good season

Nie was ill, and Zhao Tingxuan had to take care of her, so he could postpone his trip to Beijing.

Just when everyone thought that Nie would be ill for at least a year and a half, she suddenly recovered as if she had been injected with chicken blood!
At the end of September, the cold air came, the red and green faded, and everything was withered. Zhao Tingxuan, the younger brother of Prince Liang, set out on the journey to Beijing.

The news that Zhao Tinghan inherited the throne and that Zhao Tingxuan went as a hostage reached Wu almost at the same time.

Zhao Shiqing was first happy, then worried.

The joy is that the eldest brother has finally inherited the throne, and their hard work these days has not been in vain.

What worries her is that she has been to the capital, and she has witnessed with her own eyes what life is like as a hostage. Her second brother grew up in luxury, and getting his skin scratched is a big deal. How can such a second brother protect himself in a den of tigers and wolves like the capital? She hopes that Nie will not be confused this time and send some useless things to accompany her second brother to the capital.

As expected of someone who was regarded as a witch by the Nie family, Zhao Shiqing guessed everything right. Nie family was just as she worried. She replaced all the people arranged by Zhao Tinghan and Zhao Yunnuan for various reasons and replaced them with her so-called confidants.

Zhao Yunnuan originally selected four secret guards for the palace. These four had followed his father for many years. They were not only skilled in martial arts, but also loyal and reliable.

In addition, Zhao Yunnuan also came forward and persuaded Mr. Shi, who was already preparing to retire, to accompany Zhao Tingxuan to Beijing.

Mr. Shi was once their father's aide and watched them grow up.

When Zhao Tingxuan learned that these five people were going to Beijing with him, he had no objection. After all, since he could remember, these five people had been by his father's side, and people who had been used by his father were certainly trustworthy.

However, after a trip to Suining Palace, Zhao Tingxuan became depressed. His mother said he was too stupid. Although these five people had followed their father, they had already defected to the new master. All they had in their eyes and hearts was their eldest brother Zhao Tinghan. How could they take him seriously?

There has been a saying in the family that servants bully their masters since ancient times, let alone in the capital?
After thinking about it for a whole night, Zhao Tingxuan finally mustered up the courage to find Zhao Yunnuan: "Sister, I, I heard that Mr. Shi, Mr. Shi, has not been in good health. The capital is cold, he, he, he..."

Zhao Yunnuan, who grew up together from the same mother, guessed what Zhao Tingxuan was going to say as soon as he opened his mouth. She felt disappointed and said, "You don't want Mr. Shi to go to the capital?"

Zhao Tingxuan blushed, and a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead: "No, that's not what I meant. We have to think about Mr. Shi. He is old and in poor health. It's not good for him to leave his hometown."

Zhao Tingxuan's voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end only he could hear it.

Zhao Yunnuan said coldly: "Did your mother tell you this?"

Zhao Tingxuan quickly explained: "Mother didn't say that. This is all my own thinking. Sister, you misunderstood Mother. We are all Mother's own flesh and blood. She is always thinking about us."

In an instant, Zhao Yunnuan didn't want to say anything.

She resisted the urge to kick Zhao Tingxuan out and said, "Where are Chen Fei and the other four? If you don't want them, you can replace them."

"Yes, yes. I don't mean anything else. I just think it's not good to let them leave their hometown."

There was a hint of sarcasm in Zhao Yunnuan's eyes. Zhao Tingxuan was talking about "they", and this "they" certainly did not refer specifically to Mr. Shi.

"Let's change people. The families of the four of them are all in Liangdu. Who wouldn't want to be reunited as a family?"

Voice-over: Who wants to go along and be a hostage?

Zhao Tingxuan hurriedly said that he would not replace them, but on the day before departure, he still gave each of the four families a generous gift and replaced these four people.

As a result, the people who followed Zhao Tingxuan to the capital were all those who had always been with him. There were his current teacher and two retainers. His two original companions were both children of officials in Liangdu. When the news came that he was going to the capital as a hostage, these two companions were taken back by their families. So Nie rushed to send a letter to her parents' home, asking them to select two children of the Nie family and send them to the capital as Zhao Tingxuan's companions.

In addition to these two Nie family members, the Nie family also invited the second master of the third branch of the Nie family and the two companions to come to Beijing.

Master Nie II was a scholar, and Zhao Tingxuan had neither a title nor an official position. According to the rules, he could not keep those with achievements above the level of a scholar as his aide. Besides, Master Nie II was Nie's cousin. If Zhao Tingxuan was the Prince of Liang, it would be understandable for his uncle to be his aide. However, Zhao Tingxuan was just a commoner, and letting Master Nie II be his aide would definitely cause criticism.

Therefore, when Mr. Nie Er came to Beijing this time, his identity was not as an aide, but as Zhao Tingxuan's elder, a good uncle who was worried about his nephew.

As for the guards, regulations state that there cannot be more than ten of them. After all, there are also guards in the Prince Liang's Mansion in the capital.

Zhao Tingxuan replaced the four people assigned to him by Zhao Yunnuan and took his own ten guards with him. However, Nie was not reassured, so he sent four of his own companions to the team going to Beijing as attendants.

This was the first time that Zhao Tingxuan left Liang. He had never been to the capital. Although he knew it was not easy to be a hostage, he could not hide his excitement about the new life that was about to begin.

Along the way, every time he arrived at a place, he wanted to go out for a walk and take a look at the customs and practices that were different from those in Liangdi. However, in less than ten days, once the novelty wore off, Zhao Tingxuan felt bored.

When he was in Liangdu, whenever he went out, he would be greeted with respectful smiles. When his carriage stopped on the street, other carriages would consciously make way for him. The top shops in Liangdu would give priority to him to review any new rare items or new dishes or snacks.

But when he left Liangdu, especially Liangdi, no one knew him. At first, he thought it was fun, but when he faced a full restaurant and was told by the waiter to wait outside, he lost all interest. He wanted to get angry, but it was useless. Who are you? Do you know who opened this restaurant? You want to be a big shot here? Take a piss and look carefully.

Zhao Tingxuan had never suffered such an injustice before. When he arrived at the next city, he didn't want to go out for a stroll. He even had someone buy food for him at the restaurant and bring it back.

The closer they got to the capital, the colder the weather became. Although Zhao Tingxuan brought enough warm clothes and hand warmers, he was almost blown away by the howling north wind.

"Why is there such a strong wind?"

Before he could finish his words, a gust of cold wind blew into his mouth, chilling his whole body and making his heart soar.

So Zhao Tingxuan didn't even want to get off the carriage, he just hoped to reach the capital as soon as possible.

At this time in Wu, it had just rained and the weather was turning cooler.

Zhao Shiqing led her team into a clothing store, waved her hand, and bought four sets of thick clothes for each person, and also ordered two sets for Dapang and Xiaoyao.

Everyone happily came to their newly rented courtyard, which had a lotus pond in front and a bamboo forest in the back. Lingbo calculated that renting a courtyard was much cheaper than staying in an inn, so Zhao Shiqing rented the courtyard. This was already their third residence since they came to Wu. Before, they had always stayed in inns. Later, they found out that not every household in Wu had a loom, but in Qinglu and Bailu, among the five counties of Luzhou, every household really had a loom. For example, the Yinghuaji that wove floral cloth was from Luzhou.

Luzhou is the provincial capital, and has five counties under its jurisdiction: Qinglu, Bailu, Yunlu, Gaolu and Qiulu. Twenty years ago, the previous King of Wu ordered the cancellation of the weaving tax for weaving households with less than five looms. At that time, people in many places bought looms, hoping to make their fortunes with them.

However, when there are too many things, the good and the bad will be mixed. After several years of survival of the fittest, only Qinglu and Bailu in Luzhou survived.

In Qinglu and Bailu, no matter in the county town or in the countryside, every household has a loom. The women here have a high status, whether in their parents' home or in their husband's home, because they can make money and are the pillars of the family, so they have a say.

Upon learning that the looms in Wu were concentrated in Qinglu and Bailu in Luzhou, Zhao Shiqing brought her team to Luzhou.

When Zhao Shiqing first arrived in Luzhou City, he took a liking to the place.

In addition to the fact that the food in Luzhou suits her taste, she also loves the local customs and culture here.

For example, on the first day she arrived in Luzhou, she witnessed with her own eyes her wife and sister-in-law beating her husband in the street.

The man of that family went to the gambling house. When his wife found out, she brought her two sisters-in-law to catch him.

Each of them held a stick in their hands and beat the man so hard that he begged for mercy in the street.

Zhao Shiqing was enlightened. Both his wife and the two sisters-in-law had slender waists and pretty eyes. No matter how he looked at them, they were not shrews at all.

But when their seemingly fragile arms dragged the man up from the ground, Zhao Shiqing saw in them the momentum of Lu Zhishen uprooting a weeping willow tree.

"Xiu Xiu, Ling Bo, did you see this? Learn from this. If your husband doesn't obey you in the future, you should also beat him like this."

Ling Bo and Xiu Xiu shook their heads at the same time: "We won't get married. What's the point of getting married?"

Zhao Shiqing gave them a thumbs up and said, "Good kids, it's no wonder that the Second Miss loves you so much."

The yard they rented is located on the edge of Luzhou City, which is very convenient for going in and out of the city.

After settling down, Zhao Shiqing wanted to go to Qinglu County. When Niu Qiu went out to buy breakfast, he heard people say that the heavy rain in the previous two days had damaged a bridge leading to Qinglu from the county seat. Although it did not collapse, it was shaky and very dangerous. However, Qinglu was rich, and now some wealthy families had paid to repair the bridge. But we still have to wait a few more days until the bridge is repaired before we can pass.

Since Qinglu can't be reached for the time being, then let's go to Bailu first. Zhao Shiqing thought it didn't matter. Since they had to go to both counties, it didn't matter which one they went to first.

Zhao Shiqing asked Xiuxiu and Shen Guanyue to stay behind while she took Niuqiu and Lingbo with her.

The two had no objection. Shen Guanyue was a person who could not sit still. As soon as he arrived in Luzhou, he wandered around everywhere. He didn't want to go to a rural place like Bailu.

As for Xiuxiu, after having experienced the days of being homeless and wandering around, both she and Dapang especially cherish the peaceful life at home. Even though this is a rented house and even if it is just a temporary residence, they enjoy it very much.

What's more, there are fish and shrimps in the pond in front of her door. The landlord said that the fish and shrimps here can be caught freely, so she put down a net in the pond last night. Today she wants to cook all the fish and shrimps and save them as snacks for Dapang and Xiaoyao.

Although there were dried fish to eat, Zhao Shiqing still took Xiao Yao away. There was no other way. Xiao Yao could not tolerate being in the same room with Dapang. Xiuxiu could control Dapang but could not afford to offend Xiao Yao, so Zhao Shiqing had to take her along.

Although Bailu County and Qinglu County differ by only one character, the two counties are not close to each other. Gaolu and Yunlu are in between. It is also the county farthest from Luzhou City.

Zhao Shiqing and the other two rushed into the city before the city gates closed. They thought that since Bailu was wealthy, there would definitely not be only one inn like Zhaoting Town. Even if they arrived late, they could easily find an inn to stay in.

But they were only half right.

Bailu is indeed wealthy and has more than one inn, but precisely because it is wealthy, there are a lot of merchants coming and going. Zhao Shiqing and the other two went to several inns in succession, and all of them were full.

Of course, there is still room for a dorm bed, and Niu Qiu said he could do it. Zhao Shiqing had never slept in a dorm bed, and she also wanted to try it, but Lingbo disagreed. Her second daughter was a princess, so how could she live in a dorm bed?

With no other options, they had to continue looking for a place to live.

After asking several passers-by on the street, they finally found an inn. This inn had an extraordinary name, called Cyclamen.

The three men dismounted in front of the Xiankelai gate. Loach handed the reins to Lingbo and went in to ask.

At this moment, an old man came out from inside, cursing. Although he came out, he did not leave, but continued to curse while standing at the door.

At this time, the waiter came out and pointed at the old man and yelled, "Old lunatic, if you don't leave, don't blame us for being ruthless. Don't think that you can be lawless just because you are old."

Old man: "You are lawless. You dare to invite the immortals here. What law and heaven are there?"

Waiter: "This inn is owned by our boss. He can call it whatever he wants. It's none of your business. If you really have nothing to do, go home and take care of your children and grandchildren instead of lecturing others here."

The old man said, "What do you think you can say about my children and grandchildren? Go and call your boss over and ask him to change the name. If he doesn't change it, I will write a new plaque for him to hang up!"

The waiter snorted, "Try to change the plaque, you old fool. If you want to get beaten, just tell me and I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your children and grandchildren!"

Zhao Shiqing was amused listening to the tit-for-tat between the old and the young. The waiter actually said that he wanted to teach the old man a lesson on behalf of his children and grandchildren. Haha, interesting, really interesting!
As the waiter was cursing, he looked up and saw Zhao Shiqing and the other two. He said to the old man, "Go aside quickly, stop blocking the door, and make way for our distinguished guests!"

When the waiter looked at Zhao Shiqing and the other two, he immediately put on a smiling face: "Are you here to stay? You came at a good time. A guest just checked out, and there are two vacancies right now."

The waiter had developed a good eye in the inn and could tell at a glance that there were three people, the master and his servants. The maid would definitely live in the same room with the young lady, and the servants would mostly sleep in a large dormitory. However, the young lady was still young, and although the servants were not old either, they were not ordinary people. Most of them were trusted by the elders in the family and sent to follow the young lady. Most of the respectable servants of a wealthy family would not sleep in a large dormitory, and the master would give them a separate room.

Zhao Shiqing didn't know that the waiter had come back in such a short time. When he heard that there were still two vacancies, he was very happy. Just as he was about to hand the horse to the waiter, he heard the old man who was left out on the side yelling: "You dog-eyed thing, you just lied to me and said there were no guest rooms, and now you say there are two guest rooms. Do you think I don't have money?" (End of this chapter)