Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Upon hearing that the emperor had passed away, Luo Yu touched his chin and quickly left the government office.

It seems that the matter of the travel permit will have to be put aside for now. Qin Luoqi returned to the inn and thought that since she had nothing to do, she might as well go to the furniture store tomorrow to promote her sliding door wardrobe. She wondered if Zhao Laosan would give her some money.

The next day, however, the city suspended commercial entertainment for a day of mourning. It was a perfect opportunity, as they didn't need to hang funeral banners anymore and could continue to use those of the deceased Qin Luosheng.

Luo Yu thought to himself that this rule was really troublesome. Not allowing entertainment was understandable, but prohibiting all buying and selling. What if someone didn't buy rice or vegetables the day before? Would they have to go hungry on the day of mourning?

Fortunately, the mourning period was only one day. When Luo Yu returned to the inn, he saw the innkeeper sitting behind the counter, fiddling with his abacus beads out of boredom. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Innkeeper, since you can't do business today, doesn't that mean outsiders can't stay in the city?"

The older shopkeeper replied seriously, "It's only been a day, alright. I guess it was a notice from the higher-ups to the lower officials. When the previous emperor passed away, the entire city was in mourning for seven days, and no business was allowed."

"Such an exaggeration."

Luo Yu wanted to end the conversation, but the shopkeeper pulled her aside and continued nagging: "I don't know who the new emperor will be. Last year, I heard that there was internal strife in the palace and the emperor was critically ill. I guess this battle for the throne has lasted so long without any major incidents, so there should be a result."

Luo Yu thought to himself, yes, without this girl's sacrifice, I'm afraid these forces would fight to the death. If the troops controlled by the Murong family appeared near the capital, they would probably take the opportunity to rebel.

After exchanging a few perfunctory words with the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper, seeing that there was no one around, started talking about the rumors he had heard.

"I heard that the chances of the little prince born to the Queen inheriting the throne are very small. Who is the new regent? He is the Queen Mother's favorite youngest son, His Royal Highness Prince Ning.

I think it was he who had Miss Luo Hong taken away from our Wangzhou. Later, I heard that he also went to the southwestern mountainous area. The rumor that a divine dragon was descending to the world and the ruler of heaven was about to change was spread by Prince Ning's people. Prince Ning took the opportunity to obey the will of heaven and easily convince the people of the world.

There are so many strange and bizarre things going on in this palace. His Royal Highness Prince Ning must have taken a fancy to Miss Luo's abilities, and then brought her to the capital and trapped her in the trap within the palace walls, where she was killed by him."

Luo Yu had to admire the person who spread the rumor. It sounded a bit like Lord Li's style.

"Where did you hear this?"

"Many people in Wangzhou City are saying that our Wangzhou Army is now very famous in the northwest. That Ah Tian followed Miss Qin and became the Grand Lieutenant General. His letters have been sent back several times. Our entire Wangzhou is under the control of Miss Luo Yu and Miss Qin. If the story of Miss Luo Yu's murder is true, I think Miss Qin will lead the troops to resist."

Luo Yu held his forehead and reminded him softly: "Don't say that carelessly."

"Alas, the young lady is obviously from another place. I wonder how much affection Miss Qin and Miss Luo Hong have for our land. To be honest, when I heard that those disaster victims went to the capital to seek refuge with Miss Qin, I wished I could follow them, but unfortunately, I am old and have a large family to support. Miss Qin is so brave. She led a group of men to fight in the northwest and conquered the nomadic peoples. I heard that the late emperor even gave her full military authority. So, Miss Luo Hong and her group's power is growing, which must threaten the interests of certain people in the court. Naturally, some people want to secretly kill the young lady."

"Well, you have a point."

It seems that there is someone in Wangzhou City who spreads rumors at will. Is he trying to anger the people, especially to make the Wangzhou army far away in the northwest resist?

When Luo Yu returned to her room to rest, she passed by the guest room next door and saw the occupants quickly close the door, as if they were afraid to leave. Puzzled, Luo Yu returned to her room to finish packing her backpack.

At noon, the waiter delivered the food on time again. This time, all the dishes were vegetarian, without any meat dishes.

Luo Yu had no appetite either. She had been trying to lose weight recently and felt uncomfortable even seeing food. She only asked the waiter to make her a bowl of vegetable porridge and refused everything else. The waiter agreed.

As she closed the door, she muttered quietly, "Two hundred wen buys three meals a day. Except for today, there's meat every day. It's really a good deal."

A day later, she went to wander in front of the government office again. This time, she didn't need to look for Lord Li. Instead, a bailiff recognized her and said that she had been sneaking around nearby for several days, so he wanted to take her to see Lord Li.

Luo Yu was stunned. It seemed like this was possible.

When Lord Li saw her, he didn't have any doubts. He just asked her casually: "Did you come to the government office these days because you wanted to see me?"

Luo Yu bowed and saluted, saying, "My daughter, Su Xiaoxiao, is from Qianzhou. I ran away because my family wanted to marry me off to a man in his sixties."

After hearing this, Lord Li became interested instantly. This woman was truly unique, and was so similar to Miss Qin and Miss Luo Yu at that time.

"Although marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmakers' words, it's really unreasonable for a young girl to be betrothed to a man in his sixties."

"Su Xiaoxiao heard that the governor of Wangzhou is a good official who serves the country and the people, so I came to Wangzhou specifically to ask Lord Li to help me get a travel permit. I want to take the travel permit to the northwest to join Qin Bingrui and Miss Qin."

Lord Li's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Do you know Miss Qin and the others?" He paused slightly, feeling something was not right. "But as a woman, you're going to join Miss Qin and the others. I'm afraid the journey will be filled with dangers."

"I have kung fu and great strength." Luo Yu took out the note that he had kept in his pocket for several days. "This is the note that the two young ladies left for me when I met them once before. They said that if I go to them in the future, they will definitely accept me. I hope Lord Li will take a look at it."

Lord Li asked someone to take the note and took a closer look. It was indeed Miss Luo Qie's handwriting. He had seen the girl's handwriting countless times when he was building river embankments and terraces, so he could recognize it at a glance.

Lord Li's hands trembled with excitement. The girl Miss Luo Yu had chosen must be quite good. He was both thrilled and deeply saddened, believing the girl must still be unaware of her passing, having been secretly brought the news by an old friend in the capital. Upon hearing the tragic news, Lord Li was so shocked that tears welled up in his eyes. It took him several days to recover, and only then did he order every household in Wangzhou to hang mourning banners in remembrance of this great benefactor of Wangzhou City.

"Miss Su Xiaoxiao, I will try to get you a special travel permit. However, it will be very difficult for a woman like you to travel to the Northwest, so you must be mentally prepared. Besides, Miss Luo Yu has passed away, so I'm afraid there won't be anyone particularly reliable for you to turn to. Miss Qin led an army in battle, so you don't really want to go to the battlefield, do you?"

"I heard about Miss Luo's story as soon as I entered Wangzhou City." Qin Luo's tears suddenly fell, thinking about the whole play. He wiped them away roughly and continued, "Inspired by the lady, I am determined to go to the northwest to do something. Besides, I have read a lot of books and know a lot. Perhaps I can be a good helper to Miss Qin."

"Okay, okay, Su Xiaoxiao is also a good girl. She will definitely do something great and leave her name in history."

Lord Li wanted to pull out his little daughter and let her see these upright women, who also had ideals and ambitions and lived a brilliant life.

After seeing Miss Luo Yu off, Lord Li sat in the front hall for a long time without coming back to his senses.

"Master Li, are you sure the handwriting just now is Miss Luo Yu's?"

Li Wenzhe turned around and saw Master Murong walking out from behind the screen. He smiled helplessly and said, "How could I have misread Miss Luo's handwriting? It's just that Miss Su Xiaoxiao has to take the note to the Northwest for Miss Qin to review. Otherwise, I will withhold this handwriting for you to see."

"Thank you, Lord Li. Murong Huai will take his leave now."

Lord Li was baffled. This man came and went as he pleased. Could he be investigating Su Xiaoxiao? Miss Luo's death seemed to have deeply affected him. This man had even refused to take up his position at the imperial court. What was he doing hanging around in Wangzhou City all day? Alas, it was too lazy to bother. Lord Li wiped away the tears that welled up in his eyes. He had to revisit the various counties. The people's true needs couldn't be figured out by sitting around doing nothing.