Outside the long pavilion, along the ancient road.
Outside Luoyang city, at the Liting Pavilion.
When Cai Yong arrived with Cai Fu and the imperial edict, Chen Ji also joined them with about ten guards.
Chen Ji was not very famous, but he had a son named Chen Qun, who later became an important minister of Cao Wei and a general in charge of the army.
He also had a grandson named Chen Tai, who was a general under Cao Zhen in the late Three Kingdoms period. He guarded a region and, along with Zhong Hui, Deng Ai, and others, was a vanguard in the conquest of Shu.
Cai Yong knew that this man was a clerk in the household of General He Jin. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two fell silent.
Fifty imperial guards sent from the palace have arrived.
They were all riding tall horses and wearing heavy armor. The leader of them was named Bao Xin.
Once everyone had arrived, Cai Yong discussed the journey with Chen Ji.
"My lords, wait for us!"
Just as everyone was preparing to set off, another group of fifty or sixty people arrived.
"My name is Cui Hao. The patriarch has ordered me to travel with you two gentlemen."
A burly middle-aged man with triangular eyes came over with a grin and rushed to bow to the two of them.
"Lord Cai, this..." Chen Ji looked puzzled.
"They are merchants from the Cui family of Hedong who are going to Yunzhong to buy horses!"
"Travel with us so we can look out for each other."
Cai Yong shook his head helplessly.
Although he did not explicitly reject the Cui family at his residence, it was tantamount to tacitly agreeing.
Cui Jiahao is from a powerful family, and he didn't want to offend them too much.
Anyway, it's just companionship along the way, nothing serious.
Besides, they also provide food and lodging.
“We are working for the imperial court, how can we mix with merchants?” Chen Ji refused to give him any face.
"This must be Lord Chen! May I speak with you in private?"
Cui Hao clearly knew Chen Ji, so he wanted to have a private chat with Chen Ji.
Chen Ji followed, completely bewildered. He had no idea what Cui Hao had said to him or what he had seen that caused such a drastic change in Chen Ji's attitude.
"Your caravan can follow behind!"
Cai Yong seemed to sense something unusual.
This mission seems to be more complicated than imagined; Chen Ji, Bao Xin, and Cui Hao all appear to have ulterior motives.
Who cares? As long as the imperial edict is read aloud to Marquis Liu Wei of Yinshan.
As for the others, I'm just a lowly official, I have no right to know.
The group then set off, heading north towards Mengjin Ferry.
As they approached the Mengjin ferry crossing, the sun began to set, and dusk was approaching. The group prepared to find a ferry to cross the river and spend the night on the other side.
Suddenly, two riders came galloping from the south.
"Lord Cai, your servants have come and said that you wanted them to go to Yunzhong with you, but they only came in a hurry to buy some items!"
"You're responsible for handling your own affairs!"
A moment later, the Imperial Guard Commander Bao Xin, expressionless, led two men toward Cai Yong.
Cai Yong was puzzled, as he had already instructed Cai Fu to pack his belongings and had not forgotten anything.
Moreover, he only brought Cai Fu with him and didn't invite anyone else.
Just as he was wondering what was going on, Bao Xin stepped aside, and Cai Yong almost cried out.
The two women, disguised as men and claiming to be servants of the Cai family, were actually his daughter Cai Yan and her personal maid Xiao Cui.
It turned out that Cai Yan felt uneasy after her father left, so she put on her deceased husband's clothes, dressed up as a man, and prepared to go find her father, thinking that they could travel together.
When the maid Xiao Cui saw her mistress acting so recklessly, she not only failed to dissuade her, but Cai Yan also made her change into men's clothing and come along.
In addition to playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting, women in the Han Dynasty were also adept at horseback riding and archery, just like men.
So the two men got horses and followed Cai Yong's route, catching up with him near Mengjin.
Nonsense!
Cai Yong was already furious, but seeing Bao Xin and Chen Ji standing by, he could only suppress his anger and pulled Cai Yan aside.
"Yan'er, what are you doing? Are you out of your minds?"
Cai Yan said, "Father, I am worried about your illness and health. After much thought, I have decided to disguise myself as a man and become your servant to take care of you along the way."
"The journey is long and the weather is freezing cold. Yan'er doesn't want anything to happen to her father."
"Daughter has decided to accompany Father to the clouds, please do not send her away."
Cai Yan said with a resolute expression.
"You...you're just playing around like children. If people find out you're both girls, you'll be dead!"
Cai Yong disagreed with everything he said.
“Since Father doesn’t want his daughter to follow, I’ll go and identify myself to those officers now.”
Cai Yan seemed to have been prepared, knowing that her father would definitely disagree, so she pretended to get up and walked towards Bao Xin.
"Alright!"
Cai Yong had no choice but to quickly pull him back.
Once the daughter's identity is revealed, the consequences are unpredictable.
“Father, I’m writing a sequel to the ‘Dongguan Hanji’ for you. The part about the Hetao, Yinshan and Monan, and the part about Zhaojun’s departure to the border, is written without any on-site research and is completely incoherent.”
“Look, I’ll go with you to Yunzhong. I can take care of Father and learn about the culture and geography of the border region, which will help us write the book. Why not?”
Cai Yan's words successfully persuaded Cai Yong.
Having my daughter take care of me on my journey is better than anything else.
Furthermore, as Cai Yan said, the description of the geography and landscape of the four prefectures of Yunzhong in the "Dongguan Hanji" – grasslands and deserts – would be difficult to capture without firsthand experience.
Cai Yong took this book very seriously, striving for authenticity so that it could be remembered for generations.
"I really can't do anything with you. In that case, you two will stay by my side!"
"But you must be careful with your behavior and avoid giving yourself away."
"The people traveling with me are no ordinary people."
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