Under the Bamboo Parasol

The sun rose up early this morning, everything was calm and peaceful. At least as peaceful after a night of bloodshed could be.

Ru An returned to the small hut with the horses in tow. The seemed to be undisturbed by the commotion that had occurred last night, and Ru An was quiet as always.

No one sensed anything wrong with Ru An, but Madam Lin smiles as she looked at her from head to toe.

There was not the slightest giveaway that a night of bloodshed had happened yesterday, her clothes were as clean as always.

"Gentleman, we'll be heading back to the capital, do you need a lift?"

"That would be most appreciated." Hao Xian agreed.

"Where does young master Hao wish to be dropped off? If you want, I can invite gentlemen to have a cup of tea at my manor." Madam Lin asked.

"There's no need for that, Madam Lin can drop us off once we get into the capital."

Madam Lin smiled and nodded.

They all got on the carriage. Surprisingly it was comfortable, from the outside, it seemed that space was small, but now on the inside, it seemed very spacious. It could easily fit five people, still with extra space to spare. Now that he thinks about it, this carriage was in no way inferior to the carriages used by the imperial family.

Ru An sat in the driver's seat and urged the horses forward, and they set off at the pace of a walking horse.

As they were riding, Madam Lin felt the change in temperature, she slightly opened the curtain to peer outside. There was the frozen lake she had seen yesterday, gleaming under the dawn of a new day. She felt a hint of murder that lingered in the air.

"Ru An, make sure you order the servants not to buy fish for the next few months." She suddenly ordered.

The people in the carriage were confused as to why she said such a line. Yet it was only Ru An who fully understood the implication behind it and quietly nodded.

Once she stopped her loud speech, she turned over to the two people who were sitting with her and said "Sorry gentleman, I just didn't feel the appetite for fish all of a sudden. I don't think I will feel it when I go to the capital again. I hope you forgive me."

"No worries madam." Hao Xian coughed and said.

"Okay then, I think we will be arriving soon." With that, she put down the curtain and allowed the ride to remain in peace.

The sun soon slowly rose higher and higher in the sky, yet not warming a single thing in sight. Soon, the bustling sounds of people chattering came into their ears, and they knew that they had returned to society.

There was something uplifting about seeing and hearing other people after being in the wilderness for a while.

As the carriage slowly drove through the gates, Ru An showed a pass to the guards, who immediately allowed them to pass without further questions, or even so much as asking who was on the carriage.

This action a young master Hao, and he quickly asked: "Didn't they have to check our carriage?"

"Didn't they do it already?" Madam Lin asked with an innocently confused look.

"That's it?" He muttered, then looked at Xiao Wu who was equally as surprised. If this was the level of security in Qing Cheng's capital, then the city would soon be flooded with infiltrators, even a common gambling den has more security than this capital.

Madam Lin quietly smirked as she saw the worry on their faces.

Even in the plight that everyone in the court had placed him in, he still had much time to worry about the capital's safety. Such a character was really hard to find, and to find one in existence was nearly theoretical.

It took quite some time, maneuvering the busy streets of the capital without running anyone over, but such a task was assigned to Ru An who was an excellent driver.

There was silence, despite knowing that there were loud noises outside, there was no sound that made its way into the carriage. Perhaps it was how this carriage was made that did not allow any sounds to come in. It was so easy to get sucked in by the silence.

"Young masters, I believe we have arrived." Ru An announced quietly as she looked ahead. She was unwilling to drive the carriage any further. Not because she did not want to, but because there would soon be guards that would come out to stop her if she even thought of going further, and they were people she did not wish to deal with.

The two people stepped off the carriage as the curtain fell behind them.

"This is the imperial palace?" Young master Hao asked.

"Of course, where else would the second prince live?" Madam Lin's voice echoed from behind the curtain. Such a situation made her voice very mysterious, almost like a ghost, or a ruler passing off the decision that would be enacted upon as the law.

With that, the young men blushed. So, it seems that their identities had been known all along, then what was all that act about?

"Remember second prince, you still owe me a favour." Madam Lin stearnly said as she urged Ru An to drive away.

Watching the carriage disappear as it got further and further away.

"Your Highness, should I look for information on them?" Xiao Wu who was next to the prince immediately asked.

"No need, they don't seem to be our enemies." The prince said as he walks into the palace, with his servant following closely behind.