The heavy snow fell all night long, relentlessly and wildly, reaching depths above knee-deep.
The wind picked up again in the middle of the night, and the wind swirled up snowflakes that kept piling up. Some shops on the main street inside the capital could not open until the next day, all because their neighbors had to shovel the snow.
It was as if overnight the entire world had been covered with a thick quilt, and the pause button had been pressed.
The snow on the road was more than three feet deep, making it impossible for people, horses, or carriages to move.
Gan Qiongying and Gan Lin warmed themselves by the fire for most of the night. In the latter half of the night, they returned to their respective meditation rooms to rest. They no longer needed to worry about being caught by anyone. With such heavy snow, all traces of their journey, including the ruts of their carriage, would be completely covered.
Even God is helping them clean up the mess.
Gan Qiongying slept for a long time, nestled deep in the quilt. The sunlight after the snow couldn't penetrate the dim meditation room. Gan Qiongying slept until evening before Gan Lin woke her up to eat.
As if all the muscles and bones in her body had been removed, Gan Qiongying felt listless. However, the congee and side dishes in the temple were quite delicious. Gan Qiongying ate three large bowls of congee and one large bowl of stewed tofu by herself, which surprised even herself.
Gan Lin was just as good as Gan Qiongying. The two siblings relaxed as soon as they were freed from the center of the palace and power, as if their lives had only become interesting from this moment on.
After Gan Qiongying finished eating, she gathered with Gan Lindingzhen and the others to discuss how, once the snow melted a little, the official road outside the city would be passable in two or three days.
They immediately set off north with the monks of Jishi Temple.
The further north they go, the colder it gets, so they need to prepare more warm clothing than in previous years.
Gan Qiongying was wearing a monk's robe, which was not very dignified. Because she wanted to stay warm, she stuffed a lot of cotton inside, making it look like it was inflated and two sizes too big.
The clothes were clearly not Gan Qiongying's size. The wide sleeves were held in her arms, and with her hands tucked together, she had the air of an old man sunbathing.
However, she was wearing a monk's hat, and her beautiful face, which had been sleeping and eating well, was particularly rosy from the fire, and her eyes still looked lively and vibrant.
Even if she didn't care about her image there, and curled up with her neck hunched over, she still looked like a pampered young lady stuffed into ill-fitting clothes.
This appearance wouldn't work among the monks. When Gan Qiongying was truly on her journey, she would make very elaborate masks to completely change her appearance.
“Dingzhen will take the disaster victims south then,” Gan Qiongying said. “You will likely be subjected to a more rigorous check. Find a few people of similar build to me and Gan Lin, surround them tightly, and group them together to obscure their identities.”
Gan Qiongying guessed that if someone was looking for them, they wouldn't just be looking for their appearance, but also their physique.
However, as long as she releases a few "smokescreens" and separates from Gan Lin, they will be difficult to spot when they pass by the official road without walking side by side.
Dingzhen felt indebted to others for their money, and because he had taken a lot of money from Gan Qiongying to settle the refugees, he fiddled with the Buddhist beads on his hand without saying a word.
Finding a few people among the disaster victims who were similar in build to Gan Qiongying and Gan Lin was not a difficult task.
“Sister,” Gan Lin asked Gan Qiongying, “those who follow us also want to be ordained and stay by our side.”
“If we wait until we pass through the official road checkpoint, it will be easier for them to take action if we are discovered. If they just follow us secretly, they may not be able to get to our side immediately.”
Gan Qiongying waved her hand, saying confidently, "There's no need. We will definitely not be discovered."
"Moreover, those shadow guards were too tall and strong, standing out like cranes among chickens, and they were too conspicuous among the monks of Jishi Temple."
"That would only attract more attention from others..."
After discussing the matter, everyone started preparing for their departure. Gan Qiongying had already asked Dingzhen to prepare everything, so there was no need to worry about anything else.
The rest of the time was spent waiting, staying in Qingshan Temple, listening to the evening drum and morning bell every day, eating simple porridge and side dishes, as if my heart and body had been cleansed.
At this moment, Gan Qiongying was lying in the meditation room, where there were low beds and a brazier not far from her. Gan Qiongying could feel the heat on her face.
Gan Qiongying closed her eyes and fell asleep again without realizing it. Lately, she really does fall asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow, and she can even fall asleep sitting down.
Gan Qiongying thought that it might be because she had been living in fear and taking things one step at a time for too long since she transmigrated, which caused her to suddenly relax and her body to spontaneously enter a resting phase.
Fortunately, it was just excessive sleepiness. Generally speaking, if a person is under constant mental tension for a long time, they will get sick if they suddenly relax.
Gan Qiongying slept very late again. After waking up, she ate something and went to listen to the sutra that Dingzhen recited several times every day.
Sometimes, when they were alone together, Gan Qiongying would ask Dingzhen, "I have found my destined one, Dingzhen, do you know that?"
"I gave that string of Buddhist prayer beads to the prince consort. Can it really protect him from a bloody calamity?"
"If it's not Liao Liao, then who is it?"
Dingzhen never answered, and he never even changed the frequency of his chanting, as if he had no idea what Gan Qiongying meant.
Gan Qiongying didn't intend to pursue those matters; they were memories from Princess Duanrong's past life, and she was just a little curious.
While Gan Qiongying waited here to escape, the entire imperial city was already in chaos.
Chaos reigned. The Empress Dowager had been assassinated in the palace and was on the verge of death, clinging to life with the help of various imperial physicians. Her fate was uncertain.
With the current emperor missing, the throne is vacant during the morning court session. Li Quan, the emperor's chief eunuch, has been repeatedly mutilated for assassinating the empress dowager as a warning to others, causing widespread panic among the court officials.
The news at the Regent's Palace was kept very tightly under wraps, but the entire palace was in complete chaos because the Regent had vanished into thin air, and all the servants who served him personally had disappeared without a trace.
When the clans learned of this news, they all sprang into action. Some seized the opportunity to usurp power, wooed the regent's men, and spread rumors that the regent had died and his body had not been found.
When members of the royal family took control of the court, the balance between clans was completely broken. Everyone wanted to step forward at this time, and the Kou clan, which was the only dominant clan, naturally became the target of everyone's attacks.
Meanwhile, the Jin Chuan hostage, who had long harbored ambitions, finally revealed his true colors, brazenly leading his troops into the imperial city and eyeing it covetously.
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