Chapter 707: Chapters 702–703: Ning Wan in a Qipao

Under a patch of greenery by the roadside.

Dai Ling was quite tactful, he took some dry food from his bundle and shared it with Lin Zhong and the armored warriors, and said in a low voice, "We’ve just returned to settle down in our hometown, and we’re quite strapped for cash, so we couldn’t offer anything valuable to thank you. This dried bread was made by the lady of the house, I hope you gentlemen don’t mind."

"No need to be so polite, it is right to draw one’s sword to help when seeing injustice on the road, let alone when these bandits intend to take your lives. As an official of the court, I ought to help."

Lin Zhong waved his hand, but Dai Ling insisted on giving him the dried bread, feeling uneasy otherwise, so Lin Zhong accepted it and asked, "What should I call you, brother?"

"I don’t dare, I am Guo Xian. This is my niece-in-law and her son." Hearing that the other party was indeed an official of the court, Dai Ling quickly bowed his head respectfully. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Zhong nodded, then asked in curiosity, "Your accent sounds a bit like it’s from Yan State."

Guo Ning was indeed from Yan State, and Lin Zhong had spent considerable time with him, thus he could tell.

Huang Zhaodi’s expression changed slightly.

Dai Ling’s heart skipped a beat and he quickly said, "My lord, to be honest, I am a native of Cangzhou Man Cang County. Later, I fled to a friend’s house in Yan State and lived there for a few years. Now, hearing that the North has stabilized, I returned again, but offended someone in Man Cang County, so I moved to settle next door in Lu’an..."

"I see..."

Lin Zhong was not surprised by this. During the Xuanhe Period, with the North afflicted by both disasters and human predators, and military chaos, people fled south to escape. He laughed, "It seems we are truly destined to meet, I am the County Magistrate of Lu’an County and am heading there to take office."

Originally, Lin Zhong intended to say a few words of comfort and leave. Upon hearing that the other party had settled in Lu’an County, and given his lack of knowledge about the situation there, he began to chat more with "Guo Ling" and inquired about the circumstances in Lu’an County.

"This is outrageous!"

Upon learning from "Guo Ling" about the corruption among clerks in Lu’an County, Lin Zhong was furious and exclaimed, youthful temper getting the better of him, resolved that he would handle the matter sternly once he took office.

"Rest assured, I will give you an explanation for this matter," Lin Zhong said.

He was inexperienced in governance, unaware of the inner workings of the government office, oblivious to the challenges of implementing his words, but he knew that what the clerks were doing was wrong and he wanted to set it right.

Seeing the seriousness in Lin Zhong’s words, Dai Ling was startled for a moment, then cupped his hands in gratitude, "Many thanks, my lord."

"This is my duty," Lin Zhong said, then asked with curiosity, "Why are you here now?"

"My lord, this time I’m taking my niece-in-law and her family to Xiangyang to acknowledge our kin," Dai Ling replied.

"Acknowledge kin?" Lin Zhong inquired in surprise.

Dai Ling slowly began to explain. Since the issue of identity was already resolved, and as the County Magistrate of Lu’an County, Lin Zhong would eventually find out, Dai Ling figured it was best to tell him directly now.

"So it’s the family of a fellow disciple," Lin Zhong remarked with a hint of respect in his eyes.

Not to mention that both he and the "Guo Xian" being referred to were disciples of King Wei, given Guo Xian’s status as an advanced scholar, he was likely to do better than Lin Zhong. Moreover, being colleagues in the same court, having an extra friend was beneficial.

Huang Zhaodi also spoke up at this moment, "We’re going to Xiangyang to let him know we’ve moved to Lu’an so he won’t look for us in Yan State."

"That’s only right," Lin Zhong nodded and then cupped his hands, "Since that is the case, we shall take our leave here. See you in Lu’an."

"See you in Lu’an," Dai Ling said.

Before leaving, Lin Zhong advised that if they encountered such a situation on the road again, they should directly reveal his identity, which might deter the bandits and prevent them from harming their lives.

...

Xiangyang, Prince Wei’s Mansion.

It was noon at this moment. Chen Mo’s entire family and Nalan Yiren were having lunch together, while Yang Qingqing was still absent.

After lunch, Nalan Yiren mentioned that she had a trained venomous mosquito bite Yang Qingqing last night, causing her to pass out.

In Nalan Yiren’s view, since Yang Qingqing was ultimately Chen Mo’s woman, instead of waiting for her to wake up and complain to Chen Mo about last night’s events, it was better for her to disclose the incident proactively.

"No wonder it was so suddenly quiet last night. Miss Nalan, you did an excellent job," Yi Shiyin said.

Nalan Yiren: "..."

Did she not make herself clear enough? How come someone is thanking her?

"Oh," Chen Mo nodded, showing little reaction.

It was Wu Mi who spoke up, apologizing to Nalan Yiren on behalf of Yang Qingqing, admitting that she had disturbed Nalan Yiren.

The reason Wu Mi apologized was that she was the Princess Consort Wei, in charge of the inner court.

Moreover, one shouldn’t air dirty laundry in public; though she didn’t know if Nalan Yiren might become part of the family in the future, for now, she was still an outsider. Even as the lady of the house, it was proper to step forward and apologize when someone in the household caused a disturbance.

Nalan Yiren nodded. The hall was full of Chen Mo’s family, and the longer she stayed, the more awkward she felt, so after finishing lunch, she found an excuse to leave.

Chen Mo was holding his son Chen Nuo. Although children typically begin forming memories around the age of three, in this world of martial artists, forming memories at just over two was also possible. Therefore, Chen Mo intended to get close to his son as much as possible, lest their relationship becomes distant as his son grows older.

After playing with the three children for a while, Chen Mo turned to Xia Zhiqing and asked gently, "Zhiqing, how is business at Yimei Clothing Shop?"