Chapter 49

Liu Ping, dressed in the armor of a military officer, once again saluted Zhu Junyan with his sword, a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold, ready to die without hesitation.

Then Liu Ping lifted his sword and left the back gate of the county office. Outside the gate, a private soldier of the Zhu family was holding a tall, yellow-coated warhorse for him.

Liu Ping approached the warhorse, mounted it, and with a shout of "Go," he spurred the horse to a gallop, leading the convoy. He raised his large sword high and waved it forward.

The entire convoy immediately came to life, and the various managers among the helpers began to shout orders to their subordinates.

For a moment, the helpers pushed carts and drove carriages, while the private soldiers of the Zhu family, under the command of two centurions, divided into two teams to guard the sides of the convoy.

As for the young servants and companions around Zhu Lingwu, they also ran to the sides of his carriage. A few of the closer ones jumped onto the side of the carriage, swaying as they sat, ready to heed Zhu Lingwu's commands at any time.

Liang Cai, Zhu Lingwu's recent loyal follower, naturally sat by the window of the carriage where Zhu Lingwu was seated, swinging his legs and directing others to run here and there.

The convoy set off from the gate of the county office's back courtyard, heading along the street toward the east gate of the county town. It didn't take long to leave the central area of Tongshan County.

Such a grand convoy naturally drew the attention of many people, especially the carriage in which Zhu Lingwu was seated, which became the focus of the passersby.

Tongshan County was in a remote location, and it was rare to see such a large and splendid convoy. Many people couldn't help but look through the open carriage windows at the interior.

At the same time, Zhu Lingwu was also looking out of the carriage window. Suddenly, his gaze flickered, and he saw Meng Yashi appear on the street, who had also seen Zhu Lingwu.

At this moment, Meng Yashi's attire was quite different from before. As a manager of the Zhu family in Tongshan County, his monthly salary was substantial, and his clothing and headwear were provided by the Zhu family.

He had also heard about Zhu Lingwu's return to the Zhu family's ancestral land. Half a month ago, the wandering soul he released did not return as he commanded. Soon, he released another wandering soul to check the situation.

When this wandering soul arrived, it saw nothing. For the past half month, Meng Yashi continued to monitor Zhu Lingwu, but today, just as Zhu Lingwu was about to leave Tongshan County, he appeared again.

Zhu Lingwu's gaze casually swept over Meng Yashi, but seeing the change in his mouth, he couldn't help but frown.

Meng Yashi seemed to be speaking to him from a distance, saying, "Friend, I know you are not you. Tonight, I will come to talk to you!"

Zhu Lingwu's heart skipped a beat, and he pondered, "What does this mean? But soon he realized something.

"Damn, he really figured it out. Does this mean he will come to find me tonight? But with so many people guarding me, isn't he just courting death? Or does he have such confidence that he can easily deal with all these guards?"

Zhu Lingwu pondered in his heart and then pulled his head back into the carriage, signaling to Xia Yang, who was serving him.

Xia Yang helped Zhu Lingwu lower the carriage curtains. She had long felt that leaving the windows open was not good, as the gazes from outside made her uncomfortable. Many people were staring at the three women in the carriage.

Xia Yang was Zhu Lingwu's personal attendant, sixteen years old, "a girl of eighteen in her prime," naturally beautiful.

Unfortunately, Zhu Lingwu was too young to do anything more than admire her. Even if he touched her, she would treat him like an eight-year-old child.

As for these three maids, who were close to Zhu Lingwu, they naturally felt superior. They were already unhappy with being stared at by so many people.

"Master, this journey will take a long time. Would you like me to sing a little song to entertain you?"

Xia Yang was the best at playing the zither and singing. Although her personality was slightly fiery, her voice was like a heavenly melody.

"Sure, sure, Master, let Xia Yang sing a song. This journey will take many days!"

Fifteen-year-old Chuyang clapped in agreement. She was the youngest of the three maids, still retaining a childlike innocence. She was very skilled with needlework and could cook some small dishes.

There was also Qiuyang, also sixteen, the oldest of the three maids. She usually did most of the miscellaneous tasks and was the most composed and thoughtful.

At this moment, she was busy with other tasks in the carriage. Hearing Xia Yang and Chuyang's words, she smiled, clearly also looking forward to hearing Xia Yang sing.

The maids who served Zhu Lingwu were carefully selected. After these past few months, Zhu Lingwu was very satisfied with them.

"Are you not afraid of attracting bandits? Those people outside have already seen your faces. They might fancy one of you. After hearing Xia Yang's beautiful song, they might pretend to be bandits and demand that I hand over the singer. Well, in that case, I would have to hand over Xia Yang!"

Zhu Lingwu deliberately teased Xia Yang, then took a dried fruit from Chuyang and chewed it.

"Master, Xia Yang is only singing to entertain you. Normally, we beg her to sing, but she refuses! With Liu the military officer watching outside, I don't think any blind bandits would dare to bother us!"

Chuyang said, then used chopsticks to bring Zhu Lingwu a piece of meat.

"Fine, fine, if Master says so, then Xia Yang won't sing! Humph, I'll help Qiuyang organize things!"

Xia Yang, with her long hair hanging down, pretended to be angry and ran to the side to help Qiuyang organize things.

"Alright, alright, the journey is indeed boring. Xia Yang, sing a little song to entertain us. Let the commoners outside hear your voice. When they ask, we can tell them that the girls by Master's side are all celestial beauties!"

Zhu Lingwu leaned against the cushion, feeling the carriage's bumpy ride, and complimented Xia Yang again.

The carriage wheels were made of wood, and they naturally jolted on the uneven road. However, the animal skins laid inside the carriage reduced much of the jolting.

"Chuyang, Xia Yang, don't tease Master. Since that disaster, I have opened my wisdom. Xia Yang, are you happy now with what Master said? I think many people will come to Master, asking to marry you! Hehe!"

Qiuyang couldn't help but join in the teasing. As she spoke, she covered her mouth and giggled.

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