Chapter 197
Because the guard had stubble, Ye Chutang took more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
But the three of them cooperated well and successfully completed the disguise.
Ye Chutang looked with satisfaction at the "guard" in the bronze mirror, stood up, and walked over to Qi Yanzhou and Han Chong's subordinate.
The former was so shocked he forgot his words, while the latter's eyes widened in astonishment.
They were men who had seen the world; while masters of disguise were not exactly common, they had encountered a few.
But to see a disguise so flawless that it was indistinguishable from the original person even upon close inspection was definitely a first for them.
Using the guard's voice, Ye Chutang said impatiently, "I don't know anything, I should go."
After speaking, she stripped the guard of his inner garments and put them on along with his outer clothes.
The guard was thin, so after putting on the two layers of clothing, it fit her perfectly.
Qi Yanzhou recovered his wits and said to Han Chong's subordinate, "Please, sir, go and inquire about the fire at the post station."
"Young Master Qi, do not worry. No matter where we rest, we will ensure the safety of the Qi family."
While the two were talking, Ye Chutang packed up the bundle of medicine.
She stealthily put back the items she had taken out from her spatial realm.
She also added height-increasing insoles to her shoes.
At this moment, she looked exactly like the guard.
Qi Yanzhou watched Ye Chutang's retreating figure as she left with an empty tray, his eyes brimming with worry.
Han Chong's man followed Ye Chutang out of the courtyard and called out to her.
"We are a bit thirsty too, go fetch a bucket of cold water."
He was not ordering Ye Chutang around, but giving her an excuse to cover her tracks.
After all, she had no idea what kind of person the guard was or what his duties entailed.
If she encountered an acquaintance of the guard, she could use the excuse of being busy fetching water to avoid conversation.
The time it took to go back and forth would be just enough for her to adapt to her new identity.
In truth, Ye Chutang did not need the help of the Protectorate Army.
She had already thought of a countermeasure.
"Yes, my lord. Please wait a moment."
After saying that, she navigated her way to the kitchen of the prefectural governor's manor with ease.
The reason Ye Chutang was so familiar with the layout of the manor was that she had memorized the maps of the prefectures, counties, and government offices they needed to report to.
If she were completely unprepared, she would not have resorted to a disguise and acted recklessly.
There was a well in the kitchen courtyard. While drawing water, she deliberately slipped and hit her head as she fell.
Before pretending to pass out, she instructed the person next to her.
"Deliver a bucket of water to the lords guarding the Elegant Courtyard..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she closed her eyes and fainted.
"Yin Fei, what's wrong with you?"
"He has such a big bump on his head, he must have knocked himself out."
"This kid is always so clumsy, can't even fetch a bucket of water properly."
"You guys take him to rest, I'll go deliver the water to those lords from the capital."
Soon, Ye Chutang was helped up and slung over someone's shoulder.
She immediately tensed her body to avoid feeling too soft, like a woman.
"Why is Yin Fei so light? Anyone who didn't know better would think the manor starves him!"
"Him? He's been losing sleep and appetite over a girl lately, no wonder he's lost weight."
"Isn't this kid afraid his tigress of a wife at home will find out and skin him alive?"
Amidst the teasing, Ye Chutang was tossed into the reversed-facing rooms in the front courtyard.
These rooms were where the guards rested while on duty at the manor.
Each room had a communal bed that could accommodate twenty people.
The ventilation in the room was poor, and since it was summer, the stench of sweat was overwhelming.
Ye Chutang was almost nauseated to the point of throwing up.
She forced herself to endure it, making her face look even paler.
"Looks like a serious injury, hope he didn't knock himself silly."
The guard who brought "Yin Fei" back found some trauma medicine and applied it to his swollen forehead.
After applying the medicine, he closed the door and left.
Ye Chutang immediately woke up and used her earth-traveling ability to travel near the Chen family residence, the home of the Liangzhou sub-prefect.
She didn't enter the Chen residence; instead, she hung the dark jade pendant representing Qi Yanzhou at her waist and walked around casually.
Soon, Nan Xiao appeared in front of Ye Chutang.
His face was disguised, but his figure remained the same.
Ye Chutang recognized him at a glance and said in her original voice, "Find a place nearby to talk."
Nan Xiao didn't expect the person in front of him to be Ye Chutang.
After a moment of shock, he quickly said, "Madam, this way please."
There was a noodle shop near the Chen residence.
When Qi Qingyu married Chen Shaoping, Qi Yanzhou, worried that his legitimate older sister might not be treated well in the Chen family, secretly sent someone to buy the noodle shop to gather information covertly.
For three years, all the news he received was that his sister was deeply favored.
For Qi Qingyu's sake, Chen Shaoping not only refused to take concubines but also sent away his bedmaids.
Therefore, Qi Yanzhou never imagined that passing through Liangzhou City during his exile, he would fail to see his sister.
Nan Xiao led Ye Chutang to the backyard of the noodle shop.
"Madam, this noodle shop is the young master's property, it's safe to talk here."
Pressed for time, Ye Chutang asked directly, "Why didn't Azhou's sister go to see our parents?"
Nan Xiao had been secretly protecting the Qi family and had arrived in Liangzhou City only half an hour earlier than the exiled group.
When he noticed that Qi Qingyu didn't appear at the city gates, he guessed something had happened.
He immediately came to the noodle shop to inquire, but found out very little.
"Madam, before the exiled group entered Liangzhou City, there was nothing unusual at the Chen residence. The eldest miss even went out in the morning to buy the pastries the master and madam love. But after she returned to the Chen residence with her purchases, she never came out again, and the Chen family has closed its doors to all visitors today."
The Chen residence now was like an iron barrel.
Not a fly could get in from the outside, and not a fly could get out from the inside.
So despite trying every method, he couldn't gather any information.
Ye Chutang understood.
The Chen family had suddenly turned hostile.
It was likely that Sub-prefect Chen, upon seeing the emperor's secret decree to eradicate the Qi family, chose to use Qi Qingyu to deal with them.
"Did Azhou plant people in the Chen residence who can protect Qi Qingyu?"
Nan Xiao nodded.
"Yes, if the eldest miss is in danger, they will do everything in their power to rescue her."
The only problem now was that they didn't know exactly what had happened inside the Chen residence.
Ye Chutang asked, "Are you sure Azhou's people can rescue Qi Qingyu?"
She needed to know the strength of their inside agents in the Chen residence to formulate a plan.
Nan Xiao's tone was certain, "Yes!"
"There should be Azhou's people in the prefectural governor's manor too, right? Has any inside information been passed out?"
"Cao Liang is Eunuch De's man and is extremely cautious. The people the young master planted are all on the periphery, making it very difficult to gather confidential information."
After saying this, Nan Xiao asked worriedly, "Madam, are you all doing alright in the governor's manor?"
Ye Chutang knew Nan Xiao was reliable and told him about her suspected body double plan.
Nan Xiao was terrified upon hearing it.
"Thank goodness you saw through the governor's manor's scheme, Madam, otherwise the Qi family would never be able to recover!"
After speaking, he handed Ye Chutang a signal flare.
"Madam, if you encounter danger in the governor's manor, light this signal flare, and I will immediately lead people to charge in."
Just in case, Ye Chutang did not refuse and accepted the signal flare.
"Wait here, I'm going to make a trip to the Chen residence."
Nan Xiao immediately stopped Ye Chutang.
"Madam, the Chen residence is heavily fortified right now, you won't be able to get in."
Even using the identity of a guard from the governor's manor would be useless.
"I have a way to get in."
After saying that, Ye Chutang quickly left the noodle shop.
She walked to a deserted area and used her earth-traveling ability to enter the Chen residence.
Although she wasn't clear about the layout of the Chen residence, she could use her superpower to sense where the most people were gathered.
The place with the most people was exactly where Qi Qingyu was locked up.
Ye Chutang found a large tree and popped her head out.
The courtyard and the roof were crowded with guards.
The door to the main room was tightly shut, and an angry voice came from within.
"Qi Qingyu, you only have two choices now. Either you and your two children die along with the Qi family, or you help the Emperor eliminate the Qi family and secure a future for your children!"
"Don't think you can avoid making a choice by staying silent. I will give you another half an hour. If you still don't give in, I will chop off Chenge'er's right hand!"
"Don't think I'm just scaring you. I have many sons and many grandsons; it doesn't matter to me if one or two die!"
Ye Chutang recognized the voice. The person threatening Qi Qingyu was Chen Weiming, the Tongpan of Liangzhou.
He was also the head of the Chen family and Qi Qingyu's father-in-law.
Soon, an angry old man walked out of the main room.
He instructed the guards outside, "Don't let anyone near here!"
"Yes, Master."
From Chen Weiming's voice, Ye Chutang deduced that Qi Qingyu was locked in the side room on the right.
She immediately burrowed underground towards the side room, locating the bed based on the weight distribution above.
The floorboards under the bed were pushed up by the dirt and moved aside.
Peering through the gap under the bed, Ye Chutang saw several pairs of feet.
This meant there were other people in the side room besides Qi Qingyu.
She lit a highly concentrated sleeping incense, knocking everyone out.
When the thuds of bodies hitting the floor stopped, she extinguished the incense and emerged from beneath the floorboards.
Five people lay sprawled around the table.
Judging by their clothes, one was Qi Qingyu, and the other four were maidservants guarding her.
Ye Chutang covered Qi Qingyu's mouth and held a foul-smelling antidote under her nose.
Qi Qingyu quickly woke up.
Seeing a strange man in the room, her eyes widened in fear.
But she didn't try to flee or scream as Ye Chutang had expected.
Because she knew her situation couldn't possibly get any worse.
Seeing Qi Qingyu calm down so quickly, Ye Chutang immediately let go and introduced herself.
"My name is Ye Chutang. I am Qi Yanzhou's wife."
Hearing the soft female voice while looking at the plain-looking man, Qi Qingyu was a bit confused.
"It's a disguise. I don't have much time, so I must keep it short."
With that, Ye Chutang took out the black jade pendant.
Upon seeing it, Qi Qingyu immediately took it in her hand to examine.
After confirming the black jade pendant was genuine, she believed the "man" in front of her.
She asked, "Sister-in-law, how did you get in through all those layers of guards?"
"Sister, time is of the essence. Let's not talk about unimportant things."
"Alright. Are Father, Mother, and my brother doing well?"
"They are fine for now. What is the Chen family trying to do by locking you up and using your children to threaten you?"
Intense murderous intent burst forth from Qi Qingyu's eyes.
"They want me to identify my family and frame them as fugitives!"
Even if it meant dying alongside her two children, she could never do something so monstrous!
Ye Chutang understood.
The disguise master hired by the prefectural magistrate's mansion was not skilled enough, and their work could not withstand close scrutiny.
When the body doubles of the Qi family escaped from the magistrate's mansion, they would immediately flee into the crowd for the commoners to see.
The commoners of Liangzhou City were not familiar with the Qi family, so it wouldn't be difficult for the body doubles to pass themselves off.
But the commoners were not fools. They knew very well that even if the Qi family wanted to run, they wouldn't choose to escape from the heavily guarded magistrate's mansion.
When things are this abnormal, people would naturally be suspicious. They would doubt whether the escapees were truly members of the Qi family.
If Qi Qingyu stepped forward at this time and told everyone that the escapees were indeed her relatives.
That would cement the fact that the Qi family were fugitives!
Cao Liang could then use this excuse to openly wipe out the Qi family on behalf of the dog emperor!