One day later.
In Shicang County, which is five or six hundred miles away from the capital, the streets are sparsely populated.
A burly old woman carrying a food box entered an inn.
The inn was very quiet, and even the shopkeeper at the counter was taciturn.
The old woman went up to the second floor and came to the innermost room.
She pushed open the door, and unexpectedly, someone pressed a shard of broken porcelain against her neck.
"Tell me, who sent you?"
The old woman remained calm and turned to look at the wary woman. "Miss Nan should have guessed it by now, why ask such a question?"
Nan Qianyue's expression darkened, "Xiao Chen..."
That madman.
The old woman sighed softly, "Miss Nan, stop struggling. This place is far from the capital. You can't escape. You might as well cooperate and come with us to Nanjing."
“Otherwise, I’ll have to knock you unconscious and drug you every day, but your body might not be able to handle that. Why go through all that trouble?”
Nanqianyue held the porcelain shard close to her neck. "Look carefully, you're in my hands now. If you don't want to die, go find me a horse."
The old woman looked helpless. "There are our people all around here. You can't escape. If killing me can make you feel better, then kill me."
Nanqianyue gritted her teeth, believing that the old woman was not afraid of death.
Xiao Chen's people are all stubborn fools willing to give their lives at any time; those lurking around her will not be threatened by her.
Reality shattered the last line of defense for the Southern Migration Month. She dropped the porcelain shards, turned around, and sat down at the table.
"I'm hungry," she said coldly, staring at the table.
The old woman put on a gentle smile, carried the food box over, and arranged the food.
"I heard from my lord that Miss Nan is very particular about food, so I bought some of the local specialties. I don't know if they will suit your taste."
Nanqianyue ignored her and picked up her chopsticks to eat without expression.
He ate three big bites of every kind of food, showing no signs of being picky or having any particular liking for it.
The old woman waited quietly to the side, knowing that Miss Nan was sulking with her master.
"Young lady, please rest for a while. We'll be on our way in half an hour." The old woman collected the dishes and left.
After sitting quietly for a while, Nanqianyue prepared to go out and take a look, but found that the door could not be opened at all.
It seemed that the chances of escaping were slim, but she would not give up. She had to find an opportunity to escape and absolutely could not go to Nanjing.
Judging from the buildings here, it is several days' journey from the border.
An hour later, the old woman came to pick her up on time.
This group included several unfamiliar faces, all of whom were very polite to the person migrating south.
But the Southern Migration Moon always wore an unapproachable expression.
Before nightfall, they arrived at a village.
Nanqianyue followed the old woman to a simple house.
The old woman said apologetically, "I'm sorry, young lady, you'll have to rest here for the first half of the night."
Nanqianyue frowned deeply. "The first half of the night? What about the second half?"
The old woman looked ashamed and said, "We'll continue our journey in the latter half of the night."
Southward Migration Month: "..."
"I want to take a shower," she said coldly.
The old woman did not refuse and cooperated, saying, "Please wait a moment, young lady, I will go and prepare hot water and clothes for you."
He didn't even bother to nod before turning around and going inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
The old woman stared at the door and shook her head. "Sigh."
Under the cover of night, only a few lights remained lit in Shicang County, and the occasional cry of a nightingale could be heard in the silence.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from afar, growing louder and louder in the darkness of the night.
One by one, the lights were ignited.
The small county town, which was just a moment ago shrouded in darkness, is now suddenly illuminated by thousands of lights.
Some boldly opened the window and looked out.
"They look like government troops!"
"They're from the capital!"
Why did they come here?
"Are they arresting a fugitive?"
The group, which had ventured into the night, stopped in front of an inn.
One man dismounted and pried open the inn's door, followed by several search dogs rushing inside.
The shopkeeper's screams came from inside, but the crowd waiting outside remained calm and quietly awaited the outcome.
"Woof woof woof..."
The barking of dogs echoed for miles around the inn.
"Your Highness, something's happened!"
Qin Yi's gaze was cold and sharp. He dismounted and strode into the inn.
The woman in green led a few others to follow, while the rest stayed behind to wait.
On the second floor of the inn, several search dogs barked wildly around the innermost room.
Qin Yi stepped forward and kicked open the door, only to find the room empty.
Once the search dogs were inside, some barked at the bed, while others barked at the tables and chairs.
Clearly, the Southern Migration Month stopped here.
The dog commander recalled the search and rescue dogs and reported, "Your Highness, their horses must have used the hay here. I will have the dogs familiarize themselves with the smell of the hay and track the droppings left by their horses. We will surely find them."
Qin Yi turned and strode away, waving at Quan Sima at the same time, "Go quickly."
In the inn's lobby, the woman in green brought the innkeeper over.
Qin Yi glanced at the trembling man kneeling on the ground and asked, "When you saw the person living in the innermost room, what was her condition?"
The shopkeeper was so frightened that his mind went blank, and he didn't understand what Qin Yi meant for a long time.
The woman in green grabbed him by the back of his collar, "If you don't speak, I'll cut your tongue out!"
The shopkeeper shuddered, finally regaining some composure. "Reporting to you, sir, that young lady was wearing a veiled hat, so I didn't see her face. But she's perfectly fine. The old woman taking care of her is very attentive; she's gone to several places to buy her food. Please, sir, have mercy! I'm just an insignificant person..."
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