Upon hearing this, Pei Lin felt as if struck by lightning. His face and head were flushed with shock. He forced back the pain rising within him, stopped Yun Chu, and pressed her for an answer:

"Where did she go? Did she go alone? When did she go? What is she going to do? When will she be back?"

A barrage of questions rained down on Yun Chu like firecrackers. Yun Chu steadied herself slightly, organized her thoughts, and replied:

"Lingniang went to Bianjing."

The simple six words seemed to strike him like a blow to the head. No matter how much Pei Lin guessed or thought, he never expected that Yun Ling would go to Bianjing!

The word "Bianjing" kept repeating in his head, a jumble of thoughts making him dizzy and confused. What was she doing in Bianjing? Why was she getting involved in that place of power and wealth? Was she out of her mind? Could it be that the delicious food from Zhouqiao that he had told her about last time had attracted her?

“Lingniang went to buy wool a while ago, so she won’t be back until next year at the earliest.”

"Buying wool? She went alone?"

"She also brought a young lady with her."

Pei Lin thought it over and over. He had gone there a few days ago. If he had taken the boat himself, he should have been able to arrive in Bianjing around the same time as her. But Bianjing... Bianjing was a place he never wanted to set foot in again. What if Yunling was in danger?

Pei Lin stopped thinking about it and immediately went inside. He asked his employer for a year's leave. His employer was unwilling, but Pei Lin firmly said that if he was not given leave, he would quit the job.

The owner panicked immediately. Not only was losing a capable assistant a problem, but if his superiors found out, things would be disastrous.

"Why is Brother Lin in such a hurry? Where are you going?"

"Bianjing!"

**

After Yun Ruoxia delivered Yun Chu to Ren'an Hall, she took freshly scraped honey and royal jelly to the Lu family's trading company. When Uncle Cao saw Yun Ruoxia, he excitedly slapped his thigh, his tone slightly "complaining".

"Second Aunt, if you had been earlier, the honey and royal jelly could have been shipped to Bianjing."

Yun Ruoxia was somewhat taken aback. How could she know when the Lu family's merchant ship would set sail? Uncle Cao was really asking a difficult question. But despite her complaints, she still had to agree.

"Did this merchant ship just leave?"

"That's right. The boat set sail early this morning. I got up in the middle of the night to accompany our Huai-ge'er out and see him off. I just got back and opened the door when Second Aunt came here."

"Oh? Young Master is also going to Bianjing? If I had known earlier, I would have asked Ling'er to wait a couple of days before setting off. Our two families are acquainted, so we can look out for each other."

Uncle Cao was greatly alarmed.

"Does Second Sister mean that Second Sister also went to Bianjing???"

Yun Ruoxia echoed the man's tone, saying:

"That's right, it happened just a couple of days ago. The boat set sail early in the morning, and I had to get up in the middle of the night to take Ling-jie to the next two towns."

Uncle Cao grinned.

"It's fate that our two families are connected."

**

Whether it was fate or not, Yunling did not know. Since there was no wood to burn, after that extravagant feast that morning, the following days were far from being described as "poor".

The group didn't know how much time had passed, and just when they felt they couldn't take it anymore, they vaguely seemed to hear a sentence...

"We've arrived in Shucheng! The fruit is ripe! We can play here for three days!"

Yunling suddenly sprang to her feet, startling Tang Ling. Gangzi immediately rolled over, clenched his fist, and prepared to fight.

"Second brother, are there river bandits?"

When Tang Ling heard Gangzi say that, she quickly looked around and finally only took her own shoes for defense.

Yunling said:

"No, didn't you all hear that? Just now, Uncle Cheng was saying that we've arrived at Shucheng, and the boat can dock to unload fruit. We can play here for three days."

"real???"

"Damn it, I can finally get off the ship and wander around. I've been so cooped up these past few days, I couldn't even poop."

Tang Ling glanced at Gangzi through the curtain, then chuckled to herself. She found Gangzi to be quite interesting; he had people and things on his mind, unlike those who only knew how to talk but did nothing. Traveling with him would be a good idea.

Yunling hurriedly rummaged through her bundle, picking up two sets of clothes as she said:

"After we disembark at dawn, we'll first find an inn to stay in, take a warm hot bath, have a hot pot meal, and then find some fun."

Yunling's words naturally struck a chord with them. These past few days, they had been eating steamed buns all the time, and their mouths felt like they had been brushed with a brush—bland and smelly. They even walked unsteadily, like opium addicts.

This feeling was absolutely terrible. Now that they were about to disembark, how could these people, who had been enduring hardship in the desert for so long, not be happy to suddenly see an oasis?

Once the ship docked, without waiting for Cheng Bo to personally inform them, Yun Ling and the others, each carrying their bundles, were like angry birds, ready to take off at any moment.

Seeing their enthusiastic expressions, Chengbo didn't want to spoil their fun. However, having already collected the boat fare, he felt it was time to make his point clear.

"We'll stay in Shucheng for three days, and we'll set off early on the fourth day. You can go out and have fun during these days, and you can come back to the boat at night to stay overnight. You can also eat on the boat; there's dried fish and cured meat, so you can have a treat."

Yunling's heart had already flown outside, and nothing could pull it back, let alone dried fish and cured meat. However, Uncle Cheng's intentions were kind, and she was grateful.

"We appreciate Uncle Xie's kindness, but given the weather, why don't you come with us for a hot pot meal?"

"Have you ever seen a boatman leave the boat? This is the old man's house, you can play around if you want."

After these days, Yunling had come to understand Chengbo's temperament. Since he said so, she didn't want to force him too much, so she waved goodbye to him and then rushed forward like a wild horse.

There's a stretch of road leading to the dock, with a row of inns where you can stay. But since Yunling has three days to play, she might as well go to town. Besides, she still needs to write a letter, so she naturally needs to find a safe place.

The three of them didn't walk far; they hired a donkey cart nearby and headed towards town. Along the way, Yunling kept busy, asking the donkey cart driver questions...

"Hey bro, what's fun to do in Shucheng?"

"Fun? No."

"What's delicious?"

"Um... there's nothing particularly delicious here."

Yunling: ...

But that's normal. If someone asked her in Pingcheng for no reason what was fun or delicious there, she wouldn't be able to remember.