Chapter 17 - You risked yourself to save me from shame and humiliation (3)

Zhou Xiaoxiao had already laid a blanket on the ground and throw their bundles of items onto the side in a mess.

Zhou Xiaoxiao shoved Yu Xingzhi under the sacrificial table and said, “Wait here for me.” After she said that, she was about to leave when Yu Xingzhi pulled on her wrist.

Yu Xingzhi softly called, “Dujuan.”

He slowly revealed a look of disapproval.

Zhou Xiaoxiao laughed and she touched her nose, saying in an embarrassed manner, “I also have another name: Zhou Xiaoxiao. You can also call me Xiaoxiao.”

She pried Yu Xingzhi’s hand away and said, “Wait here for me and I will be back quickly. You don’t need to worry.”

The door to Dongcheng was just opened and there were only a few people entering and exiting the city. The soldiers guarding the city were yawning and they were bored. There was a person with the surname Zheng who had led 100-200 soldiers and rushed here, standing guard at the door. He was yelling, “Make sure the thieves don’t get away!” He ordered people to close the city door and only allow people to come in and not out. The person on shift tonight hurried over to report.

“What is the matter? Why is the local magistrate so anxious?”

“You don’t know but there was a thief this morning who dared to set the Lin Manor on fire, injuring his youngest son. The lord was extremely angry and ordered the city doors to be closed and for us to investigate strictly. We are given a limited amount of time to capture the culprit.”

The people guarding the city gates were taken by surprise before asking, “What should we do? When we opened the door, we already let numerous people in and out of the city. One of them had ridden the Lin Manor’s horse out of the city.”

“Is that so? Are you sure you saw it clearly?”

“This guard has interacted with the second son of the Lin Manor for some time, so I recognize the mark on the horse’s butt. In addition the riders were wearing the servant outfit from the Lin Manor.”

“Is there one or two people on the horse? Have you seen their appearance clearly?”

When the city gate was opened, the guards were being lazy and had slacked off from their duty. They had only asked a single soldier to watch the gate. The guard had only a quick glance and saw the Lin Manor’s horse and the riders in servant uniform. Because Lin Residence was usually ostentatious with their actions, he was too lazy to ask about it.

The guard knew that he would be in trouble, so he randomly made up an excuse. “Because that horse was too quick, I wasn’t able to see their appearance clearly. But there was only one rider and he was carrying… a person on his back! They passed through the city gate and headed towards the main road.

The local magistrate with surname Zheng was delighted. He thought that he would be greatly rewarded for capturing the fugitive for sure. While ordering someone to go back and report, he led another group of people to chase after them.

While the city gates were in chaos, a young farmer carried an empty wagon casually entered the city.

Local magistrate Zheng and the others rushed pass the farmer, no one paid attention to the ordinary looking farmer. She looked back at the group rushing pass her and blinked her lively and bright eyes, revealing a crafty smile.

As it turned out, Zhou Xiaoxiao knew that it wouldn’t be easy to escape with Yu Xingzhi, especially since he was injured. So, she came up with a plan. She wore the Lin Manor’s servant outfit and carried a rolled up blanket on her back, then she rushed out of the city gate. After that, she hid Yu Xingzhi in the temple which wasn’t far from the city. Next, she changed into the clothes she had long prepared and went back to the city, acting like an ordinary farmer. This way, the soldiers would chase her out of the city, instead of looking for her within the city.