The carriages were still the same as always.
Nan Zhu's wife sat to He Yunxiao's left, and Chu Chu sat to He Yunxiao's right.
On Nanzhu's side, they held hands and hugged each other's arms, while on Chuchu's side, they simply held hands to transfer power.
Meng Qingrou was terrified of Xiao Xiao's advances, so she immediately grabbed He Yunxiao's arm.
However, when Nanzhu's wife realized that Chuchu didn't intend to compete with her, she let go of He Yunxiao's arm and simply held hands with him obediently.
A world without involution is quite harmonious.
Only He Yunxiao couldn't benefit from the female lead's competitive dynamics, and felt slightly hurt.
Nan Zhu was curious but obedient and shy. Chu Chu wasn't a talkative heroine, and He Yunxiao, being Nan Zhu's wife, couldn't find an excuse to get close to Chu Chu during the power transfer. After all, Xiao Xiao touching him and him actively seeking out Chu Chu were two different things for Nan Zhu. Xiao Xiao, who was usually quite introverted, didn't dare to make a move because Chu Chu was there.
All four people in the carriage fell silent, and He Yunxiao could only occasionally tell a joke to cheer up Chu Chu and Nan Zhu.
And so, the day's journey passed in a rather uneventful atmosphere.
As evening fell, after two days of travel, He Yunxiao and his group finally arrived at Jubei Pass, the border between Qi and Yan. From there, heading north would lead to the territory of the Yan Kingdom.
Unlike Luoyue Pass, which was built beside the trade route, Jubei Pass was built "above" the trade route.
Literally, it means that Beiguan is located above the trade route.
At Luoyue Pass, the plain between the two mountains is relatively wide, so Luoyue Pass can only be fixed on the plain like a nail. But at Jubei Pass, the valley between the two mountains is very narrow, only one or two kilometers apart, so the fortress of Jubei Pass is positioned like a large bowl in the trade route. When the iron gate on the city wall is raised, the trade route opens; when the iron gate on the city wall is lowered, the trade route closes.
This strategically important location, so easily defensible and difficult to attack, is one of the reasons why the Yan state has been unable to breach the pass for so long.
Once on his own turf, He Yunxiao naturally had no intention of sleeping outdoors again.
He found a patrol of soldiers at the foot of the North Pass, and when He Yunxiao presented the document personally written by Meng Bao, he was treated as a distinguished guest and invited to the inside of the pass.
The so-called "inside the pass" was actually just a small town used for garrisoning troops. The small town, along with the thick outer walls built on the trade route and the high city walls rising above the ground, constituted the entirety of Jubeiguan. Most of the 250,000 Qi troops stationed at Jubeiguan lived in the small town inside the pass.
Ma De was led by soldiers to place his carriage. Meanwhile, He Yunxiao and the others, led by a junior captain, headed to their lodgings.
In the Great Qi Dynasty, a general was a fourth-rank official, a colonel was a fifth-rank official below a general, and a captain was a sixth-rank official below a colonel.
"Lord Zhang, this way please," the captain said to He Yunxiao. Then he quickly walked in front of him to lead the way.
He Yunxiao was naturally not traveling in his true identity. The He family army was now one of the main forces protecting Yinjing, and if the Yan emperor found out he, the only son of the He family, went to Yan, he would likely be hunted down relentlessly. That would be far too risky, so he decided to use his cousin's name from his maternal family. After all, the Zhang family, the Duke's family, had developed over hundreds of years, with a complex web of relationships and numerous relatives, making them perfect for impersonation.
He Yunxiao and his wife, Nanzhu, held hands, while Xiaoxiao, under Chuchu's supervision, obediently followed behind He Yunxiao. With a displeased expression that screamed "Don't mess with me," Xiaoxiao exuded a murderous aura even stronger than that of the soldiers at Jubei Pass.
As the captain walked, he suddenly discovered an extra silver ingot in his pocket, which he estimated to weigh about thirty taels. Just as he was looking on in astonishment, He Yunxiao spoke up.
"Ahem, the conditions inside this pass don't seem to be very good."
He Yunxiao was a person of high status in Yin Jing, so the captain dared not neglect him.
"My lord, you are unaware of the situation. In this important town of Beiguan, our conditions are already considered good. However, even so, it cannot compare to the prosperity of Yinjing City."
He Yunxiao thought to himself, "He's not on the right track," and then asked, "So where are we going to stay?"
"Please wait a moment, sir, it's just a few more steps away."
He Yunxiao added, "At this time, the two armies are facing off, so resources must be very tight, right?"
The captain touched the heavy silver in his pocket and smiled, "Don't worry, sir, even if things are tight, I can still manage to find three excellent rooms for you."
He Yunxiao gritted his teeth and threw another silver ingot into the captain's pocket.
"Are there really three rooms? That's great." He Yunxiao winked at the captain, gesturing to the two girls beside him.
Nan Zhu, being simple-minded, didn't notice He Yunxiao's expression. Xiao Xiao, following behind He Yunxiao, was even less likely to see it.
The weight of sixty taels of silver made the captain's pocket feel uneasy, and his mind began to wander.
"Lord Zhang, are these two ladies Madam Zhang?"
He Yunxiao replied with a smile, "Not yet."
The captain understood everything as soon as he heard the word "still" in "still not".
"Not yet" means that it is not now, but it will be in the future.
"Oh, Lord Zhang, I suddenly remembered something."
"What is it?"
The two worked together in harmony, singing in unison.
"Although there are three rooms, two of them are not very auspicious. One has been the site of a death and is filled with yin energy, while the other has not been cleaned for years and may contain poisonous creatures such as rats, centipedes, and spiders. It would be bad if the two ladies were harmed."
He Yunxiao laughed as he said, "I told you, she's still the madam. Don't damage the girls' reputations."
These were just polite words; in reality, neither Nan Zhu, Chu Chu, nor Xiao Xiao had any objections to them. Even Nan Zhu's wife, who used to be stubborn, had become more sensible after being influenced by Xiao Xiao. She no longer mentioned "not marrying." Before, mentioning it was a joke, and also meant to urge He Yunxiao on, but now that Xiao Xiao was around, saying "not marrying" would really mean "not being able to marry."
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