Chapter 132: The Capital

“Hahahahahahahahaha…”

As soon as Xiaoguo touched him, Zhuang Zhuang woke up. But her hands were already on him. How could she stop midway?

And so…

Zhuang Zhuang’s laughter startled the sparrows outside the window.

“Mother, Mother, I’m up. Haha, spare me, haha…”

Zhuang Zhuang was laughing so hard that he was out of breath. Xiaoguo counted down from three, two, and one before letting him off the hook. “Let’s see if you can still pretend to be asleep, kid.”

That’s right. Zhuang Zhuang was pretending to be asleep earlier. Xiaoguo had noticed it when she called out to him the first time. At that time, his eyeballs were rolling and he pursed his lips tightly. His breathing had quickened as Xiaoguo approached. It was obvious that he was pretending to be asleep.

“You’re still too young to pit against me.”

After scratching Zhuang Zhuang’s little nose, Xiaoguo sat back down at the table, leaving him to get dressed.

Zhuang Zhuang snorted. His mother was really amazing…

Clang! Clang! Clang!

There was a knock on the door. Xiaoguo guessed that it was to inform them to move out.

Sure enough, Guanxi was standing at the door when it opened.

“We should set off.”

Xiaoguo nodded to show that she was ready. Guanxi was the official who had given Xiaoguo the grain bags. Along the way, he was the one who communicated with Xiaoguo. Not long ago, when they were chatting, she had asked for his name. Otherwise, Xiaoguo would have to call him “Hey” during the whole journey.

With the preparations done, Xiaoguo carried her baggage and Zhuang Zhuang back to the carriage that had been parked at the entrance.

“Mother, what’s it like in the capital?”

Zhuang Zhuang recalled that Xiaoguo had mentioned about arriving in the capital today. Would the capital be like their village?

Xiaoguo shook her head. “Mother doesn’t know either, but the capital should be very prosperous and there are more people living there.”

Neither Xiaoguo nor the previous owner of the body had any memories of the capital. Xiaoguo had never seen the real capital before. However, based on what she had seen on television, the capital should be bustling with activity and heavy with traffic. This was the impression that Xiaoguo had of the capital.

Zhuang Zhuang was looking forward to coming to the capital. Many authors of the books he owned were living in the capital. Would he bump into them? If he did, he would ask for an autograph!

Zhuang Zhuang kept looking outside. Seeing that his heart was about to fly out of his chest, Xiaoguo took the joss paper from him and scattered it along the way.

Just as Qin Anming had predicted, Xiaoguo was almost out of joss paper. The only portion left was a stack that she had kept aside to burn on the new grave. She still had a small stack on hand now which could be scattered on the remaining journey. If she used them sparingly, she should have enough to last her till she reached the ancestral grave.

The carriage traveled very quickly. Zhuang Zhuang kept looking out along the road and immediately discovered the city gate tower of the capital.

“Mother, Mother, do you think that’s the capital?”

Zhuang Zhuang tugged at Xiaoguo excitedly, asking her to look outside.

Xiaoguo looked out beyond the curtains. The first thing she saw was a tall and majestic gate tower. Rows of soldiers with spears and shields stood within the tower. They were wearing grim expressions as they watched the crowd pass by.

At the entrance below the city tower, the vermilion gates were wide open—looking like a smiling face as they welcomed visitors from all places. At the entrance, there were officials in armor standing guard. Like the soldiers upstairs, their expressions were solemn. They looked at the commoners entering the city with eagle-like sharp eyes.

Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang gave out a sigh at the same time. The capital was indeed different from the city towers and county gates they had passed by previously. It was awe-inspiring at first sight.

Xiaoguo was filled with anticipation. Just the city tower alone was already so impressive. What would it be like once they were inside?

The carriage continued to move forward. From afar, it looked majestic and magnificent. Up close, it looked even more impressive. At this moment, Xiaoguo was looking up at the city gate. She had a feeling that there was no end to it.

“Mother, is this the capital?”

Zhuang Zhuang was clearly very excited. Capital city! The capital city in the books!

“That’s right. Once we enter the gates, we have reached the capital.”

Xiaoguo was talking to Zhuang Zhuang when the carriage suddenly stopped.

Xiaoguo poked her head out curiously to see what was going on outside. “Why had they stopped at the city gate? Did they need to register? But didn’t everyone in front of them go straight in?”

Xiaoguo frowned slightly. At this moment, the man outside the sedan chair seemed to have sensed Xiaoguo’s confusion. He approached the sedan chair and explained to her.

“The soldiers guarding the gate thought our convoy was big, so they stopped us to ask why. When they are done asking, we can enter the city.”

Xiaoguo nodded when she heard Guanxi’s words. Indeed, there was a sedan chair, a coffin, and soldiers. They certainly had to check out what the situation was.

As soon as Guan Xi finished speaking, the carriage started moving. Zhuang Zhuang lifted the curtain and looked out. They moved past the officials and arrived at the capital.

Xiaoguo saw that it was tedious for Zhuang Zhuang to hold on to the curtain, so she took over and held up the drapes with her hands. Zhuang Zhuang smiled sweetly at Xiaoguo and then immersed himself in the outside world again.

Xiaoguo didn’t think much of it when they just entered the capital. She started to notice that the roads seemed wider, flatter, and cleaner than other counties. Other than this, she really didn’t think there were much differences.

She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. It couldn’t be. This was the capital.

Zhuang Zhuang had no other thoughts. From the moment they entered, he had been looking around happily with his eyes wide open, as if he was looking for someone. The things running through his mind were completely different from Xiaoguo’s train of thoughts.

The two of them did not disturb each other and looked around.

As the carriage continued further into the capital, the streets slowly became more crowded. Even though the road was wide, it could not contain the crowd.

Xiaoguo discovered another difference. There were indeed many people in the capital.

At this moment, she could distinctly feel that the carriage had slowed down. Zhuang Zhuang had also been attracted by the crowd.

In the end, the carriage managed to get out of that area smoothly. As it continued forward, there were more buildings along the road.

For a smoother route, the convoy took the road in the west precinct. There were fewer people here during the day and it was only lively at night because this was the gambling district.

There were many sign boards along the road. All the gambling dens and brothels were closed. Not many people would travel along this route during the day.

Xiaoguo retracted her gaze and looked down at Zhuang Zhuang, who seemed to be looking at the signboards. She quickly held him back. When did this child start looking at the scenery with her?

“Mother, what is that place?”

Zhuang Zhuang did not understand why Xiaoguo was drawing him back into her arms. But at this moment, he was curious about what kind of place the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion was.

“It’s a wine shop.”

Xiaoguo said calmly, looking at Zhuang Zhuang with a righteous expression.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded in realization. “You only get drunk when you drink wine. So it’s a shop selling wine.”

“What about the Eternal Joy Place?”

Zhuang Zhuang pointed to another shop with a white banner hanging outside. There were a few big black dots on it. He looked at Xiaoguo curiously.

Xiaoguo pretended to take a look and said seriously, “They sell ointments. Once the sick recover, they will find joy.”

Zhuang Zhuang looked like he was enlightened. Xiaoguo apologized in her heart.

After that, Zhuang Zhuang asked about all the signboards that he could see. Xiaoguo was also making up all kinds of stories. She was wearing a smile, but in her heart, she was wishing for the carriage to move faster.

“Mother, what is the Ruyan Pavilion? What is Red Dust Court? What is a brothel…?”

“They… sell firewood, sell red clay, sell… chickens…”

Tears were almost streaming down Xiaoguo’s face. “How bold of people to label it so blatantly in ancient times. A brothel? At least they should make an effort to name it more subtly like other places!”

This was indeed the capital. People from a larger city really have a wider range of needs.