After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Time passed by, bit by bit.

The convoy ahead didn't seem to be in a hurry, swaying along the way and taking several breaks.

There were quite a few cars and pedestrians on the road. The other party even made several transactions with some passing caravans, buying some fruits and vegetables, and occasionally stopped to buy a few bundles of vegetables and some meat from vegetable farmers carrying loads on their shoulders.

According to Shangguan Xiu, the other party was going home. When he asked the spoiled brat where the other party was going, the man was lying on the ground and still talking about brotherhood, keeping his mouth shut and not saying a word.

It wasn't until she drew her embroidered spring knife and said that Ning Nan was very likely the group that attacked Prince Xin that this spoiled brat widened his eyes and looked at her in disbelief, his gaze unfocused, but he still subconsciously uttered the three words "Li Family Village".

"It matches the description of Lijia Village in that letter."

Qin Yuanyao's gaze was fixed on the carriage, her brows furrowed as she sorted through the various pieces of information in her mind.

Lijia Village is about 60 li (approximately 30 kilometers) west of Nanjing City, separated by several mountains. It requires a detour and takes about two hours by horse-drawn carriage, if traveling at a moderate pace.

After leaving the Marquis's residence, he rode a fast horse and caught up with the other party in half an hour, only to find that their route matched their goal of returning to Li Family Village.

But after the carriage crossed a bridge over the Xiaobai River, its direction changed slightly.

"The carriage is heading north."

About fifteen minutes ago, she noticed that the other person seemed to be heading in the wrong direction and chose to go north at a fork in the road.

At the time, I thought it was because there was a mountain road ahead, and the other party's second carriage was a bit heavy and might not be able to pull it up, so they chose to take a detour.

It wasn't until the other person repeatedly chose to go north instead of west at the crossroads that she finally realized that the other person was heading north.

Qin Yuanyao narrowed her eyes, picked up the embroidered spring knife hanging on the left side of the horse's back, and placed it across the horse's saddle. Her heart sank.

If you continue along the current road for a short distance, you will reach Laoyanshan.

Laoyanshan is not high, and there are several forks in the road at the entrance to the mountain.

If the other party doesn't choose to go west at this intersection and continues north instead, she might have to draw her knife and grab them, since going further north would bring them close to the Yangtze River.

If you go north from here, you can be sure that the other party is indeed a secret agent from the Northern Dynasty.

The purpose of delivering the message to Nanjing was merely to disrupt the Jinyiwei's investigation, or perhaps they left some clues in Lijia Village, intending to make a deal with the Southern Dynasty.

Fifteen minutes later, the three carriages arrived at Laoyan Mountain. There was an east-west mountain road on Laoyan Mountain. Qin Yuanyao gave a soft "shh," and the horses beneath her quickened their pace.

Suddenly, she tightened the reins and made a few "neighing" sounds, bringing the white horse to a stop.

The white horse snorted and shook its head up and down.

Qin Yuanyao slowly let out a sigh of relief.

The other party's convoy has entered the mountains.

Once you enter the east-west mountain road, you're heading west.

The old Yanshan Mountain was lush and green. The opposing convoy turned onto the mountain road, but unexpectedly, when the last carriage turned onto the mountain road, it suddenly stopped halfway.

The lush, dense forest revealed only half of the rear of the last carriage.

Qin Yuanyao narrowed her eyes. What's going on?

Taking another break?

She wasn't in a hurry. As long as the other party didn't continue heading north, she didn't plan to take them down directly. Instead, she would first try to find out their identity and purpose, otherwise she might alert them.

Finding Prince Xin is of paramount importance, but finding out who dared to assassinate him is equally crucial, and this man named Ning Nan is the most important clue at present.

Based on the pattern of the opponent's previous breaks, this break will most likely not exceed 15 minutes.

A moment later, a caravan emerged from Laoyanchu, consisting of about forty donkeys pulling carts and shouting as they passed by her, seemingly heading towards Nanjing.

There are many caravans like the one in Laoyanshan.

While the military strength of the Great Liang was still inferior to that of the north, its commerce was very prosperous. Thanks to the smooth trade routes, the court was at least not like it was during the Ming Dynasty, when even the army was in arrears with pay.

The first three carriages stopped for more than half an hour. Three caravans passed by in between. Two of them came from the west, and the other was a caravan that had set off from Nanjing and was heading west.

Qin Yuanyao had already dismounted and was patiently waiting by the roadside. She could only see half of the rear of the carriage that was parked there. The four people in the three carriages ahead seemed to have just started cooking, and smoke was rising from the woods.

Did I buy the meat and vegetables just now to cook this meal?

A look of doubt flashed in her eyes.

It wasn't until a full half-hour had passed and the carriage still hadn't moved that she finally realized something was wrong.

He leaped onto his horse, shouted "Giddy up!" and spurred it forward, the clatter of hooves echoing across the road.

As she approached the fork in the road at Laoyanshan, she looked west.

All three carriages were present.

My heart is still hanging in suspense.

I almost held my breath... The person was gone.

Qin Yuanyao's pupils suddenly contracted!

He hurriedly spurred his horse forward, turned his head and saw a strange young servant in blue sitting in front of the last carriage.

It was neither the scholar-like boy from Ningnan, nor one of the three coachmen.

"you!"

Qin Yuanyao shouted sternly, "Where are the owners of these three carriages?! Where are the drivers?!"

The servant was taken aback: "What master?"

Qin Yuanyao leaped off her horse, drew her sword, and the snow-white blade stung the servant's eyes.

The servant hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, no longer daring to play dumb, and stammered, "Young lady, spare my life! That young master... that young master did business with our master... our master. He asked our master where there were brothels, and he and a few of his coachmen wanted to have some fun..."

"The landlord said there was one in the next village, and the young master said he wanted the landlord to take him to try it, saying he wasn't short of money... So the landlord ordered me to watch over these carriages for the young master... He and the coachmen then followed our landlord's caravan... They'll be back after they've had their fun... They'll be back soon..."

Qin Yuanyao was so angry that her face turned deathly pale!

"Bastard, bastard!"

Prostitutes, prostitutes... a clever escape!

Shedding its skin like a cicada!

The caravans... those caravans...

Her chest heaved violently as she quickly glanced at the servant's clothes and compared them to the styles of the merchant caravans she remembered.

Once she knew which caravan it was, she quickly mounted her horse, turned it around, cracked her whip, and rode off towards Nanjing, the city the caravan was heading towards…

As the sound of Qin Yuanyao's horse hooves gradually faded into the distance, the young servant in blue, whose soul had been terrified by the long sword in the woman's hand, finally returned to his senses.

A rustling sound came from the dense forest.

The young servant in blue patted his chest and turned around, only to be momentarily stunned.

"Hmm? Young master?"

Behind him, the young master and three coachmen emerged from the woods, laughing.

Ning Nan took out a piece of silver and threw it at the servant, laughing, "That prostitute tasted pretty good... Now that I've had my fun, you can go after your master."

"Alright, alright, thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!" The servant in blue beamed as he pocketed the silver.

This young master has it tough, having to deal with a wife who even chases after him with a sword. No wonder he'd rather go to brothels outside... The servant was sweating profusely, but he didn't say anything more. He thanked the servant profusely and hurriedly chased after his master on the main road.

Uncle Fu looked at Ning Nan with some emotion: "Young Master, you are truly, truly remarkable..."

The other two coachmen also looked at Ning Nan with admiration. This young master had managed to deceive that woman without shedding a drop of blood!

Ning Nan waved his hand and laughed, "The three of you, hurry up and get in the car, we need to leave quickly."

I learned about the name Laoyanshan from conversations I had with several merchant caravans during previous transactions.

This place has thousands of households in front and behind, many caravans, and is closely guarded by government troops. It is an excellent trade route with almost no bandits.

If the woman continues to follow me as I walk this way, it means she is definitely not a highway robber.

Since they had taken a detour, the enemy didn't have time to set up an ambush ahead. They were heading towards places like Laoyanshan, where there were many government troops. If the enemy were bandits, they would either swarm them and attack directly, or they would have to give up this fat sheep.

Since the other party neither went up nor gave up... this shows that the other party's target was not the valuables on the carriage, but him as a person.

"First, head west through Laoyan Mountain, then head south back to Lijia Village," Ning Nan said with a smile to the old soldier beside him.

...

...

On the wide avenue, when the caravan owner saw the badge of a Jinyiwei commander standing before him, his expression turned to one of utter despair. He knelt down with a thud, crying, "My lord! My lord! That...that...that man got off the carriage halfway there! He said he was going to find a prostitute, but halfway there he got bored and jumped off... We did take the money, but we didn't break any laws!"

asshole!

Qin Yuanyao gritted her teeth.

"You scoundrel!" She angrily lashed out with her riding whip!

At that moment, dust billowed up on the road, and a series of muffled thunderous hoofbeats approached from afar.

Qin Yuanyao narrowed her eyes and suddenly turned her head to look. The two Jinyi captains who had been sent to Li Family Village earlier, dressed in black flying fish robes, hurriedly waved their hands to stop them.

"Your subordinates greet Commander Qin!" The two officers in brocade uniforms, their faces flushed and eyes brimming with excitement, pulled on the reins and bowed from their horses.

One of them dismounted nimbly, strode forward, and said in a low, excited voice, "My lord, Lord Qibing, we've found him! We've found Prince Xin... Prince Xin is in Li Family Village!"