"Mother, why don't we turn around and stay at Jinglong Inn for the night? We'll set off an hour earlier tomorrow."
Shangguan Jinnian held Shangguan Lan's body tightly. Although his mother had a head full of black hair without a single white hair, she was a grandmother after all.
Shangguan Lan stuffed a grape into his mouth and said, "Mother is fine. Her old illness has healed. Also, have you noticed any discomfort during this journey?"
Shangguan Jinnian looked carefully at his old mother's kind face. Her complexion was rosy and there was really no sign of fatigue.
"Are you really not tired?"
"Mother is the most concerned about herself. Let's try the orange first." Shangguan Lan stuffed the orange slices into Shangguan Jinnian's mouth one by one. "After dark, find a spacious place to set up camp. We will set out at dawn tomorrow and arrive in Beiyi Capital by noon."
Shangguan Jinnian's mouth was blocked by the sour and sweet oranges, and he couldn't speak, so he temporarily accepted Shangguan Lan's arrangement.
When he had a chance to speak, Shangguan Jinnian called Nie Shiyi over and said, "Big Brother Guard, my mother is weak and can't sleep outdoors in the wilderness. This place is not far from the capital, and there should be a farm belonging to a high-ranking official in the capital. If you pass by, ask the manager of the farm if you can stay overnight."
"Okay, Mr. Lan."
Nie Shiyi glanced at the large willow tree not far away and raised his voice slightly before adding, "If those manors won't let you stay overnight, I'll have to inconvenience you and your son by having to rest outside the manor."
Shangguan Jinnian signaled with his eyes: Is someone following us?
Nie Shiyi nodded slightly.
"If there really is no Zhuangzi to let us stay overnight, then this is the only way."
The convoy then continued to move forward. Every time it passed a farm, Nie Shiyi would personally go to discuss the matter of staying overnight with the farm manager.
Nie Shiyi thought that it would be easy to get a place to stay by paying money, but the accents of the brothers who accompanied him revealed that they were from neighboring countries, and they were rejected.
Next, Nie Shiyi and his companions learned their lesson. As a result, several village managers saw that they were carrying knives and swords, and were worried that they would attract robbers, so they ruthlessly refused them.
Seeing that it was getting late, Nie Shiyi couldn't let the Queen and the Ninth Prince sleep in the wilderness. There was a farm one kilometer ahead. If he was rejected again, he would go directly to Xiaojia Farm.
Xie Family Pear Blossom Manor
Yunniang used the last ray of light from the window to look through the various accounts of the farm.
At this time, the head of the farm walked in.
"Madam, there is someone outside who wants to stay at our manor for one night."
Yunniang put down the account book and asked, "Who are they?"
"They are an orphan and a widowed mother, traveling with a dozen guards to the capital to seek refuge with their relatives. They are willing to come to our farm. It seems they have been rejected many times. Otherwise, I would have refused them too."
Yunniang was about to refuse, but then she thought that Prince Dongjunyu and his entourage would be coming to Beijing tomorrow... She stood up and went to the gate of the manor with her maids, nannies, servants and guards.
Nie Shiyi was quite surprised when he saw who it was. The visitor was the wife of the prince of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion. When they first came to Jingcheng, they were worried that the Xie family would make trouble when the prince regained his identity, so they took the initiative to go to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion to inquire about it.
Fortunately, the Xie family is not a family of military generals.
"Greetings, Madam. We are from the Lan family of Donglin County and are traveling to the capital to join our relatives. I wonder if it would be convenient for us to stay at your manor?"
Yunniang glanced at Shangguan Jinnian who was leaning against the car window.
Shangguan Jinnian raised her eyes and smiled, "Madam."
Yunniang was startled. The young master looked very familiar.
Before she could even open her mouth to respond, Shangguan Jinnian got off the carriage and quickly walked up to Yunniang, very respectfully saying, "We are going to the capital. It's getting dark now, and my mother is not in a good condition to sleep outdoors in the wilderness. Could you please, Madam, do us a favor and let us stay here?"
Seeing Shangguan Jinnian being so polite, Yunniang, who had taken a liking to him at first sight, said casually, "There are two wing rooms in the manor, but with so many people..."
"Madam," Nie Shiyi said hurriedly, "We will be waiting outside the manor. We will set off for Beijing at dawn tomorrow."
"Okay, Young Master Lan, you and your son can stay here tonight."
"Thank you, ma'am."
After saying this, Yunniang turned around and walked into the manor. Shangguan Jinnian called out "mother", and Yunniang subconsciously stopped and looked back, and was shocked.
Could it be that Mrs. Lan had a child in her old age?
Although her age couldn't be determined, Yunniang, with her eyes that had seen countless people, knew that she was actually quite old.
No wonder the child didn't want his mother to sleep in the wilderness. He's quite filial.
It's just that this Mrs. Lan looks even uglier than Young Master Lan.
Shangguan Lan looked up and saw Yunniang had turned around and walked towards the main house in the courtyard.
"Madame Li, after the farm owner arranges for the Lan family and their son to move in, go and tell him to kill and tie up one of the two pheasants. I'll bring them to the princess tomorrow morning to taste."
"Yes, Madam." Nanny Li responded and then said, "Madam, they are from outside the area after all. We don't know their background. What if they invite bad guys in?"
"Don't worry, that won't happen. Prince Yu and his entourage will enter the capital tomorrow. The Emperor has already ordered the patrol officers and soldiers to patrol the city at night to ensure Prince Yu's safe entry into the capital."
In fact, they were deploying defenses within a fifty-kilometer radius outside the city to guard against Prince Yu.
It was already the second watch when Shangguan Lan and Shangguan Jinnian, mother and son, tidied themselves up and lay down.
At the same time, Nie Jiu had already been squatting near the Grand Prince's Mansion, communicating with his brothers through gestures.
"Nine Brother, it's already the second watch, and we haven't seen any suspicious people. Could it be that the person is not coming?"
"No, there are people waiting 500 meters to your left and 300 meters to your right. You don't know if they are friend or foe. If they don't move, they are friends. If they move, they are bad guys."
"Nine Brother, this is too arbitrary."
"Didn't I tell you to remember the faces of all the martial arts practitioners who ate at Jintailou today? When he shows up, you'll be able to identify him by his appearance."
The secret guard raised his eyes and looked at the night sky with only stars but no moon. "It's no use remembering it. It's too dark to see the face clearly!"
Nie Jiu: ...
Nie Jiu was silent for a moment, then made another gesture, "If he wants to pass information to the spies in the mansion, he must sneak in. So we have to wait for him to show up."
Ever since Xie Wanyi started having morning sickness, Qinglian hasn't been able to sleep well. She sleeps intermittently while lying in bed.
Qinglian could only sleep peacefully if she did not receive any news at midnight.
It was almost three o'clock in the morning, and Qinglian still hadn't heard the secret signal from Qingxu. She felt inexplicably happy and scared.
Looking at Zhuyue sleeping soundly on the bed opposite me, I felt a little sad.
If she received the secret signal from Qingxu tonight, she would instinctively attack Feng Jinyu again, and she would be prepared to be the scapegoat.
At this time, Qingxu, dressed in black, was like a leaf blown down by a breeze, floating down on a poplar tree in the backyard of the laundry room in the eldest prince's mansion.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
When the night watchman's call at midnight rang out in the silent night, Qingxu clearly sensed several faint presences nearby.
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