Chapter 40: A Circuitous Route
As soon as the sky was getting light, the carriage set off again, crushing the morning dew.
Feng Jiu held the reins, frowned, and calculated the route, and finally decided to take the official road - there were shadows of trees in the mountains, and who knew how many difficult-to-guard against hidden arrows were hidden there.
Inside the carriage, Feng Yanyuan and Yun Yuan sat on opposite sides. One leaned against the window, gazing at the whitening mountain ridges in the distance, while the other lowered her head, caressing the sachet at her waist. The water in the teapot grew cold, and they kept adding more, adding more, and then it grew colder again. They spoke little, each of them politely.
This situation continued for several days until the city wall of Yuzhou came into view.
The city gates were heavily guarded, with merchant caravans and soldiers mingling, and the sound of shouting rose amidst the rising dust.
Feng Jiu reined in the restless horse, lifted the carriage curtain and whispered, "Sir, I need to get off the carriage and inspect it."
The three of them walked slowly with the crowd.
Yun Yuan was behind Feng Yanyuan when she was suddenly bumped into by a nun selling incense with a bamboo basket. The nun quickly bowed and apologized, then took out a five-colored silk sachet from the basket and said, "Excuse me, young lady, this is a sachet made with fresh tea. Would you like to try it?"
Feng Yanyuan turned around and looked.
Yun Yuan took the sachet, sniffed it, and said with a smile, "It's indeed a good match." Then she took out a five-zhu coin from her sleeve and handed it over. The woman said "Longevity and health" repeatedly and retreated into the group of peddlers on the roadside.
Feng Yanyuan took a big step forward and reached out to grab the sachet.
He lowered his eyes to examine the brocade pouch embroidered with twined branches, and suddenly a half-smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Yuan'er seems to be partial to these little trinkets." He brought the pouch to his nose and sniffed. "I've always been curious about what goodies are hidden inside these pouches..."
He held the sachet in his slender fingers and looked at it over and over again, his nails scratching the satin intentionally or unintentionally, making a slight rustling sound.
Yun Yuan smiled and said, "If you are curious, you may open it and take a look."
Feng Yanyuan stared at Yun Yuan deeply for a long time, then curled the corners of his lips and said, "Since Yuan'er said so..." With a "swish" sound, he actually tore the sachet apart, and the dry petals flew down.
He rummaged through the tattered brocade sachet, his fingertips running over every inch of silk—there were indeed only some dried flowers. When he looked up, he met Yun Yuan's smiling eyes. He suddenly turned around and shouted to Feng Jiu, "Catch up with that nun selling sachets. Buy all the sachets in that basket for Yuan'er."
Feng Jiu had just calmed his agitated horse when he was visibly startled by the sudden command. He glanced hesitantly at the scattered petals on the ground, then caught a glimpse of the young master's stern profile. In the end, he simply said "Yes" and hurried off.
Yun Yuan bowed slightly: "Thank you for your generous gift, sir."
Feng Yanyuan handed the broken sachet to her.
"It's broken," he said in a calm tone, "Why don't you sew it back together and give it to me?"
Yun Yuan took it with both hands, stroked the jagged cracks with her fingertips, lowered her eyes and replied, "My servant's needlework is poor, thank you for not giving up, sir." She carefully put the broken sachet into her sleeve.
Feng Yanyuan leaped neatly onto the carriage, his brocade skirt slicing an arc in the air. Yun Yuan, lifting her skirt, followed closely behind. Just as she settled into the carriage, before she could adjust her clothes, the blue curtain suddenly flew open. Feng Jiu leaned in halfway and handed a basket full of sachets to Yun Yuan. He stole a glance at Feng Yanyuan, who sat beside him. Seeing the young master's stern expression, he couldn't help but pout and tactfully lowered the curtain.
"Gee!" With Feng Jiu's shout, the carriage started slowly.
Yun Yuan took out the needle and thread she carried with her, lowered her head and began to mend the broken sachet. Occasionally, she felt Feng Yanyuan's gaze on her, but every time she looked up, he had turned his head to look at the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window.
Arriving at the inn, Feng Yanyuan went straight into his room, banged open the carved wooden window, and tapped impatiently on the frame. Outside the window, a crabapple tree was in full bloom, which only made him feel depressed.
There was a gentle knock on the door. Yun Yuan stood in the hallway, holding the sewn sachet. Feng Yanyuan took it and noticed a cluster of crooked embroidery at the tear.
"What is this...?" He fiddled with the thread with his fingertips.
"Feiniao," Yun Yuan came closer, the tassel of the wooden hairpin in her hair brushing against his wrist, "Doesn't it look like a bird?"
Feng Yanyuan suddenly remembered that he had asked her to learn how to embroider birds, and he couldn't suppress a smile any longer. Looking at her round head leaning over, he couldn't help but say, "You really aren't good at it."
Yun Yuan reached out to grab the sachet, muttering, "If you don't like it, just change it. There are a basket of sachets, why do you have to choose a bad one?"
Feng Yanyuan flipped his wrist and put the sachet into his sleeve: "Can you take it back after giving it away? I bought that basket, what's the point of giving it to me?"
Yun Yuan had no way to refute it.
His mood seemed to brighten up, and he carefully pinned the sachet around his waist.
"Young Master..." Yun Yuan suddenly called out in a low voice, her fingers nervously twisting her belt.
Feng Yanyuan's eyebrows were still smiling: "Why? Are you still reluctant to let go?"
Yun Yuan bit her lower lip and lowered her voice: "I... suddenly feel a little unwell..." As she spoke, one hand quietly pressed on her lower abdomen.
"Unwell?" Feng Yanyuan was momentarily unresponsive. "Weren't you fine yesterday?" Seeing her blushing cheeks and hesitant expression, he was even more puzzled. "Why can't you just say it?"
Yun Yuan glared at him in embarrassment: "Young Master, you don't even have a woman by your side, no wonder you don't understand..."
This coquettish remark came so suddenly that Feng Yanyuan didn't know why he was so flustered. He choked and could only stammer, "You...what do you mean?"
"We've been on the road for so many days. This woman always has a few inconvenient days every month."
Feng Yanyuan seemed to understand, but he was still at a loss. His ears quickly turned red, and he said nervously, "Then... what do I need to do?"
"I need to...buy some menstrual cloth..." Yun Yuan's voice was as soft as a mosquito.
Feng Yanyuan cleared his throat awkwardly, "Let... that... let Feng Jiu go..."
"How can a man touch such a private object..."
Before he finished speaking, Feng Yanyuan's expression suddenly turned cold, and he stared at Yun Yuan sharply: "So, you are going out alone?"
Seeing his sudden change of expression, Yun Yuan said aggrievedly, "Sir, if you're worried... just let Feng Jiu follow from a distance..."
Feng Yanyuan stared at her, with indescribable emotions surging in his chest. He actually missed the simple embarrassment just now.
Before he could even sigh, the strange movement outside the window suddenly caught his attention.
Yun Yuan followed his gaze and saw that his face was gloomy and he sighed softly, "It seems... Feng Jiu can't accompany you anymore."
"Young Master?"
Feng Yanyuan took off the mutton-fat jade pendant from his waist and put it into her palm. His fingertips were cold: "There is a post station twenty miles south of the city. You can exchange this for a letter of brocade." A trace of worry flashed in his eyes, and he whispered, "If you can't leave the city tonight, hide yourself..." His voice stopped abruptly, replaced by the sound of armor colliding from far away outside the window.
Before Yun Yuan could ask further questions, the thud of heavy military boots shook the floorboards. She rushed to the window and saw soldiers in black armor surging through the streets like a black tide. Leading the way, a general halted his horse in front of the inn, the red tassel on his helmet piercing her eyes.
When she turned around, the only thing left in the room was the cold ring in her palm, and the corner of Feng Yanyuan's clothes had long disappeared in the shadow outside the door.
Heavy footsteps could be heard downstairs, and someone loudly asked, "Where is Mr. Feng's room?! Get his luggage!"
Her heart tightened, and she turned and rushed to the rear window.
In a few leaps and bounds, she lightly leaped over several rooftops and wandered through the maze of alleyways. She didn't slow down until she saw the tea-scented sachets she'd bought earlier displayed in front of a cosmetics shop. She casually picked one up and hung it on her wrist, pretending to select something. But her middle finger tapped the sachet lightly—three long, two short, then two long, three short.
Soon, a man who looked like a waiter approached and said, "If you don't like these, there are new goods in the inner room." Yun Yuan understood and followed him up to the second floor. The moment the wooden door closed, the hustle and bustle of the street outside suddenly faded away, leaving only the sound of a copper bell by the window ringing softly in the wind.
Various rouges, powders, pearl hairpins and sachets were displayed in the house, but Yun Yuan simply set up the carved wooden window neatly, picked out a peach wood talisman from the dressing table, carefully examined the bird-bone-like patterns on it, and then hung it on the window frame and stood there waiting.
Suddenly, I heard the faint trembling of wind chimes on the eaves, and a dark figure darted through the window like an arrow, landing without stirring a single cloud of dust. The man was a lean, middle-aged man, a faint trace of gold thread and bird bone pattern visible on his sleeves. His bronze face was framed by a pair of hawk-like eyes. Though he remained silent, he exuded an imposing presence.
"Name?"
"You Xiao Gu Yue."
"What is it?"
"My lord says you can penetrate the Shouchun Society and wants you to temporarily assume the responsibility of being the Owl Leader." His tone was cold as he handed over a brocade pouch. "This is the Dieyu Order. With it, you can gain the help of an old friend." He watched Yun Yuan take the pouch. "Contact me about the spy network in Yu and Yang provinces."
When Yun Yuan took the brocade bag, her fingertips touched the corners of the token inside, but she did not open it. She just put the brocade bag into her sleeve.
"Does You Xiao know why the Yuzhou Governor wanted to take Feng Yanyuan away?"
"Young Master Feng San has been touted as a supernatural being these days. Yuzhou Governor Liu Huai is a close confidant of Prince Zhao. I'm afraid he'll want to see if he really has the power to sweep away thousands of troops."
Yun Yuan looked at the ring in her hand and said, "He asked me to go out of the city tonight to get a letter. I will do it first."
Gu Yue frowned: Shouchun Association is related to the overall situation, but this girl is only thinking about her handsome young man?
He took a deep breath, his tone becoming even colder and harder. "There were already checkpoints for entering the city, and after you entered, there were additional checkpoints for exiting. You must have a document with the official seal of the governor to enter or leave the city. Not only you, but even I won't be able to leave the city for a while."
Yun Yuan said, "To go deep into the Shouchun Banquet, one needs the identity of Xiaofengtang. Feng Yanyuan can't attend the banquet, so neither can I. If You Xiao is unable to help, I will try it myself first."
Gu Yue was stunned for a moment, then said, "If you absolutely must go out tonight, You Xiao can open a way for you."
"You can't force your way in, it will alert the enemy."
"So what do you want?"
A hint of determination flashed in Yun Yuan's eyes: "Let me try first. If I fail and get captured, it won't be too late for you to take action later."
Gu Yue didn't know what she was going to try, but Tao Yao's men were always good at light work. Was she going to fly over the eaves and escape?
"It's not a good idea to use Qinggong to leave the city. Archers are waiting for you at the city gates. You'll be shot to death before you can even jump out of the outer city."
"I can't leave the city using Qinggong. If it's convenient for Youxiao, just prepare the carriage and new identity for me before the evening hour." Yun Yuan looked at the sky, thought for a moment, and then said, "It rained outside the city last night. Don't forget to wet the carriage first and then cover it with a dry cloth."
"Okay." Gu Yue said nothing more and disappeared out the window in a flash.
The sun was setting and a carriage was heading towards the city gate in the twilight.
Gu Yue stood on the eaves, his black robe billowing in the wind. Suddenly, tiles clattered softly behind him, and a gray-clad spy landed silently.
"Is everything arranged?" Gu Yue asked.
"It's been arranged," the visitor replied, looking at the carriage in the distance. He then asked, "I only heard that Tao Yao's subordinates were all flower spies, but I didn't expect there were also wandering spies."
"She's not a spy." Gu Yue said.
"Who is she then? How could such a big thing be entrusted to such a little girl?"
Gu Yue suddenly turned around, his eyes as sharp as knives, scaring the man in gray into silence.
"The lord employs people, and we don't need to interfere."
As dusk fell, the two men stood quietly at the eaves. The evening hour was the peak time for business and travel, with carriages and horses like a dragon. They watched Yun Yuan's carriage slowly disappear into the dust.
"Now we just have to wait for the defenders to take her back..."
Before he finished speaking, they were both startled.
Around the corner, a wet carriage splashed with mud was approaching the city - it was the one they had prepared for Yun Yuan, but the original covering had been removed, revealing the soaked carriage blending seamlessly with the dusty convoy entering the city, and was moving slowly with the team.
"Has she given up?"
Gu Yue said nothing, just stared intently.
It was finally the carriage's turn to be inspected, but Yun Yuan had just gotten off the carriage to negotiate with the defenders when a group of officers and soldiers came quickly and surrounded the carriage in an instant.
"So that's how it is!" A gleam of light flashed in Gu Yue's eyes.
"how?"
"Although the double checkpoints are tight, it's difficult for information to get through between them in a timely manner." Gu Yue's tone was a little excited. "Anyone caught leaving the city will be taken back, and anyone entering the city suspiciously will be expelled directly. She's using the excuse of entering the city to actually leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that the officers and soldiers had already escorted the carriage towards the outer city and disappeared into the crowd at the corner again.
Gu Yue's eyes flickered as he quickly passed by several rooftops until he saw the carriage that was being driven out of the city by the officers and soldiers.
From afar, the carriage was seen slowly driving away, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest and no longer visible.
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