The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2278 - 2253: Invitation Again (Extra Vote Bonus for April 3)

Assistant General Nie actually wanted to ask if they had left the treasure in the village, but there were a lot of matters along the way. Especially this time, their soldiers were severely injured, and most of the survivors were wounded. They had run out of medical supplies long ago, so they never had the chance to ask.

After entering the city, Bai Shan gave a gold ingot to Steward Li and asked him to buy medicine according to the prescription at the pharmacy. Suddenly, there seemed to be no need to ask.

As soon as they settled into the inn, everyone let out a breath of relief. Manbao said, "I’ll go check on the reality of the body’s condition in a while, Yin Huo, how are you feeling?"

The other day, amidst the chaos and busyness, she didn’t have time to check on them.

Yin Huo smiled and said, "I don’t feel any discomfort."

"That’s good," Bai Shan said, "I’ll have someone look for some houses in Gaochang. We’ll rent a few courtyards to stay."

Thinking of what happened at the city gate made him frown slightly, "Let’s have Assistant General Nie stay with us; no need to go stay with the military."

General Guo seemed to be somewhat unfriendly towards them, though he appeared quite courteous. They could sense whether the intentions were good or bad.

According to the rules, upon entering Xizhou, Assistant General Nie and his men’s lodging and meals would follow the Anxi military.

But they currently have many injured, and their total number isn’t many. One or two courtyards would suffice, so there’s no need to go to the Anxi military and be subjected to their whims.

With this thought, Bai Shan directly said, "That’s settled. At that time, we’ll rent a couple more courtyards, and everyone can stay close by."

Assistant General Nie had just arranged for his men and was about to ask when they would report to the Anxi military when he heard this and paused.

Wei Xingren worried, "What if the Protectorate asks about it..."

"Just say that we need to go out of the city to find people and things later, so we need protection when entering and leaving the city. It’s more convenient to stay nearby."

Manbao said, "There’s no need for the Anxi military to worry about our expenses; we’ll handle it ourselves."

Assistant General Nie: ... That sounds fairly generous.

Wei Xingren agreed, "This is why Mr. Zhuang and the two envoys came along; communicating with local officials is their job from the Honglu Temple. As the main official, Zhou Man only needs to find the prescriptions."

With things set, everyone began to take action.

But before that, they needed to freshen up and have a good meal.

Right now, being tired was the least of their concerns; being filthy and hungry were the priorities.

So the group ordered a significant amount of hot water and each began to wash up in their rooms. Luckily, the inn was once a state-level one; otherwise, it would have been hard to get so much hot water in the Western Regions at that time.

Manbao finished bathing, dried her hair, brushed it, and then went downstairs with a rosy face.

The attendant at the inn glanced up to greet her and was stunned upon seeing her.

Manbao noticed his dazed expression and asked, "Where are they?"

The attendant came to his senses and quickly pointed ahead, "In, in the front."

So Manbao went to the front.

The back was where people stayed, while the front was for dining and entertainment, which was similar in layout to the inns in the capital.

She hadn’t made it there yet when she heard the apologetic voice of the steward from the morning. She rounded the entrance and saw Bai Shan smiling as he said to the steward, "General Guo is overthinking. We’ve been traveling for a long time, and we’re quite dirty. How could we dare disturb the General like this? That’s why we stayed at the inn first."

He said, "If there is a misunderstanding, would the Junior General kindly put in a good word with the steward?"

Guo Zhao, who had been sitting at the table drinking tea and appearing disinterested, was momentarily stunned. He looked up at Bai Shan, then at the steward, and nodded openly, "Sure."

The steward was about to kneel. How could he dare let the Young Master plead for him?

It was better not to say it; saying it would truly be risking his life.

The steward was on the verge of tears, lamenting how he hadn’t realized this mission would be so difficult. If he had known, he wouldn’t have snatched it.

Before coming, he thought it would be just about making things difficult for the Liu family’s young master. The delegation was just incidental. Before leaving, he had carefully asked the commanding soldiers about it. Apart from one elder with some credentials, only Assistant General Nie could be talked to.

Assistant General Nie was handling military matters, and he would report to the barracks once in the city. The rest were just a few young young masters and a little lady, right?

Even if they made things difficult, it wasn’t a low-level difficulty. All the preparations were good. It was just to make the Liu family’s young master a laughing stock so that the General would have something to say when he met with the Liu family next time. Who knew they’d be so difficult, and they couldn’t even be invited?

Bai Shan had only just finished washing up a short while ago, and Bai Erlang and the others were still dawdling upstairs, so at this time, it was just him facing the steward. He turned his head and saw Manbao coming down, and he smiled, "Are you ready?"

Manbao nodded, walked over, and nodded to Guo Zhao as a greeting before plopping down opposite him. Seeing the small pastries on the table, she picked them up to eat.

The small pastries on the inn’s table were just to sweeten the mouth, so they were not only small but also few. Manbao quickly finished them within a few bites. Bai Shan saw this and asked, "Hungry?"

Manbao nodded.

Bai Shan said, "I’ve asked Steward Li to go find nearby restaurants and eateries. We’ll go out to eat in a bit."

Guo Zhao then said, "Why not ask me?"

The steward, who was about to answer quickly, choked and immediately followed up, "Lord Zhou, our general has set up a banquet at the residence, just waiting for the lords to join."

He said, "The lords have come from afar and are not willing to stay at our General’s Residence, but a welcoming banquet is still needed, so please do not decline."

Now, he seemed genuinely much more respectful.

Manbao was contemplating whether to accept or refuse when a steady voice already responded, "Thank you for the General’s trouble."

Mr. Zhuang came out from the back with a smile.

Manbao and Bai Shan quickly stood and saluted, inviting the teacher to sit.

Mr. Zhuang smiled at the two, then said to the steward, "We will go. May I ask when the banquet will be?"

Guo Zhao gave a half-smile as he looked at the steward.

A bead of sweat slid down the steward’s forehead as he said, "The feast will begin at Xu Shi (7 p.m.-9 p.m.)..."

Manbao and Bai Shan couldn’t help but look at him. At Xu Shi, it was already dark, and right now it was only around Wei Shi (1 p.m.-3 p.m.). They hadn’t had lunch, and should they skip dinner too, just to wait until night for a drink?

The steward seemed to realize his mistake and hurriedly tried to find a remedy. Mr. Zhuang, however, already smiled thoughtfully, "Please assure the General that we will certainly be on time. I wonder which other officials will be there at the banquet? We encountered bandits previously, and then encountered Tubo troops, losing quite a lot of our luggage. Originally, we brought local specialties from the capital for the General, but alas, it was too rude to lose them all."

The steward quickly said, "Not at all, the General is already very happy that the lords are coming."

Their encounter with the Tubo troops was not a secret. The steward had already guessed they might have lost a lot of luggage, possibly even having little gold and silver left.