Qin Fang and Han Zhen dismounted.

Qin Fang said, “Captain Cheng.”

He recognized Captain Cheng, who was the heir’s trusted confidant.

It was this confidant who had led the guards of the Yonghe Marquis Mansion to search the county town for the young master, intentionally making a big noise, hoping the barbarians would reveal themselves while he and General Ao searched secretly.

Thus, Qin Fang knew him.

Captain Cheng said, “You two, General Ao has already arrived.”

General Ao lived in the county town, just a short distance from the marquis’s mansion.

Granny Lian had already gotten down from the donkey cart: “Madam.”

Yang Haiyan got out of the cart, holding onto Mama Lian’s hand, and stepped down from the small stool.

Next was Yang Dahua, who was also helped down by Granny Lian, as Yang Haiyan’s status was higher and it was not suitable for her to assist her.

Captain Cheng said, “Ladies, please.”

The group entered the marquis’s mansion, where a maid was waiting: “Lady Qin, do you still remember this old servant?”

Yang Haiyan smiled and said, “Of course I remember; it’s good to see you again after a few days.”

This maid was one of the ones beside the heir’s wife, whom she had met during her time at the general’s mansion.

The maid replied, “Knowing you were coming, this old servant didn’t even have time to dress up.”

Then she turned to Yang Dahua and said, “This must be Madam Han, right? You’ve worked hard coming here.”

Yang Dahua also smiled: “It wasn’t hard; thank you for your concern.”

Although she hadn’t learned etiquette and rules as well as Yang Haiyan, she was still able to manage somewhat.

After all, while at the Yang family, she had often encountered formidable maids.

Next, the maid led Yang Haiyan and the others to the inner courtyard, while Captain Cheng took Qin Fang and the others to see the heir.

Upon seeing the heir’s wife again, she looked noticeably thinner compared to their first meeting.

Her son had been kidnapped for five days, and she had no idea how she had endured those five days, causing her to visibly lose weight.

However, seeing Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua filled her eyes with gratitude.

Madam Ao had arrived early and was now beside the heir’s wife.

Yang Haiyan said, “This humble one greets the heir’s wife and Madam Ao.”

Yang Dahua followed suit, saying, “This common woman greets the heir’s wife and Madam Ao.”

The heir’s wife stepped forward, supporting each of them: “Ladies, there’s no need for formality. Come, sit over here.”

Compared to the dignified grace she had displayed at the general’s mansion, today she seemed much friendlier.

Once Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua were seated, the heir’s wife said, “Lan Ping, we have guests; go call the young master and young lady to come greet them.”

“Yes.”

After a while, a little boy and a little girl entered, with the little girl holding the boy’s hand: “Mother.”

The heir’s wife waved her hand: “Come over here and greet Lady Qin and Madam Han. These two are the saviors of Wang Tao.”

Upon hearing this, the little girl and little boy respectfully bowed to Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua: “Greetings, Lady Qin and Madam Han.”

Logically speaking, the young lady and the young master, due to their noble status, shouldn’t need to bow to Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua.

However, the heir’s wife had them bow as a gesture of gratitude because Qin Fang and Han Zhen had saved the young master, which made sense.

Yang Haiyan quickly got up to avoid this, and Yang Dahua followed suit, though she was a bit slower due to her pregnancy.

Yang Haiyan said, “This is the first time I’ve met the young lady and the young master. I wasn’t sure what you both like, so I made these small dolls myself. I hope you don’t mind.”

The young master blinked his eyes and asked, “What kind of dolls?”

Naturally, he looked at Yang Haiyan between her and Yang Dahua, probably because children tend to like pretty people.

The young lady also stared curiously at Yang Haiyan.

For young children, as long as there were gifts to receive, they were happy.

The heir’s wife couldn’t help but shake her head as she watched.

Yang Haiyan turned to Yang Dahua: “Sister Dahua.”

Yang Dahua took out a package: “The young lady’s gift is with me. Would you like to open it yourself?”

The young lady looked at the heir’s wife, and upon receiving her approval, she opened the package.

When she saw the flower doll inside, her eyes indeed lit up.

She had received real flowers before and handkerchiefs embroidered with flowers, but this was her first time seeing a flower doll.

“Mother,” she looked at the heir’s wife.

The heir’s wife smiled: “What should you say to Madam Han?”

The young lady cheerfully replied, “Thank you, Madam Han! I really like your gift. But what are these two straps for?”

Yang Dahua explained, “You can wear it on your back.” While saying this, she helped the young lady put it on her back. “Just like this.”

The young lady turned around to see the flower doll on her back. Although she couldn’t see it fully, she could still see part of it.

The heir’s wife remarked, “That’s quite novel. While others carry book baskets, my daughter carries flowers.”

The young master looked at the flower doll and, as a young boy, wasn’t particularly fond of it.

However, he exclaimed, “But what about my gift? Didn’t you say that my sister and I both have one?”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Yours is here too; it’s in this package. Do you want to open it yourself?”

The young master eagerly replied, “I’ll open it myself.”

He swiftly opened the package and exclaimed, “Wow… wow… it’s a little tiger!”

He picked up the little tiger doll and said, “It’s a little tiger! I love little tigers.”

He then noticed the straps and said, “Hurry, I want to wear it too.” In a boy’s world, there’s nothing a little tiger can’t solve.

Seeing her son so delighted, the heir’s wife couldn’t help but say, “You’re truly thoughtful. One brought a flower doll for my daughter, and the other brought a little tiger for my son.”

She added, “These dolls are very interesting. How did you think of them?”

She had never seen such dolls before; it was her first time, and she figured even older children would probably like them.

Yang Dahua replied, “This was Haiyan’s idea. She’s clever, and I’m very grateful for her suggestions.”

The heir’s wife turned to Yang Haiyan: “Oh?”

Yang Haiyan explained, “When I was in the capital, I saw many lifelike clay figures on the streets, including little boys, little girls, and monkeys. So I thought, if clay figures can be made with such full shapes, could we also make something similar with fabric? So I tried making them.”

The heir’s wife recalled, “Speaking of which, I played with clay figures when I was young, but that was more than ten years ago. However, it’s still quite impressive that you thought of it.”

Madam Ao Jiang said, “My children especially loved clay figures when they were young. Every time they saw them, they had to buy some.”

While the heir’s wife was willing to lower her status in the conversation, Yang Haiyan, who was well-informed, engaged in pleasant exchanges with Yang Dahua and Madam Ao Jiang, who occasionally chimed in.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, the heir, General Ao, Qin Fang, and Han Zhen chatted for a while before taking them to the horse stable.

The heir pointed to the horses and said, “These are the fine horses I managed to obtain. Although they aren’t blood-sweat horses, they are still considered top-notch.

Blood-sweat horses can travel eight hundred miles a day, while our ordinary warhorses can travel three hundred miles.

Slightly better ones can go four hundred miles, and the ones used for military communications can travel five hundred miles. These two can travel six hundred miles a day.”

The all-black horses, with shiny coats, looked exceptionally handsome.

Qin Fang didn’t understand horses before, and he certainly didn’t know much now.

However, as a horse owner, he had some knowledge about their quality.

Seeing the black stallions, he couldn’t help but say, “Good horses.”

Han Zhen didn’t speak but couldn’t help but reach out to touch them.

However, before he could stroke the horse’s coat, it neighed disdainfully at him.

This drew laughter from everyone.

The heir explained, “You need to feed them; once they’re familiar with you, they’ll let you touch them.”

It seemed the heir had also been scolded a lot.

He continued, “These two horses are a gift for you today, in gratitude for saving my son’s life. I also hope that with these horses, you’ll achieve even greater military accomplishments. You must know that fine horses can only showcase their prowess on the battlefield.”

Qin Fang and Han Zhen said, “Thank you, Young Master.”

Since the heir mentioned the battlefield, they accepted the gift without hesitation.

The heir said, “Let’s go back and continue our discussions.”

After lunch, the three families took their leave.

Qin Fang and Han Zhen mounted the horses gifted by the heir, while Yang Haiyan and Yang Dahua each held a box gifted by the heir’s wife.

Upon returning home, the guards saw the stallions and all wanted to touch them, but the stallions had their tempers too.

Upon seeing the guards approach, they neighed a few times.

Kunshi commented, “These fine horses are quite temperamental. They were well-behaved under the masters.”

Qin Fang replied, “That’s right. I fed them plenty of good food at the heir’s stables to get familiar with them.”

Yang Haiyan chimed in, “Isn’t that like the foolish son of a landlord?”

Granny Lian was curious and asked, “Madam, what do you mean by the foolish son of a landlord?”

Yang Haiyan smiled and explained, “It means whoever feeds them, they follow. Isn’t that foolishness?”

Everyone found this reasoning quite sensible.

Huang Huzi took the opportunity to say, “Master, can I request to ride the original horses you had?”

Now that the master had fine horses, wouldn’t it be fair to let them ride the original ones?

Hearing Huang Huzi’s question, the other guards also expressed their interest: “Master, we’d like to request that as well.”

Qin Fang was at a loss for words.

Yang Haiyan suggested, “Why not buy two more horses? Now that my husband has a horse and Captain Kun also has one, we can buy two more to pair with Huang Huzi and the others. We’ll need the extra horse for the carriage. We can’t rely on the donkey cart when we return to the old home in March.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang thought it made sense: “Alright, I’ll go with your suggestion.”

However, he was concerned about using his wife’s private savings.

He decided he needed to take Han Zhen to the mountains to gather some meat.

Looking at the batch of black stallions, Yang Haiyan was already thinking about what food to prepare for them.

Everyone loves beautiful things, but she asked, “Husband, have you named them yet?”