Volume 1: Gathering Winds of Splendor Chapter 26: Arrival in the Imperial City

  The sky began to darken gradually, and An Liancheng ordered his guards to find an inn at random to rest.

  Anxin Rou listened to Ling Su's lecture with a lackluster expression, occasionally nodding weakly in agreement. Time seemed to pass as slowly as a turtle, and it wasn't until the carriage finally came to a stop that she let out a long sigh of relief, her face lighting up with a bright smile.

  A few people got off the carriage and looked up at the sign hanging from the inn with a sense of relief, "Welcome Inn"

  "Although the place is small, the name is quite elegant." An Liancheng followed An Xin's gaze and praised.

  "Su Su, shall we open a few rooms?" An Liancheng's black eyes flashed with an unusual light as he asked Ling Su Su beside him.

  "Open room?" An Xin's eyes lit up, and the dark alley finally heard a familiar yet obscene term. Evil thoughts instantly flooded his mind again. Looking at An Liancheng's eyes filled with lustful thoughts, he curled up the corners of his mouth, and a deeply meaningful smile floated onto his face.

  Wow, tonight is going to be a wild night, I wonder if the wooden bed in this inn can withstand the intense movement of two people.

  "Mother, I want to sleep alone, you and father can share a room." An Xin slightly narrowed her eyes, covering the mischievous smile in her gaze, then playfully winked at An Liancheng who was looking at her, throwing him a "you know what I mean" glance.

  "You used to be with me every day, why do you want to sleep alone today?" Ling SuSu pursed her lips tightly, trying to calm down the frequency of her heartbeat, and a hint of panic flashed in her beautiful eyes.

  "Ah, daughters will eventually get married anyway, now it's just getting used to it." An Xin's face was calm and composed, her eyes rolled around in a circle, and she made a decisive gesture with her hand, "It's been decided so happily."

  "Xin'er is right, let's go in. Standing at the door will affect others' business." An Liancheng made a grateful expression to An Xin and stepped into the inn first.

  With a relieved and pleased smile, this isn't free help, it's going to cost some money. Thinking like that, the light smile on An Xin's face grew several degrees heavier. With one hand holding onto Ling Chui, and the other arm hooked around Ling SuSu's elbow, they walked into the inn.

  Under the pressure of Ling Susu's silent urging, they finally finished their meal on the table downstairs and went back to their room one after another.

  Relaxing with a toothpick leaning against the back of the chair, lazily picking his teeth, two small ears perked up listening to the movements in the next room. However, after half an hour, he still didn't hear any sound that would make him blush and skip a beat. An Xin furrowed his brow, could it be that ancient building materials had strong soundproofing effects? That shouldn't be, he threw away the toothpick in his hand, his right hand reached up to take his own pulse, and then withdrew with some annoyance.

  It's infuriating, An Xin cursed silently, it was all her own doing, blaming herself for activating the triple lock five years ago. Now she was in a predicament, without at least half a month, her powers would absolutely not recover. How could she possibly eavesdrop on the movements in the next room? Her father's martial arts skills were deeply hidden, and it would be easy for him to stop someone who had lost all their internal energy from eavesdropping.

  She let out a sigh of relief, but her usual trick had backfired and she was the one who got pecked in the eye. Today's efforts were all for naught, she had worked hard for nothing and didn't even get a drop of oil to show for it. Just thinking about it made her feel resentful. But she couldn't just kick open the door and say with a smile, "I know 99 techniques, Father, please demonstrate them all, I'll personally guide you." If she dared to do that, her mother would definitely chase her for 3,000 miles with a knife, without even getting winded.

  Looked at the little beast that was happily chirping "squeak squeak", couldn't help but pout, heaven's fault can be forgiven, but one's own fault cannot be lived with. Clearly could have been holding soft jade and warm fragrance in arms, yet now can only hold a mouse to sleep, the difference is too great, hard to accept.

  The next day, An Xin got out of bed with two black eyes and washed up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw An Liancheng push open the door and come in. She saw that there was a faint blue shadow on his eyelids, and his face showed a hint of despair. An Xin wasn't surprised, but quickly figured out what was going on and snickered to herself. She put down the cloth she was using to wipe her face and greeted him with a smile, "Father, good morning! You look like you didn't get what you wanted last night, did you sleep on the floor?" An Xin deliberately used honorific language and drew out her tone to add to the mocking intent of her words.

  "Be mindful of your manners." An Liancheng did not get angry as An Xin had expected, but instead placed the breakfast tray on a small table in the room and left after saying a light sentence.

  Pride? What's that? Can it be eaten as rice, or exchanged for silver? After muttering to herself in a calm tone, she sat down on the stool, picked up her chopsticks and wolfed down the breakfast in front of her.

  Having eaten his fill and fed the Temple of Five Zang Organs, he let out a satisfied belch.

  After everyone had finished packing, An Liancheng and the other two got into their carriage and continued on their journey. After three days and nights of non-stop travel, they finally arrived in the capital city at dusk.

  The bustling street was filled with the constant din of noise, Anxin opened a slit in the curtains and saw that the wide street was no less impressive than the roads of her past life. The small vendors were neatly arranged along the street, calling out their wares in an orderly manner. But after just a quick glance, Anxin put down the curtain and fell silent.

  "Xin'er, don't you like the prosperity of the capital?" An Liancheng thought that she had suddenly changed her environment and it was normal for her not to adapt.

  "It's nothing." He replied lazily.

  After a while, the carriage stopped and the guard reported in a low voice, "General, we have arrived."

  An Liancheng carefully got off the car with Ling Susu, every move and gesture was as if he was handling a precious treasure.

  She jumped down from the carriage with ease, her eyes scanning the general's mansion before her. The general's residence was solemn and majestic, with two large red-lacquered gates tightly closed. In front of the gate stood two lion carvings that seemed to come alive, exuding an air of ancient elegance and stability. She slightly furrowed her brow, finding it not much different from what she had imagined.

  The guard stepped up to the steps, knocked on the copper ring of the large gate, and in an instant, the gate creaked open from inside. A middle-aged man in his 40s, wearing dark blue clothes, walked out with a steady and light pace, neither fast nor slow, with a clear rhythm, obviously possessing martial arts skills. He was followed by a group of guards who were guarding the gate.

  He felt at ease seeing the middle-aged man wearing a waist card, guessing that he was the steward of the General's Mansion. The steward of the General's Mansion was naturally not an ordinary person and being skilled in martial arts was nothing unusual.

  The housekeeper walked out and saw the group of people at the entrance, his face full of smiles, took a step forward and bowed, "General's wife is back, Ling Zhong has seen General's wife." When he saw An Xin, he was stunned for half a moment before regaining consciousness, sizing her up from head to toe, with joy in his eyes, "Miss has grown so big."

  "Where's the young master?" An Liancheng asked as he pulled Ling Susu along, walking further in. Ling Susu struggled with all her might but couldn't break free, so she had no choice but to give up.

  "The young master has personally set up a table of wine and dishes in his courtyard, saying that he will wait for the general to return together. Ling Zhong replied, turned around and saw An Xin still standing at the door, looking around, "Miss, please enter the mansion."

  Nodding slightly, he didn't know what to say and followed An Liancheng inside.

  Digression

  Oh dear, starting a career of intriguing plots and counterplots, with many handsome men.