The roadside stall selling sugar skewers had packed up and left too. Pei Ye had bought its last skewer and stood beneath a wall sharing it with Little Cat-in fact, the vendor could have made two, but Pei Ye had told Little Cat that too much sugar would rot their teeth, and bought only one.
He wore a newly bought, dark-colored warm cloak. His clothes were all ordinary and plain, his person clean, with nothing conspicuous on him. Just as Jiang Yiner had said, he had not fully recovered yet; some pallor still lingered on his face.
This was the first long street outside the East Eight Wards. It could hardly be counted as bordering them, nor was it within Holy Front Ward. An ancient scholar tree stood at its head, with common households lining both sides. For decades, it had been the old route to morning court from the Eastern Ward; anyone leaving the wards to depart Chang'an through the western gate also had to take this road.
The Li family's long procession of carriages and horses had already left the street entirely. Pei Ye looked that way. "Is this a case of 'provisions marching ahead'? I heard Chancellor Li isn't leaving the capital until tomorrow morning. Why has the convoy left today?"
"Tonight or tomorrow morning-how many hours apart are they, really?" The green-clad man beside him sighed softly. Ink stains from the government office still marked his faded clothes. "With a procession this large, of course they must leave first and form up outside the city to wait. Tomorrow, once Chancellor Li... Former Chancellor Li sets off, the whole procession can move."
Pei Ye nodded. "I see."
He looked again at the green-clad man, who had risen to his feet. His legs had clearly gone numb from