"You'll find out when we get there, Mr. Li."
"Hongye, she..."
"She'll be fine, she'll just sleep for a few hours," the butler said, handing Li Tiao a black cloth.
"What are you doing?" Li Tiao moved further into the corner of the carriage, though it was no use.
“Please forgive me, Mr. Li, but we can’t let too many people know where we’re going. Also… to prevent you from taking the blindfold off halfway through, you should also use your hands.”
After the steward finished speaking, he took out a rope and said, "Excuse me, please turn around and I will tie your hands first."
"You dare!" Li Tiao had no other choice but to bluff: "Since you've kidnapped me, you must know who I am, right?"
You never referred to yourself as a servant in front of me before, but now you've changed your tune?
You're also a Manchu? Who is your master? You…
The steward remained unmoved by Li Tiao's words, saying, "If you don't want your hands tied, then this servant will have to treat you like Hongye and let you get some sleep first."
It's still unclear who the real master of this steward is. Hongye is already unconscious. If I also become unconscious, and something happens, it will be too late to regret it.
Li Tiao knew the principle that an egg shouldn't hit a rock. After weighing her options, she turned her back to the person in charge and asked him to tie her hands with a rope and cover her eyes with a black cloth.
When the eyes cannot see, the ears become especially sensitive.
The cold wind howled outside, which Li Tiao could hear clearly, as could the clatter of horses' hooves. But she had absolutely no idea where the road ahead led.
Her fear was stronger than ever.
The carriage swayed and rocked, and it was unclear how long it had been traveling. Li Tiao's eyes were covered with a cloth, so she couldn't see anything outside, but judging by the time, she knew it must be dark outside.
Upon realizing this, Li Tiao's heart sank to the bottom.
If there was anything to be happy about, it was that Hongye seemed to have woken up. Although Li Tiao couldn't see it, she could feel that Hongye was moving.
To avoid alerting the passengers ahead, Li Tiao thought about where Hongye was before she was blindfolded. After figuring out the direction in her mind, she leaned towards Hongye and wailed in a voice loud enough for the passengers ahead to hear: "Hongye, when will you wake up? You've suffered so much following your master."
Hongye was about to ask Li Tiao what was wrong, but upon hearing Li Tiao's voice and vaguely seeing her appearance, Hongye exclaimed in surprise and at the same time vaguely understood something.
Just as she was about to whisper something in Li Tiao's ear, the carriage slowed down and finally stopped. To avoid giving herself away, Hongye quickly collapsed again.
Then Li Tiao heard a voice outside: "Tell His Majesty, the person has been brought."
Li Tiao was extremely surprised. She had thought that the person in charge was either bribed by Song Gege or was one of the Crown Prince's people or had been bribed by the Crown Prince.
However, Li Tiao never expected that it would be the Emperor!
Soon, Li Dequan, who served Emperor Kangxi closely, came over and untied the ropes binding Li Tiao's hands and the black cloth covering her eyes.
Looking around, Li Tiao didn't recognize the place, but it was clearly not the palace. She remembered the rumors she'd heard that Emperor Kangxi had secretly returned to the capital…
Li Tiao also learned why she had been blindfolded, and also why Hongye had been knocked unconscious—it was to prevent them from finding out exactly where they were.
Once she understood, Li Tiao played her part perfectly, pretending to pinch Hongye's philtrum hard.
Hongye also pretended to be dazed and was woken up by being pinched.
"Master, are you alright?"
"Miss Hongye, you're making a fuss over nothing. What could possibly be wrong with your master?"
"Eunuch Li?" Hongye also pretended to be very surprised and exchanged a glance with Li Tiao.
The two disembarked from the carriage and, led by Li Dequan, went to see Emperor Kangxi.
Although it wasn't the first time Li Tiao had met Emperor Kangxi, she had never felt so heavy-hearted as she did now.
Even when Emperor Kangxi found her hiding in the Fourth Prince's residence, Li Tiao didn't feel like the sky was falling.
But now... it is said that the fighting on the front lines is still very fierce. No matter what Kang Shifu's purpose was in quietly returning... this shows that he probably knows that there may be trouble in the capital.
As an emperor, why didn't he go to stabilize the court at this time, but instead came to me?
Li Tiao considered herself to be quite beautiful, but she did not want to be like Yang Guifei or Xi Shi.
But Master Kong's attitude is really making people uneasy...
One month later.
Looking at the grassland where the wind blows through the grass and cattle and sheep appear, Li Tiao felt relaxed and happy: "Hongye, let's stay here for a while longer. I have to say, staying on the grassland for a long time really broadens one's mind."
"But Your Majesty... the Emperor said..."
“Okay, I understand. The Emperor said, the Emperor said… Hongye, you are my maid, shouldn’t you listen to me? The Emperor is far away, and he’s not here right now. You can’t always say whatever the Emperor says.”
"Yes, this servant understands." Hongye readily curtsied to Li Tiao and said, "Your Majesty, the guards said that we're almost at the battlefield, and it's not safe to stay here any longer. Also, it's freezing cold on the grasslands right now, so it's not suitable to set up camp here for too long. Besides, it's your first time on the grasslands, Your Majesty, and we're afraid you won't be used to it, so it's better to..."
"Alright then." Li Tiao knew she had been a bit impulsive earlier. She glanced at the yurt behind her and asked Hongye, "Is everything packed?"
"Reporting to Master, the tidying up is almost complete."
"Let's go then, let's hurry on our way before it snows."
When Li Tiao left the capital, it was already winter there, let alone the grasslands further north.
We set off early because we were afraid it would snow and make the roads difficult to travel, but as we walked, it still started to snow.
The carriage struggled forward, and the guards led the horses down to walk. Li Tiao felt a little embarrassed; she didn't even know why she had come here.
After all, she had really gone through a lot of trouble on this trip, and the guards didn't need to go through such a difficult environment!
"Master, Master..." Hongye also got off and walked, which made it much easier for the guards to pull the carriage.
Hearing Hongye shouting outside, Li Tiao asked, "What's wrong?"
"It looks like we're almost there; we can see the tents!"
Hongye's exclamation suddenly changed Li Tiao's previously somewhat agitated mood; it wasn't exactly nervousness, nor was it entirely anticipation...
Before she could even figure out how she felt, the curtain on the carriage was suddenly lifted...
There seemed to be a sword flashing in front of her. She couldn't tell if it was the color of the sword or the white snow outside, but Li Tiao felt dizzy. She slowly raised her head and frowned at the person pointing the sword at her.
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