The ship began heading north. In an unnoticed spot, a small boat quietly sent Qiao Zhao and the other two to shore. The personal guard standing on the boat cupped his fists toward Shao Mingyuan: “General, take care!”

Shao Mingyuan nodded slightly: “Go on then.”

The oar pushed against the water, and the small boat gradually moved away from the shore, slowly becoming a small black dot.

It was evening at that time, with the setting sun spreading across the water’s surface, creating flickering fragments of light on the water.

Shao Mingyuan, who had disguised himself, smiled slightly at Qiao Zhao: “Second brother, let’s go.”

Qiao Zhao was still using the human skin mask that Shao Mingyuan had given her earlier.

Her figure had not yet fully developed, and aside from being particularly graceful, there wasn’t much to speak of in terms of her physique. At this moment, she looked like an ordinary, delicate young man.

Chen Guang was dressed as a servant.

“Let’s go.”

The three changed to traveling by land, with simple luggage and few followers, quickly entering the territory of Fudong.

“Zhen Niang said that her father is under house arrest in his residence. Officially, they claim he’s in poor health and needs rest, so he’s refusing visitors.” Qiao Zhao took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Shao Mingyuan. “This is a layout map of the Xing residence that I drew based on Zhen Niang’s description. You and Chen Guang should memorize it thoroughly. Once you’ve memorized it, I’ll destroy it.”

Shao Mingyuan took the paper and studied it intently for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then handed it to Chen Guang.

Chen Guang took it. The time for one cup of tea passed, then two cups of tea, then three cups of tea…

Both of them stared at him.

Chen Guang said with a bitter face: “Why do you even need to remember the position of every single tree?”

Most importantly, the residences of those officials in the capital weren’t that large, so why could a mere Surveillance Censor in Fudong live in such a large mansion?

“So?” Shao Mingyuan glanced at Chen Guang indifferently.

Chen Guang grinned sheepishly: “So this subordinate will just stick close to you when the time comes.”

Shao Mingyuan’s lips twitched slightly, and he said expressionlessly: “You eat when you’ve memorized it.”

“General, you can’t be so heartless!”

How could he treat his loyal and devoted subordinate who helped him win his wife like this?

Shao Mingyuan completely ignored the young guard’s pleading and turned his head to ask Qiao Zhao gently, “Are you hungry? The roast goose we bought at the tavern in the previous town at noon tasted quite good. Let’s eat a goose leg first to fill our stomachs.”

Chen Guang: “…” General, if you continue like this, you won’t have any subordinates left!

The young guard looked pitifully at Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao smiled slightly: “That’s fine. When we reach the next town, we’ll have to abandon the cart and travel on foot anyway. Eating now will also reduce the weight of our luggage.”

Chen Guang wiped away his tears and pressed his eyes to the map.

For the sake of the roast goose, couldn’t he just memorize it?

When night was about to fall, the three arrived at the next town. After settling accounts with the cart driver, they casually found an inconspicuous inn and walked in.

“Three guest rooms, adjacent ones.” Chen Guang said to the approaching waiter.

The waiter quickly glanced at the three of them and said with a face full of smiles: “Sorry, honored guests, there’s only one room left. How about you three squeeze together?”

“One room?” Upon hearing this, Chen Guang shook his head without needing to consult Shao Mingyuan’s opinion: “How can three people live in one room? Forget it, we’ll go elsewhere.”

The waiter wasn’t anxious and reminded them with a smile: “If the three honored guests want to go elsewhere, this humble one wouldn’t dare stop you, but I should tell you that the inns here are almost all full now. Other inns won’t have three rooms, let alone even one.”

“You’re not fooling us, are you?”

“Oh my, where would this humble one get the courage to fool honored guests? If you don’t believe me, go ask around.”

Chen Guang turned his head: “Young master, what do you think—”

Shao Mingyuan looked serious: “Go ask at a few places. If there aren’t any, come back.”

Hmm, one room wasn’t proper. He and Zhaozhao were one thing, but what about Chen Guang?

“Yes.” Chen Guang responded and hurried out.

After waiting a while, Chen Guang returned and gently shook his head at Shao Mingyuan.

The waiter stood to one side and smiled: “Honored guest, this humble one wasn’t fooling you, right? Do you three still want that guest room?”

“Let us take a look first.” Shao Mingyuan spoke.

“Certainly, honored guests, this way.”

The inn wasn’t large, and the guest rooms were even more cramped.

The waiter pushed open the room door, and Shao Mingyuan frowned slightly after glancing inside.

“How can anyone live in this?” Chen Guang’s eyes widened.

Even if it could accommodate them, he wouldn’t dare sleep there – the General would kill him!

The waiter looked unconcerned: “This is the only one.”

“Just this one room? No others? We can pay extra silver.”

The waiter smiled at Chen Guang: “We’re in the business of hospitality – why would we push customers away? There is only this one room—”

He paused here, and Chen Guang immediately noticed something amiss.

“Are there other rooms?”

“There is one, but it’s a woodshed—”

Chen Guang’s mouth twitched, and he steeled his heart: “Woodshed it is then. We’ll take both rooms. I’ll stay in the woodshed, and our two young masters will stay in the guest room. Quickly clean up the woodshed properly.”

Taking the broken silver Chen Guang handed over, the waiter smiled: “Certainly, this humble one will go clean it up right away.”

Seeing the waiter about to leave, Shao Mingyuan spoke: “Young fellow, why are all the inns in this city full?”

“This—”

Chen Guang immediately slipped over another piece of broken silver.

The waiter secretly felt the broken silver and smiled in response: “This humble one doesn’t know what’s going on either. These past few days, many people have suddenly come to the city, mostly wealthy households from Fuxing City, and they spend generously.”

Shao Mingyuan and Qiao Zhao exchanged glances.

Fuxing City was precisely where they were heading this time, and it wasn’t far from here.

After the waiter left, the three entered the guest room.

“This might be the smallest room in this inn, right? Such a small space – fortunately, there’s a woodshed, otherwise we couldn’t even lay out bedding on the floor.” Chen Guang opened the window and muttered.

Shao Mingyuan glanced at him and asked with a half-smile: “You still want to lie on the floor here?”

The young guard realized his slip of tongue and quickly covered his mouth: “This subordinate was just making an analogy, don’t take it seriously.”

Seeing that the General still looked tense, Chen Guang grinned: “General, this subordinate will go see how the woodshed cleanup is going. You and Third Miss chat first.”

Only Qiao Zhao and Shao Mingyuan remained in the cramped guest room.

Shao Mingyuan cleared his throat lightly: “Zhaozhao.”

Qiao Zhao looked at him.

The General’s ears turned slightly red: “Originally, I should sleep in the woodshed with Chen Guang, but since we’re supposed to be brothers now, that would be somewhat inappropriate.”

Qiao Zhao nodded silently.

She naturally understood the principle of adapting to urgent circumstances, but she couldn’t very well look overjoyed in this situation, could she?

“That… the woodshed is far away, and it’s not convenient for ensuring your safety.” Seeing Qiao Zhao’s expressionless face, Shao Mingyuan felt quite guilty and couldn’t help adding another reason.

Glancing at the man whose ears were turning red, Qiao Zhao smiled: “You don’t need to explain. I understand.”

“Ah.” Shao Mingyuan responded blankly, feeling that Qiao Zhao was acting too calm. He added: “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the floor.”