Then a line of people left some silver fragments and hurried the horse cart down the mountain.

  The horses were theirs, but the carts were bought from farmers and modified, so they shone on all sides. Fortunately, Lu Li and Xujin also needed a place to lie down, and they didn't mind either.

  This time, the two guards of the Lu family did not dare to listen to the young masters again, and planned to find their own way, directly following the official road to the capital, this should not get lost, right?

  Lin You and the three others were looked at with distrustful eyes by the people below, their faces slightly red. Lu Li couldn't help but complain, "There aren't even any signs on the road, how are we supposed to know which way to go?"

  Isn't the official road also not straight, but has forks, is it good or bad?

  Lin Yuda said: "In order to get along with the imperial court, it's best to set up a sign every now and then, at least let people know the direction."

  Lu Rui and Lu Li nodded in agreement. Their servant couldn't help but say, "There are no signs on this road, and we haven't seen anyone get lost either."

  "How do you know others aren't lost?" Lu Rui glanced at them and said, "If they're lost, would they still be shouting about it? Maybe they don't even know themselves that they're lost."

  After all, it's a shameful thing, and getting lost is nothing to brag about.

  "Is it just like what the young masters have?"

  Lin You couldn't help but cough lightly and said, "Let's hurry up and go, while those people haven't seen us, let's get the letter sent out as soon as possible."

  Ezhou is so big that even if the other side has the heart to intercept them, it's impossible to arrange people on every road and mountain, so they still have a chance.

  Several people were silent, but indeed accelerated their pace.

  Letters were sent out one by one, of course not delivered by themselves.

  Lin You went to exchange a pile of copper plates, then went to the street to recruit a group of children. After confirming that they knew the way, he handed over the letters one by one and asked them to deliver the letters. Each person was given three copper plates, and if they did well, he would look for them next time.

  The children were all delighted, took the money and letter and ran wildly.

  Then Lin You rode his horse and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

  Lu Li and Lu Rui were stunned, "Is that it?"

  "Of course, are you going to wait for them here? Aren't you afraid they'll bring people to catch us?"

  "What if they didn't deliver the letter?"

  "Don't worry, these kids often deliver messages for people and won't cheat. As long as half of the letters are seen by someone, it's fine." Lin You had often seen a group of children soliciting business at the west city gate when he entered or exited, and some people would even send letters to the Lin family's other courtyard, so he knew that sending letters didn't necessarily require sending a servant from his household, but could also be entrusted to these children on the road.

  Lin You and his men were not slow in their journey, except when they encountered a county town where they would stop to send messages, otherwise they galloped hastily towards the capital.

  This time Xu Jin also stopped standing by and pointed out some methods of hiding their tracks to them. He didn't know the way, but he knew how to better avoid being tracked.

  Under the careful arrangement of the three guards, Lin You and his group finally managed to use their own ingenuity, starting to detour around the road to Beijing, sometimes taking the official road, sometimes taking small roads, and surprisingly they were not caught up.

  Four days in a row without incident, everyone began to relax, although they had taken a lot of detours, it took them four days to cover half the distance of what should have been a three-day journey, but at least they hadn't been pursued.

  Then, just as they were about to get closer to the county town ahead, Xu Jin suddenly said, "Let's turn back."

  "Huh?"

  Xu Jincheng's face sank as he said, "I think it's not good ahead, let's turn back and change roads."

  Although they thought Xu Jin was overthinking, and they missed the hot dishes and hot rice in the county town ahead, Lin You and his group still gritted their teeth and turned back.

  They would rather go through some trouble than be taken advantage of by others.

  At this time, the atmosphere of several big families in Suzhou became increasingly heavy. Nine days had passed, and the people sent to Hongzhou were like stones sinking into the sea, with no news coming back. What made everyone even more worried was that Zhou Cishi's memorial also received no response. At this time, Lin Qingwen couldn't help but feel anxious despite her confidence in Zhong Ruying.

  Lu Su clenched his fingers and said: "My fifth brother wants to personally lead the troops to Ezhou, will the Lin family go together?"

  Lin Run immediately said: "I also have this intention, at that time my ninth brother will bring twenty people to follow."

  Lu Su nodded his head, now the only ones who haven't returned are the sons of the Lu and Lin families.

  Zhou Zhi sighed and said: "If Hongzhou really starts a war, it will be blocked again. Now, apart from relief, what is lacking most is food. Unfortunately, our letters cannot be sent out now."

  Lin Qingwan stood up with a "huh" sound, and cupped her hands to the two of them: "You two, I will personally enter the capital. If we enter the capital and then prepare for provisions, it's likely to be too late."

  Zhou Yu and Lu Su were shocked, "Princess of Linjiang, at this time entering the capital is too dangerous..."

  Lin Qingyan sneered, "I am the emperor's adopted daughter, entering the capital to celebrate his birthday is a matter of course. Not one of the people who pursued and killed Ming Jie and Zhou Tong has left Jiangnan. The person behind the scenes may not necessarily know that I'm involved, and even if he did, would he dare to kill me?"

  Lin Qingwan: Even if they wanted to kill him, could they have succeeded?

  She couldn't just watch as Zhong Ruying fell into danger and do nothing, for nine whole days there was no news from Ding, and the people she sent out also lost contact, it's impossible not to worry.

  Zhou Shi and Lu Su exchanged a glance, and Zhou Shi immediately said: "Since the county master wants to enter the capital, I should send someone to escort her."

  Lu Su also said: "The Lu family will also spare a portion of their strength. I'll send a few household guards over later, and I hope the county lord's daughter won't despise them."

  They were called household troops, but actually they were just garrison soldiers.

  Zhou Yu and Lu Su said, "As for the grain and fodder, the governor need not worry. If war really breaks out in Hongzhou, then apart from borrowing from the Central Plains, we will have to gather them from Jiangnan. I will start making preparations."

  County Magistrate Zhou furrowed his brow, having just finished the summer harvest. The imperial court had again reduced and exempted some taxes, but he feared that the grain in the granary was truly insufficient. It seemed that they would have to think of a way to borrow some grain from the wealthy families first.

  Lin Qingwan thought for a moment and said, "I still have some leftover grain from last year at my place, and this year's grain has just been harvested..."

  Zhou Cishi's spirit was lifted, and Lin Qingwan's harvest from that piece of land was not small. He hastily bowed and said: "The county master is righteous."

  Lin Qingwan waved her hand and said indifferently: "The safety of Daliang is crucial."

  If it weren't for Hongzhou's misfortune, it would be Zhong Ruying who wouldn't bear to take out so much grain, but in any case, it won't be given away for nothing, there's still a long way to go.

  Lin Qingwan went home and had someone go to the academy to pick up Lin Yuhong, saying that there was an urgent matter at home and asking her to return immediately. I have already asked Mr. Lu for leave.

  On one side, people were urged to pack up their belongings quickly.

  Lin Guanjia and Lin Dajie were shocked, "Why did Aunt suddenly want to go to Beijing?"

  "Going to the capital to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday," Lin Qingyan smiled and said, "If not, after a long time, I'm afraid Your Majesty will forget me. Moreover, Yubin is also getting older, I want to take her to the capital to have a look."

  Lin Guanjia and Lin Yinniang knew that Yu Shaoye, who had recently gone on a long trip, had encountered some trouble, but they didn't know the specifics. So when they heard Lin Qingwen's words, they assumed she was going to the capital for Lin Yuhong's wedding.

  It's not necessary to rush, Lin Guan Jia advised: "There's no need to set off tomorrow either. Why don't we choose a good day and have time to pack our luggage properly..."

  "So you and Nian don't need to set off with us, take the servants and family members to pack up slowly, it's okay to follow later, I'll go ahead with Yubin first."

  "Why so anxious?"

  "Your Majesty's birthday is in July, now it's already June, we have to visit old friends when we enter the capital, anyway we have to leave tomorrow."

  It's only June 2nd today, and the Emperor's birthday is on July 26th. From here to the capital city, it's just a journey of seven or eight days, so why rush?

  However, Lin Guan Jia also saw that the young lady was going to the capital, although he was worried, he didn't ask what it was about and quietly went to pack his master's luggage.