Song He'er naturally hoped that Jiang Huaifu would return to the palace as soon as possible, since this was not a place he should be in.

"I'm fine. Please pass on the message and have the soldiers take His Highness away quickly. This place is far too cold and not suitable for recuperating. He has been pampered since childhood and cannot endure such hardship. He should go back as soon as possible."

Jiang Huaifu seemed to have heard Song He'er's words. He forced himself to sit up, looking at her weakly yet fiercely, "Who gave you permission to make decisions for me? Cough cough cough..."

Song He'er was speechless for a moment. No matter when, he was going to leave, and she was going to go where she was supposed to go. Why struggle here?

"Your Highness, we are about to go to Xinzhou. If you delay any longer, and are discovered by spies from the Central Plains, it will cause great chaos. Please consider the overall situation... Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about these soldiers who have risked their lives with you. They have families waiting for them."

Jiang Huaifu wasn't the kind of person who disregarded the bigger picture, so he naturally understood what he was saying. He was simply unwilling to accept it.

Seeing Jiang Huaifu still hesitating, the physician risked his life to speak again, "Your Highness, you must go back, otherwise... forgive me for speaking bluntly, but if anything happens to you here, you may never have the chance to see this young lady again. Going back now, there is still hope..."

Upon hearing this, Song He'er broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed that her strange relationship with Jiang Huaifu couldn't be kept secret from his subordinates. Now even a lowly physician had discovered it. If this continued, those two troublesome people in the palace might find out too.

To be absolutely sure, it would be best to let Jiang Huaifu go back as soon as possible.

Jiang Huaifu breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes, and after a long while, he said calmly, "Then let's go back. Leave them all the valuables I carry with me."

"yes."

"No need!" Song He'er directly refused Jiang Huaifu. "Your Highness, we really don't need such extravagant things. If those soldiers find out, they will just line their own pockets and they will be the ones who benefit. So let's just forget about it."

Song He'er's repeated rejections infuriated Jiang Huaifu. In all his years, he had never encountered a little brat who dared to defy him so many times.

"Your Highness, shall we leave now?"

"Let's go." The words were spoken with anger, which startled the physician.

"Then, I'll have someone prepare the horses." With that, the physician stepped out of the tent.

Looking at Jiang Huaifu's cold expression, Song He'er knew that he must be in a bad mood, so she didn't say anything and just sat there in a daze.

It wasn't until the soldiers outside came in to announce his arrival that Jiang Huaifu put on a cloak and slowly walked out of the tent.

The physician, being very proper, turned around and respectfully bowed to Song He'er.

"Young lady, we're heading back now. Please take good care of yourself."

Song He'er nodded. "I understand. Have a safe journey."

The physician said nothing more and turned to follow Jiang Huaifu out of the tent.

Qin Xiaoniang watched them leave, standing there stunned for a long time. Only after they had gone far away did she return to her tent.

Song He'er looks much better now, and she even has more energy to speak.

"He'er, do you want some water?"

"I don't want to drink yet, Mother. Have they left?"

Qin Xiaoniang nodded. "They've gone far enough; they should be heading back to the palace..."

Song He'er breathed a sigh of relief, raised her head, looked around the tent, and sighed, "They said they didn't leave anything behind, but this tent is a military tent, and not just anyone can buy it. Now that it's been left to us, at least we have a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

Qin Xiaoniang was still somewhat worried, "But what if we are looted by government troops? We won't be able to keep these things either. Oh well, let's take it one step at a time. In short, we don't have much money left. When we get to Xinzhou, we won't be able to find anything else except the supplies that the government provides for our survival."

After thinking it over carefully, Song He'er realized that apart from the travel expenses Jiang Huaifu had given them in the palace, they didn't have much silver left from the Central Plains. They did have an inexhaustible supply of things in their spatial storage, but they had to use them depending on the situation.

"Mother, let the children come in and rest. We'll make something simple for dinner, and we'll set off for Xinzhou tomorrow morning."

"Alright then, but... we're out of food. There are still some eggs and rice that His Highness didn't finish. I'll cook some porridge and make do with that. Let's see if we can get to the post station before dark tomorrow. If we can, maybe we can get some emergency food."

Song He'er nodded, and before anyone else came in, she secretly took out a piece of jujube cake from her bosom. These things had always been kept in the storage box in her space, so they had never spoiled.

When Qin Xiaoniang saw Song He'er secretly taking things out again, she knew she had to keep quiet. It was always the same before; anything rare was hard-won and no third person was allowed to know about it.

"Did His Highness give it to you?"

“Hmm.” Song He’er decided to play along.

Qin Xiaoniang smiled, ate half of it, and stuffed the other half into her bosom, intending to secretly give it to Huan Ge'er that night.

The nights in early winter are also very long. Song He'er was worried about Jiang Huaifu's health and whether he could be cured once he arrived at the palace. If he really died, she would feel even more guilty.

The sun had just risen, and the temperature was already a few degrees higher than at night.

Zhang Xiue packed all her belongings and led the children on foot to Xinzhou Post Station.

Nianjie's feet were frostbitten, and she felt a sharp pain after walking just a few steps.

"Mother, why don't we have a carriage anymore?"

“Nian’er, our carriage broke down on the snow mountain, and now we can only walk… Nian’er is the bravest little girl, isn’t she? Let’s hang in there, and at night we can get a good night’s sleep.”

Upon hearing this, Nianjie pouted, "This trip has been no fun at all. Mother said we were going to the south to enjoy the scenery, but all we've seen is torrential rain and snow-capped mountains. Nianjie hasn't had a fragrant bath in a long time!"

Looking at Nianjie'er's aggrieved expression, Song He'er burst out laughing, "You call it a fragrant bath? I think it's a stinky bath!"

......

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