The hundred cavalrymen who had accompanied Bai Xiaowen's party to Jizhou belonged to the Youzhou Army. They were Yuan Shao's men.
Bai Xiaowen could not trust them to work for Qiao Rui. Intelligence delivery demanded strict secrecy, and they were Yuan Shao's subordinates, so he took them back to Youzhou with him.
Tian Yu's personal guards would carry intelligence from the Guandu front to Ye City, Jizhou. That arrangement posed no problem.
Intelligence from Ye City to Youzhou, meanwhile, would travel through the Zhen Clan's secret channels to keep it as confidential as possible.
Qiao Rui would remain hidden with the Zhen Clan. Bai Xiaowen needed her intelligence and judgment to run Ye City's crucial intelligence hub.
Once everything was arranged, Bai Xiaowen went to see Zhen Mi and left her maidservant Xiao Hong with her.
Zhen Mi did not ask how his undertaking the previous night had gone. She simply took his hand and said, "I'll be here in Ye City, wishing you success as you rise in Youzhou and accomplish great things."
Bai Xiaowen had wanted to take Zhen Mi with him, but she was staying at the Yuan Residence to care for Lady Liu. Her filial devotion was admirable, and he could hardly force her to leave. He was not yet in a position to indulge his own wishes!
All Bai Xiaowen could do was hold her hand and say, "Wait patiently for me, my love. In two weeks at the earliest, or a month at most, I'll have accomplished something worthy of note. Then I'll come back for you, and we'll be together."
Bai Xiaowen and Cecilia set off ahead of the others with fifty yi of gold.
The gold was heavy, but stored in Bai Xiaowen's Storage Space, it placed no burden on their