Chapter 379: How Few Sins Have We Endured

"It's… how should I put it, if this stuff is made into smoking sheets and inhaled, people get poisoned, their spirits wobble all day, frequent use brings auditory and visual hallucinations, and once addicted they'll sell sons and daughters for a hit, ruin the family's wealth, even murder and rob, and after prolonged use it becomes incurable; an overdose will cause them to convulse to death."

Yuan Jiaqi's face turned pale, and he immediately stepped out of the carriage, shouted for the convoy to stop, got off, and went to the roadside field to inspect.

The Emperor and Empress also got out of the carriage and went with him.

Yuan Jiaqi grabbed a poppy, "Emperor, this is a harmful thing."

Then he repeated what Qiao Mai had said; the Emperor looked at the endless expanse and said, "Seems Luzhou City is also unstable."

"We must prepare early, Your Majesty. If this flower is cultivated and spread throughout the Ming Emperor's realm, our national strength will grow weaker, and the common folk will crave a hit."

"I have ten Golden Dragon Guard with me; once we reach Luzhou, I'll send them to investigate."

Yuan Jiaqi, holding the poppy, approached Qiao Mai, "Madam, the people who grow this must be making smoking sheets and selling them in hidden places, right?"

"Not necessarily. To plant so brazenly along both sides of the Guan Dao, surely Luzhou City has surprises awaiting us."

It's September, and the weather is still scorching; it must be the southernmost part of the South.

A man looked around, kicked at a woman with one foot, but he had no strength; his attempt to kick the lady caused him to fall to the ground.

"Eat, when you're out, even if you don't like it you must eat, drink plenty of water, otherwise you'll fall ill."

"Kid's father, you've been using that thing again; do you still want this house?"

Qiao Mai flicked her wrist, and many bottles of drink appeared on the table, all taken from the freezer.

"The South is really hot; the few of us who followed them to buy food have never seen anyone selling ice; the North is better—Jingcheng's winter never freezes, yet being close to the North you can still see ice, but here, you can't."

In the early bright morning of the South, Qiao Mai rose early, opened the window; the wind blowing in had no hint of coolness, only a mix of damp heat.

The Emperor was in high spirits, bought rare fruits and snacks; Yu Bao didn't come along, all the silver was paid by Yuan Jiaqi.

"Never mind, we're already out, we have to make a full round anyway."

"Hehe, hehe,"

Yuan Jiaqi lifted Qiao Mai onto the carriage, sat himself down, and said to East Date and Iron Blood.

"If this carriage had a table, that would be great; we could eat and drink on it."

Qiao Mai gave him a glance, snapped a hand to the side, and a simple table sprang up; the Emperor's eyes widened.

Boom— a roll of thunder, and people on the street started running, looking for shelter from the rain.

Some tropical fruits are sold here, the seafood from the sea is abundant, especially the pearls here are particularly cheap.

Looking at this and not wanting to eat, looking at that and not wanting to eat, the heat is so intense that even a breath feels chest‑tight.

Ma'er started moving, a pace just a bit faster than walking; the Emperor was pleased, sitting in the carriage was cool and no need to walk; at this rate we could tour Luzhou City in three days.

The servants attended to the Master after washing, then went outside to buy breakfast; four Wang Jiaru's Servant Girls followed them.

Old Emperor and Empress got on the carriage and immediately shouted in surprise.

"Let's go, slower,"

"Western Elegance, haven't you eaten?"

"Who? It's already here; if you want something cold just hum."

The four Wang Jiaru's Servant Girls' eyes lit up; how could they forget the Master's great abilities, nothing is impossible to eat?

So they happily went outside and bought a few bowls of noodles; Qiao Mai had already prepared a large basin of ice, she poured the noodles into the ice for a while, then served them.

Some street snack stalls began opening, some shops opened their doors; many people, after coming out, first stretched and yawned.

The carriage is one meter high, with several seats; Qiao Mai asked Lord to bring East Date and Dragon Blood over from the inn.

"Ha ha, we also want something cold."

"They call it cold noodles, but it's not cold at all."

Many jewelers sell pearls from here back to the interior, then resell at high prices.

The few Wang Jiaru's Servant Girls, eating a bowl of icy noodles with the Master, felt refreshed.

They looked at the common folk, and the common folk looked at them.

"Go buy a few bowls of cold noodles,"

Soon, the hawkers' cries woke the sleeping people.

They huffed and puffed, staggered three steps, some fell onto one, then got up, lacking any spirit; this state must be from inhaling Opium.

In this excitement, he forgot himself, kept offering suggestions to Qiao Mai.

"The weather's too hot, no food."

Old Emperor took Empress's hand and walked in; they had eaten, but the heat was unbearable.

They only bought food for the two Masters, set the meals, and Qiao Mai asked them.

This Luzhou City is not inferior to Liangzhou City; after all it's the city closest to Nanguan, also a trade fortress; in broad daylight the traffic is bustling and hot.

The carriage is well‑equipped, no driver needed; Iron Blood and Dongzao can understand human speech, and they know when to go slow or fast, just like having a driver.

"Stop babbling, just sit."

Qiao Mai gave the Emperor a sideways glance, "If you go out, it's you; if you complain, it's you; otherwise shall we return?"

"Wow, does this carriage have ice? So cool!"

She felt the scene was truly beautiful, but after a while it was broken by a few wobbling figures.

This carriage is really fresh; the horse pulls it along, turning heads all the way.

Empress poked the Emperor's arm, "Mother‑in‑law is glaring at you, stop talking."

Empress and Qiao Mai each took a Palace Fan, fanned themselves, leisurely watching both sides of the street.

It seems that in this Luzhou City, smoking Marijuana is public and unregulated.

"Let's go, right, you said you wanted a sightseeing carriage, on such a hot day, let's ride, okay?"

"Then let's go?"

They stayed at the city's best welcoming inn, arranged proper greetings, took a comfortable bath, and everyone rested well for the night.

A pitiful person must have something hateful about them; a man like that will sooner or later strip his family dry. Rather than that, it's better to start planning early. If it's her, support him? Not kicking him to death is already a good thing.

"I have a way to make them cool."

"But you also have to think about the child."

"Get out, I like that you can't meddle, and I haven't spent your silver."

The servant girls each took a bottle and went out; the Old Emperor and Empress sat down without hesitation, opened the caps and started drinking.

She turned back to look at the still‑sleeping Yuan Jiaqi, she perched at the window and looked down.

But that woman seemed to accept her fate, still stepped forward to help him, Qiao Mai shook her head at that moment.

Seeing the Old Emperor's pitiful look, Qiao Mai led them to a remote place, waved a hand, and a sightseeing car with a canopy appeared before their eyes.

As they walked, they discovered several places where Poppy were grown; a few people said nothing, remaining silent until they entered Luzhou City.

Just as she frowned, a woman ran from afar, threw herself onto a man and began to cry.

"Ha ha, that's great, in a bit we'll see what to eat; once bought we can put it on the table and eat."

"With you following, how much less suffering we endure? It's so hot outside, really don't want to go out."

At that moment, Dongzao and Tiexue were already clad in transparent raincoats, transparent rain cloth hung from the car's roof, and they could still see the outside scenery from inside the car, even isolating the car's air conditioning from the outside heat, making it even cooler.

The car kept moving slowly forward, the car's lights crackled down, and the pedestrians on the road grew fewer and fewer.

All the scenery seemed to highlight Qiao Mai's carriage, which moved forward slowly.

Many people on the upper floor watched downwards, they were very interested in this group of travelers.

(End of chapter)