PDLP Chapter 11: Leaving Home, Night Guards Lose Track
Chapter 11: Leaving Home, Night Guards Lose Track
Gollum-
The carriage slowly drove out of the city along the wide official road, its wheels making a soft, crisp sound as they rolled over the snow.
Along the way, the earth was covered in snow, and all things were asleep in the winter.
Green Bamboo asked curiously, "Miss, it's strange that no one stopped us from leaving the manor today."
Since the passing of the master, the second master has kept the young lady confined under the guise of mourning, forbidding her from leaving the Zhenguo Duke's mansion even for a moment, and making it extremely difficult for Lüyun to go out to shop.
Today, the young lady suddenly said she wanted to go to Xuanzhen Temple, and she actually came out smoothly. The servants acted as if they didn't see the two of them, and they had no trouble getting through the journey. It was unbelievable.
Everything went too smoothly, so smoothly that even Lü Yun felt a little uneasy.
She even suspected that the Second Master and Second Miss might have set up an ambush on the road, waiting for them to fall into a trap.
"Perhaps they were busy and didn't notice us."
Chu Lengyu answered casually, reached out and lifted the curtain on the car window, looking at the scenery passing by outside, her face still indifferent.
The winter sun shone on half of her cheek, casting a warm glow on her eyebrows and eyes, making her look gentle and beautiful.
Green Bamboo looked at it and curled the corners of her mouth.
Although the young lady didn't say it, she was still very happy to go out.
Lüyun leaned against the carriage and murmured, "It's been a long time since I left the city, and it's also been a long time since I've seen Master Lin and Brother Ji."
The last time I saw them was at the old man's funeral. Two or three years have passed in the blink of an eye. Time flies.
Lü Yun was somewhat saddened, while Chu Lengyu was still lost in thought.
This morning she received a reward for her third diary entry.
【drop! 】
[The host has completed yesterday's diary entry.]
[Rewards: One storage bag, 10,000 taels of gold.]
【Do you want to claim the reward now? 】
Chu Lengyu was slightly taken aback by the new diary reward.
After she chose to claim it, she received a storage bag. It looked ordinary, but it could hold all kinds of things.
If one were to probe into it with their divine sense, they would see in a corner rows of gold bars neatly stacked together, gleaming brightly.
Chu Lengyu recalled the contents of her diary from last night and asked, "Is the reward I received related to the contents of my diary?"
She mentioned gold in her diary yesterday, and today she received gold.
In response to her question, the system only gave one sentence.
[Please explore on your own. 】
It was for this reason that Chu Lengyu decided to go out and head to Xuanzhen Temple.
Xuanzhen Temple is one of the ten temples of the Great Xia Dynasty, with a branch located outside the capital. My adoptive father had a good relationship with Xuanzhen Temple, and the original owner of this body was often brought to Xuanzhen Temple for meditation when he was young.
Chu Lengyu's purpose in going out this time was to explore the profound knowledge and resources of Xuanzhen Temple's collection of books.
She possessed unparalleled swordsmanship, yet the system hadn't provided her with any sword techniques. Furthermore, given her status, it wasn't convenient for her to go to martial arts schools or similar places to inquire about sword techniques.
After much thought, I believe that a trip to Xuanzhen Temple offers the best chance of gaining something from the experience.
Even though she possesses a cultivation system, she still holds the wisdom of her ancestors in high esteem.
She admired the scenery for a while, then lowered the curtain and asked Lüyun, "Where is the 'golden pearl' I gave you yesterday?"
Green Bamboo took out her purse and returned it: "I listened to Miss and pawned ten pills. The rest are here."
Chu Lengyu took the purse, opened it, and glanced inside. The number of gold beads that had materialized was less, but there were several rolled-up silver notes and a pawn ticket.
Chu Lengyu only took out these fake gold beads as a temporary measure. She had planned to exchange them for genuine ones at a pawnshop when she had the money, to avoid the illusion malfunctioning in a month and harming others.
Now that I've acquired a fortune in gold, I don't think I'll be short of money anytime soon.
She took out the pawn ticket and silver note, removed the illusion from the purse, and set it aside, waiting for an opportunity to throw it away.
Hmm, wait a minute, this bag of pebbles might still be useful.
Chu Lengyu thought for a moment and simply put the silver notes, pawn tickets, and the purse containing the stones into her storage bag. Under the cover of illusion, Lüyun could not see anything wrong.
It would seem too strange to let Lüyun redeem the "golden pearl" now. She should go herself later. Maybe she can find a bargain at the pawnshop.
……
at the same time.
A secret outpost of the Night Guard.
"Disappeared? Two perfectly healthy people, and you managed to lose them?"
The Night Guard commander reprimanded in a low voice.
"You can't even complete such a simple task? Are you all useless?!"
The two night guards responsible for tracking and monitoring Chu Lengyu were kneeling in front of him, trembling.
They kept their heads down, not daring to breathe, for fear of angering this cold-blooded commander, and even less daring to utter a single word in their defense.
The Night Guards obey only the Emperor's orders and are a secret department independent of the Great Xia court.
Outsiders have no idea about the internal workings of the Night Guard, and there is no one to oversee them.
The Night Guard has a strict hierarchy, and its commander wields immense power, almost having the final say on life and death.
Moreover, the position is passed down from father to son, and from brother to brother. Once a member becomes a Night Guard, the entire family, regardless of age or gender, belongs to the Night Guard and is never free for generations.
This also means that every Night Guard has to do their best to climb the ranks for the sake of their family.
Squad leader Lou Qing had no choice but to withstand the pressure, step forward, bow deeply, and apologize to him:
"Commander, we know our sins. We failed to complete the mission this time and are willing to accept punishment. However, completing His Majesty's mission is more important. Chu Lengyu and her maid Lüyun must not have gone far. We beg you to give us another chance."
The commander squinted at him for a moment and said, "Hmph, then I'll give you another chance. If you can't make amends, don't blame me for not showing you any mercy."
"Yes, thank you for your kindness, Commander," Lou Qing said, bowing his head.
"Thank you for your kindness, Commander," the two squad members echoed.
"Get out of here." The commander waved his hand dismissively.
The three of them went back and walked a long way to make sure no one was around before they dared to talk.
"I, Lao Wu, swear that I was watching the Chu family from the roof the whole time, and I didn't see Chu Lengyu and the others come out of the room at all."
"I was watching the back courtyard, and I definitely saw them leave!"
"That's really strange. I was keeping watch nearby and didn't see them go in or out... Hey, wait a minute."
Lou Qing recalled that a carriage had quietly left through the back gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion this morning.
He didn't see anyone get on the carriage, and it drove away on its own. He thought the Chu family had sent the carriage to pick someone up elsewhere, but so much time has passed and the carriage hasn't returned.
Looking back now, only this carriage was the most suspicious.
It is highly likely that Chu Lengyu borrowed this carriage to leave the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, but how she left her residence and boarded the carriage was something neither they nor the servants of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion saw.
The three immediately went to the various city gates to inquire and learned that the carriage had already left the city through the east gate.
Lou Qing quickly recalled Chu Lengyu's past information and came to a conclusion.
"Xuanzhen Temple!"
"Let's go, let's hurry and chase after them."