After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 11.2
If ya’ll are confused, the name of the Capital is Chang’an, and Chang’an is sometimes referred to as Jingzhao. Especially if they’re talking about the offices or prefectures, they use Jingzhao.
After settling Sun Ye’s future life, the county governor of Mengyang hired a carriage for Ruan An and even provided a tall and strong bodyguard. They escorted them all the way to Qixia Gate in the south of Chang’an City.
Ruan An came to the bustling capital for the first time, still dressed in a coarse cloth jacket, pretending to be an old woman.
She, along with Ruan Xi and other people from different counties, queued up, waiting to have their identities checked by the city guards.
Halfway through, a guard, while searching through her belongings, found the old ginseng she intended to bring into Chang’an. He sternly stopped her, “You are smuggling drugs; this mountain ginseng cannot be brought into the city.”
Ruan An only brought a single medicinal ginseng, far from the quantity that the guard claimed as smuggling drugs.
She knew the guard was likely corrupt, seeing the considerable value of the ginseng and wanting to keep it for himself.
Holding a black wooden cane, Ruan An deliberately coughed a few times. Her feigned old appearance also showed some signs of exhaustion. She pleaded, “Sir… I’m an old lady with poor health. This ginseng is for prolonging my life. Please be kind and let us go in.”
The guard frowned upon hearing this and was about to adopt a stern and official demeanor. However, he suddenly felt his sleeve being grabbed by a small chubby hand—
Impatiently lowering his head to look, he met Ruan Xi’s pair of tearful, clear eyes. The little child was small and cute, with a very attractive appearance. Though the clothes were not new, they were neat.
The pitiful and watery eyes of the child made the guard feel a hint of sympathy. At this moment, Ruan Xi pleaded with a buzzing and whimpering voice, “Uncle, my parents have passed away, and my grandma raised me all alone. She is not in good health. We don’t have any bad intentions of smuggling herbs…”
Ruan Xi quickly choked up and began to sob, attracting the attention of the people around them.
Tears in the boy’s eyes, like golden beads, fell down in a rustling manner. He pleaded bitterly, “Uncle, I can’t be without my grandmother anymore. She pointed to this ginseng for continued life. Please… please be kind, let us in, wuwuwu…”
“The sensible child is so pitiful, relying solely on his grandmother.”
“Yes, just a ginseng root, why make it difficult for the old lady?”
“That ginseng root, though large, isn’t it just measured in weight? It’s not like it’s at the level of smuggling drugs, right?”
Ruan Xi still looked up at him with her little face, tears shimmering in her jet-black eyes. The onlookers couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted.
The soldier also heard the discussions of the people around him and knew that Junior Magistrate Li, who had recently taken office, often secretly investigated public sentiment and had many rules. He didn’t need to make a fuss over a ginseng root in this matter.
In the end, he had to grit his teeth and secretly let Ruan An and Ruan Xi into the city gate.
When Ruan An led her son’s small hand into the city gate, she couldn’t help but notice that although there were still two tear marks on Ruan Xi’s small face, there was no trace of sadness in those jet-black and clear pupils.
This child is really nothing like her.
Ruan An had discovered a long time ago that Ruan Xi was like a little smiling tiger. He was very likable, but others didn’t know that this little bean was adept at pretending to be weak and cute, manipulating others’ emotions to gain sympathy and achieve his goals.
To have such cunning at such a young age, he really took after the people from the Huo family.
Huo Lang is renowned for his cunning, and Huo Pingxiao, despite being a military general, is also a man of great scheming.
Ruan An couldn’t help but sigh; blood relations are indeed a mysterious thing.
Even though Ruan Xi didn’t grow up around Huo Lang and Huo Pingxiao, this child still inherited certain traits from both his maternal and paternal sides.
Seeing his mother staring at him, Ruan Xi turned his little head and asked in a clear voice, “Grandmother, are we going to see Uncle Li?”
The boy is very clever; he never addresses his mother as “mother” when outside.
Ruan An took out a soft cloth from her sleeve, gently bent down, and wiped away the tear stains on her son’s face. She spoke warmly, “Not in a hurry, let’s have a good meal first, and then we’ll go see Uncle Li.”
***
In the fifth month of the year, Chang’an was filled with the sweet fragrance of elm blossoms, soaring amidst the alleys and markets intermingled with the scent of alcohol.
The judicial office of Jingzhao Prefecture was situated in the southeast corner of Guangde District. Having inquired, Ruan An learned that Li Yifang had gone to the West Market office in the afternoon. She spent some silver coins to inform him of her and Ruan Xi’s arrival in Chang’an.
Li Yifang still had official matters to attend to. Ruan An and Ruan Xi rested at a tea shop not far from the West Market office, taking the opportunity to explore the customs of Chang’an with the child.
A servant quickly brought the cherry tea and green tea that Ruan An ordered.
Ruan An had never been to Chang’an before, but she felt that the capital under the imperial city was indeed different. Not only were the streets and alleys wider than those in Jiazhou, but also on both sides of the roads, tall and luxuriant trees such as pagoda trees, poplars, willows, and elms were planted.
Green pagodas lined the roads, and twelve streets were adorned with drooping willows.
In the Li Kingdom, Buddhism was prevalent. Ruan An, with a slight lift of her head, could see the distant red walls surrounding the towering temple pagodas. In just the Guangde District alone, there were two large temples, Shengguang Temple and Cibei Temple.
As the sky darkened, the streets of the West Market became even more bustling.
There were many young girls with fragrant clothes and charming appearances walking by, giggling. No one paid attention to Ruan An, disguised as an old woman, and Ruan Xi, who seemed unusually quiet, as if pondering something.
“Dutong—”
In the distance, the sound of the evening drum from a Buddhist temple reached their ears. At this moment, Ruan Xi tugged at Ruan An’s sleeve with her small hand, gesturing for her to look ahead.
They saw a young man wearing a green leather belt, a government official’s uniform, a folded cap, and six-fold boots walking out of the West Market office, heading towards them with grace.
The man’s appearance was refined and restrained, with a clear and upright temperament that befitted an official. Between his brows, there was a sense of righteous self-possession.
As his name suggested, Ruan An immediately recognized his identity.
He should be the Jingzhao Junior Magistrate, Li Yifang, whose life experiences match those of her fictitious fiancé.
HERE’S A LITTLE SPOILER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
“Your son is in my hands. He has no household registration in Chang’an. If I want his life, it’s just a matter of words. It’s easy to dispose of the body of a boy, and the officials in Jingzhao Prefecture won’t be able to find out.”
Translated By: All Things Fluff