It's Mian Xiao!
Is he here to find me? Where's A Yuan? Has the poison in A Yuan been cured?
The fingers on the window unconsciously tightened, making Ye Xi's fingertips turn pale. Trying hard to suppress the joy in her heart, Ye Xi subtly threw the bone in her hand in Mian Xiao's direction.
But the bone was too small, and Ye Xi was afraid of being discovered by the two men, so she didn't dare to make any big movements. She had tried her best to throw the bone through the narrow window slit, but it was still a bit far from Mian Xiao.
It landed in the thick snow on the ground without even making a sound.
Fortunately, Mian Xiao was no ordinary person. The alley was deserted, and the slightest sound alerted him. He looked over immediately.
Ye Xi's heart was pounding wildly. She kept throwing the bones in her hand out.
Mian Xiao had walked closer warily. Ye Xi had been drugged and couldn't make a sound. Her clothes and tokens had long been changed. She could only scream in her heart for Mian Xiao to look up.
But behind her, Shan Hou had finished tidying up the bowls and chopsticks and put them outside the door. Then he came back to carry Ye Xi.
In the blink of an eye, just as Mian Xiao was looking up at the bones in the snow, Shan Hou had carried Ye Xi back to the small couch inside the room. The holy master had taken out a small bottle with a strange and fragrant smell and held it under Ye Xi's nose. Only after a long time, when he was sure she had inhaled it, did he take it away.
In a daze, Ye Xi vaguely heard Yi Yuan's slightly hoarse voice downstairs. He had been traveling tirelessly for several days:
"What's wrong, Mian Xiao?"
A Yuan—
Ye Xi's long eyelashes trembled.
Her A Yuan was okay!
"Nothing," Mian Xiao shook his head downstairs.
"I don't know who threw some broken bones down."
Yi Yuan glanced at them indifferently and said,
"Then don't worry about it for now. Ask the constables in Li County to check the carriages first."
"We've finally found some clues after chasing for so long. Don't waste our energy on unimportant things."
"Yes," Mian Xiao replied and turned away without thinking much.
Ye Xi was so anxious that she was sweating, but her eyelids were heavy and her limbs were weak. No matter how anxious and unwilling she was, she could only fall into a deep sleep under the effect of the drug.
The holy master and Shan Hou immediately became alert.
Shan Hou held his breath and walked to the window. He only saw Mian Xiao's receding figure.
"They've chased us here. Holy master, what should we do?" Shan Hou asked worriedly.
The holy master had confirmed that Ye Xi was truly in a coma. He turned back, pondered for a moment, and said,
"Calm down. It's been more than ten days. This is to be expected. Although Li County is not big, it's not that easy for them to find us."
"Go to the backyard first. Put some valuable items in the secret compartment under the couch, and then spread some of our clothes on it to confuse them."
Then he pointed at Ye Xi and said,
"I'll hide her."
The holy master whispered something in Shan Hou's ear. Then he sneered sinisterly:
"Anyway, the King of Yu'an and his men don't know us. They won't recognize us even if they meet us face to face. You just do as I say and don't worry. The snow has been falling for half a morning. The road should be passable soon. When you're done, meet me outside the city. Do you understand?"
Shan Hou nodded repeatedly and said,
"Shan Hou understands."
After that, the two of them didn't waste any more words and immediately went to act separately.
On the other side—
The news that Yi Yuan had come out personally to look for his future wife had already spread.
When Mian Xiao came to ask for someone, the magistrate of Li County didn't dare to be negligent. He personally led his men to check the carriages that had arrived in Li County in the past two days one by one.
Yi Yuan led a team of men to search every room carefully. But for some reason, he always felt restless.
Lin An and Yun Qi had parted ways with them in the previous prefectural city. Mian Xiao was now with the magistrate of Li County. Yi Yuan stood alone in the lobby of the inn. Constables were searching upstairs and downstairs.
The noise of people around him was like floating clouds sliding past his side.
Suddenly, Yi Yuan turned around and left.
The number of people in the Bafang Inn was gradually increasing. As soon as Yi Yuan entered the inn, all the guests inside looked at him in unison.
Such a handsome and extraordinary man was rarely seen in this small county. Combined with the commotion in the county government, the crowd couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Yi Yuan scanned the people in the inn one by one. He glanced at the innkeeper with a beaming smile beside him and coldly asked,
"How many carriages have come to the inn today? Who are the drivers respectively? And where are they now?"
"Your Highness, in reply," the innkeeper had lived in Li County all his life and had never seen such a high - ranking official.
Now not only had he seen one, but he could also talk to him in person. If he could help a little and get some reward, he could brag about it for the rest of his life!
The innkeeper was so excited that his heart was pounding. He quickly replied respectfully and in detail one by one:
"Only four carriages have come to the inn today. Two of them belong to two different families. One family is on their way home after visiting relatives. They pass through Li County every year and stop at my small inn for a meal or a night, so I know a little about them."
"The other family is a father and son. I don't know much about them for the time being."
"The other two carriages should be merchants on business trips. They are both bosses with their own subordinates. One group has four people, and the other has two. They are all in their rooms and haven't come out yet."
After a pause, the innkeeper added,
"No women have been seen among these two groups of merchants."
"The carriages are parked beside the stable in the backyard. Your Highness, do you want to go and take a look?"
"Okay," Yi Yuan nodded slightly and followed the innkeeper to the backyard.
The four carriages were neatly parked there after the horses had been unharnessed. The innkeeper introduced them one by one. For each carriage, he reported the room number of the owner.
Yi Yuan listened and carefully inspected each one.
Soon, he saw the secret compartment under the couch arranged by Shan Hou.
He carefully examined the clothes and the rare items hidden under them. Yi Yuan thought that the two "merchants" were just hiding their treasures.
When traveling on business, it was a well - known principle for every businessman not to show off their wealth.
He casually closed the lid and was about to turn around to check the next one.
However, at the moment he closed the wooden couch, the corner of Yi Yuan's eye suddenly caught something abnormal.
He quickly opened the couch again and calmly searched for the thing that had flashed by just now.
Seeing that Yi Yuan seemed to have discovered something, the innkeeper didn't dare to disturb him. He just nervously craned his neck and watched from the side.
Just then, the voice of a constable suddenly came from outside.
It was Mian Xiao leading his men to search.
"Your Highness," hearing that Yi Yuan was in the backyard, Mian Xiao immediately came over and asked,
"Have you found something?"
Yi Yuan didn't answer. Suddenly, he reached out and carefully picked a hair from the gap in the secret compartment of the wooden couch.
Mian Xiao was shocked:
"Your Highness, is this... Miss Xi's hair?"
"I'm not sure yet," Yi Yuan said. He walked to a bright place outside the carriage with the hair in his hand and looked at it carefully.
He was too familiar with Ye Xi's hair. Her black hair reached down to her waist, as black as ink. Each strand was tough and smooth, and it would shine softly like silk in the light.
The hair in his hand obviously hadn't been stuck in the secret compartment for too long. Although it was a bit dry, it was far from being as lifeless as the weeds in autumn.
In the Great Yin Dynasty, normal men all wore hats. Unless they were sleeping or were crazy, they would never appear in public with their hair loose.