Two days passed in a flash. In the evening of the third day, Cui Hongyu and her group finally arrived outside Wannian City.
Passersby, seeing them bringing tigers into the city, rushed to gather and watch.
Some brave citizens even directly asked loudly, "Everyone, are you selling these tigers?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Hongyu chuckled. However, she found it understandable. In such an era, capturing a tiger, even a dead one, and presenting it to officials could earn a considerable reward, let alone a live one.
Yang Chun waved his hand at the crowd and said loudly, "Not for sale, not for sale. This tiger is of great use."
"Sir, could you tell us what use this tiger can be?"
Yang Chun thought to himself, I don't know what its use is either, but I can't say that. He had to vaguely reply, "I'm sorry, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
Just then, Chen Xiaobei and his group, having received the news, came out to meet them.
Huang Ying saw Cui Hongyu and rushed forward, "Sister Hongyu, you're finally here?"
With that, she threw herself into Cui Hongyu's arms. At this moment, the nearby maid Du Juan quickly whispered, "Sister Huang Ying, be gentle. Sister Hongyu is pregnant."
This reminded Huang Ying. She quickly withdrew from Cui Hongyu's embrace, with a hint of apology, "Oh dear, Sister, I'm so sorry, I forgot about that." Then, she exaggeratedly placed her ear on Cui Hongyu's belly to listen.
"It's okay, it's okay. Fortunately, nothing happened."
Looking at Huang Ying's somewhat childlike behavior, Chen Xiaobei shook his head with a smile, her innocence undimmed.
Yang Chun stepped forward, exchanged greetings with Lador, Yang Zhi, and the others, and then approached Chen Xiaobei.
"Brother Xiaobei, I'm fortunate not to have failed my mission and delivered the person safely to you."
Chen Xiaobei respectfully cupped his fists towards Yang Chun and bowed, "Thank you, Brother Yang."
Seeing the two of them being so polite, Yang Zhi, who was nearby, couldn't help himself. He stepped forward and tugged on Yang Chun's arm.
"Alright, alright, Third Brother, what are you doing? Why are you being so formal with Brother Xiaobei? We are family, why say such distant words."
Lador, standing beside them, also chimed in, "Exactly, exactly. We are brothers, no need for such pleasantries. The banquet is ready, just waiting for you."
The group walked and talked towards Lamm's courtyard. Only then did Chen Xiaobei lean closer to Cui Hongyu, and they could have a few words.
"Hongyu, you must have had a hard journey."
Cui Hongyu smiled and shook her head, "I'm fine, I didn't cry or anything. It's just these few tigers, I think they're a bit overwhelmed."
Chen Xiaobei glanced back at the cages behind them. Indeed, three tigers lay listlessly, neither sleeping nor awake.
He couldn't blame the tigers.
These kings of the jungle, accustomed to roaming freely in the wild day after day, had already felt confined in Hetou Village. Now, they were suddenly confined in small wooden cages.
For so many days, they could do nothing but eat, drink, and relieve themselves. Anyone would feel restless.
"But they'll have to endure it for a few more days. Once we reach the capital, we'll have to keep a closer eye on them. If they escape, it could cause big trouble."
Cui Hongyu nodded.
"Yes, but we also need to let them out to run. Otherwise, I fear they might truly fall ill."
Chen Xiaobei pondered, "That's possible. I'll ask Lamm later if he can arrange a place for these three tigers to run around."
As they spoke, they had already entered the market and arrived at Lamm's courtyard. Seeing the tigers, the household servants and attendants who were present all gathered around.
Seeing so many strangers watching, the three tigers regained some of their regal demeanor, emitting low growls from their throats and baring their teeth at the crowd.
However, since the tigers were in wooden cages, the onlookers were not afraid at all. Instead, they laughed even more boldly.
Seeing this, Cui Hongyu stepped forward, bowed to the crowd, and said, "Everyone, please disperse. Do not provoke these beasts."
"Ah, young lady, what if the tiger is provoked inside the cage? Just let us have a look at this rare sight," said a middle-aged man with red hair and blue eyes, unable to resist laughing.
Before he finished speaking, the middle-aged man suddenly stumbled and rushed forward a few steps. Sud an Novel Network.
Turning around, Lador stood behind him, glaring at him.
"You damn it, Miss Hongyu told you to disperse, and you still dare to talk back? You're rebelling!"
As soon as Lador spoke, none of the onlookers dared to say anything else. They quickly scattered in all directions.
After everyone left, Lador walked up to Cui Hongyu and said apologetically, "Sister Hongyu, I apologize. My subordinates are all rough people and don't listen well. But don't worry, I'll arrange for someone to keep an eye on them later. If anyone dares to approach again, I'll break their legs."
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu smiled sweetly, "Thank you, Leader La."
"By the way, Leader La, these three ferocious tigers have been kept in cages for a long time. Is there any suitable place here for them to run and frolic?"
Lador lowered his head and pondered, then pointed behind the house.
"There's a horse racing track behind us. I don't know if it's suitable."
Cui Hongyu thought for a moment and shook her head slightly, "I'm afraid that's not suitable. If they get out of control, they might hurt someone."
Lador waved and called over the middle-aged man he had just admonished. "Yibu, you are responsible for finding a place for Sister Hongyu to walk the tigers."
Hearing Lador's words, Yibu appeared obsequious, "Leader, how would I know about such things? If you asked me to find a place to walk dogs, that would be fine."
Lador glared, "I told you to find one, so find one. Stop talking so much nonsense."
"Okay, I'll find one, I'll find one." Yibu said, cupped his fists towards Cui Hongyu, and said, "Miss, there's a dog fighting arena not far ahead, but it's just a deep pit, only a few zhang wide, and more than a zhang deep. I don't know if it's suitable."
Cui Hongyu was secretly delighted upon hearing this. It was suitable! A few zhang wide would allow the tigers to frolic, and being more than a zhang deep would prevent the tigers from jumping out immediately.
With this thought, she smiled and nodded, "It's perfect. Please take me there."
Lador, however, waved his hand and said to Yibu, "You take people to move these three tigers there and let them run. And keep a close eye on them. If anything goes wrong, I'll peel off your head and use it as a chamber pot."
Cui Hongyu blushed at his suddenly vulgar words and turned to leave. Seeing her leave, Lador seemed to snap back to his senses and scratched his head, "Alas, I am just a coarse man."
At this moment, Lamm had already called people to prepare the banquet and was looking for Lador everywhere. Seeing him still standing there in a daze, he went up and grabbed him.
"Oh dear, Brother, why are you still here? We were about to start the banquet. How can we begin without you!"