"It's an accident! This is truly an accident!"
Cui Jintang was helped up by Zhu Er. She told a dry lie, "My lord, perhaps you also want to enjoy the moonlight tonight?"
"I don't have the habit of enjoying the moonlight from a dog hole."
Pei Zhaolin walked closer slowly. His eyes fell on her skirt hem covered with mud and her disheveled hair.
Rarely, he joked, "Madam Jiang, is it easy to crawl through that dog hole?"
Cui Jintang froze on the spot, like a bristling cat.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time.
If Pei Zhaolin asked like this, she wasn't in the mood to continue the conversation!
But Pei Zhaolin was going to put them under confinement.
This was not up to Cui Jintang's liking.
She tightly grabbed the door frame, trying to reason with him emotionally.
"My lord Pei, we were wrong! Please, for the sake of helping our uncle return to his roots, just let us off this time!"
She blinked her eyes, trying to use her most innocent expression to move this heart - of - stone lord.
However, Pei Zhaolin just gave a gentle push, and the vermilion door slammed shut.
"Click."
The sound of the lock being fastened was especially clear in the quiet courtyard.
Cui Jintang instantly bristled. She turned around and started pounding on the door.
"Pei Zhaolin, open the door! You can't do this. We're not criminals. You have no right to detain us!"
"I've said before, neither of you can leave."
Pei Zhaolin's voice came from outside the door. It was still gentle and calm, but indisputable.
"Please rest well, you two. If you keep making a ruckus, what awaits you will be the government prison."
Hearing the gradually falling silence inside.
Pei Zhaolin looked at the closed door, quite satisfied.
He turned around and ordered Fuliu, "Just lock them up for a few days to scare them."
"Yes, my lord." Fuliu responded.
Inside, Cui Jintang was a bit dejected.
She turned around and saw Zhu Er squatting in the corner, looking very troubled.
Cui Jintang: "?"
When she got closer, she heard Zhu Er counting on his fingers, "... He should not have heard it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have locked me and the girl up together."
Before Zhu Er could finish his words, he was elbowed by Cui Jintang.
She lifted her skirt, squatted down, and frowned at him. "What are you whispering about while squatting here alone?"
The next second, Zhu Er looked at her with a troubled face.
His tone was a bit hesitant.
"Girl, do you think... Did Lord Pei hear me call you 'girl' just now?"
This question made Cui Jintang shut up immediately.
She hesitated, "Even if he heard it, it doesn't matter. He'll just suspect that we're not a couple. He won't be able to figure out our real identities."
"But..." Zhu Er was obviously still worried.
Cui Jintang reached out to stop his over - thinking. "You'd better think about how likely it is for you to kick this door down."
Zhu Er showed an apologetic look. "I saw just now that Fuliu used iron chains and locks."
In other words, the probability was zero.
Cui Jintang patted his shoulder, stood up, and walked towards the couch. She shook her head, obviously giving up. "Then wash up and go to sleep."
"But girl..." Zhu Er still wanted to say something.
Cui Jintang immediately turned around, pointed at him, and her eyes were especially firm and bright at this moment.
"Shut your little mouth obediently."
Zhu Er pursed his lips and said slowly, "Okay."
He very consciously found a Guifei couch as his temporary bed for the night.
Cui Jintang tossed and turned for a while before finally falling into a deep sleep.
She wasn't at peace even in her dream. She dreamed that she was dressed as a scholar, shouting along with other scholars during the morning reading.
Out of the corner of her eye, Pei Zhaolin, who was about to leave, suddenly stood beside her and gave her a faint smile.
Then he picked her up like a little chick and carried her away.
In her dream, Cui Jintang kicked hard with both feet, shouting to let her go. Then she secretly gave a hard kick at Pei Zhaolin's private parts -
"Creak."
"Creak."
"Creak."
Just as Cui Jintang was showing an evil smile at the painfully - faced Pei Zhaolin, she was abruptly woken up by this sound.
Full of sleepiness and annoyance, she shouted angrily at Zhu Er outside the screen. "What are you doing so early in the morning!"
Zhu Er, holding the food, blinked his eyes and said obediently, "Girl, the person who brought the food is here."
He was very hungry because he hadn't eaten dinner last night.
There was a big question mark above Cui Jintang's head. "So the door was opened just now?"
"Yeah." Zhu Er's eyes were almost glued to the bowl of meat porridge.
She calmly scolded him with her expression. "Then why didn't you knock the person out, take the key, and run out?"
"I..."
Zhu Er bit the pancake and looked innocent. "I was quite hungry just now, girl."
Cui Jintang let out a long sigh.
Forget it. Zhu Er was only a bit smart when killing people.
At other times, he was just an over - thinking glutton.
Cui Jintang, who had no appetite, just ate a little casually.
Hearing a few noisy footsteps outside occasionally, Cui Jintang was a bit curious. "What's going on outside?"
"Your hearing is good. Come and listen."
Maybe because he was full, Zhu Er's mind was especially sharp.
He didn't even lift his head and continued to eat. "What else could it be? Girl, have you forgotten? Counting the days, Young Master Yan and you should have arrived today."
Cui Jintang: "?"
Then where should she be now?
Zhu Er let out an "eh".
Only then did he realize something was wrong. "I should also be in the entourage team at this moment!"
Cui Jintang gritted her teeth. She rummaged around the wing - room and finally found a dying potted plant in the corner.
She plucked a leaf, walked to the window, and tried hard to blow it to spread the sound out.
Their only hope now was Cui Sheng!
---
Cui Sheng managed to pick the lock with a wire.
Moreover, he also brought two sets of new clothes and jewelry.
Cui Sheng chattered on, "Just received news from Wenling. They said they're already outside the city gate."
"When they're about to arrive later, a funeral procession will be arranged. When the two teams collide, miss, take advantage of the chaos in the crowd and quickly get into the sedan chair."
Tying Zhu Er's belt, Cui Sheng glanced at his arm. "It's not easy to cover the wound on your shoulder!"
Zhu Er patted his chest seriously, lifted his chin, and looked full of confidence. "Brother Sheng, today I'll show you what a real man is!"
Cui Jintang, wearing a veil, walked out from behind the screen. She grabbed Zhu Er, who was still posing, and said, "It's up to you here. Make sure no one finds out that we've run away."
Cui Sheng nodded like a pounding garlic. "Leave this to me, miss. You can rest assured!"
The two responded and then poked their heads out and ran towards the sparsely - populated East Garden.
Cui Sheng secretly backed out of the room and happily locked the iron lock again.
Just as he was admiring his masterful lock - picking skills, he turned around and directly met Fuliu's eyes.
Fuliu smiled: "?"