But what was he doing here? Qin Su hadn't figured out the reason, so she asked Cheng An, but Cheng An couldn't give her a clear answer either.

That's fine, as long as there's no malice involved.

The servants went in and out cleaning the room, but Qin Su slept soundly without being disturbed at all.

Qin Su rested at home for two days. On the evening of the second day, she gently placed the child in the cradle, lovingly touched the child's face, and whispered, "Mother is going to pick up Father. I'll wait for you at home, okay?"

Nannan was fast asleep and couldn't hear Qin Su's words.

Qin Su made sure to coax Nannan to sleep before leaving.

She changed into a light, dark red round-necked robe, styled her hair into a high ponytail, and left the capital city under the cover of night with Chongyang, Lian Tao, and others.

With the waist token given by Yu Shuo, one could move freely even during curfew.

The journey to the border was long, but the situation was urgent, so Qin Su could not take a carriage and rode a horse all the way.

"Madam, please rest. You've just given birth." Chongyang was worried about Qin Su, who had been traveling day and night, fearing that she might develop some health problems as a result.

“Chongyang is right, Madam should rest.” Lian Tao also advised from the side, she cared more about her own daughter than Yu Shuo.

The girl's current condition is definitely not suitable for going out, but...

Qin Su reined in his horse. They had arrived at the post station and planned to rest there for the night before continuing their journey the next day.

“What we’re waiting for, Yu Shuo might not be able to wait for.” Qin Su stroked the horse’s mane, gently soothing it, and then handed the reins to Chongyang. “Don’t worry, I’ve brought all the medicine the doctor prescribed. I know what I’m doing.”

Such a long journey was indeed physically demanding, but Qin Su was skilled in martial arts and did rehabilitation training during her nighttime rest, so it wasn't as bad as Chongyang had worried.

The sky is clear with a bright moon and few stars; tomorrow will likely be a good day.

The further south you go, the warmer the weather becomes; Kyoto is much better in comparison.

The next morning, Qin Su and the others embarked on their journey again.

The official road was wide and flat, and they moved quite quickly.

Ten days later, Qin Su and the others finally arrived near Shacheng. She licked her slightly chapped lips, dismounted, and said to Chongyang, "Let's rest for a bit before entering the city and first find out where Yu Shuo is."

Chongyang immediately made arrangements and found two farmhouses nearby to stay.

Qin Su looked terrible; the relentless travel day and night had left her feeling utterly awful.

Lian Tao went to prepare the medicine, while Chongyang and the others waited outside.

An elderly woman from the farmer's house brought over two clean quilts, though the fabric wasn't very good. Upon seeing Qin Su sitting on the edge of the bed with a pale face, she immediately went up to her and asked, "Madam, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

She placed the bedding on the bed and asked with concern.

"Why don't you go find a doctor? Although the best doctors are all in the city, you can still find one nearby, and they might be able to take a look." The old woman could tell that Qin Su was very weak, the kind of weakness that emanated from within.

She seemed to smell something, and stepped closer, as if she understood, tentatively asking, "Madam, have you just given birth?"

She's been through this herself, so she knows a lot about it.

"There's no need to find a doctor; someone has already prepared the medicine. Thank you for your concern, Madam." As for whether she had given birth, Qin Su didn't want to say; in her view, it wasn't something she could discuss with outsiders.

The old woman didn't press further, but instead brought over another quilt. "These are all the quilts I have at home. If you're still cold, madam, I'll go and get some more charcoal."

"By the way, let's have dinner first before taking the medicine, so as not to upset our stomachs."

"Thank you, Madam."

Qin Su and the others had been eating dry rations all along, so they had indeed suffered some hardship in terms of food.

The old woman had her son kill a chicken and buy some pork, and then she cooked two dishes.

She smiled somewhat awkwardly as she placed the food on the table. "We can only afford pork at home. If you don't like pork, you can have stewed chicken soup, which is also good for your health."

These days, anyone with some money won't choose to eat pork. Pork has a strong, unpleasant smell that many people can't get used to.

However, ordinary people don't care about this. In other words, they don't see any meat all year round, so they're lucky to have anything to eat at all.

Qin Su and the others were indeed not used to the food. Although Chongyang and Lian Tao were servants, they were still more particular than the average wealthy family and did not eat pork.

The old woman didn't say anything.

After Qin Su finished her dinner, she called her grandchildren to eat.

Lian Tao took the bucket of water from the old woman's daughter-in-law. The conditions here were poor, so they could only do a little washing.

By the time Qin Su finished tidying up, it was getting dark.

The old woman sat on the steps, holding her granddaughter, seemingly telling her a story.

Qin Su put on a cloak and came out. She sat down on a small stool and waited for the old woman to finish speaking before asking about the situation in Shacheng.

The old woman explained in detail: "Life in Sand City is actually not too bad, since people from other countries come here to trade. It's just that life is not so good in the more remote areas."

In Qin Su's view, Da'an could be considered a peaceful and prosperous place, and the poorest place was the border. But from what the old woman was saying, it was even poorer than Shacheng.

And Shacheng isn't even considered poor?

"His Majesty is benevolent, and most of the officials in the court are diligent and honest... surely it's not like the common people can't afford to eat a single bite of food?" She really felt that this was unlikely, but subconsciously she felt that the old woman couldn't possibly be lying.

The old woman patted her granddaughter's back and sighed, "I don't know where you are, madam. But I do know that ordinary people are not what those people in the capital see them as."

"Actually, the people near Shacheng could be living better lives, but the city lord of Shacheng is really a scoundrel."

A hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, but she quickly stopped talking about the city lord of Shacheng. "There are many places in Da'an where people really can't afford to eat. If God gives them food, that's fine, but if they encounter some natural disaster or man-made calamity, many people in the whole village will starve to death."

Qin Su frowned, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

"Take Huangxian, for example, which is only a hundred miles from here. The villages and towns under Huangxian's jurisdiction are much worse off than here. It is said that a few days ago, some people from the capital punished the officials of Huangxian and treated the people well. But in the end... no one knows where they went."

She sighed with deep emotion, "How could these officials possibly understand the suffering of the common people?"

"About ten days ago..." Qin Su caught the key information and immediately asked, "What did those people look like? What were their distinguishing features?"

The old woman recalled for a moment, then shook her head. "I only heard that the leader was extremely handsome, and many people in Huang County and Shacheng wanted to find him a wife. As for the rest, I don't know."

"Huang County, Huang County," Qin Su murmured to herself.

The old woman didn't hear clearly, but she said, "Let's not worry about time, madam, you should rest early."

She carried her granddaughter into the house, clearly not intending to say anything more to Qin Su.