Chapter 188 Going to the Prefectural City

Chapter 188 Going to the Prefectural City

Jiang Yuan was worried that they would get too excited and forget about the soldiers who were not in the camp, so he quickly beckoned to his last personal guard and ordered him to go out and tell him, "Tell the cook not to forget to set aside a portion for each of the soldiers who are patrolling or stationed outside, according to their numbers."

The guard nodded and went out to deliver the message as he had instructed. Chang Yao patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder, a silent compliment to his meticulousness and thoughtfulness.

Xie Wanniang, who remained in Yi County, knew nothing about what was happening in the military camp. She was packing her bags, planning to take a trip to the prefectural city in a couple of days once her new carriage was ready.

There are many wealthy families in the prefectural city, so she probably won't be able to snatch the estate she desires from them. But even so, she still wants to go to the prefectural city to broaden her horizons.

After all, apart from the time when she was very young and Xie Daoheng brought her back from the Taoist temple where they lived, she had never been to any other place outside of Tang County and Yi County in her life.

If she can buy a suitable estate in the prefectural city, that would be best. If not, she will wander around there for two or three days before heading to nearby counties and towns.

After packing her luggage, Xie Wanniang made a special trip to greet Hao Yu and Chen Shi, asking them to look after her two shops occasionally while she was away.

Hao Yu's feelings were mixed. Although he had long realized that Xie Wanniang was not the kind of person like Chen Shi who only liked to stay at home and be busy with the children and weaving, he still couldn't help but feel worried and speechless that she was still taking people out in the dead of winter.

He nodded. "Don't worry."

As for the slight disagreement in her heart, Hao Yu wisely kept it to herself.

It's true that he did a lot for Jiang Yuan, but he's not Jiang Yuan's father after all. Well, even if he were Jiang Yuan's father, as a father-in-law, he couldn't possibly interfere in his daughter-in-law's affairs.

As for Jiang Yuan himself, he wouldn't object to whatever Xie Wan Niang did, so Hao Yu wouldn't be the villain either.

He instructed Xie Wanniang, "Everything else is fine, but you must pay extra attention to safety."

This is the person that boy cherishes most. If something were to happen to her outside, Hao Yu doesn't even dare to imagine what would become of Jiang Yuan.

Xie Wanniang nodded gratefully, "I will take most of the guards with me."

She leaves two people to help her look after the house and occasionally visit her shop, while she takes everyone else with her.

Besides guards, she would also bring Haitang and Atai with her.

As for Xiaoyang and Xiaomei, she plans to send them to Chen's place as usual.

What she didn't know was that because she didn't know martial arts, Xie Wanniang never took her with her when she went out, which made Xiao Yang develop a strong interest in learning martial arts.

She was different from Xiaomei. Xiaomei's original intention was to learn medical principles so that she could help her brother heal his injuries in the future, but Xiaoyang was determined to contribute her own strength to Xie Wanniang.

Upon realizing that if he didn't learn martial arts, Xie Wanniang would need him less and less in the future, Xiao Yang approached Hao Yu and asked if he could learn martial arts from him.

Hao Yu didn't care. He had already taught Xie Wanniang and Haitang, so teaching Xiao Yang was no big deal.

Not to mention that Xiao Yang brought his tuition fee with him, so Hao Yu had even less reason to refuse.

As for where Xiaoyang's money came from.

Every month, Xie Wanniang would give her some pocket money. During festivals, Xie Wanniang would also give her festival allowances and money to ward off evil spirits. Occasionally, when there was a happy occasion in the family, Xiao Yang would always receive a share of the reward money given out by Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan.

The little girl didn't have many expenses, so over time, she saved up her own little treasury.

However, what Hao Yu didn't expect was that Xiao Yang didn't tell Xie Wan Niang about her plan to learn martial arts beforehand. Instead, she was planning to hold back a big surprise for Xie Wan Niang when the opportunity arose.

It has to be said that this little girl, now raised by Xie Wanniang, has developed the liveliness and playfulness of a child, unlike when she was in her original family or when she first came to Xie Wanniang's side, when she was so cautious and timid.

This is a small, positive change that Xie Wanniang is happy to see.

Three days after returning from Hao Yu's place, Xie Wanniang set off with Haitang and the others.

They left very early, and their carriages and horses even lined up ahead of most of the caravans that had set off early in the morning to leave the city.

Everyone was in high spirits, filled with curiosity and anticipation for the trip.

***

Traveling day and night for three days, Xie Wanniang and her companions successfully arrived at their first destination – Baoding Prefecture.

Just as Xie Wanniang had imagined, the prefectural city was much more prosperous and bustling than the county towns of Yi County and Tang County that she had visited before.

Xie Wanniang rode her horse openly and boldly, taking in the sights of this important border town with its towering, thick city walls and wide, solemn streets, just like the others.

They followed the flow of people entering the city, gradually moving to streets that were becoming less crowded as the crowds dispersed.

Entering the city empty-handed, the guards, who saved a lot of time by not having to queue for inspection, had already booked an inn for them. He rode his horse slowly toward where Xie Wanniang and the others were.

Upon seeing him, the lead guard quickly raised his voice and said to Xie Wanniang, "Miss, Old Hong is back. He must have found a suitable inn."

Xie Wanniang nodded, "Instruct the caravan to follow him."

The other party responded and beckoned everyone to move closer to where Lao Hong was.

Soon, the two groups met up. Old Hong approached the carriage and raised his voice slightly to Xie Wanniang, saying, "Miss, I found an inn on Guangtai Street and rented two independent courtyards."

Xie Wanniang replied, "Thank you for your trouble. Please take us there."

Old Hong agreed and spurred his horse to continue leading the way at the front of the group.

Not long after everyone followed him, the inn with the private courtyard that Lao Hong had booked arrived.

The inn is called Yunlai, and it not only provides accommodation but also breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Because Xie Wanniang and her group had booked a private courtyard, the innkeeper led their convoy through a side entrance instead of the main hall where many diners were.

The side entrance had no threshold and was clearly a passageway for carriages and horses.

The waiter led them to two small courtyards that Lao Hong had reserved in advance. Xie Wanniang and Haitang stayed in the smaller one, while Atai and the guards stayed in the other one next to them.

After being jostled around in the carriage for so long, everyone was exhausted. Xie Wanniang had no appetite to go out and find food, so she simply asked the innkeeper to bring them some food.

There were only two of them, Haitang and she, so they only ordered three dishes, a soup and two bowls of rice. Xie Wanniang ordered twelve dishes, two bowls of steamed buns and a bucket of rice porridge for the others.