Chapter 156: Escort Agency
Lu Chengjing rubbed her little face and softly asked, “Still feeling uncomfortable?”
Yuan Yuan shook her head, nuzzled against Daddy, and pointed her small hand toward where Shang Wan was sitting, indicating she wanted Mother to listen to the story together.
Lu Chengjing turned the wheelchair over. Yuan Yuan nestled in Daddy’s arms, listening to Daddy and Mother taking turns telling a fresh story she had never heard before. Drowsiness kept surging, and she couldn’t help but open her little mouth in a yawn.
Holding the milk bottle, her soft little body curled up, eyes closed, breathing gradually becoming even.
Lu Chengjing gently patted her, unconcealed worry in his eyes.
“Yuan Yuan is just tired. She’ll recover better with more sleep.” Shang Wan removed the milk bottle, reached out to poke her own cub’s tender pink little face, giving the worried old father a reassuring pill.
Yuan Yuan smacked her little lips, tilted her head, and slept even more soundly.
Shang Wan reached out to take Yuan Yuan into her own arms, looked at Lu Chengjing’s still-suspended right hand, and asked, “Does it still hurt?”
Lu Chengjing: “It hurts.”
Shang Wan’s mouth twitched. Before applying the medicine, he had told her it didn’t hurt, but after applying it, he knew to say it hurt.
She said, “I’m not angry.”
Lu Chengjing: “Then… it doesn’t hurt.”
Shang Wan chuckled: “…You’re recovering pretty fast.”
Lu Chengjing curled his fingers, eyelashes trembling, “I don’t want you to worry.”
Seeing him like this, Shang Wan inexplicably felt a bit irritated, her tone carrying a hint, “Whether I worry is my business. I want to hear the truth.”
Lu Chengjing looked up at her, a faint smile suddenly hooking at the corner of his lips, and replied, “Okay.”
Shang Wan: “…What are you smiling about?”
And smiling so foolishly.
The arc at Lu Chengjing’s lips deepened a bit, but he didn’t answer Shang Wan’s question.
Shang Wan truly couldn’t guess this fox’s thoughts. She shook Yuan Yuan in her arms and, thinking that Xiao Huan needed to recover from injury, said, “From now on, let Yuan Yuan sleep with us. After the new house is built, she can first sleep in the side room, so we can look after her anytime.”
Lu Chengjing naturally had no objection.
Before sleep, Shang Wan suddenly remembered something. “If those assassins don’t come tonight, they probably won’t come tomorrow either. Tomorrow, I want to go to Long Ling Escort Agency and meet that Sang Second Boss.”
“You plan to hire Long Ling Escort Agency to deliver the letter?”
“I heard Master He say that Long Ling Escort Agency has a pretty good reputation.” Shang Wan said, “Anyway, it’s a secret letter. Not afraid of it being seen. It doesn’t matter who delivers it.”
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Yuan Yuan gave her own parents a big surprise.
Having drunk too much milk before sleep, the little one wet the bed.
Shang Wan rubbed her sleep-tousled hair, looked at Yuan Yuan’s innocent little face, reached out to pinch it, and said helplessly, “Weren’t you supposed to call me?”
Yuan Yuan’s eyes rolled around, and she quickly crawled behind her own daddy to hide, seemingly shy.
Shang Wan started shooing them out, “You father and daughter change places. I’ll tidy up the bed.”
“Okay.” Lu Chengjing put on his outer garment, picked up Yuan Yuan, and went out in the wheelchair.
Now he could easily hold Yuan Yuan with one hand. Both were awake, so they simply went to wash up.
Yuan Yuan obediently helped Daddy wring out the towel, then successfully got herself and Daddy a body of wet clothes.
Looking at her innocent little face, Lu Chengjing couldn’t get angry at all and could only take the little one back to change clothes.
Yuan Yuan was not well-behaved when getting dressed either, burrowing in and out of the freshly changed bedding, playing hide-and-seek.
Lu Chengjing’s right hand was still suspended, and with only his left hand, he couldn’t catch her at all, let alone help her get dressed properly.
The little one was really into the game, wrapped in the bedding and refusing to come out.
Lu Chengjing worried she would catch a cold and could only call for reinforcements.
As soon as Shang Wan arrived, Yuan Yuan instantly became well-behaved. She sat obediently waiting for Mother to dress her and comb two little pigtails.
Shang Wan flicked one of the little pigtails, “All right, time to eat.”
Breakfast was still headed by Gao Yan as head chef, simple clear soup noodles.
From luxury to frugality is hard. Everyone ate noodles while missing Xiao Huan.
Xiao Huan, still in her dreams, couldn’t help but sneeze, tilted her head, and fell asleep again.
After eating the noodles and seeing the weather didn’t look like rain, Shang Wan took out the herbs to dry.
“Shi Tou, stay home obediently with your brother-in-law, don’t run around. I’m entering the city and will be back before noon.” Shang Wan hitched up the ox cart, not forgetting to exhort Shi Tou.
Shi Tou readily agreed, holding Yuan Yuan and waving together.
Chu Xu wanted to go along. He felt safer with Shang Wan. What if assassins came again?
“This time there’s proper business. Next time I’ll take you.” Shang Wan rubbed the child’s head, her tone brooking no refusal.
“Fine, I won’t go.” Chu Xu huffed, picked up Yuan Yuan, and went together to play with Xiao Hui.
Shang Wan beckoned Shi Tou with her finger, and only when he came close did she say softly, “Don’t starve the one in the cellar to death.”
She hadn’t mentioned it, but Shi Tou had almost forgotten and said he would send food to the one in the cellar soon.
……
Shang Wan jumped down from the ox cart and looked up at the plaque above. Four characters in total, she recognized half: one dragon and one bureau.
An old man with a white beard was sweeping at the doorway. Shang Wan went forward and asked, “Excuse me, is this Long Ling Escort Agency?”
“Isn’t it written on the plaque? Can’t you read it yourself?” The old man’s tone was a bit sharp. He looked up, glanced at Shang Wan, “What do you want?”
Shang Wan: “I want to hire the escort agency to deliver a letter for me.”
“Oh, come with me.” Hearing it wasn’t someone deliberately teasing him, the old man stepped aside and invited Shang Wan in.
A two-courtyard large courtyard. The front courtyard had all sorts of martial arts practice things laid out, four or five men bare-chested practicing their muscles there.
Shang Wan scanned around and didn’t see anyone with a particularly square face. Sang Qi was probably not here.
The old man led Shang Wan all the way to the hall to sit down, served her a cup of tea, his tone much kinder than before, “Please wait a moment. I’ll go invite the boss right away.”
Shang Wan nodded and watched the old man go out.
She boredly looked around. The hall’s furnishings were standard. Above the central desk hung a painting of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, the tiger painted vividly lifelike.
Just as Shang Wan was about to stand up for a closer look, the old man led a burly man into the hall.
The man had rough features, broad shoulders and back like a bear, solid arm muscles that stretched his sleeves into rounded curves.
The arrival was the escort agency’s Head Boss, surnamed Yan.
Yan Dang Jia saw Shang Wan and thought, no wonder those guys in the courtyard were craning their necks toward the hall instead of practicing kung fu—it turned out a fairy had come.
“Sorry for the wait.” Yan Dang Jia smiled welcomingly and got straight to the point, “I hear you want to entrust our escort agency to deliver a letter. May I ask where this letter is to be sent?”
“To Border Pass, Mao City.” Shang Wan said, “I heard Border Pass is at war, I’m worried about my family’s safety, can’t sleep at night, and want to send a family letter to inquire after their safety.”
“Why not entrust it to the post station?” Yan Dang Jia said, “For delivering letters, compared to the escort agency, the post station is faster.”
Shang Wan said disappointedly, “Escort agencies don’t deliver letters? Then I’ve come to the wrong place. Farewell.”
She rose to leave, but Yan Dang Jia called her back, “Madam, please wait. Of course we deliver letters. I thought Madam didn’t know about the post station, so I specially informed you. If Madam still wants to entrust our escort agency, I certainly won’t push away business that comes to the door.”
