Chapter 152: No, No, No, Miss Lin, That’s Not What I Meant
When the person being tracked jumped onto the branches, Lin Xin suddenly reached out from the side, cleanly and neatly striking the back of his neck with a hand chop, then catching his limp falling body and gracefully descending from the tree.
“Miss Lin, this is?” Chu Yu quickly stopped the horse carriage and jumped down from it himself, taking the skinny man in black from her hands.
“He was the one following us just now. I estimate he was sent to confirm if Tao Tao is in our carriage. Search his body and see if he has anything that can send a signal.”
Chu Yu placed the man on the ground and began searching his body. Sure enough, he found a bamboo tube used for signaling from his chest.
“Do you know how to use this thing?” Lin Xin examined it thoroughly for a while before handing it back to Chu Yu and asking.
Chu Yu shook his head. “I know how to use it, but we don’t know what he was signaling for.”
Lin Xin nodded, then took out the porcelain bottle, poured out a pill from it, and stuffed it into the man’s mouth. Just as she was about to put it away, she unintentionally noticed Chu Yu’s curious and envious gaze, so she simply tossed the porcelain bottle into his arms too. “If you like it, it’s yours, but there’s not much left inside.”
Chu Yu happily caught it, treasured it by tucking it into his chest, and said delightedly: “Not much is fine. We can use it at the key moment. It might just save a lot of lives!”
Lin Xin nodded, estimating that the time was about right, then punched the man’s ribs. He groaned in pain and woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the unfamiliar faces of Lin Xin and Chu Yu. He instinctively tried to shout, but Chu Yu quickly grabbed a handful of grass from the roadside and stuffed it into his mouth, then pinned his hands to the ground.
“Mmm mmm~” The taste of the wild grass by the road was not pleasant at all. The man gagged repeatedly from the bitterness, but with his hands bound, he couldn’t remove the grass from his mouth, and the filth he retched up couldn’t come out either. He struggled desperately, nearly passing out again from the disgust.
“No shouting, or I’ll make sure you never make a sound again.” Chu Yu drew a dagger from his boot and held it close to the man’s nose tip. The blade gleaming with cold light nearly made him cross-eyed. He hurriedly nodded vigorously, afraid that Chu Yu might accidentally slash his face.
After threatening him enough, Chu Yu removed the grass from his mouth and asked: “Why were you on the tree?”
“I… I followed you here. I’ve been following you since you set out.” The man answered very quickly, without the slightest hesitation. It was unclear if he was just scared or if the pill was especially effective on him.
“Why were you following us? Do you know us?”
“We heard that the Heir of Dingguo Duke was going out this time to welcome His Majesty’s son. We were ordered by the Third Prince to come and ambush, but since you only have one horse carriage, our leader wasn’t sure if the person we’re looking for was in it, so he sent me to confirm.”
“What would you do if he was?”
“Then I’d send the signal, our people would rendezvous at the next stop, and then kill you all……” Facing Chu Yu’s furious gaze, the man was too scared to finish his words.
“How did you know we were bringing Your Highness back to the Capital City?” Chu Yu asked.
“The Third Prince has spies. He knew as soon as the Heir of Dingguo Duke left the city.”
Seeing that nothing more could be gotten out of him, Chu Yu knocked him out again with another hand chop, then looked at Lin Xin: “We need to get moving fast. He said there are more than one ambush ahead. While they still don’t know we’ve gotten this news, the farther we go, the better.”
“Good!” Lin Xin had no objection to this. She nodded readily, lifted her foot to “gently” kick the man into the grass by the roadside, then lightly jumped onto the horse carriage.
“Boss, a horse carriage is coming from ahead. The one driving it looks familiar. It seems to be the Second Young Master of Lu Guo Duke’s Mansion, Chu Yu. We don’t know who’s inside.” The scout who had checked the news reported back to his team’s leader, ambushing on the essential road into the Capital City.
“Lu Guo Duke’s Mansion?” The leader stroked his chin. “Go take a closer look. See if that little bastard is in the carriage.”
“Probably not. If he was, there should have been a signal by now. Their carriage is almost here and we haven’t received any signal. I think this is likely an empty carriage,” the returning reporter analyzed.
“Oh~ Is that so? You know quite well!” The leader first showed an approving smile, then immediately kicked the man hard in the stomach. “I told you to go look, so go look. If you talk so much nonsense again, I’ll depose you!”
“Yes, yes, boss, don’t be angry. I’ll go right now!” The man clutched his stomach, endured the pain, and leaped away again. But his face, hidden in the darkness, was full of gloom.
“Chu Yu, more people are coming.” Lin Xin, who had been leaning against the horse carriage with her eyes closed to rest, suddenly twitched her ears and said to Chu Yu, who was driving.
“Hm? Again… Nice, there are indeed people coming.” Chu Yu hadn’t sensed the approaching presence at first.
“This person’s purpose is probably the same as the last one. Find a suitable place to stop the carriage. I’ll take the children and hide first. We’ll continue on after they confirm this is an empty carriage.” Lin Xin thought about it and felt that clashing head-on with the pursuers wasn’t a good choice.
With her strength, she wasn’t afraid, but her main task now wasn’t fighting—it was safely delivering Lin Tao to the Capital City.
“Or how about I draw these people away, and you drive the carriage?” Chu Yu said without much confidence. Ever since learning they were the Third Prince’s people, he knew he’d be recognized. If he left alone, the enemy would likely notice something.
“If you leave, it’s like telling them there’s something suspicious in the carriage. Then all their schemes will target this carriage, so you’re not suitable to go.” Lin Xin said calmly. Seeing he was still hesitating, she thought and added: “If you don’t trust me, I can leave Nan Nan in the carriage as a hostage for you.”
With things said this way, Chu Yu knew Lin Xin had misunderstood. He hurriedly explained: “No, no, Miss Lin, that’s not what I meant. Since those people are from the Capital City, they probably know me and will pay special attention to me. So I thought it might be better if I draw them away.”
Lin Xin nodded noncommittally, unclear if she believed him. Her right index finger rhythmically tapped the carriage compartment. “So what’s your decision?”
“Alright, then I’ll stay in the carriage. You take the children and hide first. Come back after they confirm I’m the only one in it.” Chu Yu steeled himself and said. Making this decision was like handing his life to Lin Xin.
“Then that’s the plan. After ten breaths, pretend you want to rest and come into the carriage.”
“Got it.”
Lin Xin twitched her ears, listening intently to the movements outside. She waved her hand to collect Lin Nan and Lin Tao into the space, then flashed inside herself.
Chu Yu, left outside, obediently counted ten breaths, then lifted the carriage curtain. Sure enough, there was no one inside. Lin Xin and the two children were nowhere to be seen.
