Hua Qingxue was both excited and nervous along the way.
She first went to Fengle Building and asked the restaurant's shopkeeper Shen to help convert the two pieces of silver into copper coins.
Originally, she should go to the bank for this kind of thing, but she saw that the people entering and leaving the bank were all carrying boxes and packing boxes. With her piece of silver... forget it, let's ask the shopkeeper for help.
Shopkeeper Shen acted fairly and gave her a fair reward - the piece of silver was actually less than one tael, but it was still close. In the end, he exchanged 936 copper coins for Hua Qingxue.
Hua Qingxue reached out and lifted it—
Oops! ... It must be fifteen or six pounds!
Hua Qingxue was extremely happy.
The bearded man waited outside Fengle Restaurant for a while and then saw Hua Qingxue walking out happily carrying a basket on her back.
He knew clearly and guessed that Hua Qingxue was asking the shopkeeper for help in exchanging copper coins.
She was smart enough, and she also knew that she put a few steamed buns on top of the basket and half-covered it with a cloth. Who would have thought that there were more than ten kilograms of copper coins underneath
The bearded man followed behind and looked around.
In front of her was Hua Qingxue, who was dressed in gray and gray, tightly wrapped and seamless. Her waist could not be seen, because the weight on her back caused her whole body to lean forward slightly, as if she was about to fall down at any moment.
Big Beard felt that this was a weak and frail little woman, unlike those village women who were used to doing strenuous work.
He pursed his lips and thought to himself, you are a woman who is not afraid of being crushed to death by money
Hua Qingxue changed the money and was not in a hurry to go back. Instead, she started shopping.
She first went to the pharmacy and bought a bag of sulfur, and then started asking around on the street where quicklime and thenardite could be sold. Finally, someone pointed her to an old hunter. The old hunter had stopped hunting for a long time, but he had a good skill in tanning leather. He always keeps some lime and thenardite in his house.
Hua Qingxue went happily and bought lime and thenardite, then rushed to the grocery store to buy sugar, salt and other seasonings, and then bought rice, flour, oil and grains from the grain store. After this shopping spree, the copper coins were already Went for most of it.
Hua Qingxue walked home with a bit of excitement, a basket full behind her, an oil can in her arms, a bag of radishes on her arm, and a bag of white rice that was carried by a clerk from the grain store.
The bearded man followed her all the way and did not see her making any contact with the Liao soldiers. The doubts in his heart had dissipated a lot. He just thought that the prince had a special status and the origin of this woman could not be found out. Even if it was not a hidden thorn in the Liao people, It could also be Xixia...
However, the prince likes her, and as long as she can't hurt the prince, there is no harm in keeping her.
The bearded man thought this, and with a thought in his mind, an inconspicuous small stone under his feet flew towards Hua Qingxue! —
"Ah!—" Hua Qingxue shouted loudly!
She felt her knees suddenly go numb, and she lost her center of gravity, staggering and falling towards the ground!
My oil! ! !
At the last moment when she fell, Hua Qingxue looked at the oil can flying out of her arms without blinking! Thinking that all the oil would soon be spilled on the road, her heart felt like it was being cut apart!
But the oil can stopped exactly halfway through its flight! —
Not only did the oil pot stop, Hua Qingxue felt that she also stopped. Her whole body seemed to be lifted up by a force. Looking up again, Hua Qingxue found that there was a man in front of her!
She didn't know what this man looked like, but because he was so close, Hua Qingxue could only see a thick and thick beard and a slightly undulating chest.
This man is so tall...
Hua Qingxue was a little confused. When the man let go of his hand, she took two steps back and realized that the man was still holding her oil bottle in his other hand.
When Hua Qingxue saw the oil pot, she couldn't help but smile, her eyes turned into crescent moons, and her whole face was filled with brightness, "... That's great, the pot didn't fall..."
These were the first words they said when they met.
Many years later, the bearded man could not forget the way Hua Qingxue looked at that time. She was wearing messy clothes and the simplest braids. She looked delicate and frail, but she was carrying thirty kilograms of stuff on her back. , when she stood beside him and spoke, her voice was soft and her face had a bright and gentle smile. Unfortunately, her eyes did not look at him, but stared at the oil can in his hand with great passion.
She said: "That's great, the pot didn't fall..."
The bearded man returned the oil can to Hua Qingxue, and the waiter next to him praised him: "This big brother is so skilled!"
Hua Qingxue then raised her head to look at the bearded man, and saw that this man had a very eye-catching beard. His eyes were narrow and narrow under his sword-shaped eyebrows, and his pupils were as dark as cold stars and were as black as bottom. He was covered with a gray suit all over his body. The big brown cloak made the whole person taller and more powerful, and it faintly exuded the coldness of keeping away those who are idle.
Hua Qingxue was startled. She couldn't help but feel that the person in front of her had an extremely outstanding temperament. For the first time, she could see the majesty of a person who was invincible...
After staying like this for a while, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to thank you, and I felt a little embarrassed for a moment. There was a little pink on the fair face, making the whole person's color brighter.
"Thank you... thank you, big brother." She didn't know how to say thank you in this dynasty, so Hua Qingxue hesitated and said thank you.
She also felt that she was very insincere, after all, the other party had saved her full pot of oil.
Hua Qingxue worked hard to think of words, and then said: "If it weren't for this big brother just now, I might have spilled all the oil. Well... I have some radishes here. Big brother, why don't you take them back to eat... "
Before she finished speaking, Hua Qingxue became upset again!
What carrots are you giving? ! … Who doesn’t save dozens of kilograms of cabbage and radishes on this cold day? It would be better not to say this!
Hua Qingxue glanced at the rice bag on the shoulder of the clerk in the grain store. She felt that she was so worthless. What could be more sincere than giving this white rice
But in the past few days, she had been eating brown rice and miscellaneous grains. Now she finally bought a bag of polished rice, and she really couldn't bear to part with it...
As she struggled in her heart, her face turned redder and redder.
The bearded man looked at the radish handed over by Hua Qingxue with mixed emotions, but the grain store clerk kept making a mean smile next to him, which made him very embarrassed.
However, he only froze for a moment, and quickly realized what he was doing. He picked up the bag of radishes in his hand and said, "It's cold and slippery, girl, be careful on the road." After that, he turned around and left.
He silently determined one fact in his heart: this woman could be saved if she didn't know martial arts.
Hua Qingxue looked at the bearded figure leaving. His posture was as tall as a pine tree, and his steps were as brisk as an arrow.
She was a little dazed, thinking: Although this man looks cold and cruel, he has a good heart.
At this moment, Qin Laowu was standing respectfully in front of Li Jingnan—
When Qin Laowu and Big Beard entered Renqiu City, they disguised themselves as guards for the caravan. They had already planned a route and could leave the city when the caravan's route was cleared.
Generally, the merchant team will stay in a city for ten and a half days. Now there are still seven or eight days before leaving the city. As long as there are no problems in the middle, they should be able to send the prince back to the capital smoothly.
What Qin Laowu meant was to let Li Jingnan prepare in the past two days and follow them out of the city at any time. As for Hua Qingxue, this woman’s identity is unknown, so it’s best not to take her with her. What's more, Li Jingnan is just a child and can be easily hidden, but Hua Qingxue is a woman. The presence of a woman in the merchant team is really eye-catching, and it would be inappropriate if it hinders the prince's ability to leave the city smoothly.
After listening to Qin Laowu's persuasion, Li Jingnan felt that his throat was a little dry. The joy of seeing Qin Laowu for the first time cooled down little by little...
"She's not a spy..." Li Jingnan sighed, "When I picked her up, she only breathed her last breath. Shiliu said that if I had been a quarter of an hour later, she might have frozen to death in the mountain... You said, how could such a stupid spy exist in this world? What's more, if she is lurking beside me, her master will definitely arrange a reasonable identity for her, so how could she appear like this with unknown origins?"
Qin Laowu scratched the back of his head and said helplessly, "Your Highness, if we take her out of the city, the risk is too great. What if..."
Li Jingnan waved his hand, without much expression on his face, and said in a calm voice, "I know, but she saved my life after all. Please ask General Fu to come see me. I don't want to embarrass you, I just want to ask in person. I asked General Fu if he really couldn’t take her with him.”
Qin Laowu also became entangled in his heart. After hearing what His Highness the Prince said, even he felt that it was not appropriate to leave a weak woman alone. Let it go, he was just a messenger anyway, and his elder brother had the final say in everything. Whatever the elder brother said, he just did it.
When Qin Laowu returned to the inn where Xingshang stayed, the bearded man had already returned.
Qin Laowu was a little surprised when he saw many radishes piled beside the door, "Brother, where did the radishes come from?"
The bearded man did not reply to him, but simply asked: "What did His Highness say?"
Qin Laowu closed the door with his backhand, carefully looked at the bearded face, and said, "His Highness wants to see you, and also wants to ask if he can take that woman out of the city with him."
Yes, this bearded man is General Fu, whom the little prince has been longing for for the stars and the moon.
General Fu's real name is Fu Tingye. He is the eldest son of Fu Sheng, the Weiyuan Marquis of Great Qi. His father and uncles were all military generals, so he began to follow his father on the battlefield at a very young age. Before the invasion of Liao, he had been guarding the west of Qi to resist the barbarians. A year ago After the fall of the three states, the emperor sent him here, the place closest to the Liao people.
Fu Tingye seemed to have already expected the prince's plan and didn't find it strange. "It's better to do less than to do more. Just follow the original plan."
When Qin Laowu saw what he said, his expression became serious, "Is she really a spy?" Otherwise, why wouldn't the eldest brother want to take her out of the city
The bearded man, Fu Tingye, shook his head gently, "I tried her, but she has never practiced martial arts."
Not only has she never practiced martial arts, she is also extremely weak, not even as good as an ordinary village woman.
Qin Laowu felt relieved and asked: "Since she is not a spy, let's find a way to take her with us. I think His Highness the Crown Prince values her very much."
Fu Tingye shook his head.