Lin Qingdai's hand was still on the hilt of her sword. Upon hearing this, her brows furrowed even more.
"So what do you mean?"
Murong Xue looked at her and answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Go back and collect the silver notes, medicine, horses, knives, and travel permits."
Lin Qingdai was so angry she almost laughed.
"I thought you were going to come up with something great, but all you've got is to break up the group and run away?"
Shen Ling'er stopped on the floor tiles with her toes and looked up.
"Wait, Princess, you need a travel permit for this list? Are you really planning to return to the Northern Territory?"
Murong Xue nodded seriously.
"Yes, back to the Northern Territory."
Lin Qingdai's face turned even uglier, and she gripped the sword hilt so tightly that it sank downwards.
Su Yao pressed down on her wrist first.
If we had been any slower, this table would most likely have been lost tonight.
"But you've come here for a political marriage."
Su Yao stared at Murong Xue.
"You think you can just go back like that?"
Murong Xue didn't understand their expressions.
He pushed the knife on the table aside, looking smug.
He solemnly drew the direction from the Prince's Mansion to the south of the city on the table, raising his right eyebrow.
"Not only can I return to the Northern Territory, I can take you all with me."
After speaking, she stepped onto the chair, her curved sword at her waist brushing against her red skirt, making the main hall of the palace look like a military review session in the Northern Territory.
"Stop talking nonsense at this crucial moment."
"Follow my orders."
Let me explain my tactical plan.
The hall fell silent.
Liu Ruyan's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.
Xie Wanqing pressed her fingertips onto the plain paper, leaving a thin mark.
Shen Ling'er opened her lips, but no words came out.
Murong Xue, still annoyed by their slow reaction, pointed her finger at Su Yao.
" Su Yao, you can draw portraits, right?"
Su Yao looked at her and nodded hesitantly.
" Lin Qingdai, your father is so capable, he must know the troop deployment and defense maps, right?"
Lin Qingdai narrowed her eyes.
Why are you asking this?
Murong Xue smiled mysteriously and then looked at Xie Wanqing.
"Your family is all about verbal fighting. Can't you make some noise and make them fight even harder?"
Xie Wanqing paused for a moment, then didn't reply immediately.
Murong Xue took it as her consent.
She looked at Shen Ling'er again.
"Little miracle doctor, can you poison a few people unconscious?"
Shen Ling'er's eyes lit up, and she nodded rapidly.
"Don't worry, I have twelve plans..."
Murong Xue was satisfied.
"Good."
"You all do your jobs, I'll take over."
"If Gu Moran imprisoned in the Jingzhao Prefecture, I will lead men to raid the Jingzhao Prefecture."
"If you're imprisoned in Chang'an County, I'll rob Chang'an County."
"If he were imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishments..."
She paused, carefully considering her options.
" The Ministry of Punishments is a bit more difficult; we'll need to bring a few more people."
Shen Ling'er caught her breath halfway through and quickly covered her mouth.
She pressed the lid of the medicine box tightly shut, and the medicine bottles inside bumped a couple of times.
"You mean, packing your things? Are you planning a prison break?"
Murong Xue looked down at her.
"Yes."
"What are we waiting for if we don't break them out of prison?"
"Didn't you all say that something would happen to Gu Moran?"
She spoke very seriously.
My plan is very comprehensive.
" The Xie Clan led a group to fight verbally in front of the emperor, making so much noise that he couldn't concentrate."
" Shen Ling'er is in charge of giving me the poison to knock out all the prison guards."
" Lin Qingdai is responsible for giving me the city defense map."
"I'll take you all, including Gu Moran, and run."
Shen Ling'er was speechless for a moment.
Lin Qingdai stared at Murong Xue for several breaths before loosening her grip on the sword hilt by half an inch.
She finally understood.
This princess from the Northern Territory isn't going to run away on her own.
Their plan was to snatch Gu Moran away and then take all the women in the household with them.
That's incredibly stupid.
But it sounds better than breaking up.
Su Yao rubbed her temples.
Things haven't gotten to that point yet.
She looked at Murong Xue.
"Then why are you asking me if I can draw portraits?"
Murong Xue answered even more seriously.
"We can start preparing now, since we haven't reached that stage yet."
"What do you call it in your Central Plains dialect, something like 'rain-something-plan'?"
Shen Ling'er added in a low voice.
"To plan ahead."
"Yes, that's it."
Murong Xue tapped the table again with her finger.
I hope Gu Moran is imprisoned in Chang'an County.
Xie Wanqing looked up.
"Why?"
"The prison doors over there are low, and the walls are old; it's easy to rob them."
Liu Ruyan couldn't help but cover her lips with the tea lid.
She hesitated for a moment, then asked anyway.
"What if it's really in the Ministry of Punishments?"
Murong Xue said, "I will bring all the best fighters from the Northern Territory caravan."
Su Yao stopped pointing and looked up at her.
"You brought experts from the Northern Territory to the capital?"
Murong Xue corrected her.
"It's a caravan."
Lin Qingdai frowned.
"Your caravan is very capable in battle?"
"He can ride horses, shoot arrows, kill, and even disguise himself; he can also do accounts."
After Murong Xue finished speaking, she added another sentence.
"The sheepskins sold quite well, and I made a lot of money in the capital."
Shen Ling'er muttered to herself.
"Your caravan has a really comprehensive business."
Murong Xue turned to look at her.
Do you need guards? I'll assign you two to watch over the medicine box.
Shen Ling'er's eyes lit up for a moment, then she suppressed the light.
"No."
She patted the medicine box.
"They stood at the entrance of our hospital, and the patient fainted from fright before even entering."
Murong Xue frowned.
"Aren't you a highly skilled doctor? Can't you treat someone who's fainted?"
Shen Ling'er shut up.
Lin Qingdai couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly straightened her face again.
She looked at Murong Xue.
"If you weren't planning to run away, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Murong Xue was even more puzzled than she was.
"He ran away on his own?"
When did I say that?
She frowned as she looked at Lin Qingdai.
" Lin Qingdai, you can't understand human language."
Lin Qingdai's temple twitched.
She picked up the teacup and took a sip.
The tea was so hot that she almost spat it back into the cup.
Shen Ling'er finally burst out laughing.
" Sister Lin, you can go back with her to pack your things, and bring all the weapons from Iron Plum Courtyard with you."
Lin Qingdai placed the teacup back on the table.
"Too talkative."
Su Yao tapped the table with her fingertips.
That's enough.
She looked at Murong Xue.
"You just asked me if I could draw portraits, and you said your caravan can do disguises. You wouldn't be thinking of disguising us and taking us out of the city, would you?"
Murong Xue was stunned.
"Huh?"
"This method is simpler."
She looked down and scratched her hands.
"My original plan was to have you paint a portrait of the emperor, and then I would send two people to disguise themselves as the emperor."
"Whoever harms Gu Moran will be executed."
"If all else fails, just kill them."
"That's what my dad taught me. All this fuss is too much trouble; it's better to find the simplest way."
After those words were spoken, the hall fell completely silent.
Everyone looked at her.