Chapter 63: The weak Yan Gui He said all my words! ...
"No way, Azhao, do you want me to leave? I..." Li Yulan was indeed a man who had seen big scenes. His brows drooped, and he looked very lost. Just as he was about to speak, Wen Xuechi suddenly covered his mouth and started coughing.
“Cough cough… cough!”
When he lowered his hand, the handkerchief in his palm was already stained bright red.
"Yan Gui!" Lou Wanqiao was startled, but waved to Li Yulan without caring about anything else. "Get off first. There will be people to take care of you in other carriages. The environment will be no worse than here."
Wen Xuechi held her wrist and said weakly, "Aqiao... I'm fine, don't worry..."
Li Yulan looked at the scene in front of him and felt that it was very familiar.
These are all his words.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry."
"……ah?"
Before Li Yulan could react, he felt his vision go dark and he lost consciousness.
Wen Xuechi felt that the carriage suddenly became much quieter.
The attendant brought Li Yulan to another carriage at the back. When Lou Wanqiao turned around, he met his eyes which were slightly filled with grievance.
"Okay, okay. Where does it hurt? Let me help you take a look." Lou Wanqiao stepped forward and lifted his sleeve. There was a scratch of neither long nor short on his smooth and distinct muscles.
Lou Wanqiao bandaged his wound and then asked, "Does it hurt anywhere else? Why were you coughing up blood just now? Did you suffer an internal injury?"
"It's fine. It will be fine after a few days of recuperation. I have medicine with me, so it won't cause any damage."
"That's good." Lou Wanqiao breathed a sigh of relief. "You should have a good rest."
Wen Xuechi nodded obediently, rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, then wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her palms and interlocking their fingers.
He remained expressionless, but his mind was filled with thoughts.
Well, if I had known this trick was so useful, why would I have endured that man's anger for so long? No wonder he likes to use this method. Although this method is easy to be despised by others, it has to be said that it is indeed effective.
A-Qiao is kind-hearted.
…
When Li Yulan opened his eyes, he was confused for a moment, and when his thoughts slowly came back to him, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Her long eyelashes were lifted up incredibly, and her beautiful eyes were full of disbelief.
I actually lost in such a situation!
No, that's not reasonable.
His eyes darkened, and he lifted the curtain to gaze at the carriage not far ahead, gnashing his teeth. His neck ached slightly, and the burning, suffocating sensation was still vivid. The long-lost shadow of death enveloped him, and Li Yulan felt a strong sense of threat.
Giving up? It's too early.
There's still a long way to go, so we have to keep going...
-
The next few days were peaceful and the carriage left Dali smoothly and was about to enter the customs.
Given Li Yulan's current status within the Jin Kingdom, they could have entered directly. However, Lou Wanqiao reconsidered: after all, he was the prince of Dali, and he hadn't returned in a long time. The Jin people were known for their cunning tactics, and she wondered what they might think. To avoid alerting the enemy, she decided to disguise herself as a passing merchant. This way, she could arrive at the Jin capital unnoticed, giving her time to gather information.
The rumble of the carriage approached the border fortress of the Jin Kingdom.
The towering city walls, built against the mountainside, were imposing and majestic, exuding the ruggedness and awe unique to the north. A long line of merchants and travelers lined up in front of the pass, awaiting inspection. Jin soldiers, clad in sharp armor and wielding long halberds, scanned each person with piercing eyes, conducting a rigorous inspection.
Lou Wanqiao and his caravan slowly merged into the group. She and Wen Xuechi had already changed into more luxurious silk garments and sat in the carriage, seemingly relaxed but in reality, intensely focused. Li Yulan, in the carriage behind, had been instructed not to show up unless necessary.
"Have the pass and manifest been prepared?" Lou Wanqiao asked quietly. Wen Xuechi nodded, observing the security situation through the crack in the car window. "Yes, these are all genuine goods obtained through underworld channels, but the holders have changed their names. The goods are mostly silk and porcelain, and the weapons have been hidden. Routine inspection should be no problem."
The team moved forward slowly, and finally it was their turn.
A grim-faced general guarding the pass came forward with several soldiers and asked in a gruff voice, "Where did it come from? What's on the cart?"
Wen Xuechi was the first to get off the carriage, his face plastered with the smooth smile of a businessman. He slipped a small ingot of gold into the general's hand without leaving any trace. "Thank you for your hard work, General. We are coming from Jiangnan to deliver a batch of silk to the capital. Here are the travel permits and the cargo list."
The general weighed the gold and his expression eased slightly, but he didn't skip the inspection process. He carefully checked the road permit and cargo list, and then signaled the soldiers to check the vehicles and cargo.
The soldiers opened the carriages and cargo boxes, rummaging through the silk inside. Lou Wanqiao's heart raced, his arms seemingly unconsciously folded behind his back, his face remaining calm. Wen Xuechi, on the other hand, chatted with the general about his experiences on the road, distracting him.
When the soldier checked Li Yulan's carriage, he lifted the curtain and saw a "sick accountant" sitting inside with a pale face and constantly coughing. He frowned in disgust, took a quick look and then lowered the curtain.
"Boss, there's nothing wrong!" The soldier reported loudly after finishing the inspection.
The general nodded and was about to wave them off when his eyes suddenly fell on the carriage where Lou Wanqiao was. He walked over, his sharp eyes scanning the walls and base of the carriage.
Wen Xuechi's smile remained unchanged, but his fingers curled slightly in his sleeves. Lou Wanqiao's arms, clasped behind his back, also tensed slightly.
Just then, there was a sudden commotion behind.
It turned out that a caravan that seemed to have some power had a dispute with the soldiers guarding the pass, which immediately attracted the attention of most of the guards.
The general frowned and cursed, his attention diverted. He waved his hand irritably and said to Wen Xuechi, "Alright, alright, hurry up! Don't block the road!"
Wen Xuechi took this opportunity to quickly signal the convoy to start.
The carriage slowly passed through the heavy gate, leaving the clamor of the checkpoint behind. Lou Wanqiao and Wen Xuechi exchanged glances, each seeing a subtle hint of vigilance in the other's eyes. The commotion just now had been too coincidental, and it was unclear whether it was an accident or...
At the same time, in the carriage behind, Li Yulan gently lowered a corner of the curtain, and the corner of his mouth curled up in a very faint arc that no one saw.
He was just an inconspicuous "passerby" who accidentally bumped into the arrogant caravan.
Entering Jin territory, the scenery was quite different from that of Dali. The landscape was more desolate and vast, and the people seemed more sturdy. More Jin cavalry patrols were visible along the way, and the atmosphere was noticeably more tense than on the Dali border.
The group did not stop and headed straight to Shangjing as planned.
A few days later, the majestic outline of Shangjing, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, finally appeared on the horizon. Its walls were high and thick, its watchtowers crisscrossed, and its imposing presence was worthy of a national capital. However, the closer they got, the stricter the inspections became, and the procession into the city moved more slowly.
They encountered more stringent inspections, but some things had been moved away after entering the customs. Now, there were only some harmless things on the carriage. After a few days, they were quite familiar with facing the inspections.
When it was Li Yulan's turn, he still looked frail and sickly. His voice was weak as he answered the soldiers' questions, occasionally punctuated by a few words from a Jin dialect. He sounded like a merchant servant who had been away for a long time and whose accent had changed. Seeing this, the soldiers who were checking him asked a few questions before impatiently letting him pass.
Lou Wanqiao and Wen Xuechi also passed the level safely thanks to their prepared identities and impeccable response.
After entering the city, the caravan did not head to the bustling trading area, but turned into a relatively quiet street and finally drove into the backyard of an inconspicuous-looking inn.
This inn was one of their strongholds when they came to the Jin Kingdom. It was safe enough and easy to hide.
"Finally, I'm in." Lou Wanqiao removed his disguise, his expression solemn. "But this is just the beginning. Shangjing is a dangerous place, and the prince's spies are everywhere."
Li Yulan tore off the disguise on his face. Although he was still pale, his eyes had regained their sharpness. "Leave the rest to me. Ah Zhao, if you have any information you want to find out in the next few days, you can go ahead. I need to go back to the palace tomorrow."
"Return to the palace? Didn't you say we were going to act together? What's the matter? Has the plan changed?"
"Not really," Li Yulan smiled brilliantly at her. "Azhao, if you come with me into the palace, there might be a surprise. As for the others, I have many people here. If Azhao feels at ease, you can have your people act with them. It should be able to bring some benefits."
Lou Wanqiao thought for a moment and nodded.
Wen Xuechi stepped forward and said, "I want to come too."
"...You?" Li Yulan looked him up and down and chuckled. "Sorry, Pingyuan... Oh, I forgot, you can't address me like that here. I don't have such tall guards around me, and you'd be too conspicuous, easily exposed. Besides, weren't you injured a few days ago? ... You don't want to ruin Azhao's plan, do you?"
"You--" The veins on Wen Xuechi's forehead bulged slightly, and his fist was gently pressed down by a hand.
"It's okay. You should get some rest these days." Lou Wanqiao patted the back of his hand. "I'm going to go check out the situation in the Jin Kingdom Palace first, so I can take care of you outside."
Wen Xuechi was reluctant in his heart, but what Lou Wanqiao said was the truth.
He absolutely could not trust Li Yulan. If he had previously suspected him of ill intentions, then his blatant provocation a few days ago had clearly revealed his intentions. However, no matter how one looked at it, Ah Qiao's entry into the palace required him to take care of everything outside and provide for her, becoming her strongest support.
"Ying, pass the order down." Lou Wanqiao walked to the window, gazing out at the sky of the foreign capital. His voice was low and clear. "During this period, everyone else must remain secluded and not leave the inn unless absolutely necessary. All communications must be conducted through a single, absolutely reliable channel. Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, disappear into the flow of people in Shangjing until... the moment when the sword should be unsheathed."
Li Yulan looked at Lou Wanqiao's back as he calmly gave orders, then glanced at Wen Xuechi who was also concentrating beside him. A complex light flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an unknown undercurrent.
He coughed lightly and smiled harmlessly: "Then I'll pick up A Zhao tomorrow."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
