The wedding banquet was held as scheduled.
At the wedding banquet, Qin Zhao gave a speech as the witness, and Yuzi also served as a flower girl and brought tea to the newlyweds.
The little boy was wearing a red jacket and had a simple fish tail sewn with red silk on his back, dressing up as a koi model. His tail swung as he walked, and he looked adorable no matter how you looked at him.
It was Jingli's idea to say that the koi carp brought blessings, wishing his family good fortune and prosperity, and that the couple would respect each other like guests.
On the second day after the wedding banquet, Qin Zhao went to his home in the village to say goodbye.
Qin Zhao first went to the village home to say goodbye.
"The journey is long and the mountains are high. Why bother taking your husband and children with you? And you're leaving so early." The village head sighed.
After hearing what he said, Qin Zhao smiled and said, "The villagers dare not say anything. Last time I wanted him and the child to stay in the village, I was taught a lesson."
Jing Li was sitting next to Qin Zhao holding the baby in his arms. He glared at him when he heard that.
Are the villagers talking about the same thing
If Qin Zhao came to Beijing just to take the exam, it would be fine if he didn't go to cause trouble, but since he was going to investigate what happened back then, isn't it normal for him to be worried
"I was wrong. I just couldn't stand being separated from you." Qin Zhao corrected himself seriously.
What he said was true. Even if Qin Zhao was only going to take the exam, he would have to be gone for at least half a year.
Being separated for such a long time is unbearable for them and it is not good for the children either.
As for why they set out now, Qin Zhao had thought of an excuse long ago: "It's not safe to take the mountain road, so my husband and I plan to take a boat to Beijing. If we leave too late, the river may freeze in winter and we won't be able to sail."
"Besides, Jiangling Weaving Mill just happened to have a batch of goods to transport northward, and they promised to give us a ride."
To the outside, Qin Zhao was the teacher of the young master of the Gu family, the Jiangling weaving factory. Gu Xizhou simply sent a merchant ship to transport goods north and send Qin Zhao to the capital on the way.
In order to deceive people.
The village head said: "Your customer is very good to you. After all, merchant ships will hire thugs as guards to protect you and keep you safe."
As they were talking, the village lady and several peasant women came in.
"Xiao Qin hasn't left yet, it's too late. Come and see, the villagers have brought you something!" The village lady was holding a bamboo basket, which was full of eggs.
The peasant women around her also had something in their hands, and at a glance, they were mostly dry food and local specialties such as dried meat.
Qin Zhao looked at the big and beautiful bamboo basket and was silent for a moment: "No need, you are too polite..."
"Why are you being polite? I brought you food for the journey!" The village lady interrupted him and advised, "Wouldn't you like to take a month on the boat? Bring some dry food with you. Our village is poor and we can't give you anything. You have to show your thoughtfulness. Even if you don't want to eat, you can't let your children and husband down!"
The little fish had already smelled the fragrance of the bread in the basket, and it stared at it without even turning around.
Jing Li and Qin Zhao looked at each other and covered their faces, unable to bear to look.
I don’t know who this kid takes after, but he likes everything that can be eaten and I’ve never seen him be picky about food.
Qin Zhao had no choice but to refuse the kindness of his neighbors. As a result, the carriage sent by Gu Yuzhou to pick them up was packed like a truck, with large bags and a full cart of mountain products.
If you didn’t know, you would think that Qin Zhao and his family had returned to the village to purchase goods.
The carriage took Qin Zhao and his family to the dock and they boarded the ferry that had been waiting there since early morning.
The town where Linxi Village is located is in two directions from Jiangling, and it is not convenient for the Gu family's merchant ships to come here. Therefore, Qin Zhao's family must first take a ferry to the pier outside Jiangling City and then change to a merchant ship.
When the ferry arrived at Jiangling Wharf, a merchant ship was seen clearing cargo from afar.
As soon as the boatman reached the shore, he saw Gu Xizhou leading a few people towards him.
"Mr. Qin." Gu Xizhou nodded to Qin Zhao.
In front of outsiders, he and Qin Zhao always pretended to be in a relationship of employer and teacher, not distant, but not close either.
Qin Zhao bowed to him and said, "Master Gu, thank you for your help."
"That's not true. Mr. Qin has been very kind to me in teaching me. It's nothing for me to do a little favor." Gu Xizhou said, and pointed to a middle-aged man dressed like a businessman beside him, "This is Mr. Li. You are going north on his boat this time."
Qin Zhao politely saluted the other party: "Boss Li."
Boss Li hurriedly returned the greeting: "Mr. Qin, you're welcome."
Gu Xizhou glanced behind him again and said, "Didn't you come here to see Mr. Qin off? What are you doing hiding behind him?"
He stepped aside, and Qin Zhao saw that Gu Heng had followed him.
The boy's eyes were red, and his ears also turned red after hearing what his father said: "Who is making a fuss about coming? I am-"
Everyone's eyes were on him. Gu Heng stammered and couldn't continue.
Qin Zhao said: "Gu Heng, don't fall behind in your studies while I'm gone. If a new teacher comes, you have to listen to him. Do you understand?"
"What do you mean? You're not coming back?" Gu Heng asked back.
Gu Xizhou scolded: "Is this the way you should talk to a gentleman?"
Gu Heng snorted coldly and looked away.
Qin Zhao said calmly: "Even if I come back, I will not be your teacher. Our relationship as teacher and student ends here. Didn't I tell you that?"
"I..." Gu Heng sniffed and said sullenly, "I know. It's just a test for a juren. I'm not as good as you."
Qin Zhao nodded: "Then I'll wait for your news."
Gu Heng's eyes were red again. Jing Li asked, "Why are you crying? You can send us a message and come to play with us. It's not a farewell forever."
Gu Heng opened his eyes, as if he wanted to say something, but stopped.
Qin Zhao said: "Just say whatever you want to say."
Gu Heng said in a soft voice: "Can I...can I still go to the capital to find you?"
Jing Li's smile froze a little: "?"
Gu Heng lowered his head and said quickly, "I'm afraid that you will pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official, and you won't want to have anything to do with our family. You haven't taught me how to ride a horse or play gambling yet!"
Qin Zhao smiled and shook his head
If he didn't want to associate with them because of the difference in status, why would he have agreed to be Gu Heng's teacher in the first place
Qin Zhao said: "Don't worry, come to the capital and find me, I will take you out to play."
Seeing Qin Zhao's agreement, Gu Heng seemed to be in a good mood. Gu Heng ordered the men to move Qin Zhao's family's luggage onto the boat. After a while, the cargo was finally unloaded, and Boss Li gave the order to set sail.
The merchant ship has three floors. The bottom floor is used to load cargo, the second floor is the servants' residence, and the third floor has several guest rooms.
Qin Zhao stood in the corridor on the third floor of the merchant ship, looking at the Jiangling dock gradually going away. On the dock, he could vaguely see Gu Heng waving at him. Qin Zhao waved back, turned his head, and saw Jing Li looking at him thoughtfully.
Qin Zhao asked: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just suddenly realized something when I saw Gu Hengzhi." Jing Li said, "If the emperor still misses you now, I definitely won't feel strange."
After only one year of teaching, even the spoiled Young Master Gu shed a few tears because of the separation, let alone the beautiful emperor who had been taught for seven years
Are all teachers kind to students
Jing Li said something sourly and went into the house carrying the baby.
Qin Zhao: “…”
The boat ride lasted nearly a month.
Jing Li thought it was new at first, but after a month, except for the occasional short stop at Dacheng Wharf, the rest of the scenery remained the same. After a while, even the young fish were not interested in playing on the deck.
Finally, one morning after more than 20 days, Boss Li knocked on Qin Zhao's door and said, "Mr. Qin, the boat will arrive at the dock near the capital in the evening, and you can only sit there. There is a post station near the dock, and you can find a carriage to get to the city before the curfew."
Qin Zhao thanked him, and watched his husband, who was still half sleepy a moment ago, suddenly wake up and start packing his luggage excitedly.
For the first time, he felt the horror of inconvenient transportation. He never wanted to take a boat again in his life.
At noon, Qin Zhao and Jing Li got off the boat at the dock.
The wharf is not very big, it is used for merchant ships to dock and replenish supplies, not a special passenger wharf. Nowadays, all ships and horses entering and leaving the capital must handle documents. Boss Li did not plan to enter the capital this time, so he did not handle the documents in advance and could not dock at the passenger wharf.
There are many merchant ships traveling nearby, and there are all kinds of post stations and restaurants.
After the group had lunch at the dock, Ah Qi went to the post station to rent a carriage.
The driver was a young man, dressed in ordinary clothes, with a tanned skin. When Ah Qi told him the address, he immediately helped to move the things, and his legs and feet were very quick and efficient.
Naturally, their residence in the capital was also found with the help of Gu Xizhou; it was a house in the inner city.
Everyone rested for a while, and before leaving, the coachman brought someone over and said, "Dear guests, I would like to take a ride on the way. Is it convenient for you?"
The man was dressed as a peddler, carrying an empty basketball hoop on his back, and had a thin figure. "I'm on my way back to the city, so I can just sit in the front of the bus. I won't disturb you guys."
Ah Qi turned around to ask Qin Zhao for instructions, but Qin Zhao just nodded.
The carriage had just set off.
The carriage had a roof and was surrounded by curtains to block the wind. From inside the carriage, through the gaps in the curtains, two figures could be seen in front of the carriage.
The two men were both locals and seemed to have known each other before. They chatted casually about their recent business.
After listening to a few words, Jing Li couldn't help but look at the groom a few more times.
That groom... looks weird.
Driving a rickshaw is not a lucrative job, and most rickshaw drivers are old and weak, unable to do heavy work. But he is strong and healthy, so he should not be unable to find other jobs.
Jing Li was puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask more. Instead, Qin Zhao took the initiative to talk to him: "Brother, have you been driving in the car all the time?"
"Not really. I'm a farmer who lives nearby. I just finished my farm work recently and came out to find a job to supplement my family income." The driver answered without even turning his head.
Qin Zhao: "It's a nice place, there aren't too many guests, right?"
After hearing his words, the driver was strangely silent.
The one who answered was the vendor next to him: "Not many, we're just vendors at the dock. Customers going to the capital go to the big dock in the north, which is full of vendors all year round. They have their own rules, so even if we go there, it won't be our turn."
Qin Zhao asked again: "So, you two knew each other before?"
The vendor said, "We are from the same hometown. We came out together."
Qin Zhao asked a few more questions, and the two men answered them one by one, but he couldn't tell what the questions were.
Jing Li thought that he might be too nervous and always suspicious, so he stopped thinking about it. The carriage moved forward slowly, the sky gradually darkened, and it even started to rain in the mountains.
The raindrops hit the carport with a crackling sound. Jing Li held the little fish in his arms. The two of them snuggled together and dozed off.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard a faint voice in front of him: "Are you all asleep?"
"You fell asleep. I told you that the medicine worked. You can trust me, right?"
Jing Li had not completely relaxed yet. He sobered up instantly after hearing those words. Just as he was about to sit up, he felt someone next to him gently pull him up.
Qin Zhao leaned against the car window with his eyes closed, seemingly sleeping soundly.
His fingers slowly touched Jing Li's hand and he wrote two words on his palm:
"Don't move."
Jing Li's heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
Did something happen
Is there something wrong with what those two people did
Jing Li didn't dare to ask more. He could feel that not only Qin Zhao was pretending to sleep, but Ah Qi, who was sitting opposite him, also had his head down, breathing steadily, but his fingers were always on his waist.
He knew that Ah Qi had hidden a dagger.
The little fish in his arms was still sleeping soundly. Jing Li hugged the other's soft body and seemed to have gained courage. He tried his best to keep his breathing steady and wrote a word on Qin Zhao's palm.
"Who?"
Qin Zhao replied: "I don't know."
Jing Li's palms were slightly sweaty.
Before coming to the capital, he had been prepared to encounter anything, but he did not expect that they would encounter danger before they even entered the city.
Who are these two people? Are they ordinary robbers or Qin Zhao’s enemies
As if sensing Jing Li's uneasiness, Qin Zhao said again: "Don't be afraid."
"Don't be afraid." Jing Li replied, "I'm here with you."
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but after Jing Li finished speaking, the worry in my heart suddenly eased a little.
Qin Zhao is so powerful that no matter what he encounters, he will definitely find a way to escape.
He is not afraid.
Jing Li held Qin Zhao's hand in the dark, and his heartbeat gradually calmed down.
The carriage continued to move forward.
After a moment, the muffled voice rang out again through the sound of rain: "I told you this is not the right way. Damn it, can you find it?"
"It's raining, why don't you come?"
"I don't need to bring you out until I find you. I haven't been back to the capital for years. Hurry up. If you delay, I'll make you pay!"
As Jing Li listened, he felt something was not right.
The two of them... why do they seem to be lost
And it seemed like they were arguing.
Before he could figure it out, the carriage suddenly shook violently, the horse neighed, and stopped.
Jing Li unconsciously tightened his grip on Qin Zhao's hand.
After a while, someone knocked outside the carriage: "Sir, wake up, wake up quickly."
It's talking to them.
Jing Li raised his head and Qin Zhao was also looking at him. He raised his hand and gently touched his lips, signaling him not to speak. He then lifted the car curtain and said in a sleepy voice: "… What's wrong?"
The driver, wearing a straw raincoat, stood beside the carriage and sighed helplessly: "The wheels are stuck in the mud and the horse can't pull it out. What a bad luck... If it's convenient for you, could you come down and help push it a little bit?"
Qin Zhao: “…”
Jing Li: “…”
Give them drugs and ask them for help.
You’re welcome too.