Chapter 2: Help at the City Gate
It is said that "Stealing Fragrance and Stealing Jade" is the best-selling erotic book in Huzhou City today. The painter's brushstrokes are delicate and beautiful, and the characters' demeanor is elegant but not vulgar. They heard people mention it many times when they passed by Huzhou on business.
However, there are very few copies on the market, and the few copies that are available are only circulated by a few wealthy people.
Wang Shaowei felt very regretful that he left in such a hurry.
Unexpectedly, his cousin got it so early.
Wang Shaowei looked at the person opposite him and chuckled twice, with a teasing look on his face, "Haha... Nice drawing! Not bad!"
Xiao Mo frowned, but said nothing more.
When the old carriage that Xu Shuyao was riding in arrived at the city gate, it really started to rain.
The originally sparse carriage group in front also began to get agitated at this time, and everyone wanted to rush in and find a place to stay before the city gate closed.
After all, judging from the dark clouds above our heads, it looks like it’s going to rain heavily!
The vendors who were originally doing business at the city gate also packed up their pots, pans, tables and chairs. With the cool breeze blowing in from afar, wisps of fragrance could be smelled in people's nostrils.
Xu Shuheng, who was leaning against his elder sister, twitched his round nostrils and finally woke up.
"Sister! Are we there yet?"
The seven-year-old boy looked very childish, and he poked his head outside following the scent.
Although Madam Zheng was worried that the young master of this land, who was known for his many connections and gossip, might offend someone with his actions, she secretly swallowed her words when she saw that Xu Shuyao didn't say anything.
Xu Shuheng was quite sensible. He only opened the car curtain a little to satisfy his curiosity and then closed it.
He turned his head and looked at his elder sister and Nanny Zheng with some embarrassment.
Shu Yao felt amused, but still asked softly, "Is Heng-ge hungry?"
Having said that, he handed him a box of pastries on the table and said, "First, use some cakes to press it down. The vendors here specialize in business with traveling merchants, and most of them only do one-time business, so the prices are not fair."
Xu Shuyao was right. Besides, it was raining outside and everyone was in a hurry to go into the city. She really didn't want any trouble to happen at this critical juncture.
Xu Shuheng was a little annoyed that his elder sister had guessed his thoughts, but he still took the box of snacks. He first handed a piece to his elder sister, and then handed another piece to Nanny Zheng.
Not to mention how they were in the Xu family in the past, this time when they came to Beijing, all the maids and servants who had served the siblings were sent away, and not a single one was brought with them.
Only Nanny Zheng insisted on going with us.
If Xu Shuheng had originally only followed basic etiquette towards the nanny beside his elder sister, he now truly regarded her as an elder whom he could be close to and rely on.
Xu Shuyao was very pleased with her brother's sensible and polite behavior. Nanny Zheng also took the cakes with a smile. In an instant, the only thing left in the carriage was the sweet aroma of the cakes.
At this time, the team was also moving slowly, but it was still too slow to pass the level. After a while, the rain got heavier and heavier, and there was a noise coming from the front.
The carriage suddenly shook, and Xu Shuheng almost hit his head on the wall of the carriage without paying attention. Fortunately, his sister pulled him up.
Nanny Zheng also managed to calm down with great difficulty.
Several people looked pale. Xu Shuyao couldn't help but lift a crack in the curtain and asked the driver: "Old man! What's wrong?"
She saw that her own carriage had moved to the side of the avenue, and the carriages that were originally lined up in front to enter the city began to turn around.
Although the carriage hired by the Xu family looked old, the driver was a simple and honest old man.
The old man drives the cart well and charges a few cents less than other people.
Although Xu Shuyao is not so stingy as to spend a few cents right now, she knows that the more inconspicuous you are when you go out, the safer you are.
At this moment, Xu Shuyao had already seen several carriages in front of her throw people out because they were unable to dodge in time.
Sure enough, her choice was not wrong.
"Miss! The city gates are about to close. I'm afraid we won't be able to enter the city until tomorrow."
Needless to say, Xu Shuyao already knew what was going on. The people who turned around in front were talking about it.
Looking at the carriages and crowds scattered in the heavy rain, Xu Shuyao frowned unconsciously. Did she really have to stay outside for another night?
We also took a boat from Huzhou to Tongzhou. The journey was so smooth that we only rested in Tongzhou for one night yesterday. But we didn't expect that after everyone arrived, we would be stuck outside the city.
Xu Shuyao was somewhat unwilling. Thinking of Nanny Zheng's previous suggestion, she actually felt regretful.
At that time, all he had to do was ask the driver to drive faster, catch up with the people, say hello, and say that they were relatives of the Chengguo Mansion, and that the eldest lady of the Chengguo Mansion was Prince Wang's aunt.
I think he should be able to do me a favor and take these people with him, so that they won't be unable to enter the city at the last minute.
But as Xu Shuyao was thinking this in her heart, she couldn't help but look into the city gate. Coincidentally, she saw Prince Wang and his entourage entering the city!
As if he had eyes on his back, the man sitting on the horse in the distance also looked back.
The man was dressed in a black tight-fitting suit, with a raincoat made of jade needles on the outside, and his back was straight.
The person who turned around was not Wang Shaowei, the second son of the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion, but a man who looked even more stern.
Xu Shuyao stared at the man in a daze, under the dark sky and through the intermittent rain.
She didn't know how she would appear in the eyes of others. She must have been filled with frustration and envy that she couldn't hide.
From a distance, Xu Shuyao saw him say something to the guard nearby, and then he quickly left.
Who is this person and why is he so powerful?
Xu Shuyao thought about it for a moment before quickly accepting the reality.
She didn't see the prince and missed her last chance to ask for help. She could only cheer herself up and tell the driver, "Old man! Please drive the carriage..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw a city gate guard approaching his carriage. He bowed his head and saluted, "I wonder if this young lady in the carriage is my cousin from the Marquis of Qingyuan's mansion?"
Hearing this, Xu Shuyao was confused for a while, and then she said with a slightly hot face: "I am!"
The guard at the city gate didn't seem to care what she said. After hearing her reply, he immediately said, "Please follow me!"
Both Nanny Zheng and Xu Shuheng were a little confused, and Xu Shuyao was even more suspicious.
Cousin? She does seem to be related to that young master Wang. Could it be that... Wang Shaowei already knows her identity?
But she thought again and felt that it was unlikely. Her family had never been to the capital for so many years, and she even wrote a letter to her aunt half-believing and half-doubting after hearing Nanny Zheng talk about it. It was impossible for the prince to know about her relationship with the Chengguo Mansion at all.
Then when he called himself his cousin to the guard at the city gate, it was probably just out of consideration for the weak woman.
People on the side cast envious glances at him, and the guard felt as if they were going to poke a hole in him.
He was also in a dilemma. All the merchants and travelers who disembarked from Tongzhou Wharf went through this gate. It was very troublesome to count the goods and check the personnel. But it was almost closing time, and the group of people at the back of the line would definitely not get a turn.
The young lady in the carriage behind him was obviously a relative who had come to Beijing for refuge. Since the people in front had already gone in, it would be unreasonable not to let in his cousin who was left behind.
What's more... this girl has fair skin and beautiful face, and she is accompanied by her younger brother and old servants. She looks really pitiful in this storm.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com