Chapter 323 - 319: Returning to the County Town_1

While his master was standing alone at the bow of the ship, looking at the distant mountains, Yingbao walked up and asked, “Master, who was that person?”

Zhou Wuchang glanced at his young apprentice, saying, “Children shouldn’t always be so curious.”

Seeing his master brushing him off, Yingbao became anxious and tugged at his sleeve, “Master, tell me quickly, and I’ll tell you about the dream I had last night.”

Helplessly, Zhou Wuchang replied, “That man’s father and I knew each other in the old days. He just came to say hello. You don’t need to ask who he is; we won’t meet him again anyway.”

Yingbao was relieved to hear this and decided not to tell his master about his dream. He turned around and went back to the cabin.

The merchant ship arrived at a large dock the next day. The eldest apprentice said this was the dock of Chengzhou County.

Chengzhou County was the fief of that rebellious commandery prince.

Yingbao deliberately ran up to the deck to look at the dock.

The dock was bustling, no different from other provincial governments.

In fact, every city in the Great Qian Dynasty was quite prosperous, and as long as the townspeople weren’t lazy or addicted to gambling, they could live comfortably.

The poorest were those farmers who couldn’t leave their land. They had been tilling the soil for generations, and the more honest and downtrodden they were, the more miserable their lives.

The ship’s crew put a gangplank ashore and began unloading.

This ship was a merchant ship, transporting goods from the North.

The goods were bundled in circles with straw ropes, making it impossible to see what was inside.

But the dock workers seemed to be having a hard time moving it, as if it was really heavy.

Two words suddenly popped into Yingbao’s mind – iron ore.

Could these goods be iron ore?

She stole a glance at her master, seeing that his gaze was not on these goods, she heaved a sigh of relief.

Whether it was iron ore or not, as long as her master didn’t collude with the Commandery Prince, that would be fine.

Although the imperial court was corrupt, there were still strong soldiers outside. It wouldn’t be a problem to eliminate a rebel vassal king.

Not to mention that general named Zhong in the northwest, he was very good in battle.

It was a pity that General Zhong was worn out to death by the emperor.

The Great Qian, in order to prevent the Western Army from dominating, kept issuing edicts to the Western Army to fight the Western Xia one day and Fang La the next. As soon as Fang La was finished, without catching a breath, they were assigned to fight against the Liao Country in the north.

Before the war with Liao Country ended, the Jurchens invaded the South, and the Zhong family’s army was sent to save Taiyuan.

The consecutive battles resulted in the death of the commander of the Western Army’s son, and his father was also worked to death.

In the end, the morale of the Western Army fell. A good army was scattered like sand on the ground.

Many soldiers ran away, and quite a few officers disappeared along with them.

Still, the Western Army remained the most capable fighting force in the dynasty. With a little reorganization, it would be a sharp blade again.

Yingbao had dreamt that in her previous life, it was Xiao Mo who took over the Western Army and eventually became the most powerful commander in the dynasty.

However, his power caused fear in his uncle’s family, even including his aunt who was the Empress. They wanted to get rid of him.

Their tactics were utterly useless in the face of absolute power.

At this moment, it seemed that Xiao Mo had not yet become the commander of the Western Army, and the vassal king was probably still preparing for his future rebellion.

After unloading the cargo, the ship was gradually loaded with some other goods.

The owners of these goods were all doing business between the north and the south. They traveled and purchased goods together for safety.

Nowadays, bandits were rampant, especially in places where merchants had to pass. They were literally everywhere.

Today’s highwaymen could be farming at home the next day. Even the government couldn’t catch them, as they were actually local villagers.

Yingbao knew this better than anyone.

“Anchors away! Let’s set sail!”

Following the boat captain’s shout, the sailors raised the anchor and steered the ship away from the dock.

The merchants gathered together, talking about their businesses.

Yingbao, getting bored, had no choice but to return to his cabin.

A few days later, the merchant ship finally arrived at the dock in Qinchuan County, and Yingbao disembarked with his master.

Because they were carrying boxes and cages, they hailed a bullock cart to enter the city.

Once in the city, instead of returning to the medical bureau, she hopped off the cart and dashed to her shop.

Upon entering the shop, she saw both Erni and her cousin.

“Oh! Yingbao, you are back!” Erni paused, and then immediately rushed over to hug Yingbao: “You’ve grown so tall! You’re almost as tall as me.”

Yingbao stretched out her hand to compare with Sister Erni, still a long way to go. “Sister Erni, you’ve also grown taller. Look, what I’ve brought for you.”

All her things were still on the cart, which had already been unloaded by her second disciple brother and brought into the shop.

The cousin hurried over to help, and enthusiastically invited Master Zhou and the others in for a cup of tea.

Zhou Wuchang waved his hand, politely refusing.

Zhang Min wanted to stay, but was deterred by a stern glance from his eldest apprentice brother.

After sending away the bullock cart, Jiang Cheng came in to talk with his little cousin.

“Why have you been gone so long?” Jiang Cheng brought a cup of honey water to his little cousin, “Jiang Jie also went out to study with his master last year, and said that he won’t return until two years later.”

Yingbao took the honey tea, took a sip, and asked, “Did County Magistrate Wu also leave?”

“Hmm.” Jiang Cheng nodded and frowned. “Just after the Count left, that County Magistrate came to our house, making all kinds of trouble.”

“The County Magistrate?” Yingbao vaguely remembered the name of the County Magistrate.

Jiang Cheng: “The County Magistrate claims that he and Chen Guanglu are close friends. He said that Chen Guanglu’s family was ruined and killed because of us, and he demanded that we give him silver.”

“And then?” Yingbao frowned and asked, “Did you give him the silver?”

Jiang Cheng: “No, Chen Guanglu was the one who harmed others. The evidence is conclusive. Even if it goes to court again, I am not afraid of him.”

A while ago, he told his father-in-law about this. Uncle Qiu told him not to worry, he would take care of everything.

Erni also said, “Yingbao, do you know? That Chen Tiantian and her mother have returned to Qinchuan County with the child her mother had given birth to. I saw them at the entrance of the alley a few days ago, their faces were all veiled. When they saw me, they even stared at me, Humph! Who’s afraid of her?”

Yingbao scratched her forehead, feeling drained.

As soon as Wu Daozi left, a lot of villains sprang out. Fortunately, she still had her master.

She remembered the gold knife in her master’s hand, as well as the ruler in her own hand, and her heart suddenly calmed down.

What was there to be afraid of, she also had a master.

If Chen Guanglu’s family really dared to do anything, she would end him with her master’s golden knife.

After all, her master killed a school officer last year and no one dared to retaliate.

While she was thinking, her aunt came out from the backyard. Upon seeing Yingbao, she let out a cry of surprise, and quickly pulled her up and down to look at her: “Children really do change from year to year, Yingbao, you’re eight years old this year, right? You’ve grown so tall.”

Yingbao felt a bit embarrassed by her aunt’s scrutiny, and quickly began to unpack the gifts from the box.

Flower-patterned cloth from Jingzhou, one roll for each person, and she also took out some beaded silver hairpins for her aunt and Erni, and of course her cousin’s wife.

She also bought a tiger-head cap inlaid with jade pieces, as well as a set of tiger clothes and shoes for her cousin’s little son.

As for Hong Xiao and Zhang Yuying, Yingbao also brought presents for them.

“Mother!” A round little head peeked in from outside the shop, timidly said to Jiang Yunniang: “Is second brother at home?”

Yingbao took a look, it was Zhang Xiaolang, Zhang Yuying’s half brother.