Chapter 637

Night fell, and Gu Jiu Ling was directly brought into a carriage; the same carriage also held two young men, already frowning with worry, at a loss.

One of them kept crying, murmuring about his newly wedded lovely wife, until he cried himself exhausted and leaned against the carriage wall to sleep.

For a moment the carriage interior fell into dead silence, outside came repeated cries of vultures.

War and disaster combined; the closer to Ying Prefecture, the more the road was littered with unclaimed corpses.

The vultures' cries grew nearer; the other young man who hadn't slept also shrank back in fear into the carriage corner, trembling.

They were pampered sons of merchant families; when had they ever suffered such hardship in daily life?

Gu Jiu Ling, drowsy from the carriage's jolts, perked up at the sound of the vultures outside and woke with a start.

That cry carried a hint of Longxi accent; Gu Jiu Ling raised her eyebrows and lifted the carriage curtain.

Outside it was pitch black, nothing visible except the swaying tree shadows swinging back and forth with the wind across the open field.

Immediately a lithe figure darted along the tree shadows, and Gu Jiu Ling's eyes lit up at once.

It was Meng!

He had finally caught up to her trail, and Gu Jiu Ling's heart settled completely.

"Don't look around carelessly! Be careful, or I'll gouge out your eyes, you little brat!"

The Duan family guards noticed Gu Jiu Ling lifting the carriage curtain to look outside, hurried over, and lashed her fiercely with a whip.

Gu Jiu Ling hastily drew back, but the whip's tip still broke her skin; she sucked the wounded finger into her mouth, yet the corner of her lips curled into a smile.

Meng lurks in the dark, she in the light; this time, if she doesn't throw Ying Prefecture into chaos, she'll follow that old scoundrel of the Duan family!

The evening was heavy; the manor in the suburbs of the capital looked ordinary from outside, yet inside it was elaborately decorated and splendid.

Layered rockeries; in a scenic spot stood a courtyard exquisitely decorated.

This time the courtyard's main gate was shut tight; the maids and elderly women in the warm pavilion had all been sent away, leaving only Jinzhi, Jiu Yue, and a woman who looked exactly like Gu Jiu Ling.

Except that woman wore Gu Jiu Ling's mask, yet her appearance bore extra caution and anxiety.

No one was in the warm pavilion this time; Li Qiao'er sat beside the bed, her face slightly pale.

"I don't even know how the master is doing now."

"I'm now impersonating the master's appearance, daring not to move even a bit; the people around the Prince are all sharp, so I can't keep pretending to be ill."

Moreover, the master is not that kind of delicate, weak woman; sooner or later she'll reveal a flaw.

Yun Duo had long lost any idea; her heart had already flown to Yanbei Pass.

She had learned all those skills in vain, unable to protect the master's side.

Precisely because the master said having them follow her would arouse suspicion, it would be better to stay at the manor, as long as they could deceive the Prince.

The three of them had already lived in this manor for over a month; the steward of the front courtyard, Zhao, was a close aide of Xiao Yin.

Steward Zhao had sent people over many times, whether there was business or not, to report to the Princess Consort; on these occasions Li Qiao'er almost gave herself away.

That Steward Zhao is extremely shrewd; by now he probably already suspects something.

A hint of conflict flickered across Jiu Yue's brows as she slowly said, "Never mind, things have come to this; we'll go along with the plan and follow the master's orders."

"Whatever the master tells us to do, we do; when the master left, she instructed us several times to delay as much as possible. Now we see it's almost been a month, and we only hope the master's side stays safe."

Li Qiao'er was about to respond when suddenly a low voice came from outside—Steward Zhao's.

One didn't know when Steward Zhao had already entered the courtyard and stood outside the second gate.

Jiu Yue's complexion shifted slightly; she hurried outside, raised her voice a notch, and coldly said to the maids standing with hands lowered in the courtyard, "Are all the residents of this courtyard dead? Steward Zhao has already entered the second gate, yet no one reported it, leaving him waiting out here for so long."

Those few little maids kept begging for mercy; they also wanted to report, but Steward Zhao gave them no chance to speak and rushed straight to the second gate.

Steward Zhao had a square face, a tall stature, and was an old man Xiao Yin brought back from the army.

His hair was white‑tinged, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes; he cupped his fists toward Jiu Yue and said, "Miss Jiu Yue, there's no need to be angry; I also have some urgent matter to report to the Princess Consort—my intrusion was my fault."

Jiu Yue smiled faintly and said, "Steward Zhao, you overstate it, but after all this is where the Princess Consort resides; as a steward of the Prince's mansion, you, given the propriety of men and women not touching, truly should not have barged in."

Jiu Yue gave Steward Zhao no face at all; the master had told her before leaving that this courtyard was highly esteemed, and that anyone who dared to intrude should be scolded outright.

Sure enough, after Jiu Yue's round of veiled threats, Steward Zhao's eyes flickered with depth; he forced himself to apologize: "I was also rash, but I have an urgent matter to report to the Princess Consort; please let her decide—a letter has arrived from the Prince from Heng Prefecture."

"The letter arrived by carrier pigeon at the front courtyard; please have the Princess Consort review it."

"Has the Prince sent a letter?"

Jiu Yue couldn't help but raise her voice a bit; since the Prince and Princess Consort had left the capital together, there had been no word from either.

This was the first letter the Prince had sent back from the front lines; a flicker of joy crossed Jiu Yue's eyes, and she hastily took it in both hands.

Suddenly her fingertips paused slightly; she realized she had been muddle‑headed.

Now the master's whereabouts are unknown; bringing this letter over, who is it even meant for?

Jiu Yue held the letter and smiled: "Thank you, Steward Zhao, for making the trip; I'll now deliver this to the Princess Consort."

Having said that, Jiu Yue turned and walked into the warm pavilion.

Steward Zhao lifted his gaze, fixed on Jiu Yue's retreating back; his smile gradually turned cold, then flitted with helplessness and bitterness.

What letter?

The Prince never sent any letter; even if he used carrier pigeons, he would send it to the Princess Consort, not to the front‑court steward.

Handing it over to the Princess Consort, the Prince never does it so bluntly.

The one in the warm pavilion nowadays is likely an impostor; the real one may have already left the capital.

These days he had thought the Princess Consort was hiding in the manor, and they had been attending her diligently; but whenever they tried to report to her, she never showed her face, claiming indisposition.

At first they thought the Princess Consort fell ill from worrying about the Prince, yet this illness has lasted far too long.

In the process, taking advantage of manor affairs, he had seen the Princess Consort several times, always feeling something was off.

Now I really can't hold back any longer; I employed this scheme to test it out, and indeed upon testing, there was cat's grease.

The condition on Steward Zhao's face is concealed as deeply as possible, and his heart has already been stirred up by huge waves.