Chapter 180 Encounter in Longsheng Town
Longsheng Town is located south of the westernmost part of Liangzhou. It takes about a day and a half to reach Yongwei to the north and a day and a half to reach Jingzhou to the south. Caravans traveling between Liangzhou and Jingzhou often stopped here for a rest.
Longsheng Town is not big, but because it is located on a major transportation route, it has restaurants, inns, and horse markets. Merchants from all over the world gather here, and the shops are doing a booming business.
Early in the morning, the entire town of Longsheng was already awake. Smoke rose from the houses, and groups of Jingzhou merchants emerged from the town's only Longsheng Inn, some harnessing horses, others preparing carts. Some whispered to each other, discussing potential profits.
The driver whipped his whip, the crisp crack echoing in the cold air. The horses snorted as they hauled the loaded carriage, their hooves clattering on the frozen ground as they headed north along Longsheng Town's only main street.
On both sides of the street, steam rose from breakfast stalls, the aroma of fried cakes and steamed buns wafting through the air as long lines formed to buy breakfast. The small tables in front of the stalls were already full, and the remaining people lined up on the side of the road, blocking the convoy's path.
The driver at the front of the convoy jumped out of his car and asked the people in line to make way: "Make way, everyone, please make way..."
After some effort, they cleared the road and the driver got on the carriage. Before he could whip it, he saw a carriage coming from the opposite direction.
This carriage was completely different from ordinary carriages. It was beautifully crafted, spacious, and pulled by four horses. The street was already crowded with people, and now that this carriage had entered, the two ends of the carriages were jammed together, making it impossible for them to pass.
The driver of the cart opposite was a sturdy man, his face wrapped in cotton cloth to keep warm, his hawk-like eyes scanning the surroundings. He had a sword slung at his waist.
The caravan's driver was also well-informed. Seeing the unusual carriage and the driver, he dared not let the other party give way. He hurriedly trotted to find the leader of the caravan.
"A four-horse carriage, and a driver armed with weapons?" the caravan leader asked, "Let me go and take a look."
The four horses were a treatment only afforded to kings and princes, so he dared not neglect it.
The caravan leader followed the driver to the front of the convoy, and several curious merchants also came to watch. Upon seeing the carriage on the opposite side, the caravan leader's expression changed slightly, and he whispered to the driver, "I've seen this carriage before. It belongs to Mei Dai, the daughter of the King of Xiliang."
"Is that the virtuous concubine?" A merchant interjected, his hands tucked into his sleeves. "Didn't she leave for the capital over two years ago? How did her carriage appear here?"
"Don't overthink it," the caravan leader waved his hand. "The people inside the car must have a close relationship with the Xiliang Palace. Let's pull back and let them pass."
The merchant asked, "Since it's from the palace, why don't we go and say hello and see if they need this batch of goods. If they do, we won't have to go to Yongwei. It's freezing cold here..."
The caravan leader interrupted him with a laugh, saying, "Don't overthink it. Commoners like us have nothing to do with the royal palace."
The driver agreed and went to the front to turn around.
The driver of the carriage opposite was looking back as if he was talking to someone in the carriage. Then a woman's voice came from the carriage, the voice was so low that I couldn't hear what she said clearly.
The driver turned around and said to the caravan leader, "The master said that you should go first."
After saying this, the driver whipped the carriage around and headed north out of the town.
"Who's in that car?" The caravan leader looked at the carriage across from them in confusion. "How could the Xiliang Palace actually give way to us?"
Everyone in the caravan found it incredible.
Not only them, but even Li Wan who was sitting in the carriage found it incredible.
She looked at Shen Yuexi who was sitting opposite her, holding the heater against her belly to warm her stomach:
"Really? Why should we give way to those civilians?"
Shen Yuexi yawned and said, "There are so many cars here. It would be so troublesome to turn around. We're just one car. If we don't give way, should they?"
"It's unreasonable." Li Wan was angry and stopped talking.
She had originally wanted to say she was the daughter of the Marquis of Pingyang, but then she remembered she was no longer that. Like Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo, they were all commoners who had lost their status.
Although it is said that a phoenix in trouble is no better than a chicken, why can Shen Yuexi face all this calmly? She has lived in Xiaogang Village for so long and still hasn't adapted.
After waiting for a while, when the Jingzhou merchants' caravan passed by, Qiang Lin drove the carriage into Longsheng Town.
Shen Yuexi sniffed, her eyes lit up, and she opened the car window a little to look out. As she looked, she waved to Li Wan and whispered, "Come, come."
Li Wan looked at her mysteriously, not knowing what she had seen, so she stood up and went over to take a look.
"Look at that bun, it's white, big, and warm," Shen Yuexi licked her lips, "I wonder what the filling is, let's go buy some to eat."
"No," Li Wan curled her lips and said, "These are things only common people eat. I won't eat them."
Seeing that she was still putting on airs, Shen Yuexi didn't care and said with a smile, "Then I'll go down and buy it. You stay in the car and be careful not to wake the two old people."
None of us were familiar with the geography of the place, and we missed our place to stay and were forced to travel all night.
Shen Yuexi and Li Wan were both young and could handle it. Doctor Hua and Madam Li were older, and by nightfall they were so sleepy they would sway and fall asleep early, leaning against their seats in their clothes.
"Why buy buns?" Li Wan rubbed her eyes and whispered, "With so much money, why don't you find a restaurant and order a table to eat? I haven't eaten in a long time."
"Who wants to have a banquet so early in the morning..." Shen Yuexi had no temper with this confused young lady, "In the morning, you should have some buns and porridge or something. Besides, the restaurant is not open at this time. We can go to eat when it opens. Let's not talk about it for now. I'll get off the car to buy it."
After saying that, Shen Yuexi knocked on the car, asked Qiang Lin to stop the car, opened the door and jumped out.
It was almost December, and the weather was exceptionally cold. She took two steps, and Qiang Lin got out of the carriage and came over, saying to her, "Master, I'll take care of anything you need."
"No, I'll just stretch my legs," Shen Yuexi said with a smile, handing the heater to Qiang Lin. "You've been driving for so long, warm your hands first."
Qiang Lin was stunned for a moment, reached out to take the heater, and followed her.
Shen Yuexi came to the breakfast stall and asked the owner, "What's the filling in the buns?"
The shopkeeper was busy as hell, and without even looking up, he said, "Pork and scallion filling, two cents each, ten cents per tray, how many?"
Shen Yuexi looked at the steamer on the stove. Ten coins per steamer meant five. The four people in the car would have to eat at least ten. And the guards, the men ate more, so five each. Twenty people would have to eat at least a hundred.
"I want one hundred and twenty." She counted for a long time and gave a number.
The owner was startled, thinking he was hard of hearing and didn't hear clearly, so he asked, "How much do you want?"
"One hundred and twenty." Shen Yuexi repeated.
The shopkeeper looked up.
The young girl before me had a face as white and tender as a peeled egg, her eyebrows as black as ink, her eyes bright and her teeth white, and a sweet smile. She was wearing a thick fur coat and a cape, and a wisp of long black hair playfully peeked out from under her cotton hat, making her look even more bright, charming, and lively.
The shop owner was stunned, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He said with a red face: "There are only 20 on the stove. The rest have to be packed now."
He guessed that Shen Yuexi was the maid of some young lady and came out to buy food.
Shen Yuexi said: "Then give me twenty first."
Qiang Lin whispered, "Master, don't worry about us. We can take care of it ourselves."
The shop owner, who was picking up steamed buns from the steamer, nearly dropped them when he heard the words. It turned out the woman buying the buns was the owner. Shouldn't servants be buying? Why was it the other way around?
After buying the buns, the carriage arrived at the only inn in the town - Longsheng Inn.
Shen Yuexi booked four of the best south-facing rooms on the second floor of the inn. She had brought a full 1,000 taels of silver with her on this trip, so she had plenty of money.
Mrs. Li and Doctor Hua were still asleep. They ate a few buns and went back to their rooms to sleep. Shen Yuexi and Li Wan finished their meal and went back to their rooms to sleep.
After sleeping for more than an hour, Shen Yuexi heard a noise downstairs and got up to check.
The innkeeper ran upstairs in a panic and said with a bitter face: “Mrs. Shen, I’m so sorry, maybe… you have to move out.”
Shen Yuexi asked dissatisfiedly: "We just paid the money, why do you want us to move out?"
"Prince Jing's wife has arrived and wants to book this inn." The innkeeper said with a gloomy face, "You know, we can't afford to offend her. We are willing to refund your money and compensate you..."
Prince Jing's wife?
Shen Yuexi didn't wait for the shopkeeper to finish speaking, and looked down while holding the railing on the second floor.
The woman downstairs, surrounded by a group of maids and guards, also happened to look up.
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