Three days after the imperial edict, the Qin family came to formally propose marriage. The leader was the third master of the Qin family, along with Qin Chuyuan, and a matchmaker.
In addition, they brought a lot of betrothal gifts, things the Gong family hadn't seen in their lives. Seeing the exquisite betrothal gifts, the Gong elders frowned.
Now marrying off their daughter, the bride's dowry had to be presented for people to see. With their family's status, they didn't know what kind of dowry to prepare for their daughter without looking shabby.
Unlike Gong's parents' worries, Gong Xiaohua didn't care about this marriage at all. She was busy preparing supplies for her upcoming business trip, as she would follow Lord Li on an assignment.
Last year, there was a flood problem in Nanlong Prefecture under the Dayi Dynasty. The palace had allocated a lot of silver for disaster relief and to build dams. But this year, just into the rainy season, after a few heavy rains, the dams collapsed again, causing numerous casualties.
Someone must have sabotaged it from behind. The King was furious and sent people to inspect Nanlong. But two days ago, news came that the inspector was killed during the inspection.
So Lord Li was appointed to investigate the matter in Nanlong despite the danger. To ensure Lord Li's safety, the Ministry of Justice selected a few skilled officers from the Prosecution Office to accompany him, without having them compete.
As the top expert in the Ministry of Justice, Gong Xiaohua was naturally on the list. Before leaving, Gong Xiaohua met with Qin Chuyuan, asking him to take care of her family and prevent the Lin family from harming the Gong family.
"Don't worry. I've sent people to closely monitor the Lin family. If they try to harm your family, I'll know about it."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. It would be ungrateful of me to drag your family down. Protecting your family is what I should do."
"Marrying you affects your status in the family a lot."
"It's okay. If not you, it would be someone else. They'll understand someday."
"Okay."
The room became quiet as they had nothing more to say. Although it was a fake marriage, Gong Xiaohua strangely felt a little awkward.
"Oh, please pass this letter to your sister for me."
Qin Chuyuan was surprised. Since when did she interact with his sister privately?
"What is this?"
"It's a secret. Your sister will understand when she sees it."
Qin Chuyuan took the letter. "I'll deliver it to her personally."
"Great. Well, nothing else. I should get going."
"Wait. Uh, about how long will you be away?"
"Probably one month, up to three months."
"That long? What if you can't make it back for our wedding?"
"Don't worry. I'll definitely rush back for the wedding."
"Be safe."
"I will. I should get going now."
"Let me walk you out."
"No need. I've already delayed your work. I can walk back myself."
"It's fine. Let's go."
Not giving Gong Xiaohua a chance to refuse, he walked out the door. Gong Xiaohua had no choice but to follow him.
When Qin Chuyuan sent Gong Xiaohua to her family's door, he took out a silver banknote and handed it to her.
"Take this."
"What is it?" Gong Xiaohua didn't react immediately.
"It's a banknote for you. It's best to carry some money when traveling."
"No need. My mother already gave me some."
Just then, Gong Xiaohua's mother's voice came from behind.
"Xiaohua? You're back. Why don't you come in?"
Gong's mother came to her daughter and saw Qin Chuyuan there too.
"Oh, Chuyuan is here too. Come in and sit for a while."
"Auntie."
"Aiya! Come in quick. Xiaohua, how can you not invite him in? That's impolite."
Gong Xiaohua was speechless. Just days ago, she was warning her against the Qin family, and now she was calling him so affectionately.
"Mother, he still has work."
"Yes, Auntie, I should get going."
"Alright, don't let us keep you."
"Take it." Qin Chuyuan put the banknote directly into Gong Xiaohua's hand and left.
Watching him leave, Gong Xiaohua turned and went back to the yard with her mother. Looking at the banknote in her hand, it was a huge sum of five hundred taels. He was really wealthy and generous.
"Xiaohua, this young master Qin is too generous. But don't spend it recklessly. Remember to return it when you have time."
The next day at dawn, Gong Xiaohua packed up and went to the Ministry of Justice to meet up with Lord Li's group to head to Nanlong Prefecture.
Although Gong Xiaohua was the top expert in the Ministry, lacking travel experience, she was just the deputy leader of the team. So the leader for this trip was Yu Wei, the leader of the Second Division of the Prosecution Office.
She and Yu Wei rode beside Lord Li's carriage on the left and right. The rest of the team were scattered around the carriage.
Their destination in Nanlong Prefecture was a county called Shuangyu, where the flooding originated and where the previous inspector died.
The county was situated along a river, with most residents making a living from fishing and textiles. Shuangyu County was also a trading hub, the most prosperous county in Nanlong Prefecture.
But this prosperous county was devastated by the heavy rains this year.
Shuangyu County was over a thousand miles from the Capital City. It would take Gong Xiaohua's group about half a month to get there by horse.
They posed as merchants from the north traveling south to trade, secretly investigating Shuangyu County.
To save time, they mostly took side roads from the Capital City, only going on main roads when they needed supplies.
Of course, the risks were greater on side roads. They encountered no less than five bandit attacks in just half of the journey.
"Damn it. How can bandits be so rampant without local officials stopping them?" one catching officer said.
"What can they do? No one wants to be a bandit unless forced to the edge. Most bandits we've met were just ordinary peasants trying to survive." Yu Wei said.
"Yu Wei is right. Life's hardships, ah." Lord Li chimed in from his carriage.
Everyone who was resting by the roadside quickly stood up and saluted him. "Sir."
"No need to be so courteous. You've all worked hard. It's getting late. Let's rest here tonight and continue tomorrow."
"Yes sir."
Then everyone automatically began dividing up tasks. The first thing they did was start cooking.
