Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

We chatted idly along the way, so the journey in the snow didn't seem too difficult. It was the livestock pulling the carts and the drivers wearing raincoats and straw hats that suffered.

But there was no other way. If they didn't leave when it first started snowing, they would be trapped in the small village until the snow melted, once the roads were covered in snow.

They can endure it, but can the assassins wait?

The caravan wrapped the horses' hooves with thick sheets of straw. When the wheels got stuck in the mud, the caravan members and drivers got out to help push the cart. Even the Yu family father and son contributed a lot of effort.

No one dared to call Yu Wanran and Xiao Ze to get off in the carriage they were in. Even if the crowd shouted "one, two, three" and lifted the carriage, it wouldn't affect Young Master Yan's recovery.

At noon, the caravan finally left the small mountain village where they had stayed and embarked on the bright white official road.

Yu Wanran instructed Xiao Ze to continue massaging Yan Cheng'an's acupoints, greatly relieving his lower back pain. The car was warm, and Yan Cheng'an gradually drifted off to sleep.

Seeing this, the two tacitly decided not to disturb him.

At dusk, the caravan entered Gaul Pass, which borders the capital.

The Gaul Pass was a formidable barrier protecting the capital. Foreign tribes advancing north had to pass through several major towns and checkpoints along the way before finally conquering Gaul and gaining access to the capital region.

It can be said that after they crossed the Gaul Pass, the land behind them was prosperous and there was little risk.

Even if an assassin were brain-dead, they wouldn't dare to easily provoke the emperor.

Wu Jian found the garrison commander of Gaolu Pass and explained the situation. The commander not only found a military doctor to treat Yan Cheng'an's injuries, but also dispatched a team of elite soldiers to escort the caravan to the next town.

With the relay of checkpoints in various towns, the caravan finally arrived in the capital after about twenty days since leaving Tongcheng.

Gazing at the towering city walls and the bustling crowds, even though Yu Man and his son had witnessed much prosperity along the way, they were still awestruck by the grandeur of the capital city before them.

They hesitated, shrinking back in shame at their insignificance. But regardless, they had at least visited the capital, giving them something to talk about for the rest of their lives!

As soon as they entered the city, the Yan family members waiting at the city gate were about to take Yan Cheng'an back to their residence. Yu Wanran got out of the carriage, and in front of the surprised gazes of the Yan family members, Yan Cheng'an held onto the carriage window and waved goodbye to her reluctantly.

"Miss Yu, you saved my life! If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to Ruicao Hall in the city or the Yan residence to find me."

He pointed meaningfully at the sword Yu Wanran wore at her waist: "They all recognize this Jinghong sword!"

"it is good."

Yu Wanran suppressed her inner relief and nodded neither humbly nor arrogantly.

She felt even more confident in confronting Xiao Yao and the Duke's Mansion.

After watching Yan Cheng'an leave surrounded by the Yan family, Wu Jian took the Yu father and daughter directly back to Zhenyuan Escort Agency. He let them stay in guest rooms for free and personally found their luggage and returned it to them.

"Old Master Yu, Miss Yu, please stay in the capital for a couple more days. I will finish what I have to do and then tell you the date when the caravan will set off back to Tongcheng."

Yu Wanran could not obtain it.

Having finally arrived in the capital, she needed to quickly find the cloth merchant who had needed red velvet grass in her previous life.

Although the red grass mat was carefully preserved along the way, it would affect the extraction of plant pigments if left for too long.

Wu Jian arranged three of the most luxurious single rooms, each attended by maids. These maids could also accommodate any special requests from Yu Man and his son.

But Yu Man and his son had no idea about the intricacies of the situation. They bowed and scraped politely to the maids, not daring to look around, and keeping at least eight feet away from them. This amused the maids, who secretly chuckled at their country bumpkin-like behavior.

Wu Jian thoughtfully had a maid serve the guest a bath and change him into a new set of clothes. Worried that the Yu family might not accept them, the new clothes were made of cotton and weren't worth much.

Even so, the Yu family father and son were deeply grateful.

This is several levels better than the linen clothes they themselves are wearing.

The three of them enjoyed a comfortable stay at the escort agency, while the only surviving female assassin, covered in wounds, returned to her master's side.

Deep within the opulent mansion, a prince flew into a rage. He grabbed an inkstone from the table and hurled it at his subordinate, who was kneeling precariously on the ground.

The female assassin, covered in wounds, quickly bandaged herself and rushed back to report to her master. An inkstone was thrown directly at her; she dared not dodge. The sharp edge of the inkstone sliced ​​a gash across her forehead, drawing blood.

"Useless things!"

The prince was furious: "I gave you a full twenty bodyguards to lead you on this mission! And you come back saying the mission failed and everyone except you was killed?"

If it weren't for the fact that the woman before him was carefully nurtured from among hundreds of girls from childhood, and that he had a great use for her, he would almost have ordered the guards to come in immediately and kill her.

The female assassin lowered her head, letting blood stream down her face and soak her blue clothes. She neither moved nor spoke, like a wooden stake, waiting for her master to unleash her fury.

After a while, the prince calmed down, sat back in his seat, and gave his subordinates a cold look.

"The mission failed, and no trace was left, right?"

The female assassin then clasped her hands in a fist salute: "Your subordinate has taken care of everything. I was worried that the injured guards might fall into enemy hands, so I killed them all."

"Um……"

The prince calmed down a little and pondered for a moment: "That brat Yan Cheng'an has already acquired Dendrobium officinale?"

"Yes."

The female assassin replied, "Ruicaotang is very tight-lipped. I haven't been able to find out who supplied this medicinal herb yet."

Upon hearing this, the prince slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Which scoundrel has ruined my grand plan? Find out and I'll teach him a lesson!"

He glanced at the female assassin, his face sinister.

"Yan Cheng'an is nothing but a pretty face! He left the capital this time with very few guards. Why couldn't you stop him from returning?"

The female assassin lowered her head and then recounted the story of the Yu family.

“That adopted daughter of the Duke was carefully cultivated by the Duke’s mansion. If I hadn’t been carrying a poisoned sword and the other party hadn’t been wary of me, I might not have been able to escape smoothly.”

"Adopted daughter?"

The prince became curious.

"Some time ago, the Duke of Xiao of Tongcheng sent someone to submit a memorial, saying that there was a mistake in the bloodline of a close relative, and that the real county princess was someone else. Father Emperor has suppressed the memorial and has not yet made a decision. Is this adopted daughter the so-called fake heiress?"

"Yes, master."

"Duke Xiao is truly senile!"

The prince let out a cold laugh.

"They drive their carefully nurtured daughter out of the house, but bring back a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. Is the Duke's mansion short of money to raise another daughter?"

The troublemaker was let out, ruining his grand plan; the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

"Why did this adopted daughter of the Duke's mansion come to the capital?"

The female assassin bowed deeply: "I will do my best to investigate!"

The prince was greatly displeased and glared at his incompetent subordinate.

"Tell me more about the matter of the Duke's mansion's real and fake daughters."

The capital was far away, and Tongcheng, being a remote town, was isolated from news. Duke Xiao would never expose his family's dirty laundry in a memorial. Therefore, the prince wanted to hear what his subordinates had uncovered.