Chapter 139 A Thousand Miles to Find Her Husband
Ruying and Anyue exchanged a glance, then immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness, "Your Highness, please spare us! The young lady has ordered that we must not reveal anything about her to anyone, including—"
They cautiously glanced at Xiao Xuanyou's expression, "Including His Highness the Crown Prince."
Xiao Xuanyou's gaze instantly turned cold, and his aura became gloomy.
"You guys are doing your jobs better and better."
Ruying and Anyue knelt below, not daring to speak.
Fortunately, Xiao Xuanyou didn't make a big deal out of it, he just snorted coldly, "Take good care of your young lady. If she gets injured again, you will be held responsible."
"yes."
The two of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
*
The next day, Jiang Zhi went to the Shen residence to retrieve something, and then headed to the Northern Garrison Command.
Lu Yuan was about to head to Sizhou, and he was extremely busy these past two days handing over the cases he was handling to his subordinates.
He was somewhat surprised to hear that Jiang Zhi had come to see him, but he still had someone invite her in to talk.
"Is Princess Qinghe here to see me off?" Lu Yuan had just come out of the imperial prison, still carrying the lingering smell of blood. He took the damp handkerchief handed to him by his subordinate and casually wiped his hands.
Jiang Zhi shook her head, her expression calm. "No, I want Lord Lu to take me with him to Sizhou."
Lu Yuan paused, almost thinking he had misheard. "You said you want to go to Sizhou with me?"
She's a young lady who's been confined to her room; she probably's never even left the city gates of Kyoto. Yet now she's suddenly saying she wants to go to such a far place.
“That’s right. Lord Shen’s fate is unknown. Even if he is really dead, I will personally transport his body back to the capital so that he will not die far from home.”
This was the decision Jiang Zhi made yesterday after receiving the news.
Shen Ci'an had no father or mother and was all alone in the capital with no relatives or friends.
If Shen Ci'an were to survive by chance, that would be good. But if he were to die, as his fiancée, I would naturally have to collect his body and escort his coffin back to the capital for burial.
Lu Yuan's brows furrowed slightly.
He stared at Jiang Zhi as if he were seeing her for the first time.
"Going to Sizhou with the Embroidered Uniform Guard is a bad idea. You should know that once this gets out, your reputation will be completely ruined, and you will have no chance of remarrying."
Jiang Zhi's gaze was calm and indifferent. "Having decided to marry Lord Shen, I have never thought of remarrying."
Originally, she married Shen Ci'an only to avoid some unnecessary trouble.
I never imagined it would lead to this calamity for him.
“You’re quite consistent,” Lu Yuan couldn’t help but sneer, “but I’m going out on official business, why should I agree to bring such a burden like you along?”
His words were merciless, but Jiang Zhi didn't care at all.
"If Lord Lu takes me to Sizhou this time, I will help you find the culprit in the Crown Princess's poisoning case when we return, how about it?"
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow unconsciously. "How can I trust that you can do it?"
“Just as I found the assassin who tried to kill the Crown Prince, I can now help Lord Lu find the person who poisoned the Crown Princess,” Jiang Zhi said, looking at him and enunciating each word clearly.
Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, and finally said, "As a county princess, your status is extraordinary. I need to inform His Majesty before I can act."
Jiang Zhi naturally had no objection.
Upon returning to her residence, Jiang Zhi instructed Qingxing to stay in the capital to look after the house, while Ruying and Anyue accompanied her south.
The journey to Sizhou is fraught with danger, and she must be fully prepared.
As for Xie Qi, since his injuries are almost healed, Jiang Zhi doesn't plan to tell him about it, lest he worry or try to stop her.
As for Xiao Xuanyou, she planned to keep it a secret for as long as possible.
Sure enough, in the afternoon, Lu Yuan sent someone to deliver a message saying that the Emperor had not objected to the matter, and she could begin preparing her luggage for the journey south, and they would set off together the next day.
"Miss, how long will it be before you return?" Qingxing asked worriedly as she helped her pack. "Why don't you let me go with you and serve you?"
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but smile. "There's so much gold and silver in the mansion, you have to guard it for me. If I come back and find it missing, I'll definitely hold you accountable."
Qingxing immediately became serious, "Yes, Miss, rest assured, I guarantee with my life that not a single penny will be shortchanged."
"Young Master Xie will be leaving once his injuries have healed. Please prepare some of the best medicine for him to take with him."
"Keep an eye on the Shen family as well. The Shen family has lost its backbone, but fortunately, Steward Lin is holding things together. However, he is getting old, so you should go and check on him more often."
"If His Highness the Crown Prince comes and finds that I am not here, you do not need to hide anything, just tell him the truth. Do not go against him, he will not do anything to you."
"The Jiang residence is closed to visitors. We'll discuss everything when I return. For urgent matters, send me a message by carrier pigeon."
Jiang Zhi explained everything to Qing Xing, one by one.
Qingxing wiped away her tears and wrote everything down.
The next day, Jiang Zhiruying and An Yue left their residence with their luggage.
When they arrived, Lu Yuan was already waiting at the dock.
He led his black horse, traveling light, with only his usual embroidered spring knife slung to his side. He was tall but not overly burly, with broad, straight shoulders, a slender waist, and long, strong legs, exuding the firmness of years of martial arts training.
Jiang Zhi stopped Dark Moon and Shadow, then stepped forward and cupped her hands in greeting to him, "This brave warrior..."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, "You..."
But his brows quickly relaxed. "Princess Qinghe?"
"Lord Lu has a good eye." Jiang Zhi smiled, pursing her lips.
It seems her disguise as a man wasn't too bad; at least Lu Yuan didn't recognize her at first glance.
Lu Yuan looked at the person in front of him.
She wore a dark long robe, and slightly dark makeup concealed her originally fair skin, even covering her neck. Her originally slender figure was hidden by the slightly loose clothing, revealing only her youthful, lean and neat silhouette.
And his height seems to have been increased as well, making him look like a handsome scholar who hasn't fully grown up yet.
He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Jiang Zhi like this for the first time.
Jiang Zhi said, "Lord Lu has been calling me Jiang Qinghe all the way here. Consider me your...cousin."
Lu Yuan couldn't help but glance at this newly appeared "cousin" before nodding, "Alright, the boat has been rented, let's board."
Because he needed to bring Wuli along, Lu Yuan rented a small multi-story ship with two decks.
The upper level is for living, with seven or eight cabins. The lower level is used for storing supplies, boiling water, cooking, etc., and is very spacious.
Renting such a boat to travel from Kyoto to Sishu would be extremely expensive.
Jiang Zhi naturally couldn't take advantage of Lu Yuan, "Lord Lu, I'll cover the cost of renting the boat."
Lu Yuan refused.
"Before her departure, His Majesty bestowed upon her a great deal of gold and silver, saying that the county princess had traveled a thousand miles to find her husband and was a heroine among women. We must not neglect her in terms of food, clothing, lodging and transportation."
Oh, so it's public expenditure.
Jiang Zhi then stopped insisting.
She had only just boarded the ship when she saw Xiao Xuanyou leaning against the ship's side, leisurely sipping tea from his teacup.
"Miss Jiang is in high spirits."
He turned his head and looked at her with a half-smile.
His eyes, however, were cold.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
