The soldiers guarding the city gates were momentarily stunned and couldn’t react. Just as she was about to reach the door, one of the soldiers suddenly yelled, "Wait!"

The woman paused in her steps but didn’t stop; instead, she quickened her pace toward the outside.

Several soldiers immediately chased after her and blocked her path. Only then did the woman have to stop. She took a deep breath, lifted her head, and looked at the soldiers guarding the city through the semi-transparent veil, speaking in a low yet polite voice, "Is there something you wish to tell me, officers?"

The soldier guarding the city looked down at her again, finding her quite familiar, but couldn’t remember where he had seen her before. He furrowed his brows and said, "We’ve been instructed that our Qi County is now only open for entry, not exit. To leave the city, you need to wait for Taiyuan—wait for the orders to come in a couple of days. Miss, please go back."

The woman was silent for a moment before she quietly said, "But I have an urgent matter. I must leave the city."

The soldiers looked at each other, increasingly finding this person suspicious.

The original soldier scrutinized her again, then stepped in front of her, thoroughly blocking her path out of the city, saying, "What’s so urgent? Tell us and we’ll listen."

The woman looked around at the towering figures surrounding her. Unlike ordinary citizens who would panic when encountering officials, she only lowered her head in thought for a moment before looking up at the soldier, calmly and clearly stating, "It’s a matter concerning the Qin Prince Mansion."

"What!?"

Everyone was shocked and hadn’t yet grasped the situation when they saw her take something out of her bosom.

Upon closer inspection, it was the Qin Prince Mansion’s token!

This woman is actually—

Although these guards were the lowest rank of soldiers, they were very aware of which team they stood with due to their unique positions. Qi County was currently being recaptured by King Qin Yuwenye, and they’re guarding the city gates, allowing entry but no exits, precisely because Prince Qin was about to attack Taiyuan, and they wanted to prevent any leaks.

The woman before them held the Qin Prince Mansion’s token, indicating she was indeed working for Prince Qin.

With that realization, no one dared to obstruct her. The city gate’s soldiers who blocked her path immediately stepped aside by two steps, and the woman silently put the token away, nodded to them, and quickly headed outside.

Just then, a rapid set of footsteps echoed down the long street within the city gates. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The soldiers turned their heads and saw a tall guard rushing over from the other side of the long street. Upon seeing the woman’s slender figure about to step out of the gate, he stomped his feet and shouted, "Stop her!"

The city gate soldiers froze, unable to react. The man shouted again, "Quick, stop her, she’s Princess Qin!"

"What!?"

Everyone was startled and quickly turned their heads, and that woman’s slender figure also trembled, instinctively turning back to look. A gust of wind blew by, seemingly carrying a faint echo of dust and a hidden whistling sound, abruptly lifting her veil, revealing a refined face.

It was indeed Princess Qin, Shang Ruyi!

"Really, it’s—!"

The soldier who felt she looked familiar gasped, finally realizing he had seen her when he was guarding the city gates before. He hadn’t expected that in just two days, she would try to leave here in the same disguise!

The soldier shouted, "Stop!"

As soon as his voice rang out, Shang Ruyi had already turned her head and was running quickly out of the city.

In that moment, everyone panicked and hurriedly chased after her, shouting as they did, "Princess, please stop!"

"Don’t run!"

"Stop, don’t run!"

At this moment, amidst the whistling wind, there was not only a faint whistling sound from somewhere but also a heavy heartbeat, as deafening as thunder, that belonged to Shang Ruyi herself. She clenched her teeth and raced forward, the cold wind slicing across her cheeks like knives. But at this moment, she couldn’t feel the pain or the cold, focused only on leaving this place.

She wanted to go back.

She wanted to return to Shen Wuzheng’s side, even if—

Even if—!

However, no matter how prepared she was to race forward desperately, she was still just a woman, and the soldiers behind her were relentless in their pursuit. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up with her!

Just then, they felt a sudden change.

The whistling wind was getting closer and louder, not even sounding like the wind, but rather a sound mixed into the wind that was even louder, deafening, causing the ground beneath their feet to tremble.