Traveling through time and space to become a lady of a noble family, but she only wants to escape

Cheng Mao is alright, so we should hurry and find Lin Chuqi, but we can't just leave Cheng Mao here alone. After thinking it over, Qiaoqiao asked the old doctor to take care of Cheng Mao for the time being, and then went out with her money bag to inquire about Baishitong.

The shopkeeper was tucked away in a remote corner of the south of the city, not far from the clinic. Business was booming during this wartime. When Qiaoqiao stepped inside, the shopkeeper, leaning back in his chair behind the counter, glanced at her but ignored her.

Qiaoqiao took a deep breath, strode confidently to the counter, and asked loudly, "Can I find someone?"

The waiter asked, "Can you find him? Is he in Dayan?"

"It's in Ningzhou."

"A deposit of ten taels is required. If the item is found, another ten taels will be paid. If not, the deposit will be refunded."

Qiaoqiao took out ten taels from her purse and slapped it on the table.

The waiter then sat up straight, looked Qiaoqiao up and down, and then got up to lead the way: "Follow me."

Further inside were rows of small cubicles. In many of these cubicles, one could see people, but there wasn't a sound. Qiaoqiao followed the waiter into an empty cubicle, and as soon as the door closed, all was quiet.

The cubicle contained only a table and two chairs facing each other. The waiter took out paper and pen and asked, "What's your name? How old are you? What do you look like?"

Qiaoqiao spoke earnestly, from Lin Chuqi's name and age to his appearance and clothing, and then recounted the details of how they got separated. The waiter paused when he heard that the two had escaped from Wuxian County, looked Qiaoqiao over again, and then put down his pen: "Alright, come back in three days."

"Three days? You can find someone in just three days?"

"Isn't the person in Ningzhou? We have our own ways of finding them, so don't ask any more questions."

The waiter dismissed Qiaoqiao with a few words. On the way back, Qiaoqiao couldn't stop thinking about how unreliable the waiter was, so she squatted by the roadside, pondering whether she should entrust Cheng Mao to the clinic and hire a carriage to go back and find someone.

Three copper coins suddenly fell in front of them.

Qiaoqiao looked up and saw a richly dressed woman wiping away tears: "How pitiful."

"..."

She was stunned for a while before she came to her senses, looked down at herself—covered in filth, her braids disheveled, looking utterly slovenly.

Oh no! They say you should respect someone's appearance before their character. This know-it-all guy is being disrespectful; will he think she's a beggar? Will he refuse to help her find someone?

But she had already handed over ten taels of silver; she couldn't just give the money and not do the job.

Qiaoqiao picked up the three copper coins, intending to return them to the woman, but when she looked up, the woman had already walked away, still muttering to her maid, "I heard the people of Wuxian are almost at the prefectural city. Remember to encourage the grain-producing households to set up a soup kitchen and distribute porridge..."

It was a little embarrassing to chase after her and return the coins, so Qiaoqiao could only awkwardly put the coins into her purse.

However, the woman's words also reminded her that once the people of Wu County arrived in the prefectural city, the old doctor might not be able to take care of Brother Cheng, and she would have to stay behind to serve him.

"Just three days," Qiaoqiao told herself. "If I don't hear from Chuqi in three days, I'll go find him."

Three days later, the people of Wuxian entered the city in batches, and the government led them to accommodations that had been prepared in advance.

The clinic gradually became overcrowded, but Cheng Mao remained unconscious.

Qiaoqiao hired a medic to take care of Cheng Mao, and then went straight to Baishitong. This time she bought a new outfit, a light yellow satin dress, a cream-colored vest, and her hair was styled in high double buns. The shop assistant almost didn't recognize her.

She cut to the chase: "Has Lin Chuqi been found?"

The shop assistant just remembered that there was such a thing, clicked his tongue, and reluctantly took out ten taels of silver from under the counter and returned it to Qiaoqiao: "I couldn't find it, so I'm returning this silver to you."

Qiaoqiao frowned and pressed, "Not even a single word?"

"No."

The shopkeeper rushed in and waved for the waiter to leave. Qiaoqiao angrily blocked his way, saying, "Have you forgotten about this?"

The waiter raised an eyebrow: "Hey, little girl, didn't we already give you the money? What are you fussing about?"

"I'm giving you money, you have to help me find someone. If you don't even try, isn't that a waste of time?!" Qiaoqiao slammed her fist on the counter in anger. "My brother has no money, he's in danger out there!"

"Miss, we may know a lot, but we're not gods. Our abilities are limited." The shopkeeper came over with a smile to smooth things over. "Please find someone more capable."

Qiaoqiao stood there, so angry she couldn't hold back her words, a thousand words stuck in her throat, not knowing what to say.

The shopkeeper and his assistant both left, leaving her alone in the room.

The shopkeeper looked very serious when he came in, as if something important had happened. Qiaoqiao stood there for a while, getting angrier and angrier, when suddenly a wicked thought arose in her mind—she wanted to go and hear what important things they had to say.

Without further ado, Qiaoqiao jogged to catch up with the innkeeper and the waiter, following them at a respectful distance. The two turned into the restaurant at the corner of the alley and went into a private room on the second floor.

Qiaoqiao sat down in the private room next door, ordered some food casually, and then pressed her ear tightly against their side.

"...Gu Yan's...Prince Jing's...Xuanping Marquis's residence...disguise..."

"...Your Excellency...the price..."

"...Spreading this out...will benefit you..."

As Qiaoqiao listened, her eyes widened in disbelief.

They chatted quickly, settled on a price in no time, and left, while Qiaoqiao's food had just been served. The waiter, seeing Qiaoqiao's unusual appearance, asked curiously, "Sir, what's wrong?"

Qiaoqiao immediately slapped down the bill: "Let's give this table to someone else."

After leaving the restaurant, the group of experts separated, and Qiaoqiao decisively followed another group of two people referred to as "honored envoys." These two people wore huge bamboo hats, making it impossible to see their faces.

They walked through two streets and then entered an inn. Qiaoqiao followed them in, tossed some loose silver coins to the innkeeper, and then pretended to check in before running upstairs to eavesdrop on the two entering the room.

The two people inside the room were talking in a mix of Da Yan language and Manchu, mostly about the transaction they had just made, and occasionally mentioning Madam Ge.

Qiaoqiao quietly slipped away.

Back at the clinic, the old doctor said that an official wanted to see her and had been waiting inside for a while. Qiaoqiao went over and discovered that this official was none other than the coachman who served Wei Fuguang.

"Brother Dou!" Qiaoqiao exclaimed in surprise, "It's wonderful to see you here! I happen to have something I'd like to ask you for a favor!"

The coachman took out a letter from his pocket: "Miss, you want to ask about the young master, right? I brought you a letter from him."

Qiaoqiao quickly opened the letter and saw that it was written in Lin Chuqi's handwriting. In just a few strokes, he wrote about staying by Lord Kui's side as a staff member. She asked, "Brother Dou, are staff members paid? Chuqi doesn't have any money."

The coachman smiled and said, "My young lady values ​​the young master very much, so you don't need to worry about that."

Qiaoqiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After seeing the driver off, Cheng Mao slowly woke up. The old doctor took his pulse and said that he was fine and could rest on his own.