"My Lord Khan, I shall not be polite then..." Gu Mingyan said with a faint smile.
Han Che'er waved his hand, calling his servants, "Come, come, everyone!"
A large group of palace maids and servants approached and stood in a line before Gu Mingyan.
"Haha, Marquis Gu, feel free to pick, even if you take them all away, it's fine..." Han Che'er said heartily.
Gu Mingyan, with his hands behind his back, walked around the servants and finally stopped before a young palace maid. "You, stand over there!"
According to the rules of the royal court, servants leaving the palace had to wear veils.
This was a sign of respect to guests and also helped to block the sandstorms...
The 'young palace maid' was overjoyed and ran over.
Gu Mingyan glanced at another 'palace maid' and coughed lightly, "You too, go over!"
"Yes."
After Gu Mingyan had briefly selected a few more people, he prepared to bid farewell to Han Che'er...
The two 'palace maids' stood beside 'Qing Lan', their eyes curved into slits with joy.
One of them could no longer wait and climbed onto the carriage.
"My Lord Khan, My Lady, I shall take my leave. We shall meet again!" Gu Mingyan cupped his hands in a salute.
"Wait a moment!" Si Ya Ke Dun suddenly called out to him, her gaze fixed coldly ahead.
Gu Mingyan's steps faltered, and his heart sank...
Had this old woman discovered something?
"Does My Lady Ke Dun have any other matters?" Gu Mingyan asked.
Si Ya Ke Dun ignored him and walked directly to 'Qing Lan'. "Are you Marquis Gu's personal guard?"
"Yes, yes..."
"What is your name?"
"Qing, Qing Lan!"
"Take off your veil and let me see!"
Si Ya Ke Dun had always been confident in her intuition...
She had a feeling that the guard before her was not right.
"My Lady Ke Dun, is there a problem?" Gu Mingyan walked over and asked.
Si Ya Ke Dun looked directly at 'Qing Lan'. "Didn't you hear me? I told you to take off your veil..."
'Qing Lan' trembled and secretly glanced at Gu Mingyan.
If the veil were removed, everything would be ruined.
"Oh, old woman, what are you making such a fuss about?" The Old Marquis poked his head out from inside the carriage, saying irritably, "Why are you making things difficult for my son's guard? Are you bored?"
"Shut up..." Si Ya Ke Dun roared, reaching out to pull off 'Qing Lan''s veil.
Just then, a gust of sand swept in, a hazy yellow that made everyone unable to open their eyes...
The fierce wind whipped up dry sand, swirling around Gu Mingyan.
"Cough, cough, why is there suddenly such strong wind?" Si Ya Ke Dun covered her mouth and took two steps back.
What she didn't know was that this strong wind was controlled by Gu Mingyan's internal energy. Ordinary people did not possess such power...
Han Che'er supported Si Ya Ke Dun. "Si Ya, let's go back quickly. Sand got into my eyes!"
After speaking, Han Che'er waved at Gu Mingyan. "Marquis Gu, have a good journey, go, go..."
Thus, the bewildered Si Ya Ke Dun had no choice but to return to the city, while Gu Mingyan got into the carriage and set off with the two 'palace maids'.
In the main hall of the royal palace.
As soon as Si Ya Ke Dun walked in, Ren Du La hurried forward to report, "Ke... Ke Dun, it's bad!"
"What is it, making such a fuss?" Si Ya Ke Dun frowned.
Ren Du La stamped his feet anxiously. "Oh, My Lady Ke Dun, Princess Jiaojiao and Princess Yan'er are, are gone!"
"What?" Si Ya Ke Dun narrowed her cold eyes and grabbed Ren Du La's collar. "What do you mean gone?"
Could two living people simply vanish into thin air?
"My Lady Ke Dun should see for herself..." Ren Du La mumbled.
Si Ya Ke Dun didn't have time to think further and rushed into Han Che Yan's courtyard. Seeing a straw dummy covered by a quilt on the bed, Si Ya Ke Dun was so angry she almost spat blood.
She then went to Han Che Jiao's courtyard and found another straw dummy covered by a quilt.
"Gu Mingyan, I'm not done with you..." Si Ya Ke Dun roared, a flame igniting in her eyes.
At this point, if she still couldn't see that Gu Mingyan was behind this, she would have lived her life in vain.
"My Lady Ke Dun, what should we do next?" Ren Du La asked.
Si Ya Ke Dun slumped onto the bed, rubbing her temples. "They can't have gone far. Send people out immediately to bring Jiaojiao and Yan'er back..."
"What about those cattle, horses, and sheep? Should we chase them back too?"
"Have you ever seen anyone ask for back the things they've given away?" Si Ya Ke Dun's face turned as black as ink.
Were the livestock more important, or were her two daughters more important?
"Your subordinate understands..."
At the same time, on a winding dirt road, two carriages rumbled along.
From the first carriage, bursts of laughter could be heard.
The two 'palace maids' simultaneously removed their veils, their beautiful faces blooming like flowers...
The two were Han Che Jiao and Huger Shuang'er, who had escaped from the royal palace. The 'Qing Lan' sitting beside Gu Mingyan was actually Han Che Yan, who had masterfully impersonated her.
"Hahaha, Monkey Gu, your trick is truly brilliant. Even my mother didn't see through it, she was completely fooled, haha..." Han Che Jiao laughed heartily, clutching her stomach.
How did you think of stuffing a straw dummy into the quilt?
Gu Mingyan held Han Che Yan's hand and closed his eyes to rest. "Han Che Jiao, you are too noisy!"
He had promised to take Yan'er away openly in front of Si Ya Ke Dun, and that promise had been fulfilled...
Han Che Yan's expression was somewhat worried. "Ming Yan, if my mother finds out she's been tricked, she'll definitely send people to chase us!"
How could someone as proud as Si Ya Ke Dun suffer such a silent loss?
"It's nothing!" Gu Mingyan opened his eyes. "By the time they catch up, we'll already be in the capital..."
Han Che Yan: "???"
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard from outside. Gu Mingyan lifted the curtain and looked out, seeing Qing Lan approaching with several fast horses.
Last night, Qing Lan had quietly slipped out of the royal palace and found several fast horses, leaving them for the Marquis to escape.
With her departure, Han Che Yan had taken on the role of the fake Qing Lan and escaped under Si Ya Ke Dun's nose.
"Can you all ride horses?" Gu Mingyan helped Han Che Yan down from the carriage.
Han Che Jiao crossed her arms, looking disdainful. "Monkey Gu, have you ever seen a grassland woman who couldn't ride a horse?"
"Then it's good, let's mount..."
The remaining flocks of sheep and cattle would be slowly driven back to the capital by other servants.
The Old Marquis heard the commotion and jumped down from the second carriage, muttering, "What kind of damn high priest dares to snatch my storybooks? She's simply a bandit..."
That's right, all the storybooks the Old Marquis had brought from the Central Plains had been confiscated by Alima, not a single one was left for him.
Gu Mingyan shook his head helplessly. Seeing that everyone was mounted, he flicked his whip and galloped towards the direction of the Central Plains...