These past few days, the gatekeeper of the Zhao family has been running himself ragged. The reason is simple: every day, masters from various families bring their young servants to the gate seeking instruction.
The old man was particularly puzzled by the request to see Zhao Qianci.
He was just a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), and he wasn't even the top scorer in the imperial examination. Why are they all coming to him for help?
Why should a scholar who has passed the highest level of the imperial examinations bring his son to seek knowledge from a mere provincial graduate?
When Zhao Qianci learned that it was his wife who had set a trap for him, he was both amused and exasperated.
It's only natural for a wife to dig a hole and her husband to fill it in.
Zhao Qianci was an open and honest person, especially when people came to him for advice, he was very frank.
He gave the guests a list of all the books he had read.
Some even suggested that Zhao Qianci open a private school, but Zhao Qianci politely declined.
They're waiting for their granddaughter to come back and get married; otherwise, the old couple would have gone back to their hometown long ago.
Even so, the Zhao residence was bustling with activity for quite some time.
As for Zhao Qinghe, without Hua Hua following her along the way, the carriage was much more spacious.
Even with Baihetang, that clingy little devil, occasionally lingering in the car, it was still much more comfortable.
I'm always cooped up in the car, either lying down or sitting, and it gets quite tiring.
Therefore, Zhao Qinghe would ride horses with everyone for at least three hours every day.
The benefits of horseback riding are obvious; it makes you feel refreshed and relaxed.
There are downsides too, though; you might run into a lecherous person.
Zhao Qinghe and her group were quite large.
In addition to some children over 14 years old from the orphanage, there were also two families who provided guards.
There are at least fifty or sixty people in total.
To outsiders, the adults were only in their early twenties, and the rest were just teenagers, especially since quite a few of them were good-looking.
The group had traveled most of their journey when they arrived in Yang'an City.
Yang'an City belongs to the Central Plains. Although it is not large in scale, a person who thinks he is extraordinary lives in the city.
This person's name is Zhang Jiucheng, and he is a cousin of the Third Prince Jian Feng's wife.
Zhang Jiucheng visited Beijing once when Jian Feng got married.
He had also drunk the wine offered by the Third Prince at that time.
In reality, Jian Feng walked around each table with a glass of wine in his hand, raising the glass in a perfunctory manner as a toast.
Jian Feng didn't even get a good look at what the prince's cousin-in-law looked like, let alone speak to him.
But who is Zhang Jiucheng? Because he was spoiled by his family since childhood, he caused countless troubles, and his elders always had to clean up his messes.
He naturally developed the ability to read people's expressions and to use someone else's power to intimidate others.
Birds of a feather flock together. Zhang Jiucheng must be Jian Feng's brother, and he's also a womanizer.
Everyone in Yang'an City knows that there is such a scourge in the city.
For the safety of the women in their families, veils sold extremely well in Yang'an City.
Meanwhile, the rouge shop even released a special shade of face powder that would make someone eight shades darker.
This black powder shade is basically reserved for women from poor families.
The reason is simple: it's all to protect against Zhang Jiucheng, that troublemaker.
As soon as Zhao Qinghe and her group entered the city, they noticed the differences in the city dwellers.
Women in other cities also wear veils, but those are mostly worn by young ladies from wealthy families.
Women from poor families almost always go out without makeup.
Here, however, all the women wear veils.
I occasionally saw a few people who weren't wearing them, and judging by their age, they must have been over 50, with wrinkles on their faces that looked like they could trap a mosquito.
In this atmosphere, Zhao Qinghe and her group stood out.
The beautiful woman was accompanied by a younger woman, and even with guards around them, there were only about twenty men who looked capable of fighting. They looked like lambs to the slaughter.
We found the largest inn in Yang'an City and settled in.
After checking into the room, Zhao Qinghe gave the waiter half a tael of silver as a tip and asked him to prepare bath water.
The waiter accepted the money, but showed no joy whatsoever.
He even twitched the corner of his mouth, as if he had something to say.
When the waiter delivered the water to Zhao Qinghe's room, he put the water down.
Originally intending to leave the room, he walked to the door, rested his hand on the door for a few moments, and finally looked at Zhao Qinghe as if he had made up his mind.
"Miss, there are some things I'm not sure if I should say."
If Miss doesn't intend to stay in the city any longer, I suggest she take her people and leave the city as soon as possible.
Zhao Qinghe looked at the waiter with surprise, signaling him to continue.
The waiter closed his eyes. Since he had already spoken, he might as well explain in detail.
"Well, let me tell you the truth."
When you entered the city, did you notice that all the women in our city wore veils?
This isn't a custom in our city; it's something we were forced to do.
There's a man named Zhang Jiucheng in our city who, because he's a relative of the prince, commits all sorts of evil deeds.
Any girl who was even slightly attractive and caught his eye would be forcibly taken into his household.
Calling it "Na" sounds nice, but in reality it's robbery.
They threw five taels of silver at the girl's parents, forcibly signed a contract of indenture, and then the girl was abducted.
Zhao Qinghe was startled. "Is there no government office here?"
The waiter sighed.
"Officials protect each other. Zhang Jiucheng would investigate before snatching people. He would dare to target any family without a strong background."
Moreover, he also possesses a contract of indenture.
The waiter wanted to say a few more words, but when he heard the shopkeeper calling him from downstairs, he quickly went down.
Zhao Qinghe sat at the table for a moment, then got up and went to the door of Baihetang next door, knocking on the door.
After Baihetang opened the door, Zhao Qinghe gave a brief explanation of the situation and then went back to her room to wash up.
Indeed, passing the problem on to someone else is the most effective solution.
After Zhao Qinghe finished washing up and led everyone downstairs to eat, Baihetang had already sent people to find out the general situation of Zhang Jiucheng and the city.
As the saying goes, a small temple has a lot of evil spirits, and a shallow pond has many turtles.
This is exactly the case in Yang'an City.
Where there is a rogue like Zhang Jiucheng in the city, there are officials who will shelter him from the wind and rain.
Zhao Qinghe and her group have been watched ever since they entered Yang'an City, and even if they wanted to leave now, they couldn't.
For now, the only option is to stay in the inn, replenish our supplies, and pretend nothing is wrong.
Then we'll figure out a way to get out of the city.
After listening to Bai Hetang's story, Zhao Qinghe didn't even frown, and then went about her meal.
Only when you are well-fed and watered can you save yourself, right?
After the meal, the boy and his guards went out to buy food, while the girls stayed at the inn to wash and clean their clothes, which they hadn't had time to wash in the past few days because of their journey.
As for what the Fourth Miss said about bad people in the city, they were quite interested.
The skills I learned in the orphanage finally had a chance to be put to use.
Children who haven't experienced the harsh realities of life always have such simple and pure thoughts.
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