Two days later, in the capital.
"Stop, disaster victims, go over there. There are free soup kitchens and temporary shelters."
Tian An and Zhao Yiming were about to lead everyone to line up and enter the city but were stopped by the soldiers guarding the city gate.
"We are not disaster victims," Tian An explained.
The soldier looked at Tian An with a look that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?" He pointed at the disaster victims who were queuing up for free porridge not far away and said, "What do you think is the difference between you and them?"
Tian An looked in the direction he pointed, then looked at his own side.
Well, the same dusty face, the same ragged clothes, it seems that there is really no difference.
But it's not their fault! They couldn't find a suitable place to rest along the way, what could she do?
"My brother Yiming is a scholar. We have a pass and are here to study." Tian An showed the universal pass.
As expected, the city guards were stunned. "Really?"
"How could it be fake?" Tian An took out Zhao Yiming's scholar identity card, Wen Die, and a pass from his bag and handed them over.
After looking at it, the soldier immediately returned it to Tian An respectfully.
Then he pointed at the village chief and others behind him and asked, "Are they all the family members of the scholar husband?"
"We are all from the same village." Tian An said.
"Then they can't come in." The soldier continued to ask.
"Why?" everyone asked puzzled.
The soldier explained, "I just checked. Your household registration is in Ming'an Prefecture, which is a severely affected area. You are refugees.
Unless you have relatives or friends in the capital who can come and pick you up and act as your guarantors, or you can prove that you have the ability to gain a foothold in the capital, you will not be able to enter the city.
However, the scholar can bring his family into the city with Wendie."
Everyone was in a panic. They didn't have any relatives or friends in the capital, and they didn't have enough money to survive in the capital. What should they do?
Xiao Laosan looked at everyone's panicked faces and opened his mouth to speak, but Zhao Yiming beat him to the punch: "If you trust An An and me, just wait for us outside the city. We'll go into the city first to make arrangements and then come out to pick you up."
Although the Luo, Qiutian, and Wang families were long-term workers, they had taken the initiative to sell themselves to Tian An before coming to Beijing, so naturally what they said was what mattered.
Instead, several families in the village gathered together to discuss for a while before the village chief walked up to Tian An and Zhao Yiming and said, "You brought us all here, so how could we not trust you?"
Then he handed the purse in his hand to Tian An, "There are many places where you need money when you go to the city. This is what our families have pooled together. Take it with you. I hope it will come in handy."
Tian An glanced at the purse, didn't take it, and pushed it back to the village chief. "We still have some silver on us. You can keep this for now, in case of emergency."
The village chief took Tian An's hand and put the purse directly in her hand, "What urgent need can you have? You have paid for the food and other things along the way. Now it's time for everyone to contribute.
Besides, the remaining food can still feed us for a few days. If all else fails, there is still free porridge to eat! We won’t starve.”
Tian An couldn't refuse and had to take the purse. There were about thirty taels of silver in the purse, and Tian An added another twenty taels and quietly handed it to Chun Xi, asking her to keep it safe and take it out in case she needed it.
Then he took Xiaokang, Xiaoqi, Yaoyao, Xiao Laosan, Deng Xue, Chen Qiang, Chen Feng, and an ox cart to register and enter the city.
The person who registered them was the same soldier as before. Because of Zhao Yiming's talent, even Yaoyao and Xiao Laosan, who had nothing to do with them, turned a blind eye and let them pass.
Anyway, there are only two children, they can’t cause chaos in the capital.
After entering the city, everyone was a little confused and didn't know where to go for a while.
At this time, Xiao Laosan took Yaoyao and walked to Zhao Yiming and Tian An and said, "How about you send Yaoyao and me to the government office first! Once we find our family, maybe we can help you."
The two of them had no objections. Even if Xiao Lao San didn't say anything, they would help.
They are unfamiliar with the place, so it would be best if they could get help from Xiao Laosan's family.
After half an hour of wandering around, they finally found the place.
Xiao Laosan took Yaoyao inside to ask the officials for help. Zhao Yiming, Tian An and others were waiting at the door. After all, they wouldn't get lost at the door of the yamen.
Not long after Xiao Laosan went in, a bailiff came out of the yamen, mounted his horse and galloped towards the inner city. He looked quite anxious.
After a while, someone came in again, this time to invite Tian An and the others in.
Tian An and Zhao Yiming exchanged glances, each seeing the same meaning in the other's eyes. The identities of these two siblings must be quite extraordinary!
After entering the yamen, one yamen runner led Tian An, Zhao Yiming, Xiaokang, and Xiaoqi to Pianting, while another yamen runner led Deng Xue and the others to another place.
When they arrived at the side hall of the government office, Xiao Lao San and Yao Yao were sitting at an eight-person table filled with all kinds of delicacies. A middle-aged man in official uniform was sitting cautiously beside them.
Seeing the four people coming, Xiao Lao San hurriedly invited them to come over for dinner. The four people were not polite and greeted the official and then sat down at the table.
They haven't had breakfast yet! It's free anyway, so why not eat?
"Do Deng Xue and the others have any?" Tian An was eating by himself, but he didn't forget Deng Xue and the others.
Xiao Laosan picked up a shrimp for Yaoyao and turned to look at the official.
The official hurriedly said, "Yes, yes." Then he turned around and sent someone to give instructions.
When they were almost done eating, a group of people suddenly arrived at the door, a huge crowd. Guards and maids filled the entire government courtyard.
A man wearing a jade crown and an apricot-yellow satin robe with wide sleeves, gold trim, and embroidered with the image of a dragon, strode in with an anxious look on his face.
When the officials on the opposite side saw the newcomer, they hurriedly stepped forward to salute and said, "Welcome..."
Seeing this, Zhao Yiming was about to stand up and salute with Tian An and the other two when he heard the visitor say, "No need to salute."
Tian An quickly retracted her knees. If she could avoid kneeling, she naturally didn't want to.
The man didn't even glance at the official standing beside him. He walked straight up to Yaoyao and picked her up. "Yao'er, are you feeling unwell?"
Seeing Yaoyao shaking her head, he glared at Xiao Laosan who was standing beside him, "Xiao Laosan, what happened to Yaoer's face? Is this how you take care of her?"
Xiao Laosan was so frightened that he almost fell off his chair.
Tian An silently took out a box of facial cleanser from his bag and handed it over, "Well, I applied it on Yaoyao's face. She's too beautiful, and it's not safe on the road, so..."
The man only noticed Tian An and the others at this time. He put away the anger on his face and instantly looked as gentle as jade. He nodded at them and said, "It was you two young men who saved Yaoyao!" He did not mention Xiao Lao San at all during his words, and his disgust was visible to his eyes.
After saying that, he winked outside, and someone immediately brought in a small box. When it was opened, there was a golden light inside, and the round gold ingots were so dazzling that they blinded the eyes.
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