“Princess, is this really going to work?”
The guard uniform was too big, and Yan Liu stumbled along.
Following behind Ming Yue, who was also dressed as a guard, she asked uncertainly.
“Of course it will work. After scouting for these past few days, I’ve devised a perfect escape plan.
In this palace, eunuchs and maids cannot leave.
Only guards can leave, and they only patrol within the palace for shift changes.
They leave the palace during shift changes and return to the command post outside.
I’ve figured it out these past few days; they change shifts every four hours.
We need to sneak into their ranks during their shift change when they leave the palace.”
Ming Yue helped Yan Liu up when she tripped over her clothes.
Then, she helped her fold and tie the excessively long fabric of her uniform and said with full confidence.
“But, Princess, why do we have to paint our faces like this?”
With her clothes tidied by Ming Yue, Yan Liu felt much more at ease and pointed to her and Ming Yue’s faces as she asked.
Her eyebrows were drawn thick, like brooms.
And she even had two small mustaches. Ming Yue was even harsher on herself.
Not only did she draw a full beard on her face, but she also drew a long scar across it.
“Alas, I don’t know either.
The guards on duty in the palace have become fierce and menacing lately.
They all look like distorted gourds and cracked dates, so we have to paint ourselves like this to avoid looking out of place.
Trust my disguise skills, it will be fine.
With your princess here, we will definitely escape.”
Ming Yue comforted Yan Liu and led her towards the palace gate.
The shift change was approaching, and if they missed it, it would be too late to escape.
Because of this shift change time, Ji Shiyou was not in Lan Yue Palace.
At the other two times, Ji Shiyou would have been there, and he would have discovered them.
Furthermore, a waist token was required when leaving the palace during a shift change.
To avoid any mistakes, she had secretly knocked out two guards.
If they didn’t escape this time, they would surely be discovered.
Then, if suspicion was raised, it would be difficult to use this method again.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Ming Yue grabbed Yan Liu and they ran towards the palace gate.
“Be natural, don’t be scared, hold your head high, and walk with big strides, understand?”
Seeing guards from all directions converging towards the palace gate, Ming Yue handed one of the waist tokens to Yan Liu.
The two walked towards the palace gate, one after the other.
Perhaps Ming Yue’s aura was too strong, the palace attendants at the gate.
Did not even check her and Yan Liu’s waist tokens, and let them swagger out of the palace gate.
“Princess, we’re out! They didn’t notice.”
After exiting the palace gate, Yan Liu’s heart, which had been clenched, finally relaxed, and she whispered in surprise.
“Of course, my princess’s disguise skills are unparalleled in the world.
They wouldn’t notice. Keep your distance; we are guards now.
If two grown men are holding hands, it will attract attention.”
Ming Yue proudly tilted her head back, pulled her sleeve from Yan Liu’s hand, and strode forward.
“Princess, it’s Dong Nan!”
Just then, Yan Liu grabbed Ming Yue’s sleeve again, her voice trembling.
Ming Yue’s heart leaped, and she looked forward.
She saw Dong Nan standing not far ahead, as if waiting for someone.
“Don’t worry, he won’t recognize us; we are guards now.
Stay calm, relax, don’t look at him.
We can slip past him; it will be fine.”
Although they were out of the inner palace, they were still within the imperial palace.
Only by walking through this narrow passage between the palace walls would they truly be out of the palace.
There was only one path, and they couldn’t retreat, only move forward.
Ming Yue was confident in her plan and disguise skills, and she quietly encouraged Yan Liu.
The two silently chanted that he wouldn’t recognize them and, pretending to be nonchalant, walked towards Dong Nan.
“Your Highness, please follow this servant.”
Just as they were about to pass Dong Nan, Ming Yue’s heart relaxed.
Unexpectedly, Dong Nan spoke, and even bowed to her.
“I can’t hear him; Dong Nan must not be talking to me.”
Ming Yue self-hypnotized, not looking at Dong Nan at all, and continued to walk forward.
She didn’t stop, and Yan Liu didn’t stop either, following her at a brisk pace.
“Your Majesty the Empress, please wait. His Majesty is waiting for you in the carriage.
Don’t make it difficult for me. You knocked out the guards and took their waist tokens.
His Majesty knows everything and is waiting for you.”
Seeing that Ming Yue ignored him and was walking further away, Dong Nan shouted anxiously.
“Damn Dong Nan, I’ve disguised myself, how did you recognize me?”
Hearing Dong Nan’s words, Ming Yue knew the plan had failed.
She ran up to Dong Nan and asked fiercely.
“Your Highness, please forgive me. Do you really want to know?”
Dong Nan suppressed a smile when he saw Ming Yue’s appearance and respectfully asked.
“Tell me, I just want to know, is my disguise skill that bad? That you recognized me so easily.”
Ming Yue was eager to know the reason; only by summarizing the lessons learned from failure.
Could she correct and adjust her plan and escape from here.
“Your Highness, do you think sticking on a beard and drawing a scar on your face is called disguise?
Have you ever seen a petite, fair-skinned guard with a full beard?
Also, you still have ear piercings.
Furthermore, let me tell you, there are height requirements for selecting guards in the palace.
The minimum is seven feet, and neither you nor Yan Liu meet the standard.
Besides, have you ever seen a palace guard wearing embroidered shoes instead of boots?
And also…”
“Enough, stop talking!
Did Ji Shiyou know all along, and he just wanted to laugh at me?
Otherwise, why would that inner attendant who checked the waist token just now.
Have let me out so easily? It must have been Ji Shiyou’s arrangement.
He’s playing a cat-and-mouse game, watching me make a fool of myself, isn’t he?”
Ming Yue was furious. Hearing that her plan had so many loopholes.
She became enraged when she thought about the inner attendant who hadn’t checked her waist token just now.
That detestable Ji Shiyou was treating her like a monkey!
He clearly knew everything and was just watching from the side, treating her like a clown.
“You’ve wronged me. I only received a report.
It said that two unconscious guards were found in the palace, and they were worried about your safety.
So I brought Dong Nan back to Lan Yue Palace to check, and then I saw you and Yan Liu wearing guard uniforms.
That’s when I realized what you were planning, so I instructed my subordinates not to pursue the matter of the unconscious guards anymore.
Otherwise, the entire inner palace would have been on high alert.
I waited for you here; I didn’t instruct the inner attendant at the gate.”
Ji Shiyou appeared in casual clothes. He was getting impatient waiting.
So he came over personally. Hearing Ming Yue misunderstand him, he quickly defended himself.
“Lies, then why didn’t he check my waist token, nor did he stop me?”
Ming Yue still didn’t believe him, and stubbornly listed her evidence.
“No one stopped you within the palace either, because everyone could recognize that you are the Empress.
Your reputation in the palace is so fearsome that it makes people tremble.
It can stop children’s night terrors; who would dare to stop you?
Moreover, you are the Empress, unlike those concubines and maids.
You can leave the palace anytime you wish; you can leave whenever you want.
Who among them can stop you, who dares to stop you?”
Looking at Ming Yue’s appearance, Ji Shiyou found it somewhat amusing.
He hadn’t expected that what Ming Yue had been painstakingly trying to do these past few days was to leave the palace.
And to achieve that, she had made herself look like this.
“You mean, I can leave the palace?”
Ming Yue understood. She had been a joke.
So, as the Empress, she had the right to leave the palace.
Then what had she been bothering herself with all these days?
However, it wasn’t too late to know now, so she confirmed with Ji Shiyou.
“This is your right. However, given your desire to return to Wuman, I have a condition.”
Ji Shiyou knew what Ming Yue was thinking, and said with a calculating look.