Chapter 410 Departure

Liu Quan and Fang Dazhuang only had a few copper coins on them, which were taken by the bandits. Bai Ying was penniless; even the soles of her shoes were searched by the bandits, but they couldn't find a single copper coin.

The bodyguards peeked around and saw that the bearded man, who had always called them brothers, had hidden the silver well, and they looked at him with admiration.

To be able to leave no money behind by bandits, that takes an incredibly high level of skill!

"Big Beard, where did you hide the silver?"

He Niangzi flirted with Fang Dazhuang for a long time, only to be met with a puzzled look from him. Annoyed, she turned away. When faced with such an oblivious blockhead, she had no choice but to be direct.

Putting Fang Dazhuang aside for a moment, Madam He pondered for a long time before asking the bearded man, "You are the only one in all these years who has caused the brothers to fail."

Interesting. The bandits behind He Niangzi rubbed their hands together, huddled together, and whispered among themselves, trying to guess where the bearded man had hidden his money.

"The hair might be hidden inside the hair."

The man was certain that he had deliberately let this area pass during the body search.

Lady He nodded. Man A stepped forward, ruffled the bearded man's hair into a mess, and patted it for a while, but to no avail.

"Where is it hidden?"

Man B touched his chin. There was no hair. Could it be hidden in the big beard? This big beard was slovenly, with the beard covering his face, and it would fall into his rice bowl when he ate.

The purpose of keeping a beard might be to hide money, so Man B started pulling at his beard.

Bai Ying suppressed the urge to slap the man away, covered her face with her hands, and pleaded repeatedly, "Brothers, please have mercy! It's not that you can't find the silver, it's that I have no money at all, not even a single copper coin!"

If we keep searching, we might end up disemboweling him; these bandits aren't exactly mentally sound.

Why?

Madam He expressed disbelief, saying that it was impossible to be penniless when traveling, as even beggars on the street had ten or eight coins, all thanks to the charity of kind people.

"I swear to God, I really have no money."

Bai Ying devised a pretext to shift the blame. He explained that he was traveling with the caravan to the capital and that food and lodging would be provided, while wages would be paid once they arrived in the capital.

The镖头 (bodyguard/escort) didn't give him a single copper coin, so of course he had no money.

The bearded man complained, and Madam He immediately understood. This bearded man had been fooled by the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), who said he would get paid once he arrived in the capital. But by then, these people might have already disappeared, so where would he get the money?

Lady He ordered her men to search the bodyguards thoroughly, and even the silver notes hidden in the head镖师's underpants were found.

The group of people were powerless to resist and hung their heads in dejection. They were broke themselves and couldn't stand seeing others doing well. Xiao Shusheng hadn't even been searched yet!

"I...have no money."

Xiao Qi's face turned red, and he looked guilty. Seeing this, Madam He said, "You don't have any money on you, you must have hidden it in your shoes!"

The scholar hid the silver notes in the sole of his shoe, not knowing whether it was the smell of money or the smell of his feet.

Xiao Qi took a deep breath and resignedly took off his shoes. Everyone's eyes fell on the little yellow chick on his socks, as if they wanted to stare the socks through. They never expected that a scholar would have such a hobby. The bandits immediately fell silent.

Bai Ying secretly gave her master a thumbs up. It seemed that her master had a childlike heart and could not be deceived by his indifference and cruelty.

Xiao Qi: ...He wanted to kill him to silence him.

At this moment in the Northern City, Lin Yuesha had already packed her bags and made all the preparations, completely unaware of what her stepson had encountered.

On the day of departure, the Chen family and Jiang Baozhu came to see her off. Lin Yuesha got into the carriage and watched as her relatives and friends waved in the distance, their figures growing smaller and smaller until they could no longer be seen. Only then did she shrink half of her body back into the carriage.

"Miss, don't be sad. Family members will always meet again."

Bai Cha was extremely satisfied with the newly renovated carriage. She never expected that even as maids, they would have a place to sleep at night. The tent on the roof of the carriage was spacious and comfortable. Bai Cha had never slept in a tent before, so she found it quite novel.

She said goodbye to her parents and younger brother, asking them not to see her off, and her parents and younger brother agreed at the time.

But as soon as they left, Bai Cha saw her parents and younger brother huddled in the alley. They didn't come out until the carriage had driven away.

Her little brother, with his small body, tried his best to chase after the carriage, but he couldn't catch up no matter what he did, and he cried loudly in frustration.

Bai Cha sniffed. She was already a maid with a death contract and could only stay with her master. Even if she left her parents and younger brother, they were still a family.

This trip to the capital was both an opportunity and a turning point. She didn't have any grand ambitions; she just wanted to accompany her mistress, earn more money, and support her younger brother's education.

Only through reading can one understand the ways of the world. Young Master is learned and humble and polite. Bai Cha hopes that I can become a person like Young Master.

"Bai Cha, you're still trying to persuade me? Look, your tears are even flowing down to the corners of your mouth."

This trip to the capital was unavoidable, so Lin Yuesha focused on treating her father, Xiao Chenggui's, illness to distract herself and make the parting less sorrowful.

It's nice to think about people you care about who are far away.

Before leaving, she wrote letters to her godfather, godmother, and Zhang Qing'er. If her godfather returned to the capital to report on his work, they would have a chance to meet again. Meeting in the capital would be much more convenient than meeting in the north.

"I wanted to burst into tears, but when I saw Granny Fang and Granny Kang in the crowd, I immediately stopped."

Bai Cha stuck out her tongue. It was fortunate that Granny Fang and Granny Kang didn't share a carriage with the young lady, otherwise they would have had to practice the rules on the carriage.

Riding in a carriage is already tiring enough, and sitting upright and maintaining good posture makes it all the more grueling by the end of the day.

Bai Cha felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about Fang Mama's endless pranks.

"It's fine to say this to me, but if the two matrons hear it..."

Lin Yuesha winked, letting Bai Cha figure it out herself; after all, she couldn't save Bai Cha.

With limited space in the carriage, it was convenient for Granny Kang and Granny Fang to ride in the same carriage as Doctor Yan. Once they arrived in the capital, everything would still depend on the two nannies.

Bringing a governess to discipline her would be restrictive, but her own life was more important than being restricted. Lin Yuesha could particularly understand Jiang Baozhu's good intentions; she must have spent a lot of money to bring the person back.

"Miss, I just delivered some snacks to Physician Yan and saw some servants from the Bai family."

To prevent his young mistress from being troubled by the sadness of parting, Longjing took the initiative to gossip.

The servants in the Bai household were the old women who served Madam Yan, and they seemed to be blocking Doctor Yan from entering the capital.

"That shouldn't be the case. Sister Yan left home, and the people in the capital have been searching for her. Once they heard that she was in the north, they would definitely send someone to bring her back."

The Yan family and the Yan clan are of one mind; they shouldn't have stopped Dr. Yan from returning to the capital.

"I overheard something, and it seems that Prefect Bai's concubine was pregnant and was harmed by Madam Yan. Doctor Yan actually helped the concubine save the child."

In order to prevent his concubine from giving birth to any illegitimate children, Madam Yan went so far as to sabotage her son Bai Dingfeng's wedding day, only to make a huge fool of herself. After all that effort, there was no turning back. In the end, not only was her reputation ruined, but she also lost more than she gained. No wonder she was furious!