If it were in the past, Peng Wang would never have brought prisoners with him to a large prefecture to purchase supplies.
There were many wealthy people in the prefectures, and prices were much higher than those in some small counties.
For officers, it was more appropriate to purchase the same items in cheaper places.
However, things were different now. They had been eating wild vegetable soup for four or five days. If this continued, they would probably run out of strength to keep traveling.
The group entered Anning Commandery under Peng Wang's lead.
Perhaps because they rarely came here, Peng Wang was not as familiar with this place as he was with other counties.
Asking all the way, they arrived at what was said to be the cheapest inn in Anning Commandery.
It had to be said that the prefecture was much more prosperous than the counties. Even the cheapest inn here looked higher-grade than those they had stayed at before.
The front door of the inn was wide open to the street. A waiter stood at the door specially to attract customers.
Seeing people coming, the waiter sized them up first. Seeing Peng Wang and others dressed as officers, he warmly welcomed them in.
They had wanted to casually get a few ten-people rooms to accommodate the prisoners, as they did before. But the inn simply didn't have such rooms.
The cheapest five-people room cost 500 wen per night.
At this point, Peng Wang didn't care too much. If it was expensive, then so be it. After all, they could still afford it.
The Mo family had money on hand and would arrange it themselves. As for the other families, those who were willing to spend money would stay in the guest rooms, while those without money would sleep outside the inn. As long as no one ran away, other things were secondary.
The Fang and Xie families did feel somewhat reluctant to spend so much money to stay in the hotel, especially since the five-person rooms could only accommodate five people.
But after so many days of dining in the wind and sleeping in the dew, they were somewhat uncomfortable physically. Finally, they gritted their teeth and decided to rent a room anyway so the whole family could squeeze together, which was still better than sleeping outside.
He Zhiran didn't feel anything about this. She directly booked two five-people rooms and a double room.
The He family was most miserable, only being able to rest in the corridor behind the inn.
After everyone settled down, Peng Wang took the initiative to ask He Zhiran if she wanted to go out and purchase supplies.
Of course He Zhiran would not refuse. She expressed her gratitude and prepared to go out.
Seeing this, the Fang and Xie families also pleaded with Peng Wang, hoping he could give them some time to purchase supplies.
It had to be said that these two families were really taking advantage of the Mo family. Not only did Peng Wang give them some money, but the officers did not take advantage of them either.
To the Fang and Xie families, this was already the greatest blessing bestowed upon them by heaven.
Although Peng Wang did not object to the two families going out shopping, he could not let them go out alone with the extremely trusting attitude he had towards He Zhiran.
Therefore, just to be safe, Peng Wang sent two officers to follow them.
Seeing that He Zhiran had already stepped out of the door, Mo Jiuye bid Peng Wang farewell and hurried to catch up with her.
"I'll go with you."
Seeing Mo Jiuye's firm attitude, He Zhiran did not object.
The two tacitly accelerated their pace to keep their distance from the Xie and Fang families behind them as much as possible. This would make their actions more convenient.
With Mo Jiuye following her, it was not so convenient for her to take things out of her space.
Fortunately, there were abundant goods in Anning Commandery. As long as they had money, they could buy whatever they needed.
While shopping, the two also discovered that almost everyone in Anning Commandery was talking about one thing—the flood in Dongfeng County.
What most people discussed was not how serious the disaster was, but how bold County Prefect Meng Huaining was to dare burn the bodies of the dead.
It was said that this matter had already shocked the imperial court. His Majesty had sent Prince Qi as the imperial censor to handle this matter.
As soon as Prince Qi arrived, Meng Huaining would probably be severely punished.
It was understandable. The common people could not accept the fact that their family members’ corpses were cremated. Meng Huaining must have thought of the possible consequences when he decided to do it.
What was unexpected was that His Majesty had actually sent Nan Qi as the imperial censor to handle this matter.
From He Zhiran's understanding of history, Nan Qi was in desperate need of talent at this moment.
Once he expressed support for Meng Huaining's approach, Meng Huaining would certainly be grateful to Nan Qi for appreciating his talents and join his camp.
This was probably one of the opportunities for Meng Huaining to get acquainted with Fei Nanyu.
Of course, these things were just guesses made by He Zhiran in her heart. She was not very concerned about the details.
Although Fei Nanyu and Meng Huaining were key figures in the future court, they currently had no impact on the Mo family.
He Zhiran only hoped that once Meng Huaining joined Nan Qi's camp, he would keep his promise and not reveal that she had provided him with prescriptions.
Mo Jiuye listened casually as well. After all, court affairs no longer had anything to do with him...
Mo Jiuye was almost silent on the road. Whenever He Zhiran bought something, he would take the initiative to carry it for her, so that she wouldn't have to work hard at all.
Seeing that Mo Jiuye was already full of the items she had purchased, He Zhiran took the initiative to help.
But Mo Jiuye stubbornly refused to let her lend a hand, insisting on advancing steadily under the weight by himself.
He Zhiran had no choice. Seeing that Mo Jiuye was already full of supplies, the two returned to the inn together.
Old Lady Mo brought the women over to help organize things. The Third and Fourth Sister-in-Laws took He Zhiran aside.
The two took out a purse from their bosoms at the same time and gave them to her.
"Ninth Sister-in-Law, you’ve been spending your own money all the way since we left the capital. Now mother-in-law has asked you to be in charge, so we’re handing all our money over for you to manage."
He Zhiran was stunned for a moment, and quickly returned the purses.
"Sisters-in-Law, take the money back. I’ll come to you when I run out."
What He Zhiran was thinking was that one never knew whether the journey ahead would be peaceful. If she got separated from her family or something else happened, at least they would have money on hand and their lives wouldn't be too difficult.
The two sister-in-laws didn't know He Zhiran's real thoughts. They insisted on giving her the money.
After being rejected by He Zhiran again, they had to give up the idea for the time being and went to help handle the supplies.
After days of dining in the wind and sleeping in the dew, everyone finally enjoyed a normal meal and felt very satisfied.
Only the He family, who had no money, could only eat the dark steamed buns given by the officers.
After resting for a night in the inn, everyone felt revived, as if with full health.
Under Peng Wang's order, everyone set off again.
After continuous marching for three days, they were blocked by a mountain.
The Eighth Old Zhou stepped forward and pointed to the mountain ahead, "Boss, it's already afternoon. Why don't we rest here tonight and cross the mountain tomorrow?"
"Okay, let's rest at the foot of the mountain tonight and climb it tomorrow."
The Eighth Old Zhou turned his head and shouted at the team behind: "Go to the foot of the mountain. Find your place to rest. Continue traveling tomorrow!"
