The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 520: go to town
Chapter 520 Go to the City
Bai Qingyan set fire to Xiao Rongyan’s letter and roughly guessed that Xiao Rongyan went to Rongdi, probably to deliver food to the Dayan garrison stationed in Rongdi.
After all, winter is coming soon. Although the Beirong may send food to the soldiers of Dayan, Xiao Rongyan will certainly make full preparations cautiously and will not let the Dayan army be constrained by food.
Looking at the blue flames gradually devouring the letter, she couldn’t help but think of Dengzhou again. She wondered whether she should go to Dengzhou in person and have a long talk with her uncle. With her uncle’s broad mind, if he knew how foolish the royal family was and even that the country was on the verge of destruction, he would definitely plan ahead and try to protect the people of Dengzhou in the troubled times.
I didn’t talk more clearly with Dong Changlan that day because it was easy for the words to not make sense when it was conveyed through someone else.
But she couldn’t leave Shuoyang easily. As soon as she left, someone would immediately report her whereabouts to the capital city.
Bai Qingyan looked at the letter paper that had been burned to ashes, pondering it carefully.
Mid-Autumn Festival is next month. I can discuss with my mother and go to Dengzhou to send Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to my grandmother and uncle in Dengzhou, or to pick up my grandmother to stay in Shuoyang for a while.
Before leaving for Dengzhou, you can send someone to deliver a letter to the prince and tell him… This is to prevent the prince from sending a letter saying that Shuoyang is not there for some urgent matter, and then wasting time rushing to Dengzhou. This is reasonable.
When Bai Qingyan accompanied Dong for dinner that evening, he told her that he wanted to go to Dengzhou to deliver Mid-Autumn Festival gifts and invite his grandmother, Old Lady Dong, to stay with him for a while.
Dong Tingzhen was quite surprised: “When Brother Changlan left, didn’t my aunt ask us to bring back the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts? Did my cousin go to Dengzhou worried about the Rongdi raids in autumn?”
Dong Tingzhen was intelligent, and after what happened with Prince Liang, she regarded Bai Qingyan as her own sister, and she did not shy away from speaking in front of Dong and Bai Qingyan.
Bai Qingyan nodded and said to Dong: “I didn’t talk to Changlan deeply enough that day, and I was afraid something might go wrong if I sent a message in the middle. The best thing is to go there in person.”
“You’ve just returned from Northern Xinjiang a few days ago, and you’re thinking about leaving again…” Mrs. Dong frowned, looking quite dissatisfied.
“Northern Frontier is a battlefield and Dengzhou is my grandparents’ home, how can they be the same?” Bai Qingyan smiled and picked up a piece of bamboo shoots for Dong.
Dong Tingzhen tightened her grip on the chopsticks: “When Brother Changlan left that day, many people saw that the convoy was full. Cousin, why don’t you just say… I’m in a bad mood and want to go to Dengzhou, and you can take me there! Or… you can also say that Xiao Si and I had a bad temper and a quarrel!”
“Sisters quarreling? If this gets out, your reputation will be ruined!” Mrs. Dong disagreed.
Dong Tingzhen thought for a moment and raised her eyes: “Then I will say that my cousin sent me to Dengzhou, and that I dreamed of my grandmother and missed her…”
“Tingzhen, don’t go. I’ll go there quickly. I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear the bumpy ride.” Bai Qingyan made up his mind, “You stay in Shuoyang and accompany your mother. I’ll pick up your grandmother and come back soon.”
“Are you still taking Xiao Si with you this time?” Mrs. Dong knew her daughter’s temper. Once she made up her mind, no one could stop her. “Take Lupin and Manager Liu with you as well!”
“Let’s not bring Xiao Si this time. Let’s take Uncle Ping and Qingzhu!” Bai Qingyan thought about it and decided to leave Manager Liu to Bai Jinzhi.
Dong felt very depressed and nodded: “Go!”
“Mother…” Bai Qingyan held Dong’s hand and smiled at her. “This year, the Rongdi will definitely come back to plunder. Dengzhou will inevitably be unstable. I really plan to bring my grandmother to live in Shuoyang for a while. What do you think?”
“When you arrive in Dengzhou, ask your grandmother whether she is willing to come!” said Mrs. Dong.
After the matter was settled, Bai Qingyan spread the word that he would go to Dengzhou on behalf of his mother to pick up Old Lady Dong to stay in Shuoyang for a while, and sent someone to Dadu to deliver a letter to the prince, telling him that if the prince had any urgent matters, he should send the letter directly to Dengzhou to avoid wasting time going from Dadu to Shuoyang and then from Shuoyang to Dengzhou.
On the way there, Bai Qingyan also wanted to meet with Ji Tingyu to ask her specifically whether training the new recruits according to the method she had used to train her female guards would be effective.
The next morning, before dawn, a misty drizzle covered Shuoyang City, and the air was filled with a slightly cool chill.
The drizzle silently washed the high eaves and tiles, making them shiny black and blue. The Bai family’s courtyard was lined with emerald green trees, and the tips of the leaves were dotted with water droplets that were about to fall off. The Xiangfei curtains and copper hooks hanging outside the nine-curve corridor with carved beams and painted rafters were also covered with a layer of moisture. The wind blew, and the sound of bells rang muffled.
Bai Qingyan finished his morning exercise as usual. After taking a shower, he asked Chuntao to change him into neat clothes.
“Young lady, are you going out?” Chun Tao knelt down and tied the iron sandbag for Bai Qingyan. “It’s raining outside. Although it’s not heavy, it’s still quite cool in the morning.”
“Just get a cloak. I’ll ride out of the city for a while and visit the parade ground. I’ll be back soon.” Bai Qingyan adjusted the sleeves at his wrists, lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then took out the jade hairpin with the carved goose on it from the box and inserted it into his bun before leaving Boyun Courtyard.
When Bai Qingyan came out of the main gate of the Bai Mansion, Lupin was standing at the bottom of the high steps with his horse. When he saw Bai Qingyan coming out, he saluted.
Bai Qingyan held the black-gold horse whip handed to him by the servant, walked down the high steps wearing a cloak, and asked, “Uncle Ping is waiting here, but do you have something to say?”
“Ji Tingyu sent someone to deliver a letter…” Lupin lowered his voice very low, “It seems that the eldest lady’s going to suppress bandits alarmed those bandits who took advantage of the situation to rob. Those people actually went to seek refuge with Ji Tingyu. Ji Tingyu meant that these people should be accepted. If the eldest lady wants to suppress bandits again, she may have to find another opportunity.”
Bai Qingyan nodded and got on his horse: “Got it.”
After saying that, Bai Qingyan kicked his horse’s belly and galloped towards the long street.
Not long after she rode out of the alley, she heard the rapid sound of copper bells and horse hooves coming towards her. Bai Qingyan saw a figure coming out of the rain and fog, and hurriedly reined in her horse. The movement was too hasty… and the horse she was sitting on was so excited that it turned around in a circle on the spot.
Xiao Rongyan, who was riding a horse through the thin rain and fog, was also surprised to see Bai Qingyan, and pulled the reins to stop the horse.
When their eyes met, Xiao Rongyan saw Bai Qingyan’s attire and knew that Bai Qingyan was going out of the city to see him off. An uncontrollable smile appeared in his extremely deep eyes. He gently squeezed the horse’s belly and rode slowly to Bai Qingyan.
Two horses, one black and one white, were facing each other, or looking at each other curiously, kicking their hooves and taking small steps forward, putting their wet noses close to each other, and suddenly sprayed white air in each other’s faces, then shook their heads and hid aside.
Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan hurriedly pulled the reins, and when the two horses stabilized, the two of them were already very close, standing opposite each other with their shoulders almost touching.
The third update, keep rolling around and begging for monthly tickets…