Knowing that Song Jinzhao and his group were leaving, Gu Baozhu's mood suddenly sank.
Seeing his sister so upset, Gu Gaoyuan instinctively tried to comfort her, "Father told you to reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors starting tomorrow. Even if Princess Linghui stayed in Songzhou City for a few more days, you still wouldn't be able to go out."
Hearing this, the disappointment in Gu Baozhu's heart instantly turned into displeasure.
She jerked her head up, her brows furrowed tightly as she glared at her older brother, her lips pouting longer than a duck's bill.
Gu Gaoyuan was so frightened that he held his breath, his lips pressed tightly together as if sewn shut by a thread.
He stammered, "Little sister, I was wrong. I'll go plead with Father for you right now."
"Hmph!" Gu Baozhu raised her chin and turned to leave, without saying whether she forgave him or not.
Gu Gaoyuan remorsefully slapped his own mouth.
If he had known, he would have kept his mouth shut.
The capital of Suining Prefecture was located right in the center of the entire prefecture, surrounded by Qingxia County, Yunzhu County, Songhe County, and Yanshan County. Starting from Songzhou City, one only needed to pass through Yunzhu County to arrive there.
According to the original plan, Song Jinzhao and the others would spend the night in Yunzhu County after dinner. But unexpectedly, just as they entered the borders of Yunzhu County, a heavy downpour began.
Raindrops the size of beans pattered down, making the already potholed dirt road even more difficult to travel.
The muddy yellow earth stuck to the horses' hooves, making them very slippery. Coupled with the numerous puddles on the road, the carts carrying their luggage frequently got stuck, cutting their travel speed by more than half.
Seeing the procession stop several times, Song Jinzhao lifted the carriage curtain and said to Lanxi, who was following alongside, "Let's go to the village ahead to take shelter from the rain."
Wearing a bamboo hat, Lanxi looked ahead. The village built in the distance was clearly visible to the naked eye, only about a mile away.
He turned his horse around and called out to those behind him, "Everyone, put in a bit more effort! The Princess said we will take shelter in the village ahead."
Even though everyone was wearing rain capes, the rain was so heavy that it soaked through to their clothes, making them feel colder and colder.
Hearing that there was a place to take shelter, the crowd excitedly held their breath and pushed the carts forward, their speed actually a bit faster than before.
Fifteen minutes later, Qingshuang dismounted and arrived at the door of a household. Through the half-open gate, she could vaguely see a few people sitting inside.
"Excuse me, could we borrow your house to take shelter from the rain?"
Seeing that the visitor was a woman, the wariness of the three people inside instantly diminished quite a bit.
A woman wearing a gray cloth shirt walked over. Her clothes were covered in patches from top to bottom, without a single intact spot to be found.
Qingshuang blinked. Just how many years had this garment been worn?
"Little sister, are you alone—" Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the massive convoy behind Qingshuang, and the woman's expression instantly froze, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her.
She paused for a moment, her tone sounding a bit stiff.
"With so many people, I'm afraid my broken-down house isn't big enough for you all to take shelter. Why don't you try another house?"
At a glance, they were clearly outsiders. With horses and carriages, and all of them carrying swords, she didn't want any trouble.
Hearing there were many people, the man who had been sitting on a stool also walked over.
He craned his neck to take a look outside, and his expression also grew wary.
Qingshuang took some silver from her clothes and handed it to the woman.
"Auntie, we are passing merchants. The rain is too heavy and the road is too slippery. Please let us borrow a place to stay."
When she came over just now, she had already noticed that this house was the largest in the entire village.
At a glance, it had three rooms and a woodshed, while the others only had two rooms.
Staring at the silver in Qingshuang's hand, the couple was tempted.
It looked like about two taels. If they could pay, they probably weren't bad people.
The two exchanged a glance. The woman took the silver, and the man opened both sides of the door. "Come in."
Qingshuang immediately waved to the people behind her.
After leaving some men in the carriages to guard the luggage, everyone else entered the house to escape the rain.
A dark crowd packed the three rooms. Seeing that it was too crowded, Song Jinzhao had Lanxi send some people to the woodshed; it had a roof there, so they wouldn't get wet either.
