Chapter 116 - 116 Chapter 116. Entering Jin City
116 Chapter 116. Entering Jin City
“There’s no such thing as an impenetrable wall. It seems that An Ran can’t wait to make a move on the General.”
Lu Yue nodded and said to Wan Yulin in a low voice.
“The Emperor’s new favorite, noble An’s father, is the capital’s military chief. His two brothers are brave and good at fighting, so his Emperor placed them in the Imperial Guards. Recently, noble An became pregnant with a Dragon fetus. According to the Imperial doctor, it’s very likely that the Emperor values noble An a lot and has sent many people to protect her. Although noble consort Wan has been pampering the six palaces for many years, she has not produced a child. Now that noble An is pregnant with a Dragon fetus, his Emperor has transferred her two brothers to the Imperial Guards as the left and right guards. The entire capital is under the control of the An family. Even if General enters the capital, you must listen to the other’s words.”
Lu Yue’s analysis made Wan Yulin feel like lightning had struck him. He raised his head and laughed wildly,
“I’ve let him sit on the Emperor’s throne for over ten years. Does he dare to scheme against me? ”
“General, please calm your anger.”
Lu Yue quickly stopped Wan Yulin,
“The walls have ears,”
“Young Yongqi.”
Wan Yulin gritted his teeth. Fortunately, he knew that accompanying a sovereign was like attending a Tiger. Otherwise, that kid would have killed him after he was done with his work, just like Xiao Heng.
While Wan Yulin was suspicious of the Emperor because of the poisonous grain, Su Qing and her team arrived outside Jin City after two days of trekking.
Perhaps it was because the news of Li City being besieged by the Barbarians had spread to Jin City. The security of Jin City was tight, and refugees were not allowed to enter, but the rich could.
Under such a situation, the people from Peach Blossom Cove could not all enter the city and could not stay outside Jin City. Ji Shuisheng let Li Daniu and the rest lead the team and continued to move forward. He and Qiu Yongkang changed into the new clothes Su Qing had bought for them and led two fat, strong horses into the city.
Qiu Yongkang still looked like a weak scholar. Although Ji Shuisheng had a big beard, he still looked like a hero. The officer guarding the city didn’t make things difficult for them after seeing their travel passes and letting them enter the city.
When Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang entered the city, they inquired about the places that sold horse carriages and grain. They first went to buy a carriage—a cart with a set cost ten taels of silver. Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang gritted their teeth and bought ten horse carriages.
One carriage could fit seven to eight people, so ten carriages could do seventy to eighty people. In addition to the original ox-cart and Su Qing’s carriage, the villagers of Peach Blossom Cove could all leave by carriage.
After buying the carriages, Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang went to repurchase food. After the incident of being robbed by the soldiers of Li City, they understood that an ordinary man’s possession of a Jade was a crime, so they didn’t dare to buy more food. They only bought enough food to eat till the next city.
Other than the food, it was a necessity for their daily lives. Salt was a must. Su Qing used a lot of salt and always liked to preserve food for the journey. If there were too little salt, it would not be enough. They bought 20 packets of salt.
When he realized that the prices in Jin city were lower than in Yu city, he felt that he had earned a lot from the money he had saved.
After buying things, they did not dare to delay in the city. They drove the carriage out of the city. On the way, they heard news that made Ji Shuisheng even more anxious to return.
Su Qing and the rest were resting at a place one Li away from Jin City, waiting for Ji Shuisheng and the rest to catch up. While resting, Su Qing would put cotton into the cotton jacket. Putting cotton into the jacket had to be done when the carriage stopped. They would find a flat ground and lay the cut clothes on it. Then, they would flatten the cotton and lay it on top.
When Su Qing was working, she was entirely focused. Suddenly, she felt a pain in her stomach. When she thought about how her body’s original owner would be living these few days, Su Qing’s expression changed.
In this era, there were no sanitary napkins or toilet paper. When one had their period, they would put the plant ash into a small cloth strip and tie it at the waist with the same thread at both ends, the so-called sanitary pad. Their wealth determined the number of strips they changed.
After changing the sanitary belt, she poured out the dirty things inside and washed the sanitary belt with clean water and soap. It could only be used after air-drying; when it was urgent, it could be dried with fire. Not only was it unhygienic, it could easily leak, and it would be embarrassing if the leakage dirtied the clothes.
Su Qing thought of the large bloodstain on the butt of high scholar Ding’s concubine. No, she had to go into the city to buy some knife paper.
Knife paper was a type of soft paper. Its water absorption was similar to modern toilet paper. The ladies of wealthy families would use this to put in their menstrual belts.
However, because it was expensive, women from poor families could not afford it.
Xiaoying, I’m going into the city to buy something. If your brother and others return, you can leave first.
Su Qing found Ji Xiaoying and informed her. Xiaoying asked her worriedly,
“Sister, where are you going?”
Even though Ji Xiaoying knew her sister was capable, she was still worried about her. No matter how powerful a Tiger was, it could not fight against a pack of wolves.
“I’m going to buy something.”
Su Qing gave a simple explanation and did not say anything else. She untied the big black horse and jumped on it. The big black horse seemed very excited. It raised its front hooves and made a musical sound. Its big eyes were bright.
Su Qing galloped away on her horse. Li Shuang’er and a few other ladies surrounded Ji Xiaoying and asked,
“Where did sister Su Qing go?”
“She went to buy something.”
Ji Xiaoying casually said. Sitting under a tree, Qiu Yue heard her, and her eyes flashed. If only she could stand up and walk. This was a chance.
Su Qing rode a horse to the outskirts of Jin City. She was dressed in coarse clothes but riding a tall horse. The officer at the gate asked her for a pass, and Su Qing had already borrowed the passes from Madam Li and Zhong Yong before she came.
Seeing that the officer wanted a pass, Su Qing handed it over.
The city guards looked at Su Qing. How tall was this young man? Red lips, white teeth, and even more handsome than a woman. He was dressed so innocently. This horse was not bad.
“Did you bring any weapons?”
Coincidentally, one of the officers guarding the city liked men, so he came over to try and take advantage of Su Qing.
“No, I didn’t,”
Su Qing opened her arms for them to take a look, but the soldier refused to let her go. He wanted to touch this young man with tender skin and flesh. Su Qing frowned, and her eyes were filled with killing intent. At this moment, an officer came over and shouted,
“Quick, the bailiffs from the government officials have come to inform us to prepare to welcome General Wan quickly.”
“Go in!”
The officer who wanted to take advantage of Su Qing had no choice but to give up. He waved his hand at Su Qing unwillingly and even said,
“General Wan is here. I couldn’t have let you in, but I let you in because I felt bad for your exposure to the sun. You must remember my good deeds.
“Yes, sir.”
Su Qing answered on her horse and rode towards the city. After entering the city, she looked for a shop specializing in women’s cosmetics and other necessities. Such shops sold knife paper.
Su Qing walked with her horse and asked for shops selling rouge and face powder. She asked the roadside vendors and discovered that the shops selling rouge were in the back street. She led her horse to the back street. Just as she walked past, Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang pulled over a dozen handcarts.
Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang were hurrying to leave Jin City and didn’t look around, so they missed Su Qing.
When they left the city, they saw a yellow military flag with the word ‘Ten thousand’ flapping in the wind. Behind the flag was an extended team of armored soldiers.