Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 517 - 516: Friend or Foe

Very quickly, the talisman was pushed back onto the prisoner transport, and the door was locked from the outside.

Lu Qing didn’t say anything; he just silently looked at the talisman, who merely gave him a look and nodded.

Zhu Yu was a bit puzzled; she originally thought she needed to find an opportunity to secretly hand over the whistle around her neck to the talisman, but didn’t expect that skipping this step could still attract the attention of the Hidden Guard?

However, she quickly dismissed that speculation.

This place was already very close to the Jin Country border, and previously when they went deep into Shuo Land and Lan Country, Emperor Jin’s Chifu Guard hadn’t approached, seemingly not leaving the borders. So now that they were here, Lu Qing naturally wouldn’t rashly summon the Hidden Guard by his side, to avoid being completely exposed by hidden ears and eyes. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Although she wasn’t sure whether or not the Chifu Guard would bring any breakthrough to this matter by transmitting information back, being informed was always better than being completely unaware.

So another night passed, and early the next morning before dawn, they set off and arrived at the checkpoint just as the city gate opened.

Initially, they thought they would be hindered there, as after all this was the corpse of King Fan, and Prince Xiaoyao and others suspected of causing the king’s death were being transported in a prisoner cart. Any one of these things was enough to cause quite a stir and get them stopped for a thorough investigation.

Instead, the documents passed over as travel permits easily got them through the checkpoint, and the few guards didn’t even take a look at what was loaded in the carts before they let them through.

Throughout the process, the guards from the Fanwang Mansion walking beside the prisoner cart were somewhat nervous, afraid that Lu Qing and his group would suddenly say something at this critical moment, yet no one seemed to care about the intentions of their group.

Zhu Yu couldn’t help but wonder, what exactly was written on those travel permits? Such large carts, yet the checkpoint people didn’t even glance at them.

It should be noted that entering Jin Country from Shuo Land wasn’t treated this way at all!

Back then, even when Zhu Yu was sent as a bride to the Capital by imperial decree, the checkpoint guards asked her to cover her head and face, and even lifted the sedan door to check whether there was anyone else hidden inside besides the bride.

Thinking of it makes sense: if not because of some connection allowing people and things from Bhutan to easily sneak past and enter Jin Country, those incense-like things she had smelled several times before would likely never have made it into the Capital.

Yet despite it all, she couldn’t help but feel worried, quietly looking at Lu Qing.

This time, Lu Qing instead appeared relaxed, simply curling his lips into a faint smile at Zhu Yu’s expression and taking her hand to reassure her.

Past the checkpoint lay Jin Country territory; although this was Qinzhou, quite far from the Capital, and certainly not considered a prosperous or fertile region within Jin Country.

But compared to Bhutan, which was separated by only a high wall, Qinzhou was much more bustling.

The population in Qinzhou was visibly denser than in Bhutan; as soon as they crossed an insignificant ridge, the temperature seemed not as warm.

Although the guards of the Fanwang Mansion didn’t have to be confined in the prisoner cart, bound hand and foot during the journey, it was still not easy traveling. Once entering the city, looking at the lively and bustling streets, their eyes shone brightly.

Nonetheless, such a group of people weren’t suited to parade through the market; the nephew of King Fan prohibited them from buying alcohol and meat in the city to avoid causing any disturbance, hastily ushering them out to continue on their way.

However, people are often like this: always enduring hardship, lacking food and drink, only able to drink cold water and chew hard bread, it’s not impossible to persist.

But once they had tasted wine and seen the lively flags of food and drink establishments fluttering in the bustling streets, their inner turmoil could no longer be calmed, like a craving itch they can’t scratch, leaving them uncomfortable knowing there was meat and wine they couldn’t eat.

And so, these guards began to rebel a bit, not eager to travel, dragging their feet, letting their belongings clatter loudly, hoping King Fan’s nephew would notice their dissatisfaction.

King Fan’s nephew, chosen as the successor verbally by the late King, neither enjoyed any noble treatment during the king’s lifetime nor received Emperor Jin’s endorsement, knew well he held no authority over these guards, naturally not daring to reprimand harshly, lest they quit at the last moment.

To appease their mood, he promised that upon reaching a settlement not in town but relatively prosperous, they could take a break, buy some wine and meat, and eat and drink for temporary respite.

Upon hearing these arrangements, the guards finally improved their attitude, and slightly sped up their travel pace.

After another day’s journey, they indeed arrived near a bustling settlement, coinciding with some big event, featuring a very lively market where food, drink, clothing, and daily necessities were all available, with vendors continuously shouting their wares.

The guards now couldn’t move at all, eagerly wanting to buy wine and meat.

At this point, King Fan’s nephew had no means to stop them, so he had to let them go.

Fortunately, those people weren’t so foolish as to lose their heads over wine; they went and brought back quite a bit, purchasing many smoked chickens and sauce-soaked meats, appearing keen to restore the oil and water they had lacked recently.

Thus, at twilight, they stopped in a clearing in the woods, beginning to drink open-heartedly as soon as night fell.

But all this had nothing to do with Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, who were still provided with the same cool water and dry bread they had been given since the beginning.

Unknown how much time passed, Zhu Yu noticed that it seemed increasingly quiet outside and quickly signaled Fu Lu to look out the air vent.

Fu Lu sat upright, leaning in to look out, then shook his head at Zhu Yu: "Second Lord, I can’t see them, they are on the other side, I can’t see from here."

Hearing this, the talisman was just about to move to another air vent to look, but suddenly stopped, his gaze cautious as he whispered: "Someone is coming."

Upon hearing this, Fu Lu quickly prepared to free his wrists from the ropes at any moment.

Seeing their reaction revealed to Zhu Yu that those outside surely weren’t the guards; after all, throughout their journey, whenever those people came to deliver food and water, the talismans Fu Lu and Fu Lu never reacted so cautiously.

Their current reaction clearly indicated that those coming weren’t among the guards, hence whether they were adversaries or allies was yet unclear.