Chapter 84
The carriage sped along, running for nearly an hour before slowly slowing down. It wasn't that they didn't want to continue, but Honghong's endurance had reached its limit, unable to sustain the high speed for much longer. Huihui did have some energy left, but he refused to pull the carriage and take Honghong along with him.
After stopping the car by the roadside to let the mount rest for a while, Bei Qiao picked up the long stick that had not been used for a long time and drew the route he had taken on the ground: starting from the capital, go straight along the current road, you will pass by the hunting ground, and then go forward. The road to the south leads to Qingtian City, and to the north is the Summer Resort.
"It sounds reasonable that there are wolves near the hunting grounds, but I don't know how far away this so-called nearby is." Bei Qiao erased the route map he had drawn, told Huihui to keep watch, got into the carriage, and quickly went offline to eat.
After dinner, Bei Qiao went online and continued driving, heading towards Qingtian City. The wolf howls from before were no longer audible, and it was unclear whether the wolves had been killed or had left on their own after hunting.
Her carriage wasn't very fast, and she was overtaken several times by other teams or horses along the way. The horses that delivered messages to the post station ran especially fast, kicking up a lot of dust. After being bitten by the dust a few times, Bei Qiao reluctantly pulled out her cone hat and put it on her head, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her face under the gauze curtains. "I'll have to try to drive in a carriage someday, ugh..."
The weather has been nice these days, with only the flying dust and fatigue from the long journey bothering us. But if it is a windy and rainy day, the rain and mud will make it dirty and cold, and it is hard to say whether we will get sick.
"I know what medicine I can take for a cold, but if Huihui and Honghong get sick..." Bei Qiao folded his handkerchief in half and stuffed it back into his sleeve: "Build a canopy to cover the mounts? Forget it, it's too conspicuous." The four-horse carriages in the capital didn't protect the mounts so well. If he did that, he would become a walking conspicuous bag.
After the horse from the post station ran past, Bei Qiao encountered a convoy transporting supplies, which was heading towards the hunting ground.
Compared with the caravans they had encountered on the road before, the discipline of this caravan was much stricter. Bei Qiao said nothing and didn't even glance around when passing by, for fear that he would be mistaken for a suspicious person and be arrested by the guards on both sides of the caravan.
Bei Qiao: I know I'm innocent, but the guards don't know. What if they're too lazy to find out? Then I'll be in trouble. It's safer to stay out of trouble.
It was almost evening when Bei Qiao finally arrived at Qingtian City. After entering the city, she looked around at the intersection for the official inn. As usual, the official inn was not far from the city gate.
"Little girl! Hey, little girl, don't leave yet!" Just as Bei Qiao locked onto her destination and prepared to set off, a middle-aged woman carrying a basket on the side of the road came over and said, "Here's a handkerchief."
"Ah? Why did you give me a handkerchief?" Bei Qiao, who had just arrived, was a little confused.
"Oh, just take it. It doesn't cost you money. Our restaurant logo is printed on the handkerchief. If you have time, you are welcome to come and patronize us." The woman smiled and showed the basket on her arm. It was full of handkerchiefs. They were made of the cheapest white cotton cloth, washed very clean, and embroidered with the same simple patterns.
"Ah, thank you." Bei Qiao took the handkerchief and flicked it away, sniffing softly. Then he smiled and nodded, putting the handkerchief away. "I'll go when I have time."
The woman smiled back, carried the basket and left, continuing to look for carriages to deliver handkerchiefs. She gave handkerchiefs to every carriage that stopped at the intersection, and she would give a few more to a carriage with a lot of people.
Is this a small advertisement from another world? Bei Qiao unfolded the handkerchief and took a look. The logo on it was a large, festive ingot, with a vague word underneath it: Qi.
Putting the handkerchief away again, Bei Qiao drove straight to the official inn. After parking the carriage, he carried his luggage to the counter to book a room.
"Room 1, Di." The waiter shook the rag professionally and said, "Sir, please follow me."
"Boss, two rooms needed." As Bei Qiao was carrying his luggage upstairs, another guest arrived. Like Bei Qiao, they arrived after the carriage had been parked in the back, each carrying a linen shoulder bag.
"Okay, sir. Would you like to sleep on the floor, in a ground-level room, or a sky-level room?"
"We want a place..."
"Boss, give us a room with the highest standard!" Before these people could reserve a room, a man in a brocade robe with a gold and silver pattern walked in from outside the door, surrounded by people, and threw a silver coin onto the counter from a distance.
"Oh, Master Cen! What a rare visitor!" The shopkeeper hurriedly took the silver, smiled warmly and nodded to the visitor: "Please wait a moment, I will be right..."
"Wait? You actually made our young master wait?" Cen Da, the lackey servant who was protecting Cen Xi, strode over to the counter and pushed the three people waiting there aside: "Didn't you see that Young Master Cen wanted a room? You have no tact at all!"
Wow, what a powerful presence... The three players who were pushed away looked at each other: Forget it, let's be patient, it's our fault that we can't win.
"Cen San, don't be rude."
"Yes, young master." Cen San admitted it, but he stood in front of the counter without moving, with no intention of giving up his seat.
Cen Xi had no intention of scolding Cen San any further. He simply walked slowly to the counter, fanned himself, and glanced at the shopkeeper: "There's a happy event today, so the others don't have to sleep in the dormitory. Let's get two more ground-floor rooms."
"Thank you, Master!"
"Master Cen, you've actually visited our inn. It's truly a great honor! Room Number One is yours, hands down!" The innkeeper was no longer surprised by anything she saw, but that didn't stop her from appearing enthusiastic. After all, these wealthy natives were truly generous when it came to tipping. "I wonder what happy event you're talking about..."
"Haha..." Cen Xi watched Cen San take the key, pretending not to care, took out a handkerchief, and played with it slowly in his hand.
"Forgive my poor eyesight, Master Cen, what is this?" The shopkeeper pretended to be surprised, but in fact he felt nothing in his heart, and even wanted to yawn: Here we go again, some rich people want to show off, not only do they have to let strangers act as supporting actors, and if they can't do it well, they will give people a cold shoulder.
"A token of love." Cen Xi put on an indifferent expression, but the raised corners of his mouth betrayed his mood: "Miss Qi from Wuweilou gave me this handkerchief and said..." Cen Xi froze in the middle of his words, because he saw the three shabby-dressed common people opposite him actually took out the same handkerchiefs as his from their sleeves and wiped their faces and necks roughly.
"You, you guys! Where did you get these handkerchiefs?" Seeing the three handkerchiefs that looked exactly like his own, Cen Xi's mentality was a little broken. Fortunately, he still had some rationality and didn't go up to grab the collar and question them. He just secretly tightened his hand holding the fan, his eyes a little anxious.
"It was given out by an auntie on the street, and many people got it." The players, wiping their sweat, replied politely: "Strange, why does it feel like there's a murderous aura? We didn't show our dissatisfaction just now!"
"A lot of people?" Cen Xi frowned.
After sending the servant out to find the person who had distributed the handkerchiefs, Cen Xi took the key to Room 1 and went upstairs to rest for a while. The shopkeeper watched Cen Xi leave with a silly smile, even trying to keep his breathing to a minimum, fearing that any loud breathing would provoke Cen Xi's anger.
"Xiao Luo, send a pot of warm water to Room One later. Don't send boiling water yet. Remember that!" After Cen Xi disappeared from the stairs, the innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. He stopped a passing waiter and repeatedly warned him: "Guests are very volatile right now, prone to flare-ups. We need to be proactive and eliminate any potential upset factors." If a guest got angry and flipped the teapot and burned themselves, or worse, burned their tongue with boiling water and lost their temper, the servants might tear the inn apart.
On the street outside, the woman who had been stopping cars and handing out handkerchiefs had already left. The servants asked around but couldn't find her, but they did find quite a few of the same handkerchiefs.
"Where did this come from?" Looking at the stack of handkerchiefs brought back by the servant, Cen Xi, who was sitting in the room waiting for news, put down his teacup and frowned. The irritability that had been suppressed by drinking tea surged up again.
"Little, I bought it from someone else outside..." The servant swallowed his saliva and did not dare to step back. He stood there stiffly with his head lowered.
"She's really amazing. I underestimated her before..." Cen Xi shook her head. When she stood up, she didn't notice the stool blocking the way and almost tripped to the ground.
"Master!"
"What are you yelling about? It's not like I won't leave!" Cen Xi pushed the servant aside and, with a cold face, flipped the teapot on the table to the ground: "Call someone in to clean up the floor."
"Yes, young master." The servant was as if he had been pardoned. Without even wringing out his trouser legs that were splashed with tea, he hurried out to call the waiter: Fortunately, the water in the pot has cooled down, otherwise I would have been skinned alive.
The shopkeeper who is doing the accounts downstairs: He hides his achievements and fame.
"Young Master, should we..." The follower glared at the clumsy servant, turned around and made a gesture of tying someone up.
"Don't act rashly. This is not our territory. There are some things we can't do."
"Yes, Master."
Hearing the noise upstairs, the shopkeeper who was still counting the bill shook his head, called the waiter who was responsible for boiling water, and told him to serve a pot of chrysanthemum tea to the guests after cleaning.
After recording the loss in the room in the account, the shopkeeper returned to the room, opened the forum, and privately chatted with Qi’s official Weibo account, telling her that someone had come to the inn with her handkerchief.
Yes, Qi Guanwei is a gamer. Few people know about this, but the shopkeeper knows about it because the two of them know each other in real life and grew up together.
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