Chapter 366 Entering the City

Not long after, Gong Shao came out after changing his clothes.

He washed the dirt off his body by the stream, revealing his original appearance. He had a handsome face and a scholarly air.

Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan were both relatively tall, and Gong Shao himself was thin, not much taller than the other two, so it did not look out of place for him to wear women's clothes.

Zhu Qingyan's gaze fell on Gong Shao's head, and he was somewhat surprised that he could even comb a woman's hair into a bun.

Gong Shao smiled bitterly, "I used to tie my wife's hair, so I'll naturally know how to do it."

In order to make the scene more realistic, Zhu Lan and the other person took out rouge and powder and put a light layer of makeup on Gong Shao.

Naturally, Zhu Lan brought the best makeup powder from Xianglai'er's shop. Gong Shao applied the powder on his face, which looked very natural under the sunlight.

After all the trouble, Gong Shao really became a pretty girl with red lips and white teeth, which was very different from her original appearance.

Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan nodded with satisfaction, and the last step was to let him put on the veil.

I and Zhu Qingyan also put them on, which made it look much more natural.

This place was not far from Yunzhou City. Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan only had two horses, so they gave one to Gong Shao, and Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan rode on the same horse.

At dusk, the three of them arrived outside Yunzhou City and lined up to enter the city.

When they were still some distance away from the city gate, Zhu Lan stopped and asked the three men to dismount and lead the way.

After all, Gong Shao's current identity is the "maid" of the two of them. If the soldiers at the city gate see a maid riding a horse alone while two young ladies ride on the same horse, they might become suspicious.

Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan walked calmly towards the city gate. Gong Shao, who was standing behind them, lowered his head and held the horses for them.

Sure enough, the three were stopped at the city gate.

"Who are you and what are you doing in the city?" asked the soldiers guarding the city.

Zhu Qingyan took out the ultimatum documents from the two of them and handed them over.

After the soldier saw it, he looked a little surprised, as if it was the first time he saw a woman in power.

He was stunned for a moment before continuing, "Lift up the veil."

Zhu Lan and the other woman lifted up most of their veils, revealing beautiful faces. The soldier's expression also relaxed a little.

His eyes fell on Gong Shao behind the two of them:

"Only your two names are on the document. Who is she?"

As the soldier spoke, he walked up to Gong Shao and looked him up and down, "Show me your face."

Gong Shao lowered his eyes, looking timid, and raised his hand to slowly lift his veil.

"She is a maid we bought on the road. She is timid."

Zhu Lan stepped forward with a smile and very covertly stuffed the two cents of silver he had won from Zhu Qingyan into the soldier's hand.

"You all have worked hard under the wind and sun at the gate. I will just give you some small tokens of my appreciation, just as some extra money for the wine."

The soldier carefully weighed the few grains of silver, which was equivalent to his two months salary.

He glanced at Gong Shao's face. He had an ordinary appearance, nothing special about him.

The people wanted in the city are all men, and this woman doesn't seem to be related at all.

"Okay, go ahead."

The soldier waved his hand and the people behind him were let go readily.

After entering the city, Zhu Qingyan asked Gong Shao: "Let's go get the evidence your father left behind without further delay."

Gong Shao shook his head. "Not now, it's too eye-catching. Let's wait until it's darker before we act."

Zhu Lan nodded and said, "Okay. Master Gong, is there a secluded inn in Yunzhou City where we can stay?"

Gong Shao was naturally very familiar with Yunzhou City. In less than half an hour, the three of them arrived at a small inn in the north of Yunzhou City.

The inn looked old and not in good condition, looking a bit run-down.

But the good thing is that the identity of the occupants is checked very hastily.

Gong Shao easily fooled him.

"My identity is sensitive, so I have to ask the two ladies to stay here for the time being." Gong Shao felt a little apologetic.

"It's okay." Zhu Lan said.

Her intuition about people has always been accurate. From observing Gong Shao's behavior and demeanor on the road, she knew he must be a trustworthy person.

Zhu Lan asked the innkeeper to bring a map of Yunzhou City, and Gong Shao drew three circles on the map.

"My father hid the evidence of the Ning'an Marquis's crime in these three places. We will set out as soon as it gets dark."

There was still some time before dark, so Zhu Lan asked the innkeeper to serve a few simple dishes.

Gong Shao was preoccupied with something, so he just ate a few bites and then stared out the window in a daze.

The three of them were silent, and the room became very quiet for a while.

Suddenly, there were a few coughs in the yard. Zhu Lan and the others didn't pay much attention to it at first, but Gong Shao, who was sitting by the window, suddenly changed his expression. He jumped up from his chair and stared outside through the gap in the window.

Zhu Lan and the other two were startled by his sudden action and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"

"It's Zhou Yang!" Gong Shao's voice was filled with suppressed anger. His voice... I definitely didn't hear it wrong!

Zhu Lan and the other two were startled and stood up to look at the window. They saw several figures walking into the inn. One of them covered his face with a handkerchief and seemed to be coughing violently.

"Zhou Yang?" Zhu Qingyan recalled, "Isn't he the one you mentioned... the owner of Yongye Tea House?"

As she spoke, she became puzzled again, "That's not right. Didn't we hear that he was arrested by the county magistrate and put in jail on our way into the city? How could he be here?"

Gong Shao gritted his teeth and sneered, "I've said it before, the officials in Yunzhou City are in cahoots with each other, and the officials and businessmen are colluding. The man surnamed Zhou and the county magistrate Liao are in the same group. What about arresting people and handling cases impartially... that's all for their own reputation, for the people to see!"

As soon as Gong Shao finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside the guest room. Then the waiter was heard opening the door of the guest room next to them and letting the new guest stay.

During this time, coughing sounds continued to be heard, and Gong Shao became more certain that he had not heard wrong, that person was definitely Zhou Yang!

The decoration of this inn is shabby and the walls are poorly soundproofed.

Zhu Lan and the other two kept quiet in tacit understanding. They even breathed more lightly and carefully put their ears close to the wall.

After a while, the coughing sound from the other side of the wall stopped and faint voices of talking could be heard.