Volume 1 Chapter 436: Escape in Progress
After choosing to leave Nanzhao Kingdom by water, he decisively gave up the carriage.
Although I don't have enough gold and silver on me, as long as I can escape from this suffocating place, I can earn more silver even if I lose it. Although this carriage cost more than 100 taels, no amount of silver can buy freedom.
Lan Yan'er, decisively, chose to take the water route at the first opportunity.
"Xiaoyu, go buy a boat ticket quickly and find a boatman to tell him to take the three of us across the river quickly."
After Lan Yaner gave Xiaoyu her instructions, she sat in the carriage and started to pack up and count how much silver she had left.
Lan Yaner arranged for the coachman outside the carriage to sell the carriage at a low price immediately.
After all, I have a little more silver in my hand now, but I can't take even a carriage with me. I can only buy horses after crossing the river.
Although the groom felt that this was a huge waste of money, he did not dare to interfere in his master's affairs. He could only follow his orders and sell the horses as quickly as possible.
When I bought it before, the total price of the person, carriage and compartment was 100 taels of silver, but now I have to sell it quickly because I am in a hurry, so I can only sell it for 22 taels of silver at most.
But judging from the owner's attitude, he had no problem with the money. When the coachman offered 22 taels of silver, he didn't bargain and just sold the carriage. After taking the money, he turned around and went back to the river to find his owner.
On the other side, Xiaoyu took a drink and went to find a suitable boatman. Her master wanted to cross the river quickly with only the three of them and not take anyone else. Xiaoyu thought that her master was a wanted criminal on the run from the court, so she felt nervous and excited at the moment.
Go find a suitable boatman immediately. As it is getting late, there are not many boatmen on the river. Everyone has gone back to have dinner. Besides, it is not safe to sail in the dark at night. Most people have already started to rush home at this time, and there are not many people here.
But Xiaoyu persuaded an elderly and experienced boatman to agree to take them across the river for five taels of silver.
Xiaoyu agreed, and the boatman happily went straight to find Lan Yaner.
"Master, the boatman has already agreed. He promised to bring it to us for only five taels of silver."
After hearing the news, Lan Yaner said, "Go find a groom quickly, and then we can cross the river quickly."
He went directly to the river to prepare to get on the boat. At this time, when Xiaoyu shouted, the coachman immediately came back with the silver.
Just like that, the three people hurriedly got on the boat amid the old boatman's shouts of "slow down, slow down!" The old boatman didn't say anything more, and immediately used the pole to push the boat away from the river bank.
As she slowly drifted on the river like a small boat, Lan Yan'er was still nervous. This was the first time since she grew up that she felt so rebellious and dared to do something so outrageous in the eyes of others. No one would have thought that she, the Holy Maiden of the Nanzhao Kingdom, would flee here.
I just didn't dare to face the moment when I wanted to escape. But now that I have escaped, there is no way back. The arrow has been shot and there is no turning back. The rest is up to me to move forward. How far I can run depends on fate.
After getting on the boat, since the three of them were all landlubbers, they were afraid of water and were even a little seasick, so they just kept silent. The three of them were silent for a while, which made the old boatman a little uncomfortable.
The boatman said slowly, "You three are in such a hurry to get to the other side of the river. Is there something urgent you need to do? It's already so late today. If you hadn't given me so much money, I wouldn't have taken you there. After all, if we're not careful, we might end up drowning in the icy water like dumplings!"
Lan Yan'er was immediately alert when she heard this, but she couldn't remain silent, so she said tactfully, "Yes, old man, we have something urgent to do and need to go to the other side of the river. Otherwise, we wouldn't risk getting killed in the dark."
The old boatman nodded slowly and said, "Yes, if you row a boat at night and accidentally fall into the river, you will catch a cold, which can be fatal."
After saying this, the old boatman went on to talk slowly and leisurely by himself about the interesting things happening on the river.
He didn't care whether anyone responded to him or not, he just kept talking to himself. Although the interesting words he said reached the ears of three people, only Xiaoyu would respond from time to time. The rest of the time, the interesting stories told by the boatman were more like they were told to the reeds on both sides.
Lan Yan'er was not impolite, but it was simply her first time escaping. The excitement and tension of being outside made her have no mood to listen to these little things that she would have found very interesting in the past.
After experiencing a particularly complicated inner drama, Xiaoyu always believed that her young lady was a beggar from the imperial court who had fled abroad, and she fully understood her young lady's nervous mood. So when the old boatman kept chattering about all kinds of interesting things and trying to ease the atmosphere, she was the only one who would say a few words to the old boatman from time to time.
This way, the atmosphere wouldn't be too awkward, and the old man wouldn't be left with a particularly deep impression. If there really was a wanted poster, he wouldn't immediately suspect the three of them.
Xiaoyu thought to herself, "We've just left Dragon Pond and are about to enter Tiger Caverns again. Luckily, my strength can protect this young lady. Otherwise, with her aloof, sage-like demeanor, she'd probably leave a bad impression on many people. If there's a portrait notification, this boatman will be able to buy her right away."
After all, it is rare to find a boatman who would ask for five taels of silver right away. Moreover, if the reward for the wanted portrait is higher, this boatman might even help with the wanted poster!
The thought of this filled me with melancholy, but there was no one I could confide in. I could only sigh softly in a place where no one else could see me, secretly lamenting in my heart that my life was truly bitter! Even more bitter than that coptis root!
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