The captain said, “Forget it, you didn’t do it on purpose. But on such a joyous day as yours, you should have chosen a more docile horse. How did you end up choosing this one?”

Hearing this, the groom was also full of grievances, saying, “It seemed very docile before. I don’t know what happened just now.” After a pause, he asked puzzledly, “By the way, soldier brothers, what are you all doing here?”

The captain waved his hand, “Don’t ask so many questions. You should hurry into the city so you don’t miss the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony.”

The groom nodded repeatedly. Thinking of what had just happened, he was still shaken and didn’t dare ride again. Seeing that nothing serious had occurred, the matchmaker quickly called the sedan chair bearers back, saying, “Lift the sedan! Lift the sedan!”

The bearers responded and lifted the sedan chair together. This time when they lifted it, all four bearers looked somewhat strange. How odd—why did it feel heavier?

Just as the bearers were hesitating whether to ask about this, the matchmaker urged, “What are you dawdling for? Hurry up, or we’ll be in trouble if we miss the auspicious time.”

Seeing her urgency, the bearers could only respond and carry the heavy bridal sedan toward the city. When they reached the city gate, the gate guards conducted their usual inspection. When they were about to examine the bridal sedan, the bride, as before, held onto the curtain and spoke in a slightly panicked voice, “Matchmaker, they… what are they going to do? I’m scared!”

The matchmaker quickly said through the curtain, “Miss, don’t be afraid. I heard there’s a female assassin in the city, so everyone entering and leaving the city must be searched. Just lift the curtain and let them take a look—it’s nothing serious.”

The bride in the sedan was silent for a while, then said timidly, “Really… they’ll just take one look?”

“Of course. Listen to the matchmaker. Quickly let go of the curtain so we can go perform the wedding ceremony sooner.” Under the matchmaker’s persuasion, the bride finally released the curtain. The gate guard lifted the curtain and saw a woman sitting inside wearing a red wedding veil and phoenix crown with flowing robes, her wide skirts spread throughout the sedan.

While unfolding the portrait, the gate guard said, “Lift up the wedding veil.”

The bride’s body trembled as she said softly, “Matchmaker…”

“I’m here, I’m here.” The matchmaker responded, then said with an apologetic smile, “Officer brother, the bride’s veil can only be lifted after entering the bridal chamber. To lift it now would really be improper.” As she spoke, she took out a small string of copper coins and pressed them into the gate guard’s hand, “Just a small token. Please be accommodating.”

The gate guard pushed back the money she had given him and said firmly, “This is an order from the Governor himself. All those passing through the city gate must be inspected. No one is exempt.”

The matchmaker sighed helplessly. She had said today was an auspicious day, but in her opinion, it was more like an inauspicious one. First the horse went mad for no reason, and now they were being stopped for inspection.

Dissatisfied as she was, she could only follow the gate guard’s instructions and persuade the bride to lift her wedding veil. After confirming that the bride was not the woman in the portrait, the gate guard nodded and waved his hand, “Alright, you may go!”

The matchmaker breathed a sigh of relief and quickly directed everyone to enter the city, urging them to hurry throughout the journey. After walking for about half an hour, the bridal sedan stopped in front of a rather imposing residence.

After the firecrackers were set off and the groom kicked the sedan door three times, it was time for the matchmaker to carry the bride into the residence. However, the bride didn’t come out of the sedan for a long time and wouldn’t let the matchmaker lift the curtain.

The matchmaker gently urged, “Miss, it’s time to get out of the sedan.”

“Wait a moment longer.” After responding to the matchmaker, the bride looked fearfully at Yunyi, who was holding a sharp blade, “Is… is it alright now? I won’t tell anyone about your situation.” When the wedding veil was lifted earlier, she had seen the portrait in the gate guard’s hand—it was clearly the woman before her.

Earlier, while everyone had crowded around to look at the injured groom and no one was paying attention to the bridal sedan, Yunyi had quietly slipped into the sedan and subdued the bride, avoiding the soldiers’ attention and sneaking into the city. When the gate guard examined the bridal sedan, she had hidden under the bride’s wide skirts, pressing a dagger against the bride.

Yunyi withdrew her dagger and said coldly, “You may go.”

The bride felt as if she had received a great pardon and quickly lowered her veil and stepped out. The matchmaker outside had been waiting anxiously and quickly helped her onto a maid’s back to carry her into the residence.

After everyone had joyfully escorted the bride inside, servants directed the sedan bearers to carry the bridal sedan to the side gate. As soon as the bearers lifted the sedan, they felt something was wrong. Logically, an empty sedan should be very light, but lifting it now, it was still heavy, as if the person inside hadn’t gotten out. Recalling the added weight from before, all four bearers became suspicious. Could it be… there was still someone in the sedan?

After exchanging glances, the bearer at the front left reached out and lifted the curtain. Before he could see clearly what was in the sedan, he was kicked and sent flying to the ground. Immediately after, a figure quickly rushed out of the sedan. By the time everyone reacted, the figure had vanished without a trace.

“What… what on earth is going on? How could there be someone in the bridal sedan?” Faced with the servants’ questions, the bearers were also completely baffled. Clearly only the bride had gotten into the sedan—how had there suddenly become two people?

One of the bearers slapped his forehead, “Right! After that horse was startled earlier, when we lifted the sedan, it felt heavier than before. We just didn’t have time to ask because the matchmaker was urging us so urgently. Looking at it now, there was already an extra person in the sedan at that time.”

The bearer who had gotten up from the ground nodded repeatedly, “It must be so. But who was that person? It looked like a woman.”

“A woman…” The previous bearer thought for a long while, then exclaimed, “Right! I remember the gate guards were looking for a woman. Could it have been her?”

The others nodded repeatedly, “Most likely. Otherwise, why be so sneaky?”

After a while, they said, “So what should we do now? Should we tell the master and the others?”

“Of course we must tell them. Otherwise, if this is discovered, we’ll all be in trouble.” Saying this, several people quickly rushed inside to tell the master of this residence about the incident.

Meanwhile, Yunyi endured the pain from her wounds while avoiding the constantly patrolling soldiers. Even more frightening was her discovery that some soldiers were posting portraits in the streets and alleys—the woman in the portrait was unmistakably her.

What she had most feared had indeed happened. Li Shimin had discovered her identity and was now conducting a commandery-wide manhunt. She was now like a caged bird—though she had escaped immediate danger, she was trapped in the city. Trying to quietly leave the city would undoubtedly be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Yunyi carefully concealed her presence, but even so, she was nearly discovered several times. Only after darkness fell did she breathe a little easier—nightfall was undoubtedly the best cover.

After avoiding another group of soldiers, she collapsed to the ground. From yesterday until now, she had barely rested at all. Both her physical strength and mental state were on the verge of collapse. She truly didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.