Thank you to Zixing Qiuyue for rewarding Xianpaoyuan (4.29)
Zixing, this is an extra update for your previous support. When you see this, don't feel obligated to reward again as thanks, it's what I should do (laughing/crying emoticon)
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The area within ten miles approaching the capital already surpassed the towns they had encountered on their journey in terms of prosperity.
This place called North Pass was brimming with shops and bustling with people.
Miss Jun led Liu'er and her horse through the crowd; Liu'er's eyes darted every which way as she tried her best to maintain the dignity of a government official family's senior maidservant, to avoid being mocked as a country bumpkin.
"People say the best dried meat in the capital is right here," said Miss Jun, shaking Liu'er's hand and gesturing toward a direction.
Liu'er opened her eyes wide and looked over, seeing a stall at the corner of the street, flying a flag adorned with the Dong family's emblem.
"This is that..." Liu'er started to say and then lowered her voice, "the one marked on the map?"
The Miss had said that this map was banned in the capital, so she did not say it outright.
What a sensible child, Miss Jun thought, nodding her head in approval.
Liu'er chuckled happily and straightened her back.
"But Miss, you have such a clear memory," she said in a hushed tone.
Aside from looking at it briefly, the Miss had not taken the map out again.
That map was packed with tightly written words and drawings – not a few things.
It was normal for the Miss to remember inns and money businesses, but how did she even remember such inconspicuous snacks?
Miss, are you hungry?
Miss Jun smiled and pursed her lips.
"I just have a good memory," she said.
Of course, she also really liked to eat.
Although she lived an unsettled life and ate at irregular times while following her master, the master still loved fiddling with food, turning mere grass and wild chickens into exquisite and tempting dishes.
She had followed her master for six years, being raised to eat anything and daring to eat everything, and she also quite loved eating.
Which restaurants in the capital were good, what snacks were wonderful, she had heard it all introduced by Lu Yunqi. Only, this Dong family dried meat was not among them.
It seemed this was Zhu Zan's preference.
But it wasn't known whether his taste was popular.
Miss Jun observed the people gathered around the Dong family dried meat stall. Clearly, the majority were out-of-towners with dust on their faces and eyes filled with curiosity and novelty.
They probably all had the Chaojing Mileage Map in their hands.
"Don't rush, don't rush, it's ready now."
The sweating landlord busied himself with pacifying the waiting crowd, neatly roasting slices of dried meat and placing them into paper bags.
"Does it really taste good?" people in line kept asking.
"Of course it's delicious, I've been selling here for twenty years," the landlord answered. "If you don't believe me, ask around in the capital, everyone knows."
A young man took the dried meat handed over to him.
"I don't know what the capital says, and I have no time to ask around. The map says your shop is good, so I came to try," he said. "You didn't pay to be exaggeratedly praised, did you?"
The landlord put on a confused expression.
"Map? What map?" he asked.
Just as the young man was about to speak, someone standing nearby coughed lightly and gave him a warning look.
After all, the Chaojing Mileage Map was banned in the capital, and even though the feudal authorities turned a blind eye, it still couldn't be brazenly displayed.
Embarrassed, the young man chuckled, bit into the dried meat, chewed twice, and his eyebrows shot up.
"Hmm, delicious," he muttered through his mouthful.
Before he could continue to describe, an impatient crowd had already pushed him aside.
"Landlord, mine please."
"Landlord, I want two."
After some waiting, Liu'er squeezed out with the purchased dried meat, excitedly handing it to Miss Jun who was waiting by the side.
Miss Jun took a bite and nodded, equally satisfied.
"Really delicious, really delicious," Liu'er repeated eagerly.
It was really delicious, but it was unlikely that the landlord didn't know his dried meat was highlighted on the Chaojing Mileage Map.
Miss Jun watched the landlord, who couldn't stop smiling as he waved off one group of customers and welcomed another.
One couldn't help but wonder how much of a cut Zhu Zan was getting.
Over time, it surely wasn't a small sum of money.
And it wasn't only this place of culinary delights marked on the map.
Miss Jun, munching on the crispy dried meat, felt somewhat amused and curious.
How did Zhu Zan come up with this way of making money?
He wasn't a citizen of the capital – someone from the northern lands was actually earning capital money.
And was the Duke of Chengguo really so poor?
Due to the terrifying and painful memories left by the war that had caused the forced relocation, whether it was the imperial grandfather, the father, or the current emperor, they all favored the Duke of Chengguo, who ensured the stability of the national frontier. Grants of money and goods were given whenever asked, never harshly.
How did the Duke of Chengguo raise such a son who was so greedy for wealth and profit?
"Miss, are there any other delicious foods?"
Liu'er had finished eating and, with lingering satisfaction, asked a question that snapped Miss Jun out of her reverie.
Looking at her sun-reddened face, Miss Jun smiled and led the horse by the reins.
"We have plenty more to try," she said. "Let's go to the inn first, freshen up, and rest, then we can go try each one by one."
Leading the delighted Liu'er and the horse, they continued along the street.
Miss Jun lifted her gaze towards the direction of the capital. From her death last year to her return now, only half a year had passed. Only half an hour's journey separated her from her siblings, yet avenging herself against her enemies was mere inches away.
She felt she should be thinking about something, but at this moment, her mind was utterly blank.
No thoughts.
Proximity was the only thing that had lessened; the insurmountable mountains of status and identity still stood in the way.
Still far out of reach.
............…..
As night fell, the markets of the capital buzzed with noise, no curfew imposed. Yet the high walls and ancient trees of the academy shielded it from the clamor.
Amidst the silence, it wasn't dead still; countless lights twinkled in the darkness, the students buried in their studies.
Two lamps burned brightly on Ning Yunzhao's desk, fueled by superior lamp oil that emitted only a fragrant scent devoid of smoke, gentle on the eyes.
But Ning Yunzhao wasn't bent over his books in diligent study. While the scrolls lay spread out on his desk, he leaned back in his chair with closed eyes, as though asleep.
Suddenly, he chuckled in his sleep.
Opening his eyes, there was no hint of grogginess, just a bright, star-like sparkle.
"Who could have thought, it's actually like this," he mused, looking at the scattered letters below the scrolls.
The letters, delivered at noon, held content he no longer needed to read; its narrative was etched into his memory, discussing the ingenious trap set by Miss Jun.
It was a faux marriage.
"Even if you don't marry Young Master Fang, I believe the Fang Family will take good care of you," he remembered his words to her.
At the time, she seemed embarrassed, and he thought it was because of his implicit accusation.
He was implying that she was the type of person who didn't trust her maternal family and sought to exchange benefits.
Of course, that wasn't what he meant, and she indeed wasn't that kind of person.
"You worry too much, Noble Son Ning," she had said with a smile back then. "There's no need to discuss it any further now."
It turned out she was trying to say he was overthinking things.
She had orchestrated the ingenious trap and was at that moment arranging her pieces; unable to disclose her strategy to outsiders, she could only subtly tell him he was overthinking.
But he didn't think much of it at the time.
He just noticed how she said there was no need to talk about it anymore, thinking it meant there was no point discussing a done deal.
He didn't realize that wasn't what she meant.
What an ingenious trap.
Ning Yunzhao stood up, pacing back and forth, filled with a mix of shock and delight, feeling even the hot summer night became pleasant.
This was her doing.
The woman who played blind Go under the tree, who became enthusiastic about what interested her, who gave lamps as a token of joy.
She was just like that, just as he had imagined.
The marriage was a sham.
She was labeled as mad and ludicrous, crass and laughable, yet she abandoned her betrothal.
All for the greater good, to lure the enemy.
The marriage was a sham.
Ning Yunzhao paced in his room.
Although every student on the path of learning is simply a student, their origins are inherently different. Coming from the wealthy Ning Family of Beiliu, Ning Yunzhao occupied the best quarter here, not as cramped as other students.
This room had an inner chamber that doubled as a study, wherein he paced back and forth, a dozen steps each way.
But it still didn't seem enough; he wanted to go farther.
To walk up to her, to hear her explain this strategy in person, it'd surely be clearer than some storyteller's exaggerated script, wouldn't it?
From Beiliu to Yangcheng, one could ride back and forth in a single night.
From the capital to Yangcheng?
And moreover.
Ning Yunzhao stopped pacing and glanced at the letters on the desk.
The letter said she wasn't in Yangcheng anymore.
Where could she be now?
......................
In the night, Miss Jun opened her eyes in the bed of the inn, observing the dim canopy above her, listening to the intermittent sounds from outside, rising and falling in pitch.
For a moment, she wasn't sure where she was.
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Thank you Zixing Qiyue, envolis, leelele, and The Ice from the South for the rewards and He's Bi.
The double monthly passes event ends today.
Thank you, everyone, for your hard work from the end of last month until now. I hope you will accept my thanks for today.