“Aren’t you also wary of Yun Xi? Otherwise, why don’t you personally ask him about his intentions?”
Why Yun Xi had personally come to Star-Gathering City was not only Mo Tizhun’s question but also hers.
Mo Tizhun looked at the ant nest in her hand, his expression shifting.
Feng Miaojun knew he was calculating the loopholes in her words. But she had to pass this challenge safely. Although the situation sounded unfavorable to her, with the Wei Kingdom’s State Preceptor lurking nearby, Mo Tizhun should be most concerned about the king’s safety.
She was an insignificant pawn to Great Jin, but Mo Tizhun wouldn’t allow her to be killed by Yun Xi in Star-Gathering City. Otherwise, where would the honor of Jin and the State Preceptor be placed?
She tried hard to calm her emotions, preventing her heartbeat from becoming erratic.
After a good while, Mo Tizhun slowly nodded: “Very well.”
What did “very well” mean? Was he going to meet Yun Xi personally, or did he believe her explaKingdom? Based on her understanding of Mo Tizhun, the former seemed more likely.
“For the next while, you’ll stay in your mansion and not go out,” Mo Tizhun pondered. “I’ll set up an array in your house so that even if he transforms into a fly, he won’t be able to get in.”
“How long will I have to stay?”
“Until Yun Xi leaves.”
Feng Miaojun’s small face immediately crumpled. In other words, it was indefinite—until the Jin Kingdom captured Yun Xi or confirmed he had returned to Great Wei. Before that, she could go nowhere except to stay at home to practice her skills.
She couldn’t manage her properties, and couldn’t go to Smoke Sea Tower.
How was that any different from house arrest?
Tie Xinning suddenly said: “Why not use a body double?”
Mo Tizhun and Feng Miaojun looked at each other: “What do you mean?”
“The princess’s escort leaves the day after tomorrow, and few people know about Junior Sister accompanying the princess to the Yao Kingdom. Why not have her follow the original plan and leave a body double here? It would certainly be unexpected for Yun Xi.” As Tie Xinning spoke, Feng Miaojun’s thoughts instantly became clear. “If he captures Junior Sister’s… body double, it won’t diminish your and the king’s face, but rather make it more convenient for you to maneuver.”
If Feng Miaojun were captured under Mo Tizhun’s nose, it would shame the State Preceptor; but if only a body double were taken, it would mean Yun Xi had fallen for Mo Tizhun’s scheme.
Mo Tizhun couldn’t help but be tempted. Letting Feng Miaojun’s true self escape like a cicada shedding its shell would free his hands to capture Yun Xi and avenge the Juping Township incident. This was his home field; if Yun Xi were to face him directly, he would certainly be at a disadvantage.
Conversely, what harm could come from sending Feng Miaojun away? With Tie Xinning watching her, she couldn’t cause much trouble. Even if she escaped midway, what loss would that be to him or Great Jin?
Thinking of this, he finally nodded.
Feng Miaojun immediately returned to her residence to prepare for the journey. No joke—since Yun Xi had pursued her here, she needed to quickly change the unfavorable situation where he was hidden and she was exposed, and make a swift escape.
As long as she quietly left Jin Capital, Yun Xi would have no way to deal with her.
From this day forward, Star-Gathering City was placed under martial law with strengthened patrols and strict control over cultivators entering and leaving. But Feng Miaojun understood that if the intruder truly was Yun Xi, these measures would be useless against him.
Mo Tizhun hadn’t expected these conventional methods to catch him either; he was merely sending Yun Xi a signal:
I know you’ve arrived.
Feng Miaojun dared not go out, so that day Chen Dachang went alone to eat at Wangxian Tower. He ordered stir-fried dried radish with eggs, chive dumplings, fried rice balls, and finally a bowl of almond tea.
He left after eating without meeting anyone, but the news that his mistress was about to leave Jin Capital had been conveyed to Lu Chuanying through the established code.
The next day, a carriage drove out from the State Preceptor’s mansion with its curtains tightly drawn. The person inside never lifted them throughout the journey.
With the king’s special permit, the carriage brazenly entered the royal palace without requiring anyone to disembark.
Half an hour later, it slowly left the palace again and returned to the State Preceptor’s mansion.
On the day Princess Hanyue departed, the sky was clear for thousands of miles.
In the grand ceremony, the princess, more beautiful than an immortal, paid respects to heaven and bid farewell to her parents.
The moment her tears fell on the land that had nurtured her, the sky suddenly filled with auspicious energy, and flower petals rained down like a shower, accompanied by celestial music drifting from mid-air.
When the auspicious hour arrived, the bridal escort slowly exited through the south gate. The citizens of Star-Gathering City lined the streets to send them off, creating an unprecedented spectacle.
This procession had over three thousand people. Besides the royal guards specially dispatched by the Jin King and three garrison camps, there were about a thousand personnel of various kinds for ceremonies and logistics. The princess’s dowry alone filled exactly one hundred and sixty-nine carriages.
Note that these weren’t drawn by ordinary horses but by beasts called “Morongduo,” with bodies like small mountains, twice the size of elephants, with astonishing strength and endurance. The beast-drawn carriages matched their size, at least twice as large as normal carriages—these could be made even larger, but mountain paths were likely too rugged and narrow for easy passage.
Such a procession naturally couldn’t move as swiftly as cavalry. They departed at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), heading west, and by sunset the next day had traveled about one hundred and twenty li, just reaching a small town to rest.
The entire route followed official roads through Jin Kingdom’s heartland. Having traveled through the night on the first day, they certainly needed a good rest on the second day.
This was a bridal escort, not a rush to battle; there was no need for military haste.
The town couldn’t accommodate so many people, so the procession camped outside. Only the princess and high officials entered the best inn in town to wash, eat, and rest from the journey’s fatigue.
That place was, of course, heavily guarded.
By now, they were far from Star-Gathering City, so the princess signaled one of her maids to get a separate room.
This maid was originally unremarkable in appearance, but after half an hour of washing up, she emerged and instantly dazzled everyone with her beauty.
Even in plain clothes, with only silver hairpins in her hair, she was as charming as a spring lotus, capable of making even humble walls shine.
It was Feng Miaojun.
Having already left Jin Capital far behind, she could now shed her disguise. After all, the disguise medication applied to her face wasn’t comfortable, and she had no intention of enduring this torment for the thousands of li of the journey. The arrangement for her to accompany the princess to the Yao Kingdom was known only to the Jin King, the princess, Mo Tizhun and his disciples, and a few palace attendants. Mo Tizhun had also placed a body double in her residence in Star-Gathering City, so hidden enemies wouldn’t suspect she was already over a hundred li away from Jin Capital.
She was safe.
When a stranger suddenly appeared in the inn, the royal guards were first stunned by her beauty but immediately drew their swords to apprehend her. The princess timely shouted “Stand down,” came forward to hold her hand, and they sat together for the meal.
The two beautiful women sitting together were like a pair of lotus blossoms opening on a single stem, so radiant that one couldn’t look away.
Unfortunately, there were truly few at the scene who dared to raise their heads and look directly at the princess.
Tie Xinning, as the State Preceptor’s senior disciple, also dined at the same table with the nobles, talking and laughing pleasantly.