Large flakes of snow fluttered down. The captain of the soldiers at the city gate looked at the sky and was about to call on his brothers to prepare to close the city gate when the sound of horse hooves came closer and closer.
Looking up, I saw several riders heading straight for the city gate.
"Boss, do you want to stop me?"
The captain held the hilt of his knife and squinted his eyes at the group of people in the wind and snow, "Why are you stopping us? Are you not letting us into Chenping County?"
Having said that, the captain still tightened his grip on the knife handle. The knife had not been unsheathed for many years, and he didn't know if he could still pull it out.
When the group got closer, they slowed down. Hua Zhi pushed up her hood and looked out that the city gate was still open. She let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, they made it in time.
Gu Yanxi rode forward, took out a token and stretched it in front of them. The captain was so shocked that he almost knelt down.
Gu Yanxi said in a deep voice: "Lead the way to the best inn in the county."
The captain quickly led his men to retreat to the side.
Gu Yanxi clattered back to Hua Zhi and said, "Let's go. It's getting colder."
Hua Zhi's hands and feet were so frozen that she had lost feeling. The insides of her thighs were rubbed by the saddle and were burning with pain. The alternating cold and heat made her grit her teeth and keep her mouth shut to avoid crying out in pain as soon as she opened her mouth.
This time he just nodded, squeezed the horse's belly, and rode into the city.
She didn't ask what Gu Yanxi had just taken out. It was nothing more than something to prove her identity. She didn't want to find out the true identity of the person behind them.
The captain led the group to the largest inn in the county. After the others entered the door, Gu Yanxi threw him a piece of silver and said, "Shut your mouth."
"Yes, yes, sir."
Hua Zhi forced herself to enter the house and sat at the table for a long time before she felt her body was less stiff. She stood up and took off her cloak, but accidentally pulled her burning thigh, causing her to gasp in pain.
There was a knock on the door, and Shaoyao's voice came, "Huahua, I'm coming in?"
"Come in."
Shaoyao poked her head in to take a look, then signaled to the servants of the Hua family to bring hot water into the house. Then she couldn't wait to drive them out, slammed the door, and ran back, "Huahua, come and take a shower and warm yourself up."
As they still had to travel tomorrow, Hua Zhi did not try to be brave. She slowly took off her clothes, stepped on the small table and got into the wooden tub. The hot water made her wound more painful.
Shaoyao frowned when she saw how badly her thigh was injured, "Huahua, you can't soak in the water for too long, the wound will fester."
Hua Zhi closed her eyes and sighed. After five days of speeding, her body was really tired. On a snowy day like this, she was relying on her willpower to hold on. Her legs went weak when she thought that the weather would be like this for the rest of the journey.
Shaoyao wanted to say something, but swallowed the words when she saw Huahua like this. She took out the medicine box she carried with her and picked up the things. She had to prepare some medicine for Huahua. How would she be able to travel tomorrow with such an injury
"Peony."
It was Mr. Lu's voice. Hua Zhi opened her eyes and stood up. She walked out of the wooden barrel with a damp body and quickly put on her clothes. Then she moved away and motioned Shaoyao to go out.
Shaoyao opened the door a crack, "Brother Yan, what's the matter?"
Gu Yanxi glanced at her and was very angry at her cautious expression. How could he push the door open and go in
Spreading his palm in front of Shaoyao, Gu Yanxi said, "For the eldest lady."
Shaoyao took it and smelled it, her eyes lit up, it was a secret medicine from the palace!
If you say that other medicines in the palace are not good, this medicine is the only one that works very well. After all, the noble ladies in the palace are bound to make mistakes sometimes. The imperial doctors of various dynasties have thought about it a lot, and by the Daqing Dynasty, it has reached the point where the swelling will go down after applying it, and most importantly, it will not leave any marks. Huahua just used it.
After slamming the door shut, Shaoyao ran back and pushed Huahua down onto the bed. While taking off her pants, she said, "Huahua, I'll apply some medicine on you. You'll be almost healed after a night's rest tomorrow."
Hua Zhi was used to her recklessness, so she took off her pants and took the medicine from her hand and said, "I'll do it myself. Mr. Lu's medicine?"
"Yes, he has a lot of good things in his hands, so don't be polite to him."
Only when people are your own family can you be rude. She and Mr. Lu don't have that kind of friendship. Hua Zhi kept this favor in mind and lowered her head to apply medicine to herself. The burning sensation disappeared immediately after the cool medicine was applied. Regardless of the efficacy of the medicine, Hua Zhi was very grateful for this.
Shaoyao looked very pleased, "Do you feel better now? Is the medicine very effective?"
"Much better." The medicine worked quickly. Hua Zhi touched it and put on her pants when she felt it was dry. She got out of bed and walked around. She felt a lot more relaxed.
When he opened the door and was about to ask the servants how the food was prepared, he saw Gu Yanxi and two servants coming over with two large plates, and each bowl on the plates was covered with a lid.
"Have something hot."
Hua Zhi opened the door and invited him in. The servants set the table and after lifting the lids, each bowl was steaming hot.
Hua Zhi invited, "There's no need to be so particular when you're out and about. Mr. Lu, please come along."
"Then I will respectfully obey your command." Gu Yanxi sat down first without any courtesy. The food was very large and it was not enough for two girls to finish.
After eating a steaming hot meal and brewing a pot of tea brought from home, Hua Zhi picked up the cup and said, "I'll use tea instead of wine. Thank you Mr. Lu for your help along the way. I also thank you Mr. Lu for the medicine. It works very well."
"You are so polite, young lady. I should return the favor just because I am the one who eats for free at the Hua family."
Those who ate free rice looked up at him but did not expose him.
Hua Zhi smiled and touched the back of Shaoyao's head. The smoothing gesture made Shaoyao feel very comfortable, and she was even more disdainful to argue with the prince. Hua Hua would treat her like this, but not the prince!
Gu Yanxi glanced at her and talked about what Hua Zhi was most concerned about at the moment, "Chenping County is a dividing line. It's still good south of Chenping County. It usually takes another ten days before it snows. Once you go north, the snow will only get heavier. And I don't know what happened this year. The snow fell much earlier than in previous years, and it was heavy snow. I'm afraid the trip will be delayed."
Hua Zhi frowned, "Will there be a situation where there is no place to stay?"
"Yes, bring the map."
Hua Zhi opened the map, and Gu Yanxi pointed to a section of the road behind. "The north is desolate, and there are only two post stations on this road. If the weather is good, there will be no problem. However, in this kind of weather, even horses can't stand it, and the speed will be much slower. It is impossible to make it."
Hua Zhi shook her head, "We can't sleep outdoors. We'll freeze to death if we stay out in this kind of weather. Are there any B&Bs?"
"Yes, but as the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. It's better not to get close to them. If the young lady trusts me, I have a place to go."
"Mr. Lu is willing to travel thousands of miles with me and endure such suffering, so how could I not even give Mr. Lu the basic trust? Mr. Lu, just lead the way."
There was a hint of smile in Gu Yanxi's eyes, with the corners of her mouth curled up. Shaoyao felt that their young master was so gentle at this moment that he was unlike himself.
PS: Today and tomorrow are full days of meetings, so there won't be double updates. When you feel very tired, just go and read the girls' messages. That is the source of motivation for me. Xoxo girls.