Hua Cai carefully pushed open Jin Yin's door and, following her memory, walked familiarly to the bedside, intending to shake Jin Yin awake.
It was the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), when people are most asleep, but Jin Yin was clearly not sleeping well. When Hua Cai walked to the bedside, she seemed to sense the sound and sat up from the bed, looking at her with sleepy eyes.
"Baozhu, what brings you here?" Jin Yin was over fifty years old, but he was very well-maintained and looked no more than forty. However, his complexion was quite bad at the moment. The heavy dark circles under his eyes were not the result of a day or two of lack of sleep. This reminded Hua Cai of herself being watched by the Xuanming Elders as she rushed to Green Willow Manor.
When Jin Yin saw that it was her own daughter, and that she was in such a disheveled state, she quickly got off the bed and ran to Hua Cai's side without even putting on her shoes. She pulled her aside and looked her over.
"Father, we must leave now. Li Zheng is going to target the Jin family. The Imperial Guards will be here soon. Quickly, pack up some important things, burn this place down, and leave the capital. I'll tell you everything later." Seeing Jin Yin scrutinizing her from head to toe, as if he wanted to call a royal physician for another check-up, Hua Cai quickly grabbed Jin Yin's hand, staring intently into his eyes, almost bursting into tears.
“Alright.” Jin Yin was indeed a decisive person. Hua Cai said she wanted to burn down the Jin residence, and he didn’t even ask why before giving the order.
The speed of the secret guards was absolutely top-notch. Jin Yin took something from the hidden compartment by the bedside and put it in his pocket. He dressed neatly, and the more than thirty secret guards still in the mansion had all packed their bags and were waiting outside the door.
"Burn down the Jin residence, then we'll leave the city," Jin Yin ordered without hesitation, adding as a final instruction: "Start burning from where no one is around, to give the servants time to leave."
Jin Yin's orders were decisive, and the guards acted even more decisively, carrying out such absurd orders without hesitation.
Some of the secret guards left the city first, while a few others stayed behind to prepare for setting fires. Shadow, the leader of the secret guards, led the remaining guards and sent Hua Cai and Jin Yin out of the imperial city.
The city gates were already closed, but the height of the city walls was no obstacle for the secret guards who moved about on high and low. Without alerting the guards on the walls, the group had quietly arrived at the outskirts of the imperial city, where several secret guards were already waiting, along with more than thirty horses.
Hua Cai looked in the direction of the imperial city and slowly told Jin Yin about everything that had happened that night.
Jin Yin frowned as he listened, then suddenly pulled Hua Cai into his arms: "My dear daughter, what suffering have you endured?"
Hua Cai's lips twitched, and she struggled to free her head from Jin Yin's embrace. She tilted her head back and took a few deep breaths of fresh air. Looking at Jin Yin's face, which was already streaked with tears, she was a little dazed.
Well, sir, isn't your focus a little off right now?
"My darling, what do you want to do?" Jin Yin wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked down into Hua Cai's eyes, and asked tentatively.
Hua Cai looked up at the imperial city in the darkness, where faint red lights could already be seen in the direction of the Jin family.
"The Jin Baozhu who used to love Li Zheng is dead. Now there is only Jin Baozhu who lives for her father and the Jin family." The red dot in the sky above the imperial city became more and more obvious. By the time the remaining few secret guards had all arrived, the direction of the Jin residence was completely red.
“I was ignorant before, and the Jin family paid the price because of me. It’s time for us to wake up.” Hua Cai held Jin Yin’s hand: “Father, we must leave Li Kingdom as soon as possible. If Li Zheng doesn’t see your body with his own eyes, he will definitely search the whole country. Every day we stay in Li Kingdom is another day of danger.”
Jin Yin stared blankly at Hua Cai, who was looking at him earnestly, and finally smiled as if he had confirmed something: "My precious pearl has really grown up. Let's go and set off for Yue Kingdom."
As Jin Yin was contemplating whether to let Shadow take his daughter with him, he saw Hua Cai had already mounted her horse cleanly and efficiently, looking at him with urging eyes.
Jin Yin was surprised, but didn't say anything. With such an important matter as the fire at the Jin family's residence, Li Zheng must have already received the news, and soon even the area outside the capital would be unsafe.
A group of more than thirty people sped towards the border overnight.
Seven days later, they arrived at Fumuba, near the border.
Fifty meters away from the city gate, Hua Cai and her group watched the bustling crowd at the city gate in silence.
A moment later, the guards who had gone out to gather information returned.
"An urgent warrant issued by the Ministry of Finance: The royal merchant who fled the country has colluded with the enemy and sold out his country. He is now on the run and the city gates are heavily guarded. The painting bears the portrait of his master."
The guards repeated the contents of the wanted poster verbatim.
"Only one person?" Jin Yin turned to Hua Cai with a puzzled look.
Seven days ago, she told Jin Yin everything that had happened to her, only saying that she had been drugged and that she had escaped death thanks to an antidote she had obtained by chance, but she did not say what the drug was.
“It’s Blood-Dissolving Powder,” Hua Cai said calmly. “Perhaps in his mind, I’m already a pool of blood in the Cold Palace, so naturally I’m not on the wanted list.”
Jin Yin patted Hua Cai's head tenderly, then glanced coldly at the direction of the capital city of Li Kingdom: "We won't enter the city. We'll go directly north around Fumu Dam and enter Yue Kingdom. Leave five people in the city to buy some supplies, and the rest of you will come with me."
The distance between cities is quite far, and between them are countless villages, farmlands, and even racecourses.
However, the supplies available for replenishment are really limited. The supplies that can be brought out from one city are basically used up by the time they reach the next city.
Is Li Zheng acting this way because he's certain they'll come to the city to resupply?
Hua Cai sneered, mounted her horse, and followed Jin Yin northward.
Unfortunately, Li Zheng miscalculated the gold and silver. He stayed in Li Kingdom for eight years, but traveled back and forth between various countries for more than thirty years. In this respect, even ten Li Zhengs combined could not match the gold and silver.
Jin Yin remembered correctly; the supplies brought back by the three guards easily allowed the group to reach the nearest city in the Yue Kingdom.
The group dismounted, glanced at the towering city walls, and led their horses toward the city gate.
As soon as the group entered, before they could even see which way to go, one of them came running up to them: "Master Jin, our master invites you to Qinghu Tea House for a chat."
Hua Cai and Jin Yin were both taken aback. They exchanged a glance and looked at the messenger in front of them: "Who is your master?"
The servant, with a respectful expression, took out a folded name card from his pocket: "This is a name card that my master instructed me to give to Master Jin. Please take a look."
Jin Yin took the card, glanced at it, her affection unchanged, and casually handed the name card to Hua Cai after she finished reading it.
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