Qiao Siben was planning to rush to Tuozhou City without stopping to meet up with Yu Shengsheng and the others who had set out earlier and proceed to the next step.
But there was something strange about the events at Wuhu Mountain. That mysterious person had helped her resolve those problems, but her motives were unknown.
She thought it over again and again, and finally decided to escape.
She and Dongmei secretly left the team and headed for Tuozhou City. Jingzhu went to the nearest town in her place to confuse the public.
She knew that this group of people were sent by Yang Li, because of Yang Chi'an's incident, Yang Li hated her to the core.
He hadn't succeeded in the assassination attempt at Wuhu Mountain, and there would definitely be another one. She couldn't take any more risks. She simply split her forces into two groups. One group would stay in the open, luring the enemy out of their lair and attracting attention. The other group would sneak into the city and join forces with the old members of Yu Shengsheng's clan.
So, on the first day Zhang You and her friends reunited with Qiao Si, they started their plan.
This was Zhang You's first time riding in Qiao Si's luxurious carriage, and it was also her first time to see Jing Zhu putting on a human skin mask and pretending to be Qiao Si up close.
Qiao Nai and Yu Qing had swapped identities the last time, and at that time she had thought it was just Yu Qing's unique skill. Unexpectedly, this was a skill that all the maids trained by the princess could master.
I used to think that the princess was dignified, elegant, well-educated and well-mannered, but I never expected that she would have such foresight.
As expected, everyone in Prince Qiao's mansion is very capable.
Jingzhu said that these human skin masks were specially made by the princess according to the characteristics of each of the young men and women to protect them. The princess also specially invited a master to teach them so that they could imitate them vividly.
After Jingzhu put on the mask, she changed into Qiao Si's clothes. Her expression and posture looked very much like Qiao Si.
Chunhua put her hair into a bun and pinned a pearl hairpin on it. Zhang You also took out rouge and helped her put on makeup.
Although the human skin mask was very similar, the skin pores were not normal when viewed up close. Zhang You used her skills to apply pearl powder and rouge, which concealed the pores a little more.
Coupled with Jingzhu's perfectly imitated look of disdain, he is really 90% similar to Qiao Si.
Caiguang Town is forty miles away from Wuhu Mountain. The misty shape of Wuhu Mountain can be seen from afar. Wuhu Mountain belongs to Caiguang Town. Qiao Si chose to settle here in order to deal with the affairs of Wuhu Mountain with the mayor of Caiguang Town.
When Dingzhou was at war, Tuozhou was the closest, but it used Wuhu Mountain as an excuse to delay the supply of food and fodder. After the war was settled, Yang Li also used Wuhu Mountain as an excuse to hinder trade between Tuozhou and Dingzhou.
Qiao Si had long wanted to see for himself just how dangerous Wuhu Mountain was as he described it, and he repeatedly made excuses to avoid going there.
On her first day out of Wuhu Mountain, she had already consulted the locals to learn a few things. Having walked through it herself, she knew the patterns. There were traps set by hunters in the mountains, and they were clearly feasible. It just required choosing the right time and having adequate security guards to cross the mountain safely.
She happened to use Li Hu as an excuse and sent Jingzhu to find the mayor of Caiguang Town for her, thus debunking the rumor that Wuhu Mountain was dangerous and difficult to cross.
The remains in the mountains are the best excuse.
Caiguang Town is famous for its magic tricks, and there are many magicians in the streets and alleys.
As soon as Qiao Si's carriage entered Caiguang Town, Zhang You and the others lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside.
There weren't many people on the street, but almost all of them were performing. Some were lying on a bench and breaking stones with their chests, some were making a thick rope rise out of a jar, and some were making butterflies appear out of thin air.
"It's amazing! Look at that guy! He's made a butterfly!"
Hongmei excitedly invited them to come and see. They had been staying in the palace and had not seen these things for a long time.
"I saw it once when I was with the princess in the capital. I haven't seen it for a long time."
The carriage went farther and farther away, and Hongmei watched the magic show getting farther and farther away with nostalgia and murmured.
"It seems like everyone in this town makes a living as a magician. From the moment I entered here until now, all they have been doing are magicians."
Jingzhu, with her vast knowledge, explained, "Many years ago, Caiguang Town had a troupe of performers, employed by the imperial family. They were deeply loved by the emperor at the time. Later, the people of Caiguang Town made a living performing magic tricks, striving to become the next imperial troupe. However, to this day, no one has emerged.
You see, there aren't many people in this town. That's because as a troupe, if they want to become famous, they need to perform constantly outside, so there aren't many people left."
"Then don't they try other jobs? They can't even make any difference with their magic tricks, so why do they keep practicing them?" Cui Liu asked.
"Caiguang Town is nestled against Wuhu Mountain, and people should have relied on the mountain for their livelihood. However, due to rumors about Wuhu Mountain, many people have given up hunting. Some have taken up farming, but the soil here isn't suitable for cultivation, so there are few farmers. There's no river nearby, so fishing is not an option.
With so many options closed, they can only continue to cling to the craftsmanship of their elders. Sometimes, it's not a matter of whether they want to change their craft or not, but rather they have to accept it."
Zhang You watched Jingzhu's expression as she spoke of this, feeling pity for her suffering and sadness. It was as if... as if they had been through the same thing before.
"Sister Jingzhu, have you been here before?" Zhang You asked.
Jingzhu was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "No."
"Then why do you seem to know the people here so well?"
"Yes, yes, Sister Jingzhu, aren't you from the capital?" Hongmei remembered that when they were in the capital, they were in the palace, so they should all be from the capital.
Jingzhu shook her head, looking somewhat sad. This was the first time she spoke about her own story: "I am not from the capital. I was bought into the mansion by Butler Qiao from a magician."
Zhang You and the others opened their eyes wide in shock, and listened quietly as she continued speaking.
“There are so many magicians in Caiguang Town, but learning magic is not a one-day job. It requires daily practice. Life is so hard, so why would so many people be willing to continue?
So, it was unknown when the magicians from Caiguang Town started to cheat and deceive people. They walked around the streets and alleys, showing off their skills in the villages, deceiving the fools, saying that if they handed their children over to them for training, they would become great magicians like them in the future.
If someone believed, the magician would teach them easily. If someone didn't believe, the magician would buy them out with money. There were also wandering orphans who were deceived by the magicians and became their laborers.
Some magicians would go to another place and sell good-looking children, making a lot of money easily.
Some people even use children to train new magic tricks, such as transforming people into living beings, you know?" Jingzhu looked at them and asked softly.
"I know. They put a person in a box, stab the box with a sword, and then conjure someone else out from another place." Qiuyue recalled the magic trick she had seen and said, "It's actually just a trick with twins. Whoever enters the box will not survive."
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