When Hongwu returned to the inn, he saw that Xiao Liyan and Xiao Shida had already applied some disguises to their faces.
"Just in case, I disguised myself and Manman first."
Hongwu nodded, then handed the porcelain bottle to Xiao Liyan. "There is indeed a situation. We can't wait until nightfall to leave; we must find a chance to leave now."
"They've come, haven't they, Uncle Hong?"
"Yes, young master."
"Miss, when I went to buy medicine for the young master, I happened to run into them searching house to house."
After answering Xiao Shida's question, Hongwu looked at Xiao Liyan and said...
"We've already packed everything, so just take all the medicine with you."
"Yes, I've assessed the situation thoroughly. Miss, Young Master, shall we prepare to depart?"
"While they haven't searched yet..."
Xiao Liyan and Xiao Shida followed closely behind Hongwu, saying, "Let's go this way. This is the backyard, and it's also the outhouse; there are fewer people here."
Hongwu led the two men toward the outhouse. When they were almost there, he grabbed one of them by the collar and used his light-footed skill to scale the wall.
"I discovered this inn by chance; behind it lies a gathering place for ordinary people, while this area, being a border region, is relatively quiet."
Hongwu led the two through various alleys until they reached the foot of a courtyard wall.
"Miss, young master will have to make do with this."
As he spoke, Hongwu parted a patch of grass, revealing a dog hole.
Xiao Liyan nodded, "Okay."
Xiao Liyan first lay down and crawled out through the dog hole. After she came out, she waved to Xiao Shida.
Xiao Shida then crawled out through the dog hole as well.
When it was Hongwu's turn, the dog hole was too small, so he had to use his fist to widen it.
After the three crawled out of the dog hole, they began their journey.
Beside another courtyard wall, a child was holding a yellow dog.
"Big Yellow, why are they crawling through the dog hole?"
"You brat, what time is it and you're still playing around here? Come on, let's go home."
"Mom, why do some people crawl through dog holes? Is it because they want to be Big Yellow too?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Come on, come home with me."
The slightly plump woman took the little boy's hand and left.
When the government officials and a group of people dressed in white searched the place at dusk, the slightly plump woman was completely bewildered.
Just as the officials were about to leave, the slightly plump woman's eyes darted around, and she quickly said...
"Sir, we have no information about the three people in this portrait, but my son has discovered a suspicious person."
The government official turned around and asked the little boy next to the slightly plump woman.
"Oh? What did you see?"
"I saw a man climbing through a dog hole at noon."
The government officials and the man in white, who was leading the way, exchanged glances and then had the little boy lead the way.
When they reached the dog hole, the leader called for the others to climb through it. At that moment, the slightly plump woman stopped them.
"Sir, this reward money..."
"Go to the county government office to collect it."
Upon hearing this, the slightly plump woman beamed and led her son toward the county government office.
"This snow is perfect; there are footprints everywhere. It seems it really was them."
The man in white, who was leading the group, looked at the footprints on the ground with a look of glee at the prospect of catching someone.
——————————
"Miss, young master, this can't go on. There's snow on the ground; they'll follow our footprints."
Xiao Liyan frowned as she looked at the footprints in the snow on the ground.
Hongwu grabbed one person by the collar with each hand and led the two away with Qionghong.
"Uncle Hong, you can't keep using your light-footed skills the whole way."
"I know that the Empress's family is highly trained; if I don't use my light-footed skills, they will catch up with us in no time."
"The snow is falling heavily."
Looking at the snowflake in her hand, Xiao Liyan said, "Uncle Hong, let's go our separate ways."
"No, I must protect Miss and Young Master."
“But this isn’t a solution. They’ll catch up quickly. Uncle Hong, you take Manman and go first. I’ll head to another place, and we’ll meet up at the Yuansheng Hall in Mancheng, Fenglan Kingdom.”
"No"
"no"
Hongwu and Xiao Shida spoke at the same time
"How about this, my sister and I will go together, and Uncle Hong, you go alone to distract them."
"No way!" Xiao Liyan refused outright.
Xiao Shida held onto Xiao Liyan's hand tightly, "Sister, I have to be with you, otherwise the three of us will be together."
Xiao Liyan closed her eyes, looked at Xiao Shida, and finally untied the cloak Nan Tianyi had given her, handing it to Hongwu. "Uncle Hong, use this cloak to wrap some tree branches, then carry it on your back."
"They most want to kill me, but now that it's dark, when they see this fiery red fox fur cloak, their first thought will be me, and they'll naturally ignore Manman."
"Miss, you mustn't! Your subordinate..."
"Uncle Hong, you don't need to say anything more. If the three of us are together, we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop. That's the best way."
Hongwu remained silent, then took out the jade pendant Xiao Sheng had given him from his robes. "Miss, this is a token from Yuansheng Hall to the Master. You and the Young Master should take this jade pendant to Yuansheng Hall, and I will lead them away in another direction."
Xiao Liyan nodded and took the jade pendant from Hongwu's hand.
And so, Hongwu wrapped some tree branches in his cloak, carried them on his back, and walked in the opposite direction from Xiao Liyan.
"Manman, hold my hand. The snow is heavy. Pull your cloak tighter so the wind doesn't get in."
"Sister, you..."
"I don't need your cloak, and I'm not cold."
Seeing Xiao Shida reach out to untie his cloak, Xiao Liyan spoke first.
"Let's go, the snow is heavy enough to cover our footprints."
"Follow these footprints and catch them all at once."
The leader held up a torch and looked at the footprints on the ground.
————————
Why are you only getting back now?
"What, you can't get any information?"
Cheng Peng looked at Qin Jue, who had just returned, and asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Qin Jue glanced indifferently at Cheng Peng, "Liu Fu fell and broke his leg at noon today. We need to hire an opera troupe to perform tomorrow. We'll start the operation tomorrow."
"Is this news reliable?" Cheng Peng looked at Qin Jue with disbelief.
You can choose not to go.
"After we deal with Liu Fu tomorrow, we'll split up and act separately."
After saying a few words, Cheng Peng, seeing that Qin Jue didn't answer or even look at him, left the room and went downstairs.
(The two are about to reunite)
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