Hu Xiaotian had considered this problem as well. It was not just their luggage and travel money-even the official seal and documents he needed to take up his post in Azure Cloud County were with Liang Dazhuang. Without recovering those things, how could he prove his identity?
Qiqi said, "It looks like you've lost all your luggage. How could you have any money left to hire a carriage? But I still have some travel money!" She patted her blue floral bundle. She had kept it with her all along, never abandoning it even through one attempt on her life after another.
Hu Xiaotian also had something he carried on his person, though it was embarrassing to admit: the flower-plucking illustration and erotic painting Shi Xuedong had given him. It was not that these things were important, but that the pictures were so indecent. If someone else saw them, wouldn't that ruin the tiny bit of a shining reputation he had just managed to build?
Qiqi's so-called travel money amounted to very little, barely enough to cover their three meals a day. As for buying horses or hiring a carriage, those ideas could only remain extravagant dreams.
Murong Feiyan had never been a pampered young lady from a wealthy family; she was accustomed to hardship. As for Qiqi, despite all her cunning, the little girl proved surprisingly capable of enduring it too. Nor was Hu Xiaotian a privileged young master accustomed to silk robes and sumptuous meals. Counting every last day, he had only been a minister's son for half a year. This fellow could get used to any sort of life.
After leaving Penyin Mountain, they still had three days' travel before reaching Xiezhou. Hu Xiaotian had worried that they might encounter more assassins along the way, and all three