Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Bite Him

The sun has already set and it is really getting late.

"I know there's an inn in the nearest town. If we walk faster, we might be able to find a place to stay there," said Wang Hu.

Chen Yang glanced at him and motioned him to look at Xuan Jinyu.

That girl is pregnant! How can she walk fast?

Let her get in the carriage?

Didn’t you see that the sun has been shining for so long that the wet mud on both sides of the official road has not dried up yet. There are gravel, mud balls and puddles everywhere along the way. Can she withstand such bumps?

Is that young lady finally able to hold the baby safely?

Wang Hu met Su Guanzhang's cold gaze, then looked at the Su family. Men, women, young and old were all staring at him. He looked away, and the few families who had come to see him off and had not yet left were also glaring at him.

He touched his nose.

The task that Your Majesty has assigned to him is indeed difficult.

"Ahem."

After all, they were colleagues and would be working together every day for the next year or so. Seeing the atmosphere become tense, Chen Yang spoke up to help. "Let's just slow down. I know there's a large abandoned temple two miles away that can accommodate all of us."

It was only two miles, so she could walk it before dark.

As for living in an abandoned temple, she had been in the death row of the Ministry of Justice and had been exiled. It seemed that there was no place she couldn't stay.

Xuan Jinyu nodded to Su Guanzhang. If all else failed, she would let this stinky man carry her. She had decided to torture him and get revenge on him.

This time it was a real farewell. Chen Yang led the officers and soldiers to lead the way, and Wang Hu led the imperial guards to "escort" from behind. The Su family officially embarked on the road of exile.

Lin Qingwan, Xuan Zhao, Xuan Wenwei, and later the Xu and Chang families, stopped on the official road for a long time, waiting until the team of more than a hundred people in front of them disappeared at the end of their sight. Then they sighed, got on the carriage that had been waiting for a long time at the foot of the mountain, and returned to the city before sunset.

"I wonder if Jinyu and the others have arrived at the abandoned temple where they are staying." During dinner, Lin Qingwan suddenly put down her bowl and chopsticks halfway through her meal.

"Alas, it's raining so heavily this morning. I heard it started outside the city last night. The roads must be difficult to travel on, and Jinyu is still pregnant."

Ever since the Su family encountered trouble, Lin Qingwan's sighs have gradually increased. In the past half month, she has probably sighed more than in the past ten years combined.

"Don't worry, we won't sleep in the wilderness." Xuan Zhao comforted his wife.

This consolation is worse than no consolation! Look at what he said.

Lin Qingwan glared at him.

Xuan Wenwei hurriedly tried to make amends for his father, "Mom, don't worry. Guan Zhang is here! When Jinyu can't walk anymore, he can carry her on his back or even hold her in his arms."

"Well said." When Lin Qingwan mentioned her son-in-law, she felt relieved a little.

On the other side, Xuan Jinyu, who was worried about by Lin Qingwan, was actually in a pretty good mood.

"Am I heavy?" Xuan Jinyu asked Su Guanzhang under her.

Su Guanzhang walked at a leisurely pace, his breathing not hurried, "It's not heavy."

Xuan Jinyu pinched his ear and a smile rose at the corners of her lips.

As I was walking, I heard a "thump" sound from behind.

When Xuan Jinyu looked back, she saw the carriage in front of her "wheel" suddenly sank into the mud pit, splashing a large pool of muddy water.

Fortunately, the carriage was empty and no one was injured.

The only hardship was for the imperial guards walking on both sides of the carriage, whose bodies were covered with mud.

"Watch your step." Wang Hu shouted.

He glanced at his subordinates who were splashed with mud and water and were grinning bitterly. "Wipe it off before it dries. Everyone, go to the back and let the people behind come up."

He glanced ahead and saw the slowly moving figure, and couldn't help but sigh.

This is a tough job.

It wasn't that he was tired, but the slow pace of walking, as if he was digesting food after a meal, really made him feel suffocated.

A martial artist like him usually walks with a breeze, but now, after just a short while, he starts to feel uncomfortable. The thought of having to walk like this for the next year or so makes him want to curse.

But thinking that this mission was assigned by His Majesty himself, he silently wiped away the dirty words in his heart and pretended that nothing had happened.

Xuan Jinyu nestled in Su Guanzhang with peace of mind, burying her head in his shoulder.

She was the most relaxed among the group, as she was carried by her husband.

Even the children at the back were walking, carefully avoiding rocks and broken branches. Tong Jie'er almost fell down and was lifted up by Xu Xuanniang by the back of her collar.

Tong Jie'er didn't feel scared at all, but rather quite happy. She shouted to Xuan Jinyu's back, "Auntie, I just flew up."

Originally, besides her parents, great-grandmother, grandparents, her favorite person in Duke Su's Mansion was her uncle. But after she witnessed her uncle making her pregnant aunt cry that day, her aunt became her favorite person, and her uncle took the back seat.

Xuan Jinyu turned around and saw her elder sister-in-law Xu Xuanniang smiling at her helplessly and pointing to the shallow pit where her daughter almost fell.

"Tong Jie'er, walk slower and watch your step. Don't fall." She looked at the other children again, "You too. The ground is covered with gravel and broken branches. It would hurt if you fell."

The children responded and laughed happily.

After walking a little further and leaving the outskirts of Beijing, there was not even a proper official road.

Xuan Jinyu put her arms around Su Guanzhang's neck, watching him tread deep and shallow in the grass that reached up to his calves. Then she looked back at the children. They were all silent, their minds focused on walking.

Duke Su, Second Aunt Su, and their three sisters-in-law walked slowly, their eyes often fixed on the children. If they saw someone about to fall, they would quickly pick them up by the back of the collar or by the armpit.

Only at this time can the children's giggles be heard.

Xuan Jinyu gradually felt the reality in her heart. She actually went into exile with this man.

The familiar broad back made her feel at ease and nostalgic, but when she thought about the fact that he had someone in his heart, she felt so angry that her teeth itched.

She cared about the fact that he had someone in his heart, she really cared a lot!

She had walked towards him so bravely, but he...

There was a constant rustling sound ahead. It was the Deputy Lieutenant of the Ministry of War, Chen Yang, who was leading his men to clear the way. The long sword in his hand swept across the road in front of him from time to time, for fear that a poisonous snake would suddenly crawl across.

"This road is really difficult to walk on." Old Lady Su was supported by her eldest daughter-in-law Xu Yu Niang and was already walking side by side with her young grandson Su Guanzhang.

There was a strange sound of wind under his feet. Su Guanzhang looked down, supported Xuan Jinyu behind him with one hand, and freed up his other hand to quickly support his grandmother's other side.

Xuan Jinyu saw a wild rabbit hit her grandmother's legs, and she bent down and caught it.

"Alright," Madam Su straightened up and gently broke free from Su Guanzhang's hand. "I can stand still. You take care of Jinyu."

Su Guanzhang then gently lifted Xuan Jinyu up, and then helped his grandmother to place her hand firmly on her lower back.

"Grandma is so awesome." Xuan Jinyu hadn't seen clearly what was happening just now, but now she saw Madam Su grabbing the rabbit's long ears with one hand and lifting it into the air. She couldn't help but admire her.

"I want to see it too, I want to see it too." The children at the back heard the rabbit's faint screams, and when they looked up, they saw the rabbit with a snow-white body and only muddy feet.

Old Madam Su passed the rabbit to the back, and the oldest one, Su Yuqi, took it.

The children excitedly took the rabbits one by one, but they kept walking without delaying their journey.

"This road is so desolate." Old Madam Su sighed, "After all, it used to be a government road. It's only been a few years, and it's almost become a forest."

The official road under their feet, which should have been higher than the road surface on both sides, has been filled with sand and stones, and it is almost impossible to tell what it originally looked like.

There were long grass stems growing on the road, and the rabbit just jumped out from the grass and bumped into Madam Su's leg.

"Grandma, is this the official road?" Xuan Jinyu was surprised. "I thought it was a side road."

"It's an official road, but it has been abandoned for many years." Old Lady Su sighed.

Everyone else thought Madam Su was lamenting the difficulty of the journey, but only the elderly Su Sheng, Xu Yu Niang, and Second Aunt Su knew she was lamenting something else. Twenty years ago, this official road wasn't in this state.

Back then, the road was wide and smooth enough for two carriages to pass side by side. Now, the road almost merges with the woods beside it.

"It's a pity." Xu Yu Niang agreed.

She often walked this road in her early years, especially when she wanted to pray for her husband who was going to war.

This official road originally led to the largest temple outside the city - their destination today, the abandoned temple that Deputy Captain Chen mentioned could accommodate all of them for the night.

That temple was originally called "Huangjue Temple". It was a royal temple with a prosperous incense business and a constant flow of pilgrims and tourists.

However, the deposed crown prince attempted to forcibly abdicate and rebel, but after his attempt failed, he hanged himself in the crown prince's residence.

The monks of Huangjue Temple were accused of harboring weapons and criminals. The emperor, who had lost his beloved crown prince, was furious and so the entire Huangjue Temple was uprooted. Huangjue Temple was thus abandoned.

After the late emperor ascended the throne, he ordered the construction of a new Huangjue Temple in the west of the city. Since then, the old Huangjue Temple has gradually become unknown.

Huangjue Temple fell into decline after losing its pilgrims. The pilgrims all went to the new temple in the west of the city. Later, few people set foot on this official road.

Over time, this official road was abandoned.

"oops!"

Tong Jie'er was holding the rabbit high up to show her aunt on her uncle's back, but she didn't expect that the rabbit, which was wilted just now, began to struggle hard.

She was worried about hurting her aunt, so she had to let go of her hand and watched the rabbit jump into the grass and quickly disappear into the woods.

Xuan Jinyu patted her head and asked, "Sister Tong is worried about hurting me, right?"

Tong Jieer nodded and said, "Aunt is not the same as before, so you have to be careful." She said seriously.

The little girl was just as tall as Su Guanzhang's thigh, and was still a short and plump little ball, but she acted like an adult and said soothing words that made people feel both amused and heartwarming.

Xuan Jinyu smiled at her gently.

"Auntie looks so beautiful when she smiles. She should smile more often." Tong Jieer said with a smile.

Xuan Jinyu was stunned, and Su Guanzhang paused slightly.

"Uncle, don't make aunt cry again." The little girl started to educate him.

Su Guanzhang smiled bitterly. He couldn't guarantee anything, as he seemed to always make her cry.

"Your uncle is really annoying, isn't he?" Xuan Jinyu teased the child, speaking half-seriously and half-jokingly.

Tong Jie'er nodded vigorously at first, then hesitated for a moment and followed Su Guanzhang, "Aunt, uncle doesn't seem that annoying after all."

It seemed that he didn't need to answer, and Su Guanzhang tightened his hand on Xuan Jinyu's lower back slightly.

Xuan Jinyu was stunned for a moment, nodded to her innocent little niece, and then watched her run back happily after getting a response, walking slowly with her brothers and sisters.

"It would be great if the person in your heart was me." Xuan Jinyu sighed in her heart. The words came to her lips but she didn't say them out loud in the end.

He wasn't that annoying, but he was very annoying because he didn't have her in his heart.

Xuan Jinyu lowered her head and bit his shoulder hard until she tasted blood. Then she rubbed his shoulder to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips.