The army set off, and Feng Yuheng's carriage could soon reach the first town. *huotxt/.
The two secret guards traveling with her were named Yuan Fei and Qiu Shu. The one driving the carriage now was Qiu Shu, while Yuan Fei was invited into the carriage and sat side by side with Wang Chuan and the other in the main seat of the carriage; next to them, Feng Yuheng and Huang Quan sat on each side.
"Okay, that's it. We'll go to the town ahead and ask Huang Quan to buy some clothes for us to change into." Feng Yuheng clapped his hands, very satisfied with his arrangements.
But Wangchuan and Yuanfei were uncomfortable, especially Yuanfei, who didn't know how to sit. His back was straight, as if he was standing at attention. He didn't know where to put his hands. After thinking for a few times, he finally chose to put them flat on his knees, then looked straight ahead, not daring to look at Feng Yuheng.
Wang Chuan and Feng Yuheng were already familiar with each other, and they were too reserved to talk. However, she disagreed with Feng Yuheng's decision that "you two will act as husband and wife, and Huang Quan, Qiu Shu and I will act as maids and servants." She discussed with Feng Yuheng, "Young lady, can't you think of another way? Do you have to make us act as husband and wife?"
Huang Quan was also a little puzzled, "You are still a lady, and we are still maids and servants, right?"
Yuan Fei looked at Feng Yuheng expectantly, waiting for her to nod and say yes. He was fine as a secret guard, killing people and fighting, but he could pretend to be a young master, bring a fake young lady, and let the dignified Princess Yu be his maid. He really couldn't do such a thing!
Unfortunately, Feng Yuheng was not likely to be persuaded. The more she wanted her to nod, the more she shook her head. She said, "No, I am the lady, and you are the maids and followers. This combination is too confusing. Everyone knows that Princess Ji'an is thirteen years old. Even after this New Year, I will only be fourteen. The princess is always accompanied by two maids. This combination is too recognizable and easy to be targeted. We are heading north this time, and it will take more than three or five days. I calculated that it would be fast to reach Guanzhou in two months, so safety is the first priority. We have no choice."
When she said this, Wangchuan immediately realized it, and then nodded, saying repeatedly, "Yes, it was our fault for neglecting it. The young lady is thoughtful and this arrangement is very good."
What's good? Yuan Fei glanced at Wang Chuan. This girl used to be his master's subordinate. He thought Wang Chuan was very pretty before, but he rarely saw her after she was sent to the princess. He had some contact with her when he went to chase those Qian Zhou sharpshooters a few days ago, but he didn't expect that they would pretend to be a couple today. Yuan Fei thought, even if it was a bit awkward, it was worth it.
So he nodded and said in a low voice, "That's settled then!"
Feng Yuheng covered her mouth and chuckled, teasing Wang Chuan and saying, "Look, your husband got into the role pretty quickly!"
Wang Chuan stamped his feet, his face flushed red.
The people in the carriage laughed for a while, and Feng Yuheng took out a map that Xuan Tianming had given her before, spread it out on the small table in the carriage, pointed at it and said, "From the capital to the northern province, we have to pass through seven provincial capitals, including Hetian Prefecture, which includes Xiaozhou and Qingzhou. Then, from Qing Prefecture to Guanzhou, the first prefecture in the northern border, there are six more prefectures. Each of these six provincial capitals has two prefectures, not counting towns and counties. Roughly speaking, our journey should take between sixty and seventy days."
Yuan Fei nodded and continued, "I've been to the Northern Territory once. The Northern Territory is known as the Three Provinces, but it's actually named after prefectures, namely Guanzhou, Songzhou, and Jiangzhou. It's just that these three prefectures cover a very large area, larger than other provincial capitals, so people are used to calling them the three prefectures the Three Provinces. We came from the capital, and the first prefecture after entering the Northern Territory was Guanzhou. The governor Duanmu Anguo built his government office in Songzhou in the center, and Jiangzhou is adjacent to Qianzhou. The northern gate of Dashun is in Jiangzhou."
As Yuan Fei spoke, he carefully marked the locations of the three provinces on the map and pointed out the location of the northern gate, which was also considered to be a geographical knowledge popularization for Feng Yuheng.
In fact, the so-called prefectures of the Dashun Dynasty were what later generations called provinces, and prefectures were cities, but cities were no longer divided into districts, and there were some small towns surrounding them. The capital was naturally independent, while Xiaozhou and Qingzhou to the north of the capital were under the jurisdiction of Hetian Prefecture. After leaving Hetian Prefecture, going north, you still have to go through six prefectures to reach Guanzhou. The journey was long and arduous.
Since they had accepted Feng Yuheng's arrangement, Yuan Fei had been sitting in the car, and Huang Quan would take turns driving with Qiu Shu from time to time. When they passed the first town, they bought clothes in a ready-made clothing store. Feng Yuheng changed into a maid's outfit, Wang Chuan dressed up as a young woman, and Yuan Fei bought the best brocade robe in the store. However, even the best ones were not that good in their eyes. After all, the things in the small town could not be compared with those in the capital. Feng Yuheng thought that when he arrived in Xiaozhou, he would buy some better clothes to prepare for the two months, so he could not be exposed.
They hardly had any rest along the way. The carriage was pulled by two horses. They would change horses when they arrived at a town. Huang Quan and Qiu Shu took turns to rest and headed straight for Xiaozhou.
This was their second time walking this route in recent days, but their mood was very different. The last time they were chasing after the people who kidnapped Zi Rui, and they were nervous all the way, especially Feng Yuheng, who never relaxed for a moment. Although they had to be extremely careful during these times, it was much easier than last time.
However, the road was still a road, and they had to pass by the place where Lao Liu and the other nine secret guards were buried. When they passed by, Huang Quan happened to be driving the car, and she turned around and asked Feng Yuheng if they wanted to stop. Feng Yuheng immediately stopped the car, but did not get off. She just lifted the curtain of the car window and looked at the grave mound.
She whispered to them, "Although we didn't find anything along the way, we still can't relax. We don't know from which angle the enemy is watching us. So, even if we want to go down to worship, now is definitely not the time." Then, she raised her head slightly, opened her red lips again, and said to the tomb, "Brothers, wait a little longer. When we capture Qian Zhou, we will bring his royal family to you and sacrifice your heroic souls with blood." After that, she lowered the curtain and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."
Huang Quan flicked the whip, and with a "snap" sound, he was on the road again.
People were in a heavy mood and no one spoke for a long time. They hurried all the way, passed Xiaozhou, replenished enough supplies, and continued to move forward. Finally, in the early morning of the fifth day, they arrived at the pier where they had boarded the boat.
"Miss, we have to take the water route again. We don't know when we can come back. The carriage is not worth storing, so just sell it." Huang Quan whispered to Feng Yuheng.
Feng Yuheng nodded, and then reminded Wangchuan, "We can talk however we want in the car, but once we get off the car, the masters are Wangchuan and Yuanfei, so you should discuss everything with them." She then said to Yuanfei, "Trivial matters are usually handled by women, so let Wangchuan take charge, but when it comes to important decisions, only you can take the lead."
Yuan Fei thought for a moment and said, "There are some things I cannot decide."
"There is nothing that cannot be done." She waved her hand, "As long as we have a clear goal, everything else is trivial. You said it." After she finished speaking, she took the lead to walk to the front of the car, lifted the curtain, stood outside the car, and then raised her clear voice and said, "Master, Madam, we have arrived at the dock, please get off the car!"
As the curtain was lifted, a cold wind blew in. The wind was strong by the river, and it was already winter. They were heading north, so the weather was getting colder. Fortunately, they had changed into winter clothes in Xiaozhou. Wang Chuan put a brocade cape on his head, and he looked a bit like a rich boy.
Huang Quan and Qiu Shu were carrying all the bags, while Feng Yuheng followed Wang Chuan attentively. After getting off the car, the two of them crossed their arms, and it looked like Feng Yuheng, the maid, was supporting the young mistress, but in fact, it was Wang Chuan who was supporting Feng Yuheng.
There were many people buying horses and carriages by the river. Qiu Shu sold his carriage and respectfully handed the money to Wang Chuan. Huang Quan went to the dock and booked two private cabins with the boat owner. They only had to wait for another half an hour before the next boat arrived.
Huang Quan held the boarding pass and said to them, "We are staying in the elegant cabin. This ship pass is easy to buy. If it is a normal cabin, I heard that there was no room left yesterday at noon."
Wangchuan was talking to Huangquan intermittently, but Feng Yuheng quietly looked at the dock. The dock was a place where all kinds of people mixed together, people doing business, traveling, buying and selling slaves, and local tyrants collecting protection fees. She soon saw an acquaintance, who was the whipping slave owner she met on the boat last time. The man got another batch of slaves from somewhere, still children under ten years old, with their hands and feet tied with iron chains, one on top of the other, like a row of centipedes.
She whispered to Huang Quan, "What is the slave system of Dashun like? In the capital, I saw that even those servants who had handed in their indentures were not treated like this. We also bought slaves. When they were sent to us, they were dressed in shabby and simple clothes, but they were clean and did not look like they had been abused. How come they are treated like this outside the capital?"
Huang Quan explained to her, "These slaves are different from the ones we bought. The people in the capital are well-behaved. What's more, the people in the capital only have a contract to sell their bodies, but these little slaves are held in the hands of the slave owners with their household registration. A contract to sell your body sells your body, while a household registration takes your life. People who are held in a contract to sell their bodies can still run away, as long as you can run away. With a household registration, at least you won't be checked when you pass through customs. But without a household registration, even if you run away, you can only pass through the prefecture and county. Once you want to enter the provincial government, you can't even get in the door unless you crawl through a dog hole."
Feng Yuheng was stunned. Is there such a thing? Isn't this equivalent to the existence of a household registration booklet and an ID card? To put it bluntly, a contract of sale is a contract. If you breach it, the most you can do is to pursue legal responsibility. But household registration is a symbol of identity. If you don't have an ID card, you can't go anywhere.
She had only just understood this rule today, but then she exclaimed, "What about us? We have to go through so many provinces. Do we have to bring our household registration with us when we go out?"
Wang Chuan told her, "Don't worry, we have everything with us. His Highness has already prepared it. We will be registered in the household register of one of His Highness's villas in Xiaozhou. When we get on the ship... I will show it to you, Miss."
Feng Yuheng nodded, and then he felt relieved.
Soon, the pier horn sounded, and the boat arrived. Feng Yuheng and Huang Quan helped Wangchuan stand up, and slowly walked towards the boat with the crowd. People pushed and shoved forward, and from time to time there were shouts and children crying. A dark-faced man was also squeezed in the crowd, followed by a dozen brightly dressed girls. There was a pungent smell of inferior rouge coming with the wind. Feng Yuheng looked up and stared at a figure with a puzzled look on his face...
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