Chapter 397, Third Update
The moon is bright and the stars are few.
Consort Jing and her entourage arrived at a post station.
At this time, all the storms were concentrated within the capital city. There was no disturbance outside the city, and the postmaster would not have expected that it was the Empress Dowager and a group of fugitives.
Judging from their attire, the woman in the lead appears to be an elderly lady from a prominent family, and the people beside her seem to be her servants.
Judging from her demeanor and appearance, the servant had more of the air of the matriarch, not to mention that she walked with an air of indifference, leaving her mistress far behind.
...It's quite confusing.
Consort Jing only requested one room, with four guards standing watch outside, and several other skilled individuals also lurking in the shadows.
As for Granny Cai, her carriage went in another direction, just in case the emperor's men tracked her down there, and to confuse the situation.
The inn was small, and the rooms were very basic.
"It's a pity that you have to live in such a dilapidated house, sister." After entering the house, Consort Jing said to Empress Dowager Zhuang with a faint smile, "I have been living in a nunnery for many years and am used to such simple living conditions. You have been living in luxury for many years and I'm afraid you may have trouble sleeping at night. But it's alright, the road from here to the border is still long, and you can get used to it slowly."
Empress Dowager Zhuang ignored her and went straight to the window.
The room was damp and dark, with a stuffy, musty smell.
Empress Dowager Zhuang pushed open the window and her gaze fell on a large tree in the courtyard.
Consort Jing sneered: "I advise my sister not to try to escape, otherwise, I wouldn't mind taking your ashes to see Ning An."
Empress Dowager Zhuang withdrew her gaze from the big tree, closed the window, and said coldly, "If you want to go to the border to raise an army, just say so. Don't use Ning'an as an excuse. She is your own daughter, after all. That's enough."
Consort Jing's expression changed.
She gripped the handkerchief tightly and smiled, "What would you like to eat, sister? I'll go tell the kitchen to make it."
Empress Dowager Zhuang said casually, "Spicy chicken, stir-fried mutton with scallions, and stew a pot of lotus root and pork bone soup."
Consort Jing sneered, "I'm afraid we won't be able to get these. I'll check what food the post station has."
After saying that, she turned and left the house.
She wasn't actually going to get food for Empress Dowager Zhuang; she had something to instruct her subordinates on.
"Keep a close eye on her, don't let her escape," Consort Jing instructed the guards at the gate.
The group clasped their hands in a fist salute: "Yes!"
Consort Jing put on the hood of her cloak to cover her face and stepped out of the post station.
Almost at the same moment, a large bird flapped its wings and landed on Empress Dowager Zhuang's windowsill.
Empress Dowager Zhuang opened the window again and immediately saw Xiao Jiu on the windowsill.
Did you find me?
Whether it understood Empress Dowager Zhuang's gaze or not, Xiao Jiu opened its bird eyes wide, looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang, flapped its wings, and opened its beak: "Cluck cluck—"
Empress Dowager Zhuang's lips twitched.
You are a fledgling eagle, not a mother hen!
Fortunately, none of the guards noticed the "hen" and Empress Dowager Zhuang brought Xiao Jiu in.
Just as she was about to close the window, a dark shadow descended from the sky and landed silently outside the window.
Fortunately, Empress Dowager Zhuang remained calm, otherwise she might have been so frightened by this ghostly creature that she would have thrown Xiao Jiu out.
The other person was wearing a fanged mask, which looked particularly eerie at night.
The other party bowed to Empress Dowager Zhuang and removed his mask.
Empress Dowager Zhuang raised an eyebrow.
Oh, Jiaojiao's second brother who was pretending to be dead.
Gu Chengfeng was the kind of person who could fish in troubled waters right under the noses of the Dragon Shadow Guards, so he could naturally fool the eyes and ears of those experts outside. However, if they really discovered him, he would be no match for them.
Gu Chengfeng made a gesture to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang understood, nodded, and moved a chair to stand on.
Just as I was about to step over the windowsill, the chair scraped against something, making a sharp sound.
Empress Dowager Zhuang hurriedly grabbed the teapot from the table and smashed it on the ground. The teapot shattered with a crash. She shouted, "Didn't you say you were going to find something to eat? Why aren't you here yet! Do you want me to starve to death?!"
The guards outside curled their lip and ignored them.
They only obeyed Consort Jing and didn't care about Empress Dowager Zhuang's feelings.
Gu Chengfeng gave Empress Dowager Zhuang a thumbs up.
The Empress Dowager is still the most powerful woman.
Xiao Jiu was able to fly away on her own, without lingering in Empress Dowager Zhuang's arms and becoming a burden to her.
Empress Dowager Zhuang climbed onto the windowsill and was caught by Gu Chengfeng. He carried her on his back and used his lightness skill to disappear into the boundless night.
After Consort Jing returned to the post station, the guards on duty spontaneously moved aside.
"She didn't cause any trouble, did she?" Consort Jing asked calmly.
One of the guards said, "Reporting to Master, she got angry and smashed a teapot, saying that you wanted to starve her and wouldn't give her any food."
These words sounded perfectly normal to the guards, but to Consort Jing, they sounded rather strange.
Zhuang Jinse may have a bad temper, but she wouldn't get angry over something so trivial...
Her brow twitched, and she pushed open the door abruptly, only to find the room empty and Zhuang Jinse nowhere to be seen.
"Ah!" The guards were startled.
What happened?
They were definitely inside just now!
They didn't see her come out!
"Useless! A grown woman escaped right under your noses, and not a single one of you noticed! And she doesn't even know martial arts..."
She stopped mid-sentence.
That's right, Zhuang Jinse doesn't know martial arts, so she can't escape on her own.
Someone came to rescue her.
Consort Jing thought of the two men in black who had sneaked into the nunnery right under the noses of the Dragon Shadow Guards. She was absolutely certain that one of them was Gu Jiao, but she didn't know who the other one was.
Consort Jing murmured coolly, "Miss Gu, you've escaped from me so many times. Do you really think you can be so lucky every time? You lot, split up and chase after them. They can't have gone far!"
"yes!"
The moon's shadow flickers like a shuttle.
Gu Chengfeng carried his aunt on his back as they ran along the path. The post station was in a remote location, and in order not to alert the enemy, their carriage was parked a little far away.
In order to get to the carriage before they found out, Gu Chengfeng ran a little fast, worried that Empress Dowager Zhuang would not be able to keep up: "Empress Dowager, please be patient for a little longer, we will be there soon."
No response.
Gu Chengfeng's eyes flickered. Could he be dizzy from his own excitement?
...Never mind, even if they're dizzy, they have to wait until they get on the carriage before they can talk to anyone else, otherwise if those people catch up with them, none of them will escape!
Xiao Jiu was the first to fly back to the carriage.
Gu Jiao knew that Gu Chengfeng had succeeded when she saw it, and she quickly jumped off the carriage to meet him.
A moment later she saw Gu Chengfeng, who was carrying someone on his back, who must be her great-aunt.
"How was it? Did no one find out?"
She quickly went over and said.
Gu Chengfeng stopped, panting heavily, not from exhaustion, but from fright: "...I didn't find anything...but...the Empress Dowager doesn't seem to be doing well...please take a look at her..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent.
Then, he and Gu Jiao clearly heard the even snoring coming from his back.
Gu Chengfeng: "..."
How can someone fall asleep like this?!
Gu Jiao's ears twitched: "They're here!"
Gu Chengfeng's expression changed: "Then let's go quickly!"
It's too late.
A sharp sword aura struck, and the two quickly retreated to the sides. They managed to avoid the sword aura, but the carriage parked by the roadside was not spared.
The car body was smashed to pieces, the reins were broken, and the horse was frightened, letting out a series of terrified neighs before running away in a panic!
Because they were splitting up, they didn't find many experts at this time. Gu Jiao took out two black fire beads and threw them at the three of them.
Two loud bangs left the three of them stunned!
"Let's go!" Gu Jiao led Gu Chengfeng and ran towards the woods not far away.
Little Nine flapped its wings and flew into the forest.
While fleeing, Gu Chengfeng still had the mind to chat with Gu Jiao: "What kind of hidden weapon was that? Why was it so loud! Like a firecracker! But I didn't see you light it!"
Gu Jiao said, "It's not a firecracker. I'll explain later."
At the critical moment of life and death, Gu Chengfeng did not take advantage of his lightness skill to bully others.
However, men are naturally more curious about this. He's itching to know what that thing is right now!
"They're coming after us!"
Gu Jiao said.
Gu Chengfeng: "No way, your hearing is that good!"
He didn't hear it!
The ones chasing after us weren't the same three from before; it must be another group of assassins.
Gu Jiao tugged at his sleeve: "Let's find a place to hide!"
Gu Chengfeng said, "How are we supposed to hide here if there's no cave?"
Gu Jiao looked up: "Climb the tree!"
She was still running when she said this, but almost as soon as she finished speaking, she untied her belt and threw it onto the tree trunk. The other end of the belt hung down, and she grabbed both ends of the belt and sprinted up the tree!
Gu Chengfeng closed his eyes. "Is it really appropriate for a girl like you to unbuckle her belt in front of a man?"
He lightly touched the ground with his toes and used his light-footed skills to climb the tree.
Xiao Jiu also landed on this big tree.
The two of them held their breath simultaneously, and the only sound in the silent forest was the sound of Empress Dowager Zhuang's snoring.
The snoring wasn't very loud, but someone who practices martial arts would definitely be able to hear it!
Gu Chengfeng, cold sweat dripping down his face, exclaimed, "What...what should we do? Should we...shake the Empress Dowager awake? If you want to shake her, then you do it! I won't!"
Gu Jiao whispered to the Empress Dowager Zhuang on Gu Chengfeng's back, "Auntie, if you snore again, I'll deduct your candied fruit."
The sleeping Empress Dowager Zhuang was silenced in a second!
Gu Chengfeng: "..."
Uh... this works?!
Tickets are being cleared out at the end of the month, so don't waste them!
(End of this chapter)
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