The people from the Song family weren't standing very close, and the Yokoyama sisters were skilled in martial arts and deliberately kept their voices down, so they couldn't hear their whispers.
"So this is a young lady! I never would have guessed." The old woman was quite surprised.
The Song family's guards were also taken aback. They had just witnessed how Yokoyama Chiyo dealt with the masked man. Their ruthless and decisive methods and moves were something that none of the men could match even a third of hers.
"It's inconvenient to be out and about. My two daughters and I are easily targeted by people with ulterior motives. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I have no choice but to disguise myself as a man to avoid being noticed." Yokoyama spoke without batting an eye, and his reason was impeccable.
The old woman nodded thoughtfully. These three women, mother and daughters, all knew martial arts, yet they were so cautious. They must be quite extraordinary.
"Oh right, I forgot to ask your surnames after talking for so long. Are you also from Jiangnan?" The old woman belatedly realized and began to probe for information.
Hengshan pretended not to know what the old woman was thinking and calmly replied, "My name is Heng Qianqian, and my sister's name is Heng Yu. The three of us, mother and daughters, are refugees who fled from the north a few years ago. My father was originally a bodyguard in a security escort agency. Later, he died in an accident during a security escort mission, leaving the three of us, mother and daughters, behind. Later, natural disasters continued to occur in the north, so we fled to the south."
At this point, Hengshan glanced at the old woman without showing any sign of suspicion, and seeing that she didn't, he continued, "Although the three of us, mother and daughters, all know martial arts, it's not easy for a family to survive without a man in this world. We can't stay in our original village any longer."
Remembering that my father had mentioned before that one of my cousins had married and moved to the capital, and although we hadn't seen her for many years, we wanted to go to the capital to visit her.
"I see," the old woman said, seeing the three of them dressed in rags and looking quite disheveled. She had other ideas. They had set off from Jiangnan. Although the master had sent twenty guards to escort them, several of them had been killed by bandits earlier, and several more had been killed today. It would be quite some time before they reached the capital. It was still a question whether they could reach the capital safely on their own.
The three members of the Heng family, mother and daughters, are so skilled in martial arts, and they happen to be going the same way. If we could hire them, the journey ahead would be much smoother, and we would have a better chance of arriving in the capital safely.
"Madam Heng, Miss Heng, please wait a moment. I have something to say to my young lady, and I'll be right back." The old woman turned to Song Xiyan to discuss hiring the Heng family mother and her two daughters as guards. When Song Xiyan heard that all three were women, she had no doubts.
Without much thought, they agreed. Soon after, the old woman came over and told Hengshan and her two daughters that she wanted to hire them as guards. "Don't worry, we will take care of your food and supplies along the way. We will not treat you badly. Each of you will receive fifty taels of silver as a reward."
The镖师 (bodyguards) from the镖局 (escort agency) are charged about the same price, so the nanny didn't overpay or underpay.
Yokoyama Chiyo's expression remained unchanged. After a moment's thought, she agreed. She had been waiting for this opportunity, and now that the Song family had offered it, it saved her the trouble of thinking about it again.
As for the reward, she didn't care much. It didn't matter how much or how little she was paid. The most important thing was that the Song family's team could cover their identities and ensure their safe arrival in the capital.
The nanny was delighted to have hired the Heng family mother and her two daughters. She took out a silver note from her bosom and handed it over, saying with a smile, "This is our young lady's way of thanking you for saving our lives. It's just a small token, please don't mind. When we get to the capital, if you need any help from us, just let us know. As long as it's within our young lady's power, we will do our best."
Yokoyama did not refuse, took the silver note, glanced at it casually, three hundred taels, not too much, not too little, Yokoyama was slightly satisfied, but she did not show it, politely thanked her and put it away.
Because Yokoyama was injured and could not ride a horse, Miss Song arranged another carriage for him. That carriage was filled with good things brought from home and had not been used by anyone.
Knowing that the boxes were all locked and contained only some silks, brocades, and tonics, he simply had Yokoyama Chiyo ride in the carriage, while Keiya Nishi and Yokoyama Eiko rode horses.
The Song family's guards were all mounted on horseback. Because some guards were lost, they had a few extra horses, which benefited Gui Guxi and her daughter.
Later, Hengshan learned that the Song family had encountered bandits before and had been rescued once. She described Zhu Lin and Xingxing's appearances and, recalling the group of highly skilled guards around them, she quickly guessed who the two were.
It seems that the princess and Zhu Lin have arrived in the capital a step ahead of her. That's even better. It's exciting to think about. They say the most dangerous place is the safest place. She really wants to see when the princess will discover that she, a Japanese, has infiltrated the capital.
"Achoo!" Xingxing suddenly sneezed, furrowing her brows. "Who's thinking about me? I'm feeling a little uneasy."
At this point, their group had arrived at a prefecture city that was ten days' journey from the capital. This prefecture city was the second farthest from the capital. After passing this city, there was another prefecture city that was closest to the capital. After passing that city, it would take another three days to reach the capital.
Qingyan went into the inn first and booked several superior rooms. Xingxing followed behind, holding Zhu Lin's hand absentmindedly, glancing back as she walked.
"Why are Xiantao and the others so slow? They said they were almost here a few days ago, but they still haven't arrived?"
The silver mine on Potato Island was not yet fully mined. Originally, Zhao Mingyue was going to wait for the mining team to return before going back to the capital, but Madam Zhang suddenly fell ill and remained bedridden for two months without improvement. General Zhang and his son were unable to return to the capital from the northern border.
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Xiantao could no longer sit still. She wished she could grow wings and fly back to her mother's side immediately. She was determined to return to the capital, and naturally, she would take her child with her.
Since their grandson was leaving, Zhao Shui and Song Zhaodi didn't want to stay in Anyang Prefecture either, so they decided to go to the capital with him. Wherever their grandson was, they, as his grandparents, would be there too.
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