Traveling through troubled times, he fled with his stepson

Chapter 112 Leaving the city smoothly

When Wei Qiqi woke up, Li Yuan was already in the room. He was sitting at the table opposite, studying intently with a book he had gotten at some point.

She didn't want to disturb him, but she couldn't help coughing. The slight sound startled Li Yuan, and he looked at her from the book.

"Qiniang."

Li Yuan stood up and walked over with the book in his hand turned upside down. He put his hand on Wei Qiqi's forehead to test the temperature. He felt relieved when he found that she was not hot.

I’m worried that Qiniang’s fever will come back again and again.

"How long have I slept?"

"Just a few hours, not long."

What Li Yuan said was not wrong. Although it was already dark outside, four hours had indeed passed.

"Qiniang, do you want to eat something?"

When he asked this, Wei Qiqi's stomach growled, as if it was anxious to answer for its owner.

Li Yuan knew it without her even saying anything.

He came back with the meal shortly after he left, and the two of them sat face to face and started eating.

"If you haven't eaten yet, go eat something delicious. Why are you accompanying me to eat something so bland?"

"It's better to eat light. It's also delicious to eat with Qiniang."

Li Yuan said as he put a mouthful of it in his mouth.

Because she was growing, she ate a lot and looked particularly delicious. Every time she ate with Li Yuan, she could eat more.

Just like in modern times she has to eat along with the food bloggers on her phone in order to finish something.

"What a good appetite."

She sighed, and then she scooped a spoonful of soup and drank it. After the two of them finished eating, Li Yuan cleaned the table as usual, and Wei Qiqi made the bed.

The two of them sat face to face again, and she spoke first: "I feel like you have something to tell me."

"We've finished our meal now, so just say whatever you want to say."

Sometimes, when Li Yuan faces certain things, he is neither impatient nor anxious, even if this thing is a big deal in Wei Qiqi's eyes.

"Didn't your men report back earlier that they had captured a man?" He started from the beginning with a rhetorical question.

Wei Qiqi immediately thought of the person who had called Li Yuan away before.

"Well, who was arrested?"

"When you were sick, Qi Niang, I went out and found that some of the shops with great storefronts outside were closed. I told you about it."

"Later, I asked people to look for the shopkeeper who had closed his shop and to investigate in the city, but there was no news."

"Until my men caught a man named Fang Hongji, who was originally a grain merchant in the southwest market. He was worried about his grain and came back to China, where my men happened to meet him."

As he spoke, Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. She knew that this was a micro-expression of Li Yuan's emotions.

He continued: "I got some news from this person."

"Fang Hongji said that the capital was in chaos. Several adult princes who had been crowned as kings killed each other in rebellion and dog-eat-dog behavior. In the end, the last young son, who was only five years old, was left."

"Then the position of emperor was passed to him?"

Wei Qiqi opened her eyes wide. Is this the legendary young emperor ascending to the throne?

"Is there a relative behind the scenes or is the Queen Mother ruling the country herself?"

Li Yuan couldn't help but chuckle at her sharpness: "Well, Qi Niang guessed right, it's both."

"The uncle wanted to kill the young emperor and take the throne himself. The queen mother finally got through it and didn't want to be abandoned by the family, so she let her ambitions expand and fought against the conservative people and families who only recognized royal blood. The two sides actually maintained a balance."

Wei Qiqi continued thinking along the topic Li Yuan was talking about.

The power of the foreign relatives wants to shake the foundation of the country, the Queen Mother has her own ambitions, and the young and ignorant Emperor is caught in the middle.

Tsk.

For some reason, Wei Qiqi felt pity for the child she had never met before.

She suddenly realized that she seemed to be particularly tolerant of her children.

Seeing that Wei Qiqi had almost digested the content, Li Yuan continued his talk.

"Fang Hongji also said that the princes of various places who had fiefdoms heard that something happened in the capital and the old emperor passed away, and they were all ready to take action."

Wei Qiqi keenly realized that troubled times might not be far away.

"We will collect some food and fodder immediately, and then withdraw. Although Jiguan Mountain is small, it is a paradise that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Let's go back and make a foolproof plan."

She spoke very quickly when she was anxious, but it sounded clear to everyone.

Li Yuan grabbed her arm as she was about to stand up and said, "I have collected enough food, and the carriage is ready outside. Just wait a little longer, and we can leave the city directly after dark."

After hearing these arrangements, Wei Qiqi slowly sat back down. She tilted her head and looked at Li Yuan, "How did you do all this in such a short time?"

"I just happened to find Fang Hongji."

Li Yuan didn't think there was anything wrong with this, at most he was just lucky.

"Then I'll clean it up?"

"Well, the evening breeze is cool, Qi Niang should wrap herself warmly." He advised earnestly, and Wei Qiqi felt like raising a son like a father.

"Okay, are you older or am I older? I know the answer myself."

As he said this, he walked past Li Yuan and started to clean up the room.

Because this was Qinniang's room, Li Yuan couldn't pack her underwear for her and could only leave according to the rules.

After dark.

A low-key and simple carriage rumbled towards the city gate. At the same time, the people who had gathered at the city gate began to disperse.

He took out the letter in his hand and showed it to the guard. The guard looked at Li Yuan for a second longer, and only looked away after Li Yuan stuffed a silver ingot into his arms with an expressionless face.

The carriage started again and drove out of the city gate.

After driving for about another half an hour, Li Yuan, who was pulling the carriage, shouted and asked the horses to stop, and the carriage stopped.

Wei Qiqi lifted the door curtain, Li Yuan jumped out of the carriage and turned around to help Wei Qiqi.

"Be careful."

As she spoke, she even helped. The carriage was quite high, and she was wearing a lot of clothes, so it was naturally a bit heavy. Fortunately, Li Yuan helped her get off the carriage.

After going down, they found that there was not only their carriage, but also the carriage in front of them that was winding all the way to the point where Wei Qiqi could not see clearly in the dark night.

This carriage was different from the one she had been riding in. It was more like a trailer or a semi-trailer. There was something tall on top, so it must be transporting something.

“These are all food.”

food?

Wei Qiqi suddenly opened her eyes wide, and her shock could be seen under the flickering light of the torch.

"all of them?"

Li Yuan shook his head. Seeing him shake his head, Wei Qiqi was not so surprised. She thought, where did this come from?

"The last car is what you want, Qi Niang."

"what?"

"You mentioned saltpeter and sulfur, but we didn't prepare charcoal," Li Yuan explained.

Wei Qiqi took a few steps forward and walked towards the direction Li Yuan had just pointed. She lifted the cowhide barrier and looked underneath.

I couldn't tell what it was in the dark, but the smell was unmistakable.

She turned around with a bright smile on her face: "Really, how did you get so much?"

Li Yuan just smiled and said nothing.