"The capital? The capital isn't exactly close to here. Is the person who delivered the message trustworthy?"
The man was quite considerate of Fang Yuan; he was worried that Fang Yuan, being far from the emperor's reach, might be deceived.
"Thank you for your concern, Chief. Actually, I have a branch of relatives in the capital. I plan to go there first to seek refuge with them before looking for my father," Fang Yuan replied with a smile.
"I see..."
The man nodded, then asked uncertainly:
"Then you can go by yourself. It would be too difficult to take your mother and your siblings with you!"
This place is far from the capital; it takes passing through two provinces to get there.
This kid looks to be only fourteen or fifteen years old.
It's already difficult enough to get to the county town with the whole family, let alone the capital.
"Don't let my youth fool you, I have superhuman strength, and my archery skills are quite good, having been learned from my father. I can take care of my mother and siblings."
As he spoke, Fang Yuan walked to the octagonal table, extended two fingers, and gently pushed it up into the air.
This move shocked both men in the room.
The two men exchanged a glance, then the middle-aged man stood up with a smile and patted Fang Yuan on the shoulder:
"Brother Fang Yuan is really strong, he has broadened my horizons."
He then introduced himself: "My surname is Cheng. If you don't mind, Brother Fang, you can call me Uncle Cheng. Bring me the fur, and I will definitely give you a good price."
"Really? Well, thank you in advance, Uncle Cheng." Fang Yuan quickly clasped his hands in thanks, then went downstairs pretending to retrieve a package.
When she went downstairs to pick up her package, Cheng Hezhou immediately had someone check Fang Yuan's information.
Fang Yuan walked around downstairs for a while, and when he came back, he was carrying a large brown package.
She opened the package, and inside was a huge golden striped tiger skin, its fur perfectly intact, without a single scratch.
"Good stuff, really good stuff, I'll pay three hundred taels for this skin."
Cheng Hezhou happily stroked the tiger skin and said.
This skin is so intact; it would be worth at least a thousand gold pieces in the capital.
Taking this back is just right for our master.
"Then it's three hundred taels. I trust Uncle Cheng. I'll trouble you to take good care of us on the way. We'll stay in room number three."
Fang Yuan is quite satisfied with this price.
I've developed a somewhat favorable impression of this caravan.
At least they were honest with her, so she didn't have to look for opportunities to cheat them.
Cheng Hezhou nodded happily.
“Young man, you are so generous. I will be your friend. Our caravan is heading back to the provincial capital. If you don’t mind, you can come with us. It will be good for us to look after each other on the road.”
"I'm more than happy to have Uncle Cheng looking after me, how could I possibly complain? Thank you so much, Uncle Cheng." Fang Yuan finally showed a satisfied smile.
Fortunately, the old man was sensible and perceptive, so her elaborate attempt to strike up a conversation was worthwhile.
At this moment, the young man beside him took out three silver notes and handed them to Fang Yuan:
"This is a 300-tael silver note, which can be redeemed nationwide by Hengtong Bank."
"······"
Looking at the three flimsy silver notes, Fang Yuan paused for a moment, then looked up and said awkwardly:
"Well... this kid is rather inexperienced and prefers shiny silver!"
She has a storage space where she can store as much silver as she wants. Silver notes are worthless to her; she feels more at ease with silver.
"Can!"
The young man hesitated for a moment, but then agreed.
He then gave her three hundred taels of silver.
"Thank you, Uncle Cheng. Thank you, brother. I'll head back now."
With three hundred taels of silver in his pocket, Fang Yuan went downstairs satisfied.
She still came out ahead this time.
If you exchange these three hundred taels of silver for the system, you can get at least two hundred and eighty or ninety silver coins, or twenty-eight or twenty-nine gold coins, which is five or six times the original amount.
After Fang Yuan left, the young man sat down in a chair and looked at the middle-aged man, asking:
"Steward Cheng, why did you let this kid come with us? Besides, although this tiger skin is nice, the price doesn't seem like something you would ask for."
Although the tiger skin was in perfect condition, it would only fetch a maximum of two hundred taels of silver if purchased normally, so he was very curious.
Cheng Hezhou held the tiger skin up to the young man and asked, "Third Young Master, take a closer look. Is there any external injury on this tiger skin?"
The young man examined it carefully and found that there were indeed no external injuries; it was a very high-quality skin.
"No!"
But what does this have to do with him raising prices to buy goods?
"His father was able to take down the tiger without getting hurt, which shows that he was an excellent archer. If such a person were to join the army, he would definitely make a name for himself as long as he didn't die."
This kid just said someone sent a letter saying his father is in the capital. So his father probably has a certain status now, but he can't get away to come back.
"You want to do him a favor?" The Third Young Master instantly understood what he meant.
"That's just one thing. As you just saw, even if he's not a master archer, he's strong enough to take on ten men at once. He's a great helper."
On their way back from the frontier, they had already lost many men.
Now that he's finally found a helper who's offered himself up, he doesn't need to turn him away.
"Aren't you afraid he might be a spy?" the Third Young Master asked again.
On their way back from the border, they encountered countless bandits and spies; otherwise, they wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.
"Don't worry, young master, I've already sent people to inquire. We'll find out who he really is soon."
If he really is a spy, then we should eliminate him beforehand; he still won't be able to take the three hundred taels.
If what he said is true, that would be even better.
"Oh? Is there anything else?" the Third Young Master continued to ask.
“They are going to the capital, while our caravan is only going to the provincial branch. But you, young master, are going back to the capital. You can keep them company then.”
When the time comes, let their young master mingle with this family, and no outsider would ever suspect it.
······
Soon, the scouts returned, almost effortlessly.
And it also brought an unexpected message.
This guy named Fang Yuan is actually a woman.
Fortunately, apart from that incident, everything she said was true.
The shopkeeper and the waiter both knew about her family's affairs.
Two years ago, her father would occasionally bring her to sell game. After her father was arrested, she was the only one who came to the store to sell game to support the family.
She arrived early this morning with her mother and younger siblings. The shopkeeper said that her mother seemed to be a little mentally challenged.
"Young Master, this is wonderful! If you blend in with them, no one will notice you," Cheng Hezhou said happily.
These people were the perfect cover for his third son's trip to the capital.
"I never expected this kid to be a woman. Steward Cheng, you have a keen eye. I've learned a lot from you."
Lee Seung-cheol replied earnestly to Cheng He-zhou.
As expected, experience matters. No wonder my father told me to learn more from Steward Cheng.
"No, no, Master instructed me to escort the Third Young Master back to the capital properly, and I will do my best. These petty tricks are nothing to mention," Cheng Hezhou replied hastily, bowing.
No matter how approachable the person in front of him was, he was still his master, and he dared not forget his status.
“My father told me to learn from you, the steward, so this is hardly a small trick,” Lee Seung-cheol replied with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of intimacy.
His Majesty is already old, and the princes are fighting too fiercely. As the generals guarding the border, they should stay away from the court.
If his grandmother hadn't fallen seriously ill, he wouldn't have quietly returned to Beijing.
The reason for following the caravan back to the capital was to avoid attracting attention and prevent the news from leaking out.
"Young Master, please don't flatter us anymore. It's really your good fortune to have met such a family. Your return to the capital will surely be smooth this time," Cheng Hezhou replied.
Anyone with eyes could tell that their caravan belonged to the Li family, which was why they couldn't go directly back to the capital.
Let's hope so!
Both of them were somewhat worried about the journey ahead, but neither of them voiced their concerns.
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