Chapter 17: What a Coincidence

Yan Ning filtered the water until it was clean, then took a pot to boil it.

Once the water boiled, Yan Ning used a silver hairpin to test it; seeing that the water was fine, she let everyone drink.

Having been delayed here for too long, Yan Ning said, "Fill the water skins, and let the horses drink some water too. We must leave quickly, otherwise we won't reach the town before dark."

At this moment, Wang Liu on the cart said, "I want to leave."

Yan Ning found it strange: "Everything was fine along the way, why do you want to leave now?"

Wang Liu: "Isn't it because of you, tying me up here!"

Qian Ruofang looked at this Wang Liu and couldn't help but ask Lan Xin, "Miss Lan, do you know who this person is?"

Lan Xin then said, "He is the guard escorting them."

Qian Ruofang's expression turned stern; what kind of background do they actually have?

Yan Ning said with a smile, "Alright, you can start writing. It just so happens we have a female physician with us. If there is a problem with the prescription, then you will die on the road of the escort."

"There's no help for it; who told the miasma in Lingnan to be so fierce, and the snakes, insects, rats, and ants to be so rampant."

Wang Liu shuddered again. Where does this look like a twelve-year-old girl? This is simply a living King of Hell!

"Wang, I will definitely write a good prescription for you before leaving."

Yan Ning agreed with a smile.

However, Yan Ning guessed that Wang Liu seemed to be brewing some mischief again, so it was better to keep him under her nose for the time being.

They continued moving forward and only saw a small town after a good while.

Wushizhen.

This town was not large, but it was small yet complete in every detail. Yan Ning and her group found the best inn to stay in.

Everyone else's accommodations were also arranged.

Yan Ning took the map and studied it with Li Shun. Ahead of Wushizhen was Xiadong City, and from Xiadong City, it was already very close to the territory of the Prince of Nanyang.

It was just unexpected that they would deviate so far after taking the wrong road.

Fortunately, they were not in a hurry, and they did not have to worry about the guards bossing them around, so the time delayed was just delayed.

After traveling for three days, on the second day, the family of three, Yan Ning, slept until the sun was high.

Li Shun waited outside, feeling somewhat anxious, but he did not dare to go in.

The main thing was that this person, Wang Liu, had started to become restless again, saying that they should release him now that they had reached a place.

But he hadn't written the prescription yet.

By the time Yan Ning got up, it was almost time for lunch. She walked over to Li Shun and asked, "What kind of trouble is Wang Liu making again?"

As she spoke, Yan Ning got up, prepared to deal with Wang Liu first.

Yan Ning asked, "You dictate, I will write."

Wang Liu was not afraid of anyone, but whenever he faced Yan Ning, his heart always panicked.

Especially when she was not smiling.

Wang Liu could only resign himself to fate and began to write down his ancestral prescription. When he finished writing, he checked it several times, worried that if he wrote a wrong character, this little ancestor would throw him into the deep mountains to feed the wild beasts.

Yan Ning took the paper and had someone tie Wang Liu up again, stuffing a ball of cloth into his mouth.

"You behave and cooperate well, and I will let you go when the time comes."

Saying this, Yan Ning took the prescription to find Qian Ruofang.

Qian Ruofang looked at the prescription carefully and couldn't help but exclaim, "This formula is truly superb. Both the treatment for miasma and the treatment for snake and insect bites are very effective. I will go buy some medicinal herbs."

Yan Ning called her to stop: "Wait, there are many of us, so buy more of these herbs. Also, medicines for treating diarrhea and fever must be fully stocked."

Yan Ning gave her a Pouch: "If there are other omissions, just buy them as you see fit."

Qian Ruofang took the money bag, which felt quite heavy. She thought it was filled with copper coins, but when she opened it, it was all silver—at least a hundred taels.

Heavens!

A hundred taels?!

This could buy out the entire herb shop.

Qian Ruofang widened her eyes. Are they really here for exile? How is it that their spending is more lavish than the next?

Wushizhen was only a small town, so the herbs Qian Ruofang bought were not many; she planned to replenish some more herbs in Xiadong City ahead.

On the cart, Yan Ning asked, "Father, are you familiar with the Regional Inspector and the Governor of Xiadong City?"

Yan Ze thought for a moment: "I should have met them. I heard that Regional Inspector Lu is a cold-faced King of Hell; he is crisp and decisive in handling matters and cases. This person is not only difficult to talk to but also stubborn and inflexible. In short, getting entangled with him is not a good thing."

Yan Ning was a bit curious: "Is this person one of the Second Prince's men?"

Yan Ze shook his head: "He shouldn't be. He was demoted here because he proposed to depose the Crown Prince."

Yan Ning nodded, "That's good then. Let's keep a low profile. Later, take off this gauze dress and change into simple and neat clothes."

The father and daughter whispered for a long time, and it took two hours to reach Xiadong City.

When they arrived at Xiadong City, the city gates were almost closing. Most of the shops here were already closed, so they could only wait until tomorrow morning to buy things.

Yan Ning did not want to run into Regional Inspector Lu and planned to leave tomorrow after buying the items.

For now, they should go to an inn first.

In the evening, Yan Ze took Yan Ning and Ji Lan to a restaurant.

At this hour, the shops and stalls selling food were basically closed, so they could only go to a restaurant to eat something better.

For the past few days, they had been eating dry rations, which tasted terrible.

They went to the restaurant, which was packed with people, so they could only share a table with others. Yan Ning pointed to a spot at random, "There is a large round table over there, let's sit there."

Xiao Shi led Yan Ning to be seated and apologized to the person at the table with a submissive look: "Our place is really too crowded, how about you share a table?"

That person responded with a sound and continued to turn his head to listen to the storyteller tell a story.

Yan Ning's family sat down, and he turned his head to look, feeling somewhat incredulous: "His Highness the First Prince, why are you here?"

Yan Ze managed to squeeze out a smile: "We happened to be passing by and came into the city to purchase some things."

Alarm bells rang in Yan Ning's heart; could this be the Cold-Faced Yama her father spoke of?

Regional Inspector Lu also smiled quite reluctantly; although he was not a man of the Crown Prince, he had heard about the situation in the previous few cities, where everyone had a poor attitude toward the First Prince's family, and in the end, some paid out money while others fell ill.

It was said that the Prefect of Yangzhou compensated Yan Ning with several large chests of gold, silver, jewelry, and fine silks and satins.

Regional Inspector Lu had originally not wanted to get involved in this matter, intending to act as if he did not know they had arrived; after all, the First Prince's status was set, and they could exile them however they pleased.

Who would have known he would run into the First Prince's family here.

Regional Inspector Lu subconsciously touched his own money pouch.

He felt a bit of heartache.

After all, he was not a corrupt official and had no extra wealth to spare.

For the sake of his money pouch, Regional Inspector Lu tried hard to squeeze out a smile: "What a coincidence, Your Highness; why not come to my residence so we can drink to our hearts' content?"

Yan Ze looked at Yan Ning.

Yan Ning said with a beaming smile: "Alright."

Regional Inspector Lu's attitude was truly too difficult to fathom; wasn't he the Cold-Faced Yama, so why was he being so good to her family?

It couldn't be that he was worried about losing money if he annoyed them, could it?