The Jinyiwei have actually been following us all along, and Miss Jun also knew about it.
These Jinyiwei, totaling just five men, followed at a consistent distance, neither too close nor too distant, and made no effort to hide or avoid detection.
The incident involving deaths caused by the smallpox vaccine occurred within Xiangzhou's jurisdiction, and after over half a month of dealing with the matter, the situation had stabilized. Then Miss Jun suddenly left Xiangzhou, heading west, and three days later abruptly turned north, by which time she had entered Cizhou.
Such sudden movements were designed to throw off these five Jinyiwei.
"It seems they were only following to monitor and haven't been hostile," said Miss Jun, "but I really don't know them well. They are not idly following me; it's just that the time to take action hasn't arrived yet."
"So has the time for action arrived now?" asked Lei Zhonglian, who was both angry and puzzled. "Shouldn't we head back then? We're familiar with the way."
Why go to these unfamiliar places in the north?
"Would familiar roads guarantee safety?" Miss Jun asked. "As I said before, their failure to act isn't because we have the upper hand in numbers; rather, their time to strike has simply not come yet."
Lei Zhonglian nodded, although he hadn't seen these Jinyiwei up close, he did occasionally catch glimpses of their fleeting figures from a distance.
The skills of these men were no ordinary affair.
"As for why I'm heading this way, apparently taking the long route." Miss Jun smiled, looking at Lei Zhonglian, "I learned it from Noble Son Jiu."
Noble Son Jiu.
Lei Zhonglian paused, remembering the woodcutter.
"He originally headed towards the capital from the northern lands," continued Miss Jun. "But he took a detour to Shanxi to shake off the Jinyiwei."
So, Noble Son Jiu was intending to go to the capital.
Lei Zhonglian thought, looking at Miss Jun again.
She knew everything so clearly—could it be they had met again in the capital? However, he was no longer the person that used to incessantly ask 'why'.
But now, instead of him, someone else had questions.
"Who is Noble Son Jiu?" inquired Liu'er from the side.
"He's the Duke of Chengguo's heir," answered Miss Jun.
Lei Zhonglian froze for an instant, unsure of what to say.
The Duke of Chengguo's heir! So that was Noble Son Jiu! The Duke of Chengguo!
Suddenly, Lei Zhonglian felt a burning excitement coursing through him.
"...Don't get too anxious if the Jinyiwei continue chasing us," the voice of Miss Jun followed, "letting them follow us is not necessarily a bad thing; if they find that we've disappeared and they lose control, they will be more guarded and force us into a worse situation, which is not conducive to shaking them off."
Lei Zhonglian's thoughts felt slightly hazy.
"Is this also the Duke's... no, the Duke of Chengguo's heir's strategy?" he asked unconsciously.
Miss Jun laughed and affirmed, stating that it was precisely this tactic that allowed him to elude the Jinyiwei and freely reach the capital, ensuring enough freedom to do as he intended while maintaining an air of legitimacy.
Miss Jun gazed forward—now in Cizhou, and still a considerable distance from the Duke of Chengguo's Baozhou...
It was indeed a long way off.
But perhaps, it might be worth trying to make it there?
Lost in thought, Miss Jun was not the only one; Lei Zhonglian also grew reflective, and without fully grasping what he had just said, he spurred his horse to absent-mindedly rejoin the escort company.
"What's with Lord Lei? What did Miss Jun say?" Several escorts noticing his unusual demeanor, eagerly enquired with concern.
Upon hearing their voices, Lei Zhonglian seemed to snap back to alertness, glowering at them.
"Do you know who taught you the formations I asked you to learn?" he questioned.
The escorts exchanged glances—they knew their formations differed from those of other bodyguard businesses, and were aware Lei Zhonglian had accompanied Miss Jun to Runan, even passing through a killing formation set by government soldiers disguised as bandits.
They had always thought it was taught by the Fang Family.
"It was the Duke of Chengguo's heir," Lei Zhonglian said hoarsely, his expression intense, "That's the Duke of Chengguo's Array."
It was actually the Duke of Chengguo.
The escorts present also started to show excitement.
"No wonder it's so formidable."
"We've really gotten the true teachings from the Duke of Chengguo."
"So you knew the Duke of Chengguo's heir, Lord Lei."
Thinking of that noisy young man who was always pestering for money, Lei Zhonglian truly hadn't expected he had actually weathered a life-and-death struggle alongside the Duke of Chengguo's heir.
"Anyway, Miss Jun definitely knows him."
"Yeah, it's said that in the capital, the Duke of Chengguo's heir and Thousand-Man Commander Lu fought over Miss Jun."
Rumors about Miss Jun being fought over in the capital naturally spread to Yangcheng as well, but such gossip was disrespectful to Miss Jun, and anyone speaking of it openly would be spat upon; thus, it was only uttered in private chats.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lei Zhonglian immediately snapped out of it.
"Nonsense." He rebuked.
The escorts immediately fell silent, awkwardly smiling.
Lei Zhonglian, of course, was also aware of those rumors that said the Duke of Chengguo's heir admired Miss Jun's beauty and fought over her. Initially, he also thought it might be the case, after all, a fair lady is a nobleman's favored match, but now knowing that Noble Son Jiu was the Duke of Chengguo's heir, Lei Zhonglian understood what was really going on.
"What really happened?" The escorts asked with curiosity.
"Because Miss Jun paid money." Lei Zhonglian said with composure.
.........
"Achoo."
A horse's tail swept past, and Zhu Zan, dressed in servant's clothes, sneezed. Annoyed, he kicked the horse.
"Scram, go eat over there."
The horse, shaking its tail, made its way to the feed trough, and Zhu Zan dug his ear before squatting down in front of the hitching post, with a solemn expression.
"Second brother."
Someone called from outside while two heads peeked inside.
Sifeng still held a handkerchief to her nose.
Zhu Zan squatting in front of the wooden post did not look up, just waved his hand.
Sifeng and Zhang Baotang walked in.
"It stinks to death here, and you really came to feed the horses?" Sifeng said.
Zhu Zan did not pay attention to her, deeply in thought.
Sifeng raised her eyebrows.
"Miss Jun has had an incident," she said again.
Zhu Zan raised his head, frowning.
"What happened to her this time?" he asked with a mix of disdain and impatience, "Was there an issue with the smallpox vaccine that got her beaten up?"
Sifeng giggled, about to tease when Zhang Baotang couldn't wait any longer.
"No, the smallpox vaccine is fine, it's taken care of," he said, "But Miss Jun has disappeared."
Zhu Zan grunted twice.
"That woman is very cunning," he said, "Who knows where she's run off to this time."
"People from Lu Yunqi are also looking for her." Sifeng said.
Zhu Zan grunted again twice.
"Let them look. We'll see if they can catch her," he said, "If it comes down to it, just kill another one and be done with it."
Kill another one?
This usage of "another" definitely carried multiple meanings.
Zhang Baotang and Sifeng immediately looked around, on alert.
"No need to be nervous, there's no one else around here but animals," Zhu Zan said, and after a moment of thought added, "Besides horses, there are no other animals."