The soldier was surprised by her reaction and was about to say something when Long Chi suddenly pressed Lu Liangwei’s face onto his chest. He smiled apologetically and explained, “My wife contracted an illness a few days ago. She would tear up every time light falls on her eyes. I’m sorry you had to see this, sir.”

The soldier gave Lu Liangwei another look with some skepticism, but could not catch anything suspicious about the story. Moreover, she indeed looked quite sick and it might be a contagious disease.

With this in mind, he quickly pulled the curtain back down.

Long Chi released Lu Liangwei once he saw this and gave her a mocking look without saying a word.

Lu Liangwei felt anxious again when she saw the curtain being drawn.

Long Chi had struck her pressure point that made her mute, which was why she could not say anything now.

They had also made some changes to her face, turning her into someone who looked entirely different.

She guessed that the drawing in the soldier’s hand must be her. As her real face had been covered up, the soldier could not recognize that she was the person in the drawing.

Lu Liangwei had tried to blink and cry to attract the soldier’s attention, but this soldier did not think twice about it.

She was very disappointed.

What Lu Liangwei did not know was that Long Yang had distributed a drawing that looked only partially like her to the West Water Frontier in order to protect her reputation. He did not inform them that the person was the Empress of their country and only said that it was the daughter of a random official who had been kidnapped by human traffickers.

Moreover, Lu Liangwei’s appearance had been altered, resulting in the soldier being unable to tell that she was the person in the picture.

After the examination, the soldier let them through as he could not find anything suspicious.

The horse-drawn carriage passed through West Water Frontier quickly without any further problems.

Just as Long Chi and the others left West Water Frontier, the sound of loud galloping thundered behind them. Soon, a new group of people appeared at the city gates.

Long Xuan was leading them with Chu Jiu by his side.

They had brought several men with them and had rushed all the way from the imperial capital to this place. The clues they found pointed that Long Chi must have brought Lu Liangwei to the Yan Kingdom.

From the signs they discovered a few days before, they must still be in Great Shang, which was why they had traveled day and night to arrive at West Water Frontier as soon as possible, hoping to get there in time.

Long Xuan took out his token of authority and ordered the soldiers guarding the gates in a deep voice, “A wanted criminal of the imperial court has escaped to this location. I suspect that they are hiding among these traders. Close the city gates immediately and examine everyone thoroughly.”

The soldiers immediately followed the orders and quickly passed down instructions to close the gates temporarily.

The atmosphere at the gates instantly became tense and subdued.

Many of the traders waiting to pass through the gates were quite frustrated.

Long Xuan ignored all of them and began examining every person passing through the gates with Chu Jiu and the others.

However, they busied themselves for half a day and did not find anyone suspicious.

Long Xuan placed his hand at his waist and said to the soldiers at the gates, “How long were the city gates open before I arrived?”

“About one hour.” The soldiers guarding the gates replied to him respectfully when they saw he was sent here by the imperial court.

Long Xuan’s eyes narrowed as he looked toward Chu Jiu and said, “It looks like we might have been a second too late. Long Chi and the others might have passed through the gates before we arrived.”

Chu Jiu’s heart sank deeper.

Her Highness had been missing for so long and she prayed that nothing serious had happened to her.

“There’s no time to waste. Let’s pass through the gates,” Chu Jiu said quickly. If Long Chi and his entourage had passed through these gates, they might still be able to catch up if they made haste.

Long Xuan did not agree immediately. He looked at a soldier and asked, “Did anyone suspicious pass through the gates?”

The soldier did not dare to keep Long Xuan waiting and immediately shook his head. “We have thoroughly inspected every single trader who passed through these gates and we did not find anyone suspicious.”