Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Xiao Tao showed a depressed look on her face. Concubine Ying was really too naive. She even wanted to regain favor.

I heard from the old people in the palace that Concubine Ying's life is over. If the little prince hadn't died, she might have had a chance to leave the Lanqing Palace. But now, she can only live out her life here alone.

In order not to disappoint Noble Lady Ying, Xiao Tao had to force a smile and said, "Noble Lady Ying, it's right for you to ask me. I'm quite familiar with the Imperial Palace. The Lanqing Palace where we're staying is at the very back of the Xihua Gate. Beyond the Lanqing Palace, there's the Qingyang Gate. Half a quarter of an hour to the east is the Jingfu Palace, where the talented ladies live. Further ahead, beyond the Wuyue Gate, another quarter of an hour's walk is the Imperial Kitchen."

"Then can you tell me which direction the main gate of the palace faces?"

The architectural style of the ancients was mostly north-facing and south-facing, but there were special reasons for this. If it was close to mountains or water, the direction might be slightly different.

Xiao Tao, a maid who had been there for several years, immediately said, "The entire palace faces south. The south gate is the Zhengwu Gate, the west gate is the Xihua Gate, and the east gate is the Donghua Gate. Entrance and exit from these gates are strictly guarded."

She paused and continued to recall, "Although Jinglong Gate in the north is not guarded by the most guards, it is useless if people go out. Behind it are natural mountains and steep cliffs, and many wild beasts roam around, spreading throughout the capital."

"This can also be considered a natural scenic spot of the imperial palace. It seems that the feng shui of the location is good!" Luo Yu laughed awkwardly, thinking that it would not be so easy to sneak out.

"Yes, I heard that the young princes and the children of the noble families who accompanied them to study really like to go to the mountains and forests outside Jinglong Gate. The environment there is good, there is a newly built back garden training ground, and they can also hunt."

Through Xiaotao's travels and descriptions over the past few days, Luo Yu drew a rough plan of the imperial palace.

She finally decided to go through the north gate, Jinglong Gate. Although the mountains and forests were steep, at least there was a chance of walking out horizontally. Xiaotao said that although there were many birds and beasts in the mountains, if she could walk safely along the east side, she would be able to reach a village called Xingjia Village. However, this village was not very big, and if she wanted to leave the village, she had to enter the capital city and exit the city gate.

Luo Yu's status naturally prevented him from entering the city through the city gate, so she asked Xiao Tao: "Can't we just cross the Hengling Ridge and leave the capital directly?"

Xiao Tao shook her head. "When our ancestor Huang Gang ruled the Rong Dynasty, he dug a canal over fifty feet wide at the foot of Hengling Mountain outside the city to prevent outsiders from crossing the Hengling Mountains and entering the capital. This canal also connected the rivers inside and outside the capital. It was heavily guarded, and both the east and west sides were important official docks in the capital. Ordinary people were not allowed to engage in ferrying business along the river."

That being said, if she follows the east-west Hengling Mountains, she doesn't know when she will be able to get out. Moreover, she wants to go to the south. Does that mean she can only enter the capital and exit the city gate?

In any case, being able to walk out of the palace is one step closer to hope. Perhaps Qin Bingrui and Xia Liang are also in the capital?

Let’s take a step at a time!

For a whole month, Luo Yu, apart from eating and drinking to replenish her body, changed into the clothes of a palace maid and went out to explore. As she gradually understood the terrain of the palace and the patrol schedule of the guards, she decided to blend in with the group of palace maids when the little princes went out hunting a week later.

The little princes set out hunting at the beginning of the morning, so Luo Yu had to go out and wait for them the night before, and there couldn't be any error in time and place.

During the last three days, she no longer went out to relax, but was busy with needlework in the house. She first made a double-layer cloth bag that could be draped over her body, and designed several braided ropes made of cloth, which were pierced and tied with slipknots. This made it more convenient to carry food and gold and silver jewelry. To be on the safe side, she sewed an inner pocket for the gold and silver jewelry and then sewed it shut. This way, even if the cloth bag was thrown away when she ran away, the gold and silver jewelry would not fly out and be scattered everywhere.

Then she made a backpack. She didn't know how much hardship she would have to endure on the way, but she had to take everything she could carry with her, such as shoes, socks, two sets of clothes, and some daily necessities. She decided to go to the imperial kitchen again on the night of her escape.

During the apocalyptic years, she and Qin Bingrui and Xia Liang had to stockpile supplies and kill zombies. In order to survive in the present world and in the world after crossing, they were forced to develop common sense.

Just after she finished sewing the backpack, Xiaotao suddenly broke in quietly.

Luo Yu was stunned. In the past, Xiao Tao always knew her limits and would at least ask for instructions outside the door.

Seeing that she looked unhappy, Luo Yu thought she was being bullied. Although Xiao Tao was popular, she had whispered to Luo Yu several times about how she had been bullied, either openly or covertly, by the maids of other talented and noble people.

Luo Yu couldn't help her at all. He could only listen to her complaints, tell her some classic legendary stories, and feed her a few bowls of hot and toxic chicken soup.

Xiao Tao benefited greatly from it, and she also enjoyed a special status in everyone's heart for a time because she told the palace eunuchs and maids in the palace about the palace dramas such as "Beauty at War" and "The Legend of Huan" that Luo Yu had told her.

"Xiao Tao, what's wrong with you?"

"Lady Ying, are you planning to leave?"

Luo Yu was relieved and smiled: "I said our Xiao Tao is not that simple, she is very smart!"

When Xiaotao was praised by her, her face flushed and she couldn't help feeling elated.

She had always lived cautiously, fearing that people would think she was too stupid, but the old people in the palace also said that being too smart was not a good thing in the palace.

"Noble Lady Ying, I previously suspected you were trying to escape from the palace, but recently I've noticed you sneaking out at night, which makes me even more certain you're planning to leave."

"So you knew I was going out in the middle of the night?"

Luo Yu was still somewhat confident in his anti-detection ability. This little girl was no ordinary girl. She must have been sent by the Queen to monitor Concubine Ying at all times.

"My Lady Ying, I don't want to lie to you. If you really want to leave, I won't stop you. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"You've been kind to me, and I remember that in my heart. But if you really try to escape, and if you're caught, I'll be implicated and end up like you. It won't end well for me."

"What if I hadn't been arrested?" Luo Yu suddenly admired the seemingly weak little girl Xiao Tao.

"Then I can only try my best to pretend that you are still in the palace. I am afraid that this is not a long-term solution and I will be implicated in the end..."

"I understand what you mean, and you're right to think so. No one is a saint. I can understand that you're thinking about yourself. If you report it now, I won't blame you. But why are you still telling me?"

"Slave..."

"Xiao Tao, don't call me a slave or not in front of me. Do I look like a master now? Can we talk to each other as equals?"

"Slave, Xiaotao has no intention of reporting you, my master." Xiaotao's voice became thinner and thinner, and her emotions fluctuated layer by layer. It seemed that these words had been hidden in her heart for a long time.

Luo Yu is not a meticulous person, but she will not ignore the details. Even if Xiao Tao does not take the initiative to find her, she will take the initiative to find Xiao Tao to talk about life. If she really wants to report something, she probably won't talk to her for long.

"Xiao Tao, I know your difficulties, and of course you also know mine. In fact, I have been thinking that if you are willing, you can go with me."

Luo Yu first used this trick to treat her as one of his own to win over the people's hearts, making sure that she would not dare to agree. After all, even if she could escape from the palace, she could not escape from the forest full of wild beasts.

Although Xiaotao is smart, she is not very brave.

"Slave girl, no, Xiao Tao will not leave, and Xiao Tao will not report you. After all, if anything happens to you, Xiao Tao's future will not be good. No master would report the master's slave."

"It seems you understand the cruelty in this palace better than I do."

"Xiao Tao listened to the moral of the story told by Concubine Ying, and I understood it all. I also learned a lot of words and arithmetic from Concubine Ying. I can feel your sincerity towards Xiao Tao. Xiao Tao is not an ungrateful person.

If you really want to leave, I can help you one last time. From now on, I will pretend that you are still here in Lanqing Palace day after day, but sooner or later I will be discovered. I hope that Lady Ying can escape far away during this period of time."

She was neither humble nor arrogant and told Luo Yu about her plan.