Marrying the Crown Prince

"Yes, I will find a way to handle it," Huo Cheng replied.

Li Zixiao gave a soft "hmm" in response.

After finishing their business, it was getting late. Huo Cheng crossed his arms, sat down in a chair, and rested against the wall. Li Zixiao also lay down on the bed. The bed curtains were drawn, and the thick, heavy mosquito net made of coarse linen effectively blocked out light and sight.

Li Zixiao originally thought she would need to recuperate in this small mountain village for a while, but who knew that the day after Huo Cheng confirmed that her body had recovered, she somehow managed to get an oxcart.

Grandpa Ma, driving an oxcart, stopped at the gate of Wang Da's courtyard with a kind face.

"Oh dear." Upon hearing the noise, Madam Rong stopped her needlework, leaned over to look, and exclaimed in surprise when she saw who it was.

She put down what she was holding, stood up, and said, "Oh, Uncle Ma, what brings you here?"

Seeing this, Li Zixiao also stood up.

Grandpa Ma was tanned dark, and when he smiled, his face became all wrinkled. "Mr. Wang, I've come to pick up your guest."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man jumped down from the oxcart—it was Huo Cheng.

It turned out that he was being obscured by the bundles and baskets of things on the oxcart.

Rong Niangzi looked at the group of people, then at Li Zixiao, her expression somewhat disappointed. "Oh dear, I didn't know you were leaving soon. I didn't even prepare any provisions for you."

Li Zixiao was also a little embarrassed, after all, she didn't know she would be leaving so soon.

Fortunately, Huo Cheng stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Sister-in-law, it was my fault."

Grandpa Ma felt a toothache when he saw this, and quickly shouted, "Alright, alright, it's just that this old man wanted to go to town, and I just happened to run into this young man."

"I remember that the couple originally went to the town to look for their relatives, so I asked them a question out of curiosity."

"Isn't it all just a coincidence?"

It was indeed a lucky coincidence. If Li Zixiao and the other two hadn't gone with them this time, who knows how many days they would have to wait for someone to go to town next time.

"Yes, I know." Although Madam Rong was reluctant, she was still sensible. She hurriedly told Li Zixiao and Huo Cheng to pack their luggage, and she went to the house to rummage around and brought out a few flatbreads and a pot of water.

Li Zixiao and Huo Cheng went inside. Neither of them had much to pack, since they had come empty-handed. What could they possibly take with them?

However, the clothes I've changed into these past few days, as well as the clothes I wore at the beginning.

Li Zixiao reached into her sleeve and pulled out a pocket sewn inside, containing a few thin gold and silver leaves.

In this area, not to mention gold, even silver is rarely in circulation; everything is in copper coins.

So, Li Zixiao thought for a moment and placed five silver leaves on the table.

By the time Rong Niangzi and Wang Da discovered the items on the table, they had already traveled a long way in an oxcart.

Rong Niangzi and Wang Da exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"Goodness, could Lady Shun and the others be some important figures?"

From Li Zixiao and Huo Cheng's conversation, they could indeed tell that both of them came from wealthy families.

But how wealthy must one be to carry such exquisite jewelry around?

Madam Rong was the first to recover. She took out a red cloth, wrapped the items in it, and said, "These are all ill-gotten gains; we can't use them recklessly."

Wang Da, an honest farmer who had lived an honest life for most of his life, was not greedy. He nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, I know."

As for Li Zixiao, the oxcart couldn't just carry the two of them. Instead, it circled around from the east of the village to the west, carrying five or six farmers who were going to town.

Everyone gave Grandpa Ma two copper coins as travel expenses.

As more people boarded, the seats became increasingly crowded.

With a jolt, Li Zixiao almost fell off the oxcart.

Huo Cheng's hands moved faster than his brain; he grabbed her and then quickly let go, as if she were some kind of ferocious beast.

Everything happened so fast that Li Zixiao hadn't even had time to react before his hand was flung away.

Li Zixiao: "..."

Huo Cheng turned his head away, not looking at her.

The older woman next to them saw this and chuckled, "Oh, the young couple are still shy?"

Li Zixiao raised her face with a smile, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, my husband is just too shy."

Upon hearing Li Zixiao's words, everyone in the car burst into laughter.

The oxcart moved slowly and swayed along amidst laughter and cheerful chatter.

Finally, around 1:00 PM, they arrived in town.

Li Zixiao and Huo Cheng jumped off the oxcart and said goodbye to the others.

"Don't worry if you can't find your relatives right away." Grandpa Ma thought they were anxious, so he comforted them, "Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), I'll be at the city gate. If you two don't have a place to stay then, come back to the village with us."

"Yes, yes, it's alright," everyone said enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, Uncle and Aunt, I understand," Li Zixiao replied.

After speaking, she and Huo Cheng bowed together as a way of thanking them for their care and companionship along the way.

This small town wasn't luxurious; it had a market, but it wasn't very big, and at least it didn't sell the mules or anything like that Li Zixiao wanted, let alone horses.

Of course, that's not the most urgent thing right now; we should find a place to rest for a while.

I rode in an oxcart for several hours, keeping my back straight the whole time, while the sun beat down on me relentlessly.

Li Zixiao felt extremely dizzy and lightheaded.

So the two of them went to the inn.

Li Zixiao only had gold and silver leaves, which weren't considered common currency; while Huo Cheng, having emptied his pockets, didn't have much silver either.

To save money, they only booked one room.

While Li Zixiao was resting, Huo Cheng was not idle; instead, he went around inquiring.

By the time the sun had set, Li Zixiao had regained her energy and had also found out what Huo Cheng wanted to know.

"You have to go west to get to the county," Huo Cheng said. "But this place is not like a village; there are no oxcarts for people to ride in, so you have to walk."

“People from the town who are going to the county will set off at dawn. They will gather at the city gate early in the morning and follow the caravan of Baixilou.”

"Baixilou is a general store in town. They go to the county to buy goods every ten days. Follow them, firstly because they are familiar with the road, and secondly because there are many people, so they can take care of each other."

At this point, Huo Cheng paused, as if waiting for Li Zixiao to ask a question.

Li Zixiao lived up to his expectations and asked, "How long will it take to get to the county town?"

"Three or four hours."

It's not actually that far, but it's definitely not close either.

Li Zixiao sighed silently, "Okay, I got it."

what else can we do?

Why am I so unlucky?

Seeing that she accepted, Huo Cheng lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, and bowed, "Then this subordinate will go and prepare the provisions."

“Yes,” Li Zixiao replied, “Thank you for your trouble, General.”

She genuinely felt that Huo Cheng was a reliable person, so Li Zixiao planned that the first thing she would do after successfully returning to camp was to reward him with silver and an official position.

This kind of talent should be put to good use.