Chapter 578: Get Rid of Tracking
Late autumn has passed and the weather in the capital is gradually getting colder.
Zhu Lan's carriage rolled over the fallen leaves under the city wall and left the city under the escort of a dozen guards.
…
At night, a figure quietly came to the Minister's Mansion.
There was candlelight in Li Zhengqing's study, and the door was not even closed, as if he knew someone was coming.
The shadow entered the room and whispered:
"Sir, the carriage has left the city and is heading north."
Li Zhengqing's eyes were still on the book.
The shadow paused and said:
“However…Princess Zhaoyang seems to have been taken out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and it looks like she will be traveling with her.
Sir, do you want to intercept——"
Li Zhengqing finally put down the book and smiled:
"What do you care about a seven-year-old girl?
Our top priority is to take this opportunity to resolve the issues in the palace. Since Zhu Lan has left the capital, we should secretly send a few people to follow her. Any movement she makes must be reported to me, and no unnecessary complications should be created."
"yes."
…
"Auntie, where are we going now?"
In the carriage, Yan Jing looked curiously at the ever-changing scenery outside the window.
Zhu Lan touched her head and said, "Go to Yunzhou."
"Yunzhou? Northwest?" Yan Jing was even happier when he heard that. "Is Aunt Qingyan also there?"
"yes."
Yan Jing cheered. She had heard from Aunt Qingyan before that riding a horse on the grasslands and deserts was completely different from riding a horse in the capital.
That feeling of being as free as the wind is the most refreshing.
Yan Jing asked himself with anticipation whether he could go to the grassland to ride horses.
Zhu Lan thought about it and asked her seriously whether she wanted to be a child or a powerful adult.
Yan Jing raised his head: "Jing'er wants to be an adult as powerful as Aunt Zhu!"
"But when you become an adult, you will have troubles."
"Jing'er is not afraid!"
Zhu Lan smiled, and instead of coaxing a child, she told Yan Jing the truth:
"We have important things to do when we go to Yunzhou this time, so we may not have the chance to ride horses."
Yan Jing pursed his lips, feeling disappointed for a moment, but then he immediately cheered up:
"The important thing is to catch the bad guys, right?"
"Yeah, let's go catch the bad guys together, okay?"
"good!"
…
Half a month passed, and Yan Jing watched the scenery outside the window change from beautiful to desolate, and from green to withered yellow.
It was a different kind of scenery she had never seen before.
Zhu Lan lifted the car curtain and could already see the outline of Yunzhou City in the distance.
She looked back in the direction they came from. At the end of the official road, there were several dark figures on horseback who were always keeping a distance from their carriage.
It must have been hard for them to track us all the way from the capital.
Zhu Lan did not go straight to Yunzhou City, but changed direction, suddenly turned a corner and headed for Yingcang County under the jurisdiction of Yunzhou.
Liang Zhou is still the magistrate of Yingcang County, but under his governance, Yingcang County has become the most prosperous county in the entire Yunzhou area, even Jiayu County, where the Yunzhou government is located, is far behind.
Liang Zhou's achievements were remarkable, and Yunzhou prefect Ding Wangyuan also wanted to write to the court several times to recommend Liang Zhou for promotion.
Unexpectedly, when Liang Zhou heard the news, he ran to the government office, hugged Ding Wangyuan's legs and cried, refusing to leave no matter what, and insisted that he get the memorial back.
Liang Zhou adopted a hands-off approach in the Yingcang County. All of his legal advisors and constables were capable people. He became a leisurely county magistrate, living a leisurely and happy life every day. Naturally, the people of Yingcang County did not want him to leave.
Nowadays in Yingcang County, people leave their doors open at night, making it a paradise on earth.
Zhu Lan entered Yingcang County and went straight to the county government office. Liang Zhou had received the news and was already waiting there.
Zhu Qingyan had some urgent matters to attend to and was unable to come and meet her.
Zhu Lan and Liang Zhou quickly exchanged information about the situation in the capital. Liang Zhou said that although Zhu Qingyan could not come, he had prepared a gift for Zhu Lan.
As Liang Zhou called out, four young girls walked out from behind the screen. They all looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. However, their temperament was not like those ladies from wealthy families in the capital. Instead, they exuded a bit of coldness.
Liang Zhou told Zhu Lan that these four people were personally selected by Zhu Qingyan. They were all highly skilled and could protect Zhu Lan and Yan Jing along the way. They were more useful than the guards they brought from the capital.
Zhu Lan nodded. She was naturally confident in the person chosen by Qing Yan.
She asked the women what their names were, and learned that the four women were named after colors: Qingdai, Zhusha, Shuibi, and Xinghuang.
The name is so gentle, but it is a murderous knife.
That night, five identical carriages drove out from Yingcang County Government Office in five directions under the cover of darkness.
The scouts waiting near the county government office could not tell which carriage was Zhu Lan's, so they had to split up and chase after him.
After an incense stick of time, five fast horses galloped out from the back door of the county government office and headed straight towards Qingzhou.
Zhu Lan and Yan Jing rode together, with four maids following closely behind them. The original guards were temporarily placed with Liang Zhou.
Qingzhou and Yunzhou are adjacent to each other. The group traveled for a day and a night. In order to avoid being seen, they did not stay at any official post station on the road.
It was not until the evening of the next day that we finally arrived at a county town west of Qingzhou County.
This place is called Maoxian, which is the hometown of Taifu Xu.
The Li family wanted to manipulate the emperor, and Tutor Wu was an important chess piece in their hands.
Zhu Lan planned to first cut off the source of the problem by directly destroying Master Xu's hometown. This would not only greatly reduce the power of the Li family, but would also give him a chance to use Master Xu's clues to directly find relevant evidence.
It would be great if we could overthrow Li Zhengqing in one fell swoop.
As for the evidence...
The Censorate once searched all of Master Xu's assets in the capital, but found no clues.
If he really has secret assets, then the most likely place to hide them is in his hometown of Maoxian!
Now that they have escaped the sight of those pursuers, it is the best opportunity to act.
The six people entered Maoxian and found an inconspicuous inn to stay in.
The waiter asked them attentively if they needed the food delivered to their room. Yan Jing was about to agree, but Zhu Lan shook his head and said that they would go to the lobby downstairs to eat together later.
The six women packed up and changed into civilian clothes.
Zhu Lan was worried that his group, consisting of only women, would attract attention on the road, and he did not want to cause trouble, so he asked four maids to change into men's clothes, draw thick eyebrows, and dress up as four guards.
As long as you don't speak loudly, it will be difficult for ordinary people to notice the clues.
The group went downstairs to the lobby for dinner. The waiter saw that the girls had changed into men's clothes, but he didn't think much of it and changed his address immediately, which was very tactful.
At this time, there were about a dozen people sitting in the lobby, discussing something enthusiastically.
Zhu Lan listened attentively for a while and thought it was about some elegant gathering. She immediately called the waiter to ask what the event was about.
The waiter smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be from other places, right? You may not know that our Mao County is a place of great learning. The current Taifu, Master Wu Ming, is from Mao County. He is a great imperial tutor and he taught the emperor!"
The waiter talked incessantly.
It turned out that the Xu family had a long tradition of scholarship, and when it came to Xu Ming's generation, he even passed the imperial examination and ranked second that year, entered the Hanlin Academy, and became a glorious figure in the entire Maoxian County.
Later, he was conferred the title of Taifu, which made him even more powerful. Every family in Maoxian who had educated children would visit the Xu family’s ancestral tomb to pay their respects during the holidays.
Zhu Lan pretended to be surprised and asked:
"The Xu family is so powerful in Mao County? But I heard that Master Xu is incorruptible and lives a very hard life..."
"You don't know this, right? The Grand Tutor is honest, but that doesn't stop the people of Mao County from admiring him!
Didn't you ask about the elegant gathering just now? It's called the "Zhongling Elegant Gathering", which is held once a year in Maoxian and is hosted by Master Xu Zhiyuan, the nephew of the Grand Tutor.
Mr. Liu, the richest man in our county, is also a kind man. He donates money to support the Zhongling Gathering every year. If the gathering is well organized, he will also donate to the charity school in the county!"
Zhu Lan nodded in understanding and asked the waiter about the time of the gathering.
"Hey, you're right, you all came at a perfect time. The Zhong Ling Gathering is tomorrow!"
The waiter looked at Zhu Lan again and said:
"Looking at the way the girl talks, she must have read a few books. You might as well go to the gathering tomorrow and give it a try.
Even if I can't get the first place, it's good to be able to show my face in front of Master Wu and Mr. Liu.
If you can gain their appreciation, I can write a letter of recommendation to the Grand Tutor. Maybe I can even find you a job as a scribe in the capital!"
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