Noticing the other person's gaze, Xiao Li turned around and looked over there, looking into his eyes calmly.

The servant was only sixteen or seventeen years old, and had already panicked because he couldn't find anyone. Now he suspected others without any evidence...

Under the other person's calm gaze, he slowly lowered his head, as if accepting his fate.

Xiao Li didn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, especially since the other party had once followed that young master and helped him to do evil, so it was not really clear that he was innocent.

However, the other party reminded him yesterday. Even though he had known it for a long time, he still sent him away when he was about to take action, leaving him with a chance to explain himself. As for whether he could clear his suspicion and get forgiveness from the master, that had nothing to do with him.

Retracting his gaze, he asked everyone, "Is everything packed?"

"Okay, okay, sir, let's set off now?" Niu Dahe held the reins and waited for his order to set off.

Shen Congzhou also nodded, but said nothing.

"Let's go." As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Li gently flicked the reins and drove the carriage towards the city.

To go to Liangzhou City, they have to pass through many towns along the way. If it is at night, they will go into the city to find an inn or rent a house from local people. If it is during the day, they will not stay too long. They will leave immediately after replenishing the necessary things.

They have to buy necessities like water from others, otherwise they may not be able to find anyone selling water in the wilderness.

Lu Yuan woke up after the carriage left the city. Lin Qing was sitting beside him sewing clothes for the children. Seeing him wake up, she gave him a helpless look and said, "You, you really have been spoiled by Xiao Si and become a lazy boy!"

"Little Daddy, you're laughing at me again!" Lu Yuan went over and hugged him, rubbing against him. "That's only possible if he's willing to pamper me!"

Xiao Si is her man. If he doesn’t pamper herself, who else can he pamper?

Oh, I can also pamper Baoger, but compared to me, Baoger is nothing.

Lin Qing watched him change little by little. He was a little uncomfortable at first, but now he gradually became confident and righteous. All of this was caused by Xiao Si's pampering.

But these two people just kept doing what they wanted. Even if he wanted to remind them, they always found a way to talk back. Over time, he became too lazy to say anything to them.

In the final analysis, it is the same old saying, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. The worst that can happen is that they will end up relying on each other as father and son again. It won't be any harder than when they were in the Lu family.

He patted the boy's head and pointed to the place where Xiao Li had specifically instructed him to put the food box. "The food Xiao Si prepared for you should still be hot. Eat it quickly."

"I haven't brushed my teeth or washed my face yet..." Lu Yuan looked reluctant, but after he said that, he realized that there seemed to be a mint taste in his mouth.

He smacked his lips, realizing it wasn't an illusion. His eyes lit up, and he opened the door a little to look outside. "Xiao Si, are you brushing my teeth for me?"

Xiao Li tilted his head to glance at him, and seeing the young man's cheerful look, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, "Well, not only did you brush Yuan'er's teeth, you also washed her face."

Upon hearing this, the boy's face turned a little red, but his face was already white and rosy after waking up, so it was not very noticeable. Only Xiao Li, who had sharp eyes, noticed it.

"Oh, I, I'm going to have breakfast." After saying that, Lu Yuan closed the door of the carriage directly, turned his head and met his little daddy's mocking gaze. He wrinkled his nose, hugged his arm and acted coquettishly, "Little daddy, why are you laughing at me again? I am your only precious son, you can't laugh at me, okay?" He also has some shame, okay!

"Don't give me that shit, your little daddy is not Xiao Si," Lin Qing poked his forehead unhappily and pushed him away, "Hurry up and eat your breakfast, or lunch will be here soon."

Before he moved into the Xiao family, he only had two meals a day, morning and evening. After coming to the Xiao family, he gradually got used to three meals a day with them.

However, we were in a hurry on the road yesterday, so we had dry food for lunch, which we ate in the carriage.

"Hmph, little daddy doesn't love me anymore!" Lu Yuan muttered softly as he went to find the food box.

The carriage was not small, but not very big either. Even if he was muttering in a low voice, Lin Qing could hear it.

"Don't I love you?" Lin Qing shook his head and sighed, "You're the one I love the most in the world. Now you're really spoiled and can't stand even the slightest bit of grievance."

Lu Yuan snorted softly and said nothing, thinking to herself: I am not spoiled. I have always been so obedient and sensible. It is obvious that my little daddy is becoming more and more strict with me.

The father and son were chatting and joking in the carriage. Outside the carriage, Xiao Li curled his lips slightly and didn't feel anything while driving in the cold wind.

There were three carriages, and the one they were in was in the front today, followed closely by Niu Dahe, then the ox cart pulling the luggage, and finally Shen Congzhou, who was responsible for cutting off the tail.

The further you walk, the more people you meet, most of them are students going to take exams.

Their group looked similar to other groups of three or five, and they did not stand out among them. However, when they saw Xiao Li and Shen Congzhou driving a carriage, they would basically take a second look.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell they were two scholars, but they couldn't figure out whether they were confident or had given up. Otherwise, why didn't they let their family drive the carriage when they were on the road, but instead drove it themselves?

They are different. They ask their family members to drive ox carts or horse carriages. They can continue to review their lessons while on the road, trying to remember more to increase their chances of passing the exam.

Xiao Li ignored the gazes of these people and pretended not to see them. He continued on his way when he was supposed to and rested when he was supposed to, without being affected at all.

Seven days later, it was getting dark.

Three horse-drawn carriages and an ox-drawn cart slowly entered Liangzhou City and headed straight for the largest inn in the city.

"Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay overnight?" The waiter came over attentively, looked at everyone for a moment, and decisively asked the tallest-looking man among them.

Xiao Li was leading Lu Yuan out of the carriage. Hearing this, he didn't even turn his head and said, "Stay in the hotel."

"Alright!" The waiter turned around and called two handymen to come over and pull the horse-drawn carriage to the back. "Sir, if you have any valuables, please take them up there first. Otherwise, we won't be able to explain to you if they get lost."

There are people guarding the backyard at night, but some petty thieves are always hard to guard against. In the past, someone pretended to have lost valuables because a thief broke into the inn and wanted the inn to compensate them. In the end, the case was brought to the government office, and the thief was caught and their name was cleared.

Since then, every time someone stays in the hotel and leaves something in the backyard, they will remind them to avoid the same mistake again.

Xiao Li didn't need to say anything about this. Before setting off, everyone had already put their valuables in a separate bag.

As a housekeeper, Niu Dahe was self-aware and took the initiative to communicate with the waiter. In the end, he booked three upper rooms and two lower rooms.

Xiao Li was not the type to be harsh on his own people in such matters. After knowing this, he asked the waiter to change all the rooms to upper rooms.

Seeing that he was so generous and didn't seem short of money, the waiter asked him, "Sir, are you here to take the imperial examination? We have a separate courtyard here. You can pay a little more and cook your own meals. If you don't want to cook, we can deliver them. You can also have someone help keep watch at night."

"Okay." Xiao Li didn't even have to think about it. He nodded and said, "We'll prepare our own meals and have someone guard us at night. We'll stay here for three days first."

When he heard that he would be staying for three days, the waiter's smile widened. "Okay! I'll pick the best courtyard for you right away. I guarantee you'll have a comfortable stay."

The waiter led the way while talking, and also introduced to them the fun places and delicious food in Liangzhou City.

Lu Yuan followed Xiao Li and waved at him. When the man lowered his head slightly, he said, "He must have said this to everyone who came. It's not true."

Speak the truth to real people and lies to ghosts. Xiao Si taught him this not long ago. Just listen to what people outside say and don't take it seriously.

As a student, he undoubtedly took what the teacher said to heart.

Xiao Li was also generous in praising this, "Yuan'er is really smart, she knew it the moment she heard it."

"Of course!" The boy raised his chin slightly, his tone somewhat arrogant, "You taught me."

Whether it's reading or what he teaches me, I remember it all very well!

"Yuan'er is so amazing." Xiao Li held his hand and looked at him with a smile in his eyes.

Soon, the waiter led them to a quiet courtyard. "This is it. In previous years, most of the people who stayed here were scholars taking imperial examinations, or wealthy families visiting. This is the quietest place, and no one will disturb us easily."

Seeing Xiao Li talking to Lu Yuan, Niu Dahe gave a handful of copper coins to the waiter and said, "Thank you, brother. My young master has been exhausted from the journey and needs to rest first. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

"Okay," the waiter took the tip and left with a smile.

The yard is very big and there are many houses. Even if each person has one, there are still some rooms left. Everyone picked out the ones they liked and went back to the house to put their things away.

Inside the house, Lu Yuan looked around curiously, and finally said, "It's not even as good as our house!"

Hearing this, Xiao Li gently stroked his hair and said, "Our house used to belong to the old beggar, how could it be bad? If we compare it to our house, we'd have to go to the houses of those nobles and dignitaries to have a look."

"Ah? What is begging for bones?" Old man Lu Yuan knew, but he really didn't understand begging for bones.

Xiao Li explained to him, "It means that officials retire and return to their hometown to enjoy their remaining years."

Lu Yuan understood what was said. He nodded and sighed, "It's so good to be an official!"

He glanced at Xiao Li and asked tentatively, "Wait a few years, will you continue to take the imperial examination?"

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