Chapter 1275 - 1271: Buying a Carriage and Encountering Mu Dade

Mu Shuangshuang finished speaking and fell asleep.

Fu Xiaonan truly couldn’t sleep, she spent the entire night wide awake.

Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen traveled through the night under the cover of darkness!

This journey to the Northwest relies heavily on Lu Yuanfeng, as he is familiar with the location of the military camp, having been there before.

As Xing Beichen set out, he had already prepared a letter to send to the court. By the time the court receives the letter, he would have probably arrived in the Northwest.

After just one night apart, Lu Yuanfeng already deeply missed that little girl.

He missed the meals she prepared, the words she spoke, and her entire being.

Xing Beichen felt the same, and he envied Lu Chengfeng.

He and Shuangshuang were on good terms, spending almost every day together before parting.

Unlike him, who could only feel Fu Xiaonan’s affection for him during the day amidst tears.

But it wasn’t long before they had to part!

Who knows when they’ll see each other again!

It was utterly exhausting!

...

On their journey, the two rode without stopping, finally reaching the next county, Li County, as planned, just before dawn.

Meanwhile, it was also time for Mu Shuangshuang and Fu Xiaonan to prepare to return to the village.

Fu Xiaonan, having stayed awake all night, couldn’t help but fall into a deep sleep as the sky barely lightened.

So, when Mu Shuangshuang awoke, Fu Xiaonan was sleeping soundly, even snoring softly.

Mu Shuangshuang shook her head helplessly.

This silly girl, not sleeping last night, couldn’t keep herself together by the early morning!

However, she couldn’t bring herself to wake her, so after quietly getting up and washing, Mu Shuangshuang informed the innkeeper to have Fu Xiaonan wait for her at the inn after waking up.

As for herself, she took a walk around the county.

She had bought plenty yesterday—gifts for her parents, the three little ones, and some friends.

But she hadn’t purchased the most important thing—a carriage!

Yesterday, she had planned to go together, but time was too tight, and Lu Yuanfeng and Xing Beichen had to hurry, so the matter was postponed.

After thinking it over, Mu Shuangshuang realized it would be more convenient to buy a carriage for the return trip.

Luckily, she had heard from Zheng Zhi yesterday about the reputable carriage and horse establishments in the county.

In ancient times, there were generally three types of travel: carriage, ox cart, and walking.

Carriages and ox carts were like modern travelers’ transportation tools.

Mu Shuangshuang naturally wanted to pick a better carriage and horse.

The carriage and horse establishments were on the same street, just separated by a single road, not far apart.

Mu Shuangshuang went to the stables first and picked out a fairly decent horse.

The price of a horse in the small town was nearly five taels of silver, roughly the cost of a good acre of land.

About the same in the county, although the quality of the horses in the county was noticeably better.

As for the carriage, if you only wanted the shell of the carriage, without any extras, it was three taels of silver.

If it included the interior cushion and various small accessories, it was three taels and fifty wen.

The total cost was over eight taels, not expensive for Mu Shuangshuang.

But for ordinary people, it might take the whole family three to five years of saving and frugality to afford such a carriage!

Taking the carriage, Mu Shuangshuang headed straight back to the inn.

By now, the sun had risen, and it was the morning market; the county’s streets were bustling with people.

However, there weren’t many like Mu Shuangshuang, walking down the street leading a carriage.

Fortunately, she didn’t attract much attention from anyone.

After walking a while, Mu Shuangshuang felt a bit hungry and was about to decide whether to buy some breakfast.

Then she saw a figure she found quite familiar, dressed in a light gray luxurious robe, slightly bulging at the belly. He looked about thirty but didn’t appear old.

With his hair tied back with a piece of jade, who else could it be but Mu Shuangshuang’s uncle?

Beside him was a little girl, looking quite young, but dressed like a maid.

Mu Shuangshuang glanced at the place Mu Dade came out from and decided to follow to inquire.

The place Mu Dade came out of was a medical clinic. Mu Shuangshuang handed the carriage to the clinic’s little medicine boy and went in to buy some blood-nourishing and complexion-enhancing herbs.

Afterward, she started chatting with the boy who sold the herbs.

"Little Medicine Man, do you know why the man and woman who just left came to the clinic?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

The attendant was about the same age as Mu Shuangshuang and, seeing her with a decent appearance and having bought something from him, didn’t hide anything but whispered to Mu Shuangshuang, "I heard the lady is pregnant and came to buy fetus-preserving medicine!"

"Ah—pregnant?" Mu Shuangshuang was shocked.

Is the lady pregnant? Her aunt?

But she hadn’t heard anything about her aunt being pregnant!

Mu Shuangshuang thought about it, and suddenly, she realized!

Buying fetus-preserving medicine in the county, could it be for Ruan Xiao Jiao?

Indeed, the covertly formed pregnancy even had a child!

At this moment, Mu Shuangshuang didn’t know whether to say the County Magistrate was truly oblivious or that Mu Dade and Ruan Xiao Jiao were excellent at hiding!

"Girl, you know that person?" The little attendant saw Mu Shuangshuang’s surprised expression and couldn’t resist speaking to her a bit more.

Mu Shuangshuang shook her head and made up an excuse, "Not really; his wife and I are from the same village, but we haven’t spoken!"

"That makes me feel better! That person isn’t a good one!" the little medicine boy quietly cursed.

"What happened?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

"Little girl, you don’t seem like a bad person; I’ll be honest with you, but you absolutely can’t tell anyone else!" The little attendant said.

Mu Shuangshuang nodded quickly, "Of course, once I leave, I’ll forget everything you told me!"

The boy, seeing her response, spoke mysteriously.

"That man, while the little maid wasn’t paying attention, took red flowers. Do you know what red flower is?

It’s an abortion drug, and he took a large amount of it; if not careful, one dose and you might never be able to have children again!"

As he spoke, the little medicine boy shook his head.

His entire demeanor was one of disdain towards Mu Dade!

Mu Shuangshuang was exceedingly shocked; with the little medicine boy’s information, she was increasingly convinced that Mu Dade and Ruan Xiao Jiao had a child together.

Moreover, not only was Mu Dade likely deceiving Ruan Xiao Jiao, but he was also planning to abort Ruan Xiao Jiao’s child.

This was indeed evidence!

Oh, Mu Dade really is a vile person!

"Little Medicine Man, thank you. I’ll take the medicine and head back."

Mu Shuangshuang did not mention a word of what she had just heard, which relieved the little medicine boy.

He watched Mu Shuangshuang leave, then resumed his own activities.

As if the previous incident had never happened!

Leading the carriage on the way back, Mu Shuangshuang thought for a long time about what would happen to the Old Mu Family if Mu Dade’s situation was exposed.