In the troop, only he, a group of fellow disciples, and four followers possessed powerful true energy that enabled them to change their clothes daily, maintaining comfort throughout their bodies. The servants, along with Li Ming’s won, hadn’t bathed or changed clothes the entire journey, having at most soaked their feet and swapped their socks and footwear.
Now that they had arrived in the city, and since the matter of sending the ssage was settled, it was natural to take a good rest and relax a little.
Upon hearing Li Ming’s words, the nurous servants were overjoyed, especially at the ntion of bathing in big wooden tubs, which thrilled them imnsely.
The innkeeper and his assistants worked throughout the night, sourcing ample large bathing tubs from all over the city for the use of those in Li Ming’s caravan, ensuring that everyone had a comfortable soak. After changing into fresh clothes and hanging the old ones to dry by the stove, they felt relaxed and content as they lay in bed and fell asleep.
Waking up the next day feeling fresh and comfortable, they found their clothes already dry and warm, neatly folded and put away. They then ate a breakfast far superior to any had at the wayside inns on the road, which filled them up and made them feel as if they had shed three pounds of dirt. Feeling buoyant and energetic, they resud their journey, driving the horse-drawn carriages with renewed vigor.
"......"
The caravan made swift progress through the frigid winter. The sky gradually darkened, and a golden sun slowly descended, gifting the horizon with a touch of beautiful color. In the distance, mountain ranges shimred with a golden glow under the sunlight, resembling a fairy-tale world adorned in snow. The horses’ breaths beca more rapid, their deep exhalations gradually dissipating in the sunset, which made one feel the force of life breathing under the sunset—a force that not even centuries of experience could miss. anwhile, the roadside presented visually enchanting images, the desolation of the winter landscape only amplifying its quiet beauty. This also made the travel over varying terrain majestic, the ornate colors intensifying as the winter caravan rushed forward in its urgency. Ice hung from the branches of roadside trees, seeming ready to wither with every gentle gust of wind, and the biting chill urged one to seek shelter by a warm hearth, eager for coziness and comfort. As night fell silently, the lights of the caravan shone brightly, illuminating the path ahead. The procession of horse-drawn carriages resembled dragons traversing the snowy landscape with elegance. The creaking of wagon wheels seed to narrate the hardships of the journey, drawing one into their stories. The people of the caravan, relying on one another for survival, braved the cold nights of the campaign, unaware of the length of road ahead. This challenge was their compulsory lesson, and their only motivation to move forward. In these difficult tis full of challenges, people needed to show their courage and resolve, dispelling darkness and seeking warmth, racing through the frozen landscape—that was their hope for survival and the distant shore on the horizon!
Both sides of the road were lined with trees still bearing snow, stark and barren.
Luckily, the quality of the ’Great Qian Empire’s’ highways was excellent, which allowed for the carriages to travel on them even just after heavy snowfall.
The caravan, having left the small city, hurriedly traveled for another three days and finally reached the outskirts of Linshan Town that day!
Looking far down the wide imperial highway, a long line of vehicles was spotted approaching from the distance, barely distinguishable from fine lines.
Outside Linshan Town, a few n in blue clothes saw a caravan approaching in the distance and quickly stood up, climbing a nearby pole to get a better look. After a mont, they fixated their gaze and saw that the caravan unfurled two large flags, one of them embroidered with the characters for "Li."
Looking closely again, they saw the other flag adorned with the character for "Duke!"
"Liu Er, have you made it out after looking for so long? Is it Marquis Li’s caravan?"
Seeing his companion still perched on the pole and looking out, the man waiting below couldn’t help but urge, "I said I should go up but you insisted on doing it yourself; if you can’t manage, co down and I’ll go. You hardly recognize a few big characters, dude..."
"Marquis Li! It’s Marquis Li’s caravan; the Duke must be back, it must be the Duke returning!"
While the companion below prattled on, the man in blue up on the pole furrowed his brows, thought for a mont, then burst into happiness, slapping his thigh and shouting down.
"Liu Er, what did you see up there, how can you be sure it’s Lord Li Ming’s carriage coming?"
When the other n in blue heard that Marquis Li was returning, they all stood up in unison, then worrying that the one above might have mistaken the identity, they shouted up, asking in a rush.
"The caravan has two flags flying: one flag is embroidered with a ’Li’ character sa as the ones at Old Master Li’s household, and the other with the Duke’s ’Duke’ character. This must be Baron Li Ming returning from his military duties!"
Liu Er spoke with certainty, and the crowd below instantly beca even more excited. Soone swallowed saliva: "Liu Er, you can’t be reckless with this. Are you sure you saw it clearly, are you sure that the chess piece floating above bears the ’Li’ character of Old Master Li and the ’Marquis’ character of the Military Marquis?"
"Wait for , I’ll take another look."
After carefully looking again, Liu Er slid down from the wooden pole and dashed toward Linshan Town: "Military Marquis Baron Li Ming has returned ho, Military Marquis Baron Li Ming has returned ho, Old Master Li, Military Marquis Baron Li Ming has returned ho!!"
"This is bad, don’t let him be the only one to bring the news, let’s go, Young Master Li Ming not only topped the imperial examination when he went to the capital, but he also beca a Military Marquis in one leap. Now that he’s returning ho, this is a huge event, a joyous occasion. For such a grand celebration, if we rush to announce the good news, Old Master Li will certainly not skimp on the reward money!"
A man in a blue robe slapped his thigh and opened his mouth urgently, then waved his hand: "Chase after him, shout as you run, don’t let Liu Er earn all the money by himself. Last ti soone announced the good news of Old Master Li’s son topping the imperial examination, he was rewarded with five taels of silver!"
Upon hearing this, the n around couldn’t resist the temptation and frantically chased after Liu Er who was racing ahead to return first.
"Military Marquis Baron Li Ming has returned ho, Military Marquis Baron Li Ming has returned ho!"
"The Li Family’s Young Master has co back, the Li Family’s Young Master has co back!"
"The Li Family’s top scholar has returned, the Li Family’s top scholar has returned!"
A group of n in blue robes strode vigorously, chasing after Liu Er while shouting, but the man who had just spoken found himself unwittingly trailing behind. He then turned around and bolted toward the direction from which the caravan had co.
"Hey, I knew it, you were up to no good with all that yelling. So, what is it, are you planning to welco Marquis Li on his return to his hotown?"
A robust man, smiling from ear to ear, watched the long-haired young man running toward him and, while laughing, didn’t forget to press on with the items in his hand.
"Fang Yu, what are you holding in your hand? Well, look at you, you went straight to buy the tastiest roast chicken in town after hearing the news, trying to curry favor by offering a taste of hotown flavor to Marquis Li, aren’t you?"
The long-haired young man had not expected anyone to be waiting there. He opened his eyes wide, especially when he noticed the roasted chicken cradled in the robust man’s arms, and loudly questioned.
"Oh please, you’re one to talk. Look what you’ve got there. You’ve been carrying around a pack of the tastiest pastries in town every day without eating them; you’re obviously trying to brown-nose today as well."
Fang Yu turned to look at Lin Yue, scoffed disdainfully, and while continuing to run ahead, he patted the roasted chicken in his arms: "Today, I really want to see whether your pastries are more delicious, or my roast chicken!"
As his voice faded, the tall and burly Fang Yu put extra effort into racing toward the caravan. Lin Yue, seeing that he couldn’t catch up, suddenly widened his eyes and hastily shouted, "Stop running! It’s the townspeople of Linshan Town who should welco the Duke when we’re closer. If we run this far, isn’t that like having a hidden motive and deliberately trying to get close?"
"When you put it that way, it sounds pretty reasonable."
Hearing this, Fang Yu imdiately stopped his steps, then exchanged a glance with the sowhat disheartened Lin Yue. They spontaneously straightened their clothes and stood waiting by the side of the official road.
Before long, as the caravan approached, both n’s eyes lit up upon seeing the decoration and they held up the items in their hands, shouting in unison: "The townspeople of Linshan Town are here to welco Lord Li Ming back ho!"
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