Jingrong caught on.

His finger rubbed across the transparent jade surface as he said, “So last time, what you and Zhao Huai discussed in the pavilion was about this jade pendant?”

“Not entirely. What he said was vague and unclear—I didn’t quite understand it either. But going around and around, it all comes back to this jade pendant. To be precise, it’s actually related to the Wei family.”

“The Wei family?”

Ji Yunshu nodded.

Jingrong examined the jade in his hand more carefully. On the exquisite jade surface was carved a lifelike tiger head!

On the left side of the head was a crescent moon shape.

On the back was carved the character “xu.”

His mind pondered, finding it increasingly strange.

Yet he couldn’t pinpoint what was strange about it.

Perhaps noticing his expression, Ji Yunshu asked, “What do you think? Is this jade strange?”

“Indeed, it’s somewhat strange.”

“How so?”

Jingrong frowned. “In all of Dalin, there are people who carve tiger heads on jade, but not many. Generally, only jade pendants of imperial relatives are carved this way. But that Old Master Wei has no connection whatsoever to the imperial family. As for this crescent moon shape, I seem to have seen it somewhere.”

“Where?”

He shook his head. “I can’t quite remember. In my impression it seems I have, yet it seems I haven’t. Perhaps… I’m mistaken.”

He harbored doubts in his heart, somewhat uncertain!

He just felt it looked familiar.

But couldn’t recall.

His slender fingertips rubbed the jade for quite a while longer, muttering, “As for this character ‘xu’…”

His voice trailed off.

Ji Yunshu watched him intently.

Hoping to learn some information.

But Jingrong shook his head again and directly returned the jade to her.

Saying, “I think you might as well ask Wei Yi. Perhaps he knows something. Though that boy’s head can’t hold much learning, he remembers crystal clear what his parents told him. Who knows—maybe his father mentioned it and he remembered.”

Speaking thus, he glanced toward Wei Yi in the distance, covered in sweat and warming wine!

That boy was really working hard.

Just like a professional wine warmer.

Ji Yunshu took back the jade and put the jade pendant away.

Saying, “Forget it, let’s talk about it later.”

Jingrong said nothing.

Suddenly—

From the distance came the sound of horse hooves and carriage wheels.

Chaotic!

Hurried!

Along with the sound of rolling stones on the ground, quite grating to the ear.

Looking toward the sound!

It turned out to be a merchant caravan passing along the official road.

Six or seven carriages transported boxes of various sizes, and another three or four carriages had goods covered with cloth, tied with thick ropes—no telling what was inside.

At the very back followed three more carriages. Two were rather plain, while the other was slightly more luxurious with brighter colors.

By appearance, it looked like a wealthy household relocating their entire family!

But—

Among those accompanying them were all middle-aged people wearing coarse cloth and hemp clothing—either burly, rough men or bearded fellows, or old men with rolled-up sleeves driving carriages.

Not a trace of the bearing of a wealthy household.

Those people had probably been traveling for quite some time and were tired. Seeing the grass area here, they stopped.

The lead man even called out, “Everyone rest here. There’s a stream—drink some water, wash your faces and such, then we’ll continue on.”

Finished speaking—

Those people dismounted from the carriages one after another and headed toward the stream.

Fortunately, they were all people who understood courtesy. Seeing there were already people here, they didn’t crowd over but went downstream instead and rested there.

People also got off the carriages—all elderly women and relatively handsome young people, men and women, dressed fairly neat and clean.

But the fabric wasn’t the finest quality.

As soon as that group got down, they laughed and played, pushing each other around, quite lively.

By the quiet stream at sunset, it was rather pleasant.

“What’s all this commotion? There’s still a stretch of road to cover. If you can’t make it tomorrow, there’ll be consequences.” An elder who appeared over sixty years old spoke.

In his hand, he even held a horse whip.

Strange—this person was so old that he’d probably be out of breath after walking two steps. By the looks of him, he wasn’t someone who drove horses either, so why was he holding a whip?

Those men and women immediately quieted down.

A young girl pouted and said obediently, “Yes, I know. But we’ve been traveling for several days already. Can’t we play a little?”

“All you know is playing. We still have serious business to attend to.”

“I know, I know.”

“You’re the most talkative, girl.”

The young girl was unwilling and pointed at that brightly colored carriage, complaining, “You’re clearly being partial. When Sister Zhanmo makes a fuss, you don’t say anything to her—you only scold us.”

The elder’s face stiffened. He choked, then his tone became more severe. “Zhanmo is different from you all. Without her, what would feed you? We’re all counting on her for our meals.”

No wonder she rides in a private carriage while you all squeeze together.

But what the elder said wasn’t wrong!

Everyone choked and couldn’t find words to respond.

They scattered in groups of twos and threes, going to the stream’s edge to wash their hands and faces, occasionally cupping water to splash on others.

Extremely lively.

The elder was at a loss too. He simply threw down the whip in his hand and sat down nearby.

Eating food, drinking water.

Before long, a woman descended from that brighter carriage.

Her hair was styled in a Lingyun bun with a jeweled hairpin inserted diagonally at the top. She wore a blue-green long dress with a cloak over it, and cloud-toe brocade shoes on her feet.

Though she wore no gold or silver, her understated appearance was comfortable to behold.

Despite the light red makeup on her face, it still couldn’t hide her pale complexion.

In her hands, she held an exquisite small incense burner.

White wisps curled around her, making her seem even more ethereal.

Those men and women who had been playing and splashing in the water immediately stopped, seemingly afraid of her from their very bones. They obediently returned to the stream’s edge and sat quietly to rest.

That woman was also supported by a small maid at her side as she walked onto the grassy area. She sat down by a rock, drank some water, and ate some pastries to fill her stomach.

Now three groups of people, not interfering with each other!

Jingrong grew curious. He withdrew his gaze from that group and posed a question to Ji Yunshu.

Asking, “Guess what those people do for a living?”

Ji Yunshu was puzzled at first, then said, “You want me to guess?”

“Let’s see if you guess correctly.”

She smiled. “All right, we’re bored anyway.”

Speaking thus, she observed that direction for a short while before using her chin to point at the several carriages in the distance, saying:

“The wheels of those carriages have been polished bright. Not only are they stained with mud, they’re also covered with much fine sand and gravel. I imagine these people aren’t simply traveling far—they should be people who regularly travel long distances. Those boxes locked tight on the carriages have their lacquer peeling off, and the locks are quite old. Logically speaking, for such old items, there’s no reason the locks wouldn’t be rusty, yet they’re polished so black and bright. This shows that those locks are frequently opened and frequently locked. The things in the boxes must also be frequently taken out for use, then locked back up again. Therefore, the things inside… are the tools they use to make their living.”

Her gaze was determined, extremely certain.

As she spoke, Jingrong followed her words and looked!

Indeed, that was true.