Chapter 13
The four-horse carriage was moving very fast. Although Bei Qiao had managed to get ahead of them by taking a detour, the detour had increased the distance, and a donkey's running speed couldn't compare to a horse's. Before entering the city, Bei Qiao's donkey cart was eventually overtaken by Wu Chaochao's four-horse carriage.
He consciously moved to the side of the road again and watched the guards escorting four horse-drawn carriages past in a mighty procession. When they arrived at the gate of Wutong County, he showed his badge and was allowed to pass. Bei Qiao, who was following not far behind in a donkey cart, was envious for three seconds, and then obediently lined up.
The walls of Wutong County looked gray, and the gates were tall and wide enough for a guard, one on horseback, to escort four carriages. It was almost noon, and there were not many people or carriages waiting to enter the city. The gatekeepers didn't conduct any inspections or charge any entrance fees. They simply glanced at the person, confirmed they weren't on the wanted list, and then let them pass.
"Are you all okay?" While waiting in line, Bei Qiao lifted the curtain and peeked inside the car: "We're outside Wutong County."
"It's okay, I didn't throw up." Yu Qian's face turned pale and she slumped over in her seat, not daring to move for the time being, for fear that she would vomit if she moved: "Oh my god, I don't get sick from flying or cars, but I get sick from horse carriages!"
"I'm fine." Qi Zhi held Yu Qian's hand and massaged her acupoints: "Press here, it will feel better."
As they were talking, the people in the queue ahead of them had already entered the city, and it was Bei Qiao's turn next. Hui Hui saw the seat ahead of him was empty, and very cleverly took a few steps forward.
"Who's in the car?" The soldier looked into the car with a spear in his hand.
Hearing the soldier's questions, Qi Zhi, who was already very familiar with the procedures for entering the city, patted Yu Qian's shoulder, and leaned out with the latter, quickly revealing their faces.
Soldier:"……"
The unmarried soldier looked at the two beautiful girls in the carriage, then looked at Bei Qiao who was sitting in the front room of the carriage. He opened his mouth and muttered something in a low voice, then let the carriage go with a stern face.
Bei Qiao pretended not to hear anything, lowered the curtain and shook the reins, indicating Huihui that he could continue going: It’s okay for the pretty boy to call me, thank you for the compliment.
"Where are you going now?" After entering Wutong County, Bei Qiao's mission was halfway completed: "Should we send Qianqian to stay first, or go buy medicine first?"
The soldier, whose hearing was for some reason extra sharp today, said: "You actually called me Qianqian! So affectionate? Pretty boy!"
"Let's go to the inn first. It will take quite some time to buy medicine."
"No need, let's go to the pharmacy first. We can go to the inn anytime." Yu Qian recovered her breath and held Qi Zhi's arm tightly: "Don't let me leave alone so soon! Let me take it easy first!" After leaving her nest, Yu Qian's sense of security disappeared in an instant, and now she didn't want to be alone at all.
"Okay, then please turn left at the street ahead, then turn right and go to Chen's Pharmacy." Qi Zhi is familiar with a pharmacy here and usually goes there to buy medicine.
Bei Qiao drove the car to a stop in front of Chen Ji's door. The clerk of the drug store heard the sound of horse hooves and came out to greet him. He led Bei Qiao to pull the car into the alley next to the drug store to make room for the door.
Qi Zhi, a regular customer, got off the carriage when it stopped at the door of the drugstore. Yu Qian, who didn't want to stay in the carriage alone, followed Qi Zhi and climbed down, wanting to go in and see what the ancient drugstore looked like.
With no one to help watch the donkey cart, Bei Qiao couldn't follow it into the house, so he could only stay by the cart, boredly looking through the window into the medicine shop, and then he dug out a few carrots from the cart to feed Hui Hui. If nothing else, Hui Hui was a real hero today.
Huihui opened his mouth and panted, eating carrots with a grunt: If I didn’t want to change my master, only a fool would be the hero. I’m so tired!
Inside, Qi Zhi had already put down the sack and started asking the shopkeeper for the price. As a regular customer who knew the goods well, Qi Zhi was very efficient and packed two bags of herbs in a short while.
Another female customer in the pharmacy seemed to be here to discuss business. She was discussing something with another shopkeeper. Her expression was a little serious, completely different from the leisurely and skilled Qi Zhihua style.
Of course, the person with the most unique style in the room probably belonged to Yu Qian. While the other people who came into the shop had some knowledge of Chinese medicine, she was a complete outsider, looking here and there with a look of curiosity on her face, as if she were just visiting the shop for sightseeing... no, she was actually here for sightseeing.
"Have you finished reading it?" Bei Qiao fed Huihui while looking into the house. Before Huihui finished eating the second carrot, he saw Yu Qian running out of the drugstore with her nose pinched: "Why so fast?" Wasn't you very excited just now?
Yu Qian pinched her nose and smiled bitterly: "Ahem, the shopkeeper suddenly took out a very smelly Chinese medicine, and I couldn't stand it..."
"Really?" Bei Qiao sniffed in the direction of the pharmacy: "It smells okay, are you afraid of bitter medicine?"
"I hate all bitter things in the world equally, not just medicine... Ah, I saw candied haws! Wait a minute, I'll go buy a bunch." Seeing someone selling candied haws on the street, Yu Qian's eyes lit up and she quickly chased after him.
"Run slower!" Bei Qiao rubbed Huihui's head. "Oh, it would be great if you could take care of yourself. I want to see what's in the stores in Wutong County."
Donkey Huihui: You are making things difficult for me, the donkey!
"Qiao Qiao, thank you for your hard work. Let's go." Qi Zhi came out of the drugstore with the help of the clerk, carrying large and small sacks, lifted the curtain of the car and threw the sacks in: "A total of 50 kilograms, I'll give you the fare later. Hey, where's Qianqian?" I just saw Yu Qian running out with her nose covered, why isn't she in the car?
"I went to buy some candied haws, right over there... Hmm? Something seems to have happened over there." Bei Qiao rubbed Huihui's head: "Be good, don't run around. I'll go check it out and be back soon."
"What happened?" Qi Zhi put down the sack in her hand, quickly climbed into the front compartment of the car, and stood on tiptoe to look at the street: Wow, when did so many people gather on the street? Are those people in the middle of the circle fighting? There are even people clinging to the wall to watch the show. Speaking of which, are they clinging to the wall of their own house?
Qi Zhi was still puzzled, while Yu Qian, standing on the side of the road and suddenly being pushed by the crowd, felt incredibly unlucky. She had simply come to buy a candied haws, but after eating half of it, people passing by suddenly started fighting for unknown reasons. Then, the crowd dodging and fleeing around her inexplicably dragged her away from the spot.
Fortunately, she managed to stuff the last candied haws into her mouth and eat it before the crowd squeezed it away, otherwise she would feel heartbroken about wasting the delicious food.
"It's so crowded, how long will it last?" Yu Qian felt like she was almost unable to breathe: Why are the people around me so strong! Am I the only weakling in this other world?
"What are you staring at? You're so close to the edge of the crowd and you don't even know how to squeeze out?" Bei Qiao took advantage of his height, raised his hand over the heads of several people at the edge of the crowd, and pulled Yu Qian out of the crowd with one hand: "Why don't you move? You've become heavier after just a while... Whose child is that in your hand?" No wonder it's so heavy, it's not the weight of one person at all!
"Ah, I don't know! I saw her about to fall to the ground, so I pulled her up... Qiao Qiao, I'm sorry!"
"Why do you want to apologize?" Bei Qiao raised his eyebrows.
"I only paid for the shipping, but I've caused you trouble." Yu Qian didn't want to solve the problem herself, but her body wasn't up to the task. Her brain was racing, but her hands and feet couldn't react, and she didn't have enough strength to fight the crowd. But...
Yu Qian hugged Bei Qiao's arms excitedly: In martial arts novels, heroes save beauties, and now I have been saved by a beauty, my life is perfect!
"Now you understand the importance of physical exercise, right? If you do that again, I'll charge you protection money!" Bei Qiao slapped Yu Qian on the head: "Let go! Not this hand, but the other one! The child's family is here!" The little girl was fluttering towards her family, didn't you feel anything at all?
"Oh oh." Yu Qian let go of her hands and covered her face: embarrassed.
The two men left the crowd, skirting the area where the onlookers were gathered, and headed towards the carriage. In the crowd, several people who had been shoving and cursing had given up their bickering and simply started fighting each other. Several nearby stalls were knocked over by them, and their belongings were scattered all over the ground.
Seeing this, the crowd watching the show skillfully stepped back a little, held down their children who were running around, and then continued watching the show.
"It's so hot, and there are so many people watching the fun. Aren't they hot and hungry?" Yu Qian touched her stomach: "I'm already hungry, and a string of candied haws can't fill my stomach at all."
Bei Qiao pulled Yu Qian around the crowd and returned to the medicine shop. He then carried her to the carriage and casually replied, "Maybe they had dinner late."
"I'm back!" Hearing the movement in the car, Qi Zhi, who was squatting in the car sorting sacks, lifted the curtain and stuck her head out: "We can set off now."
"We can't leave for now. There are too many people on the road. Let's just watch the excitement and see what happens later." Bei Qiao jumped into the car and sat sideways in the shade of the car to cool off: "Qianqian, do you know what happened before?"
If there is a possibility of bloodshed, they will have to retreat in advance. If necessary, they can let go of Huihui, abandon the carriage, and keep things simple.
"What happened?" Yu Qian patted her head, feeling like she was about to get tinnitus from the noise of the crowd. "I don't know, it just felt quite sudden. I had my back to them at the time and didn't hear anything. They started fighting all of a sudden, and the crowd just rushed over all of a sudden..."
Trying hard to recall what happened before, Yu Qian was depressed to find that she hadn't discovered anything: "Why did they fight?"
"Stop patting your head, or you'll become stupid."
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