157 Bamboo Tube
“Alright, I’ll listen to Madam.” Zhou Jia raised his head and took the pill. Zhao Cai came in from outside and squatted beside Zhou Jia. It reported in a low voice, “Young Master, I saw Shen Wu. He was in the escort team. When he saw me, he immediately turned his head away and pretended not to see me.”
“In that case, he might be carrying out official business. He Xiaoyu has also seen Shen Wu. Tell her not to greet him.”
“Yes.” Zhao Cai remembered that he had seen He Xiaoyu beside the car just now and hurriedly walked out.
Zhou Jia whispered into Li Yu’s ear and told her about Zhao Cai seeing Shen Wu. Before he could finish speaking, Li Yu saw Shen Wu and a few people who looked like escorts walk into the hall.
Shen Wu casually glanced at Zhou Jia and the others before leaving with the escorts.
Li Yu saw that the bodyguards seemed to be unintentional but were actually cautious and thought to herself, Could this Wuwei Escort Agency be an enemy spy? Li Yu secretly complained. They couldn’t be so unlucky, right? Why they encounter bad things every time we went out?
Zhou Jia leaned against Li Yu and asked softly, “Yu’er, did you notice anything unusual?”
Li Yu sighed softly. “Those people look relaxed, but they’re actually very careful. We’ve already encountered Shen Wu. I don’t think anything good will happen.”
Zhou Jia consoled, “Don’t worry, we can only take it one step at a time.”
Li Yu thought for a moment and looked at Zhou Jia. She whispered, “Let Ruyi test him and see if he will make a move.”
Zhou Jia nodded. Li Yu went out to explain to Ruyi.
In the escort team, Shen Wu secretly rejoiced. To think he could even meet Mr. Zhou and Miss Li in this damn place. His luck was too good! He would have to find a chance to send them a message.
Shen Wu secretly looked around for an opportunity. Suddenly, he saw Ruyi walking towards the corner. He was delighted and said to the escort beside him, “Shou-er Mei, is it convenient for you to go?”
Escort Mei looked at Shen Wu. “Kid, why are you dragging me along?” As he spoke, he pointed at Shen Wu and said jokingly, “You’re not afraid, are you?”
“What a joke. As a man, I’m afraid!” Shen Wu patted his chest and ran into the corner with a smile.
Escort Mei gestured at the escort beside him. That person understood and followed behind Shen Wu to keep tabs on him. He saw that he was indeed relieving himself in the dark.
Ruyi hummed a tune and hid in the corner. Shen Wu walked behind him and stuffed a bamboo tube into Ruyi’s hand. He stood at the side to relieve himself and muttered, “Damn place. There’s no place to exchange banknotes.”
Ruyi stuffed the tube into his pants and turned to walk out. When he reached the corner of the corridor, he saw someone secretly staring at Shen Wu. Ruyi pretended not to see him and walked past him.
The man saw Ruyi walking past and Shen Wu coming over with his pants up. He quickly retreated to the fire and whispered to Escort Mei, “He just peed. He didn’t talk to that person or see any movement.”
Escort Mei saw Shen Wu come out and nodded. The escort stopped talking.
Ruyi returned to the hall with the bamboo tube and sat down beside Zhou Jia. He stuffed the bamboo tube into Zhou Jia’s pocket. Zhou Jia noticed Ruyi’s actions and glanced at Ruyi in his heart, ignoring the bamboo tube in the pocket.
The bodyguard, who was secretly spying on Ruyi, saw that Ruyi and Zhou Jia did not do anything unusual and went back to report.
Seeing that the people peeping outside had left, Zhou Jia handed the bamboo tube in his pocket to Li Yu and said in her ear, “Yu’er, I’ll leave this to you. Keep it.”
“Yes!” Li Yu agreed in a low voice. She pinched the bamboo tube in her hand and thought to herself that there was indeed something fishy.
Li Yu placed the bamboo tube into her space when no one was looking.
After a while, the cold medicine that Zhou Jia had taken took effect. He leaned against Li Yu and fell asleep. Li Yu covered Zhou Jia with the cloak. Two hours later, she touched Zhou Jia’s forehead and only fell asleep after noting that the heat had subsided.
Ruyi, Zhao Cai, and He Tiezhu guarded carefully for half the night until dawn appeared on the horizon. The people who stayed overnight in the Taoist temple set off one after another. The team of escorts also drove the carriage away. Nothing else happened.
Xiaoyu cooked some porridge with the mud stove. After everyone ate briefly, Li Yu and Zhou Jia packed their luggage and drove off.
Ruyi walked up to Zhou Jia and reported to him, “Young Master, after Shen Wu handed the bamboo tube to me, he said that there’s no place to exchange silver in this godforsaken place. Do you think he has other intentions?”
Zhou Jia and Li Yu looked at each other and thought of the Four Seas Bank at the same time. Zhou Jia said to Ruyi, “I understand. Let’s go!”
Shen Wu, Escort Mei, and the others set off for the capital before dawn. Shen Wu was secretly worried that Ruyi did not understand what he meant. However, it was not easy for him to meet a suitable person to send the item away. He would not be willing to give up if he did not gamble!
Li Yu and the others arrived at Qitong County the next afternoon. After checking at the city gate, they entered the city. Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, let’s go to the Four Seas Bank first.”
Li Yu took the reins from Zhou Jia’s hand. “Alright, get out of the car and ask someone which street the Four Seas Bank is on.”
The carriage slowly stopped. Zhou Jia jumped out of the carriage and asked a man for the location of the Four Seas Bank. After getting into the carriage, he said to Li Yu, “That big brother said that the Four Seas Bank has branches on the east and west sides of the city. If we enter the east city gate, we’ll go straight to the east street.”
Li Yu nodded and looked at the clothes of the pedestrians on the street. They looked better and more prosperous than the people in Tongzhou City. Li Yu said to Zhou Jia, “Xiao Xi, Qitong County looks better than Tongzhou City. Will the cities get better the nearer we get to the capital?”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he thought for a moment and said, “That’s not necessarily true. County Qitong is mainly located in a good location. When you leave the capital and go to Tongzhou, Qingzhou or Liangzhou, you’ll have to pass through here. There are many merchants coming and going, and places with many merchants are more prosperous.”
Li Yu nodded. “That’s true.”
After walking for another quarter of an hour, Li Yu saw the Four Seas Bank on the left street. The Four Seas Bank here was also a two-story building. There were people coming and going at the entrance of the bank. Its business was even more prosperous than Tongzhou City.
Zhou Jia stopped the cart. Li Yu handed the small wooden sword and bamboo tube to Zhou Jia. “Be careful.”
Zhou Jia nodded. Ruyi stopped the cart behind and walked to Zhou Jia. He said to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, I’ll accompany you.”
“That’s a good idea.” The master and servant walked into the bank. The shop assistant asked solicitously, “May I ask if you want to deposit silver or exchange notes?”
Zhou Jia looked at the shop assistant and said, “I’m a friend of Chu Sihai from the Four Seas Bank in Tongzhou. Shopkeeper Chu asked me to help him bring something to your shopkeeper.”
When the shop assistant heard that Zhou Jia was Chu Sihai’s friend, he hurriedly bowed and said, “So you’re the shopkeeper’s friend. Please sit in the inner hall. I’ll report to the shopkeeper now.”
“Thank you.” Zhou Jia brought Ruyi into the inner hall with the shop assistant. After the shop assistant poured the tea, the shopkeeper followed the shop assistant into the hall.
157 Bamboo Tube
“Alright, I’ll listen to Madam.” Zhou Jia raised his head and took the pill. Zhao Cai came in from outside and squatted beside Zhou Jia. It reported in a low voice, “Young Master, I saw Shen Wu. He was in the escort team. When he saw me, he immediately turned his head away and pretended not to see me.”
“In that case, he might be carrying out official business. He Xiaoyu has also seen Shen Wu. Tell her not to greet him.”
“Yes.” Zhao Cai remembered that he had seen He Xiaoyu beside the car just now and hurriedly walked out.
Zhou Jia whispered into Li Yu’s ear and told her about Zhao Cai seeing Shen Wu. Before he could finish speaking, Li Yu saw Shen Wu and a few people who looked like escorts walk into the hall.
Shen Wu casually glanced at Zhou Jia and the others before leaving with the escorts.
Li Yu saw that the bodyguards seemed to be unintentional but were actually cautious and thought to herself, Could this Wuwei Escort Agency be an enemy spy? Li Yu secretly complained. They couldn’t be so unlucky, right? Why they encounter bad things every time we went out?
Zhou Jia leaned against Li Yu and asked softly, “Yu’er, did you notice anything unusual?”
Li Yu sighed softly. “Those people look relaxed, but they’re actually very careful. We’ve already encountered Shen Wu. I don’t think anything good will happen.”
Zhou Jia consoled, “Don’t worry, we can only take it one step at a time.”
Li Yu thought for a moment and looked at Zhou Jia. She whispered, “Let Ruyi test him and see if he will make a move.”
Zhou Jia nodded. Li Yu went out to explain to Ruyi.
In the escort team, Shen Wu secretly rejoiced. To think he could even meet Mr. Zhou and Miss Li in this damn place. His luck was too good! He would have to find a chance to send them a message.
Shen Wu secretly looked around for an opportunity. Suddenly, he saw Ruyi walking towards the corner. He was delighted and said to the escort beside him, “Shou-er Mei, is it convenient for you to go?”
Escort Mei looked at Shen Wu. “Kid, why are you dragging me along?” As he spoke, he pointed at Shen Wu and said jokingly, “You’re not afraid, are you?”
“What a joke. As a man, I’m afraid!” Shen Wu patted his chest and ran into the corner with a smile.
Escort Mei gestured at the escort beside him. That person understood and followed behind Shen Wu to keep tabs on him. He saw that he was indeed relieving himself in the dark.
Ruyi hummed a tune and hid in the corner. Shen Wu walked behind him and stuffed a bamboo tube into Ruyi’s hand. He stood at the side to relieve himself and muttered, “Damn place. There’s no place to exchange banknotes.”
Ruyi stuffed the tube into his pants and turned to walk out. When he reached the corner of the corridor, he saw someone secretly staring at Shen Wu. Ruyi pretended not to see him and walked past him.
The man saw Ruyi walking past and Shen Wu coming over with his pants up. He quickly retreated to the fire and whispered to Escort Mei, “He just peed. He didn’t talk to that person or see any movement.”
Escort Mei saw Shen Wu come out and nodded. The escort stopped talking.
Ruyi returned to the hall with the bamboo tube and sat down beside Zhou Jia. He stuffed the bamboo tube into Zhou Jia’s pocket. Zhou Jia noticed Ruyi’s actions and glanced at Ruyi in his heart, ignoring the bamboo tube in the pocket.
The bodyguard, who was secretly spying on Ruyi, saw that Ruyi and Zhou Jia did not do anything unusual and went back to report.
Seeing that the people peeping outside had left, Zhou Jia handed the bamboo tube in his pocket to Li Yu and said in her ear, “Yu’er, I’ll leave this to you. Keep it.”
“Yes!” Li Yu agreed in a low voice. She pinched the bamboo tube in her hand and thought to herself that there was indeed something fishy.
Li Yu placed the bamboo tube into her space when no one was looking.
After a while, the cold medicine that Zhou Jia had taken took effect. He leaned against Li Yu and fell asleep. Li Yu covered Zhou Jia with the cloak. Two hours later, she touched Zhou Jia’s forehead and only fell asleep after noting that the heat had subsided.
Ruyi, Zhao Cai, and He Tiezhu guarded carefully for half the night until dawn appeared on the horizon. The people who stayed overnight in the Taoist temple set off one after another. The team of escorts also drove the carriage away. Nothing else happened.
Xiaoyu cooked some porridge with the mud stove. After everyone ate briefly, Li Yu and Zhou Jia packed their luggage and drove off.
Ruyi walked up to Zhou Jia and reported to him, “Young Master, after Shen Wu handed the bamboo tube to me, he said that there’s no place to exchange silver in this godforsaken place. Do you think he has other intentions?”
Zhou Jia and Li Yu looked at each other and thought of the Four Seas Bank at the same time. Zhou Jia said to Ruyi, “I understand. Let’s go!”
Shen Wu, Escort Mei, and the others set off for the capital before dawn. Shen Wu was secretly worried that Ruyi did not understand what he meant. However, it was not easy for him to meet a suitable person to send the item away. He would not be willing to give up if he did not gamble!
Li Yu and the others arrived at Qitong County the next afternoon. After checking at the city gate, they entered the city. Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, let’s go to the Four Seas Bank first.”
Li Yu took the reins from Zhou Jia’s hand. “Alright, get out of the car and ask someone which street the Four Seas Bank is on.”
The carriage slowly stopped. Zhou Jia jumped out of the carriage and asked a man for the location of the Four Seas Bank. After getting into the carriage, he said to Li Yu, “That big brother said that the Four Seas Bank has branches on the east and west sides of the city. If we enter the east city gate, we’ll go straight to the east street.”
Li Yu nodded and looked at the clothes of the pedestrians on the street. They looked better and more prosperous than the people in Tongzhou City. Li Yu said to Zhou Jia, “Xiao Xi, Qitong County looks better than Tongzhou City. Will the cities get better the nearer we get to the capital?”
When Zhou Jia heard this, he thought for a moment and said, “That’s not necessarily true. County Qitong is mainly located in a good location. When you leave the capital and go to Tongzhou, Qingzhou or Liangzhou, you’ll have to pass through here. There are many merchants coming and going, and places with many merchants are more prosperous.”
Li Yu nodded. “That’s true.”
After walking for another quarter of an hour, Li Yu saw the Four Seas Bank on the left street. The Four Seas Bank here was also a two-story building. There were people coming and going at the entrance of the bank. Its business was even more prosperous than Tongzhou City.
Zhou Jia stopped the cart. Li Yu handed the small wooden sword and bamboo tube to Zhou Jia. “Be careful.”
Zhou Jia nodded. Ruyi stopped the cart behind and walked to Zhou Jia. He said to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, I’ll accompany you.”
“That’s a good idea.” The master and servant walked into the bank. The shop assistant asked solicitously, “May I ask if you want to deposit silver or exchange notes?”
Zhou Jia looked at the shop assistant and said, “I’m a friend of Chu Sihai from the Four Seas Bank in Tongzhou. Shopkeeper Chu asked me to help him bring something to your shopkeeper.”
When the shop assistant heard that Zhou Jia was Chu Sihai’s friend, he hurriedly bowed and said, “So you’re the shopkeeper’s friend. Please sit in the inner hall. I’ll report to the shopkeeper now.”
“Thank you.” Zhou Jia brought Ruyi into the inner hall with the shop assistant. After the shop assistant poured the tea, the shopkeeper followed the shop assistant into the hall.
