The coachman came to report to Rong Ting that the carriage would soon pass through the city gate of Luyan Town.

Once you leave this city gate, you will have completely left Jinling.

Jiang Rao quietly pricked up her ears to listen to the voices outside, her face still red.

She used to bite her lips when she was in a dilemma, but now she just frowned and didn't dare to touch it.

You can tell without touching her that it's a little swollen.

I don’t know if the noise just now was heard by people outside.

If someone else really heard it... she would really want to dig a hole and bury herself.

Before burying herself, she wanted to drag Rong Ting down with her as a scapegoat. Who told him to make her like this?

It was not until she heard the coachman and Rong Ting talking about serious matters outside that her breathing gradually became steady. The carriage curtain was opened again, and when Rong Ting came in, he saw her and could not help but curl his lips.

The little girl curled up there, like a rabbit hiding back in its nest, looking at him warily.

"We have just passed Luyan Town and are 20 miles outside the capital."

He said, "Even if we ride as fast as possible and travel day and night, it will take at least ten days to reach Huaizhou. Even if we reach Chuzhou earlier, it will still take nine days."

He looked like he was talking about business, and Jiang Rao's thoughts were almost diverted by him. But when she saw his moist lips, she suddenly remembered the scene just now. Her face flushed red, and she complained, "You...you are disrespectful of etiquette."

"We are not married yet, how can we ..."

Her skin was so thin at this moment that the blush never went away.

Rong Ting half-bent his knees and squatted in front of her, his gaze fixed on her swollen lips, his expression darkening into a deep one.

Seeing this, Jiang Rao's heart instinctively sounded alarm bells. She immediately lowered her chin and buried half of her face in the collar of her cloak, leaving only her two wet eyes exposed as she looked at him.

He saw that she was hiding, so he moved closer, looked up at her, soft and well-behaved, and said innocently, "You were the one who hid in my carriage first."

For the first time, Jiang Rao was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and her fur stood on end.

Is it her fault that she brought this upon herself?

She gave him a shy look and continued to wrap herself tightly in her cloak.

He lowered his brows, looking even more aggrieved than she was, "If you really follow etiquette, you shouldn't come here."

It seems to mean "you provoked me first."

Jiang Rao choked.

She lowered her eyes and dared not look him in the eye. Her heart would soften whenever she saw his face. He was obviously much taller than her when he stood up, but she always liked to lie on her knees with her knees bent and look at him. Even the little white dog in her grandfather's yard was not as innocent and childish as him and so lovable.

It's really a disaster.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but in the end she couldn't utter a word and lowered her head in speechlessness.

It was indeed she who was the first to disrespect etiquette.

I wanted to ask him if he really remembered what happened those two times when he was drunk, but after thinking about it, I decided not to dig my own grave.

If she asked, although she could settle the score with him for flirting with her, it would be unacceptable for her to flirt with him that time, and it would make her image of being disrespectful even more concrete.

Jiang Rao continued to hide in her cloak and refused to raise her eyes. Her voice was muffled and sounded much smaller. "Why did you kiss me?"

Rong Ting's eyes darkened.

He looked at her expression and said slowly and tentatively, "You will be my wife in the future."

He was testing her limits.

Testing how much she could tolerate him.

Jiang Rao pondered over his words. Even though he was handsome and his tone was elegant, when she connected it with his actions just now, she felt that there was an unreasonable and hooligan spirit hidden in him.

She will be his wife in the future.

But the engagement...she had always treated the engagement as a nominal matter.

She wanted to wait until the queen fell and there was no one to threaten her anymore, then she could leave and continue traveling around.

She grew up wandering, she was addicted to the fresh feeling of visiting one place after another, and the mountains and scenery of Dazhao. Others might feel terrified when leaving their hometown, but she just felt fresh.

Before the engagement, she had asked him if he could give her a divorce certificate first. If he gave it to her, she would dare to use her marriage as a bargaining chip against the Queen without any worries.

At that time, he had clearly agreed readily, and the divorce agreement even reached her before the marriage proposal, so she thought that he understood her thoughts.

But listening to what he said now...

Doesn't he understand? Do they think that as long as they get married, they will be real husband and wife?

Jiang Rao wanted to ask clearly, but the words couldn't come out of her mouth.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with just being confused like this.

She thought about the warmth in his arms just now. It clearly had a cool medicinal smell, but it made her feel at ease.

Her face became redder and redder, and she buried her head lower and lower in the cloak. As her eyes softened, she was pulled into an embrace with the cloak. He kissed her twice more through the cloak, and when she looked at him, he winked at her instead. His action was very presumptuous but his eyes seemed very clear and innocent.

Jiang Rao sighed in her heart

He cried out, it's fatal.

He had both the handsome face that she thought was handsome and the reliable soul.

Just be confused, she didn't want to think too clearly, so she just went along with him.

At noon, when the sun was high in the sky, the convoy stopped in a small town.

Huai Qinglai knocked on the carriage door and said, "Your Highness, we have arrived at Luotan Town."

Jiang Rao lifted the curtain and walked out. She fastened the buttons of her cloak tightly and buried half of her face in it, for fear that others would see what she had been through.

When Huai Qing saw Jiang Rao, his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, and he stood there like a log, "Fourth, Fourth Miss?"

Rong Ting opened the carriage curtain and got off the carriage at this time. He said calmly, "What are you scared of?"

After he came down, he grabbed Jiang Rao's sleeve and said, "She will come with us and come down when we reach Chuzhou."

Chuzhou. Huai Qing thought that this place was not far from Huaizhou. It was really extraordinary to be able to go so far.

He looked at Jiang Rao again, his eyes couldn't help but be filled with a hint of admiration, but he soon frowned, looking embarrassed, "I wanted to hurry up and eat some cakes on the ground with tea. But the girl is used to fine clothes and delicious food. Should I take her to the restaurant in town and have some good food? I'm afraid she can't get used to those cakes cooked with cold water."

"No." Jiang Rao shook her head quickly. Huaizhou was in dire straits, and a day later might be a disadvantage. "I'm not here to be a burden."

She was petite, with a white, soft and clean face. Even though her clothes were not as exquisite as those in Jinling, compared with the dark-skinned, bearded soldiers behind her, she looked like a delicate flower who had never suffered any hardship or fatigue, making her words seem particularly unconvincing.

Seeing Huai Qing looking at her with some concern, Jiang Rao quickly proved herself, "I also brought some dry food with me."

She looked back and her sight fell on the distance of two mu of field. She pointed to a row of carriages parked there and said, "That is my family's carriage with maids and guards. In addition to carrying my things, it also carries food and some herbs. Maybe they can be used."

She insisted on following Rong Ting's convoy because she was carrying too many things. The journey to Chuzhou was long and the more things she brought, the more she looked like a moving piece of fat meat. Bandits who wanted to hijack property would come over just by smelling the scent. One or two days would not be enough for her to find a trustworthy escort from the escort agency. It would be better for her to follow Rong Ting's convoy and be protected by the soldiers he brought with him. This would save her manpower and resources and would ensure her safety and let her parents rest assured.

Jiang Rao

After thinking about it, Rong Ting seemed to take the engagement so seriously. She felt a little guilty before coming, but now she felt very justified. There was nothing wrong with her asking her man to protect her.

What's more, most of her things can be used as military rations. If that doesn't work, she can exchange them for silver as military pay.

Rong Ting assigned Huai Qing to find a few people to check and count the carriage that Jiang Rao brought. He then looked at Jiang Rao who had returned from getting pancakes, "How did you hide in my carriage?"

Jiang Rao lowered his eyes, tried to break the cake in his hand, and said, "The person you arranged to check each carriage recognized me."

"Don't punish him," she added.

Rong Ting nodded, his eyes always glued to her while nodding, looking particularly obedient.

In Jiang Rao's eyes, she was the kind of well-behaved child whose wrongdoings were magnified a hundred times.

She didn't care about anything for the time being, and broke the cake in her hand in half, wanting to share it with Rong Ting, but after thinking it over, she retracted her hand and tore off a corner of the larger cake that she was going to give him and threw it into her own mouth.

Her little movements of picking and searching are so adorable.

Rong Ting took the cake and looked around. At least the others didn't get to share the cake with her, so she smiled slightly.

Jiang Rao looked around and saw that some men were sitting on the ground eating the cakes. She couldn't sit on the ground, so she sat on the shaft of the cart, eating the cake in small bites and occasionally drinking a sip of water. Although she was slow, she didn't show any disgust on her face.

Huai Qing was wrong. She was used to a life of luxury. That was why she would not only feel uncomfortable eating simple meals occasionally, but would find them new. It would only last for a dozen days. Even if she found them unpalatable in the end, she would just fill herself up and it would pass.

Ming Shao came from afar from where the Jiang family's horse-drawn carriages were. Seeing Jiang Rao sitting on the shaft of the carriage and eating this hard cake, her face immediately looked aggrieved.

Before coming, she wanted to bring some of Jiang Rao's favorite food as dry food for the journey, or even bring the cook in the mansion who was familiar with Jiang Rao's taste, and let the cook cook for the girl alone, and the master would definitely let her go. But Jiang Rao herself was unwilling to do so. She said that there was only one cook, and it might be enough to cook for a few people, but not for an entire caravan. Since she couldn't ask everyone in the caravan to eat the same thing as her, she might as well eat the same thing as them.

When Jiang Rao saw Ming Shao's resentful eyes, she knew what she wanted to say. Afraid that she would bring up the past, she stopped her with her eyes.

Ming Shao was helpless and stopped talking about the meal. She just asked Jiang Rao, "Miss, you have also seen the Ninth Prince. After a while, should we go back to our carriage?"

She glanced at Rong Ting. She didn't know why, but she always felt uneasy when Jiang Rao was not around to take care of her.

Rong Ting, who had been staying quietly and obediently beside Jiang Rao, raised his eyes slightly at this time.

Jiang Rao nodded. Ming Shao looked at her eating and suddenly frowned. She moved closer to Jiang Rao's face and looked at it carefully. "Miss, why are your lips... a little swollen?"

Jiang Rao almost choked, coughed, covered her lips with the biscuit, and answered stutteringly, "I'm not used to the local climate."

"Is it serious?"

The one who asked this question was Rong Ting. She was slightly annoyed when she heard it, and glanced at the man who came over to ask her with concern.

It's not like he didn't know why she was having trouble acclimatizing.

Asking questions despite knowing the answer will result in a more serious crime.

She wanted to tear the cake in his hand again.

Ming Shao said, "Ah," "Then do you want to go back?"

"It's not serious. You'll be fine after a rest." Jiang Rao shook her head.

She left the smaller piece of cake for herself, but her appetite was really small, so she broke off a piece from the side she had never bitten and handed it to Ming Shao, "Are you hungry?"

"I have already eaten and have no appetite." Ming Shao shook her head.

Rong Ting's face darkened slightly. He looked at Jiang Rao dimly and took the small piece of cake from Jiang Rao's hand. "I want it."

Ming Shao was standing by Jiang Rao and handed her water once. Rong Ting was watching from the side. When Ming Shao wanted to hand Jiang Rao water for the second time, he was one step faster than Ming Shao.

It was the same after the first change, the second and the third time. Ming Shao always ended up with nothing when she tried to get the water bag. She couldn't help but glance at Rong Ting who always got it before her.

I vaguely feel that Rong Ting’s personality is… very strange.

She is obviously the master, why did he steal her cake and even take away her job as a maid?

Jiang Rao didn't have time to notice the undercurrents under her eyes. She had decided not to be a burden, so she looked to the side from time to time. Seeing that others were eating fast, she stuffed a few more bites of biscuits into her mouth. She didn't want to delay the journey because of her. She finished her meal hastily, took the water bag handed to her by Rong Ting, and drank a sip of water. She heard Ming Shao ask her, "Girl, shall we go?"

Jiang Rao nodded, put down the water bag and was about to leave, but her sleeve was caught by something. She thought it was a wooden splinter on the shaft of the cart, and was afraid of scratching her sleeve, so she didn't dare to lift it with force. When she lowered her eyes, she saw that it was Rong Ting's hand that had come up on her without anyone noticing.

His fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints, and they were sticky and entangled with the fabric at the corner of her sleeve.

It was obvious from the look on his face that he didn't want her to leave.

ginger

Rao looked at him, waiting for him to speak. He opened his mouth and said something shocking, "I won't do anything to make you angry like I did in the carriage."

Jiang Rao's face turned red again, and she immediately had the urge to cover his mouth.

"What's the matter?" Ming Shao pricked up her ears keenly.

Jiang Rao shuddered, hesitating, and said to Ming Shao, "It's just that we have different opinions on some things. Ming Shao, you can go back first. I need to discuss it with him again."

After all, they were already engaged, so if there were some minor inappropriate things, it was no big deal. Ming Shao didn't interfere too much. When Jiang Rao asked her to leave, she left.

After Mingshao left, Rong Ting's expression lightened up a little.

Jiang Rao boarded the carriage and stamped her feet at Rong Ting's innocent look. She said anxiously, "Don't tell anyone."

The person being scolded lowered his head and nodded obediently. There was no sharpness in his eyes, but there was a bit of cunning in his gaze hidden by his eyelashes.

"Yeah." He agreed.

At night, the convoy camped in the suburbs.

The sky was full of stars, and Jiang Rao's tent was set up next to Rong Ting's tent.

Ming Shao burned some grass that could repel mosquitoes. After it was lit, she went outside and took turns to keep watch with the other two maids.

The bumpy journey was a bit tiring, but Jiang Rao was somewhat attached to her bed. After changing the environment, she couldn't fall asleep even though she was physically tired.

He closed his eyelids, but was dazzled by a ray of light.

She couldn't see anything when she suddenly opened her eyes. She could only vaguely see a figure holding a lamp. Jiang Rao rubbed her eyes, her tone unclear. Before she could fully adapt to the light in the tent, she called out Ming Shao Yuer's name one by one. Her voice was tender and her look was silly and cute. After blinking a few times and her vision becoming clear, she realized that the extra person in the tent was a man.

She didn't scream or panic because this man was nominally her man.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up, "Why are you here?"

When she looked again, there was no figure outside the tent. She was a little surprised, "Why are my maids gone? Where are they?"

"In a place full of men like this, they would attract too much attention. I told them to go back to their tents and arranged for someone to guard them. As for you, I will guard you."

He smiled as if to seek credit. Maybe it was because his smile was too big, but for the first time, she couldn't help but stare at his lips instead of looking into his eyes as usual. It was the first time she noticed that his left canine tooth was very sharp.

Jiang Rao suddenly thought of what happened during the day and suddenly felt a sense of danger in her heart. She pulled the quilt to cover herself, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep peacefully.

But the sound of breathing cannot deceive people.

His cool fingers pressed on her forehead that was exposed outside the quilt, and she opened her eyes suddenly. She was about to ask in a complaining tone, "What are you doing?", but before she could say it, he spoke first.

His tall figure half-lay beside her, with the lantern placed aside, propped up his face, looking at her pitifully, as if a tail was wagging behind him. He spoke in a hoarse and low voice, making his tone even more coquettish and hard to refuse, "I can't seem to... sleep."