There were six people lying inside.

They are all alive.

He was wearing half a Southwest Army uniform.

Lady Wang stood in the center of the lantern.

The twelve "Ministry of War envoys" around him were not carrying any.

A woman missing her little finger on her left hand stood beside her.

So ordinary that if you walked into any palace gate, post station, or grain shop, no one would give you a second glance.

This is probably what makes Lan Gu so terrifying.

She doesn't have a face that's memorable.

It's a sign that the door needs to remember.

Madam Wang looked up at the hilltop where we were hiding.

"Imperial Censor Shen".

"Since we're here, why hide?"

She knew we were taking the old salt route.

The fake registration at the post station didn't fool her.

Or perhaps from the very beginning, she wasn't waiting for the Western Route.

Xiao Lingyi gripped the hilt of the sword.

But I went out from behind the woods.

When Madam Wang saw me, she smiled.

"It's been eleven years."

"The people of Qingxia are all waiting for you."

I said, "Shall I check the accounts?"

"Waiting for you to come home."

She raised her hand.

The twelve fake errand boys knelt on one knee at the same time.

The lanterns along the official road swayed wildly in the wind.

The six bound people were still lying in the box.

Madam Wang's voice echoed across the dry riverbank.

"Welcome, young master."