In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

In November, after a two-week voyage, Han Zhi and Su Zhen disembarked at Jiangling and then traveled by land for a month.

Winter had already begun to set in outside, and Han Zhi and Su Zhen had put on some thicker clothes. Su Zhen's initial motion sickness had gradually subsided after a month of traveling.

However, she hadn't fully adapted yet. She took some medicine at noon today and then fell asleep again in the carriage, in Han Zhi's arms.

"My lord! My wife! We've arrived."

Yueping's voice came from outside, and then the car curtain was pulled open, and a figure crawled in.

It was Yueping. She sat down opposite Han Zhi and said happily, "My lord, we're almost at the capital. We're finally here."

Han Zhi first gestured for her to be quiet, then lowered his head and gently shook Su Zhen in his arms. He then whispered:

"Ba Niang? Ba Niang?"

"Hmm..."

Su Zhen stirred in Han Zhi's arms, hummed twice, and then opened her eyes: "My lord, what's wrong?"

Han Zhi helped her up with a look of doting affection and said, "We've arrived."

"Have we arrived? Have we reached the capital?" Su Zhen helped Han Zhi sit up from his arms.

However, the feeling after taking the medicine still made her dizzy, and she gently rubbed her head. Yueping, on the other hand, was the first to pull back the curtain, letting her look outside.

Sure enough, directly in front of him stood a towering city wall. Above the city gate were two large characters:

Bianjing (Kaifeng)

Looking out from the city gate, there were two long lines of people. A significant portion of them were scholars carrying book boxes, who appeared to be students going to the capital to take the imperial examinations.

"Yueping, take out the customs clearance documents and the official's certificate of passing the imperial examination from your bundle. We'll need them to cross the border later."

"Yes, ma'am."

Han Zhi held Su Zhen in his arms, gently lifted the carriage curtain, and looked ahead with great curiosity.

Outside Bianjing, people came and went, and the city gates were bustling with noise as long queues formed, waiting to enter the city. The soldiers guarding the city carefully checked each person entering, and the long lines of people patiently waited.

Han Zhi carried Su Zhen down from the carriage, with Yue Ping following behind carrying the documents. Su Zhen was still a little dizzy and leaned against Han Zhi. People around them cast curious glances, but Han Zhi didn't care; his eyes were only on Su Zhen.

As they slowly approached the checkpoint, the gates of Bianjing were within reach, and the city's aromas wafted out: the fragrance of food, the scent of incense, and the pungent smell of livestock.

Su Zhen frowned slightly; she didn't like the mixed smells and could only cover her nose with her small, pale hand. Seeing this, Han Zhi lowered his head and gently kissed her cheek, asking:

"What's wrong? Feeling nauseous again?"

Su Zhen shook his head slightly and said, "No, it's just that the smell is a bit mixed and unpleasant to smell, but it should be fine after we go inside."

Han Zhi nodded, gently supporting her and not letting her leave his side.

Finally, it was their turn to enter the city. The soldiers stopped them and gestured for them to show their documents. Yueping stood aside and handed over various documents—besides those of her two masters, even each of the maids who accompanied her had her own household registration certificate and documents.

After checking the documents, the soldiers let them in.

Upon entering Bianjing, Han Zhi led Su Zhen slowly, partly to help her alleviate her dizziness, and partly to see what the legendary capital city looked like.

Su Zhen looked around curiously: shops lined both sides of the street, and various vendors' cries rose and fell. In the distance, on the other side of the street, vendors loudly hawked their wares, and teahouses and taverns were bustling with customers.

"Is Ba Niang hungry? Shall we go get something to eat first?" Han Zhi asked, looking at the shops around them.

"No need. I'm still feeling a bit unwell, and even if I wanted to eat, I probably wouldn't be able to eat anything."

Su Zhen coughed lightly twice, and just then the two of them heard a voice from the side: "Kind people, please have mercy."

This immediately drew their attention to a man in tattered clothes, with a woman in equally tattered clothes lying behind him.

"Kind-hearted people, please give me some food. My wife and child are starving to death. Please, kind people, have mercy on my wife and child."

Su Zhen and Han Zhi frowned upon hearing his words—because behind him stood only a woman. But they quickly understood, their eyes simultaneously turning to the woman's stomach.

"Officer."

Han Zhi, who did not control the household finances, received a signal from Su Zhen and took two pieces of loose silver from his pocket, placing them in Yue Ping's hand. He said:

"Yueping, go and buy some steamed buns and water."

Upon receiving the order, Yueping went to the nearest steamed bun shop and bought the items.

"Yueping, wait a minute..."

Just as he was about to put the large bag of buns on the ground, Han Zhi called out to him, and just then someone threw a few copper coins into the bowl.

"Thank you so much, kind person! May you live a long and healthy life!"

Han Zhi's attention was immediately drawn to him, and he noticed an old man standing beside him. The old man had fair skin and a kind expression on his face.

He stroked his beard, smiled at Han Zhi, and was about to speak when he heard Han Zhi say again, "No need to give it all at once, give her two steamed buns and water first, to solve that woman's immediate problem."

"If we give them all away at once, I'm afraid someone else will snatch them away later."

"Yes, my lord."

"Thank you so much, thank you so much." The man kowtowed repeatedly, then turned around and fed some to the woman behind him.

Han Zhi then handed Su Zhen to Yue Ping for support, and squatted down to ask, "Do you want the rest of the steamed buns? Or do you want to be able to eat steamed buns, or something even better than steamed buns, from now on?"

"It's not for you, it's for your wife and children. What would you choose?"

"Yes! I'm willing!" The man became even more excited and crawled back to Han Zhi, intending to kowtow.

Han Zhi didn't care how dirty he was, he reached out and pulled him up, saying, "Don't kowtow, don't kowtow, if you dare to kowtow I won't tell you anything!"

The man stopped abruptly and listened as Han Zhi said, "We've just arrived in the capital and we need a coachman. If you know the roads in the capital, you can be my coachman from now on."

"Our family will provide you with food, drink, and money; in return, you'll pull my rickshaw, how about it?"

The man nodded quickly and said, "I'm willing, I'm willing."

Han Zhi then took out another piece of silver and placed it in Yueping's hand, saying, "Yueping, take the two of them to a place where they can have a good wash."

"Yes."

Watching Yueping put down the steamed buns and lead the two away, Han Zhi subconsciously helped Su Zhen up, casually wiping his hands on his clothes, when he heard the old man speak:

“This young man does have some kindness. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish, but this way you can save one or two people, but you can’t save a whole group or a whole bunch.”

Han Zhi shrugged and said, "I can only help one, but helping a whole group is the government's job, isn't it? Besides, it's more important to save his unborn child than to save just one."

"But how do you know that the child is his?" the old man suddenly asked, his smile unchanged.

"At the brink of life and death, either the child is truly his, or the child's father saved the man's life by a great deal. Otherwise, there is no reason for him to save this unborn child."

The old man reiterated, "What if we really want to examine him?"

This displeased Su Zhen somewhat, but due to his status, he remained silent. Han Zhi also felt something was amiss, so he asked:

"May I ask who you are, sir?"

The old man smiled, raised his hand in a gesture of respect, and said:

"My surname is Bao, and my given name is Zheng."