"Mistress, here are some of the clothes we found for you.", Liu Yue, the oldest of her three new maidservants, came up to her while holding several pieces of clothing.
Qian Yu was currently lazing around the chaise while fanning herself as she waited for her three maidservants to fulfill her orders. Once they arrived, she then motioned for them to come closer so she can inspect what they've brought.
Her eyes lit up when she finished checking the clothes. "Perfect!"
She then hurriedly went into behind the screen to change her clothes. Liu Yue and the rest originally planned to follow her to help her dress up but Qian Yu stopped them in their tracks.
"No need to attend to me whenever I change clothes or take a bath as I am not used to it.", Qian Yu said. "Wait for me here."
Seeing that their new mistress doesn't seem to like it when other people attend to her when dressing, the three maidservants looked at each other before curtseying. They then did as they were told.
It only took a couple of minutes for Qian Yu to properly put on the clothes that she asked her maids to bring her. When she stepped out of the screen, Qian Yu was all dressed up - as a male commoner.
"Well?", she asked her three expressionless maidservants. "How does it look?"
"Are you really sure that you'd want to wear these clothes today, mistress?", Liu Yue asked. "What if the Great General see you like this?"
"He won't, he won't.", Qian Yu said while nonchalantly waving her hand. "He'd be too busy with his official works, he won't be able to notice me."
The three maidservants each had a wry smile on their face. If they are fooling normal people, their mistress' disguise may be passable. But if it is the Great General? That's something we'd need to see this time.
"Okay!", Qian Yu clapped her hands to issue her orders. "The three of you will stay here in this courtyard and act as if I'm still here. If someone comes to ask for me or wants to meet me, tell them that I am not feeling well so they should just come back some other time."
"This servant obeys.", the three heeded her words. They already knew from their briefing at the Yu Xiang Pavilion that their new mistress likes to work alone. Thus, all they have to do is to implement her orders impeccably as to not jeopardize her solo operation.
Qian Yu nodded at their obedience. Now, it is time for her to enter the training camp!
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Waltzing around like a man, Qian Yu blended in with the trainees who have come to the training camp. The place is quite bustling simply because there is currently a military draft going on.
Thinking about it, a war has just ended so it is a fact that the Xin kingdom is lacking military men. Therefore, this military draft came right just in time. No matter what kingdom it is nor what era, it is a must to have military people to protect the country as well as its people.
Qian Yu checked out the groups that were forming and bustling around. What is the best way to gather gossip, information, or leads? Mixing in with the crowd. The closer you are to people, the more details you can get. However, to make your efforts count, you have to find the people who really matter.
Not far away from her, Qian Yu can a group of well-dressed military conscripts. While most people have the regular commoner outfits, this group is too conspicuous as Qian Yu can see them with jade pendants hanging on their waist. The materials their clothes are made of are a bit expensive compared to regular people. Unlike commoners who are most likely participating in the military draft to earn money for the family, those who are well-off or nobles are in it for the glory. Some of them, to have an upper hand on the road to military prestige, will oftentimes obtain insider's news from relatives, friends, or officials in the higher positions.
With that in mind, Qian Yu decided on which group to target. It shouldn't take a lot of effort for her to get something out of these naive boys if she puts her mind to it.