Chapter 190 Shadow
Sun Wei was speechless for a moment.
She agreed to go to Guangzhou because she wanted to help Sima Jun deal with Wu Fen.
But if I go to Cangwu and expose my identity, it would be more trouble than gain.
Sima Jun seemed to see her hesitation.
"Madam?" he said.
Sun Wei hurriedly said, "Of course I'm unwilling. But I'm still worried that there are people in the court who are watching and will find some faults to slander me before the Queen Mother."
"In my letter, I requested the Empress Dowager to send the Grand Master of Ceremonies to Cangwu to preside over the sacrifice. There are rules to follow, and the Empress Dowager will surely be pleased to see it happen. Madam, don't worry."
Sun Wei wanted to say something else, but Sima Jun continued, "Madam, you haven't returned home to visit your parents since you married into the palace. It's only natural for you to go home. Since the Empress Dowager has approved this matter, no one else can interfere. Madam, don't worry."
Looking at his determined expression, Sun Wei knew that he had to go to Cangwu.
We can only take one step at a time.
Sun Wei smiled and said, "Your Highness is very thoughtful and meticulous in your work. I will respectfully obey your orders."
——
Sima Jun always did things decisively and efficiently. He would leave as soon as he said he would, even when he went to Guangzhou, a city far away, he did it without any delay.
After breakfast, it was still dark and Sun Wei and others had already boarded the boat.
However, they were not on a sea ship, but a barge sailing on the rivers.
"Are we going to Guangzhou by sea?" Sun Wei asked.
Sima Jun replied, "Although the sea route is faster, the weather is unpredictable and remnants of the Three Immortals Sect are lurking everywhere, making it even more dangerous. We are traveling light this time and do not wish to engage in further entanglement with the Three Immortals Sect, so traveling inland is safer."
Sun Wei thought about it and it made sense.
"I wonder how to get there inland? Could it be the same route I took when I entered the capital?"
"Madam, when you entered the capital, you went through Jingzhou, and this time we are going to Jiangzhou."
"So, we have to go back to Jiangzhou first?"
Sima Jun picked up a map from the desk and unfolded it, then seemed to remember that she was unable to move. So he stood up, sat next to Sun Wei, and turned the map in front of her.
He was quite close, and when he raised his hand, Sun Wei could smell the faint scent on his clothes.
It was the scent of basil, mixed with the warmth of his body, very unique. In her previous life, she had loved it very much.
My mind was reminded of the past, and I felt a little distracted.
"I'm waiting here now." Sima Jun said.
Sun Wei cheered up, forced himself to put away all distracting thoughts, and followed his finger to the word "Linhai" on the map.
The fingers were very slender and moved across the map.
"Right now, we're taking a boat down Jiaojiang River, all the way to Le'an, then switching to a horse-drawn carriage to Changshan. Changshan has a waterway, but it only goes to Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou's waterways are well-connected, and once we reach Jiangzhou, we can transfer to a waterway heading south."
"Going back to Xunyang?" Sun Wei asked.
"No. From Changshan, through Xin'an and Shangrao, we arrived at Yuzhang County, then turned around the Ganjiang River to Nankang County." Sima Jun said, "Then we arrived at a place that Madam is familiar with."
Sun Wei watched with great interest.
She said, "After passing Nankang, we enter the Nanling Mountains. There are five mountain ranges in the Nanling Mountains, and the one separating Jiangzhou and Guangzhou is the Dayu Mountain. After crossing Dayu Mountain and passing Shixing County, we reach the border of Guangzhou and Panyu. Is that correct?"
Sima Jun was a little surprised.
"Madam, can you read a map?"
Sun Wei's grandfather was fond of geography and had personally drawn a map of the entire Lingnan region. She had practically grown up in his study, and she knew the locations of various places by heart.
"The so-called Yin-Yang School has always been inseparable from the theory of geomancy and feng shui." Sun Wei pointed to the river on the map and said, "After reaching Panyu, turn to the West River and go upstream, and you will reach Guangxin City in Cangwu County."
"Where is your wife's home?"
Sun Wei moved his finger toward the north of Guangxin City. "It's roughly here, at the southernmost tip of Mengzhuling, one of the Five Mountains. It's still over two hundred miles from Guangxin City. But the road from Guangzhou is long and difficult, which would be difficult for the Crown Prince."
"It's not difficult. To get my wife back home, no matter how hard I try, it's not too much."
His voice was low, calm, and quite gentle.
For a moment, Sun Wei couldn't tell whether he really wanted her to go home to visit her family or was just testing him.
While she was thinking, she saw that her shadow and Sima Jun's shadow were almost touching on the map.
Too close. She sat up straight.
Sima Jun seemed unaware of anything. Suddenly, he reached out and took the document next to her hand, then sat back in his original place.
As he flipped through the documents, he said, "Speaking of which, there is one more thing I want to ask Madam."
Sun Wei just lowered his head to look at the map: "What's the matter?"
"Last night, I had Deng Lian interrogate Xiang Yun. He was very tight-lipped, but unwilling to suffer alone, he blamed everything he did yesterday on a staff member named Li Mo. I heard Yin Wen mention him before. Does my lady know anything about him?"
Sun Wei really intended to talk to Sima Jun about Li Mo, and when he mentioned it, she immediately became excited.
She immediately told Sima Jun everything that happened after she left Wujun.
After hearing this, Sima Jun was silent for a moment and said, "So, Wang Han trusts Li Mo quite a bit, but Li Mo is not completely loyal to Wang Han."
"That's right. Li Mo treated Wang Zhi with utmost respect, leaving no room for fault. Even when Wang Zhi was disrespectful, he never complained. I believe he's quite shrewd, and there must be a reason he earned Wang Han's trust."
Sima Jun pondered, "Wang Zhi may be a good-for-nothing, but Wang Han is no fool. It's not easy to deceive him. Since Li Mo is an aide, I think he must have done something useful for Wang Han."
Sun Wei said, "But I can't figure out what happened that day. Why did Li Mo help me? If he hadn't warned me and pointed out my hiding place on the mountain, and hadn't sent Xiang Yun and others away at the critical moment, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to escape safely."
Sima Jun pondered for a moment and said, "It's clear this man's goal is me, not Madam. Therefore, he's happy to help Wang Zhi capture Kong Qi, but he doesn't want to cause any complications and take Madam's life."
Sun Wei felt that this was the only explanation that made sense.
"I was planning to tell the prince about this person last night, but he was too busy." Sun Wei said, "I also wanted to ask the prince, have you heard of this person in the capital?"
"No." Sima Jun said, "I will send someone to investigate."
"It's best not to alert the enemy," Sun Wei said. "This person is Wang Kan's aide. How does the prince plan to investigate?"
Sima Jun remained calm, "As for the Wang family's affairs, we naturally have to start with the Wang family. The Grand Tutor's condition has stabilized now, so going out for a walk will do him good. He has always admired talented people, so I think he must be interested in knowing this person's background."
——
On Ruoye Mountain, a pair of fast horses galloped up the mountain road and arrived in front of Baosheng Temple, where Li Mo practiced.
Li Mo came out of the temple and bowed to the leader.
"The Chief Secretary is polite."
The person who came was Jiang Yuan, the Chief Secretary of the Shangshu Mansion.
Jiang Yuan was in charge of all the staff members in the Shangshu Mansion. Li Mo's ability to stand out among the staff members was due to his great contribution.
Seeing Li Mo, Jiang Yuan's expression darkened: "Do you know if something happened to the eldest master?"
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