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The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and her entourage arrived at an inn along their journey. Unbeknownst to the innkeeper, they were none other than the current Empress Dowager and a group of fugitives.
At first glance, the leader appeared to be an elderly lady from a prominent family, accompanied by her servants. However, the demeanor and appearance of the servants seemed to surpass that of their mistress. Not to mention, they walked with an air of authority, leaving their mistress trailing behind.
…It was quite puzzling.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing requested a room and stationed four guards outside, while several skilled individuals remained hidden in the vicinity.
As for Grannie Cai, her carriage headed in a different direction to confuse anyone from the Emperor's side who might be tracking them.
The inn was small, and the rooms were quite modest.
"I apologize for the humble accommodation, sister." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing said with a faint smile as they entered the room. "Having lived a simple life in the nunnery for many years, I've grown accustomed to such humble lodgings. You, on the other hand, have enjoyed a life of luxury for many years. It might be difficult for you to sleep well in a place like this. But don't worry, the road to the border is still long, and you'll have time to adjust."
Empress Dowager Zhuang ignored her and went straight to the window.
The room was damp and gloomy, emitting a musty odor.
Empress Dowager Zhuang pushed open the window and her gaze fell upon a large tree in the courtyard.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sneered, "I advise you not to attempt an escape, sister. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind taking your ashes to meet Ning'an."
Empress Dowager Zhuang withdrew her gaze from the tree and closed the window, saying coldly, "If you want to start a rebellion at the border, just say so. Don't use Ning'an as an excuse. She is your own daughter at the very least. You've gone too far."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's expression changed slightly.
She clenched her handkerchief tightly and smiled, "What would you like to eat? I'll instruct the kitchen to prepare it."
Empress Dowager Zhuang replied indifferently, "Spicy chicken, stir-fried lamb with scallions, and a pot of lotus root and pork bone soup."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sneered, "I doubt you'll get to eat those dishes here. I'll see what the inn has to offer."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Naturally, she wasn't really going to get food for Empress Dowager Zhuang; she had other matters to discuss with her subordinates.
"Keep a close eye on her and don't let her escape." Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing instructed the guards at the door. contemporary romance
The guards saluted, "Yes!"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing put on a cloak and covered her face with the hood before stepping out of the inn.
Almost at the same moment, a large bird flapped its wings and landed on the windowsill of Empress Dowager Zhuang's room.
Empress Dowager Zhuang pushed open the window again and saw Little Nine perched on the windowsill.
You found Aijia?
Whether Little Nine understood Empress Dowager Zhuang's gaze or not, it looked at her with its wide bird eyes, flapped its wings, and opened its beak, making a chirping sound.
Empress Dowager Zhuang twitched her lips.
You're a young falcon, not an old hen!
Fortunately, the guards paid no attention to the "hen." Empress Dowager Zhuang picked up Little Nine and brought it inside.
Just as she was about to close the window, a dark figure descended silently from the sky and landed outside the window.
Empress Dowager Zhuang remained composed, or else she might have been frightened enough to throw Little Nine out.
The person wore a mask with fangs, appearing particularly eerie in the night.
The figure bowed respectfully to Empress Dowager Zhuang and took off his mask.
Empress Dowager Zhuang raised an eyebrow.
Oh, it's JiaoJiao's second brother who pretended to be dead last time.
Gu Chengfeng was someone who could slip through the Dragon Shadow Guards’ surveillance, but if they were to discover him, he wouldn't stand a chance against them.
Gu Chengfeng made a gesture to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Understanding his meaning, Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded and fetched a chair, stepping onto it.
As she was about to step over the windowsill, the chair screeched, emitting a sharp sound.
Empress Dowager Zhuang hastily grabbed the teapot from the table and threw it down. The teapot shattered with a loud crash, and she shouted, "Didn't Aijia tell you people to bring me something to eat? It's been a while already, and you still haven't come with any food! Do you want Aijia to starve to death!?"
The guards outside the room rolled their eyes and ignored her.
They only took orders from Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and didn't care about Empress Dowager Zhuang's mood.
Gu Chengfeng raised his thumb in admiration of Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was indeed formidable.
Little Nine could fly away on his own, without burdening Empress Dowager Zhuang in her arms.
Empress Dowager Zhuang climbed onto the windowsill, and Gu Chengfeng caught her. He used his qinggong to carry Empress Dowager Zhuang into the boundless night.
Meanwhile, after Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing returned to the inn, several guards stationed there simultaneously stepped aside.
"Did she cause a scene?" Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing asked in a calm voice.
One of the guards replied, "In response to master, she got angry and smashed a teapot. She said that you wanted to starve her and didn't provide her with food on purpose."
This statement seemed normal to the guards, but it sounded a bit strange to Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Zhuang Jinse had a bad temper, but it wasn't to the extent of getting angry over such a trivial matter...
Her brow twitched, and she forcefully pushed open the door, only to find an empty room with no trace of Zhuang Jinse.
"Ah!" The guards were shocked.
What happened?
She was clearly in there just a moment ago!
They didn't see her come out at all!
"Useless bunch! An old woman managed to escape right under your noses, and none of you noticed?! She doesn’t even know martial arts..."
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing stopped in the middle of her sentence.
Indeed, Zhuang Jinse didn’t possess any martial arts skills, so she couldn't have escaped on her own.
Someone came to rescue her.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing thought of the two black-clad individuals who had infiltrated the nunnery under the watchful eyes of the Dragon Shadow Guard. She was convinced that one of them was Gu Jiao, but she wasn't sure about the other person's identity.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing coldly murmured, "Young Miss Gu from the Gu Family, you've managed to escape from my grasp multiple times, but do you truly believe you can always be so lucky? All of you, split up and chase after them. They can't have gone far!"
"Yes!" The guards acknowledged.
Like a fleeting shadow, they dispersed.
Gu Chengfeng carried Grandaunt on his back as they hurried along a narrow path. The inn was located in a secluded area, so their carriage was parked a bit far away to avoid arousing suspicion.
To reach the carriage before they were discovered, Gu Chengfeng ran a little faster. He was worried that Empress Dowager Zhuang wouldn't be able to endure it. "Your Majesty, please bear with it a little longer. We'll be there soon."
No response.
Gu Chengfeng's eyes trembled. Did he... accidentally knock her unconscious?
...Never mind, he would deal with it once they were on the carriage. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to escape from those people if they caught up!
Little Nine was the first to fly back to the carriage.
Gu Jiao saw it and knew that Gu Chengfeng had succeeded. She quickly jumped off the carriage to assist.
Before long, she saw Gu Chengfeng carrying someone on his back, presumably Grandaunt.
"How did it go? Were you detected?" She asked, approaching briskly.
Gu Chengfeng stopped and gasped for breath, not from exhaustion but from fear. "They didn't notice... but... Empress Dowager doesn't seem well... take a look at her..."
As his words trailed off, silence fell around them.
Then, both Gu Chengfeng and Gu Jiao distinctly heard the rhythmic sound of snoring coming from his back.
Gu Chengfeng: "..."
How... could she sleep through all this?!
Gu Jiao's ears twitched, "They're here!"
Gu Chengfeng's expression changed, "Then let's go quickly!"
But it was too late.
A chilling sword aura swept towards them. The two quickly moved aside, evading the attack, but the carriage parked by the road was not as fortunate.
The carriage was shattered into pieces, the reins snapped, and the frightened horses let out a terrified neigh before bolting away uncontrollably!
Since they had split up earlier, there weren't many experts chasing them at this moment. Gu Jiao took out two black gunpowder balls and threw them forcefully towards the three pursuers.
With two loud explosions, the three individuals were blown away!
"Let's go!" Gu Jiao took Gu Chengfeng's hand and ran towards the nearby woods.
Little Nine fluttered its wings and flew into the woods as well.
While fleeing, Gu Chengfeng surprisingly had the presence of mind to chat with Gu Jiao. "What kind of hidden weapon was that? It made such a loud noise! It sounded like firecrackers! But I didn't see you ignite anything!"
Gu Jiao replied, "It's not firecrackers. I'll explain later."
In a life-or-death situation, Gu Chengfeng didn't rely solely on his qinggong to deal with people.
However, men were naturally more curious about such things. His heart and lungs were itching; he wished he could know what it was right now!
"They're coming!" Gu Jiao said.
Gu Chengfeng exclaimed, "Really? Your hearing is so good!"
He hadn't heard anything!
The pursuers were not the same three from before; it was another wave of assassins.
Gu Jiao pulled on his sleeve, "Find a place to hide!"
Gu Chengfeng asked, "But there's no cave around here. How can we hide?"
Gu Jiao looked up and said, "Climb a tree!"
She said this while still maintaining her running posture. But almost as soon as she finished speaking, she untied her waistband and threw it towards a tree trunk. The other end of the waistband hung down, and she grabbed both ends, swiftly shooting up the tree!
Gu Chengfeng closed his eyes. Was it really appropriate for a girl to untie her waistband in front of a man?
He tiptoed and used his qinggong to climb up the tree.
Little Nine also landed on the same tree.
The two of them unconsciously held their breath, and the silent forest was filled only with the sound of Empress Dowager Zhuang's snoring.
The snoring wasn't particularly loud, but someone skilled in martial arts would surely be able to hear it!
Gu Chengfeng was covered in cold sweat, "W-What do we do? S-Should we wake Empress Dowager up? You wake her up! I won't do it!"
Gu Jiao whispered to the sleeping Empress Dowager Zhuang on Gu Chengfeng's back, "Grandaunt, if you keep snoring, I'll deduct your candied fruits."
The sound of Empress Dowager Zhuang's snoring ceased instantly!
Gu Chengfeng: "..."
Uh... That actually worked?!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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