Aunt Fang saw Rong Hong as if she had seen a savior, and immediately fell to her knees at his feet to plead her case.
After a long, rambling complaint, her main point was that she wanted the person who hit her fat nephew beaten to death.
Rong Hong watched coldly for a while before saying, "Are you finished?"
Aunt Fang's eyes glistened with tears, feeling terribly wronged.
"Since you're so fond of your nephew, why don't you go back to your maiden home with him?"
He coldly instructed Steward Liu, "Find some people to escort Aunt Fang and her nephew back, along with a letter of divorce to be delivered to the Fang family."
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Aunt Fang was dumbfounded.
Wasn't she just seeking justice for her nephew? How did she end up with a divorce letter?
Before Aunt Fang could beg for mercy, the servants, at Steward Liu's signal, swiftly gagged her and dragged her away along with her beloved fat nephew.
Rong Hong looked apologetically at Old Gu Six and Chang'an, "It's my fault for not managing my household well. I'm sorry you had to experience this unpleasantness."
The father and daughter pair smiled awkwardly, thinking they hadn't really suffered any grievance—it was his concubine who had.
Tsk, at his age, taking such a young and beautiful girl as a concubine, how improper.
Old Gu Six bid farewell to Rong Hong, "Uncle Rong, thank you for your hospitality. We'll be leaving Ningbei County today. When we meet again, I hope all your wishes will have come true."
Rong Hong wanted to ask the father and daughter to stay for two more days, but after a moment's thought, he didn't voice it. This place wasn't ideal right now; the sooner they left, the better.
"I'll have the steward prepare some food for your journey."
Old Gu Six didn't refuse, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Rong. We'll trouble Steward Liu then."
Steward Liu humbly replied, "It's my duty, sir."
The father and daughter had a farewell meal with Rong Hong, loaded up the provisions prepared by Steward Liu, and gradually disappeared into the distance under Rong Hong's watchful gaze.
When they reached the commercial street, Old Gu Six stopped in front of a clothing store.
"Daughter, wait for me in the carriage. I'll be back shortly."
"Alright," Chang'an thought her father was probably buying clothes for her, as she had grown taller and her clothes were now too short.
She had a wall in her space from her previous life where her grandfather had marked her height when she was little. She measured herself and found she was now 1.4 meters tall.
A quarter of an hour later, Old Gu Six came out carrying three large packages.
"Dad, why did you buy so much? I'm still growing. You should have bought more clothes for yourself."
Old Gu Six stuffed the three large packages into the carriage and calmly said, "Don't worry, I've got it covered. I bought clothes that will fit you until you're fourteen."
"Didn't you buy anything for yourself?"
"I don't need to. I have enough clothes, and we still have fabric at home. If I need more, I can just sew a couple."
"No way, you should buy yourself a couple of nice outfits. We're not short on money now, no need to be so frugal."
"Daughter, I don't need to dress too well. We haven't settled down yet, we shouldn't attract too much attention. How about I buy clothes made of cloud brocade to wear in the future?"
"...Alright," she thought. It seemed to make sense.
She then imagined her father in fine silks and brocades, looking like a young master from a noble family, but with two oxen following him around, instantly transforming his image into that of a foolish son of a landlord.
Actually, he didn't need to dress too well, just appropriately for his image.
Old Gu Six thought about what Rong Hong had said and made a decision, "Daughter, how about we find a mountain forest to live in seclusion?"
"Okay, wherever you want to go, I'll follow."
"Mm, when the world becomes peaceful again, we'll come out and settle down."
Chang'an remembered someone's advice not to go deep into the mountains. "Dad, let's find a place near the sea," she suggested. They could go fishing when they had nothing else to do.
Having traveled to so many places with her father, she had a general understanding of this world's geography. It was similar to the map of her previous world, just with different place names from ancient times.
Thinking for a moment about coastal areas, she wondered about Xuantu Commandery?
But there was also the Yan Kingdom nearby, equivalent to the Khitan people in ancient times of her previous world.
This place could be ruled out. Being at the border of two countries was fine when things were peaceful, but they could easily become collateral damage if conflicts arose.
Well, they'd figure it out as they went along.
Seeing that Chang'an had a place in mind, Old Gu Six immediately agreed.
His daughter's happiness was the most important thing.
Chang'an stored the three large packages of clothes in her space, then came out to sit on the shaft of the cart and asked Old Gu Six, "Dad, didn't you want to settle down here before? Why are we leaving now?"
"Because some people's ambitions are too big. If we want to live peacefully, we need to find another place."
They chased the sunset as they left Ningbei County, once again taking the road they had come on.
At night, camping in the wilderness, Chang'an quietly asked Old Gu Six, "Dad, do you know what Grandpa's identity was before?"
She had been curious for a long time and finally asked.
Old Gu Six handed the jade pendant to Chang'an. "Keep this safe. This jade pendant is very useful."
"Your grandfather, ah, he was quite something, but unfortunately, he was unlucky. His original name was Ji Xiaosheng. Ji was the royal surname. He was the current emperor's full brother.
Because he was too outstanding, he was feared by his brother, the emperor. As for how he ended up becoming a hunter in Qingfang Village, your grandfather didn't explain in detail.
He only said it was like a cicada shedding its shell. As for hiding his identity? It was probably to save his life."
Chang'an had considered many possibilities, but never imagined he would be royalty.
The father and daughter chatted intermittently as the sun rose and set, ushering in a new day.
They chose a different road this time, their destination left to chance.
However, their luck didn't seem to be very good. They seemed to have a special affinity for bandits, and this time they encountered truly vicious ones.
Their mule cart was surrounded by a group of burly men reeking of blood. The bandit leader didn't waste words, immediately demanding money.
Would Old Gu Six give it to them? Of course not, so a fight was inevitable.
Chang'an, seeing the situation, knew her rudimentary martial arts skills wouldn't be of much use. This was where her lightning ability could come in handy.
As soon as the fight broke out, Chang'an used her ability. While Old Gu Six cut down their leader and deputy leader, Chang'an struck down the others with lightning.
The sky rumbled with thunder, and lightning struck from a clear sky for a good half quarter of an hour, completely depleting Chang'an's ability.
There were too many bandits, so Old Gu Six only took the money from the two leaders' bodies, leaving the other small fry alone.
The father and daughter pair drove their mule cart away at full speed from the scene. When the nearby bandits came down from the mountain, all they saw was a group of people lying on the ground, struck by lightning, their fates unknown.
The two leaders had already been beheaded, and the third-in-command 'mournfully' succeeded as the new leader of the mountain stronghold.
Old Gu Six and Chang'an traveled for two days straight before finally slowing down. This time, they avoided towns and stuck to mountain paths.
In places where the mule cart couldn't pass easily, Chang'an would store the carriage in her space, bringing it out again when the road became passable.
They traveled on and off, not knowing where they had arrived. What was certain was that they hadn't found a suitable place yet.
As they passed by a small village, they seemed to hear someone calling out to them.
"Gu, Gu, Gu..."
It sounded like someone with a stutter, repeatedly saying "Gu."
