Disguise
Qin Lan came back smelling of frosting sugar.
It is said that when he was taking Ai to the market, a child running on the road bumped into him, and the candied haws in the child's hand rubbed against his clothes.
"Are there a lot of people in the market these days?"
Jiang Nian took the local specialty of Chimen from Ai and had some questions.
Although I have never seen Qin Lan take action, the fact that he was able to become the head of the Intelligence Bureau without being assassinated must mean that he has extraordinary skills.
If there weren't so many people on the streets, the chances of him avoiding it would be very high.
Qin Lan smiled helplessly: "They rushed forward so hard, if I hadn't blocked them, I would have fallen to the ground."
The neat round table was piled with snacks bought from there. Before leaving Qingju, Meng Zheng asked if they wanted to go to a famous local restaurant for dinner together.
If I really agree, I will have to think a lot about the dinner.
Before Xiao Yingzhu could answer, Qin Lan declined with a smile.
Because he had important matters to attend to, Meng Zheng felt a little disappointed, but he did not try to persuade them too much. After saying goodbye, they went their separate ways.
"So your servant lost the man after following him halfway?"
After Qin Lan finished washing up, he returned to the extra room that was reserved for them in the inn. He came in halfway through and only heard the second half of the conversation before interrupting.
Noticing that it was about Meng Zheng, Qin Lan's tired face became more interested. He grabbed a chair from the side and sat down, crossing his legs loosely. He held his chin with one hand and looked at the people who were hesitant to speak.
Xiao Yingzhu, who was interrupted by Qin Lan, was not as interested as him. Her expression was indifferent, and it was hard to tell whether she liked or disliked him. "He is extremely good at disguise."
Before reaching Akamen, he had already arranged people to lurk here and observe the movements.
However, until arriving at Qingju, there was no news about the prince.
Such situations are rare, but they do happen.
When you arrive at Chimen, you should be fully prepared. If an enemy comes, you should be able to fight him with your own troops. If a flood comes, you should be able to block it with earth. Once you see the person, you will no longer need to hide.
Unexpectedly, when he saw the prince sent by Emperor Changdeok in Qingju, his long-forgotten memories suddenly came to him when he saw the prince's face.
Meng Zheng was the prince who was rescued from the battlefield by Qin Lan and who stood in the corner and overheard every detail when he was arguing with Emperor Changde in Chongzheng Hall.
After they parted, Xiao Yingzhu kept a watchful eye on him and secretly ordered his servants to follow his whereabouts, but it was obvious that they still lost him.
"In disguise?"
"How do you disguise yourself?"
Qin Lan recalled the news reported to him by the Intelligence Bureau.
According to the information from the investigation, Meng Zheng should be frail and sickly.
Emperor Changde was able to order him to wipe out the remnants of the bishop's party. It seems that the disease he had since his mother's womb was cured a little, allowing him to travel far away and handle complicated affairs.
However, it is still extremely difficult for this body to change clothes silently in the crowd and escape Xiao Yingzhu's eyes.
This not only involves the art of scouting, but also requires a person's physical fitness and stamina.
"A man dressed as a woman?"
I thought of every disguise I could think of, and this was the only one that seemed to make sense.
But because he was not familiar with this area, Qin Lan could not imagine what Meng Zheng would look like in different clothes. It was a bit hard to describe.
"That's not the case."
Xiao Yingzhu slowly wiped her greasy hands and said casually, "He can easily change his temperament, making it difficult to recognize him."
A familiar person suddenly changes his or her personality and style. Even if they are very similar, if you lose focus for a moment, the person will disappear without a trace.
Usually, it is not the Pavilion Master himself who tracks down intelligence. Qin Lan has no experience in this area and can only make a rough idea in his mind, and his focus shifts to other places.
"So, he was able to easily obscure his whereabouts before he was crowned king?"
"He first retired due to illness, and was later crowned king for his merits."
Qin Lan pinched his knuckles and smiled casually: "It's really extraordinary, the right time, the right place, and the right people."
Lines of raindrops were falling from the eaves, and the cold water vapor made Jiang Nian blink subconsciously and pull up her outer clothes.
She was not concerned about the struggle for power among the princes in the court.
In the afternoon, Meng Zheng was quite concerned about her identity. He tried to test her several times, but was fooled by her using both true and false statements.
With Xiao Yingzhu around, she was not worried that Meng Zheng would find out her true identity, but after dealing with it for the entire afternoon, her brain was exhausted and she was tired.
It was really not easy to be a noble in ancient times.
One probing question is better than a dozen inquiries. If you are not careful, you will be led astray.
Fortunately, Meng Zheng was more interested in Qin Lan than her identity.
He seemed to be one of those people who liked to know the secrets of the nobility, and would use anything that was beneficial to him as leverage, turning it into an extremely handy and reliable pawn when needed.
Recalling Meng Zheng's interested face, Jiang Nian thought casually that Qin Lan had met his match.
Opposites attract and likes repel. It's better not to confront each other before going to Cang County to meet up with others.
—
The prefect of Chimen was replaced the day before they left for Cang County, and he was all smiles when he saw them off.
Listening to the meaning of Meng Zheng's words, Xiao Yingzhu had no intention of pursuing the matter.
The prefect himself was a simple-minded person, but he was loyal to the court and had never caused any major problems in his governance. Emperor Changde felt that he was still useful, so he exiled him to a remote place.
The border between Chimen and Cang County is separated by a river, which is a tributary of the river that we took on the tower ship. The ship we took was dispatched by Meng Zheng.
He is more familiar with Cang County than Xiao Yingzhu.
As people traveling for the same purpose, Meng Zheng knew the reason why Xiao Yingzhu needed to hide her identity when entering Cang County. When he returned from the boatman, he did not care about the clothes of the people in the cabin.
On the contrary, taking their travel into consideration, the ship dispatched by Meng Zheng was for the people to travel on.
To this end, he pretended to be more like a merchant who wanted to go to the neighboring city to do business, and even did not bring the guards who escorted him after they parted that day.
The boat swayed on the water. Meng Zheng was accustomed to the straw seats in the simple cabin, so he lifted his clothes and sat on the ground.
He had left home early in the morning and had not eaten. The way he naturally took out steamed buns to eat in the cabin was very different from the noble and arrogant young man Qingju had seen.
He looked so familiar, as if he often spent time outside.
There are not many records and rumors about Meng Zheng in the Intelligence Bureau. If you don’t know in advance that Meng Zheng is the Fourth Prince, you may not recognize him if you meet him outside.
Growing up in the palace with fine clothes and delicious food, his information was missing for a period of time. When he came back, he had already been crowned king by Emperor Changde.
The Third Prince volunteered to stay at the border all year round because of his outstanding military ability, so even if there were banquets, he would not often come back to attend.
The Fourth Prince doesn't often attend banquets due to health reasons.
The blank part of the data...was he secretly sent to recuperate somewhere? Therefore, although his behavior has the demeanor of an aristocrat, he has the air of someone who grew up in the wild, free and unfettered.
He is interested in power and seems to be interested in traveling around the mountains. He is really a strange person.
Qin Lan yawned lazily and covered his eyes to take a nap.
After just a moment of thinking about the past, Meng Zheng had already finished his meal. Perhaps it provided him with some energy, and his somewhat pale face regained some color.
The boat was quiet, with hazy sunlight streaming into the bottom of the cabin, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
—
The river between the two cities is not very wide, but it takes two hours to cross it, and more than half of the time is free.
Ai was guarding outside the cabin. Qin Lan fell asleep with his eyes closed, holding the sword he called a self-defense sword. It was quiet all around. Jiang Nian took out the book that he had not read and gently flipped through it.
In fact, it is not about looking. The normal usage of the answer book is the same as in modern times. You should silently recite a question in your mind and then turn the page to see the answer after fifteen seconds.
But there is no problem with love at the moment, I am just killing time, so I don’t care about how to use the book.
The warm sun is gentle outside the boat window. After the continuous rain in Akamen, it is a sunny day with no clouds in the sky. If you look through the window, you can even see a rainbow in the distance.
Indulging in the rare reading time, the subtle sounds around him were blocked out by his concentration until slender pale fingertips appeared in his field of vision. Jiang Nian was suddenly startled for a moment, and when he looked up, he saw Jun Jun's beautiful eyebrows.
It’s Meng Zheng.
He had just fallen asleep, so Jiang Nian didn't take much precautions. Now that the simplified Chinese book that Tao Yu sent was seen by Meng Zheng, he felt like he was caught by the teacher in class.
Jiang Nian wanted to subconsciously cover the words with her wide sleeves, but stopped herself abruptly. She smiled and said, "Boss Meng, what can I do for you?"
Meng Zheng's face was even paler than before, like a piece of thin paper that would crumble at the slightest twist. He frowned, "What are you looking at, doctor?"
When Jiang Nian was in seclusion, he had not revealed his identity and had always been vague. Now that he was asked, he just made up his identity and gave a half-truthful reply: "I am an idle writer in the sect."
"Sect?"
Meng Zheng's pupils stayed on Jiang Nian's face for a moment, and soon flashed with a thoughtful look.
"The Huandu Sect has been closed for many years, and few doctors have come down the mountain in person..."
After a moment, he looked at Jiang Nian again with a complicated look in his eyes. He didn't say anything more, nodded, and returned to his original position.
Jiang Nian looked in the opposite direction from where he came from.
Outside the cabin.
Is Meng Zheng feeling unwell and wants to go out for some fresh air?
Seeing that he looked very familiar when getting on the boat, he must have been on boats many times, so the possibility of seasickness could be ruled out.
She reached out for the sachet, which contained a few pills she often needed for travel. After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and walked quietly among the others.
The classified medicine pills were wrapped neatly in squares, and a pair of clean hands were spread out in front of Meng Zheng.
Jiang Nian and Meng Zheng, who looked up, suddenly looked at each other. He was about to say the title but couldn't, as it felt disrespectful to say it out loud. He could only whisper the word "honorific title" in the lowest voice and put the small squares in Meng Zheng's hand.
"...If your Highness feels unwell, please use this as a cushion for now."
If something happened to the imperial prince here, Emperor Changde would first hold her accountable. Besides, Jiang Nian was not the kind of person who would burn bridges after crossing them. He had just pretended to be a doctor from the sect, so it wouldn't be considered a revelation of his identity if he could take out the medicine pills now.
Life depends on fate. Rather than suspicion among each other, we are all in the same business, so health should be put first.
Meng Zheng lowered his eyes and stared at his palm. It took him a long time to put it in his hand.
"Thank you for your concern, doctor lady. Please keep your position."
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