Chapter 42 Old Friends

After a moment's thought, Song Luoning said earnestly, "Husband, please change your clothes first, and we'll go out and take a look."

"Okay." Xiao Yu nodded, glanced at Chen Yu, and Chen Yu left the room on her own. After Xiao Yu changed her clothes, the three of them packed their bags and went downstairs together. Just as they were about to leave, a lazy female voice came from behind: "Long time no see, Miss Song."

Looking in the direction of the voice, Song Luoning saw that it was none other than Ming Zhiqing, the owner of Mingpinlou, who had just been talking to the male lead downstairs. She smiled and nodded at her, "Long time no see, Miss Ming."

Although Ming Zhiqing was over forty, her bright and beautiful appearance made her look like she was in her early thirties. She waved her hand cheerfully, completely different from her attitude towards Xiao Chengze just now: "I didn't dare to recognize her just now, I didn't expect it to really be Miss Song. But why is Miss Song in Qingzhou?" After saying that, she glanced at Xiao Yu beside her and gave him a meaningful smile.

"And this young lady is...?"

Xiao Yu subconsciously looked at Song Luoning, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

How would a young lady introduce herself?

Song Luo Ning paused for a moment, tightened her fingers under her wide sleeves, and said with a smile, "She is my maid."

Xiao Yu was stunned. To hell with her maidservant! She wasn't a maidservant! She was the young lady's husband!

Xiao Yu glared at Song Luoning with displeasure.

Song Luoning tightened her sleeves, her expression somewhat unnatural. She was genuinely afraid that this scoundrel wouldn't give her any face and would blurt it out directly. Fortunately, he only glared at her. Actually, she didn't intend to hide Xiao Yu's identity, but since Xiao Yu was dressed as a woman, it was better to keep it a secret just to be on the safe side.

"Oh, a maid? I haven't seen her before." Ming Zhiqing squinted at the overly delicate-looking woman in front of her. "But she has a pretty face."

As soon as she finished speaking, a hint of displeasure flashed in Song Luoning's eyes. She seemed to understand what her strange feelings for Xiao Yu meant. Faced with the person in front of her blatantly looking her up and down, Song Luoning even wanted to immediately take Xiao Yu's hand to assert her ownership. She tightened her grip and said in a low voice, "Miss Ming is joking. He is just a servant. We have other matters to attend to, so we will not disturb Miss Ming any longer."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu became somewhat displeased. What did she mean by "servant"? She could barely accept being called a maid, but in the blink of an eye, she had become a servant. She looked at Song Luo Ning with some grievance.

Song Luoning looked away guiltily.

Ming Zhiqing smiled and looked at Xiao Yu: "Then we'll have a chance to meet again."

Song Luoning nodded, looked away, and turned to walk outside.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu glanced at Ming Zhiqing and chased after Song Luoning out.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the waiter already waiting outside with the carriage.

The service at Mingpinlou was indeed impeccable, well worth the three taels of silver for the night. Xiao Yu stepped forward to help Song Luoning: "Wife, let me help you into the carriage."

"For now, please call me Miss." The voice was icy.

Xiao Yu: "..."

Why does she really think of herself as a maid? There are no outsiders around, so why should she call me "Miss"?

Xiao Yu blinked: "Miss... Sister..." The way she called her sounded awkward.

"mother......"

Song Luoning sat down against the carriage wall and interrupted her, "Let's leave first."

Xiao Yu shut her mouth, pursed her lips, and realized that now was not the time to speak. She decided to let the maidservant stay as she was and stepped aside. After Chen Yu got into the carriage, she jumped onto the carriage shaft and drove the carriage out of the city.

They encountered many soldiers along the way, causing widespread panic. When they arrived at the city gate, a group of soldiers stood there, and everyone who entered or left had to be searched and their identity documents checked.

Xiao Yu stopped the carriage a distance away: "My lady, there really are checks at the city gate."

Song Luoning was startled. After the carriage came to a stop, she pushed open the carriage door, calmed herself down, and said, "Husband, let's wait a while before we go."

"Hmm?...Oh...Okay." Although he didn't understand why Song Luoning was nervous, Xiao Yu didn't think anything of it. Although this Prince Chang had a conflict with his father-in-law, it shouldn't have reached the point where he wanted to kill them. Most likely, the young lady was just scaring herself.

But......

She couldn't say this to the young lady, since they had just encountered an assassin yesterday, so it was always better to be careful. She stopped the carriage by the roadside.

After a long while, seeing that the young lady hadn't spoken, Xiao Yu couldn't help but ask, "Wife, what about us...?"

"Call her Miss." Song Luoning's cold voice came from inside the carriage.

"..." Xiao Yu obediently shut her mouth.

Let's listen to the young lady.

After a while, Song Luoning's voice rang out again: "Husband, let's go back to Mingpinlou first."

"..." Why did we go back again? Xiao Yu wanted to ask several times, but swallowed the words back each time she opened her mouth and turned the carriage back the way it came.

Song Luoning sat in the carriage, filled with worry. She was now 100% certain that the person the Changwang Mansion wanted to arrest was Xiao Yu. The men she had just glimpsed at the city gate who had been arrested all bore a striking resemblance to Xiao Yu.

For now, we can only return to Mingpinlou. The people from the Changwang Mansion just searched Mingpinlou, and with Ming Zhiqing in charge, they shouldn't search it again for the time being.

Outside Mingpinlou, Xiao Yu stopped the carriage again. Just as he put down the treadmill and helped Song Luoning down, the waiter came out to greet them, took the reins, and leaned closer to lower his voice: "Sir, please follow me."

"..." This voice... Xiao Yu looked closely and saw that the person in front of her was actually Constable Liang. How could she be here?

Before she could ask any questions, Liang Chengqiu lowered his voice and said, "Don't say anything, just come with me."

Xiao Yu's heart tightened, and she subconsciously looked at Song Luoning. After all, she was now a fugitive, and the person escorting her was right in front of her. Although she didn't want to escape, she still had the feeling of being caught after fleeing.

Be as weird as you want.

Song Luoning nodded to her, and the three of them followed Liang Chengqiu into an empty room in the backyard of Mingpinlou. Chen Yu asked impatiently, "Captain Liang, how are my aunt and the others now?"

Liang Chengqiu: "You don't need to worry, they are safe outside the city now."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, were finally at ease.

Xiao Yu asked, "How did you know we were here?"

Liang Chengqiu: "I didn't know about it at first. When I entered the city, I saw soldiers holding your portrait and arresting people everywhere, so I rushed over."

What?

Holding her portrait, Xiao Yu was immediately startled. Why arrest her? Wasn't the Chang Prince's mansion robbed? And this thief looks a lot like him?

Xiao Yu subconsciously looked at Song Luoning, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Why did Song Luoning insist on making him wear women's clothes? Why did Song Luoning stop him from leaving the city?

Given all these anomalies, combined with the young lady's reaction, it's highly likely that she knew all along that the Chang Prince's Mansion wanted to arrest her? And the fact that the portrait she mentioned looked very much like her wasn't a lie to Chen Yu.

Xiao Yu's mind was in complete chaos.

Now is not the time to ask questions. He glanced at Song Luoning and calmed himself down: "Officer Liang, do you know why they arrested me?"

Maybe it's not what I thought?

Liang Chengqiu shook his head: "I don't know the specifics either, but I heard it's about catching a thief."

Catching a thief?

Xiao Yu is innocent. She doesn't even know where the Chang Prince's mansion is. This accusation is a bit too much. And this Liang Chengqiu is also strange. He is clearly a government official. Why didn't he arrest her and hand her over to the Chang Prince? Instead, he didn't ask any questions and secretly brought her here, as if he knew in advance.

Xiao Yu was startled again, but now was not the time to think about these things. She still needed to think about leaving this place first. After all, Prince Chang was openly arresting her, while his suspicions about Liang Chengqiu were still just speculation.

If all else fails, leave and then try to escape.

Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then forced a calm expression: "Does Constable Liang have a way to get out of the city?"