C9

She told Qing You to get up and pick up her luggage. Actually, it was nothing much, just a few pieces of clothes. There was also the lotus flower that Young Master Baishi gave to her. The gold ingot was kept in her underwear pocket. It was a long way to go, and she heard there were too many places to spend it.

?? The courtyard was quiet, except for the occasional cricket or frog, and the paper lanterns left her little shadow on the ground, lengthening her body like an adult. She thought about how, before she replaced Zhao Ci, this little child had been bullied so much after her mother's death.

?? Was the dream he had when he came here the last thought of the real Zhao Ci? A healthy young mother appeared at his side, saying that she wanted to bring him home. She happily raised her head and followed Lady Du Yueyao into another world.

"?" Zhao Ci only saw Lady Sun who was guarding the door for a few days when she returned back to the Zhao Mansion. She probably heard the news from the kitchen and couldn't be at ease, so she could only wait at the door. Zhuang Li saw that her eyes were red from crying and tried to comfort her with a few words, but she could not find any more to say. That Lady Sun was blaming herself for being useless and unable to protect Miss Yun Yun. Zhuang Li also felt a little sad, putting away the dry rations Lady Sun had brought her and a few pairs of cloth shoes that she had already prepared.

?? The carriage was parked at the door, so old that it seemed as if it would scatter once they stepped out of the city gate. The old lady was still complaining that First Madame was only thinking for the little miss, and the road in Gansu was not peaceful at all, with bandits rampaging about.

?? F * ck off... Zhuang Li wanted to curse, but she suddenly felt bored.

?? The coachman was an old man who was over a hundred years old. It was said that he came from Gansu with Prime Minister Zhao, and Prime Minister Zhao had already moved to the capital city for a long time, so he was the only one who could find out the location of the deserted courtyard in the mountains of Gansu Province.

?? That old woman also followed them into the car. She said that she was instructed by First Madame to send the little miss out of the city. Zhuang Li knew clearly in her heart that it was to keep an eye on me so that she wouldn't cause any trouble and escape. As matters stood, she had nothing to hold back in the capital for First Madame to worry about. After passing through the Brightmoon Restaurant, Zhuang Li suddenly started to hesitate.

?? The Brightmoon Restaurant entrance was extremely quiet, and the exquisite pavilion was quietly standing on the streets of the capital, sleeping soundly. The crescent moon above his head was shining brightly, and the moon was as cool as water.

?? That old lady, on the other hand, did not allow anyone to get off the carriage before leaving the city. Zhuang Li stared at the yellow lantern by the entrance of the exquisite building in the darkness.

?? Forget it, let's just treat it as having no fate with the masked Young Master's true appearance.

?? She sat in the carriage, listening to the creak of the old one, and closed her eyes for a moment to rest.

?? Qing You had been crying as she slept on Zhuang Li's lap. She had never left the capital since she was born, and this place was as important as her homeland. Once she left, she would return to her hometown, which was a desolate countryside.

Tears were on her face as she slept. Zhuang Li wiped them randomly with the water in the kettle, and Qing You woke up and gave Zhuang Li a steamed bun from her bag. She told Uncle Zheng to stop the carriage and see if there was any place for saliva nearby.

Zhuang Li had not been able to sleep well and was too lazy to get down from the carriage due to her low spirits. She instead lifted the curtain and leaned against the carriage's frame, gnawing on a bun as she chatted with the coachman.

He was originally from the same hometown as Grandpa Zhao, and was an Elementary Scholar. When he went to the capital with Zhao Kangming (now Prime Minister Zhao) to take the Imperial Examinations, Zhao Chongming ended up winning the top spot. Plus, he was a smooth worker before. And after three consecutive years of failure, after his parents had passed away one after the other, after being filial for three years and returning to the capital, he was no longer in the mood to study hard. Since he was in the same hometown as Prime Minister Zhao, he still hoped to find a job on Zhao Mansion. This feeding of horses lasted for 20 years. Lord Zhao had married five women and had given birth to seven or eight odd looking children. Uncle Zheng was still single and his only hobby was to drink wine.

?? Uncle Zheng was honest and kind to Zhao Ci's mother and was quite polite to Zhuang Li. Zhuang Li chatted with him for a while and felt her throat go dry. She looked around to see where Qing You had gone to get the water.

?? On the other hand, there was a small riverbank right under the road where the carriage was parked. Qing You probably went there, so after a careful search, they indeed saw Qing You's little figure carrying a water bag and walking back with hurried steps.

?? When she reached Zhuang Li, she handed her water bag to her and whispered …

?? Miss, someone is following us! "

?? Zhuang Li was shocked. Her first reaction was, [Isn't it enough for her to leave the capital? Should we send someone to silence her?]

?? She pushed aside the curtain at the back of the carriage and was taken aback by Qing You's words about the people following them.

A thin and weak little boy stood in the middle of the road, not even half a mile away from them.

"?" What kind of stalker is this, you silly girl! " She was suddenly relieved by the tension in her nerves.

"?" Just a passing beggar. " Uncle Zheng laughed as he spoke. He carried Qing You into the carriage and continued on his way.

"?" "No, he really did follow us on purpose!" Qing You crawled to the back of the carriage and lifted the curtain for Zhuang Li to see. As expected, the horse carriage moved, and the thin beggar followed. He occasionally fell and quickly ran a few steps behind them.

?? After following them for another mile, Zhuang Li told Uncle Zheng to stop the car.

?? Seeing that the car had stopped, the little boy also stopped and sat on the ground to rest.

?? Zhuang Li left Qing You in the car and walked with Uncle Zheng to the child. The beggar was a dirty and thin boy, but his eyes were very big. His eyes were surprisingly meek as he looked at Zhuang Li.

?? Zhuang Li finally came to her senses. "This … this is the beggar that I gave him yesterday!"

?? Zhuang Li's first reaction is that I can't protect myself now, but I don't have that Brightmoon Restaurant for you.

?? The little beggar could only look at her helplessly, his appearance as docile as a little deer.

?? Zhuang Li sighed and asked Qing Yu to give him a steamed bun from the carriage. The beggar actually took a step back and continued staring at Zhuang Li.

Qing Yu ignored him and huffed, "I'll give it to you, but you don't need it. Forget it, we don't have enough rations!"

After saying that, he pulled Zhuang Li along and was about to leave. Zhuang Li was stunned for a moment, but when she saw that the beggar's feet were full of blisters, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. After all, she was still such a small child. It was unknown where he had seen Zhuang Li from, and he had followed her all the way till now.

?? Seeing that she was about to leave, the little beggar hurriedly took a few steps forward, but Zhuang Li stopped.

?? You want to come with us, don't you? "

?? The little beggar bent his mouth, showing off his two large white teeth as he nodded his head …

?? I don't have anything good to eat, and if you follow me, you might even starve. "

?? The little beggar just nodded and looked at Zhuang Li.

?? Zhuang Li sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

?? "Well, you can take him back to the carriage. First, find him some clean clothes to change into."

The little beggar looked timidly at the cyan grapefruit, and it let out a sigh of disgust.

?? Do you have a name? " Zhuang Li asked the little boy.

?? The other party was beaming.

?? Was your family in the capital before? "

?? Zhuang Li remained silent, her big eyes blinking with admiration.

?? How did you become a beggar? "

?? The latter was still smiling …

?? Zhuang Li sighed after the fruitless conversation. She was ready to find a corner to sleep in. It was not a comfortable thing for this small carriage to have three children inside. Qing You was sulking on the side, thinking that the child was pretending to be crazy in order to gain Zhuang Li's sympathy.

?? Zhuang Li smiled helplessly.

?? "Li Liangxiao"

?? At this moment, the little beggar suddenly spoke up. "Zhuang Li and Qing You both stood up and stared at him …"

?? My name is Li Liangxiao. "

"?" Rather than saying that Li Liangxiao was a beggar picked up by the roadside, it would be more accurate to say that he was a gift from heaven to Zhuang Li. He was happily sitting outside the carriage with Uncle Zheng, learning to drive a horse. That little fellow's learning speed was extremely fast. In less than half a day, Uncle Zheng had already let go of him and allowed him to single-handedly surpass it …

?? Most of the time, he would quietly find a corner to squat down. His eyes were as bright as the stars as he looked at Zhuang Li. Whatever she wanted him to do, he would run and jump to do it.

?? He was about the same age as Qing You, so he couldn't explain his origins and past. After being brought around by Zhuang Li for a few days, he had become as happy as a little monkey. Zhuang Li thought he was like a piece of white paper, or a piece of unpolished jade, complete and clean. There were too many possibilities in the future.

?? It had already been more than half a month since they left the capital. Along the way, the cities and towns became increasingly desolate and barren. They sometimes stayed in the farmhouse because they didn't have enough people to stay in the tavern. Most of the time, they stayed in the carriage.

?? Zhuang Li sometimes felt happy when she thought about it. These three people were actually not related to her in any way. However, she would always obediently follow such a young lady who had no money and no influence. Sometimes, she would be filled with emotions due to her emotional problems. When she woke up in the middle of the night and saw the moonlight shining on Li Liangxiao's long eyelashes, she felt relaxed and happy.

?? The moonlight in the mountains, the moonlight in the capital, the modern moonlight...

?? What did it matter? Nothing can stop me from living...

"?" After sleeping for a few days in the mountains, it began to drizzle again. Qing You had a slight fever and slept soundly in the carriage throughout the day.