The Double-Chapter 637 - 192 Encounter_2

They had always been very cautious, and Jiang Li, left with no choice, could only act very obedient. If she displayed too much resistance, it might provoke the two of them. She had to keep in mind that she couldn’t even move a chopstick right now; if she really confronted this pair, she would be utterly helpless.

She wanted to listen carefully to where Zhao Ke and Wen Ji were heading, but it was too noisy outside. She not only failed to hear Zhao Ke and Wen Ji’s footsteps, but instead, the voices of people at the neighboring table discussing matters seeped into her ears.

"Everyone, do you think there will be a war? This is not Yanjing, Huangzhou is so far from Yanjing City; if a war breaks out, we will suffer. When those troops arrive, we would likely have been killed off by then!"

"Nonsense, if there’s really a war, of course it will head towards Yanjing City, why would it come to our Huangzhou? Huangzhou doesn’t even have..." The surroundings suddenly fell silent. The speaker seemed to realize what they had said and quickly swallowed back the words "emperor" that were almost spoken.

Prince Cheng had fled, but up to this point, he was only known for his affairs with the concubines of Emperor Hongxiao, with no sign of plotting a rebellion with cavalry. If they were accused of spreading rumors and causing trouble, their heads would roll.

As Jiang Li listened to these people talk, her heart gave a startled jump. Huangzhou? Had they already reached Huangzhou?

These past few days, Jiang Li had been on a carriage the whole time, speaking to almost no one except this man and woman. Even when staying at inns, whether it was the servers or guests, they all avoided her like the plague. Jiang Li was unable to figure out exactly where they were, but from getting off the carriage to eat every day, she could see the passing scenery indicated they were heading south.

How had they ended up in Huangzhou in just a few days?

Suddenly, Jiang Li recalled a rumor that Empress Dowager Liu’s hometown was in Huangzhou. Could it be that Prince Cheng intended to start his rebellion in Huangzhou? The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, especially since Emperor Hongxiao’s sudden attack caught Prince Cheng unprepared. With Yanjing City on full alert, they wouldn’t allow Prince Cheng to execute his initial plan. Retreating to Huangzhou and starting from there was indeed Prince Cheng’s style. The prince was both arrogant and cowardly, believing he was far stronger than Emperor Hongxiao, yet always feeling nothing was foolproof.

Her heart roiled like stormy waves, but her face betrayed no emotion. She allowed the woman to feed her carefully, fasten her veil meticulously, and help her onto the carriage. The man went to settle the bill.

Jiang Li was assisted by the woman as they walked outside. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Stepping out, she was suddenly taken aback.

Not far from the tavern, a black and gold palanquin was parked; Jiang Li’s throat tightened, her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

It was Jih Heng’s palanquin, and Jih Heng was nearby!

Jiang Li had ridden that palanquin to the Duke Residence and knew that only someone as delicate and picky as Jih Heng would have such a vehicle. She didn’t know why he had come to Huangzhou, and with Zhao Ke and Wen Ji not around, there was no one in front of the palanquin to tell her whether it was occupied. If their conversation earlier was anything to go by, they had already left this place. Thus, it appeared to be an empty palanquin with no one inside.

But for some reason, Jiang Li had an intuition that the person inside was Jih Heng, that he was there.

Unable to help herself, Jiang Li wanted to stop. Her body was weak, entirely dependent on the woman, allowing her to be guided. She bit her lip hard, trying to clear her mind and gain some strength as if that would help. She leaned to the right, attempting to break free from the woman’s hold.

The woman was startled by Jiang Li’s sudden burst of energy and struggled to react. Just as Jiang Li managed to break free, desiring to rush to the palanquin’s side, she collapsed to the ground without the woman’s support, like a limp sack.

Jiang Li fell to the ground suddenly, drawing the attention of everyone around them. The man, having paid the silver, came out and saw this scene, walking over to ask, "What happened?"

The woman hastened to crouch down and help Jiang Li up, smiling, "She just tripped over a stone and lost her footing, slipping as a result." She pretended to be concerned, patting Jiang Li’s body, which caused Jiang Li to cough loudly twice. Beneath her lifted veil, the red scars on her face showed through. The passersby who had been curiously looking this way immediately backed off a step, covering their noses as if afraid of being contaminated by Jiang Li, keeping their distance. They no longer spared her a second glance.

The woman said, "Sister, be more careful from now on, don’t slip again. Watch your step."

Though the words were caring, they didn’t sound kind.

Beneath her veil, Jiang Li silently called out Jih Heng’s name over and over, but until she was put on the carriage, the palanquin remained still, no one came down from it, nor did anyone speak.

He did not discover Jiang Li, and thus they brushed past each other. Or perhaps he was not in the palanquin at all, and everything was just Jiang Li’s wishful thinking.

Once on the carriage, the man immediately ordered the coachman to set off. As the carriage began to move, the man asked the woman, "What happened just now? Why weren’t you more careful in your duties?"

The woman replied irritably, "That wench still thought of escaping, truly hopeless. I thought she had been quite compliant these past days; I didn’t expect she still had such tricks up her sleeve."

"Escape?" The man had a look of plain features but with that slight hint of malevolence that made him instantly unlikable. He patted Jiang Li’s face and said, "Where could she escape to? Now that we’ve arrived here, little beauty, you had better behave, to avoid some suffering."

"Don’t you be getting any ideas about her," the woman warned. "She’s the person the royal highness wanted."