The sounds of you coming and going filled the awkwardness of Ning Yue and Ying Xianqing's sobriety in the carriage, and the two were silent all the way.
At noon, the team stopped for lunch.
Ning Yue saw an inn not far away, told Li Desheng that she wanted to buy something, and walked over.
Ning Yue bought some food at random, and then asked the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, have you heard of Lu Zhaolin?"
The shopkeeper was a little scornful when he saw her dressed as a prisoner.
Hearing these three words, I suddenly felt a little wary: "Why are you asking about him?"
"He used to owe our family two ounces of money. Now my family has fallen into disgrace and has been exiled. I want to ask him to get it back." Ning Yue said tentatively.
The shopkeeper seemed to have heard some funny joke, holding his stomach and laughing.
The two maids laughed too.
"Stop bragging. Mr. Lu's family is extremely wealthy. Will he owe you money?"
"People have been rich for three generations. When have they ever been poor, can they still owe you money? Or do they still owe you 2 dan of money? Go to the county and ask around. A bowl of food in their family costs more than 2 dan of money."
"He is a relative of the current uncle!"
Ning Yue was not annoyed at being laughed at and quickly collected the information she wanted.
He is a rich man.
Moreover, he lives in the county and is related to Uncle Guo's family.
Fortunately, she will go shopping in the next county.
The shopkeeper looked at her again with squinted eyes. This little lady was quite beautiful. It would be a pity to be killed.
He said kindly: "However, even if he really owes you two ounces of money, I advise you not to ask for it. Life is more important than anything else."
Ning Yue hurriedly asked: "What do you mean by this? Could it be..."
The shopkeeper shook his head: "I didn't say anything."
Ning Yue asked again, and the shopkeeper started to mind his own business.
Ning Yue had no choice but to go back.
Zitong handed over a bowl of noodles: "Miss, the noodles made by You Ren today are also delicious!"
Ning Yue got an appetite as soon as she saw the appearance. The white noodles were mixed with a few pieces of hare meat, mushrooms and a few green wild vegetables.
She took a chopstick and stuffed it into her mouth. While eating, she poked Ying Xianqing next to her: "Why didn't you let him come earlier?"
Ying Xianqing had never cared much about eating, he just found it too noisy.
What's more, it was because he wanted to protect Ning Yue that he called Youchuan.
With You Ren's little skill, it would be a shame to ask him to come.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Ning Yue pretended to whisper again: "I just heard from the shopkeeper that there is a rich man named Lu Zhaolin in the town ahead, who is a relative of Uncle Guo's family."
After saying that, he secretly looked at the white-haired girl's expression.
Miss Xia was clumsily eating noodles with her chopsticks. She had talked to Ying Xianqing before, but she had no reaction at all.
But the three words "Lu Zhaolin" she whispered almost made her drop her chopsticks to the ground, and she looked panicked.
Ning Yue looked at him in confusion: "Do you know him?"
She shook her head vigorously.
Ning Yue didn't push her too hard, nodded and continued eating noodles.
Miss Xia grasped the chopsticks loosely and then tightly. After a long while, she stuttered and said: "Ling...li...he...wan...di..."
Ning Yue was confused: "What did you say?"
Ying Xianqing said quietly: "She told you to stay away from that person."
Miss Xia nodded hurriedly.
Ning Yue did not continue to ask. She just said she didn't know him, obviously she didn't want to have anything to do with him.
Combining the words of the shopkeeper and Miss Xia, it seems that there really is a Huang Shiren who robbed civilian girls.
Zitong laughed so hard that she pulled Miss Xia over: "Come, look at my mouth. Stay away from... him..."
The person who had learned so well just now stopped talking and shook his head with a pained face.
It seemed that the more I thought of him, the more pain I felt.
But even if she was so afraid, she still had to remind her.
This girl seems to have a good nature.
Ning Yue remembered that Mr. Cui said that he had learned painting before, so he quietly called his apprentice and asked him to draw a portrait of Miss Zhang Xia.
Cui Langzhong asked the reason, pondered for a while, and then began to observe her.
After a few breaths, he had to write and ink. It was a bit difficult to write at first, but it soon became smooth and he could write quickly and easily.
Ning Yue took the painting and was shocked: "Mr. Cui, your medical skills are not very good, but you are so good at painting?"
The painting vividly restored the charm of Miss Xia. Anyone who knows her will definitely recognize her after seeing the painting.
Moreover, he did not hesitate in writing. This kind of confidence is really rare.
Dr. Cui was so embarrassed by her: "Master! I am already studying medicine seriously! Don't talk about me anymore!"
Ning Yue chuckled: "Do you usually practice painting a lot?"
Cui Langzhong was afraid that his master would question him for not working hard and stop teaching him, so he hurriedly said: "I haven't painted for decades. I spend all my time studying medicine, really!"
Talent is such an infuriating thing.
He studied medicine seriously, but made no progress. After studying medicine for half his life, he came back as a quack.
I haven’t practiced painting for decades, but I am so amazingly talented.
Ning Yue dried the ink carefully, folded a few piles and put them in her arms.
Then he patted Mr. Cui on the shoulder and said, "Mr. Cui, it's a pity that you are studying medicine."
Mr. Cui waved his hands repeatedly: "It's not a pity, it's not a pity. I am helping the world and saving patients. This is more important than painting."
Ning Yue knew that it was caused by his mother's death from illness, so she stopped trying to persuade him.
After resting for the night, Cui Man came looking for her mysteriously.
"When you asked your uncle to paint Miss Xia's picture, did you want to help her find her family?"
Ning Yue was a little surprised: "How did you know?"
Cui Manning shook her head proudly: "My grandfather guessed it. He said that if you go to Baiyu County tomorrow, he has a student who is the county magistrate there, and you can ask him to help you."
Ning Yue helped Cui Maning unconditionally before, and the old prime minister remembered it in his heart.
He had no power now, but he still had some connections, so he thought it would be a good thing if he could be of some use to her.
Ning Yue nodded.
She didn't want to cause too much trouble, so she probably wouldn't go to the officials.
Cui Manning's eyes were bright: "I'll go with you tomorrow. Originally, my grandfather asked my brother to go, but my brother is a man, so it's inconvenient. What do you think of me?"
Ning Yue laughed: "No need, I can go by myself tomorrow."
Cui Manning pursed her lips: "You are only allowed to be nice to us, but we are not allowed to be nice to you? You may not be able to find out anything by asking around. Maybe they will find out after they investigate."
"Okay, okay, you can go tomorrow."
It was hard to reject the kindness, so Ning Yue had no choice but to agree.
The old prime minister's family was penniless. If they could get some relief from students, their life would be easier when they arrived in Suchang.
Zhao Dali was indeed very brave. The next day, he was able to get off the carriage and walk.
After lunch, we were close to Baiyu County.
Zhao Dali freed up the official's carriage and asked Wang Si and another official to take Ning Yue and his party into the city for shopping.
Others kept walking.
Ning Yue remembered what the shopkeeper said, but she still felt uneasy, so she asked Youchuan to escort her all the way and carry things along the way.
You Ren glanced at Ying Xianqing's cool eyes and quickly raised his hand to say that he wanted to go too.
