The next day, the Zhao Family residence was in a flurry of activity.
Although it was just a two-day trip to the Provincial City for fun, there was a lot to pack.
After all, for a woman of Zhao Qiao’Er’s status, her clothes alone filled two large carriages.
She wouldn’t be changing outfits every hour, but she’d certainly need one for the morning and another for the afternoon.
Of course, even then she wouldn’t be able to wear them all, but she had to have them ready just in case.
Then there were the cooks and the servants who looked after her cats and dogs—they all had to go along.
For a ti, the Zhao residence was quite lively.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, was having a leisurely ti, casually eating what was neither breakfast nor lunch.
Song iqin’s younger brother, the Vice General, would be passing through Taiping City without stopping on his way back to the Provincial City.
So, everyone was having an early lunch. At noon, they would wait at the North City Gate and then travel east together to the Provincial City.
They would probably arrive tomorrow afternoon.
"Oh my, Liyan, why do you only have so few clothes?
When we get to the Provincial City, Auntie will buy you so more, okay?"
Zhao Qiao’Er was beside her, an arm around Su Liyan as she looked through the wardrobe.
Just last night, Zhao Qiao’Er had talked about teaching the girl a lesson.
But when she woke up this morning, Zhao Qiao’Er wouldn’t let the girl go.
She was either holding her hand or had an arm wrapped around her.
By now, Lu Yuan had finished his al. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, put on his coat, and left the room.
Soon, everyone was ready. They left the house, boarded their carriages, and headed for the North City Gate.
The procession was vast. There were over a dozen passenger carriages alone, not to ntion the ones carrying cargo.
Around noon, the group arrived at the North City Gate.
They didn’t have to wait long after arriving.
From the west, they could see a column of uniford Lord Soldiers, carrying flags and marching in formation towards them.
Everyone got out of their carriages to watch.
Soon, a cloud of dust billowed in the distance as a man on horseback galloped over.
The rider was none other than Song iqin’s younger brother, the Vice General, whose na was Song Chi.
He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a small mustache that gave him a mature and steady appearance.
Speaking of which, Lu Yuan had also thought about growing a mustache.
But on second thought, he decided against it.
It would be uncomfortable for his wife when it got prickly.
When Song Chi arrived, Lu Yuan imdiately bowed. Su Liyan, beside him, followed her husband’s lead and gave a slight curtsy.
As the saying goes, one can never be too polite.
He might be Song iqin’s brother, but he was also the Vice General of an entire province.
Business was business.
Seeing this from the corner of her eye, Song iqin was displeased and quickly pulled Lu Yuan and Su Liyan upright.
"Oh, what are you two doing!
Are you really treating Aunt Song like a stranger?!"
With that, she linked arms with both Lu Yuan and Su Liyan, one on each side, preventing them from bowing.
Song Chi dismounted and couldn’t help but blink at the scene.
’It’s so rare to see my sister acting so fondly reproachful...’
Snapping back to his senses, Song Chi looked at the only man in the group and guessed who he was.
He imdiately gave Lu Yuan a hearty smile and said:
"You must be Mr. Lu, the one who saved my sister."
Lu Yuan quickly returned the greeting.
"Not at all, not at all. I wouldn’t dare say I saved her..."
Before Lu Yuan could finish, Song iqin gave him a sharp tug and looked at her brother.
"It’s all thanks to Yuan’Er! If it weren’t for him, you would have never seen your sister again!"
Hearing this, Song Chi imdiately faced Lu Yuan, cupped his fists, and said earnestly:
"Mr. Lu, I will rember this kindness for the rest of my life. If you ever need my help in the future, you have only to ask."
Lu Yuan felt a bit awkward. ’It wasn’t that big of a deal.’
After all, he already knew Song iqin at the ti. This whole display was making it seem like he’d done sothing extraordinary.
Lu Yuan let out a polite laugh, trying to move past the topic quickly.
Then, Song Chi turned to Zhao Qiao’Er and cupped his fists.
"It has been a long ti, Sister Zhao."
Zhao Qiao’Er looked at Song Chi, a nostalgic smile on her face.
"Hasn’t it?
The last ti we t was seven or eight years ago. You were just a reckless young lad back then.
Now you’ve grown a full mustache. Your children must be getting big, too?"
Song Chi grinned.
"My eldest son is five, my daughter is three, and my second son just turned one."
Lu Yuan watched quietly from the side. ’He really doesn’t look like the Vice General of a province.’
But then again, people act differently depending on who they’re with.
anwhile, Song iqin interjected from the side:
"Alright, alright, let’s get in the carriages. It’s freezing out here!"
...
"So, is that Da Xingzi taken care of?"
Once in the carriage, Song iqin still didn’t let go of Lu Yuan and Su Liyan.
Sitting between them, an arm linked with each, she curiously asked her brother.
Song Chi nodded and replied seriously:
"We found that Da Xingzi last month.
But only a piece of its tail was left, as if sothing had gnawed on it.
We were afraid of scaring away a wolf only to attract a tiger, so we ended up combing through all of Taixing Mountain.
Only after confirming there were no other demons did we head back."
Song iqin, however, rolled her eyes.
"Those people from Little East Asia are all talk, just making a big fuss over nothing.
They made that thing sound so terrifying, but it was nothing special.
I bet it had just escaped when our Mountain God took care of it, and then it got eaten by jackals.
They co from a small place and don’t know any better. They think just because sothing’s powerful in their backwater country, it’ll be powerful here too.
Tch, dragging so many people into this and wasting so much ti."
Song Chi laughed heartily as well.
"That’s what I was thinking, too.
When the report first ca from the mountains that they’d found the corpse of the Eight-Headed Serpent, it had been gnawed down to half a tail."
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