When the Hai family set off from Ganzhou and continued to Chang'an, the team grew stronger and added new members.
General Zhou wanted to send his daughter back to his hometown in Chang'an to pay his respects to his parents, and along the way he brought her New Year's gifts. He was followed by a bunch of maids, servants, and soldiers, as well as housekeepers and nuns, and more than ten carriages were pulled with luggage.
In addition, Mr. Peng, a commander under General Zhou, lost his wife at the beginning of the year. His mother-in-law wrote several times asking him to send his daughter back to his family in Chang'an for education. After Peng Tongzhi hesitated, he finally took advantage of his superior's opportunity to send his daughter back to Chang'an and left his daughter with him. He was also followed by a large number of attendants and escorts, and he also pulled about ten carriages.
In addition to the two generals' noble families, there was also a caravan traveling with them in Ganzhou City. There were also a few civilians who planned to go to Chang'an. They couldn't afford to hire a large group of guards, so they joined the general's team and drove there themselves. One or two cars followed.
At this point, the Hai family's team has more than doubled, stretching nearly a mile in front and back, and from time to time there are sergeants guarding the front and back to patrol and open the way to the back. Not to mention ordinary Xiaoxiao, even a certain size of sand and horse bandits. If he dared to get close, he was afraid that the sergeants would take it as a reward for coming to the door and kill him easily.
Ma finally felt at ease and saw that General Zhou's daughter and Peng Tongzhi's daughter were both twelve or thirteen years old. They were both neatly dressed and riding horses with the team. They were not shy about the men accompanying them. I no longer find fault with my daughter’s horse riding. She also invited the daughter of the Zhou family, her mother-in-law, to her carriage to talk and inquire about the affairs of the official family circle in Chang'an, trying to get familiar with the human relations in Chang'an city as soon as possible and prepare for her family's future communication.
Miss Zhou's grandmother's surname is Gan. She has dealt with Ma in the past and is considered an acquaintance. Although she has lived in Ganzhou City for many years, she is always sent back to Chang'an Town once or twice a year to work in the Duke's Mansion, so she is quite familiar with the situation in Chang'an. The journey was lonely, and she had to take care of her little master when she rested at night, so that was all. During the journey in the car, she could only talk to the little girls, which was boring. She could chat with Ma and pass the time, so why not Woolen cloth? Anyway, General Zhou also said that he wanted her to get closer to the Hai family, so she came to Ma's car almost every day.
Even the housekeeper of General Zhou's family was riding a horse beside Haixiya and Xie Wenzai's car, chatting with them from time to time.
Upon seeing this, Hai Jiao took the initiative to get close to the soldiers of the Zhou family, and on the way, he could ask for more advice on riding, archery and martial arts. It was inconvenient to continue exercising every day while he was on the road, so he could only seize the time to learn more theoretical knowledge.
Only the second uncle, Hai Changan, focused on taking care of his wife and children. He checked on the rest of the family and the carriage from time to time, and did not deal with the Zhou family or the Peng family. His attitude towards them was still very polite and courteous, but because of his embarrassing status, he tried his best not to get close to them.
With the example of her family, how could Haitang miss this great opportunity?
She rode a horse and took the initiative to get close to the two little girls from the Zhou family and the Peng family. First she curiously asked them how the beautiful little riding whips in their hands were made, and then asked about their horses, and soon they struck up a conversation.
General Zhou's daughter is named Wenjun. Her name sounds very gentle, but she herself has a lively temperament. The little girl has dark skin and is good at riding and shooting. She has been comforting her best friend who lost her mother and left home for the past two days. Seeing that Haitang came over on her own initiative seemed to attract her best friend's attention and make her no longer sad about being forced to leave her father, so she was happy to make friends with Haitang.
Peng Tongzhi's daughter is named Peng Yuqi, and she is still wearing a heavy mourning dress, but looking at her actions, it is obvious that she is also a good horseman and archer. Her complexion is fair, she looks thin, and her temperament is a bit sad. She seems to be unable to cheer up for anything she does.
Haitang chatted for a while and soon found out that Peng Yuqi was not happy to go to her grandmother's house in Chang'an. She has lived with her parents in Ganzhou City for many years. She only has a few memories of her grandmother's house when she was a child and doesn't have much affection for her. She was already sad enough after losing her mother, but now because of her grandmother's insistence, she had to leave her father's side and live in the unfamiliar Chang'an. How could she feel better? If it weren't for her best friend Zhou Wenjun who was also going to Chang'an, she would probably have stayed there for a year or two. She was unwilling to go out and wished she could pretend to be sick to get by.
Now that her best friend is with her, she can have a refreshing horse ride in the wild, and she has made new friends, so Peng Yuqi is in a better mood.
Haitang took the opportunity to accompany the two young ladies to ride horses to relax. When they stopped to rest, Ma wanted to blame her granddaughter for this matter. She also had something to say: "Sisters Wenjun and Peng can do things that I Why can't we do it? Can our Hai family be more disciplined than the Zhou family and the Peng family?"
Ma was immediately speechless.
Later, in front of Aunt Zhou, she couldn't say that it's not good for ladies to show up in public. She could only point out that her granddaughter was young. She was afraid that Haitang would fall if she rode too fast, and she was also afraid that her granddaughter would ride too far. , the team was too late to save people when in danger.
Aunt Gan of the Zhou family was used to seeing the ladies of the host family practicing martial arts and riding since they were young, so she didn't take it to heart: "I see that your sister's riding skills are very outstanding, no worse than those of adults. Mrs. Hai said Just don't worry. Besides, our young lady and Miss Peng are here too. The two young ladies have been skilled in bow and horse since they were young, and they will definitely take good care of Miss Hai. The nearby area has long been cleared by soldiers, so how can there be any danger? What? If anything is really wrong, the scouts will report it in advance."
Ma had nothing to say.
Grandma didn't stop her anymore, and Haitang started to have fun even more.
She followed Zhou Wenjun and Peng Yuqi on horseback and ran wildly, reaching as far as three miles away from the team. Along the way, she shot two hares with her bow and brought back a snack for her family. She also picked some herbs for Xie Wenzai and Lu Bainian. Because she was accompanied by her companions, her family didn't say anything to her, and she became more confident and bold after that.
Once when she encountered a scurrying poisonous snake, Peng Yuqi screamed in fright. Zhou Wenjun called to the little sisters to hurry up, but Haitang quickly whipped it with a whip. She was about seven inches away from the poisonous snake and broke it in half with one whip. The second whip followed. Follow up and beat the snake's head to pieces.
Zhou Wenjun and Peng Yuqi were greatly impressed when they saw this, and when they returned to the team, they kept praising Haitang for her outstanding whipping skills and courage. Except for Mr. Ma, whose face turned pale after hearing this, everyone else could only praise him. The relationship between the three official families became more harmonious. When they arrived at the inn in the evening, they even greeted each other and went to have a drink and a meal together.
When Haitang arrived in front of her grandparents, she had a well-behaved look on her face: "Although I have never hit a living creature with a whip before, I can always break the firewood when I practice whipping. I know it well and will not let the snake get entangled. Besides, at that time, There were only three of us, and the Zhou family's maid was riding hundreds of steps away, so she couldn't catch up. Sister Wenjun was closest to the snake and almost got bitten. If I didn't do anything, once she was If you are bitten by a poisonous snake, where can you seek medical treatment in this wilderness? At this time, I don't even have time to look forward and backward, so I whip out first."
Hai Xiya was calmer: "Since you know it yourself, grandpa won't say anything to you. In the future, you must practice martial arts more carefully. Don't go to dangerous places and try not to touch dangerous things. No matter what you do, think about it." Stay here, your family will be worried about you, don’t let your grandma worry about you."
Haitang obediently agreed and turned to look at Ma.
Ma held in her anger for a long time, but finally let out the anger before she could curse: "Well, it's a good thing to save people. Don't run so far again in the future. If you see poisonous snakes or beasts, stay away quickly. Don't be so bold just because you know how to use a whip, most of the people who drown are good at water..."
(End of chapter)
