Shenwu Gate.

This month, a total of ten people will be sent to Nanshanyuan.

A wooden prison cart, pulled by an old horse, slowly drove through the palace road, making a dull sound as the axles turned.

There were two eunuchs accompanying the prison car.

When they saw Zhu Hanxin guarding outside the Shenwu Gate, one of them respectfully handed over the list of people leaving the palace this month.

Zhu Hanxin's subordinates took the list and checked the ten people in the prison car one by one.

The prison van was cramped and people were crowded together.

As they were about to leave the palace and go to an unknown place, the prisoners all looked a little uneasy.

But compared to those palace maids who were to be exiled to the Ministry of Punishment, they were lucky enough and still had a chance to reform.

"Lanyue Tower, looking at the moon..."

"Tingxuetang, make a statement..."

Zhu Hanxin's subordinates took a quick look inside the car, confirmed that the people were correct, and prepared to let them go.

The leader was leading the horse and was about to pull the reins to drive the prison cart away from Shenwu Gate.

“——Wait a minute.”

Zhu Hanxin suddenly spoke up and stopped the convoy that was about to move forward.

He did not look into the prison van, but slowly moved forward and looked at the leader of the convoy, "...I don't think I have ever seen you before, who are you?"

The leading eunuch turned around instantly and lowered his head to reply: "Reporting to the Lord, the Xiaoxuanzi who was originally in charge of this matter has unfortunately fallen ill and is bedridden. I have a deep friendship with him, so I volunteered to take his place to avoid delaying the masters' work."

After he finished speaking, he raised his head slightly, but half of his face was covered by a huge eunuch hat that did not match his body shape, so Zhu Hanxin could only see his thin and pointed chin.

Furthermore, compared with other eunuchs in the palace, this man's voice was soft and delicate, and sounded similar to that of a woman.

Zhu Hanxin's eyes suddenly froze into frost.

"Oh? You are his friend. How come I have never heard of you? Which palace do you serve in now?"

The leader replied one by one: "My servant Xiao Qianzi used to work in Linhua Palace, and now I am the chief eunuch of Lingmei Garden. I just met Xiao Xuanzi last month. Perhaps because of this, I have not yet been heard by the Lord Canling."

We just met last month and this month he left the palace on behalf of someone else. How could it be such a coincidence?

After hearing his explanation, Zhu Hanxin sneered, then drew the sword from his waist and put it against the opponent's throat.

"What a eloquent chief eunuch, your acting skills are really perfect. Tell me, who are you? If you don't, this Shenwu Gate will be your burial place."

The cold light splashed everywhere, shocking everyone around.

——Everything was fine just now, why did Captain Zhu suddenly become angry?

Seeing this, another follower in the convoy was also panicked and asked in confusion: "Master, what...what is going on? Is there any misunderstanding?"

At the critical moment, a palace maid came running from the palace road, her face filled with anxiety.

Zhu Hanxin looked carefully and recognized the person as Aunt Jinxiu who was beside Princess Xiyan.

This young palace maid who once served Noble Lady Yu Ji is now a prestigious head aunt in the palace.

"Captain Zhu." Jinxiu nodded hurriedly as a greeting.

She immediately asked anxiously, "The princess is missing. Has the officer seen the princess' whereabouts?"

As Jinxiu finished speaking, Zhu Hanxin's gaze fell on the leading eunuch.

——The princess is missing?

Zhu Hanxin frowned and said in a deep voice: "Take off your hat and let everyone see who you are."

Instantly, everyone present held their breath, leaving only the echo of their heartbeats.

...No way?

Princess Xiyan was so bold that she disguised herself as a eunuch and intended to sneak out of the palace in the convoy?

Hearing this, the young eunuch sighed and gently stroked the brim of his hat with his fingers.

Finally, as if he had made a great decision, he took the hat that concealed his identity off his head.

The shadow of the hat faded away, and a dull male face appeared before everyone.

His wide parting was like a ditch, running through his scant hair, which must have been the reason for his wide hat.

"...Xiao Qianzi? Why are you here?"

Jinxiu obviously recognized him and blurted out his name.

When he saw the other person's true face, Zhu Hanxin was slightly stunned and realized that all his guesses were in vain.

Xiao Qianzi smiled bitterly and explained helplessly: "Aunt Jinxiu, Xiaoxuanzi is ill, so I went to take his place temporarily. Unexpectedly, Zhu Canling seemed to have set his eyes on me and wouldn't let go, leaving me completely confused."

He spread his hands and said, "Could it be that Commander Zhu mistook me for the princess? That would be really embarrassing for me. The princess is so beautiful that I can never compare to her even if I spend my whole life trying to be as beautiful as her."

Zhu Hanxin looked embarrassed.

Having recognized the wrong person, Zhu Hanxin had no choice but to apologize to Xiao Qianzi with a fist.

Jinxiu took a quick glance in the prison car and found no trace of Xiyan.

Then Jinxiu said, "Captain Zhu, the princess is missing. This is a very serious matter. Shenwu Gate is far away from the Yangxin Palace. If we wait for the emperor's order, we may miss the opportunity. Please lead the guards and follow me to search for her immediately to solve the urgent problem."

Seeing Zhu Hanxin looking embarrassed, Jinxiu took out an ancient military token from her sleeve.

As soon as the military talisman appeared, Zhu Hanxin's eyes froze instantly, "...This talisman is actually in your hand?"

The emperor has a military token that can mobilize all the guards in the palace. It is said that the token has never been used since it was cast.

The guards privately doubted the existence of the military token. They never expected that such an important thing would be in the hands of a palace maid.

"This amulet was given by the noble Ji."

At this point, Jinxiu's eyes flashed with a trace of nostalgia, and then she held the military token again and asked, "Can the commander take a closer look for a while to confirm whether the military token is real or not?"

Zhu Hanxin hurriedly said that he dared not, but he secretly thought that after finding the princess, he would definitely persuade the emperor to take back the talisman from Jinxiu.

With the military token present, he did not delay and immediately led his subordinates to set off.

The prison van heading to Nanshan Garden also slowly moved toward the outside of Shenwu Gate.

The evening wind blew the embroidered handkerchief to the ground.

She squatted down and her eyes met with the girl who was clinging to the bottom floor of the prison van.

The two looked into each other's eyes, as if having a silent conversation.

Liang Xiyan sighed silently, knowing that she couldn't escape today.

She asked Xiao Qianzi to take Xiao Xuanzi's place in order to divert Zhu Canling's attention. After finally passing Zhu Canling's inspection, she was discovered by Aunt Jinxiu again.

Jinxiu picked up the lost handkerchief with one hand, and raised her index finger with the other hand to cover her lips.

Hurry, go.

She uttered two words silently.

Afterwards, she stood up lightly, without any hesitation or delay, and like a lone wild goose determined to leave, she followed Zhu Hanxin and his group farther and farther away.

Liang Xiyan withdrew her gaze, but her hands holding onto the wooden board tightened.