Chapter 136: Only a hundred miles apart, but like two different worlds.
I didn't expect that he could see through my little thoughts.
As expected, the adults are worthy of being adults.
Ruan Mian no longer hesitated and spoke frankly, "I remember that tomorrow is the day when Minister Dong goes to Guancheng to do some shopping. I want to go with him and take a look."
Minister Dong quickly put down his wine bowl and said, "Madam Ruan, you want to go to the city gate with me? Aren't you afraid?"
"The purpose of building the road is to connect with the Liaolie Fortress. It's good to go and see it in advance. Naturally, I won't be afraid."
Minister Dong wanted to say something, but Xie Huaian readily agreed: "No problem."
Seeing him say this, Minister Dong said no more.
Afterwards, Ruan Mian and Xie Huaian started drinking together. Seeing that he drank slowly and his face was slightly red, he guessed that he couldn't hold his liquor.
Although there wasn't much wine in the jar, it was quite strong. After drinking a few bowls, Minister Dong felt drowsy.
Ruan Mian stared at Xie Huaian for a few seconds, and some thoughts came to his mind.
So after coaxing him to drink two bowls of wine, he spoke tentatively.
"My Lord, are you all right?"
Xie Huaian held his forehead and smiled faintly: "It seems that I am a little exhausted. Mianmian, I will rest first."
Ruan Mian didn't realize that Xie Huaian changed his address for her from Madam Ruan to Mian Mian.
It's a little awkward, but it's harmless.
Seeing that he seemed to be drunk, Ruan Mian continued, "Sir, I've actually wanted to ask you something for a long time. You've been demoted by the government. Aren't your family members worried?"
"If the Nanping Marquis' Mansion had intervened, Your Excellency would definitely not have to suffer in such a place."
Xie Huaian just smiled lightly and did not answer. Instead, he leaned against the earth wall.
Ruan Mian pondered for a moment, then asked, "Sir, are you still thinking of returning to the capital? Aren't you afraid that those people in the court will kill you? Or... is there a reason why you have to go back? Or... a reason why you came here?"
I remember that in the original book, there was no plot about Xie Huaian being demoted. His main plot was to deal with the Yan Wang party and assist the emperor in stabilizing the government.
He rose from a minor official to the position of Shangshu, and finally advanced to a higher level.
But he was demoted in this life. In order to complete the main task, Ruan Mian felt that he should not be wrongly accused here for no reason.
Since he is the protagonist, there must be other things behind it.
Now that he was drunk, Ruan Mian became curious and asked a few more questions.
But she didn't expect that as soon as she finished speaking, Xie Huaian suddenly looked up, his dark eyes staring straight at her.
"What does Mianmian want to test me?"
After hearing these words out of the blue, he no longer looked dizzy like before.
Ruan Mian laughed: "Your Excellency's acting skills are truly superb. He's clearly not drunk, but he's pretending to be drunk."
The person who was really drunk was Minister Dong.
Xie Huaian smiled and stared at her meaningfully: "If I hadn't been like this, how would I have known that you, Mianmian, were so curious about me."
Ruan Mian knew he wouldn't tell her, so she simply stood up and said, "As friends, it's normal for me to be a little curious. Since you're not drunk, I won't stay any longer."
She bowed and without waiting for Xie Huaian to speak, she quickly walked out of the house.
After returning to the cellar, she called Meixi and Cuizhu over and asked them to collect all the things they had made in the past few days.
Together with Nanny Fang and several other exiled women, they were responsible for lighting the stove and cooking for the people who were building the road. In their spare time, they did some manual work.
For example, some clay pots used for heating were only the size of a palm and could hold charcoal. Later, Ruan Mian made some improvements and sewed some "small clothes" for the clay pots to cover the outside.
Those "little clothes" were made of cloth with some goose down, so the small heater felt especially warm in the hands.
In addition, there is the ginseng facial cream she made. If you count carefully, there are dozens of bottles.
Of course, the most popular ones are the goose down vests for warmth.
Since the goose house was built, the goose down has increased. Cuizhu was surprised before that the down of these wild white geese grew so fast.
It grew back in less than two days after being pulled out.
In fact, it was thanks to the spiritual spring water in the space that the white geese's feathers were plump and thick after feeding! The quality is excellent.
So I used these goose feathers to make a lot of small vests, which I wore under my outer clothes and were very warm.
Cuizhu saw her packing up all these things and asked in confusion, "Miss, are you going to take these things to Guancheng?"
Ruan Mian patted his full bag and nodded: "These might be the first pot of gold I can earn in Guancheng."
"Miss, are you going to Guancheng to do business?"
Ruan Mian had mentioned the business plan to them before, but Cuizhu didn't expect it to happen so soon.
She didn't know that this was just a small step taken by Ruan Mian.
Just like building a road.
In such a situation, Wu Heng had to develop the valley if he wanted to take so many innocent people alive. Especially since there were more than just them in Longchang Mountain.
Meixi told her to be careful, and Cuizhu packed some dry food for her to eat on the road.
The next day, as soon as the sky was slightly bright, she had already walked to Xie Huaian's house, waiting for Minister Dong to come out.
However, the person she waited for was not Minister Dong, but Xie Huaian.
"Sir? Where is Minister Dong?"
Xie Huaian walked to the front and said casually: "The Minister drank too much last night, so it's inconvenient for him to go today. I'll take you there."
"Minister Dong is so drunk?"
Ruan Mian was a little suspicious and looked at his back carefully. Before she could figure it out, Xie Huaian whistled.
After a while, a horse came running out of the woods.
Ruan Mian was a little surprised. She didn't expect that they were prepared.
Just now she was still thinking about how to travel faster. If it weren't for him, she could reach the city gate in no time riding on the white tiger.
Now is the perfect time.
Xie Huaian seemed to see through her doubts and said casually: "This is the horse trained by the Minister."
It was probably bought from Guancheng and used for running errands.
It's really not easy to get around in this remote countryside without some kind of errand running tool.
Xie Huaian was the first to mount his horse, then he held out his hand to her: "There's only one horse, so Mian Mian will have to suffer."
Ruan Mian looked at him with a meaningful gaze and smiled gently.
She was not that reserved. After grabbing his hand, she decisively jumped onto the horse. She was not as shy as Xie Huaian thought.
Yes, she is different from some of the women he knows.
Ruan Mian was still wondering if he had taken the wrong road, and was about to remind him to take out the topographic map, but unexpectedly he had already taken out the topographic map.
After taking a look, he decisively pulled the reins.
About two hours later, after passing through several forests, they finally arrived at an open area at the foot of the mountain.
Looking forward, a city gate stands conspicuously on the flat ground not far away.
It’s not big, but it’s very lively.
As soon as I arrived at the gate, I saw people coming and going, walking inside and outside the city gate.
When Ruan Mian saw this scene, he couldn't help but think of Wu Heng's misery.
Although they are only a hundred miles apart, they seem like two different worlds.
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