Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 372 Return to Beijing

Fang Zhong couldn't help but roll his eyes. How old was he? Could he still have a son? However, he quickly corrected his attitude: "Why would I lie to you? You can have someone check it for you."

“Alright then.” Granny Cai nodded. “You may take my daughter-in-law away.”

Yunyi's lips twitched, but she still played along: "Mother, are you going to abandon me like this?"

Grandma Cai's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "I've already given you the money, what do I need you for? I can buy two new wives for my deadbeat son now."

“Young Miss, this place is not suitable for you. Please come with me.” Fang Zhong pleaded earnestly.

“Okay.” Yunyi nodded. “However, please wait for me outside the village for a moment. I’m going back to pack some things.”

"Alright." Fang Zhong nodded. "Would you like my help?"

"No need." Yunyi shook her head. "I don't have much stuff, just some personal belongings."

Fang Zhong stopped worrying about it and hurriedly took Su Mu outside the village.

"Aren't you afraid she'll go back on her word?" Su Mu glanced at Fang Zhong.

"What's there to regret?" Fang Zhong scoffed. "Besides, even if she does change her mind, what can we do? Are we really going to kill the whole village?"

Su Mu clenched his fist, but said nothing more.

After returning, Yunyi handed four hundred taels of silver to the village chief: "Use this money to repair the road in the village. The road to the town is too bumpy. See how much is missing, and I will make up the rest."

"Okay." The village chief's eyes reddened with excitement, but he didn't cry in the end. "Don't worry, I will definitely supervise this money carefully. When you come back next time, I guarantee you will have a good path to take."

Yunyi nodded, gave some instructions to the others, said goodbye to the children one by one, and left with her backpack and a small bundle on her back.

Everyone was reluctant to see her go, especially Xia Songshi. Although Yunyi was often away from home, knowing that she was there was like having a pillar of support. Now that she had gone to the capital, which was too far away, they couldn't stop her, since she was going to do something important.

"I'm leaving." Yunyi smiled, then turned and walked away.

But as soon as they stepped out the door, Shiba snuggled into her arms.

Yunyi patted its little head: "I can't take you with me. If I can't protect you, you'll become someone else's scarf." Then she put it down.

After watching Yunyi leave the village, get into the carriage, and depart, Yunhong glanced at everyone and then left as well. She needed to get to the capital first to arrange everything.

As for Yunlu and Yunzi, they will gradually find opportunities to get close to the young lady, so she is not worried.

Su Mu drove the carriage to the town first, and after meeting up with the others, they set off for the capital without any delay.

"Young Miss, let's hurry. We can reach Longdong Prefecture before dark," Fang Zhong explained.

"Hmm." Yunyi nodded, but suddenly felt something was wrong with her backpack. She quickly opened it and asked, "Why did you come with me?"

"Is that a fox?" Fang Zhong exclaimed in surprise.

“This is my pet, named Shiba.” Yunyi sighed, knowing that since the creature had followed her here, it definitely wouldn’t leave, so she could only hug it. “I found it in the mountains. It had a broken leg, and I saved its life. After that, it followed me and wouldn’t leave. I didn’t expect it to come here.” Suddenly, she looked up, “Butler, does the Earl’s mansion allow pets?”

Fang Zhong's eyes flashed: "Hehe, that's fine."

"Did you hear that? That's great." Yunyi looked at Shiba. "Once we get to the Marquis's mansion, we'll be able to eat and drink like royalty."

Whether or not Shiba understood, he stuck out his tongue as if he was really craving it.

Fang Zhong's hands were itching to touch it, but since it was the young lady's pet, he didn't dare to do so without permission.

Yunyi naturally noticed the affection in Fang Zhong's eyes, but she pretended not to see it. This old man was very cunning and was Fang Tang's confidant. She was not sure if he had anything to do with Qi Miao'er's death and her being sold.

The carriage headed east, but because of the bad road, it couldn't pick up any speed. It was getting dark, and by the time they reached the town, all the shops would probably be closed.

"Looks like we'll have to camp out in the wild for the night," Fang Zhong muttered.

"I remember there's a temple nearby. Why don't we stay there for the night?" Yunyi suggested casually. Actually, she had been thinking of visiting the Bodhi Temple for a while. After all, the incident involving Old Madam Lin was related to the Bodhi Temple, and Sun Qingming's promotion also seemed to be related to it. She was passing by today, so she thought she might as well go and take a look.

"Hey boss, could Sun Qingming and Sun Qingli be related?" Sixteen suddenly blurted out.

Yunyi was taken aback; she hadn't really thought of that. After all, they lived quite far apart, and besides, they were only one character different—it was normal for them to have the same name: 【Did you discover something?】

[I'm just a useless system, what can I possibly discover?]

Yunyi: ...

Why does this lousy data seem to be throwing a tantrum?

I am a wolf now.

Yunyi suddenly realized, and quickly chuckled awkwardly: "Sorry, I forgot about you."

Sixteen felt wronged. It didn't matter since they were both in Longxi Prefecture, since they were close by. But now that this woman was going to the capital, she hadn't even thought of her. Had she completely forgotten about her?

[Sixteenth Master, I've always felt like I've forgotten something, but I just can't remember what it is, haha.]

Sixteen. Silence.

[Okay, Sixteen, I was wrong. How about we bump into each other later? You can just say you're a dog and become my pet?]

Sixteen snapped: [Boss, do you really not need me anymore?]

【Of course I need it! Hehe, the key is that I haven't had the chance to need it before, but now that I'm in the capital, I'll still need your protection. We've been cooperating for tens of thousands of years, neither of us can do without the other, right?】

[Fine, my system is magnanimous, I won't hold it against you.]

I knew sixteen would be the best.

……

After Yunyi chatted with Sixteen for a few minutes, the carriage stopped.

"Miss, we've arrived," Su Mu said from outside.

Fang Zhong got out of the car first, then went over to get a footstool and put it down, raising his arm to support Yun Yi.

Yunyi carried Shiba off the carriage and glanced around. They had already reached the foot of the mountain. There was a courtyard next to them, which was probably for pilgrims to park their carriages.

Yunyi noticed that there were horses in the courtyard and a cart frame that had been unloaded nearby, indicating that some pilgrims were staying overnight.

At this moment, a guard went up to negotiate and quickly ran back down: "There are guest rooms upstairs where you can stay overnight."

Su Mu went up first, while Yun Yi and Fang Zhong followed slowly behind.

There are forty-nine steps from the foot of the mountain to the temple gate, which is roughly the height of a six or seven-story building.

"Boss, this temple has such a powerful aura," Sixteen muttered.