Zuo Yi started gathering information from the inns near the city gate. Normally, the innkeepers would not disclose guests' check-in information to others, but after seeing the Anwang token that Zuo Yi took out, the innkeepers unanimously chose to offend the guests rather than the powerful figures, since the powerful figures could make them lose their heads in an instant.
Zuo Yi found the fifth inn and found the three's lodging - Yunlai Inn. If you ask how he could recognize the three in the vast sea of people, it must be because he is the prince's top bodyguard. He must have a keen eye. He has met Li Xi and the other two before. They are driving a carriage and their accents do not sound like locals. They must be tourists.
After receiving news of Li Xi and the other two, Prince An dismissed Zuo Yi. If it weren't for the young ladies' rescue, he would likely have already died from the poison. His elder brother was truly ruthless; he was merely on behalf of the Emperor to inspect the river management in Qingyuan County, yet he sent men to hunt him down in broad daylight. He summoned Zuo Er and instructed him to prepare some gifts of gratitude to deliver to the inn where the three young ladies were staying.
If Li Xi had known she would receive a thank-you gift, she certainly wouldn't have set off so early after breakfast. Early in the morning, Meng Zhelan woke her, saying that leaving early would allow them to travel a few more miles. Knowing Meng Zhelan was in a hurry, Li Xi quickly helped the two pack their luggage, loaded it onto the carriage, and set off. Along the way, they bought some pastries, dried meat, and preserved fruit to exercise their mouth muscles when they were bored during the journey.
As dawn broke, the three left the city gates and onto the main road. The carriage sped away, and Zuo Er, carrying a cartload of gifts, headed to the Yunlai Inn, only to learn that the others had already left. Unsurprisingly, he was severely reprimanded by Prince An upon his return.
Yesterday, I encountered a few people on the official road; they were probably also heading north. Prince An was rescued in time yesterday and is now in good health. He immediately ordered his men to continue their journey back to the capital. Zuo Yi has already ridden ahead to catch up with Li Xi and the others, hoping to find them at the next fork in the road. The Prince always repays kindness and dislikes owing favors.
Prince An lay in the carriage, his feelings complicated. This was the first time he had encountered a woman like this. She had saved him but did not ask for anything in return. Could she have some ulterior motive? But that was impossible. Meeting them was an accident. He had only seen a carriage coming and rushed out to pay a large sum of money to send him back to the prefectural city. He did not know that the poison would take effect so quickly, and before he could even speak, his body had lost control.
The other person seemed to say not to save him, but another woman unabashedly rescued him. If Li Xi knew Prince An's thoughts, he would surely scoff. Picking up a random man on the street could be deadly; wealth might not come, but it could also wipe out your entire family. In ancient times, black-clad men and poison were commonplace. This man was bound to cause trouble.
Unaware that someone would chase after them to deliver a thank-you gift, Li Xi drove the carriage at breakneck speed. After two and a half hours, the three stopped to rest in an open meadow. After a while, the horses couldn't take it anymore, so Li Xi took out some beans and tied the horses to a tree near the stream. The horses happily snorted, drank water, and ate grass.
Ling'er took out a clay pot, opened the bamboo tube and poured in water. After the water boiled, she put in the rice noodles and cooked them until soft. Then she took them out and rinsed them with cold water. She then poured in the broth she bought from the inn and brought it to a boil. She then added the side dishes in order: lean meat, chicken breast, fresh fish slices, tender leeks, mung bean sprouts, pea shoots, magnolia petals, bean curd sheets, etc. Finally, she added the rice noodles, sprinkled on some chopped green onions, and the fragrant rice noodles were ready.
Li Xi watched Ling'er cook with great enjoyment. "Ling'er, with your cooking skills, when we get to Kyoto, let's open a noodle shop together. I guarantee we'll make money." Meng Zhelan also said, "Yes, I'll provide the money, you provide the cooking skills, and Xi'er will manage it. When we get to Kyoto, we'll need to find a stable job so we can make a living before we act."
Ling'er was already aware of their current situation. She didn't have much ability, but she could help them with their daily lives. If she could use her skills to help them, she would do her best.
Ling'er: "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I don't have much ability right now, and I still need to rely on you. I'll definitely use all my skills when the time comes."
Li Xi planned to visit the original owner's family in Kyoto first to check on their situation and also to settle her brother in. The matter seemed small, but it wouldn't be easy to accomplish. Several months had passed, and she had no idea what was happening in Kyoto. She guessed that the Li family's steward, Uncle Zhao, had probably already disappeared. His ability to remain hidden for over a decade suggested he had been plotting with his backers for a long time. She wondered how the Li family's apparent business was faring under Uncle Zhao's control, and whether he had secretly taken the tokens, maps, and keys to a vast treasure. It seemed the Li family had more than just their apparent business acumen. The original owner didn't know much about the other aspects either, probably because her parents hadn't had time to explain everything to her. She wondered if she, a person from another world, could handle all of this; she had never experienced intrigue in her previous life…
"Just thinking about it gives me a headache," Li Xi said. "We have a lot to do right now. First, we need to find a place to stay, and then we need to find a way to run a business that will keep us out of the public eye..."
Meng Zhelan and Ling'er said they would listen to Li Xi. Since the three of them met, they knew Li Xi was a shrewd person who arranged everything meticulously. Now it seemed the clothes, bags, and household items she had made, as well as the carriage's furnishings, were all very convenient. Furthermore, Meng Zhelan was not only skilled in medicine but also in poisons. The specific reason for leaving the capital was that she only knew her father had offended someone, but she didn't know who that person was or what the matter involved was.
In Kyoto, not only do you need to survive, but you also need to make a living, and money is indispensable. You need a lot of money to ask people for favors and so on.
The three of them were a little sleepy after eating, and Li Xi's hands were also a bit numb from driving the horses for so long. So they decided to rest for an hour before continuing their journey. Li Xi was also quite tired from driving, and the horses needed to rest and catch their breath. After late autumn, the weather was a little chilly. Yunnan and Sichuan are in the southwest of Jingyuan, so it wasn't too cold yet, and they wouldn't catch a cold in the carriage.
On the other side, Zuo Yi had been running all the way, sweating profusely, but hadn't found Li Xi and the other two. He was in such a rush that he hadn't noticed they were resting in the nearby woods, and thus they had missed each other perfectly. It wasn't his fault; Li Xi had cleverly concealed their carriage to avoid being discovered while resting in the woods. She had learned this technique of using the environment to disguise their movements from watching military programs in her previous life. That's why she had been able to sleep peacefully for two hours.
The Anwang caravan was also on its way, hoping to catch up with Meng Zhelan and her two companions. Currently, the three groups were in a front, middle, and rear formation on the road, and none of them could catch up with the others. If Li Xi knew that she had missed another opportunity to make a fortune, she would definitely regret it. After all, she had never even touched gold and silver jewelry in ancient times.
The group hurried along the road until nearly dark. Li Xi and her companions spotted a village nearby and approached the village chief to explain their purpose. The chief warmly welcomed them to an unused courtyard and charged a reasonable fee. Villagers often stayed overnight, which helped supplement the villagers' income.
Zuo Yi hadn't encountered Li Xi and his companions before nightfall, so he could only wait for Prince An and his party at the post station. Prince An, who had been rushing, arrived at the post station a little over an hour after Zuo Yi. By then it was already dark, so he could only rest there for the night. It seemed he had no chance to meet those people again; he would have to wait and see if they would ever be able to. Prince An's face was grim at this moment.
After settling in the village, Li Xi and the other two bought some vegetables and grains from the villagers, cooked a simple dinner, and then took a bath before resting. They were too tired to think about anything after a long day.
The quiet countryside is utterly silent, unlike the city with its night markets. The villagers go to bed soon after dark, with only the occasional chirping of birds and insects.
Although Prince An was unwilling, he could only rest at this time. His body had just recovered and he was still a little weak. There were still a lot of troublesome things to deal with in the capital.
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