On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2085 Opening the City Gate

Liu Jiulang stood with his back against the mottled brick wall, surrounded by a dense array of soldiers, each gripping a drawn sword, the glint of the blades reflecting on their faces, their grip unwavering.

He glanced around and saw that all the paths were blocked. He recognized the style of the armor these people wore; they were Su Zhenhai's personal guards.

"Grab him." Huo Changhe's voice came through, calm and unquestionable.

He stood a few steps away, his gaze fixed on Liu Jiulang, without the slightest ripple.

Liu Jiulang slowly raised his hand, his fingers curled up and then relaxed.

He knew that resistance was futile. He was alone, while the other side had dozens of strong soldiers. If they really fought, he wouldn't last three moves and would end up in an even worse situation.

"No need to tie me up anymore," he said, his voice a little dry. "I'll go with you."

The soldiers stepped forward, grabbed Liu Jiulang's wrists, and began to untie the bundle from his shoulder.

Liu Jiulang did not struggle.

"Bring it over," Yan Ruyu's voice followed.

She walked out from beside Huo Changhe, and a soldier handed her a bundle. She took it, pinched the corner of the bundle with her fingers, and shook it gently, making a rustling sound as the contents inside swayed.

Huo Changhe waved his hand, and Liu Jiulang was taken away.

"Let's go back first," Yan Ruyu said.

The two returned to the Su residence. In the courtyard, Yan Ruyu placed the bundle on the table.

"Open it and take a look," Huo Changhe said, his gaze turning to the bundle.

Yan Ruyu took the items out of the bundle one by one.

The first thing she took out was a stack of silver notes, each worth a thousand taels, neatly stacked. She counted them; there were twenty in total.

“They are all universally convertible banknotes,” she said, looking up at Huo Changhe. “The amount is not small.”

Yan Ruyu then took out a stack of letters, wrapped in oiled paper. After unwrapping the oiled paper, she found more than a dozen letters inside.

She picked up a letter, glanced at the words on the envelope, and said, "It's for Governor Ding."

As she spoke, she opened the envelope, took out the letter inside, and read it word by word. After finishing, she picked up another letter and read it carefully in the same way.

He read each letter very carefully, occasionally pausing with a slight frown.

“Most of them are correspondence with Prefect Ding,” she said to Huo Changhe, stacking the letters she had finished reading together. “There are also a few letters to the shopkeepers of the Liu family’s shops in other places, about the transfer of goods and accounts.”

Finally, she took out several jade seals from the bottom of her bundle and placed them in her palm.

The jade seal was small, smooth and warm to the touch, with characters engraved on it. She picked one up and brought it close to her eyes to examine it. "It's Liu Jiulang's private seal."

As she spoke, she picked up another one, "This one too, and this one as well. They're all for personal use and don't really have any real use."

She held one of the jade seals in her hand, her fingertips gently caressing the jade surface, her gaze drifting into the distance, as if she were thinking about something.

"Your Highness, Miss Yan." Su Zhenhai's voice came from outside the door.

Huo Changhe responded, and Su Zhenhai walked over quickly, still covered in dust, clearly having just returned from outside.

He walked up to Huo Changhe and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, the men who were lying in ambush are still waiting outside the city. Now that the sacrificial ceremony is over and the Liu family can't hold on any longer, should we withdraw those men?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Changhe slowly shook his head and gently waved his hand: "No, let's not rush to leave."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the banknotes and letters on the ground: "There should be more to come."

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu looked up at Huo Changhe. The two did not speak, but exchanged a glance and then nodded to each other in tacit understanding.

Su Zhenhai stood to the side, glancing at Huo Changhe and then at Yan Ruyu, his brows furrowed, his heart filled with doubt.

He didn't understand, given that the Liu family was already in such a state, what could possibly follow?

But he didn't dare ask, and simply replied, "I understand, I'll go and give the order to keep guarding."

Yan Ruyu then withdrew her gaze, turned to Su Zhenhai, and asked, "Envoy Su, are the city gates still sealed off?"

“Exactly,” Su Zhenhai replied immediately. “Soldiers guard all four city gates, and everyone entering and leaving must be strictly checked. No one can pass through casually.”

Yan Ruyu nodded gently and tapped her finger on the jade seal. "After tonight, open the main gate first thing tomorrow morning."

She said calmly, "No matter what, we can't let it affect people's normal lives. Eliminating the Liu family is a good thing, but we can't let people live in fear."

Su Zhenhai was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Huo Changhe with a questioning look in his eyes.

He originally thought the city gates would be closed for a few more days, since the Liu family's matter was not yet completely resolved.

Huo Changhe met his gaze and said, "Do as she says."

"Yes!" Su Zhenhai responded immediately without hesitation. "I will make the arrangements right away. The main gate will be opened on time tomorrow morning."

After saying this, he bowed again, turned around, and quickly left.

After Su Zhenhai had walked away, Yan Ruyu turned to Huo Changhe and said in a softer tone, "Has Your Highness also noticed something amiss?"

Huo Changhe nodded without speaking, but bent down and gently touched the stack of silver notes with his fingertips, his gaze darkening as he brushed the edge of the notes.

"Although I think Liu Jiulang will use the shipyard to escape by water, I still feel that this matter is too simple," Huo Changhe said in a low voice.

Yan Ruyu put the jade seal back into her bundle, and then took back the letters and banknotes, wrapping them up again.

"No rush. We've waited so many days already, a few more days won't hurt."

The fox's tail will be revealed sooner or later.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, there was activity on the streets outside the Su residence.

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers guarding the main gate slowly pushed open the heavy city gate. The door panels creaked as they scraped against the ground, a sound that was particularly clear in the quiet morning.

As soon as the city gate opened, several people immediately gathered around, peering into the city with eager eyes.

An old man carrying a basket of vegetables stepped forward and bowed to the guards at the gate: "Sir, is the gate open? Can we go in?"

"You can go in." The soldier guarding the gate nodded, his tone calm. "Normal passage, just don't crowd at the entrance, and hurry up."

The old man was overjoyed, thanked him profusely, and quickly went inside with his vegetable basket.

The people behind them breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that they could really enter the city. They walked in in twos and threes, their faces showing undisguised ease.

The streets gradually became more crowded. Some people were carrying baskets to sell breakfast, some were carrying cloth bags to go to the market, and some were leading their children out.

Occasionally, one could see patrolling soldiers passing by. At first, the people would stop, but once they saw the soldiers' armor, they would relax.

“They’re from the Suzhou envoy’s men,” a woman whispered to her neighbor, holding her child’s hand. “They’re not soldiers from the governor’s mansion. These men are well-behaved and don’t arrest people randomly.”

The neighbor nodded, a smile spreading across his face: "That's right. Before, with the city gates closed, everyone was uneasy. Now it's great, we can go out and buy things."

"I heard that the Liu family is doomed."

Another old woman carrying a basket came over, her voice low, but her eyes were shining.