Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

Shen Nankui lowered her voice and said, "This is not the place to talk. Please take me out first."

Cai Ling understood what she meant. He glanced outside and sneered coldly.

"They won't wake up for now."

He stood in front of the carriage door, as if to say that she would not be able to leave unless she explained herself clearly.

He asked again: "Who are you?"

"Well, my last name is Shen, I'm from Beijing, and I married into the Gu family in Lai'an Town last year..."

Before he could finish, Cai Ling interrupted him with a sullen face, "I'm not checking your background, I'm asking you, how do you know what my personal belongings look like?"

Shen Nankui lowered his head and touched his chin.

In fact, she wrote to Cai Ling on a whim because she noticed something unusual, and she hadn't figured out how to explain it. After all, the two were friends in their previous lives and had never met in this life. If she wrote the letter rashly, it would indeed scare people.

But now she is not the Marquis's mistress who held power in her previous life. She only needs to give an order and have endless manpower at her disposal. She really couldn't think of any other strategy. She happened to know that Cai Ling was in Cang County, so she set her sights on him.

"Well... you don't know, but you and I are old friends."

"Old friend?"

Cai Ling lifted the curtain a little wider, then turned sideways to let the moonlight in. His sharp eyes swept across her face again, and then he shook his head with certainty.

"I don't know you."

Shen Nankui tapped his knees with his fingertips and said after a moment of hesitation, "But I recognize you. You have been practicing with your master in Puyunling since you were a child, practicing both martial arts and painting. When you were seventeen, your master passed away, and you went out to venture into the martial arts world. Although you have superb martial arts skills, you were ostracized by the outlaws because you never formed gangs or factions. You were unknown for more than a year. By chance, you became famous for your painting skills. It only took you three years to become a well-known painter. Then you retired from the martial arts world and devoted yourself to the people. You traveled around the country to explore the mountains and rivers, and visited strange places. Therefore, your paintings have become more exquisite and full of spiritual charm. Because of your arrogant personality, you disdain the officials and dignitaries. Such an unruly personality is highly sought after by the people, so people regard you as the number one painter in the Tiansheng Dynasty."

"And you are only twenty-four now. You are really young and promising. I admire you!"

At the end, Shen Nankui's face was full of admiration.

Cai Ling listened to her words without showing any emotion. "No need to flatter me. I never paint for fame."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Shen Nankui nodded sincerely, "Mr. Cai is a man of noble character, just like that jade tree."

Cai Ling frowned and looked at her, and said coldly: "What you said can be known with just a little inquiry, so you didn't answer what I said just now."

Seeing the impatience in his eyes, Shen Nankui knew it was not easy to fool him, so he sighed and said, "You have a mole an inch above the back of your left arm, and a blue birthmark on your right ankle."

Hearing this, Cai Ling's expression changed drastically and he stared at her in disbelief.

"How did you know?"

"I told you it was an old friend, but you didn't believe me."

In his previous life, his limbs were broken by Princess Le Kang. When Shen Nankui brought him back to the mansion and asked the doctor to treat his injuries, he went to take a look and took note of it.

Shen Nankui stuck his head out and glanced at the two unconscious assassins. He said with some concern, "I don't know when they woke up. You followed me all the way from Cang County to here. You must want to solve your doubts. In this case, why don't you take me away from here first, and I will explain it to you slowly."

"Alright."

Cai Ling thought for a moment and then agreed.

Anyway, he would never let her go unless these doubts were resolved.

Cai Ling untied her and took her out of the camp. When they reached the roadside, Cai Ling asked, "Where do you want to go, Cang County or the capital?"

"Capital."

Shen Nankui answered decisively.

Since she was being targeted, even if she escaped back to Anzhen, she could not be guaranteed not to be ambushed again. Moreover, she also wanted to know who on earth would go to such lengths to deal with her?

Cai Ling looked at her in surprise and said, "The people who arrested you are from the capital. If you go into the city again, you will be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth."

Shen Nankui smiled and said, "If you say so, I'm afraid they will think that even if I escape, I won't have the courage to go into the city. This way it's safer."

"It's up to you." Cai Ling did not comment.

After he took two steps, he saw Shen Nankui didn't move, and he couldn't help but frowned, "It's getting light, this place is only ten miles away from the capital, and we can arrive in another hour. We can just catch up with the first group entering the city. Why don't we go?"

Shen Nankui covered her stomach with one hand and said tiredly, "After two days of running around, I can't walk that far anymore. How about we find a house nearby to stay in and then go into the city in the evening?"

"Are you crazy? The kidnappers are still nearby, and you still dare to stay here?"

"There are only two of them, and they won't search door to door."

Cai Ling looked at her steadily and said, "This is too risky. I can't let you get caught again before you answer my questions."

He pointed to the grass not far away and said, "My horse is over there. I'll carry you. It won't be a burden to you."

Shen Nankui had no choice but to point to her stomach and tell the truth.

"To be honest, my body won't tolerate the bumps on the horse."

Cai Ling understood, but his expression was even more surprised, "How could a pregnant woman like you offend such a person in the capital?"

"Who knows?"

Shen Nankui smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I'm staying nearby, not because I'm unwell. When the two kidnappers wake up and see that I'm not here, they will definitely come looking for me. Although they think I won't go into the city, this place is not far from the capital. There's no guarantee that when they wake up, they won't rush to the city gate to check. If the city gate is not open by then, won't we fall into the hands of the thieves again?"

"And how could they have thought that I would dare to stay under their noses? Therefore, they would never bother to check the houses nearby. We can go into the city in the evening when it is dim, and there will be no worries."

The arrangements were very thorough, and Cai Ling couldn't help but admire the woman's intelligence.

His eyes flashed, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

The two walked for about a quarter of an hour before arriving at a private house and knocking on the door. After a while, an old woman came to open the door and looked at them warily, "Who are you looking for?"

Shen Nankui smiled kindly, "Grandma, I'm really sorry to bother you so late at night, but we are not looking for anyone. We are travelers on the road. We missed the place to stay and there is no village or store nearby. So we would like to stay at your house for a night and buy some hot soup to fill our stomachs. I wonder if you can help us?"

"Borrowing?"

The old woman frowned, "It's almost dawn, and this place is not far from the capital. You didn't come into the city, but knocked on my door. I think this is very strange."

"Humph, my house is too full for you guys, go somewhere else!"