It wasn't because of Suiye's words, but because of that name.
Huo Zhaoqing... isn't he the leader of another rebel group, and Zhang Suinian's mentor?
The book doesn't describe him much, only that he was once a wealthy and powerful young man who later fell into poverty and hardship. He saved Zhang Suinian and others, and gathered many followers to start a rebellion.
Although Huo Zhaoqing was lame, he was also violent and unpopular.
However, when the northern enemy attacked while the court and the rebel army led by the young prince were at war, Huo Zhaoqing abandoned the attack on the capital and led his troops straight to the rescue. He fought bloody battles for several months and repelled the enemy army, protecting thirteen border cities. Therefore, he was not destined for the throne.
Huo Zhaoqing in the book lost the throne, but he was a true hero.
As for Suiye...
Ye Wenxue looked the man up and down, her gaze lingering on his long legs, but she couldn't see anything wrong with them.
...I couldn't see any resemblance between him and Huo Zhaoqing, the cunning and cunning strategist in the book.
Out of consideration for their friendship of over a month, Ye Wenxue reminded her, "After you go down the mountain, don't foolishly trust anyone, not even Su Jiu. Think thrice before you act, don't be too reckless, and also..."
Huo Zhaoqing was both amused and exasperated by Ye Wenxue's words.
At this point, what's the point of talking about thinking things through before acting?
Thinking that he might never see her again, he recklessly stepped forward and leaned close to Ye Wenxue's face, about to kiss her.
Ye Wenxue shut her mouth and kicked the person away: "Do you have anything else to say? If not, then get lost."
Ye Wenxue did not believe that Huo Zhaoqing was genuinely in love with her, nor did she think that a son of a powerful family would have a penchant for becoming someone's stepfather.
He was just young and naive, and his life had been too smooth. He had never met anyone who dared to disobey or even bully him. He was just confused for a moment.
Huo Zhaoqing steadied himself, lowered his head for a long while, then took out the ancestral token that Ye Wenxue had given him, and rubbed it a couple of times with considerable reluctance: "Please keep it for me for a while."
Seeing Ye Wenxue's refusal, Huo Zhaoqing added, "I will definitely compensate you for the storage costs in the future. My future is uncertain after returning to the capital... If I don't come back to find you within two years, you can melt down the gold and use the money to raise the child."
...The silver notes he was carrying were soaked and unusable. He had given part of the silver in his purse to Ye Wenxue and the other part to Su Jiu as medical fees. He really had no money left.
Ye Wenxue thought about it for a moment and finally accepted it.
Ye Wenxue was going to a nearby town to buy supplies, while Huo Zhaoqing and Su Jiu were going to the post station to rent a horse-drawn carriage.
The three parted ways at the intersection.
Su Jiu looked around the stalls and shops on both sides of the long street with great interest, stopping from time to time to buy some sweets to eat as she walked.
He handed Huo Zhaoqing a piece as well, and casually asked, "What did you say to her? Why do you look so pale?"
Huo Zhaoqing glanced at Su Jiu and refused the coarse snacks offered to him.
Su Jiu didn't mind, but glancing at Huo Zhaoqing's cold and rugged profile, she suddenly had a strange guess: "You wouldn't be...?"
"Yes." Huo Zhaoqing sensed the unspoken meaning in Su Jiu's words and admitted it without hesitation.
Su Jiu froze, his mouth agape, forgetting even the food in his mouth: "You...you're incredibly audacious! Are you out of your mind?!"
After spending this time together, Su Jiu had long since figured out what kind of person Ye Wenxue was.
Despite Ye Wenxue's gentle and kind demeanor towards her chicks and the goose, her gaze towards other people and things is cold, as if she were looking at a corpse rather than a living person.
Su Jiu ran away from home years ago and ran out of money. He also worked as a coroner who spent some time with corpses, but he didn't think he could be as cold-hearted as Ye Wenxue.
If it weren't for the need for manpower to help build the house before winter, Ye Wenxue would probably have just watched Huo Zhaoqing die and would never have saved him.
Su Jiu didn't believe that someone as privileged as Su Jiu, who had been dealing with people since childhood, could not see something that Su Jiu could.
Even after all this, Huo Zhaoqing's ability to still fall for Ye Wenxue truly deserves praise for her courage.
"She didn't beat you up?" Su Jiu looked Huo Zhaoqing up and down suspiciously. "Most of your wounds have healed, but some haven't. You can't take any more risks."
Huo Zhaoqing shook her head, not answering Su Jiu's question, and raised her chin, pointing to the post station ahead: "Go, buy me a horse."
His tone remained as condescending as ever.
Su Jiu spat inwardly, but as soon as he came down the mountain, he reverted to his usual demeanor and even ordered him around. This guy is really something!
Huo Zhaoqing raised an eyebrow at him.
Su Jiu nodded repeatedly: "I'll go right away, just a moment."
Unable to defeat him in a fight, and needing his escort all the way home, Su Jiu had no room to resist.
Huo Zhaoqing glanced back at the towering mountains several miles away and the much more bustling town market, then turned and left.
Ye Wenxue, whom the two were worried about, was strolling through the market, carrying all her savings, including the life-saving money given by Huo Zhaoqing, the few taels of silver added by Su Jiusai, and the silver taken from the bandit stronghold, totaling more than sixty taels, as well as several pieces of gold jewelry.
The bulk of the money came from the fifty taels of silver given by the bandit stronghold.
Ye Wenxue sighed, no wonder so many people in this world want to become bandits and rob others. Is there any other way to make money faster than this?
Longxing Prefecture was relatively stable with a prince in charge, but the town was quite remote. Many wealthy families and those with connections had moved to the prefectural city. Those who remained in the town either had nowhere to go or were reluctant to leave their property and goods, and wanted to settle their affairs before leaving.
There weren't many people coming and going at the market, but it was much better than Qingxu Town in Tanzhou.
After searching around the market, Ye Wenxue went straight to a clothing store with slow business and asked the shop assistant to bring several thick cotton quilts and twelve well-made, warm clothes.
The clothing store clerk was a little puzzled: "Miss, it's still so hot right now. This winter probably won't be very cold. Why don't you buy less and save the money to stock up on more grain at the grain store?"
Ye Wenxue knew he had no bad intentions, and simply said, "It's never wrong to be prepared in advance."
The clothing store owner slapped his apprentice on the head: "Go, wrap it up and bring it here."
Turning down business that's offered to you is just plain stupid!
The shop assistant slunk away to the counter to search for fabric.
The clothing store owner, considering how much Ye Wenxue bought, offered a couple of helpful suggestions:
"If you want to buy grain, don't go to the grain shop in the east of the city. They've mixed something into their brown rice, and it's three copper coins a pound more expensive than usual, so it's not worth it. The shop in the west of the city, on the other hand, sells last year's old rice, but the price hasn't gone up, so it's perfect for stocking up."
While waiting, Ye Wenxue, having nothing better to do, asked, "Are there only two grain shops in town?"
"Other grain shop owners sold their stockpiled grain to these two and then fled the famine. Otherwise, how could grain prices be so high? If it weren't for the fact that all my assets are in this town..." The clothing shop owner sighed.
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