"Yes... she successfully ran away," Tao Gu Gu answered.
"How?" Yao Ling asked full of curiosity.
"After the full-month celebration of Han Xiang"s birth, the prince thought that the Ce Fei had already loved the baby and wouldn"t dare to do anything, so he didn"t let the guard continue to spy on her anymore," Tao Gu Gu explained.
"But didn"t you say that the Ce Fei didn"t especially show her love to Han Xiang?"Yao Ling asked.
Tao Gu Gu nodded. "Yes, but the prince was too busy enjoying her time with the new concubines to care about the Ce Fei"s feelings or conditions. How could he notice the Ce Fei"s change of behavior? After all, the Ce Fei was also always cold toward him, so it might hinder the prince from noticing her change."
Yao Ling nodded in understanding. The more she listened to Tao Gu Gu"s story, the more she felt disgusted by the current Emperor"s conduct!
"And then?" Yao Ling asked the continuation of the story.
"I made her change into a servant cloth. Sending her out was actually quite easy because we had planned this for a long time and I already took note of the prince"s manor daily activities. At the gate, she was received by my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law used to be a clever young miss of a notable family too, so it was easy for her to deal with everything in a short time," Tao Gu Gu said.
Yao Ling bobbed her head up and down, feeling that Tao Gu Gu"s explanation was making sense. "So... the Ce Fei should have been survived the ordeal, right?"
Tao Gu Gu shook her head. "We don"t know that..."
"What? Why?" Yao Ling asked.
Tao Gu Gu explained the condition at that time clearly to Yao Ling. Tao Gu Gu couldn"t hold out the news of the Ce Fei"s disappearance for too long, so she stayed behind and dealt with the aftermath. Tao Gu Gu pretended that she didn"t know anything and spend her time taking care of the baby. She told her sister-in-law to wear a male disguise, so no one would recognize her, and sent the Ce Fei to a place where it wasn"t easy to find her in a short time or the place where people wouldn"t think to search for.
"What place?" Yao Ling asked curiously. It wasn"t that easy to find a place like that.
Tao Gu Gu looked down embarra.s.sedly, but still told Yao Ling about that place, "She made the Ce Fei change her clothes and turn her into a beggar including the messy and dirty appearance. She told her to hide among the beggars and true enough, no one had ever checked on that spot."
Yao Ling"s jaw dropped so wide. "The beggar"s place?!" It was a brilliant idea, but the Ce Fei... she used to live in a luxurious place... Yao Ling couldn"t help but ask, "Was... she okay?"
Tao Gu Gu laughed. "There was nothing else that we could do. I also couldn"t meet her, but my sister-in-law deliberately tried to pa.s.s by the place a few time and she seemed to be better than when she was at the prince"s manor. She was able to smile heartily despite the poor atmosphere."
Yao Ling was speechless, but hey... as long as the woman was happy. "Did she stay there for a long time?"
Tao Gu Gu shook her head. "Of course not!" Tao Gu Gu explained that she only lived there for a few days, but Tao Gu Gu"s sister-in-law asked for a person to "take care" of the Ce Fei by giving them money. She also prepared a quite big sum of money to the Ce Fei when she followed those people.
Yao Ling was shocked by their decision. "Was it safe for her to bring a lot of money?"
"It"s fine. Even though she was in a depression, the Ce Fei was actually a clever person. It was just she couldn"t s.h.i.+ne in the prince"s manor because she lost the will to live. She could take care of herself," Tao Gu Gu explained.
"What kind of people that the Ce Fei followed? Was it that easy to escape the prince"s rage and also to avoid the search party?" Yao Ling asked.
"It wasn"t that easy, but the Ce Fei changed into a male disguise. The person that the Ce Fei followed was an important person too, so the prince wouldn"t dare to offend his party," Tao Gu Gu said.
"That important? Who was he?" Yao Ling asked curiously.
"He was the master of medicine valley and my sister-in-law bribed one of his people to take the Ce Fei along with them. The master was popular for loving to bring an entourage whenever he went out and also his disciples usually were handsome men or beautiful women... The Ce Fei fitted into this category perfectly, so it was easy for her to blend in," Tao Gu Gu answered.
"After that?"
Tao Gu Gu shook her head sadly. "I"ve never heard from her anymore. I told her not to try contacting me because it was too dangerous for her. I was afraid that the prince found out her whereabouts. it was better if we lost contact."
Yao Ling sighed. "So, in the end, no one knew where the Ce Fei went, right?"
Tao Gu Gu nodded. "I just hope that she lived peacefully somewhere." Then, Tao Gu Gu remembered something, "Did she go back to General Lin"s manor?"
Yao Ling shook her head. "No... we are also looking for her whereabouts!"
Tao Gu Gu"s eyes dimmed. "I had thought that she must have been living happily ever after back at the Shu Kingdom with her loved ones... it seems like it was only this old woman"s wishful thinking..."
Yao Ling could only pat Tao Gu Gu"s hand, trying to comfort her. "I believe that she found her happiness somewhere. Even if she went back, it would only lead a war between the two kingdoms," Yao Ling told Tao Gu Gu her view.
Tao Gu Gu nodded in understanding. "She wouldn"t want that to happen..."
Yao Ling wanted to ask about Han Xiang, but she didn"t know where to start. It seemed like Han Xiang"s life story wouldn"t be a good story to hear too. Tao Gu Gu seemed to see her hesitation and said, "We already talked for a long time. Can you go home first and come back tomorrow? I will tell you about Han Xiang tomorrow."
Yao Ling wanted to say something but Tao Gu Gu stopped her, "I know that you are in a hurry, but I"m already tired. And also... I will only tell the next part after you bring along Lin Jian with you."
Yao Ling swallowed her words and agreed with Tao Gu Gu"s terms. She looked at the sky and it was almost dark. She needed to check on Qing Hui and then go back to her own inn. She would tell this story to Yao Ying and Lin Jian, probably along with Xiao Fang.
"Tao Gu Gu... you actually told me the Ce Fei"s story, because you didn"t want to tell him those painful memories yourself, right?" Yao Ling asked before she left.
Tao Gu Gu smiled softly, "You are really a clever girl. Indeed, that"s the real reason."
"Why?" Yao Ling asked.
"I wanted him to prepare his mind when he heard about his mother"s life story... I believe you know him better than me and you will know how to break the story softly to him," Tao Gu Gu answered.
Yao Ling was speechless. "This old fox!" She thought to herself. She probably wanted to throw this responsibility to her because she didn"t want to be the one who hurt Lin Jian. She could only shake her head and know that indeed it would be better if she was the one who told Lin Jian. At that time, there would be Yao Ying who would be able to handle Lin Jian, well... if things somehow got out of hands.
Knowing this, Yao Ling left. Tao Gu Gu sighed when she heard that Yao Ling"s footsteps were getting further. She mumbled to herself, "Tomorrow"s story... wouldn"t be that pretty either."