After finishing her tea, Huangfu Yue walked to the window and looked outside. The night had long fallen, the starlight was dim, and the moon was hidden, making it a perfect night for "mischief."
"Pah, pah, pah! What mischief? I'm acting on behalf of heaven!"
After solemnly correcting herself in her mind, Huangfu Yue turned and waved at Ying'er, "Looking at the sky, it's already the third quarter of the Xu hour. It's time to sleep. I'm going to bed and don't need your service. You can go back to your room and sleep."
Ancient people went to bed early. By the third quarter of the Xu hour, most people were already in bed.
The third quarter of the Xu hour is more than 8 PM in modern times. In modern times, nightlife has just begun at this hour, and it's still early to sleep.
But ancient times had little entertainment and curfews. In this dynasty, after the fourth quarter of the Xu hour, which is 8:30 PM in modern times, one was not allowed to go out, or they would be arrested.
So, after eating and with nothing else to do, as soon as it got dark, people would go to bed.
At this hour, it was almost time to act. So, she would first send Ying'er away, then call Xiao Hei back, and then they could set off for the capital.
"Yes." Ying'er, not realizing her master was deliberately sending her away, bowed respectfully and left.
As soon as Ying'er left, Huangfu Yue immediately contacted Xiao Hei and found that Xiao Hei was circling above the town, surveying the entire town.
"Xiao Hei, I'm sorry to trouble you, but you can come back now." Huangfu Yue called out to Xiao Hei in her mind.
"It's no trouble. I'm coming back now. Master, wait for me!" Xiao Hei had wanted to return for a long time, but it dared not return without Huangfu Yue's summons. Hearing Huangfu Yue call it back now, it was overjoyed and eager to return.
Xiao Hei's speed was still astonishingly fast, faster than an arrow. Two minutes later, it appeared at the window.
"Xiao Hei, I see it's almost curfew. I want to leave the town before curfew and head back to the Chang family residence in the capital. Can you lead the way for me?" Huangfu Yue said.
After curfew, even in a town like this, there would be patrols.
Although she was confident she wouldn't be discovered by patrolling soldiers while walking on the street after curfew, it was better to leave the town before curfew.
When there were still people on the street, she could blend in with the crowd and leave town. However, leaving town at that time would be quite suspicious and easily noticed by people.
She had to be careful not to be discovered.
"Okay. But Master, wouldn't it be better if you waited until everyone in your family had gone to bed before leaving?
When I flew back, I saw that the lights in almost all the rooms in this inn were still on. It seems your people haven't slept yet. If you leave now, I'm afraid they might find out," Xiao Hei said after nodding.
"It's alright. I'm confident I won't be discovered when I leave. If anyone comes looking for me while we're gone, I'll say I went to the outhouse when I get back," Huangfu Yue said, shaking her head with a slight smile. She had thought of everything.
Hearing her words, Xiao Hei nodded.
Huangfu Yue had Xiao Hei go first. After Xiao Hei flew out the window, she picked up the veiling hat to cover her face, blew out the candle in the room, and also went out through the window.
Her movements were light and silent, and quick like a phantom. In just a few seconds, she had quietly slipped out of the inn.
"Master, aren't you going to get a horse?
The capital is not close to here. It's nearly a hundred li away. Even if your stamina is good and you can walk, it will take a lot of time to go back and forth. You might not even get back by dawn tomorrow. The road at night is difficult, and walking at night is slower than during the day... You'd better ride a horse," Xiao Hei immediately advised when it saw Huangfu Yue not going to get a horse.
"I have other means of transportation that are faster than horses and more comfortable to ride," Huangfu Yue said with a mysterious smile.
She had planned long ago that this time she would not ride a horse back to the capital, but would drive a car.
She had a garage in her spatial dimension, and with so many cars there, it would be a waste not to use them.
Although she couldn't take them out to transport her grandmother and the others to Lingping, for fear of being seen by passersby and causing trouble, she could take one out to drive tonight.
It was already dark, and there would be no one after leaving town. She could safely take it out and drive to the vicinity of the capital, then put the car away.
Cars were faster than horses and much more comfortable to ride.
As for Xiao Hei, there was no need to worry.
It could be seen that it was now her super loyal servant. It would only be amazed to see the car and would never reveal her secret.
"What means of transportation?" Xiao Hei asked curiously.
"I won't tell you yet. You'll know when we get out of town," Huangfu Yue said with a mysterious smile, playing coy.
Seeing her secretive demeanor, Xiao Hei became even more curious. But thinking that she had said it would know once they got out of town, it didn't ask any further questions.
Because it was nearing curfew, most people had already returned home, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Huangfu Yue's plan to blend in with the crowd and slip out of town fell through.
Moreover, she was dressed in mourning clothes, and walking on the empty, deserted street in pure white was very conspicuous.
But Huangfu Yue was not worried. She moved as fast as she could, and before curfew, she quietly slipped out of town without anyone noticing.
After walking for a while outside the town, and looking around, she found no one except Xiao Hei. Relieved, Huangfu Yue asked her spatial dimension to retrieve an SUV from the garage and bring it to her.
The roads in ancient times were not like modern roads, which were paved with cement. They were all dirt roads, uneven, with many stones, and the roads were very rough.
For such roads, an SUV was needed. SUVs could drive in the wild and were not afraid of bad roads.
When Xiao Hei saw a strange object with four wheel-like things appear before Huangfu Yue, something it had never seen before and looked like something for people to sit in, it was extremely surprised.
"Master, did you conjure this? Is this the means of transportation you mentioned earlier that is faster and more comfortable than a horse?" Xiao Hei immediately asked.
Huangfu Yue nodded, "This is called a car."
She reached out to open the car door and found that the door was unlocked. With a pull, it opened.
After opening the door, she saw the car keys were still in the ignition. A gleam of joy flashed in Huangfu Yue's eyes.
Huangfu Yue sat in the driver's seat and beckoned Xiao Hei to get in.
"You come and sit in the car too, and experience the speed and comfort of a car."
Xiao Hei was very curious about the car, so it immediately flew into the car, looking around with shining eyes.
Everything was so strange and unfamiliar. It felt a bit like a carriage compartment, but much more luxurious and comfortable than a carriage compartment.
When Huangfu Yue started the car and it sped off, Xiao Hei was startled.
"Master, why did it suddenly move?"
"I started it, and it moved," Huangfu Yue replied with a smile.
"How did it move? It's not being pulled by a horse or any other animal," Xiao Hei was completely perplexed and confused.
"It moves by its engine. It doesn't need animals like horses to pull it."
"What is an engine?" Xiao Hei had never heard of it.
Uh... how should she explain this?
It would be very complicated to explain, and the key point was that if she explained it, Xiao Hei would surely have more questions.
Because what she explained was something it had never heard of, it would only make it more confused.
Forget it, she would just make up some random nonsense to get by, so as not to make it difficult for herself to explain, and also for it to be difficult to understand.
Huangfu Yue made up some random explanations, and Xiao Hei, without any suspicion, believed it all.
Seeing Xiao Hei's unquestioning belief, Huangfu Yue couldn't help but chuckle in her mind. "What a little silly crow!"