Chapter 59 Why are you dressed like this?

How could they mistake me for a woman?

Seventeen was very puzzled by this. She knew she was beautiful, but no one had ever mistaken her gender.

Long Zhaoming almost spat out his water, unable to suppress a laugh: "Because Little Seventeen is so beautiful, you used to always dress as a man, so naturally you wouldn't mistake her. But today I've put an outer robe on you and your hair is down, so it's normal for you to mistake her."

This explanation was barely plausible, and Seventeen was too lazy to dwell on it. He tidied the bed and asked, "What are Your Highness's plans for tomorrow?"

Long Zhaoming pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "Since Shenmu has already misunderstood, let's just accept it and wait for Xiao Mowen to bring his men to find us."

Seventeen nodded, he never questioned His Highness's decisions: "Alright, then let's get some rest. I wonder how long it will take Brother Xiao to find us."

"Soon, we won't be too far from Yejing from here."

The oppressive atmosphere inside the Yejing Imperial Palace almost made Xiao Mowen break out in a cold sweat.

"Tomorrow, no, tonight I will assign you a few men. Take them and search. Don't come back until you find it!"

Xiao Mowen knelt down to accept the order, but was somewhat surprised.

He had always thought that His Majesty and his own prince were rivals... but it seems that His Majesty is extremely concerned about him.

"Chen Jing, you go with him."

"yes."

Chen Jing stepped forward to receive the imperial decree, but then heard His Majesty say, "Forget it, you don't need to go. I will go myself."

These words surprised Chen Jing slightly, but he quickly composed himself.

After Xiao Mowen went to make preparations, Eunuch Yuanfu stepped forward and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, shall we prepare the same clothes as last time?"

Long Langyue leaned against the table, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.

"No need, just change into something simple."

Eunuch Yuanfu understood that His Majesty intended to search for him under his true identity.

He understood things much better than that man surnamed Xiao; His Majesty was not only worried about the Prince, but also about the Seventeenth Guard.

It's not that I'm worried about Seventeen's skills, but rather that given Seventeen's personality, if the prince were in any danger, he would definitely step forward to help.

Without further ado, he quickly withdrew to prepare.

Hooves kicked up sand as they chose a less traveled but faster route to find the people sooner.

The group consisted of five people, led by Xiao Mowen, followed by four others.

The clatter of hooves was clearly audible in the quiet of the night. They had no intention of concealing their presence. Just as Xiao Mowen's horse stepped on a patch of wild grass, the reins were suddenly pulled, and the horse let out a loud neigh.

A short arrow pierced through the leaves and flew through the air. Xiao Mowen immediately blocked it with his knife, and a buzzing sound reached everyone's ears.

The group immediately formed a circle around Long Langyue.

Holding the Xuan Sword, Long Langyue glanced at the sparse stars and bright moon, and ordered in a deep voice: "Find the person and execute them on the spot!"

Upon receiving the order, the group of people flew off like birds set free, heading towards the location they had already determined. Xiao Mowen did not leave; he and Long Langyue stood back to back, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Another whooshing sound rang out. Long Langyue drew her sword to block the attack, then flew forward after determining the direction, with Xiao Mowen following closely behind.

Xiao Mowen's lightness skill was not top-notch, so he was slightly behind Long Langyue, which made him a little alarmed.

Emperor Jing's skills were beyond his expectations, even surpassing his own.

How come Your Highness, being a brother, doesn't know martial arts?

Just as he finally caught up with Long Langyue after rushing around, he discovered that the person who shot the short arrow had already been killed by the Xuan Sword.

Xiao Mowen frowned. Emperor Jing's sword... looked somewhat familiar.

His thoughts raced, his brows furrowed, and he raised his longsword, slashing to the side. With a spurt of blood, a man in black fell to the ground, lifeless.

Before long, the few who had gone out returned one after another, the bright red marks on their bodies and weapons proclaiming the carnage they had just committed.

"Your Majesty, all thirteen people have been killed; none have survived."

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard knelt down and reported that those men were all well-trained assassins. Knowing they had been exposed, they immediately bit off the poison in their mouths and died on the spot.

Long Langyue didn't expect to leave any survivors and didn't care much. He casually grunted and ordered, "Continue forward."

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"These are all old clothes, Your Highness, please don't find them offensive."

Shenmu handed a stack of clothes to Long Zhaoming, who took them and unfolded them to see that they were a set of plain-colored women's clothing.

Seventeen fell silent behind him. Long Zhaoming seemed to want to laugh as well, but he suppressed the urge to laugh.

"Thank you for your help. His clothes were all dirty and messy yesterday. I was planning to go to town today to buy him a new one."

Chen Mu smiled and said, "It's quite a distance from here to the town. If Your Highness wishes to go, this humble subject will take you there."

"No need to trouble yourself. I feel bad for bothering you. Please take this money."

After saying that, Long Zhaoming took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket and handed them to him.

Shen Mu's eyes lit up when he saw the loose silver. He accepted it without even refusing. Although it wasn't much, he guessed that the prince had traveled in a hurry and hadn't brought much money with him. His goal wasn't this small amount of silver.

Seventeen frowned slightly. This person...

Long Zhaoming didn't care; he had plenty of money. The main thing was to prevent Shenmu from having any wicked thoughts.

After breakfast, Chenmu went to work in the fields, while his wife went to prepare lunch.

Perhaps because there were guests at home, and although she didn't know who the two people were, her husband had specifically instructed her to treat them well, so she thought of killing a chicken.

Long Zhaoming glanced at her twice, then turned and whispered to Seventeen, "No wonder they both stay in this remote mountain village and don't want to go to town."

"Um?"

To avoid being discovered that he was actually a man, Seventeen "endured humiliation" and changed into women's clothing. Fortunately, he was young and had a relatively small build, so the clothes fit him well.

Wearing women's clothing is still a bit uncomfortable.

Long Zhaoming turned his head and said to him, "This woman is a courtesan from the north. There were rumors that she had an affair with Shen Mu."

Seventeen looked at Long Zhaoming in disbelief, as if surprised: "Your Highness actually knows courtesans?"

Long Zhaoming choked, his expression horrified: "No, I've only heard about it. I was only a teenager at the time, and out of curiosity, I went to take a look. But because I only saw her a few times, I don't really remember what she looked like. I just remembered her now. I suppose it's because neither of them had a good reputation, so it was hard to keep their trip to Yejing a secret. This village is just the right location."

Seventeen blinked and asked in confusion, "Why is Your Highness so nervous?"

"...Little Seventeen, you've really gone bad."

Seventeen chuckled sullenly. From the direction of Madam Chen, the two were talking and laughing with their heads down, looking very intimate. Seventeen couldn't help but feel a little sour.

If Shenmu hadn't been expelled from the military camp, he might be living a good life now, instead of having to kill chickens and clean up manure here every day.

Around noon, Madam Shen prepared a meal and invited the two of them to eat. Soon after, Shen Mu also returned.

After the four sat down, they looked at the fragrant chicken soup and said with a smile, "Esteemed guests, our cooking skills are certainly not as good as those in Yejing, please don't mind."

"Not at all, my sister-in-law's cooking is absolutely superb!"

Madam Shen laughed as he coaxed her, and Shen Mu laughed heartily beside her, "Eat up, eat up, don't be shy."

After a lively meal, Seventeen went to help her clean up. The other woman glanced at him and asked, "Are you married to your husband?"

Seventeen was taken aback, her face displaying a variety of expressions, but she still answered in a low voice, "Not yet."

"Oh dear, why are you still shy? I saw you two sleeping in the same bed last night."

She giggled, while Seventeen practically buried herself in the bowl.

After finishing his meal, Shen Mu went out again. Madam Shen, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, tugged at her outer robe and said, "It's getting hotter and hotter these days."

Long Zhaoming also looked up at the sky: "Indeed, it got hot quite early this year."

Seventeen quietly drank his water, while Madam Chen looked him over and over, her face beaming with smiles: "Your wife is truly beautiful."

Long Zhaoming pursed his lips to stop himself from laughing, while Seventeen's face was burning red.

Damn it, once he gets out of this mess, he'll definitely tear those men in black to pieces!

The three were chatting when they heard the clatter of horses' hooves outside.

Long Zhaoming was taken aback, then frowned and asked doubtfully, "You found us so quickly?"

Seventeen was also a little nervous. Was it their own people who had come, or that group of men in black?

Thinking this, he went back to his room, picked up his sword, and hid it under his outer robe, ready at any moment.

Long Zhaoming stood up and walked to the door. From afar, he saw a large black horse leading the way and was overjoyed: "It's Xiao Mowen."

Seventeen took a look and it was indeed true, and he instantly beamed with joy, but then he remembered the clothes he was wearing, and his smile froze.

But the newcomers didn't give Seventeen time to hesitate and arrived quickly.

Xiao Mowen dismounted and was about to bow when Long Zhaoming stopped him. He looked up and understood what was happening.

"Please forgive me, sir, for my lateness."

Madam Shen covered her mouth in surprise; this was truly an honored guest.

Shen Mu also rushed back from a distance. He paused when he saw Xiao Mowen, as he did not recognize the person.

"Brother Shen, this is a guard from my residence."

"Thank you for taking in my son, Brother Shen."

Xiao Mowen clasped his hands in thanks to Chen Mu. Soon, the people behind the black horse also dismounted. Seventeen tilted his head and was stunned.

Why is His Majesty here too!

Long Langyue stepped forward, patted Long Zhaoming on the shoulder, and asked in a deep voice, "Are you injured?"

Long Zhaoming shook his head. At this moment, Long Langyue turned to look at Chenmu. The other party seemed a little scared and didn't dare to speak for a long time.

Long Langyue didn't mind at all, and with a wave of her hand, Xiao Mowen immediately stepped forward and handed Shen Mu a money bag.

"Thank you so much, Brother Shen. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Please don't refuse it, Brother Shen."

How could Shenmu refuse? He was willing to take in Long Zhaoming just for the money.

Long Langyue turned to look at Seventeen beside Long Zhaoming, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes.

Seventeen coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, let's go back and talk about it."

Seeing that Long Langyue's gaze was becoming increasingly strange, Long Zhaoming silently prayed for Seventeen, and then bid farewell to Seven and Chenmu's family before leaving.

Long Zhaoming and Xiao Mowen rode one horse, while Shiqi and Long Langyue rode another.

He had intended to ride with someone else first, but His Majesty directly lifted him onto the horse, leaving him somewhat bewildered.

Why are you dressed like that?

Long Langyue's voice was low, drifting in the air but penetrating into Seventeen's ears, causing a slight tingling sensation.

Seventeen couldn't help but recall those two absurd dreams, her cheeks flushing: "The situation was urgent at the time, and His Highness didn't want to be exposed and hunted down, so he pretended to be husband and wife to deceive the couple."

Long Langyue nodded, but his gaze lingered on Seventeen as if it were a physical object.