The next day, Chi You sat on the swing in the courtyard, waiting for Liu Rongruo for a long time. He didn't come at all that day.
As dusk approached, she lowered her head in disappointment.
They had clearly agreed to accompany her for dinner last night, but he had broken his promise.
“Qiuzhu, why didn't Brother come?”
Qiuzhu, who was attending to her, heard her question and replied helplessly, “Your servant heard them say that the Prime Minister's manor is hosting a banquet tonight with the Qin family. The Prime Minister might be busy and unable to come.”
“The Qin family? Is that his fiancée's family?”
Qiuzhu nodded.
Chi You bit her lip, a flash of sadness in her eyes. She lowered her head dejectedly and murmured softly.
“He promised to have dinner with me. If he was busy, why didn't he say so?”
As she spoke, she raised her clear, innocent eyes to look at Qiuzhu and asked.
“Brother must really like his fiancée, right?”
Qiuzhu paused, then affectionately touched her hair, steeling herself to tell her the truth.
“The two families are old acquaintances, and the Prime Minister and Miss Qin are from the same sect, sharing a師門之誼 (connection through shared teachers/sect). Your servant heard people say that although the Prime Minister is naturally cold, he is somewhat different towards this Miss Qin and another young lady from the Wei family compared to others.”
Although the Prime Minister treated this concubine well, he would eventually have to marry, and he couldn't truly be involved with an emperor's concubine. If things escalated, the censors in the court would surely protest.
Moreover, it seemed the Prime Minister had no intention of taking responsibility for this concubine. Her feelings were one-sided, and it would eventually lead to a fatal disaster.
This girl was too foolish.
Chi You suppressed the pain in her heart and took a deep breath.
She had originally wanted to say goodbye to Brother, but now she wouldn't be able to.
She glanced at the sky, bit her lip, and stared fixedly at the entrance, but the figure never appeared.
It was getting late, she couldn't wait any longer.
Chi You remembered Xia Yun's instructions and quietly slipped back to the rear palace.
Although there were many guards here, she often snuck out and had already figured out their patrol times. There was a dog hole by the side gate; if she crawled through it, she would reach a large bamboo forest.绕过 (绕过) the bamboo forest and passing through the arched gate led to the Imperial Garden.
As she crawled out of the dog hole with her bundle, she saw a pair of cloud-silk embroidered lotus shoes in front of her.
Startled, she quickly looked up and saw Qiuzhu standing not far away, holding a lantern.
“Your Highness.”
Chi You stood up fearfully and retreated.
Brother Yun had said that escaping the palace was a grave offense and must not be known by others.
Qiuzhu saw her intention and quickly took out the purse from her arms, handing it to her.
Chi You vaguely understood her meaning and stood frozen in place.
“This is the money I've saved in the palace over the years. Take it for your journey.”
She placed the purse in her hand, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
“Your servant saw you were distracted all day today, so I knew. Let's go, the farther the better. This palace is not a place for you to stay.”
Hearing her words, Chi You's heart ached. Thinking that she would never see her again, she hugged her.
“Qiuzhu, when I find my family, I'll come back to pick you up.”
Qiuzhu patted her back. “Hurry and go.”
Passing through the Imperial Garden, they reached the North Gate, where there was a rather secluded palace.
Xia Yun, dressed as a eunuch, had been waiting here, his eyes growing weary. Finally, he saw someone running over with a bundle.
“A’wu, hurry, over here.”
Chi You was out of breath from running, and the bundle in her hand wasn't tied tightly, so things fell out.
Xia Yun quickly ran over to pick them up. Seeing the books and paintings, he helplessly put his hand to his forehead.
“What are you carrying?”
Chi You squatted down and stuffed the items back into the bundle.
“Brother's handwriting, and his portrait.”
Xia Yun was speechless.
“Why didn't you bring any money and instead took these trinkets?”
Chi You paused, then looked up at him. “I won’t be able to see him again, so I want to keep them.”
Xia Yun let out a helpless laugh and quickly helped her pack, then handed her the eunuch's robe.
“Hurry and go change inside.”
Chi You nodded quickly and left.
After changing into eunuch robes, the two of them came out of the palace and headed towards the Imperial Kitchen.
In the evening, the chief eunuch was supposed to take the head chefs out to purchase supplies from merchants. He bribed two young eunuchs and swapped shifts with them, thus managing to leave the palace with them.
The procurement team was long, winding through the palace walls. When they reached Guangwu Gate, the guards meticulously checked them several times and, after examining their waist tokens, allowed them to pass out of the palace.
As they neared the palace gate, Chi You couldn't help but exchange a glance with Xia Yun beside her, a complex mixture of emotions surging through her, making her a little nervous.
Xia Yun quietly patted her and spoke in a low voice, following behind the horse team.
“Don’t be afraid. Once we're out of the palace, just follow me.”
Chi You quickly mumbled an affirmative sound and lowered her head.
The procurement team went directly from Guangwu Gate to Yongding City. There was a merchant there who was colluding with the chief eunuch to skim kickbacks.
Xia Yun had only learned of this after much inquiry. After leaving the palace gate, they skirted the marketplace. He glanced at the dark sky and then fell to the ground, crying out in pain.
The leader following behind heard the commotion and came over to kick him, cursing.
“What trouble are you causing?”
Chi You quickly followed Xia Yun's instructions, crouching down to help him, and said urgently, “He ate something bad and needs to use the latrine.”
The leader cursed a few more times, afraid of being seen by the Grand Eunuch, and assigned someone to escort them.
“Once you're done, hurry and catch up. You mustn’t delay the time to return to the palace.”
“Yes.”
As soon as the team left, the young eunuch assigned to watch them glanced at the two with arrogance, a sly smile on his face. “Hand over the money.”
Xia Yun picked up a stone from the ground and secretly hid it in his sleeve. He clutched his stomach and stood up. “What money?”
“You’re lying. You’re not A Shun, and you stole the token.”
Chi You was startled and grabbed Xia Yun's sleeve, pulling back to hide.
Xia Yun smiled. “I swapped shifts to come out and see the scenery outside the palace. I haven’t seen it before.”
The young eunuch snorted. He was accustomed to such things and didn't believe they would dare to run away. The city gate guards were strict, and without a travel permit, they couldn’t go anywhere.
Once someone went missing in the palace, it was a capital offense. If they were caught, they would surely die, and no one dared to be so bold.
“How much money does Your Highness want?”
Xia Yun said as he approached him.
The young eunuch, unaware of the danger, snorted and was about to speak, but the next moment, he felt a pain in the back of his neck and fell to the ground.
Chi You was stunned. Looking at the person lying at her feet, she quickly took a step back.
Xia Yun retracted the stone, dragged the person into a nearby alley, took out some powder from his embrace, and forcibly stuffed it into him.
He wouldn't wake up for several days and nights.
“Brother Yun, can we go now?”
Xia Yun came out of the alley, looked at her, and said.
“The city gates are closed. We have to wait until early tomorrow morning to leave.”
The procurement team would likely not return to the palace until tomorrow evening, so they wouldn’t notice his absence.
But—
Xia Yun glanced at the clueless Chi You and sighed.
He was afraid that people in the palace had already discovered her absence.
He was a eunuch, and few people paid attention to him, but a palace concubine was different. If she was being watched by many people, she might be discovered very quickly.
But there was no other way. The city gates were closed, and they couldn't leave now.
“Brother Yun, where are we going now?”
Xia Yun said, “Let’s go get a fake travel permit.”
He had obtained the pass document in the palace, but he hadn't managed to get a travel permit, so they needed to go to the black market.
The two of them walked through narrow alleys, crossed several marketplaces, and under the moonlight, it wasn't until midnight that they entered the black market.