After seeing her husband off, Bai Qiru showed no sign of joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.
She said goodbye to Li Xianghong and left.
Li Xianghong watched her go, unsure whether she had never approached her family or had approached them only to be ignored.
After descending the mountain and returning to her shop, Bai Qiru had an assistant drive her out of the city in a carriage. She disliked showing herself in public on the streets, and a carriage offered some cover.
Her destination was not far away: the horse ranch outside the city.
When she arrived, she stayed in the carriage and sent the assistant to find someone.
The assistant returned, drew aside the carriage curtain, and reported, "Madam, Gao He isn't here. The people at the ranch say he's out on grazing duty. I've found out roughly where he went. Shall we go look for him?"
"Just tell me where," Bai Qiru said. "I'll find him myself."
"The people at the ranch say he should be grazing them twenty li away in the Shen Hour direction today. Several hundred Fine-Scaled Steeds. They should be easy to find."
Bai Qiru said nothing more. She lifted the curtain, got her bearings, and flashed away.
Before long, she was searching from the air twenty li away. She soon found the scattered herd and called down, "Is Gao He here?"
A figure promptly sprang up from the green prairie, standing on the grass blades and shading his eyes to look into the sky.
Bai Qiru flashed over and landed in the nearby woods.
The man standing on the grass blades landed after her. After looking her up and down, he said in surprise, "The proprietress of the Bai Family Rice Shop?"
He was none other than Wu Jinliang.
Bai Qiru looked