Although she had planned to find wet nurses in the imperial capital and then send them back, changing wet nurses midway was not much different from weaning. Since the wet nurses were willing to stay, she naturally wouldn't be unhappy. Shen Xiaoyan had also told the wet nurses that they would be given extra compensation. The compensation was for not being able to be home with their families during the year. Everyone likes money; since they couldn't be home with their families for the New Year, they naturally wanted money to spend with their families. Thus, Shen Xiaoyan arranged for a burly man to deliver letters and silver to their families in Tongling Town. Before leaving, the burly man guaranteed he would return before the New Year. The four wet nurses would be much more at ease if they could bring back a reply.
After resolving the issue with the wet nurses, Zheng Wei and Sima Han, along with the household guards, spent the following days tending to the remaining ten mu of land. The weather had been exceptionally good for several days, and all the snow had melted. They cleared the withered grass and stones from the ground and then leveled it. The rest was just waiting for the New Year to pass and the weather to warm up, so they could plant the fruit trees.
Life was very peaceful. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and with only seven days left until the New Year, the burly man who had gone to deliver the letters finally returned, dusty and travel-worn. Seeing the gaunt face of the burly man, Shen Xiaoyan felt a pang of emotion. This person, who had looked so robust, now appeared to have a different aura after losing weight. The four wet nurses, upon receiving letters from their families, were all so excited that tears streamed down their faces, and they thanked the burly man profusely. They bowed repeatedly to Shen Xiaoyan and the others. Shen Xiaoyan disliked people kneeling to her, but since it was their heartfelt gesture, she didn't say much. After the burly man and the wet nurses had departed, Shen Xiaoyan looked at everyone and said, "There are only a few days left until the New Year, shall we go out for a stroll?"
Lu Taobao smiled upon hearing this. "Sister-in-law, how can you say that? Haven't you been disguised as a man and gone out quite a bit lately?" Shen Xiaoyan shook her head. "I mean, go out like this." "Why?" Lu Taobao was a little confused. During the past half-month, Shen Xiaoyan had often gone out with Zheng Wei, who was also disguised, and had brought back some news from the outside. For example, the Emperor Sima Zhu had been sending people to look for them, but for what purpose, he hadn't said. However, it was obvious that it wouldn't be anything good. If they walked out like this now, what if those soldiers saw them? Wouldn't they be walking right into a trap?
Seeing Lu Taobao's confusion, Shen Xiaoyan looked to the others. Fortunately, except for Shen Xiaoming, everyone else nodded in agreement. Lu Taobao became anxious. "Don't laugh, first explain it to me." Shen Xiaoming also looked expectantly at Shen Xiaoyan. "Eldest Sister, why? Xiaoming wants to know too." Zheng Wei smiled and rubbed Shen Xiaoming's head. "Let me ask you, Xiaoming, what is our purpose in coming to the imperial capital?" Shen Xiaoming was stumped. What was their purpose? Wasn't it because the Grand Emperor had summoned them that they came? "We came to the imperial capital to help your brother Sima Han reclaim everything he lost. We are living peacefully here and lack nothing, but if we continue like this, we will only grow further from our goal." After Zheng Wei finished speaking, he looked at Shen Xiaoming, who still looked somewhat bewildered. Smiling, he added, "Before you came, didn't you agree with Da Gang that you would wait for him to take the imperial examinations in the capital? You don't intend to watch him take the exam from outside the examination hall, do you?" "Of course not, I'm going to take the exam too. I want to be a high official and make brother-in-law and all of you live a comfortable life," Shen Xiaoming quickly replied. Shen Xiaoyan smiled and nodded. "That's right. If we always stay locked up here, people outside won't find us, but you can't go to the study hall either." Although Shen Xiaoming didn't fully understand why they had to go out, he knew that he needed to go to the study hall. Therefore, after Shen Xiaoyan finished speaking, he simply nodded earnestly, indicating that he understood, but said nothing more.
The next day, after breakfast, Shen Xiaoyan and a few others got into a carriage to go out. They did not bring the four little ones. Shen Xiaoyan released Luoluo, Baibai, Lao Hei, Heizizi, and Huadian Dian, ordering them to guard the four little ones. This way, they would have no worries. No matter what, if they encountered something they couldn't handle, there was still Luoluo; it could directly take everyone into the space. Before they left, Shen Xiaoming was unwilling to go with them. According to him, he had wasted too much time during the winter. Now that they had settled down, he wanted to study diligently so that he wouldn't fall behind others when he went to the study hall after the New Year. Naturally, while at home, he could also look after the four little ones. Shen Xiaoyan never argued with Shen Xiaoming's own decisions. Therefore, those who went out together were Shen Xiaoyan, Zheng Wei, Yi Zixie, Namu Zhong, Sima Han, Yue Qingxin, and Huo Si, who drove the carriage for the six of them. Since there were only six of them and they didn't need to bring any maids, they simply sat in a carriage. It was the same carriage that Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei had used to transport the three children when they were traveling previously.
The carriage drove out of the small gate, and afterwards, the household guards carefully closed the gate and secured it with an iron bar. Their masters had gone out, and their sole responsibility was to guard the house. Although Young Master Shen Xiaoming and those formidable animals were still at home, they had to do what they were supposed to do, otherwise, wouldn't they seem incompetent? The carriage drove out of the long alley and turned a corner before reaching the main road. The pedestrians and stalls gradually became more numerous.
"Today, it seems there are no soldiers looking for us." Shen Xiaoyan looked out the carriage window for a while, then lowered the curtain and said to the others. "Perhaps they feel they can't find us, so they've stopped looking," Lu Taobao said with a hearty laugh. After all, being able to evade the Emperor's search was definitely a matter worth boasting about. Shen Xiaoyan and the others were accustomed to Lu Taobao's focus always being different from theirs, so no one responded.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, they all felt the carriage lurch violently. Caught off guard, they all toppled over. After they stabilized themselves and managed to sit upright, they were about to ask Huo Si outside what was happening when they suddenly heard Huo Si's scream. Shen Xiaoyan and the others' faces turned cold upon hearing this. Before they could get out of the carriage compartment, they felt a murderous intent directed at the top of their heads, or rather, at the roof of the carriage compartment. Along with this murderous intent, the carriage compartment was split in two from the middle, and light shone down from the gap. Shen Xiaoyan squinted and looked up at the roof, her killing intent growing stronger.