Chapter 446: Arriving at the Capital

To her surprise, when the two of them heard this, they looked very confident. They had made ample preparations before setting off.

Ruyi smiled and said, “Uncle Xu and Xiaocui are still there. Everything has been arranged. There’s no problem at all!”

Shu Botong nodded immediately and said, “That’s right. All the necessary arrangements have been put in place. Before leaving the building, I had bought a few hardy and durable locks to lock up the place properly. Don’t worry, it’s very safe!”

At this moment, the carriage had already set off. It was too late for Xiaoguo to say anything else. So be it. It would be much livelier with more people traveling with her.

Yesterday, Shu Botong went to look for Qin Anming after Xiaoguo left the two-storey building. Coincidentally, Ruyi was also at the noodle shop. After some discussion, the three of them came up with a plan with the same goal in mind.

They were not going to let Xiaoguo visit the capital alone. If she wanted to go, they would have to accompany her since there was strength in numbers. Moreover, they could spend some time enjoying themselves in the capital. Why not take advantage of the opportunity?

Hence, the three of them decided to go together with her.

…..

Fortunately, the people at the courier station were pretty accommodating. Seeing that there were a few more people joining Xiaoguo at the last minute, they prepared a larger carriage for them.

Otherwise, they would have to travel in two carriages and trouble two couriers to escort them to the capital.

“Xiaoguo, Zhuang Zhuang, are you guys hungry?”

Qin Anming asked as he took out the sesame seed cakes from his bag.

The two of them shook their heads and Qin Anming turned to ask the others including the couriers who were seated outside the carriages. When he found out that they weren’t hungry, he put the snacks back into his bag.

“Brother, have you brought dried food with you?”

Xiaoguo noticed a bulging pack in his bag. At first, she thought it was clothes, but now she realized that it was a bag of dry food.

“Yes, the food is still hot. I have pies, steamed buns,and scallion pancakes.”

This was his first time traveling to the capital, so he didn’t know what to prepare. He only knew that most people bring dry food with them when traveling, so he brought some just in case.

“Brother, did you bring any clothes?”

“Aiyo, I forgot.”

After Xiaoguo asked, Qin Anming suddenly realized that he had forgotten to bring extra sets of clothes because he was too caught up thinking about what snacks to bring.

“Then we’ll buy some clothes for you along the way.”

“Yes, yes…” Qin Anming nodded shyly and hugged Zhuang Zhuang, who was laughing at him. Then, he turned his gaze outside, refusing to look at the few people in the car who were trying to hold back their laughter.

Ruyi looked at him with a broad smile. What should she do? Her dearest Brother Anming is so adorable. Just the thought of going on a trip with him to the capital filled her heart with so much joy.

Xiaoguo covered her face and snickered to herself. Her silly brother was really quite cute.

In any case, the weather was cold now, so the food stuff would not spoil easily. It was better to bring more with them.

It was Ruyi’s first time going on a long trip, and it was also her first time going to the capital. When she told the others in the shop last night, they were all feeling envious. If the situation allowed, she really felt like bringing everyone along with her.

Although she was just a hitchhiker herself, she believed Xiaoguo wouldn’t mind her tagging along.

With that thought in mind, Ruyi gave Xiaoguo a friendly smile. When Xiaoguo smiled in return, Ruyi looked outside the carriage in relief.

“Hmm… So this is what it looks like outside the county. There are so many main roads here…”

Xiaoguo stopped smiling. Qin Anming was following her because he was worried about her. Xiaoguo could roughly guess why Ruyi was tagging along. However, she wasn’t sure why Shu Botong was coming with them.

Shu Botong sensed that someone was looking at him and instinctively turned around. He was stunned for a moment when he met Xiaoguo’s gaze. In the next instant, he quickly looked away, pretending like nothing had happened.

His subconscious actions made Xiaoguo even more certain that he had ulterior motives.

Was this considered as his admission of guilt?

Shu Botong secretly thought to himself, “Did I reveal anything?’

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling were young and lively to begin with. Fortunately, the carriage was big enough for the two of them to play around in.

Zhuang Zhuang was forced into his uncle’s arms to share the awkwardness. He had wanted to get closer to his mother, but his uncle refused to let him go. Helpless, he had no choice but to give up.

After all, it was very comfortable and warm in his uncle’s arms, so he just leaned against him.

In the military camp in the capital city, today was the monthly military drill.

The soldiers on the training ground were filled with excitement. The other commanders were all feeling exhilarated when they saw this. If not for the fact that they were concerned about a particular high-ranking person, they would have joined in the drills themselves.

Jiang Danhe sat in his elevated seat, with a blank and distracted look in his eyes. It is rare for him to be in this state.

The two officers, who had been beaten up lightly, started discussing secretly between themselves.

“What’s wrong with the general?”

“Who knows?”

“Has he been like this since yesterday?”

“Yesterday? He’s been like this since he came back from his last break.”

“What did the deputy general say?”

“He didn’t dare to say anything.”

“What happened this time?”

“Are you kidding? It was ages ago.”

“I don’t know. I had just come back from my family leave after getting married.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I almost forgot. Anyway, for some reason, didn’t you notice that the deputy general and all the other officers are avoiding the general like mice running away from the cat?”

“That’s true. Now that you mention it, I remember. The last time our deputy general…”

“Ahem, ahem, ahem!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Ahem, ahem, ahem, stop it!”

“You have gotten so weak after getting married.”

The officer with the fake cough rolled his eyes at him. “You’re so obtuse. No wonder you haven’t gotten a promotion all this while.”

Seeing that the other party still wanted to continue speaking, he decided to ignore him and quietly moved his stool away from the man.

The officer, who was still talking excitedly, suddenly felt an inexplicable cold wind blow past him. He felt like someone was watching him from a distance.

He thought to himself that something didn’t feel quite right. Straightening his back, he stole a glance behind him. In that instant, he was petrified. The man seated closest to him could almost hear the sound of cracking bones coming from his body.

Jiang Danhe retracted his gaze and exhaled softly. Then, he tried his best to focus on the arena.

Could he just retire?

After all, he was only a few years away from 30 years old, and he was only a few decades away from 70 years old.

Time was passing so quickly that in the blink of an eye, it had flown past him. When he realized how much time had passed, he was startled. He was really getting old, and his daughter was still nowhere in sight.

“Sigh… Forget it, forget it. It is better to be realistic. If only Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang could fly into my arms right now…”

The others would definitely not realize that the general, who was so handsome and awe-inspiring, had such a vivid imagination.

Jiang Danhe had no idea that the wife and son he had been longing for were getting closer and closer to him.

The journey was much safer than Qin Anming had imagined. Apart from encountering some beggars and money collectors along the way, the group didn’t come across any bandits. And that definitely eased Qin Anming’s tense nerves.

Qin Anming also kept a close watch on Xiaoguo throughout the journey. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would stand in front of her to shield her from any possible danger. However, the constant vigilance gave her a lot of anxiety, and she almost started to believe that she was a valuable and sought-after target. It felt as if people from all over the country were trying to kidnap her.

Coincidentally, it was the time of year when people were rushing to the annual fairs that were being held all over the country. Along the way, the group shopped around and took short breaks in between. For the sake of safety, they chose to stay in inns. When they came across any local fairs, they would make a pit stop and join in with the locals, buying the clothes and food that they liked.

By the time they reached the capital, all of them were carrying large and small shopping bags, as if they had just returned from a long shopping trip.

The courier stopped the carriage at the general’s residence.

Ruyi, Yu Ling, and Xiao Zhu didn’t have a chance to rest their eyes since they entered the capital. At this moment, their eyes were wide open as they looked at the door of the general’s residence in disbelief.

Swallowing nervously at the same time, they wondered if this was a place that they could enter.

Xiaoguo got out of the car first. Looking at the familiar mansion, she smiled from the bottom of her heart. She couldn’t stop smiling when she knew that Jiang Danhe was right there, inside the mansion.

At the thought of seeing his father, Zhuang Zhuang was overjoyed. And so, he eagerly rushed into the house..