Chapter 268: Setting Setting Off for Chenzhou City
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
On the official road to Chenzhou City, a group of carriages slowly moved forward.
They didn’t move very fast, but they were definitely much faster than walking.
The children who were better at riding horses had already run back and forth excitedly.
The children who didn’t know how to ride horses were so envious that their eyes lit up as they watched them.
Inside the carriage, He Cheng and Sun Ke sang and danced.
Ah-Yao slept in the cradle that had been fixed and covered with a thick quilt.
Sun Xiu and Sun Yi were happy and expectant for their journey, but also a little uneasy as they clapped for He Cheng and Sun Ke.
Han Qiao stood to the side, watching their joy.
Her smile became gentler.
One had to pay a sum of money to travel on the official road, but the road was smooth. If one pa.s.sed by the official post station and paid some money, they could even stay in the side courtyard of the official post station. The main courtyard was for officials to live in.
However, it was already good enough to have a place to stay and someone to boil water and prepare meals.
There were old, weak, sick, and disabled people in their group, so they were destined not to move too fast.
Zhang Zhao was much more capable than Heng Yi and Han Qiao had imagined, and he had done his best to scout ahead with Han Chi by his side.
Han Qiao had distributed the buns and eggs given to her by her sisters-in-law during lunch.
They had also prepared some dry rations, but not a lot.
Although the weather was good, everyone wanted to eat something hot and fresh.
The children could usually eat eggs. It was only when the weather was cold and the hen did not lay eggs that they would seldom eat egg custard.
Therefore, none of them were surprised by this white water egg.
However, after riding horses for some time, they became hungry, so the eggs tasted good to them.
Han Qiao drank the chicken soup that she had made last night. She wanted to feed the baby, so she had to eat better.
Han Qiao didn’t bring the Nanny with her. Instead, she gave her a sum of silver and asked her to bring her daughter home. With this money, her future wouldn’t be too bad as long as she didn’t spend them recklessly.
It could also be considered as completing this fate.
“Mom, eat the eggs!” He Cheng fed the egg to Han Qiao.
Han Qiao opened her mouth and caught it, “Cheng’er is so kind. Eat the eggs yourself.”
“Okay!” He Cheng nodded vigorously.
Looking at the happy and excited He Cheng, Han Qiao couldn’t help but think of Zhao Huan, his cruel mother.
Maybe not everyone in Puyi County knew that they were leaving, but at least half of them did. However, Zhao Huan did not show any reaction at all.
She didn’t say that she wanted to meet He Cheng. She was a strange woman.
Han Qiao went to relieve herself first and called Sun Xiu, Sun Yi, Sun Ke, and the other girls to relieve themselves.
Because they were all girls, they dug a pit and surrounded it with black tarpaulin. There were also two old women guarding them from a distance.
Han Qiao valued her children’s reputation very much.
She washed her hands and got into the carriage for Ah-Yao.
Ah-Yao was used to peeing and p.o.o.ping after eating.
Pucao did these things for her.
Han Qiao didn’t expect Dong Lai to beg her to marry Pucao.
Han Qiao watched Pucao carefully. She looked delicate and pretty. After a year of taking care of her, she looked good. No wonder Dong Lai was attracted to her.
She had originally wanted to matchmake Shulan and Dong Lai.
After Pucao cleaned up, Han Qiao asked her to stay and talk about this matter.
“What do you think?”
“…” Pucao widened her eyes in disbelief.
“I… I…” She stuttered.
Even though she didn’t have much knowledge and couldn’t read, she knew that people like Dong Lai were a level higher than her even if they were all servants.
“I… This servant…This servant feels that she is not worthy of Dong Lai.”
Han Qiao laughed, “How so? He came to me and said that he wanted to marry you. He asked me to ask for your opinion. You don’t have to be in a hurry to answer me. You can think about it on the way. It won’t be too late to tell me your answer when we reach Chenzhou.”
“…” Pucao swallowed her saliva, “This servant is willing.”
She would be a fool to turn this down.
For such an outstanding young man who wanted to marry her… If she refused, she would miss her chance.
Although she was honest and dull, she was not truly stupid.
Han Qiao smiled.
She knew that Pucao would agree.
Compared to a random servant, Dong Lai was the best candidate.
“Don’t panic. 1’11 prepare your wedding when we reach Chenzhou City. In addition, I’ll need time to buy some things. You still have to help take care of Ah-Yao until he’s one year old. During this time, you’d better not have children yet. To make it up to you, when you give birth to a child in the future, 1’11 ask the master to go to the government office and buy a good register for you.”
“…” Pucao stared at Han Qiao in surprise.
There was nothing more surprising than this.
She immediately knelt down, “Thank you, Madam.”
It didn’t matter if she didn’t want the child for three to five years, let alone a year and a half.
She believed that Dong Lai would be willing to wait.
Pucao had always done her best to take care of Ah-Yao and was never lazy. Now that there was something so good coming her way, she was even more dedicated to taking care of Ah-Yao.
When she saw Dong Lai, she would blush with embarra.s.sment.
Dong Lai was smart and quick-witted. He instantly understood that Pucao had agreed, so he took good care of Pucao and secretly left delicious food for her.
When he was staying guard, he had been given a few oranges and had sneaked off to look for Pucao. Who knew that Pucao had also been given oranges that day and had also sneaked over to look for Dong Lai?
She even brought a purse that she had made herself.
The st.i.tches were fine and there were no flowers. The two of them had their first awakening of love, and they were going in both directions. When they met, however, they couldn’t say anything.
One was shy, and the other was nervous, afraid of saying the wrong thing.
They exchanged oranges and ate desserts together. They were silent, but at the same time, they felt warm.
When Shulan saw this, she was a little surprised, but she soon understood.
Pucao was timid, so she couldn’t take the initiative.
In that case, Dong Lai should take the initiative.
Shulan was a little interested in Dong Lai, mainly because she felt that he was a capable man. Of course, this interest was something that had happened last year.
Now that she saw Dong Lai and Pucao together, she was happy for Pucao and wished Dong Lai well.
She wished them both happiness.
Shulan came quietly and left without alerting the couple.
At first, the children were very excited, but after walking for two days, the excitement dissipated, leaving only boredom.
They couldn’t fall behind in their studies either, so they returned to the carriage to study.
Then, the sound of reading could be heard along the way.
This caused the caravans pa.s.sing by to be surprised.
Behind them were two merchant groups and a few families.
On the twenty-fifth day, it started drizzling, and then it got heavier and heavier.
“Master, should we speed up?” Zhang Zhao asked.
Heng Yi was afraid that the rain wouldn’t stop, so they could only continue forward.
He rode his horse and said to the escorts, “Thank you for your hard work. I’ll give you some silver when the time comes.”
“Master Heng, you’re too polite.”
Heng Yi nodded.
The leader of the caravan also rode over and asked, “Sir, are you going to continue on your journey, or find a place to shelter from the rain?”
“We have to continue on our way. What about you?”Heng Yi asked.
“Same as you, Sir.”
They did not dare to stay in this remote place.
If they encountered mountain bandits, the gains would not make up for the losses.
It was better to follow the team and move forward in the rain.
Heng Yi and the others were prepared. They put down the oilcloth rolled up by the side of the carriage and wrapped it up.
The curtain in front was pulled open, and the moist air blew into the carriage. It was a little cold.
Han Qiao lowered the curtain and lit the oil lamp on the wall of the carriage.
Ah-Yao always tilted his head to look.
Heng Yi was wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat as he followed the carriage. Han Chi stopped reading and rode beside the carriage to escort them.
After all, his mother, brother, and sister were all in the carriage, so he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
However, from drizzle to heavy rain, to pouring rain, their progress became slower and slower…