That very evening, Lu Jinshuang went to the imperial palace to see Consort Qin—by unofficial means, of course.
When Consort Qin learned that her daughter wanted to go out and explore, she did not object. She merely reminded her earnestly, “Be careful in everything you do while you’re away. Not everyone fears the imperial family. In fact, some martial artists despise royals. Keep a low profile, and don’t let your martial skills make you careless. Remember, there is always someone stronger. The two princesses are proof of that.”
Lu Jinshuang nodded with a smile. “Mother, don’t worry. Mu Jin and the others will be coming with me. Nothing will happen.”
She had wanted to go out and have some fun for a long time but had never had the chance. She had originally planned to stay behind and help Lu Qianning, but after receiving all those hidden weapons from Xi Qingyue, it seemed her presence—or absence—would make little difference.
Lu Jinshuang stayed in Consort Qin’s palace for half an hour before leaving. After returning to her own residence, she gave her trusted subordinates a careful set of instructions before finally putting the matter to rest.
Early the next morning, Lu Jinshuang and Mu Jin left the city in a carriage as soon as the gates opened. As they departed, she casually remarked, “Mu Jin, hurry up. Don’t keep Yue waiting, or she’ll get angry and refuse to come back to my residence with me.”
By the time the court officials learned that Xi Qingyue and her sister had left the capital for good, three days had already passed.
At first, they assumed that Xi Qingyue and her sister had merely gone out to have fun with Lu Jinshuang. It was only after several days had passed without seeing either of them that someone thought to visit Lu Qianning’s residence and ask what was going on.
Lu Qianning looked at the steward from the Eighth Prince’s residence and replied calmly, “You’re asking about Yue? They left the capital several days ago. They’ve gone traveling, and there’s no telling when they’ll return. Did you need them for something?”
The steward’s face stiffened.
In reality, they had spent the past several days lying in wait outside the city, intending to use force to make Xi Qingyue treat the Eighth Prince. But after waiting for days, they had seen no sign of her returning to the capital.
Unable to hold back, he asked, “But the Seventh Princess said…”
He wanted to ask what the Seventh Princess had meant by her words at the city gate, but in the end, he could not bring himself to say it.
Lu Qianning smiled as she answered, “You mean Seventh Sister? Ah, she wanted them to stay in the capital a little longer, so she went to bring them back. I suppose she failed to catch up with them. Why? Is there a problem?”
The steward hurriedly shook his head. “No… no problem.”
Grinding his teeth, he finished speaking and quickly took his leave of the princess’s residence.
As he walked away, he continued cursing Lu Jinshuang inwardly. That Seventh Princess was truly shameless. If not for what she had said, they would probably have sent people after Xi Qingyue long ago instead of wasting several days.
The people from Duke Anguo’s household and several other residences were cursing Lu Jinshuang in their hearts as well. They had all assumed that Xi Qingyue would return to the capital and never imagined that she had simply left.
After all, there were many estates and gardens on the outskirts of the capital. Since no one knew which one Xi Qingyue had gone to, they had not dared to conduct a large-scale search.
At that moment, Duke Anguo was hopping mad.
“How devious! She left, yet still said such misleading things. The Seventh Princess must have done it on purpose. Someone! Prepare the carriages. Take the Hereditary Prince south. Even if we have to tie them up, we must make them treat him!”
The Duchess immediately objected. “Absolutely not!”
She looked at Duke Anguo with deep disapproval. “The road south is far from safe. Refugees and bandits are everywhere, and Wen Liang’s leg is still injured. Aside from the hardship of traveling, he could easily attract unwanted attention. It’s far too dangerous.”
Duke Anguo’s expression darkened. “Then what are we supposed to do? The imperial physicians said that once three months have passed, Wen Liang’s leg will never be cured.”
He paced back and forth, his face ashen with frustration. If only he had listened to his son and risked going after them earlier. Now that they had left, he could not even find them.
Just as he was growing desperate, the Duchess suddenly said, “Find Ruoshu. Have her travel with Wen Liang. Prince Kang’s fief lies in the south, and he’s Ruoshu’s cousin. He’ll certainly be able to help.”
Duke Anguo also felt that the idea made sense. The two of them immediately went to the Ministry of Personnel to personally ask Bai Ruoshu to return with them.
Meanwhile, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan were driving their motorhome slowly along the official road.
The vehicle was still operating in self-driving mode, but it was moving much more slowly than it had at dusk. A crowd of refugees ahead had blocked their path.
Xi Qingyue honked the horn, hoping the refugees would clear a way for them. But when they heard the horn and turned around, they were so startled by the motorhome that they completely forgot to move aside. Some of them could not help exclaiming, “Heavens! What kind of monster is that?”
Xi Qingyue kept her hand on the horn, her face filled with irritation. Every time, these people needed ages to recover from their shock before finally making way. At this rate, they might as well be moving at a snail’s pace.
But she really did not want to travel at night and sleep during the day. She was only eight years old—how could she keep staying up all night?
Xi Weilan, seated in the passenger seat, gazed at the crowded road ahead in confusion. “Sister, aren’t they afraid of our vehicle? Why do they keep staring at it?”
Xi Qingyue shook her head helplessly. “We’re moving too slowly for them to see us as a threat. Instead, they think we’re some kind of curiosity. If we went faster, we’d end up running people over. We’re not bloodthirsty killers.”
The smug satisfaction she had felt after leaving the capital had vanished after only a few days. She had wanted to drive the motorhome comfortably all the way to Jiangnan.
She brought the vehicle to a complete stop. If they could not move, then they simply would not move. At worst, they could switch to a smaller vehicle.
The refugees stared at the motorhome with undisguised curiosity. Some even began entertaining ideas they should not have, but their instinctive fear kept them from taking action.
Looking at the road outside, Xi Qingyue sighed inwardly. The road was far too narrow. If they were in a desert, she could drive wherever she pleased.
Then she suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up.
“Weilan, we won’t travel by land anymore. We’ll take the waterways instead. There won’t be so many things blocking us on the water, and we can go as fast as we want.”
She felt as if she had lost her mind. How had she thought of traveling only by land? She was such an idiot.
Xi Weilan’s eyes widened with anticipation. “Sister, do you mean the speedboat you mentioned?”
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. “Yes. We’ll take a yacht—one a little bigger than a speedboat. I’ll show you the scenery along the way.”
Xi Weilan clapped her hands happily. She loved anything new and exciting.
Outside the motorhome, several refugees circled the vehicle, a calculating glint flashing through their eyes.
Suddenly, a long-faced man shouted to the others, “Everyone, come take a look! There must be food and water inside something this strange. Let’s work together and break it open. Whoever gets something can keep it!”
Xi Qingyue had not intended to bother with them. She knew that these refugees were having a difficult time, but rushing up to rob them was simply too shameless.
She sighed and opened the vehicle door before stepping outside. “Sigh. I had no intention of killing anyone, but you insist on coming here to die.”
She held up a pistol without a silencer and aimed it at the long-faced man in charge, her voice cold. “If you don’t want to die, get lost.”
When the long-faced man saw her step out of the vehicle, he froze for a moment. But after realizing that she was only a child, he burst into laughter.
Pointing at Xi Qingyue, he shouted to the other refugees, “Don’t be afraid! She’s just a little brat. Kill her, and everything she has will be ours!”
“Bang!” “Bang!” …
Several more shots rang out in quick succession. The long-faced man and the few people beside him instantly collapsed to the ground.
The other refugees were so frightened by the sight that they hurriedly backed away, keeping as far from her carriage as possible. Some even turned and ran.
Xi Qingyue swept her eyes over the surrounding refugees, satisfied only then that she returned to the carriage.
As she climbed aboard, she cursed the old emperor under her breath once again. They were already beyond the capital, yet there were still so many refugees. The entire court was nothing but a bunch of useless fools.
