Led by Chang Yi, the Zhao family went to the house that Zhao Qingyan had previously bought in the capital.

We had considered this from the beginning: if the Zhao family came to the capital, their place of residence would have to be large enough.

The residence was in a good location, surrounded by officials, though not of very high rank.

The distance to the examination hall is not too far.

The house is a three-courtyard complex, which is enough to accommodate everyone.

Zhao Qingyan chose to stay in the last courtyard.

This makes it convenient for her to jump over the wall and go out when she has nothing to do.

Going out the gate would disturb the family, and then one person would offer to ride in a carriage, another would offer to wear a cap, it was quite a hassle.

It's better to use your light-foot technique to go directly out from the backyard; it's convenient to go anywhere and faster.

In the capital city, the streets are full of sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages. If you're really in a hurry, sometimes walking is actually faster than taking a carriage.

The house had been cleaned early in the morning, and people were also instructed to sprinkle insect repellent powder.

The Zhao family still personally inspected and cleaned the inside and outside of the house before they felt at ease.

After sending Chang Yi and the others away, the Zhao family members immediately returned to their rooms to wash up and rest.

As for meals, skipping a meal won't kill them. A little formula or rice cereal will do the trick.

The Zhao family slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

They traveled for more than three months, rushing back and forth.

Although we stayed at inns along the way, we always had to be careful about where we slept.

It was precisely because of this caution that the Zhao family avoided several dangerous situations.

When traveling, it's inevitable to encounter shady shops.

The most common trick in these shady shops is to drug people with sleeping pills.

Ten days before entering the capital, the Zhao family passed through a place called Caoweipo.

For dozens of miles around, there was no one else in the area, yet there was an inn.

The name of the inn is also quite casual: Xilai Inn.

Opening an inn in this desolate, remote place seems rather out of place.

After all, it's not easy to get goods from this place.

The Zhao family was used to being cautious, so upon arriving at the inn, they went straight to asking for guest rooms.

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment.

"Guests, we have guest rooms available. You must be tired from your journey. Would you like something to eat?"

Our little shop is in a remote location, so we don't have many fancy dishes, but we have plenty of meat buns.

Waiter, please serve tea to all our guests first, so that you can have some water to quench your thirst.

Please have a seat.

The waiter is coming right now. You may take your horses to the backyard. Don't worry, they will be well-fed.

They said the horse could sign in at the backyard, but the two waiters immediately took bowls and poured tea.

Not only that, he also took a large bowl outside and poured a bowl of water for each of the people who were driving the carriage.

Those eager little eyes seemed to say that it would be a disservice not to drink with them.

Along the way, little Zhao Qinghe, under the guidance of Zhao Qingyan, learned about preventing abduction, fraud, and shady businesses.

They would often concoct different kinds of sleeping pills and then put them in tea, porridge, or dishes.

After everyone finished eating and contracted the virus, she provided an antidote.

Therefore, everyone in the Zhao family, including the masters and the maids and servants who came with them, became extremely sensitive to various sleeping potions and poisons.

They have even developed some drug resistance.

After the waiter poured the water, the Zhao family picked up the bowl, smelled it, and then put it down.

"Shopkeeper, we are really tired. Why don't you take us upstairs to rest first?"

The shopkeeper felt a great pity; why didn't these people drink tea?

He forced a stiff smile.

"Since you gentlemen wish to stay overnight, let us arrange for you to proceed to your guest rooms."

"For now, the inn only has ten bedrooms available for accommodation. I wonder if that will be enough for you gentlemen."

After giving them half a tael of silver, the Zhao family went directly into the guest room.

After entering, they did not immediately put their things down, but instead instructed the shopkeeper to have someone boil hot water for everyone to wash up.

After sending everyone away, the group started banging and knocking inside the house.

Soon, they discovered a hidden door in the wall of the room.

The Zhao family didn't make a fuss. It was quite cold, and the night was already deep, so continuing on their way was unrealistic.

Since this is a shady business, don't blame them for being impolite.

He drove the carriage to the backyard. He personally fed it hay and left someone in the stable to watch over the horses and supplies.

The others were assigned rooms and removed the dirty bedding from the beds.

Using the water brought in by the waiter, they wiped the beds, chairs, and benches clean, and after laying out the mattresses and quilts they had brought, they lay down to sleep one by one.

Of course, this "sleeping" doesn't mean everyone falls into a deep sleep. Someone needs to stay and keep watch at night.

The women were divided into two rooms, with Zhao Qingyan and Madam Huang each guarding one.

Because there were too many people and not enough beds in the inn, the Zhao family took out several folding beds from the carriage.

These were made by the Zhao family themselves after Zhao Qingyan studied the design of folding beds from later generations.

The wood I chose was a relatively light type, making it easy to use and not taking up much space.

The shopkeeper and the two waiters gritted their teeth at the sight of the Zhao family's actions.

"Damn it, I've never seen a family prepare everything so thoroughly when they go out."

Being so particular is exhausting! Asking for water from every room is such a hassle.

The waiter, who looked remarkably like the shopkeeper, muttered to himself.

Han Jia and his companions, carrying things back and forth, naturally overheard the waiter's mutterings. However, they pretended not to hear anything.

We're just waiting for these guys to make their move; they're definitely staying here tonight anyway.

With the beds made, the Zhao family started cooking using the pots they had brought with them.

Whether it's water or food, everything used has absolutely nothing to do with the inn.

This really worried the three of them, but they couldn't say anything.

The waiter had intended to use helping as an excuse to secretly add some medicine to the Zhao family's pot, but before he even got close, he tripped and fell.

I don't know why I fell; I knocked out two of my front teeth.

He had no intention of doing anything malicious, so he planned to wait until midnight to administer the sleeping pills.

Sure enough, there was some noise outside the door in the middle of the night.

Zhao Qingyan's house is occupied by two sisters-in-law and five children.

Zhao Qingyan immediately pressed the pressure points on several people to put them to sleep, and then sent them into her spatial dimension.

She didn't want her sister-in-law and nephews and nieces to inhale sleeping pills.

Who knows how vile the medicine these heartless bastards used was?

Soon the window paper was punctured, and a bamboo tube was inserted from the outside.

Zhao Qingyan took out a balloon from her spatial storage, opened the opening of the balloon, and gently put the balloon over the bamboo tube.

The waiter outside, blowing inhaling sedatives, felt increasingly uneasy.

"Damn it, is there something wrong with this bamboo tube? Is it blocked?"

"Why is it getting harder and harder to blow? My head is spinning!" As he spoke, the waiter, who looked just like the innkeeper, collapsed.