Chapter 18: Going to the Capital (1)

The cart soon arrived at the town, and the six of them stopped to have breakfast by the roadside.

Xia Qingfeng first went to Jiren Hall to bid farewell to Manager Chang, assuring him once again that she would deliver the ginseng to the Wuting Marquis’s residence and treat the old lady. She was still worried about Yong’an Village, so before leaving, she asked Manager Chang to look after the village. Manager Chang also promised that, for the sake of the medicinal herbs, he would take extra care of the village.

After leaving Jiren Hall, she also went to the fabric shop to say goodbye to Manager Chen before getting back in the cart and setting off.

Their first destination was the capital. From here to the capital by cart would take about five days. This journey was much smoother than when the original owner and Xu Xiaoxiao had fled to Yong’an Village, a journey that had taken over two months. According to Xu Xiaoxiao’s speculations, the original owner had been a refined young lady, never venturing far from home. On top of that, they had been on the run, hungry and exhausted, often wandering in circles without making much progress.

The journey was smooth sailing, and the group was quite relaxed. The “foodies” in the group would often take turns going hunting on the mountains. Xia Qingfeng was more than happy to cook up delicious meals for these young men. In her eyes, they were like children. Braised rabbit meat, roasted venison, Beggar’s chicken, and chestnut chicken—meat lovers would be in heaven. Thankfully, Xia Qingfeng had bought a lot of napa cabbage and pork belly from the towns along the way. She made a huge pot of braised pork with cabbage, and—well, let’s just say that pot was emptied in no time.

One time, Xu Xiaoxiao casually mentioned that she was craving skewered meat. Cang Ji, the most food-driven of the group, immediately leaned in toward Xu Xiaoxiao, asking her in a child-like manner what skewered meat was. Xu Xiaoxiao, innocently, ended up spilling the beans.

So, when they passed through the next county, Cang Dao rented a small courtyard at an inn. Cang Qiang went to buy cabbage, chives, garlic, eggplants, and a large chunk of pork belly, while Cang Jian led a fat sheep back to the courtyard. Cang Ji, following Xu Xiaoxiao’s sketch, went to the blacksmith shop and paid extra to have them quickly forge a grill.

When foodies get an idea in their heads, nothing is impossible—that’s just basic foodie etiquette. And with Cang Dao and Cang Qiang, who were the best at knife skills, it was only natural that they would handle the skewering.

In the rented courtyard, the meat skewers were being prepared from morning until noon. It wasn’t until the group could no longer wait that they spent a few copper coins to hire two of the inn’s servants to help finish the job before lunch.

The seasonings were all ready in the space, and once the skewers were placed on the grill and cooked to a golden color, sizzling and releasing fragrant oils, the scent was enough to make anyone’s mouth water. When a sprinkle of cumin and chili powder was added, the aroma was so intoxicating it could make a person cry from hunger. Not only Xu Xiaoxiao and Xia Yingjun, but even the four men—Cang Dao, Cang Qiang, Cang Jian, and Cang Ji—couldn’t resist, and even the innkeeper came over to “deliver charcoal” but ended up staying for a bite.

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t let the innkeeper just watch, so she handed him a skewer of meat to send him off.

The second rule of being a foodie: if you want to make delicious food, just learn it and you’ll do it well. The smartest of the group, Cang Ji, quickly took over Xia Qingfeng’s duties and began grilling the skewers himself.

Xia Qingfeng didn’t bother with them anymore. She took the grilled skewers and vegetables to sit with Xu Xiaoxiao and Xia Yingjun to eat. Meanwhile, Cang Dao, Cang Qiang, and Cang Jian grilled and ate at the same time. Cang Dao couldn’t help but comment that they should have made more grills since they were running out of space, so he’d have to ask the blacksmith to make another one that evening.

The blacksmith, who hadn’t slept all night…

Xia Qingfeng knew that because of the skewers, they wouldn’t be able to leave today. She took out some beer and poured it into a jar, handing it to the four men. “Skewers and beer, one drink and we’ll be up all night,” she said, grinning. “Let’s get started.” 

One major advantage of these four bodyguards was that they would eat whatever was given to them without asking questions. There was one time, in order to reach the next town before nightfall, they didn’t have time to start a fire for cooking lunch. So, Xia Qingfeng took out some self-heating rice, ham sausages, and various pickled vegetables from the space. As she nervously handed the food to the bodyguards, ready to offer some implausible explanation, the bodyguards just paused for a second before devouring the food ravenously, wiping their mouths, and continuing on their journey.

Because of their “just eat, don’t ask” attitude, these four men were lucky enough to taste all sorts of things: instant noodles, self-heating hot pots, eight-treasure porridge, fruit smoothies, potato chips, and even ice-cold soft drinks that made you feel like you were flying with a refreshing chill inside… Oh, and there was even roasted python meat.

It was the fourth day after Xia Qingfeng’s group left Yong’an Village. That night, after Xia Qingfeng and Xu Xiaoxiao had finished bathing in the space, the spirit of the space finally spoke up again.

“Feng’er, how are things going?”

The sudden voice startled Xia Qingfeng. “You can speak again! How come writing a letter took you seven or eight days to recover?”

“Yes, I can only write letters using my spiritual power, which consumes a lot of energy. I needed to go into a state of dormancy for a while.”

“Next time you need to write something, just call me! Look at you, getting so tired.”

“Feng’er, are you worried about me?” The spirit’s voice was full of amusement.

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but shiver and said, “Just speak properly… It’s just that your dormancy really held up things, do you know that?”

The spirit stopped teasing and asked seriously, “What are your plans now that you’re going to the capital?”

“What plans? I’m just selling a ginseng to the Wuting Marquis’s residence, and treating the old lady there. Oh, and I need to stock up on more things in the capital. After all, who knows when I’ll be going there again next time?”

“Feng’er, have you forgotten about the Xiping Marquis’s residence? You’re still not divorced from Xu Jingchen.”

Xia Qingfeng suddenly sat up straight. She had indeed forgotten about that. Right! The original owner had fled with her daughter, but they hadn’t divorced yet. Xu Xiaoxiao, sitting beside her, also suddenly realized the problem. She quickly looked at her mother. “What should we do? If we go back now, we won’t survive two episodes, and it’s so hard to divorce in this era.”

The spirit of the space replied, “That depends on how you feel about Xu Jingchen. After all, he is the father and husband of your current body. If I were to help you escape him and take actions that would harm him, would you be willing to do so?”

“That’s just a scumbag, why should I feel sorry for him? From the memories of the original owner, I don’t think there’s a single good person in that family.” Xia Qingfeng scoffed lightly. Xu Xiaoxiao nodded along, seemingly unfazed.

Indeed, the Xiping Marquis’s family had been on the decline since Xu Jingchen’s grandfather’s generation. Especially Xu Jingchen’s father, Xu Shifeng, the only son in the family, had been pampered since childhood and turned into a spoiled playboy—drinking, gambling, and indulging in vices, leaving the family fortune nearly gone. However, Xu Shifeng had many concubines and daughters. Yes, daughters were many, and sons were few. Aside from the legitimate eldest son, Xu Jingchen, who was born before marriage, there was also Xu Jingsong, the son of the official wife. The other sons either died in the womb or passed away early. Therefore, once the daughters came of age, they were quickly married off to wealthy merchants, which allowed the family to continue using their dowries to fund the Marquis’s indulgence.

The title of Xiping Marquis had been passed down through three generations, but as there had been no achievements from his descendants, Xu Jingchen’s generation would no longer be able to inherit the title.

So, in order to continue enjoying the glory of the Marquis’s residence, they had to think of something.

“Cang Qi Yuan was attacked this time, and I suspect it was the work of the Second and Third Princes. Both princes had previously tried to win him over, but he only supported the rightful heir and ignored them. That must have been the reason they resorted to killing him, after all, as long as he’s alive, the Emperor and the Crown Prince can never be overthrown. The Xiping Marquis’s family is one of the Third Prince’s pawns, so it’s possible they were involved in this attack.”

“So, what do you want to do?” Xia Qingfeng didn’t understand much about these ancient schemes, especially the ones involving murder. It was hard for her to accept, having grown up in an era of equality and peace.

“They’ve helped the Third Prince commit many evil deeds. You can send Cang Dao to investigate and find evidence. The Grand Marshal’s office has plenty of manpower. Then, you can present everything to the Emperor, show the righteous cause, and ask for a divorce decree from His Majesty.”

“Won’t we end up making things worse and get ourselves involved too?” Xia Qingfeng felt uneasy.

“Don’t worry, there are many loyalists to the Grand Marshal in the court. They will speak on your behalf, and they will definitely not spare the Xiping Marquis’s family. Confiscation of their assets and exile will be mild punishments.”

“That’s ruthless… Space Spirit, it seems you really have a strong opinion about my scumbag husband!”

“Hmph, he was never a good man to begin with.”