The gong for the second watch has already sounded.
Suddenly, two dark figures appeared on the wall of the backyard, and they seemed to be climbing over the wall with great effort. One of them landed silently first, and then another one jumped down and pressed the previous one to the ground, followed by a suppressed low cry.
"Miss? Are you okay?" Ruhua asked panicked.
"You... climb down from me first." Zhao Pei lay on the bumpy ground, barely breathing.
"Oh." Ruhua climbed down from her with a blushing face and hurriedly helped her up: "Miss, are you okay?"
Zhao Pei held his chest and sat up, looked around at the hazy night, pulled Ruhua's sleeve and said, "It's not appropriate to stay here for long, let's go quickly."
In the dark night, two dark shadows flashed by like phantoms and were no longer seen.
A thin layer of mist rose in the early morning, shrouding the Pearl and Jade Pavilion in mist. Qingqing walked through the fragrant path in the garden, but could not hear the laughter and noise that had been boiling in the past. Thinking that the second young lady must be worried, she shook her head and smiled, wanting to comfort her. Seeing that the door was not locked, she pushed it open and entered the house.
"Miss." Qingqing called out, but no one responded. Looking around, everything was clean and tidy. Feeling uneasy, she saw a plain letter on the brocade table. She quickly picked it up and opened the envelope. Seeing a few big words written on it, Xiumei couldn't help but frown.
Wear it and go. Don't look for it.
》》》》》》》
One day later.
On the official road leading to Youzhou, a light carriage was galloping, raising a cloud of dust.
In the carriage, a girl in blue was trying her best to control her body from swaying from side to side and shaking up and down, while frowning and asking a boy in red who was resting his eyes beside her.
"Miss, do we have to run so far?" I couldn't help but ask after all.
"What if we get caught?" The young man in red opened his eyes and pouted.
She couldn't hide her worry in her brows: "But, Miss. Are we taking too much risk? The master and the young master will definitely be very worried. What's more, if the emperor blames us and it affects the mansion... Miss, we should go back."
The young man in red glared at her and raised his voice: "You must be joking. I'm already out, how can I turn back? If I go back, I'll have to marry that Xiao Yi! I don't want that. If you regret it, go back by yourself."
She couldn't do anything about him, so she could only sigh: "Ruhua must be with you, young lady. But young lady, why don't you ask the Sixth Prince for help? He will definitely help you."
"Don't mention him to me." Zhao Pei frowned. How could she dare to tell Xiao Lun. If she told him, she didn't know where he would hide her in Yangzhou. How could she be as free as she was? However, Youzhou... was a bit far away. After all, she had never been far away and had only seen those places in books. She thought for a moment and murmured, "Forget it, let's not go to Youzhou. Just find a random place." As long as she could escape from them, it would be fine.
The road is long and the way is long. No one knows whether the road she has chosen is the right one.
The two walked north and stopped at a small town called Yongchang.
This place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful scenery. Zhao Pei thought this place was the best, and it was far away from Jiankang City, so it should be safe. So he and Ruhua found an inn to rest.
The inn was not very big, with only two floors. The staircase was shaky and in disrepair, as if it would break if you walked too fast. The servant led the two upstairs, opened the door to the upper room, and stood at the door without going in. He looked up and down at the man and woman with a strange look in his eyes.
In order to save money, Zhao Pei only booked an upper room. But she forgot about her masculine attire. She understood the servant's gaze, blushed slightly, and glared at him angrily. While pushing Ruhua into the room, she said, "Why are you staring at my wife?"
The boy suddenly realized and smiled awkwardly, but the door slammed shut.
The servant shook his head and went down the stairs, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief. It was really strange that in this day and age, a small inn would actually meet such a young couple, and the husband was even more handsome than the wife.
"Miss, what nonsense are you talking about?" Ruhua's face turned red after hearing what Zhaopei had just said.
Zhao Pei approached her with amusement, and said jokingly: "You don't want to stay with an unrelated man. I am protecting your reputation, young lady."
She sang a long tune and pinched Ruhua's chin, which was extremely frivolous. Ruhua blushed and started to organize a pile of clothes. Zhaopei grabbed the bag from her hand and threw it on the bed, then pulled her away: "Let's go outside."
"Ah? But..." Ruhua was dragged out of the room by her, thinking with some annoyance, the young lady looked like she didn't want to escape at all, but seemed to be going on a trip... (To be continued)