Her hands clasped behind her head, Qin Junyao pondered what other reason she could use to persuade Grandma Qin.
Suddenly, Qin Junyao spotted the copper coins hanging from Grandma Qin’s waist.
Qin Junyao looked up and pointed at the three copper coins strung together with a red cord. “Grandma, divine it for me. Tell me if I should go.”
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Qin Junyao could only place her hope in providence now.
Grandma Qin untied the red cord from her waist. Today, she would make her granddaughter concede defeat with absolute conviction. She didn't believe fate would allow a pregnant woman to travel.
The three copper coins were tossed and caught on the table, and Qin Junyao's heart fluttered with each toss.
“Grandma, how is it? You’ve been tossing for over ten times.”
“Don’t speak,” Grandma Qin said, her face solemn as she tossed the coins again.
Would it be suitable for travel?
Although there were dangers, she could turn misfortune into fortune. It was a hexagram signifying clearing obstacles after a storm, and if she didn’t travel, future dangers would deepen.
“Wait here,” Grandma Qin put away the copper coins and left Qin Junyao’s room.
She went to the kitchen to get three steamed buns and three eggs, then plucked three cucumbers from the vegetable patch. Sudan Xiaoshuo.
A small altar was set up in the center of the courtyard. Three offerings were placed upon it, three cups of wine were poured, and three sticks of incense were lit.
The Zhao family’s servants had no idea what Grandma Qin was doing. After helping to set things up, they waited on the side to observe her actions.
After offering the incense, Grandma Qin tossed the copper coins again before the altar.
The same.
It was the same hexagram as the one cast in Qin Junyao’s room.
“Sigh,” Grandma Qin sighed as she collected the coins. She waved helplessly at Qin Junyao, who was waiting for her answer. “Go, but take more people with you.”
Qin Junyao was so happy she almost jumped for joy. She should have had Grandma toss the coins from the start.
As long as Grandma Qin agreed, Qin Junyao feared no one else’s disapproval.
To avoid any further delays, Qin Junyao quickly ordered preparations to be made.
Before dawn the next day, Qin Junyao, accompanied by Liu Yu and escorted by guards led by Dengzhan and Biandan, set off for the northwest city.
They departed so quickly that Qin Father and Qin Mother had no time to react.
Upon arriving at Yan County, Qin Junyao first visited the Qu Bing Tang. Her purpose was to see Doctor Sheng and Sheng Yining, and to discuss the current situation with Doctor Sheng.
Yan County had no city walls. If refugees came, the shops here would be the first to be affected.
After arriving in Yan County, Qin Junyao naturally had to check on Qin Daniu and his wife, as well as Ling Manshuang.
Qin Daniu and his wife assumed their sister was only in Yan County to procure goods, but Ling Manshuang sensed something was amiss.
Upon learning that Qin Junyao was heading to the northwest city, she sent over a dozen more people to escort and protect Qin Junyao.
As Qin Junyao needed to purchase some supplies in Yan County, she stayed there for over three hours.
This extended period allowed Qian Duo to see Qin Junyao with her retinue.
“Follow that woman and see where she’s going,” Qian Duo, her face veiled, instructed the man behind her.
The man, dressed entirely in black even in the summer heat, followed Qin Junyao without hesitation.
Qian Duo stood by the roadside, watching the people coming and going, unsure of where to go.
“Miss, do you still want to watch?” her maid respectfully inquired.
Qian Duo shook her head. “No, let’s get the sedan chair. Did you buy the items I asked for?”
“Yes, Miss. But the fur quality isn’t great because it’s not the right season,” the maid replied.
“It doesn’t matter, I only need it for one use.”
When Qian Duo returned to Sui Ren’s residence in Yan County, the man in black had not yet returned.
She asked her maid to prepare needles and thread and began sewing the fox furs.
The two fox furs were mostly intact. Qian Duo set aside the fox tails separately. She cut the fox furs into sections and sewed them into a neckband, two wristbands, and two ankle bands.
The fox ears were cut off and sewn onto two silver hairpins. The remaining fox fur was pieced together into a long strip that could be worn around the waist, with the fox tail sewn in the middle of the strip.