Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 469 Relying on Favor (14)

When the figure turned around, it was none other than Zhao Yuan, disguised as a caravan escort.

Yan Zhen: "..."

Yan Zhen pulled Fu Xue, who was frowning beside him, and said, "Go and call that bodyguard over here."

"Yes."

A moment later, Zhao Yuan spurred his horse over, reined it in in front of the carriage, and raised his chin to look down at Yan Zhen: "What?"

"Where is Hong Fu?"

"She's not going."

"You go?"

"uh-huh."

Yan Zhen was a little disappointed.

The journey to the Northern Jurchens will take at least four months, round trip.

She got along well with Hong Fu, they could keep each other company on the road, and she could also make decisions for the caravan.

But with Zhao Yuan's arrival, not only did she lose her voice in the caravan, but she was also destined to suffer a lot from having such a difficult superior.

Thinking of this, Yan Zhen was like a peony that had been wilted by the sun, sighing and complaining even before setting off.

Zhao Yuan ignored her petty emotions, spurred his horse and left, ordering his men to conduct a final check before departure.

Yan Zhen watched his retreating figure, clenched her fist, and made a punching motion at him.

Considering that Zhao Yuan was not the type to show mercy to women, Yan Zhen hesitated for a moment, then turned to Fu Xue and said, "Fu Xue, you stay at the palace and wait for me to return."

Fu Xue was taken aback: "Your Highness, why is that?"

Because Zhao Yuan is essentially a ruthless and exploitative person, following him out of the pass will only lead to hardship.

She can suffer alone; there's no need to drag Fu Xue down with her.

After listening to Yan Zhen's explanation, Fu Xue shook her head: "No, this servant wants to go with Your Highness."

No matter how much Yan Zhen tried to persuade her, Fu Xue refused to return to the Prince's Mansion. So she could only say, "If you are sick, tired, or feeling unwell, just say so."

Fu Xue nodded: "Yes."

Yan Zhen's premonition was correct—

Zhao Yuan was a pragmatist, and to avoid any unforeseen complications, he set off with all his might as soon as he left Tingzhou City.

Although the caravan did not travel in a hurry, it rarely stopped along the way, and covered more than 170 li on the first day.

The caravan camped in the wilderness that night. Yan Zhen was mentally prepared for this, having already experienced digging up graves before.

But Fu Xue had served her in the palace since childhood and had never suffered such hardship. On the first night, she was bitten all over by mosquitoes in the wild.

The second and third days were spent traveling at a high intensity.

At this pace, the caravan crossed the border of Daliang on the seventh day.

At the same time, Fu Xue fell ill.

This was within Yan Zhen's expectations.

There were only two women in the caravan, Yan Zhen and Fu Xue. Since Fu Xue's care could not be delegated to others, Yan Zhen personally brewed medicine for her and took care of her, who was lying in the carriage in a daze all day.

However, Fu Xue's illness was caused by the exhaustion of traveling, and the only way to cure it was to stop and rest.

Three more days passed, and Fu Xue's illness did not improve; in fact, it worsened.

During their rest at night, Yan Zhen approached Zhao Yuan and suggested slowing down their pace, otherwise Fu Xue might lose her life if they continued.

At that time, Zhao Yuan was sitting on the unloaded cargo box eating dry rations. When he heard Yan Zhen's words, he didn't even frown: "No, she's just a maid. How can we delay the journey because of her?"

Yan Zhen said, "If she dies, I'll go on strike."

Zhao Yuan's eyes turned cold: "You dare! I'll kill her right now!"

"If you dare touch her, even if I find potatoes in Northern Jurchen, I won't let you bring them back!"

Zhao Yuan suddenly stood up, his face frosty.

He was tall, and Yan Zhen was a head shorter than him. Yan Zhen looked up and met his gaze with eyes full of determination.

After a brief standoff, Zhao Yuan conceded, "The caravan will enter a town in a day. Let your maid stay in the town to recover. I'll leave two people to take care of her and bring her back on the way back. How about that?"

This is a way to save Fu Xue without delaying the trip.

Yan Zhen considered it for a moment and then agreed: "Okay."

The next day, Fu Xue and two soldiers disguised as merchants remained in the city.

Yan Zhen left Fu Xue some money and told her not to wander off. He said he would come back to pick her up in two months at most.

When she left, Fu Xue's eyes were brimming with tears.

Yan Zhen was also upset. The thought that all of this was caused by Zhao Yuan's insistence on traveling made her glare angrily at Zhao Yuan as she got into the carriage.

The caravan continued its journey, and more than half a month later, they arrived in Beijue.

Upon entering the capital of the Northern Kingdom, one could see faces from various countries everywhere, so Yan Zhen and his group's appearance here was not particularly unusual.

Under Zhao Yuan's arrangement, the caravan split into two groups, one to sell the goods brought from the imperial tombs.

One group split up and took the whole potato plant portrait drawn by Yan Zhen to the market to find potatoes.

Yan Zhen and Zhao Yuan mingled with the group searching for potatoes, wandering around the market and the trading area where merchants gathered every day.

But after searching for seven or eight days, they had searched almost the entire small capital of Beijue, but still couldn't find any trace of Tudou.

Yan Zhen couldn't help but doubt himself, repeatedly reviewing the strategy.

In my previous life, potatoes were only planted in the Northern Kingdom three years later. However, the hidden business opportunities of potatoes were discovered and reported to the ministers of the Northern Kingdom royal family. Before that, potatoes had existed in the Northern Kingdom for more than four years.

Logically speaking, potatoes should have been present in Northern Jurchens for a year by now.

Unable to find any trace of potatoes, the group, including Zhao Yuan, were visibly dejected.

When Yan Zhen returned to the house where he had stayed in the evening, he went out to fetch water while living alone in a room. He heard two soldiers disguised as merchants complaining in the courtyard.

"I think that princess of Liang is talking nonsense."

"Our lord is also confused. He came to the Northern Kingdom based on just a few words from her. Now look what's happened, he's going to return empty-handed, having wasted so much time."

Yan Zhen was stunned when he heard a cough.

She immediately turned around, and Zhao Yuan stood behind her with a serious expression.

Upon hearing the cough, the two soldiers not far away looked over, their expressions changed drastically, and they came over to apologize with embarrassed looks.

Yan Zhen didn't say anything, and went into the house first with the empty wooden basin.

As for whether Zhao Yuan reprimanded the two soldiers, she was unaware and had no interest in knowing.

A moment later, the door opened, and Zhao Yuan came in carrying a bucket of water.

The living conditions were simple; a straw mat laid on the ground served as a bed, and Yan Zhen was sitting cross-legged on the straw mat, lost in thought.

Zhao Yuan glanced at her and poured the water from the bucket into the wooden basin: "Don't take those words to heart."

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhen looked at him with a hint of surprise.

She had assumed that Zhao Yuan was one of those secretly complaining about her behind her back.

Unexpectedly, he comforted her and told her not to worry about it.

Yan Zhen wasn't sure if he was being sincere or not, so she simply asked, "You don't blame me?"

"Why should I blame you?" Zhao Yuan retorted. "You've suffered a lot along the way. If you couldn't find it, it might be due to bad timing. It's not your fault."

Yan Zhen snorted, "So you knew I was suffering? I thought you couldn't see it."

Although she said that, her tone softened considerably.

Because of Fu Xue's matter, Yan Zhen was not feeling well and rarely communicated with Zhao Yuan along the way.

Zhao Yuan did try to talk to her twice, but seeing that she ignored him, he stopped trying to embarrass himself.