Chapter 299 : Leaving The Capital (3)

Everything was packed, and the day of departure was already set. Two days before departure, Yuchen went back to the Han residence.

Yuxi looked at Yuchen, who was looking even more radiant in her palace dress, and asked with a smile, “San Jie is here to see me off?”

Yuchen waved her hand, and all the people who had followed her withdrew from the room. Yuxi gave a slight nod towards Zijin, who took Yuxi’s other maids and retreated. There were only two sisters left in the room.

Yuchen said, “Meimei, I don’t know when I will see you again after this trip of yours. I can’t come tomorrow to say my farewell, so I came over today to personally talk to Meimei.”

Yuxi smiled and said, “San Jie is being considerate.” She just didn’t know what Yuchen had to say to her and hoped it wasn’t to tell her not to hold a grudge against Song Guifei.

Yuchen sighed softly and said, “Yuxi, I’m sorry for what happened this time. If I had known that Fu Huang would grant a marriage between you and Yun Qing, I would have asked Wangye to advise him.” These words were not an excuse. The sanctioning marriage decree had been given too suddenly, without any sign at all. If not, Yuchen would have asked Jing Wang to convince the Emperor.

Yuxi smilingly responded, “The Imperial Decree has already been issued. What’s the use of talking about this now?” It was all nonsense to talk to her about this now.

Yuchen froze for a few seconds, Yuxi had always spoken courteously with her, but today these words from her seemed a bit impolite. Holding down the strange feeling in her heart, Yuchen continued, “Yuxi, I know you are upset. I also feel really bad about this.”

The smile on Yuxi’s face remained unchanged as she chuckled, “San Jie, San Jie doesn’t need to feel bad for me. It’s my fate. It’s all my fault for having such a bad fate.” Since they all thought she had a bad fate, she might as well just admit it. It wasn’t like a piece of her flesh would fall off if she did anyway.

When Yuchen heard what Yuxi said, she became even more worried instead of relieved. Yuxi could still smile and say that she had a terrible fate. It was clear that she hated this matter to her bones. However, Yuchen also knew that if she advised Yuxi not to encourage Yun Qing to rebel, she estimated that Yuxi would flip out by now. Yuchen smiled slowly and said, “Yuxi, some of the things Guifei did were very excessive. But there are many innocent people, and you should not implicate them because of your grudge against Guifei.” Momo Gui’s fear that Yuxi would rebel was too much of a stretch, but there was one thing that Yuchen had to admit. Yuxi only learnt about these three principles and five virtues just to add to her knowledge. She wouldn’t even take them to her heart at all.

Yuxi broke into laughter. “Is San Jie worried that I will implicate the innocent while taking my revenge on Guifei Niangniang? San Jie thinks too highly of me. I’m just a small ant. With just a slight twirl from Guifei Niangniang’s finger, I would breathe out my last breath without even a chance to struggle.” After a pause, Yuxi added with a smile, “As you know, San Jie, I am a person who values my life and will not do anything that is out of my league. Therefore, San Jie’s worry is unnecessary.” She had gotten to know Yuchen so well. It would be too fake to say that she would not take revenge or hold a grudge, so she might as well be honest. She wanted to take revenge but unfortunately couldn’t do so.

Yuxi had made her words so clear that Yuchen had nothing more to say. “Yuxi, when you get to the northwest, if you have any difficulties, you can write to me, and I will never refuse to help with what I can.”

Yuxi nodded with a smile and said, “San Jie, don’t worry. I won’t be polite to you if there’s indeed a problem.” Both of them knew that this was just a polite statement.

This was how the matter came to light. Yuchen taught Yuxi a lot about getting along as a couple, all of which was from her own experience.

Yuxi listened attentively and responded with a smile after hearing her words, “Thank you, San Jie.” Yun Qing and Jing Wang were two very different men, and Yuchen’s ways of getting along as a couple would be of no use to her. But since it was Yuchen’s good intention, she wouldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

After talking for a short while, Yuchen went back. When Yuchen got into the carriage, Momo Gui asked, “What did the Fourth Miss say?”

Yuchen said a little tiredly, “Yuxi said that she would not do something out of her league. There’s no urgency on this matter since Yun Qing hasn’t gained power yet. We’ll see how it goes in the future.” To tell the truth, she felt Momo Gui had somewhat influenced her, making her worried too much about this issue. Even if Yuxi didn’t care about the three principles and five virtues, she would naturally have scruples once she married and had children. To conspire against the state would cause her family to be punished with confiscation of their family’s property and extermination of an entire family. For the sake of her husband and child, Yuxi wouldn’t dare do it.

Momo Gui nodded.

If Yuxi had known what Momo Gui was thinking, she would have found it ridiculous. Instead of worrying about the rebellion and the hardship of the people outside, she was concerned that Yuxi would encourage Yun Qing to rebel, which was kind of a ridiculous thing to do.

The day before they left, a man came from the Lu family, a man named Luo who was the leader of the Lu family’s group of bodyguards to the northwest. This man was probably around forty, with a dark face, calluses on his hands, and a very ordinary look. Just by looking at the man alone, one could not tell the details of his background.

Lu Xiu smiled and took Yuxi’s hand, introducing them to each other, “Yuxi, this is Uncle Luo. Uncle Luo, this is Yuxi.”

Yuxi was startled to hear Lu Xiu call the other person Uncle Luo. However, she reacted quickly and gave a younger generation courtesy towards the other party and called out, “Uncle Luo, this time it’s going to be hard for you.”

In response, Luo Shuigui nodded slightly at sight. Then he acted very neatly and responded quickly, “There is no need to be so polite, Fourth Miss. I am also under the Second Lord’s orders. I heard that the Han residence has also hired armed escorts from an escort agency, so I came here this time mainly to ask you what the rules are.”

Yuxi explained to him her earlier plan. “The armed escorts will take care of everything. The bodyguards from the Lu family will only need to take care of my safety. Of course, if there is anything on the road that needs your help, please give me a hand.” What Yuxi meant was, the armed escorts would be responsible for the outer perimeter, and the Lu family’s bodyguards would take charge of her personal safety.

This arrangement was a good idea, but it would take two to three months to get to the northwest, and there would surely be disputes on the way. Luo Shuigui then asked, “If there is a conflict between us and the armed escorts, who will be the mediator then?” Luo Shuigui had gone through a lot of things. He had also been on the road for a long time, and he had never met any friends. So there would undeniably be disputes on the road.

Yuxi smiled and said, “My Dage has given me a steward called Han Ji. If you have any conflicts, you can go to Han Ji. If he can’t handle it, then you can speak to me.”

Luo Shuigui nodded a little at Yuxi’s words and commented, “It’s good that Miss has such rules.” Hearing this tone of voice from the Fourth Miss, it was clear that she had thought about it for a long time. It was a good plan since the journey would be long and uneventful, and it would be a headache if he came across a master who did not know what he was doing.

After sending him away, Yuxi asked Lu Xiu, “Er Sao, who is this person? Why do you call her Uncle Luo?” Anyone who could make Lu Xiu call her uncle was not an ordinary person.

Lu Xiu smiled as she answered, “Uncle Luo saved my father’s life, so he is different from the others at home. Honestly, I didn’t expect my father to send Uncle Luo to see you off. But with Uncle Luo going along with you, I can be relieved at least half as much.”

Yuxi, however, couldn’t be relieved. She hoped that the rest of the Luo family’s bodyguards would not be as old as this Uncle Luo. It was better to have younger bodyguards. Still, Yuxi only thought about this in her mind, as she did not dare to say it out loud.

Returning to Taoran House, Yuxi said to herself, “If I leave tomorrow, I don’t know how long it will take me to return.” Perhaps she would not be able to come back for the rest of her life.

That evening, Momo Quan waved everyone away and spoke to Yuxi in private.

Yuxi said, “Momo, from now on, you must also take care of yourself, and if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to my mother. I have already told my mother that if you come to her, she will help you.”

Momo Quan smiled and stated, “When Miss leave, I will also go to Red Jujube Village. Later, if the situation is not right, we’ll move back to the capital.” There would still be no problem within a few years. As for saying several years later, they could only talk about it then. Even if there were indeed rebels or refugees in the capital by then, they wouldn’t take out their anger on the ordinary people.

Yuxi said, “Good.” She had previously given Momo Quan a sum of silver for her retirement, but Momo Quan did not accept it. Yuxi didn’t want to force the matter, so she gave the money to Mama Fang and told her to give it to Momo Quan after she had left.

Momo Quan hadn’t said much before, but tonight was an exception. “Miss, you need to be more patient when you get to the northwest and marry General Yun. People like General Yun, who have experienced the destruction of their families, will be warier of others people. That’s why he will be cold at first, and time will reveal a person’s heart. As long as you wholeheartedly treat him good and make him feel your kindness, he will certainly treat you well too.” When she finished, Momo Quan advised softly, “Miss, don’t go believing those rumours outside. You have to believe that you are blessed and blessed in a big way.” With Yun Qing’s ability, he would keep his family safe even in troubled times.

Yuxi smiled, “I will remember these words from Momo.”

Momo Quan pulled out a booklet from her sleeve, with no writing on the cover, and just handed it to Yuxi, saying, “I wrote this book myself. It contains several secret recipes that are not passed down in the Imperial Palace and some recipes for maintenance and toning. It would be best if you kept it safe. You will truly need it in the future.” One of the recipes was on achieving smooth and fair skin like Yuchen. As for the recipes for maintenance and toning, most of them had been worked out by Momo Quan herself.

Yuxi’s eyes lit up and asked, “San Jie has never gained any weight from her pregnancy to her one-month confinement. Is it the effect of these secret recipes?”

Momo Quan nodded her head and said, “More or less! There are many things to pay attention to if you don’t want to gain weight during pregnancy. It’s also written here so that Miss can refer to it later.”

Yuxi was overjoyed. “Thank you, Momo.” Many women got fat after giving birth, and she hoped she would not be one of them. All women loved beauty, and Yuxi was no exception. She wouldn’t be afraid of gaining weight in future pregnancies if she had this recipe.

Momo Quan gave a reminder, “These formulas are not everything. Some people use them, but they only become useless. Moreover, not everyone can use them either.”

Yuxi smiled and said, “I know.”

At this time, Yuxi heard Qiu Shi’s voice and immediately said with a smile, “Mother is here.” After saying this, she put the booklet into the box.

Qiu Shi had come to keep Yuxi company. Yuxi would be leaving tomorrow, and Qiu Shi did not know how long it would take to see her again, so Qiu Shi was prepared to stay with Yuxi, and the two of them would sleep together.

As a result, the two of them talked for most of the night, and when Yuxi had just squinted her eyes, Zisu woke her up. “Miss, it’s time to get up.”

Yuxi didn’t hesitate and got up immediately.