Chapter : 61

Alice was right about one thing. The carriage company was indeed very busy today, and many nobles couldn't rent a carriage.

It wasn't because there were too many people renting, but because there were only so many high-end carriages. It was first come, first served.

The nobles who came later couldn't book a high-end carriage, but they were unwilling to book a lower-grade carriage, so they were all at a standstill.

This had nothing to do with Yan Yunqing.

There were still many minor nobles willing to pay to rent middle and low-grade carriages.

He had just returned the original carriage when he was immediately hired by a minor noble from Ermarkwei City.

This minor noble was not qualified to attend the twenty-third prince's birthday banquet. His wife's family had connections with the twenty-third prince's mother's family, so he was brought along because of nepotism.

This noble lord was an extremely wealthy, pot-bellied, short, and fat man.

He had a beer belly, his bow tie was tied to the highest point, and his belly bulged out, making the buttons on his shirt tremble as if they could pop open at any moment with a big movement.

He held a cane in his hand and walked with a strange posture, as if he were deliberately slowing down.

The high-heeled leather shoes on his feet clattered on the floor.

He glanced at Yan Yunqing and said arrogantly with his chin raised, "Then you shall serve me."

Yan Yunqing looked at the other party's slightly sparse, but waxed-into-an-arc forehead, and really wanted to say to this noble lord: no matter how you raise your chin, you can't change the fact that you're not as tall as me.

Beside the lord was a slightly taller noble lady. She had a high bustle padded behind her, wore a dress, and had a fluffy shawl wrapped around her neck.

She held a feather fan inlaid with gems, half-covering the lower half of her round face, revealing her long and narrow eyes as she lightly glanced at Yan Yunqing, "What are you still standing there for?

You should be honored to be able to serve our Murphy family."

As she spoke, her feather fan swayed, and the gems hanging on her wrist and fingertips flashed so brightly that they hurt Yan Yunqing's eyes.

He lowered his head slightly and made a gesture of invitation, "My lord, my lady, please get on the carriage."

"Tsk, truly doesn't know how to read people's expressions."

The lord was very dissatisfied when he found that Yan Yunqing didn't take the initiative to kneel down and be his footstool.

But he didn't dare to get angry in front of so many other nobles or noble lords, so he could only mutter in dissatisfaction, "He must be a commoner from a small place. He really deserves to be poor for the rest of his life."

The noble lady leaned half against the lord's shoulder, her hand gently patting the lord's chest, making his belly tremble, "Let's not stoop to the level of commoners from such small places. Let's go, my lord. I can't wait to see my cousin, the prince."

Yan Yunqing: ...

Yan Yunqing continued to remain silent, playing the role of a dull and inarticulate coachman, but he was sighing in his heart: how many layers of connections had been pulled to make a forty or fifty-year-old minor noble's wife and a newborn prince cousins?

Hasn't it been eighteen generations of ancestors?

Yan Yunqing didn't help these two get on the carriage either. He watched them climb slowly into the carriage like clowns in their tight-fitting formal wear.

Sigh, he was just a coachman from a small place.

He didn't know how to read people's expressions and wasn't good at flattering nobles.

Could he be expected to go up and help?

Of course not!

Yan Yunqing, with a wicked heart, didn't even say a word after the two had just climbed into the carriage and hadn't yet sat down properly. He cracked his whip and skillfully drove the carriage off.

A few gasps came from the carriage behind, followed by a period of tumbling and swaying.

Yan Yunqing's lips curled up secretly, but his voice was still honest and a little concerned:

"My lord, my lady, are you alright? This road is a bit bumpy, you'd better hold on tight!"

Yan Yunqing pulled the reins and made another sharp turn.

A string of curses, as colorful as birds and flowers, came from the carriage.

Oh my, this is the first time I'm driving this carriage, I'm still a bit rusty~

Yan Yunqing was intermittently deaf, he couldn't hear a thing!

Outside the royal palace, the guard looked at the nobleman's pale face and sized him up suspiciously for a long time, questioning him three or four times before finally letting them pass.

Once inside the royal palace, Yan Yunqing finally slowed down, driving leisurely to the designated area.

Carriages were not allowed any further in; all carriages had to stop here.

Yan Yunqing found an empty spot and drove the carriage in, raising his voice: "My lord, my lady, we've arrived."

The carriage was quiet for a while before there was finally a reaction.

Trembling hands reached out to lift the curtain. Two people dressed in 'opulent splendor' helped each other down from the carriage.

The nobleman clutched his chest and was about to vomit into the flower bushes on the side.

Yan Yunqing promptly reminded him, "My lord, we are already inside the royal palace."

It wouldn't be good to vomit here. If he did, he'd be kicked out for being impolite by the guards before he even entered the banquet hall, and he would be thrown out along with him.

The nobleman's face turned green and white. His chubby chin covered his neck, making it impossible to see if his Adam's apple was moving, but Yan Yunqing clearly saw something surge up, only to be forcefully swallowed back down by the nobleman.

Yan Yunqing: ...puke.

He was about to throw up.

Yet, the lady was still patting the nobleman's back worriedly. Watching this, Yan Yunqing felt that the mouthful the nobleman had just swallowed was about to come back up again.

Yan Yunqing took a tactical step back, but still stepped forward and grabbed the noble lady's hand, lest she really make the nobleman vomit.

"What are you doing!" the noble lady shrieked, shaking off Yan Yunqing's hand, "Who gave you permission to touch me? You lowly commoner!"

This shout attracted the attention of others, and several guards walked over.

"Ma'am, what happened here?"

The noble lady's hand with its pointed nails pointed at Yan Yunqing, "It's him, this lowly coachman! He can't even drive a carriage properly, and it's making my lord feel sick. He did it on purpose!"

Yan Yunqing looked innocent: "I didn't, I haven't. I've been driving like this for so many years. Why is it that other lords and ladies are fine, but you two are having problems?"

"My lord, my lady, why don't you think about whether you've been riding in carriages too little over the years and are not used to such a high-end carriage for a while?" Yan Yunqing patted the gnu beside him and said proudly, "This old fellow is a horse carefully bred by our carriage company. It's first-rate when it comes to pulling a carriage steadily!"

Everyone present subconsciously looked at the gnu Yan Yunqing was patting. Indeed, gnus were the most docile breed of horse. How could a gnu-pulled carriage be unsteady?

"Besides, the ground in our capital is the flattest. It's impossible for it to be bumpy."

Everyone thought about it and realized it was true. The roads in the capital were already quite flat, especially the one leading to the royal palace, which had been specially repaired. The muddy roads outside couldn't compare.

Yan Yunqing pretended to be an honest and simple person, "My lord, my lady, given your condition, you should choose a carriage pulled by a Youyou horse in the future."

The Youyou horse, a smaller breed of horse, could only reach two-thirds the size of a regular horse at most when fully grown. It was docile, not easily frightened, and ran slowly. It was the most suitable horse breed for children to learn to ride. Some nobles would even have a children's carriage pulled by a Youyou horse custom-made for their children.

Hearing Yan Yunqing's words, a few of the surrounding nobles who were watching the fun couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh. Wasn't this clearly saying that they were worse than children?

How utterly embarrassing.

The noble lady's face alternated between red and green, almost like a traffic light. She should just go stand at an intersection and cosplay as a traffic light to direct traffic.

She pointed at Yan Yunqing, unable to say a complete sentence for a long time: "You, you... you!"

Without the noble lady adding to the chaos, the nobleman finally swallowed the foreign object stuck in his throat and snapped, "That's enough!"

His mouth was very close to the noble lady's. A sour and foul smell came from his mouth, making the noble lady feel dizzy, and she also retched.

This was no small matter. The nobleman had just recovered, and he couldn't stand hearing such a sound. His stomach churned, and he was almost provoked by the sound to vomit again.

His face was pale. He noticed that many people had gathered around, and even a few nobles were watching the fun from a distance. He knew that now was not the time to continue纠缠, so he grabbed the noble lady's wrist and suppressed the urge to vomit, "Let's go, let's go."

After saying that, the nobleman glared fiercely at Yan Yunqing, his eyes looking as if they wanted to eat him.

It seemed he had already decided to come and find trouble with him after the banquet. Yan Yunqing tilted his head innocently. It's really hard being an honest coachman!

Watching the nobleman and the noble lady walk away, Yan Yunqing smiled obsequiously at a few guards, "Sorry, I don't know why the lord and lady are so angry."

One of the guards looked at Yan Yunqing sympathetically, patted his shoulder, and comforted him in a low voice: "It's fine. These noble lords are the hardest to serve. We all understand."

Then he glanced at the carriage behind Yan Yunqing and confirmed that there was nothing unusual, "Alright, since the lord and lady you brought have gone in, you should go over there and wait. The other coachmen are there too."

The guard pointed in one direction. It was an inconspicuous small bungalow, "There are patrolling guards there too. We can't give you anything else, but it's no problem for you to ask them for a cup of hot water."

It was the twenty-third prince's birthday, and all the major nobles were invited to celebrate. The small figures like them who served the nobles and the royal family had no right to celebrate with them. The smart coachmen knew they had to wait for a whole night, so they had already prepared dry food and a kettle. When they got here, they would ask for a cup of hot water to go with their dry food, and that would be a meal.

It was all hard-earned money.

Yan Yunqing bowed and scraped, and slipped two copper coins into the hands of each of the few guards. The money wasn't much, but coachmen like them didn't earn much from a single trip either. And the guards on the outer circle didn't get much in the way of rewards, so they were more or less happy to receive some tribute from the coachmen.

The guards who received the money looked at Yan Yunqing with a much more pleasant expression and revealed a piece of information in a low voice, "In a little while, a senior palace maid from the queen's side will come to distribute rewards. Remember not to wander off when the banquet is about to begin."

A glint flashed in Yan Yunqing's eyes, but his face showed a look of gratitude, "Okay, okay."

Watching the guards walk away, Yan Yunqing casually tossed a few Fire Emblems into the nearby bushes. The number wasn't large, but it was enough to cause a certain amount of chaos.

Yan Yunqing lowered his head and walked into the small bungalow. Sure enough, he saw a few coachmen sitting in small groups chatting. He walked in very quietly. No one greeted him, and he was happy for the peace. After sitting for a while, he stood up and asked the guard standing at the door.

"Sir, may I ask where I can relieve myself?" Yan Yunqing had a look of embarrassment on his face, as if he was shy.

The guard looked him up and down and was about to say no when two copper coins were slipped into his hand. His expression immediately changed, "There isn't one nearby. You have to go a little further in, but it's under lockdown now. If you wander around, you'll be treated as a suspicious person."

"Then could this gentleman accompany me?" Yan Yunqing showed a pleading expression, "I can't hold it in any longer. I promise I'll be quick!"

The guard hesitated for a moment. He also knew that a palace maid from the queen's side would be coming to distribute rewards soon, so he didn't want to leave. If he missed it, he would lose too much.

Yan Yunqing continued to promise, "I'll be very quick. I'll definitely be back when that noble lady comes to distribute the rewards. When that time comes, I'll give you half of my reward?"

The guard was tempted, "Then it's a deal. You have to be quick."

The guard led Yan Yunqing towards the washroom used by the guards in the royal palace. Yan Yunqing kept an eye on the small yellow dots on the minimap. After confirming that the nearest patrol of guards had just passed and turned the corner, he took a step forward and knocked out the guard leading the way.

He used a bit too much force. The guard didn't even make a sound before he fainted.

"Sorry, sorry." Yan Yunqing apologized to the guard, quickly tied him up, and threw him into the bushes, stuffing a piece of cloth into his mouth, "I don't know how much the palace maid's reward is. I'll give you a round number as compensation."

As he spoke, Yan Yunqing took out ten gold coins and stuffed them into the unconscious guard's chest, patting him, "Learn your lesson. Don't be so greedy next time. You'll easily get knocked out by bad guys. You're not Kudo 〇ichi, it's hard to survive being knocked out."

Unconscious guard: "..."

Yan Yunqing made sure he wouldn't wake up too soon, then took on the appearance of this guard, straightened his clothes, and returned to the entrance of the small bungalow, standing guard like a real guard.

No one around him questioned him. In the middle of it, a few patrolling guards even called him over for a drink of water, but Yan Yunqing sternly refused: "Today is a very important day. I must be responsible for the safety here."

The guard who called him for a drink pointed at him and laughed, "I know what you're thinking. Alright, you just wait here. When Lady Majina comes, remember to have someone come and inform us."

Yan Yunqing looked disgusted: "I know, I know, go away."

He waved his hand, shooing them away.

The few guards had no suspicion of him and left.

Yan Yunqing continued to stand there with his eyes looking at his nose and his nose looking at his heart. The sky gradually darkened, and finally, a person dressed as a palace maid appeared in Yan Yunqing's line of sight.

Yan Yunqing was overjoyed and stood even straighter, diligently standing guard.

Majina walked over and looked at him. A hint of satisfaction appeared on her serious face. She then glanced into the bungalow through the window, "Nothing happened, right? Today is a very important day. If something goes wrong, the queen will blame you."

Yan Yunqing said flatteringly, "Sir, isn't that a given? We wouldn't dare cause trouble even if we were asked to!"

Majina nodded, "Alright, seeing as you're working so hard, I'll give you an extra portion of reward money."

Yan Yunqing took it and had a look. Good grief, the reward was only twenty silver coins? And this was a double reward.

It seemed he had overestimated the Queen's generosity. As a queen, with her maternal family being the richest in the country, was it really acceptable to give such a small reward?

Truly a merchant who makes ill-gotten gains. Capitalists should be hung from lampposts!

Yan Yunqing pinched his nose and accepted the reward. This round trip had cost him a net loss of nine gold coins and eighty silver coins in change.

Majina also distributed reward money to the coachmen inside. The coachmen received even less than the guards, only three silver coins per person.

After Majina finished distributing the rewards, Yan Yunqing pretended to just remember, "By the way, a few people from our shift just went for a drink of water. Could I trouble you to wait a little while?"

Majina frowned, "So many people went for a drink together? Then who is on patrol?"

Yan Yunqing smiled flatteringly, "Isn't there still me? How about I point you in the right direction?"

"Hmph, I'd like to see who likes to slack off so much," Majina snorted, motioning for Yan Yunqing to lead the way.

Yan Yunqing pretended to lead her forward two steps. After confirming that the coachmen in the bungalow behind them, who were secretly pleased with their rewards, could not see this corner, he reached out and grabbed Majina's neck.