Jiaochu

She thought to herself where to find an inn in this wilderness, pretending not to hear, and continued on her way.

When the sky was completely dark, except for the stars and the moon in the sky, which could still vaguely illuminate the road, there was no light around, let alone the inn.

There was a clang, and the person sitting in the carriage was jolted violently.

A wheel got stuck in the pit.

Ye Lingxi took out the fire stick and lit it. He went to check and saw that the wheel was not deeply sunk. He pushed it hard and asked the people in the carriage to come down and push it together. After Shangguan Yuan came down, he straightened his clothes first and then didn't panic. He said calmly, "Let's rest for a while. The horse is tired from running, and the princess is also hungry. Let's eat something first."

She took a deep breath silently and went to the carriage to get dry food and water. When she came out, she saw people collecting firewood. She said there was no need to light a fire, just sit and rest for a while. Shangguan Yuan said that it was cold, so if you caught a cold, you had to rest more. For a few days, she quickly picked up a pile of firewood with a piece of cake in her mouth, then used the firewood to light a fire, and sat by the fire to eat the cake and drink water.

Shangguan Yuan went to the carriage and brought two futons, one for her to sit on and one for himself.

She really didn't expect to even bring a futon.

"Master, tell me honestly, how many things did you bring?"

"Not much, just a tea set, a few sets of clothes, and a few books."

"Gone?"

"Gone."

When the fire was about to go out, the two men pushed the carriage out of the pit. Shangguan Yuan said that he was driving to avoid falling into the pit again.

The carriage drove steadily, and the sound of the wheels turning was like a rhythmic lullaby.

Ye Lingxi felt sleepy unknowingly. She closed her eyes and took a nap. She planned to sleep for an hour. When she opened her eyes, there was a faint light coming through the curtains. She opened the curtains and saw that it was dawn. It was afternoon. It took a moment to realize that the carriage had not moved and was parked next to a tree. When she got out of the car and took a look, she found that both the man and the horse were gone. She was a little confused. After coming down, she discovered that people and horses were by the river behind. The man was sitting on a stone reading a book, and the horse was standing by the river eating grass.

"Master, where are we?" She walked over to identify the direction.

The sun rises in the east and dawn appears.

Go south and you'll find the front, which is the right direction.

Shangguan Yuandao: "We are almost arriving at Wancheng."

She raised her hand to cover her forehead and looked forward for a few seconds. Then she led the horse over and hitched it up. She called Shangguan Yuan to get on the carriage and hurried to Wancheng ahead in the dust.

An hour later, the carriage arrived at the city gate.

After entering the city, Ye Lingxi bought dry food and water. Before Shangguan Yuan could take out the tea set, the carriage was on the road again. After leaving Wancheng, we passed through Wucheng and Anxian before entering Yuzhou. After passing Yuzhou, we reached the southern border.

The carriage traveled day and night, arriving at Wucheng at dawn the next day and Anxian at sunset. It left Anxian when it was dark and continued on its way.

The waning moon is like a hook, the stars are dim, and the road ahead seems to be sinking into a fog, and the shadows of tree trunks can be vaguely discerned. Ye Lingxi looked at the stars in the sky to identify the direction and stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Unexpectedly, there was a mountain blocking the way. She was a little doubtful that she had taken the wrong road. She looked at the stars in the sky to identify the direction. Shangguan Yuan got out of the carriage and said that she could reach Yuzhou by climbing over the mountain in front of her.

"Princess, please eat something first, and the horse needs to rest for a while."

Shangguan Yuan went to collect firewood, and Ye Lingxi found his way up the mountain with half a piece of cake in his mouth. Suddenly a bright firelight shone behind her. She turned around and saw that the bonfire had already risen. The firelight illuminated the dark bushes in front of her. She searched forward and found the way up the mountain. She also visually checked that the road was wide and that the carriage could go up. When she returned, she found a stove beside the bonfire, already lit, with a tea cauldron on it. Shangguan Yuan took down the tea set and made tea calmly.

When the water is slightly boiling, add the tea powder. This is the first boil. When the tea water blends and foam appears, this is the essence of the tea. Skip it out and set aside. This is the second boil. Wait until the tea water bubbles and then pour it. Add the foam paste before it is boiled for three times and the tea will be ready.

After the tea was brewed, Shangguan Yuan filled two bowls of tea, one for Ye Lingxi and one for himself. Looking at the hot tea that was steaming out, she felt her face was warmed by the heat. She took a sip of tea and a bite of cake. After a while, her whole body felt warm. After a while, she felt a little sleepy. Within a few seconds, the sleepiness became more and more intense. The light of the bonfire danced in her eyes and turned into a dim yellow halo. Her head sank, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was the next morning.

What surprised her even more was that the carriage climbed over the hill and onto the flat ground.

Shangguan Yuan was sitting under a tree reading a book, while the horse was grazing with its head down.

"Master, did you drug me yesterday?" Ye Lingxi crossed his arms, looking like he was going to accuse him.

Shangguan Yuandao said: "That is the Sanqing tea grown by Wei Chen himself. It has the effect of calming the mind and sleeping."

"Master, didn't you drink too? Why is everything okay?" Ye Lingxi said.

Shangguan Yuandao: "It must be that the princess is too tired."

……

When the carriage arrived at Miancheng in Yuzhou, it was already dark. The carriage rushed into the city before the city gate closed, and the two found an inn to stay. The man treated Ye Lingxi as his entourage and prepared a room. She said she wanted two rooms, took out a piece of silver from her sleeve and gave it to the man. The man immediately became much more attentive to her.

The next day when the waiter knocked on the door to deliver hot water for washing, he was surprised to find Shangguan Yuan sitting on a chair with the quilt on the bed intact, as if he had been sitting quietly on the chair all night. The waiter thought to himself that he was really a weirdo. I took the bamboo hat with me, and I still have the bamboo hat with me now. I gave him hot water and left without staying any longer.

The guy would probably be even more surprised if he saw the white hair behind the hat.

When the man came to deliver hot water, Ye Lingxi had packed up and was ready to go. The clerk told her that her young master was really a weirdo. He didn't sleep all night and sat on a chair all night. She was also a little surprised. Didn't she think she had a sore back?

After going downstairs, she said she was going to buy dry food, and Shangguan Yuan was waiting in the inn.

Then by noon, no one came back.

The guy came over and asked if the person was lost and whether he should send someone to look for him. Shangguan Yuan counted with his fingers, then got up and left. The clerk didn't stop him because Ye Lingxi had already paid for the accommodation.

……

The sun was shining brightly, and a man and a horse were running wildly on the road. The sound of horse hooves quickly disappeared behind the woods ahead along with the flying dust.

When the stars and moon appeared overhead again, the vast night enveloped the plains in the distance.

A man and a horse are still galloping on the road.

The sky is white, and the first ray of morning light illuminates the earth. One person and one horse climb to the top of the mountain, watching the vast night fade away, revealing the reddish-brown dividing line.

That is Chihe River, and ahead is the border of Qi State.

She looked at the bright dividing line, her clothes were dancing in the morning breeze, her dark hair was flying in the wind, and her clear eyes were shining with perseverance...