Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

Everything was ready, and Su Qin quietly left with Mr. Zeng and Aunt Zhang. On the day of departure, Zhao Liangchen was afraid that he would not be able to control his desire to keep Su Qin, so he did not go. He used the excuse that King Liang asked him to train the troops, and took his men to hide in the mountains behind the imperial army camp.

Qi Lusheng did go and see them off to the place where they would meet up with the caravan. Looking at the team ready to go, his eyes were full of envy. He said to Su Qin sourly, "Miss Su, it's really inconvenient for a girl like you to travel such a long distance. How about I go in your place, and you stay in Beijing to handle the auction matters?"

Qi Lusheng had said this to her countless times, and Su Qin's ears were callused. At first she refused and tried to dissuade him, but now she was too lazy to speak up, and someone would speak for her.

As expected, as soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped in the face by the wife of Marquis Wuning who came to see him off. "You little bastard, your elder brother is away from home and your father and I can't see him. If you go to a place so far away that we don't even know where he is, do you want us to worry to death?"

The wife of Marquis Wuning is usually very gentle, but when she is angry, the intimidation in her eyes is still quite intimidating.

Qi Lusheng shrank his neck and murmured timidly, "Then why don't you let big brother come back to accompany you?"

The wife of Marquis Wuning glared at him and said, "You still dare to talk."

Qi Lusheng shut up completely.

The wife of the Marquis of Wuning took a large bundle from the maid and handed it to Su Qin, saying softly, "Child, these contain long-lasting pastries. Take them with you on the road. Don't be wronged when you are away from home. Spend money where it is necessary. Don't force yourself. Don't force yourself when you encounter difficulties. Come back when you can't bear it anymore. Although our Marquis of Wuning Mansion may not be very capable, we can still protect you, a little girl."

Su Qin's mother died early, and she was not close to Mrs. Su when she came here, so she had not felt maternal love for a long time.

Wu Ninghou's parting words made Su Qin feel like a mother giving her daughter instructions before leaving. Her eyes reddened and she choked up, "Madam, you must take care of yourself too."

Seeing her red eyes, the wife of Marquis Wuning felt very distressed. She raised her hand and touched Su Qin's face: "Silly child, I always wonder why a girl like you has to be so strong. You have to take on everything by yourself and consider everything. Why don't you find someone to rely on like other girls? But sometimes I envy you for being so independent and strong. You have done things that all of us women dare not do. I hope you succeed, so that women like us who have been locked up in the backyard for a lifetime will know that there is another way for women to live.

Go ahead, be yourself boldly, the Marquisate will be your backing."

Even someone as strong as Su Qin couldn't help but burst into tears when she heard these words. She felt that she was lucky because everyone she met since she came here treated her sincerely.

The mother and son of the Marquis of Wuning, Su Qin and their carriage headed west, getting farther and farther away from the capital. Su Qin leaned out of the window and looked at the gradually disappearing figures, feeling very emotional. When she came here last summer, she thought she might stay here for the rest of her life, but now, in less than a year, she is about to leave. Although she may come back in the future, this will never be her home.

A team of more than a thousand people would be too conspicuous and would cause unnecessary trouble, so the entire caravan was divided into more than a dozen small caravans that set out one after another. There were scouts ahead, and when Su Qin arrived, everything had been arranged, so Su Qin did not suffer too much along the way.

The only uncomfortable thing was that I had to sit in the carriage until my body was about to fall apart, and there was also an annoying follower following me.

Five days after the team set out, another team followed behind. At first, Su Qin didn't pay much attention to it. This road was originally a trade route, so there were many merchants on the road, but this team always followed them not too far away.

When they walked, the other walked; when they stopped, the other stopped too; they even chose to stay in the same place. They followed each other like this for several days.

Su Qin was a very vigilant person. She was afraid that the people following her were from King Liang's men, so she sent someone to secretly inquire. The person who went to inquire came back and said that the people following her were from the Duke of Lu's Mansion, and the leader was Qiao Haomin. They did not deliberately conceal their identities, as if they were eager for others to know who he was.

Su Qin was a little surprised that the Duke of Lu's Mansion was temporarily considered an ally to them. The situation in Shangjing City was tense, so why didn't Qiao Haomin stay to help and follow her?

Puzzled, Mr. Zeng suggested, "Let me go ask."

Su Qin thought for a moment and said, "Let's go together."

She always has to know the other party's purpose in order to be prepared.

At this time, they were living in an inn in a county town. The inn was very small and there were not many empty rooms. Su Qin's room was not far from Qiao Haomin's.

She and Mr. Zeng took several girls who were responsible for protecting her to Qiao Haomin's room.

As soon as the door opened, Qiao Haomin smiled and said, as if he had been waiting for them for a long time, "Mr. Zeng, what a coincidence! How come I run into you here?"

Because Qiao Haomin was lustful, Su Qin had a bad impression of him. She didn't want to waste time on polite conversation with Qiao Haomin, so she asked directly, "Why did Mr. Qiao follow us?"

Qiao Haomin raised his handsome eyebrows and asked lightly, "Who said I should follow you? This road is right here. You can go, but I can't?"

Su Qin: "Then where is Mr. Qiao going?"

Qiao Haomin shrugged and spread his hands: "I don't know either. I just felt bored staying at home so I went out for a walk. Wherever I went, I went."

Su Qin had often seen this kind of rogue-like character before, so she didn't get angry. She nodded and said, "Then I wish you a pleasant journey."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and left with Zeng Lao. Qiao Haomin was startled, then said, "Hey, don't go. I'm bored. We've met old friends in a foreign land. Let's chat."

Su Qin said without even turning her head: "It's inconvenient."

Qiao Haomin looked at her from behind, curled his lips and smiled softly, saying, "It's okay, there's a long way to go, there's plenty of time to talk later."

Back in Zeng Lao's room, Zeng Lao asked curiously, "Aren't you going to ask him anymore?"

Su Qin shook her head: "Don't ask. The more you ask, the less he will say. It will only keep him hanging and make you entangled with him."

Mr. Zeng: "Then what should we do? Just let him follow us like this? Who knows what bad ideas he has in mind."

If it were anyone else, Mr. Zeng wouldn't be worried, but this Qiao Haomin was a notorious lecher, and Mr. Zeng was afraid that he had bad intentions towards Su Qin.

Su Qin pondered for a moment and said, "No matter what the reason is, we can't let him follow us. Grandpa, let's go our separate ways this time."

Zeng Lao came out because he felt at ease following Su Qin. He was not happy about being asked to leave separately. "Why?"

Su Qin patiently explained to him: "Grandpa, I'm sure this Mr. Qiao has never seen me. He is not the kind of person who is studious and willing to make friends with a great scholar like you, so he has no reason to follow us. He probably follows us because he knows what we are doing. Maybe the Duke of Lu is jealous of the Marquis of Wuning and wants to get involved.

Although the trade routes to foreign countries are well known, we came out this time not only for trade. The most important thing is that I want to find a place to settle down. Regardless of whether the Duke of Lu wants to participate in our business, I don’t want him to know what I am going to do specifically, so I must avoid him.

We're going our separate ways so you can distract him. Only by distracting him can I have a chance to rush forward and meet the person ahead. Then I'll find a way to change the route and send someone to pick you up after I've re-planned it."