The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2277 - 2252: Gracious Hospitality

General Guo, upon hearing that one of them was Minister Liu’s grandson, immediately stroked his beard and smiled. After laughing for a while, his eyes flashed with cold light, and he said, "Perfect timing, it turns out our families are related. Since my nephew has come to the Western Regions, as an uncle, how could I neglect him? Men, go and welcome our esteemed guests into the city at the gate the day after tomorrow."

He also ordered his men to prepare courtyards and houses, planning to keep Liu Huan and the others in his residence.

With injured soldiers, they took another half day to arrive.

A tall city appeared before them. It was the first large city they had seen in the Western Regions so far, so they quickened their pace.

Junior General Meng reined in his horse, pointed to the two large characters on the city gate, and read aloud, "Gao——chang——We’ve finally arrived at Gaochang."

Bai Shan and his companions: ...

They lifted their eyes to look at the two large characters on the city gate. Bai Shan frowned and couldn’t help but ask, "Xichang... uh, why do the characters Xizhou look a bit golden? Could they be gilded?"

Next to him, Guo Zhao said, "They’re not gilded, but they do have hints of yellow."

He said, "You also know, Gaochang believes in Buddhism. To win the people’s hearts, my father had people emphasize the use of yellow. Gold and copper are precious, so we wouldn’t dare use them on the city gate, but there is a kind of stone in the Gobi that, when ground into powder and mixed with water, is yellow. The color is quite similar to gold, so my father had it applied to the city gate."

Guo Zhao added, "Not only the two large characters on the city gate, but also some of the Buddha statues in the national temple are painted with this kind of pigment. Whether seen from up close or afar, they all gleam golden and look particularly beautiful."

While they were explaining, people who had been waiting at the city gate ran up to them, "Junior General, Junior General Meng, the general sent us to welcome you."

After saying this, he glanced at Bai Shan and his companions. Unable to recognize which one was Young Master Liu, he bent over and smiled, "You’re all from the diplomatic mission, correct? The general has prepared guest rooms at home, and I will lead you to rest."

After speaking, he was about to invite them into the city.

Bai Shan and his companions, who weren’t very familiar with the relations between the Liu and Guo families, initially wanted to take advantage of the Liu family’s kinship, but after meeting this person, Bai Shan and Manbao immediately dismissed the idea,

Bai Shan looked at Manbao and smiled.

Manbao turned her head and said to Guo Zhao with a smile, "Please thank General Guo for his hospitality on my behalf. However, since there are many people in the delegation, we will not disturb you for the time being. We will come to visit once we have settled in."

Having said that, she turned back and nodded slightly to Assistant General Nie, indicating for the convoy to enter the city first. They needed to find a post station to stay. If the post station wasn’t good enough, they’d have to find an inn.

The steward hadn’t anticipated this. He hurriedly blocked the path, "Oh dear, young lady, what’s the hurry..."

Bai Shan frowned, "How bold of you. Lord Zhou is the chief envoy of the diplomatic mission. How can you casually block the way?"

After saying this, he looked at Guo Zhao with some displeasure.

Guo Zhao immediately frowned and scolded the steward, "Why aren’t you moving aside?"

The steward hesitated and moved only a little, still blocking the path. He smiled obsequiously at Guo Zhao, "Young Master, these are the general’s orders. If the envoys don’t stay, how can I explain it to the general later?"

Manbao said with a half-smile, "Oh, do I have to listen to your orders? If I don’t, will I not be able to enter the city?"

The steward quickly said, "You’ve misunderstood, my lady. Our general is concerned about young master Liu, which is why he wants to entertain you. If you don’t want to come, then perhaps young master Liu could come with us, so we can better explain to the general."

Bai Shan, sitting on his horse, laughed, "I never realized the two families were so close. I hadn’t thought of that. How about this: guess which one of us is your young master Liu. If you guess right, he can go back to stay with you?"

Liu Huan: ...

How could they set him up like this?

The steward was also frozen. How could he dare to pick?

These young gentlemen were about the same age, and all of them had exceptional bearing. There’s no way to tell.

By the way, how old was their young master Liu again?

The steward tried to sneak a glance at Guo Zhao, hoping the young master would give him a hint.

But how could Guo Zhao help him with such matters for his father?

He wished his father would stay away from these people, so he turned his head to one side and ignored him.

The steward broke into a cold sweat, opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak.

Only then did Bai Shan snort and say, "It seems the relationship between the two families isn’t that great after all. Since that’s the case, it would be even more inappropriate for us to disturb General Guo. We’ll be staying in the city. I suppose with General Guo’s influence, it shouldn’t be hard for him to find us, right?"

After saying this, he urged his horse forward two steps, staring the steward down to make him move.

The steward looked back at Guo Zhao, and when he saw him frowning, he had some hope. But Guo Zhao actually scolded him, "Why aren’t you moving aside? Can’t you see the envoys want to enter the city and rest?"

The steward, discouraged, could only move aside with his head hanging down.

However, he didn’t dare to leave them unattended, so once the envoys’ convoy entered, he immediately followed, wanting to see where they would stay.

When he followed, a gentle rain followed behind. It fell at the side of Zhou Man, "Someone is tailing us."

Manbao responded with little concern, nodding as she eagerly looked at both sides of the street.

Gaochang, oh no, Xizhou, Xizhou was bustling. There were many stalls and shops along the street. Unlike the outside chaos, this place seemed quite prosperous. Seeing their large group, many people’s eyes were glued to them and the carriages behind them.

Steward Li had already taken people ahead of them. By the time they leisurely meandered to the middle of this main street, Steward Li returned, "Young Master, Miss Man, I’ve reserved rooms at the post station and the inn next to it. It’ll have to do for tonight. We’ll find another place later."

Manbao understood and nodded, following Steward Li’s lead.

The post station in Xizhou City wasn’t out of the way, nor was it simple. It had once been used by the Gaochang royal family to entertain envoys from other countries, so naturally, it wouldn’t be too shabby.

But also due to this reason, the rules were more strict than in a regular post station. Zhou Man and the others wouldn’t have much trouble staying there, but it would be hard for all the soldiers to follow suit.

So Steward Li also booked places in the inn next to it.

After entering the post station, everyone went to rest. Having been informed in advance that they’d be moving, they left their luggage on the carts. Assistant General Nie had people guard over it, making sure no one came near.

Even though he now knew that most of these boxes seemed to be filled with rocks and dried grass. Not only did he know, but Junior General Meng and Guo Zhao also knew, as most of the carts had overturned during battles between the two armies.

Most of the boxes were fine, but quite a few had their locks broken during the tumble, and of course, some were pried open by human hands afterward. That’s when they realized the contents were mostly rocks and dried grass.