Chapter 61, Post Station
Ancient horse-drawn carriages were not shockproof. If you were in poor health, you would become exhausted if you sat in a carriage for several days in a row.
Just two days after leaving Linyi County, Yan Wenxiu's face looked a little bad. Sitting in the carriage, he seemed to be in pain.
Seeing her elder brother so frail, Daohua shook her head and said, "Brother, you are too weak. When you study, you should pay attention to combining work and rest."
Yan Wenkai nodded frantically, "That's right, every time I ask Big Brother to come out and exercise, he ignores me."
Yan Wenxiu glanced at his fourth brother and said unhappily, "Are you exercising? Are you just having fun?"
Yan Wenkai said confidently, "I got some exercise while having fun. It's the best of both worlds!" Then he looked at Daohua and Yan Wentao, "Big sister, I noticed that you and Third Brother look very good!"
She looks even more energetic than him, who loves to play and make trouble.
Yan Wentao smiled and continued, "That's right. In Yanjia Village, Daohua is a well-known lucky girl. She has hardly ever been sick since she was little. She can run faster than adults. I ran behind her and my health improved."
Hearing this, Yan Wenxiu and Yan Wenkai both laughed.
Yan Wenxiu looked at Daohua and said, "Youth is the foundation of everything, especially for women. Having a good body is a great blessing. However, while proper exercise is good for health, as a woman, you should still be demure and dignified."
Seeing that her eldest brother was still lecturing her, Daohua sighed and said coquettishly, "Brother, I know you are doing this for my own good, but I am dressed as a man and I am away from home, so please don't keep talking about rules and etiquette during this period. Let me relax for a while."
God knows how torturous it is to be a gentle and quiet lady. She cannot smile with her teeth showing, and cannot do this or say that. This is really difficult for her who is used to being free.
Yan Wenxiu looked at Daohua and saw that she looked fine. He continued, "The world is quite strict with women. They need to cultivate their words and deeds from a young age and ingrain etiquette into their bones. That way, no matter where they go in the future, no one will be able to find fault with them."
The elder sister is lively and as the eldest brother, he can't help but worry about her sometimes.
Most men in the world still prefer gentle and quiet women. If a woman has a strong temper, she will inevitably give people a feeling of being out of control and people will stay away from her.
Daohua knew that it would be difficult to convince the other party with words due to the conflict in concepts.
The best solution is to let it go in one ear and out the other.
Living in ancient times, in order to survive, she could integrate into the secular rules here, but she did not want to be completely assimilated.
That night, Daohua and his group slept in an inn.
When getting off the carriage, Daohua saw that Yan Zhigao and Master Xiao were both shaking. She shook her head again. These people were too weak!
"Hold on a little longer, we'll reach the capital in two days."
Linyi County is located in a remote area, quite far from the provincial capital, with a rugged mountain road in between. Even by horse carriage, it would take at least five days to get there.
Seeing that the children were in good spirits, Yan Zhigao breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that the children would get sick on the way.
Now that I see they are fine, I feel a lot more relieved.
After a night's rest, everyone felt a little better, and early the next morning, everyone started their journey again without stopping.
"father!"
As soon as he got into the carriage, Yan Zhigao heard the fourth brother's voice and opened the curtain: "What's the matter?"
Yan Wenkai smiled and handed a water bag to Yan Zhigao: "Dad, this is the tea that my eldest sister made. She said it is refreshing. If you and Master Xiao are tired, drinking some can relieve fatigue."
Yan Zhigao took the water bag, opened the lid and smelled it: "What kind of tea is this? It smells quite nice."
Master Xiao smiled and said, "Young lady, your filial piety is commendable."
Later on the way, Yan Zhigao tried the tea that Daohua had given him and found that he really felt better after drinking it. He immediately poured a cup for Master Xiao and said, "Master Xiao, you should try it too. It tastes pretty good."
Master Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes brightening. "It leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth. Good tea." He took another sip and asked, "Sir, have you tasted what kind of tea it is?"
Yan Zhigao drank another cup: "It seems to be just ordinary jasmine tea."
Master Xiao shook his head: "Ordinary jasmine tea is not so clear and mellow. The tea used by the young lady is of the highest quality."
Yan Zhigao nodded, his expression showing agreement: "I wonder where that girl found this fragrant and pure scented tea?" We don't have such good tea at home!
Master Xiao smiled and didn't respond.
This is the Yan family's family affair, and as an outsider, he can't say much.
With the tea to refresh them, Yan Zhigao, Master Xiao and Yan Wenxiu all felt much more energetic throughout the journey. On the fifth day, the group arrived at the Fucheng Post Station smoothly.
During this period, because many officials came to the provincial capital to report on their work, the post station was almost full when Daohua and others arrived. However, they were lucky and were assigned a small courtyard.
"Finally, I can take a break!"
After traveling for five consecutive days, even Daohua and Yan Wentao, who were in good health, wanted to have a good sleep.
There are not many houses in the courtyard, just enough for Daohua and her friends to live in.
The main house was given to Yan Zhigao and Xiao Shiye, and the left and right wing rooms were divided among Daohua and others.
After the rooms were allocated, Daohua asked the waiter at the post station to bring her hot water so that she could take a shower.
However, before the hot water was delivered, the postmaster came to their yard with a group of people.
"We were the first to move into this yard. Why should we move?" Yan Wenkai's dissatisfied voice sounded.
The postmaster smiled awkwardly at Yan Zhigao and said, "Please forgive me, County Magistrate. We were careless and got the wrong courtyard. Originally, this courtyard was intended for the Governor of Fanzhou. Now that the Governor has arrived, so..."
The tone was acceptable, but the attitude left no room for improvement.
The head of a county is the highest official in the county, but after coming to the provincial capital, he becomes the lowest official.
Daohua stood at the door and saw her cheap father suppressing his anger. She waved her hand weakly, signaling them to pack up their things and move to another yard.
"Why!"
Daohua heard a sigh and turned around to find that it was Master Xiao.
When Master Xiao saw Daohua looking at him, he smiled bitterly and turned back to his room to pack his things.
Officialdom is so realistic, flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak.
What they said was prepared long ago is all nonsense. The postmaster just thought that Lord Yan had a low official position and no one behind him, so he was easy to bully. That's why he blatantly asked them to change the courtyard.
Soon, Daohua and his group packed up their things.
When I left the yard, I happened to see the prefect who was about to move in.
Seeing the prefect standing in front of his cheap father with an arrogant look on his face, and his cheap father who had been mistreated having to humble himself and flatter that man, Daohua felt mixed emotions. Even if she had many dissatisfactions with her cheap father before, at this moment, all of them vanished into thin air.
No matter what, my cheap dad has been using his not-so-strong shoulders to support a stable world for the Yan family.
(End of this chapter)
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