Chapter 49: Running Away
Although the two figures were wearing dark cloaks, she could still recognize them based on their figures’ shapes.
Not wanting to waste the candied haws, she hurriedly stuffed it into her mouth and turned to Ye Lanxi.
"Second Brother, you know who they are, right?" She murmured.
It was definitely the couple from the first branch.
"Ye Jincheng and Song Yulan... what are they doing here?" Ye Lanxi muttered in a slight bewilderment. "They are also looking for supplies like us?"
Ye Lingyue fiddled with her fingers, unsure whether she should tell him. She glanced at the couple again; they were carrying something big, probably their clothes and other necessities...
"Maybe not." She coughed.
He looked at her in disdain as though she was the stupid one. "How can they not? This place is called a night market for a reason."
She was utterly speechless by the look on his face, so utterly annoying! Had she known that he would always try to push her button over and over again, she would have brought her twin brother here instead of him!
Ye Lingrui might be able to offer more solutions...
Wait! Her eyes suddenly lit up. Why didn’t she tell Ye Lingrui about it? He would surely keep the secret with him and also made preparations in case the imperial guards found out Ye Jincheng and Song Yulan disappeared.
Commander Leng’s status wasn’t just for show after all.
He definitely would send people to look for the two of them.
"Second Brother," Ye Lingyue grabbed his arm. "Let’s go back."
"Go back?" Ye Lanxi frowned, his gaze fell on the two figures quite a distance away from them. "Then, how about them?"
She shook her head and hissed. "Why does it matter? It’s not our business to begin with."
Actually, she also didn’t expect that Ye Jincheng and Song Yulan would escape today. It was just too quick.
Ye Lingyue picked one scallion pancake from the package in Ye Lanxi’s hands and dragged him away. The taste made her feel happy mixed with worry.
The two slipped back into the darkness, slowly leaving the lively night market.
"Lingyue, why do you look so jittery?" Ye Lanxi popped a pastry to his mouth, and suddenly also had the urge to snack. "Is there something wrong with them?"
She shook her head and continued to drag him, not willing to speak for the time being.
Upon arriving at the camping site, she saw Ye Lingrui and waved at him. As though he could sense her presence, he looked at her and headed her way.
"Second Brother, go share the snacks with others." Ye Lingyue told Ye Lanxi after she took a few oil paper packages from his hands. "Us twins will enjoy the food from here."
Ye Lanxi was curious, but upon thinking that the food might be cold soon, he resisted the urge to stay and went back to the carriage.
Not many people could slip away at night. In their second branch, the ones who couldn’t do it probably were Ye Zhiqiu and Ye Chengde.
The imperial guards didn’t forbid them to go to their family’s carriage, so they were generally safe even if they woke up in the middle of the night to slip inside the carriage.
"Yue’er has something to say?" Ye Lingrui asked as though he had expected it.
She nodded seriously, plopping herself down on the grassy ground. After she put a pastry inside her mouth, she sighed.
"Third Brother, what will happen if someone escaped from the exile convoy?" She asked seriously.
Ye Lingrui sat down beside her, and she gave one oil package to him. He didn’t refuse, taking a few bites of the scallion pancake.
"Someone is planning to escape from here?" Ye Lingrui knitted his eyebrows together.
Now she was sure that Ye Lingrui mostly relied on his intuition and brain to guess on things. His martial art skills weren’t as good as Ye Lanxi, but he could slip away from the imperial guards’ watch just like him.
"It’s Ye Jingcheng and Song Yulan," she whispered. "Actually... I saw them at the night market just now."
Ye Lingrui’s furrowed his brows.
"Should we just let them be...?" She muttered.
The imperial guards would definitely be looking for them tomorrow.
"The harshest punishment is death." Ye Lingrui suddenly said, "and the lightest one will be caning."
Ye Lingyue was taken aback. "Commander Leng isn’t that cruel, is he...? Death..."
Even though her role as Shen Wuqing was a villainess, she had never caused someone’s death before. Still, upon hearing that some people she had merely known for over a month might be executed, she still couldn’t get used to it.
"Commander Leng might be lenient toward us as long as we don’t escape or break important laws. Yan Luo has made such severe mistakes twice, and yet he was only punished with caning instead of execution..."
"It’s because they are essentially from the same force. Yan Luo’s family is quite influential in the Capital." he paused. "It’s not guaranteed Commander Leng will be that lenient toward us."
After falling from the high clouds, they no longer had any backing.
For Yan Luo, Commander Leng still needed to consider the force behind him.
"Then... should we tell them?" She hesitated.
Ye Lingrui nodded. "Let’s tell them. The decision will still be theirs to make."
All of a sudden, they heard some rustling sound. Ye Lanxi appeared from the bushes. "I will join you two."
He scratched the back of his head, making an excuse. "Since Lingyue still wants to keep her condition a secret, it’s best if she doesn’t directly appear in front of them."
After he delivered the snacks to the people in the carriage, he went back and couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
Ye Lingyue pursed her lips at his lousy excuse... but he was still right.
She still quite enjoyed acting like a fool in front of these people.
After that, the three siblings went to the night market again. Fortunately, the couple was still there.
Ye Jincheng seemed to be alarmed when he saw the brothers from the second branch. He pushed his wife behind him. "What do you two want?!"
"Follow us," Ye Lanxi muttered. "Or face the–"
He sensed Ye Lingrui tapping his shoulder and corrected his words. "We need to talk about something."
Ye Jincheng had no choice but to follow them. The brothers told him and his wife about the consequences of running away, and...