"I heard from the Second Prince that the Princess went to Jiangnan to find the Ouyang family."
The emperor's brother-in-law continued, frowning.
"I am indeed a little uneasy. After all, the journey is long, and if something bad happens, I really don't know how to tell Yu'er, since the child has already developed feelings for the princess offline."
Achoo, achoo, achoo!
Sitting in the carriage, Li Youran sneezed several times in a row. Tang Lei, who was sitting next to her with a cold face, handed her an outer garment without expression.
"Thank you, but I don't need it."
Li Youran said defiantly, but before she could finish speaking, Ajiu grabbed the clothes from Tang Lei's hand and threw them at her.
"If you get sick, it will delay your journey."
Ajiu's words left Li Youran speechless, and she could only obediently put on her clothes.
After Li Youran told the Crown Prince and Crown Princess about Ajiu, the three of them discussed it and finally decided that Li Youran would take Ajiu on a trip to Jiangnan.
After all, it was not appropriate for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to leave the Eastern Palace given their current status. If anything happened, it would cause chaos in the Huang court. Moreover, sitting in their current positions, with countless eyes watching them, they would be vulnerable to assassination. Therefore, Li Youran was sent instead.
Coincidentally, Tang Lei was also investigating the Third Prince's matter, so the Crown Prince recalled Tang Lei overnight and sent him to Jiangnan with Li Youran.
The misunderstanding between Li Youran and Tang Lei had not been resolved, so when they met again, they were not only angry but also embarrassed. The atmosphere between them was quite subtle, and even Ajiu could see that something was wrong between them.
"Although it's a bit early to stop and rest now, if we continue on our way, we might have to camp out in the wild when it gets dark."
Hua Ruyu, disguised as a man, stopped the carriage as she spoke and addressed the person behind the curtain.
"Time is of the essence."
"Let's go to town to rest for a bit."
As soon as Li Youran finished speaking, Tang Lei continued, and Hua Ruyu chose to listen to Tang Lei and drove the carriage towards the town. The person sitting in the carriage was puffed up like a toad.
"Hey, don't make decisions on your own, okay? I'm the key person in this operation, and you're here to protect me."
Li Youran spoke to Tang Lei, who looked at her, said a few words briefly, and then remained silent.
Your stomach is growling.
Just then, Li Youran's stomach started growling, much to her dismay. She wished she could hide in the ground in shame.
Although the town was small, it had everything one could need for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Li Youran and her group found an inn and checked in, instructing the waiter to bring them their meals.
“Ah Jiu’s identity has probably been exposed. We need to be careful on our journey and try to take the back roads.”
As Tang Lei spoke, he tested the food and drinks with a silver needle. Only when the needle did not turn black did he allow everyone to start eating.
"Not necessarily. We announced to the public that I was going to Jiangnan to find my relatives, but in reality we went to Kunshan."
Hua Ruyu's stomach was growling with hunger, and she mumbled incoherently as she ate her food.
Li Youran secretly agreed with Hua Ruyu's words. After all, Ajiu's mother was also from Jiangnan. They claimed to be going to Jiangnan, but the Third Prince might not guess that they were actually going to another place.
"Even if no one knows we're going to Kunshan, there are still people secretly watching us."
As Tang Lei spoke, he glanced at the plate of sweet and sour pork next to Hua Ruyu. He saw that Hua Ruyu had already eaten half of the plate. Tang Lei casually pulled a small bowl of the sweet and sour pork from the plate and placed it next to Li Youran.
If he remembered correctly, he knew that Li Youran really liked sweet and sour pork.
Adhering to the principle of not speaking while eating or sleeping, Li Youran did not say anything when she saw Tang Lei's actions. However, she quickly picked up her chopsticks and accepted the sweet and sour pork that Tang Lei brought her.
Twelve-year-old Ajiu, because of her small stature, looked like a nine-year-old child, sitting on the tall table with a slight strain.
He held the bowl and shoveled food into his mouth, then secretly glanced at Li Youran and Tang Lei. A slight smile crept onto his lips as he thought to himself that this woman was really easy to please; a bowl of sweet and sour pork was all it took to win her over.
"Your mother is a delicate woman from Jiangnan. How could she possibly travel alone in and out of such a treacherous mountain?"
As Tang Lei spoke, he subtly glanced at Ajiu.
You must know that Ajiu's mother was a courtesan from Jiangnan, a frail and delicate woman. How could she have such a strong physique to hide the item deep in the mountains of Kunshan?
He began to doubt what Ajiu had said, and he suspected that Ajiu's appearance in Li Youran's sight, her entry into Li Youran's life, and even everything that followed were all pre-arranged.
However, Tang Lei did not tell anyone about this, including Li Youran.
"My mother was murdered and thrown into the river. She floated down the river to the foot of Kunshan Mountain, where she was rescued by hunters. My mother lived there until she raised me."
As Ajiu spoke, a faint sadness filled his eyes. He looked towards the deep mountains and continued.
"There is a temple after crossing this mountain. My mother and I lived there, and we hid our things in that temple."
Tang Lei didn't see any panic or lying in Ajiu's eyes. He followed Ajiu's gaze and vaguely saw a path leading up the mountain.
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