The shape of each courtyard in the villa garden is like the Chinese character "回", with no distinction between the main and wing, and no distinction between front, back, left and right. Countless "回"-shaped courtyards are connected in the shape of a "品" character, accessible in all directions and shielding each other.
The accompanying civil officials, military generals and their entourage were scattered throughout the villa, divided according to the principles of closeness, civil or military, official rank, and the roles played in the spring hunt. Dozens of eunuchs led hundreds of palace servants to act separately, and it took two or three hours to arrange all these people.
It was midnight when the last candle in the yard went out.
After changing into a pair of soft cloth shoes, Xiao Nanhui walked out of the yard in the dark.
The night before she left, when she was returning home and passing by the Black Feather Camp, she indeed met Lu Songping.
During the spring hunting trip, Lu Songping, as the captain of the Black Feather Camp, will be responsible for the safety of the marching team and Yu'an Villa. If she wants to know whether that person is in the accompanying team, the best person to contact is Lu Songping.
Lu Songping is not someone who is easy to fool. She had already made full preparations to deal with it, but the other party told her the answer she wanted in just a few words.
Yes, Zong Hao will go to Yu'an with the king's car team.
The moment he heard the news, Xiao Nanhui suddenly had a premonition in his heart.
The answer she had been searching for was about to be found in Yu'an.
After setting off, she searched for opportunities along the way. As a charioteer, she couldn't leave the king's carriage for too long during the day, so she had to find an opportunity to mark the ruts of the various carriages with white ash, and then sneak out after settling into the villa and the dead of night.
Dragging her aching legs, Xiao Nanhui managed to climb over the slippery, mossy courtyard wall. She followed the wheel tracks left behind and searched door to door, hoping to find Zong Hao's courtyard before dawn.
There is a wonderful smell in the air during the rainy night, like a mixture of the fragrance of hundreds of flowers and fruits, mixed with the rotten smell of countless dead insects and plants.
Xiao Nanhui's nose began to itch again. She pulled her scarf higher to cover her mouth and nose, and groped her way towards the distance along the slippery, mossy stone steps.
It was a rainy day, the moon was hidden and the stars were sparse. The old stone houses became cold as the temperature dropped, and fog rose in the Yulin Villa.
The terrain here is flat with slight undulations. The wandering fog makes one feel as if they have no idea where they are. Even the surrounding stone walls are exactly the same, and it is impossible to tell the front, back, left, and right.
Xiao Nanhui explored the area for another half an incense stick of time before daring to leave. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly at Yue Ze's brilliant array formation. Not to mention that she didn't light a lamp for fear of being exposed, even if she had, she probably wouldn't have gained anything in this maze.
Just as she was about to turn around and go back home the way she came, a noise came from the fog not far in front of her right.
Xiao Nanhui was a little nervous, worried that his "night stroll" would be discovered.
But upon closer inspection, the noise was somewhat unusual. There were four of them, all of the same strength. It did not sound like the sound of a person walking, but more like the sound of four-hoofed animals like cows and horses moving.
Did some general's mount run away because it was not tied properly?
Having sacrificed his sleep time and dragged his two sick legs, Xiao Nanhui actually didn't want to get involved in this kind of trivial matter.
But then she thought that if Jixiang ran away, she would probably be so worried that she couldn't sit still, so she changed direction and headed towards the sound.
After walking a few dozen steps, the fog in front of me became thinner, revealing a small piece of soft meadow.
Several shadows about half the height of their waists were pacing on it, occasionally with a few snorts.
It's a herd of deer.
Xiao Nanhui breathed a sigh of relief.
But then she realized something and looked forward in the direction of the deer herd in some disbelief.
In the middle of the herd of deer stood a man.
He was still wearing the same brown clothes, and because he stood there motionless, he looked like a withered old tree, blending in with those ancient trees that had been growing for who knows how many hundreds of years.
Two phoenixes with snow-white bodies and scarlet crests were standing on his shoulders. He was holding two bundles of green wheat in his hands, and several young deer were scrambling for food, wagging their tails happily.
What a beautiful picture of feeding deer and releasing them.
Who could have imagined that the person in front of him would be the ruthless shadow guard who served beside the former emperor?
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