352 A Short Stay
What puzzled Shen Yijia was that the closer she got to Lizhou, the more praises she heard for Emperor Chong’an.
She vaguely heard words like “save Xunyang” and “Heir Song”.
In short, it was very similar to the scene when they left the capital.
However, what did the incident in Xunyang City have to do with Emperor Chong’an? Shouldn’t Xunyang be scolding Emperor Chong’an?
Since she didn’t understand, Shen Yijia looked for Song Jingchen.
“We’re going back to the capital,” Song Jingchen said as he rubbed her head.
Back then, Emperor Chong’an had given up on Xunyang. It seemed to only cause harm to the citizens of Xunyang City.
However, not all the citizens of Great Xia were stupid. Those who knew how to be vigilant would naturally be worried. Their emperor had abandoned Xunyang. If the next city to fall into danger was the one they were in, it was hard to guarantee that they would not become the second Xunyang.
Emperor Chong’an also knew this, but he had been waiting for Shangguan Han to die for the past ten years. However, it was not appropriate for him to make a move.
The fact that Xunyang was trapped was an opportunity for him.
Unexpectedly, Shangguan Han was still alive and Xunyang was still intact.
Thus, he began to consider the popular sentiment. Coincidentally, he found out about the name list and Song Jingchen’s actions in Xunyang, so he attributed Song Jingchen’s contributions to himself and killed two birds with one stone.
He could get the name list and while clearing his own name.
Eventually, he still had to consider how to deal with Song Jingchen himself.
After more than a month of traveling, the group had originally planned to enter Anyang County.
Unexpectedly, it suddenly started raining heavily in the middle of the night. The sky turned dark, and the raindrops hurt their faces.
South Wind, who was riding alone at the front, pulled the reins tightly and rode his horse near to the carriage. He raised his voice and asked, “Master, I remember that there’s a village not far ahead. Why don’t we go over and take shelter from the rain?”
Song Jingchen glanced at the person sleeping in his arms and knocked on the wall of the carriage in agreement.
South Wind informed Mo Yuan, who was driving the carriage. She waved her whip and made some adjustments to the route.
The village was south of the official road. It could be seen from the official road, but it was still a distance away. Fortunately, the carriage that entered the village could pass through directly.
When the carriage arrived, South Wind was waiting at the village entrance. He had already agreed with a family in the village to borrow their dwellings to avoid the rain, so he led the way.
This village should not be considered poor. At least, it was much better than Xiagou Village. Half of the houses were made of bricks and tiles. The one South Wind found was also in the middle of the village.
He knocked on the door for a long time, but perhaps because of the loud rain, no one answered.
At this moment, he happened to see a man in a raincoat pass by. After asking, the man said that he could go to his house to avoid the rain, so he chose this house.
Mo Yuan drove the carriage straight into the courtyard. This family raised cows, and there was a cowshed built in the courtyard that was just big enough to park the carriage.
“It’s May. I’m afraid it won’t stop raining for a while. Guests, come in and sit down.” The man was in his early thirties. When the carriage stopped, he greeted them warmly with an honest smile.
He was holding two umbrellas in his hand. It was obvious that he had prepared them for the guests.
Shen Yijia opened her eyes in a daze and realized that the carriage had stopped. She asked in a muffled voice, “Are we home?”
She had been a little excited for the past two days. She couldn’t fall asleep until late at night, but she was sleepy in the afternoon.
“Not yet. It’s raining. Let’s take shelter from the rain first.” Song Jingchen let go of her waist and helped her sit up.
Shen Yijia rubbed her eyes and followed Song Jingchen out of the carriage.
Seeing Shen Yijia and Song Jingchen get out of the car, the man paused for a moment, and surprise flashed across his eyes.
As if realizing that this was too rude, he scratched his head in embarrassment. “Please don’t blame me. This is the first time I’ve seen someone as outstanding as the two of you.”
Shen Yijia was overjoyed by the praise. She turned to look at Song Jingchen and grinned.
This meant that she was not a burden to her beautiful husband in terms of looks.
Song Jingchen could tell what she was thinking at a glance. He smiled and cupped his hands at the man. “Sorry to disturb you.”
Actually, they were wearing the same clothes as the men. The carriage was also very low-key.
However, Song Jingchen had a strong aura. As soon as he stood there, he exuded a noble aura.
It had nothing to do with his clothes, and those who saw him would not be focused on his clothes anyway.
“I won’t disturb you.” The man was flattered and waved his hand. He wanted to hand over the umbrella, but he felt that it was inappropriate. Seeing this, South Wind took the initiative to take it.
At this moment, Furball suddenly jumped down from the other carriage. The man screamed in fear, “Ah, there’s a tiger!”
He staggered back a few steps and fell to the ground.
The few of them were shocked by his scream. It happened so suddenly that they couldn’t stop him even if they wanted to.
Shen Yijia covered her face and glared at the culprit, Furball.
Furball thought, “Is it my fault that the carriage is so stuffy? Why didn’t you say that this person was too timid?”
It was fine when it first sat in the carriage. It felt quite comfortable, but later on, it couldn’t take it anymore.
As long as there was no one around, Furball would rather run with the carriage than stay in it.
Occasionally, Shen Yijia would sit on its back and take a ride.
In the end, South Wind explained to the man that Furball did not bite. In order to increase his trustworthiness, he placed his hand in front of Furball’s mouth. Furball rolled its eyes, and the man believed him.
However, he did not dare to get too close to Furball. He led them into the central room and lit the oil lamp. Then, he said with a trembling voice, “I’ll pour tea for you.”
When he crossed the doorway, he tripped and almost fell out.
The corners of Shen Yijia’s mouth twitched. After sitting down, she looked around. The house was very clean. There was a square table in the middle, which should be used for food.
In one corner of the central room was a small wooden horse. There should be more than one child in this family. They had been here for so long, but they had not seen a second person besides the man.
Song Jingchen clearly noticed it too and looked at Shen Yijia.
The man was probably really frightened by Furball. After 15 minutes, he brought in a few bowls of water on a tray.
Shen Yijia noticed that his hand was still trembling as he carried the tray.
This… was indeed too timid. Furball had yet to do anything.
“There’s only coarse tea at home. Please don’t mind it.” The man placed the tray on the square table, and Mo Yuan took the initiative to distribute the tea.
Since he had nothing to do, the man stood there helplessly.
Song Jingchen picked up his bowl and took a sip before glancing at South Wind.
South Wind understood and said politely, “Big Brother, can you provide us with a place to change our clothes?”
Apart from Shen Yijia and Song Jingchen, who had been sitting in the carriage, the three of them were all drenched.
There was no need to stay in the same room as Furball. The man clearly heaved a sigh of relief and naturally agreed. He immediately brought the three of them out.
Soon, they returned after changing their clothes.
South Wind leaned in front of Song Jingchen and said in a low voice, “Master, I didn’t see anyone else in this house.”
