The next morning, before the sun had even risen, Yan Liqiang, who changed into a green leather gown and a small hat, secretly left the manor with Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie who also similarly changed their attire from the side entrance. They went through an alley, evading those horse carriages which were waiting outside the manor, and arrived on the main street near the Plum Gardens.
At this hour, Pingxi City had just woken up. There were already people on the street, but many shops were still not open for business yet. The snow buildup from two days ago had yet to completely melt and the air was still chilly. Quite a number of dung collectors were silently traveling back and forth in the city on their ox-drawn carts, carrying huge wooden buckets...
