Li Zhihao, her Young Uncle, came looking for someone, but not for them. As Ye Shiqi’s elder sisters, they had grown accustomed to it; their little sister had ideas too grand.
Even for business matters, their parents would consult this little sister. Others didn’t know, but they, as her elder sisters, understood a lot.
They felt no jealousy, only admiration. Their own intelligence wasn’t enough; they could only offer support and help protect her.
The sisters were unaware of what was happening outside, and the carriage had stopped; they had not yet sensed the danger.
After all, since their birth, they really hadn’t encountered more dangerous situations.
Ye Shiqi was asleep in a daze when she was nudged awake. She opened her bleary eyes to see her fourth sister pushing her, and then her elder sisters lifted her up.
She sat up in her body, looking out the window at her Young Uncle, "Young Uncle, why have we stopped?"
"Zhong Xingwang mentioned there might be danger ahead, he has sent someone to check it out. I just passed the message to your brother-in-law, who asked me to find out what we should do if there are mountain bandits ahead?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Shiqi frowned. This was not an auspicious start to their journey—they had not consulted the almanac before leaving!
She glanced at the convoy’s grain. Since they had already set out, returning was not an option, nor could they leave without the grain.
Thus, she could only gather the convoy’s grain into her space.
Her space was already filled with many items, including the rice and grain from the family’s estate windows, as well as the recent harvests which were still piled up there.
She surveyed her space with her mind and saw that the wheat planted in one area had matured. After the harvest, there would be room for more grain.
"Young Uncle, whether danger is discovered ahead or not, let’s not proceed just yet. Wait for me; I’ll tell you what to do shortly. You won’t have to leave, will you?"
Li Zhihao... what was she up to this time? He could only nod and silently wait.
Ye Shiqi knew time was of the essence, so she quickly gathered the grain, wheat, and rice in her space using her ability, pressed by the urgency.
She didn’t have time to winnow or dry the grain completely; first, she used her mind to gather all the grain from within the convoy into her space.
Then, she also collected the luggage and gifts from their two carriages into her space, as a precaution in case they needed to flee and abandon the carriage!
Ye Shiqi’s quick gathering was done in the blink of an eye.
Zhong Xingwang, the guard who had gone ahead to scout, returned to report.
"Young Master, no unusual activity has been spotted ahead!"
Zhong Xingwang... could he have been overthinking it?
If two guards had checked ahead and found nothing unusual, did that mean there were no ambushers in the mountains nearby?
Zhong Xingwang felt a vague disbelief, yet he hoped there really were no thieves.
Zhong Xingwang had not taken the carriage on his return; it carried the goods he had purchased.
He rode his horse, providing an escort for his father-in-law’s family convoy; turning his horse around, he made his way to where Li Zhihao stood.
"Young Uncle, the guards scouted ahead and found nothing unusual—there should be no danger!"
"Ah, very good, very good!" Li Zhihao wiped away the sweat that had appeared from his nervousness.
"Shall we continue our journey?" suggested Zhong Xingwang.
"That would be best," agreed Li Zhihao, about to move away to instruct the convoy to carry on.
Ye Shiqi... weren’t they supposed to listen to her suggestion?
"Young Uncle, wait a moment!"
Li Zhihao... he had forgotten about his young niece!
"Niece, there is no danger ahead, should we continue our journey?"
Ye Shiqi shook her head and said softly to Li Zhihao, "Young Uncle, did you pay a deposit or the full amount to the team you invited?"
"There are rules in this business! I paid a deposit first, the full payment is to be made upon delivery!" Li Zhihao replied honestly.
"What if the carriages and horses in the team get damaged or there are casualties among the personnel?" Ye Shiqi asked again.
"Then the employer must compensate. If the employer does not survive, the employer’s estate will compensate." The more Li Zhihao spoke, the more he felt it was an ill omen.
"Young Uncle, tell the team to go back. All of us here will ride horses; have the nephews get those uncles onto horses."
Li Zhihao... What’s the situation?
Zhong Xingwang...?? No danger and giving up the grains?
Ye Shiqi... As she said this, Young Uncle didn’t understand, which confused him even more!
"Young Uncle, is it my father who asked you to consult me? If you can’t make a decision, call my father over!"
Li Zhihao... It’s not that I can’t make a decision, it’s that you have confused me. To have the goods caravan return halfway, then when they arrive at the Capital City to sell the grains, they’ll need the supply too, right?
Ye Shiqi... Still dazed? Is there no sense of urgency?
"Young Uncle, go call my father down quickly!"
The elder sisters, who had been listening on the side, said one after another:
"If little sister tells you to go, just go. Hurry and call our father!"
"Hmm," Li Zhihao dismounted and ran a few steps to another carriage.
Zhong Xingwang... What’s this about?
Ye Shiqi then looked towards her future brother-in-law and glanced at his family carriage, saying:
"Brother Wang, can your carriage follow the team back and then return to the estate?"
Zhong Xingwang’s expression became even more puzzled, "The carriage is full of gifts, the local specialties I bought, if the carriage goes back to the estate, am I supposed to go home empty-handed?"
"Brother Wang, your carriage is too conspicuous. If you trust me, let your carriage go back first. Regardless of whether the driver notices anything unusual or not, he should wait at the estate for your return! Can you do that?"
Zhong Xingwang... Indeed, the carriage is conspicuous; his carriage is far more ostentatious than the carriages of the Ye family. It is obviously a big fat fish.
"Alright, we’ll go ahead first. If no danger is found, we’ll have them wait! Just signal us at that time!"
Zhong Xingwang said this as he made arrangements.
Having made this decision, Ye Shiqi stored everything on Zhong Xingwang’s carriage into her space from a distance.
"Little girl, what’s the matter?" Hongji was called down from the carriage by his brother-in-law, who then reported that the scouts found nothing ahead.
"Father, our group should proceed, and let the grain team and Brother Wang’s carriage wait behind. Everyone on our team should also mount horses, pairing up two by two. With so many guards just for two carriages, we should manage!"
"Little girl, do you think there’s an ambush ahead?"
Ye Shiqi nodded. She could store items into her space from hundreds of meters away and sensed the presence of people on the big mountain ahead—likely brawny men, as their breathing was a bit heavier.
"Then what should we do? Let’s go back!"
Hongji became anxious upon hearing this. His whole family was here, including his wife and children. The goods could be forsaken, but the people needed to return safely. Matters like reaching the Capital City could wait for another time.
Zhong Xingwang... Was his little sister-in-law being overly cautious, or was she too sensitive? His guards didn’t sense an ambush.
Li Zhihao... Brother-in-law, why are you panicking? Perhaps my niece is just being overly cautious. After all, she’s just a little girl. We’ve come all this way, only to return halfway?