At that ti, Mother ng had just gotten up to go to the kitchen to serve soup. In her absence, Hua Xiaomai took the opportunity to tug at ng Yuhuai’s sleeve, grinning as she begged him to fetch her another piece of fish.
ng Yuhuai actually picked a tender piece from the belly of the fish, removed the bones, and fed it into her mouth; before he could even withdraw his chopsticks, footsteps had already rushed to the courtyard entrance, sounding quite flustered.
An Escort Master, who carried various valuables and traveled frequently, was required to have skills such as observing in all directions and listening attentively...In an exaggerated sense, if one had exceptional abilities, one could differentiate the intentions of the coming person by the sound of their footsteps, even through a boarding house door.
The footsteps, arriving hastily on horseback, sounded too rushed. Could it be that sothing had happened at the Escort Agency?
With this thought, his heart inevitably sank. As he turned around, he indeed saw it was Han Hu from Lianshun Escort Agency.
Hua Xiaomai often frequented the Escort Agency and had t Han Hu a couple of tis. Sitting directly facing the courtyard door, she now stood up and smiled, "Is that Big Brother Han? What brings you here at this hour? Have you eaten yet? If not, I can fetch another pair of chopsticks. It’s convenient, as we just have food at ho today..."
When Han Hu ran to the door, he saw ng Yuhuai feeding fish into Hua Xiaomai’s mouth. His sudden arrival, coupled with witnessing this scene, had indeed made him a bit embarrassed; he hurriedly waved his hand: "Sister-in-law, don’t bother. Sorry for interrupting your al...I need to speak with Brother Yuhuai about sothing, that... shall we talk outside."
After finishing, he didn’t wait for ng Yuhuai’s agreent; in his haste, he dragged ng Yuhuai by the sleeve out the door and started murmuring urgently. His tone seed quite anxious, but, unfortunately, his voice was so low that not a word could be heard clearly.
Hua Xiaomai frowned slightly, suddenly rembering that once, when she was still selling by the riverside, Zhao Laoye had co with Song Jingxi to taste her cooking. Ke Zhenwu accompanied them, and right after they had eaten, Lv Bin, who was then at the Escort Agency, ca in a rush and pulled Ke Zhenwu away, saying that the shipnt ng Yuhuai was escorting had encountered river pirates.
It seems that in occupations like the Escort Agency, whenever a colleague suddenly shows up, it’s likely not for anything good.
She grew concerned and glanced outside the courtyard again. At that mont, Mother ng erged from the kitchen and looked towards the door, carelessly asking, "Who has co, standing outside and talking like that?"
"It’s Big Brother Han from the Escort Agency," Hua Xiaomai turned her head back, "It’s probably sothing urgent."
"Tsk, no matter how urgent, what can be done?" Mother ng scoffed dismissively, "This line of work does earn quite a bit, but it never allows for a mont of peace. They can’t even let us finish eating before dragging us away..."
She then tapped Hua Xiaomai’s bowl rim with her chopsticks: "Eat up, don’t be looking around everywhere. Even if it’s hot, cold food won’t be comfortable in your stomach."
Hua Xiaomai replied, then picked up her bowl and hurried through a few bites, but she couldn’t help turning her head again and looking out twice.
Soon, ng Yuhuai re-entered the courtyard alone, standing by the table and said with a deeply furrowed brow, "There’s been a bit of a problem at the Escort Agency, I need to go back right away. If I’m any later and catch curfew, I won’t be able to enter the city. It’s getting late, neither you nor Mother should go out. Just rest and go to sleep peacefully."
His face looked very grim, almost ashen. Hua Xiaomai’s heart trembled uncontrollably as she asked involuntarily, "What... what happened?"
"I don’t have ti now, I’ll explain when I return." Knowing she was probably frightened, ng Yuhuai was too eager to leave to offer gentle reassurances; he simply patted her shoulder lightly, "It’s Escort Agency business, don’t worry about it."
His sudden departure for Fuzhe County ant that he definitely wouldn’t be returning tonight. Seeing him like this, Hua Xiaomai quickly nodded, "Then you better go quickly. Mother and I will stay ho and won’t go anywhere. Don’t worry about us."
ng Yuhuai hurriedly agreed, went behind the house to fetch Old Black, and imdiately mounted the horse. Accompanied by Han Hu, he galloped away, kicking up a cloud of dust, and soon vanished without a trace.
Hua Xiaomai’s heart pounded wildly. She sat stunned in the courtyard for a while, pushed by Mother ng to help clearing the dishes into the kitchen, before finally returning to her room.
Fuzhe County, Lianshun Escort Agency.
Usually at this ti, the place would be nearly empty, but today, it was still brightly lit everywhere.
About a dozen n stood in the courtyard, all looking sowhat panicked. They gathered in groups by twos or threes but hardly spoke to each other. When one occasionally spoke a word or two, those nearby seed uninterested in conversing, rely nodding or shaking their heads as a response.
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