Chapter 828 Swallows Return to the Nest
September 1st, morning.

The north gate of Lin'an City was bustling and noisy as usual.

Pedestrians from the south and north flowed in an endless stream through the heavily guarded city gates, and those leaving the city had no problem passing through. On the contrary, those entering the city lined up in a long queue outside the city gates, and were questioned by the guards one by one, and were allowed to pass only after they were confirmed to be normal.

Although there were routine inspections on weekdays, they were far less detailed and strict than today. The root cause was the "jianghu storm" that Lin'an had experienced not long ago, which had a huge impact and made the emperor furious. From the court to the Lin'an government office, everyone was trembling with fear and trepidation.

Most of the officials who were responsible for maintaining public order in the Lin'an government office at that time had been punished. Some had been demoted or transferred, while others had their property confiscated and they had been executed.

Because of the bloody lessons of the past, the Lin'an government office today has to be extremely careful and cautious. They strictly guard the city gates with the attitude of "better to be wronged than to be lenient", vowing to kill all external hidden dangers outside the city of Lin'an.

In the long line, a caravan consisting of more than ten people moved slowly forward step by step.

The caravan was mostly filled with dusty-looking men dressed in short clothes, led by an old man in his sixties and a young couple. The woman had a big belly and looked pregnant.

"Where are you from? Where are you going?"

Before they knew it, the caravan arrived at the city gate. Two soldiers with their spears crossed blocked their way, and another two soldiers surrounded the caravan and looked it over. From time to time, they used their knives to knock and poke at the goods on the carriages, and checked them very carefully.

The leading sergeant held a pen and paper and took notes while questioning.

"Thank you for your hard work, General. We are tea dealers from Jiangling and are delivering goods to several teahouses in the city." The old man came forward with a smile on his face, and while explaining, he turned around and gestured to the two carriages.

The sergeant leader glanced at the crowd and asked casually, "Who are they?"

"They are my grandsons and granddaughters-in-law." The old man first pointed at the young man and woman who were standing there timidly, and then pointed at a dozen or so waiters, "The rest are my waiters."

"What's with the big belly?"

"I am old now, and I plan to hand over my business to my grandson, so I brought him here to meet the old customers in Lin'an City." The old man replied, "My grandson's wife is pregnant, and I am worried about her being alone at home, so I brought her here and bought her some gold and silver jewelry. After all, Lin'an is the imperial city, and there are many new things there. Our small place can't compare. Hehe..."

"That's right!" The sergeant leader said arrogantly, "According to the rules, anyone who comes into Lin'an City to do business will be charged one tael of silver per person."

"What?" The old man was shocked. "When was this rule set? We can't make much money with two truckloads of tea..."

"The rules of the government office don't allow you to talk nonsense." The sergeant leader interrupted impatiently, "There are too many people behind, I don't have time to waste with you, either pay up or get out."

"I..." The old man hesitated again and again, then took out six taels of silver from his arms and reluctantly handed it to the sergeant leader with shining eyes, saying aggrievedly, "There are three of us, grandparents and grandchildren, plus three men. As for the others... I'll ask them to wait outside the city."

"Since you are sensible, I will let you off the hook and allow you to bring one more person into the city." The sergeant leader weighed the silver in his hand and waved his hand to let him go with satisfaction.

"Thank you, General..."

The old man, who looked like he had lost his parents, answered absentmindedly, and then led the young men and women who dared not speak out and four servants, and walked slowly towards the city.

After entering Lin'an, this foreign caravan suddenly became familiar with the route. They twisted and turned through the streets and alleys and went straight into a private house in the south of the city.

"God bless me, I finally had a safe journey!"

As soon as he entered the yard, the coachman immediately threw the whip aside, reached into a large jar of tea, and fumbled around, and finally took out a sword.

At the same time, the young man and another waiter took out a sword and an iron bow from two other teacups.

The "pregnant" woman reached into her belly and pulled out an embroidered pillow in full view of everyone, and her bulging belly immediately disappeared.

At this moment, a waiter with a rat-like face brought a basin of clean water. After the few people washed their faces, their true faces were revealed to the light of day.

The young man and woman were Li Haitang and Pan Yuyin. The coachman was Feng Tianba, and the other coachman was Liu Xunyi.

The person who brought them clean water was Qin Ku's confidant and childhood playmate, Zhang Shun.

As for the old man and the other guy, they were also Qin Ku's trusted men.

A month ago, Qin Ku carefully selected and built this special caravan with the purpose of escorting Liu Xunyi and other three people back to Lin'an safely.

The result was obvious. They encountered almost no danger all the way south. What's more, they stayed in the same inn with the people who ambushed "Liu Xunyi" several times, and no one noticed anything strange. It can be said that they were blessed by heaven and had a smooth journey.

"Zhang Shun, thank Brother Qin again for me when you go back." Liu Xunyi tidied his clothes while instructing Zhang Shun, "I owe him another favor. After this matter is settled, I will definitely treat him to a drink." "Don't worry, Brother Liu, I will definitely convey it to you!" Zhang Shun smiled flatteringly and readily agreed.

"Oh, right!" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "Do you know how many people Qin Ku found to pretend to be me?"

"I heard from Brother Qin that there seemed to be more than a dozen..." Zhang Shun was stunned, "Is there anything wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just... a little weird."

"What's weird?"

"We heard news about 'me' almost every day on our way south. It is said that there were dozens of 'Liu Xunyi' kidnapped and sent to the Xianwang Mansion. If Brother Qin only found a dozen people to pretend to be me, then where did the other 'Liu Xunyi' come from?"

"This……"

After Liu Xunyi's reminder, Zhang Shun, Feng Tianba and others could not help but look stunned. It was not until this moment that they realized that this matter was indeed a little unusual.

"Could it be a rumor?" Pan Yuyin speculated.

"Maybe!" Liu Xunyi nodded absentmindedly, "But I always feel that... there are too many 'Liu Xunyi's' appearing in the martial arts world during this period of time. Some of them... don't seem to be arranged by Brother Qin alone."

"Is there someone helping us secretly?" Li Haitang said thoughtfully, "Maybe someone has the same idea as Palace Master Qin, so they are secretly fanning the flames and helping Brother Liu escape this disaster?"

"Could it be... Yun Zhuiyue?"

"The Holy Lord is far away in Dali, so it should not be him." Li Haitang's answer was ambiguous, "But it's hard to say. The Holy Lord's actions are always mysterious."

"And more!" Liu Xunyi changed the subject and continued, "Before entering the city, I found many suspicious people outside Lin'an City. Some of them were using the secret code of the Xianwang Mansion to communicate. I wonder what's going on?"

"Are they still unwilling to give up and planning to break into Lin'an and cause trouble like they did last time?"

"not sure……"

"I'll go check it out!" Before Liu Xunyi could answer, Li Haitang volunteered, "You guys have to go back to the court to report, and I have nowhere else to go, so I might as well go out of the city and find out more about them."

"Brother Li, you can stay here temporarily." Zhang Shun took the opportunity to suggest, "This courtyard is the property of the Qin family in the temporary resettlement office, it is very secretive."

"The Hexi Qin Clan can set up business in Lin'an, so other sects must have hiding places here. No wonder the last crackdown was so difficult. It turns out that they have been lurking in the most dangerous places."

After sighing, Liu Xunyi collected his thoughts and cast a grateful look at Pan Yuyin who was worried. He hesitated and said, "Miss Pan, we are back in Lin'an now. My injuries have almost recovered. You don't have to worry anymore. Right now, the situation in the court is still unclear. If you get too close to us... you might get into trouble. In my opinion, you should return to the Pan Mansion as soon as possible. Remember to say hello to Mr. Pan, Mrs. Pan, and Mr. Pan for me."

"When can I see Brother Liu again?" Pan Yuyin wanted to refuse, but she couldn't find a reason to refuse, so she stammered, "I promised the princess..."

"Miss Pan, the princess's instructions to you... are just a momentary impulse, you don't have to take it to heart." Liu Xunyi's expression changed, and she thought about her words again and again in her mind before she revealed her true thoughts. "You are the eldest daughter of the Pan family, and the apprentice of Granny Taohua. You should have lived a carefree life with fine clothes and delicious food, spring recitation and summer music. Whether you are in business or medicine in the future, you will have a bright future. You really shouldn't waste your youth because of a word from the princess, and you shouldn't be displaced and worried all day because of me."

"Can……"

"If I can escape this disaster, I will definitely go to the Pan Mansion to visit Mr. Pan and Mrs. Pan!" Liu Xunyi did not give Pan Yuyin a chance to argue, and hurriedly instructed the bewildered Li Haitang, "Send Miss Pan home for me."

"I……"

"Lord Liu, we have been delayed for many days. I believe Ding Qinghong must have returned to Lin'an long ago." Feng Tianba interrupted at an inopportune moment. "What should we do? Should we report directly to the Emperor or..."

"Can I see the emperor just because you say so?" Liu Xunyi pondered for a moment and spoke slowly, "You go back to the Prime Minister's residence first and tell him everything about this marriage. I will go back to Tianji Pavilion to report to the Marquis. As for what to do next... just follow your orders."

"That makes sense!" Feng Tianba nodded repeatedly. "The Prime Minister and Marquis Tianji are very thorough. We will tell them the whole story and find out if Ding Qinghong has spread rumors in front of the emperor."

"That's right!" Liu Xunyi made a prompt decision, "There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately."

After the discussion, Zhang Shun and the Qin family left first in a carriage. Then Li Haitang, with embarrassment in her eyes, urged Pan Yuyin, who was very upset, to walk out of the courtyard. Finally, Liu Xunyi and Feng Tianba went their separate ways.

In the blink of an eye, this once bustling residence returned to its former tranquility. Apart from a few large jars of tea leaves left in the yard, there was nothing else to prove that a group of hurried visitors had just come here.

……

(End of this chapter)