Two carriages traveled one after the other on the official road.
Zhao Changqing and Han Wenzheng sat facing each other.
Han Wenzheng, being well-behaved and polite, took out a thermos cup: "Uncle Zhao, would you like something hot to warm yourself up?"
Zhao Changqing stared at the thermos, his expression frozen, and slowly shook his head.
"Then I'll just have to enjoy it myself," Han Wenzheng said, pouring himself a glass.
The aroma of milk is irresistible.
It was hot milk that He Youyou had specially prepared for Han Wenzheng before he got on the bus, with honey added.
Meanwhile, He Youyou herself had already retreated into her private space to drink coffee and listen to music.
They set off early and arrived at the city gate before noon.
Today is the Lantern Festival, a day of general amnesty. All goods entering the city are exempt from tax for one day and are not required to pay the city gate tax.
However, inspections upon entering the city are still unavoidable.
The Daqian Dynasty maintained strict control over public security and the circulation of weapons among the people.
People entering the city still have to queue up for inspection.
The soldiers guarding the city checked each person one by one to see if they were carrying weapons or other prohibited items.
While queuing, He Youyou got off the carriage and curiously looked towards the other queue.
There was nothing she could do; she was just so interested in goods from this era.
The line for inspecting the goods consisted of many horse-drawn carts, mule carts, and donkey carts.
One of the carriages caught He Youyou's attention.
The person driving the carriage was a young man in his twenties who looked very shrewd and capable.
The carriage contained several large barrels, all with lids, so it was impossible to see what was inside.
It wasn't until the soldiers guarding the city opened the lids of those large barrels that He Youyou could see clearly that inside were live fish, thrashing and rolling around in the water.
He Youyou looked at the water in the bucket, lost in thought.
In ancient times, buckets used to transport live fish were made of woven bamboo strips, round at the top and square at the bottom, with the inside lined with cotton paper and persimmon oil to prevent water leakage.
The city guard checking the travel permit looked at it and exclaimed in surprise, "From Liaodong?! So far?"
The young man was very respectful, bowing repeatedly to the city guards and saying, "That's right. We traveled all night to make it in time for the Lantern Festival. We were hoping to deliver live fish to the restaurants in the city today to earn a little profit. The journey took too long, and the fish's eyes have turned white. If we delay any longer, they will become dead fish and won't fetch a good price."
The soldiers guarding the city looked him over for a long time but couldn't see anything wrong. They registered his travel permit and let him into the city.
The young man thanked them repeatedly and quickly closed the lids on several large buckets of fish before driving away.
Staring at the direction the car had gone, He Youyou remained silent, lost in thought.
Zhao Changqing got out of the car at some point and stood there with her, following her gaze into the distance.
He Youyou noticed that he had come down as well, so she asked in a low voice, "Young Master Zhao, do any of the people you brought this time have any skills in tracking? Could you help me follow that person and find out where he is?"
Zhao Changqing nodded: "Yes."
As he spoke, he winked at someone behind him.
His coachman came over.
"After entering the city, follow that man, find out where he is staying, and then come back to the inn where we are staying to report."
"yes."
After doing all this, Zhao Changqing asked He Youyou in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with this person?"
"It's not appropriate to say more here; let's talk about it once we're in the city."
Seeing that she looked serious and didn't seem to be just going through the motions, Zhao Changqing didn't ask any more questions and silently returned to the carriage.
Soon, their two carriages were also allowed into the city.
Zhao Changqing's carriage was quite spacious and had two drivers.
One of them, following Zhao Changqing's instructions, went to follow the young fishmonger.
The other continued driving to the guesthouse they had booked in advance.
The innkeeper gave them three adjacent rooms on the same floor.
As they went upstairs, Zhao Changqing couldn't help but glance at her again, his gaze landing on her grapefruit-pink lips: "You finally look a bit more womanly today."
He Youyou: ……
He Youyou went into her room.
Zhao Changqing followed him in and turned to close the door behind him.
"It's broad daylight, why are you still closing the shop? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" He Youyou questioned.
Zhao Changqing ignored him, lifted the hem of his clothes, and sat down in the chair in the middle of the room.
"Can you tell me now? What's wrong with that person?"
He Youyou was somewhat embarrassed.
He pondered to himself, what was the best way to say it?
She wanted to make sure he got the worst out of her beforehand, so he wouldn't ruin her plans.
"I need this man very much, and I must protect him. You must not lay a finger on him. I will only speak if you agree to that."
She knew that Zhao Changqing was currently supervising the army in the Youbei camp, and must be a high-ranking general. Such a person serving the court would not tolerate such behavior.
Zhao Changqing stared at him intently: "I agree."
He Youyou looked into his eyes, as if trying to discern some sincerity within them.
"It's cold today, and all the rivers and ponds we passed by were frozen. But the water in the buckets of fish he transported all the way from Liaodong to Jizhou didn't freeze."
"Perhaps they changed the water frequently along the way?"
He Youyou chuckled and looked at him as if he were an idiot.
In fact, as soon as Zhao Changqing said those words, he realized that something was wrong.
Where can he get water to change his water on the way?
Not to mention that all the rivers along the way are frozen and there is no water to replace them, even if there were water to replace them, given the current cold weather, a thin layer of ice would quickly form on the surface of the water in no time.
"Then why do you think that is?" Zhao Changqing asked.
“It’s salt water,” He Youyou said calmly.
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