The carriage swayed and rocked as it moved across the grassland, while Granny Xu closed her eyes to rest.

Beside her, two palace maids clutched their chests, their brows furrowed, looking as if they were about to vomit.

The other two palace maids were also pale.

Although they had been traveling for two months since leaving the capital, stopping and starting along the way, it hadn't been too difficult or arduous for them.

But ever since arriving in Broken Gold Town and then the Grassland Tribe, it felt like going from heaven to hell.

I'm not used to the food or the accommodations, and now the horse-drawn carriage is making the journey across the grasslands even more bumpy and uncomfortable.

Sitting to Xu Mama's left, a palace maid wrapped in a light blue cloak frowned and said, "Mama, I heard that Lady Wuya lives far away. It will take us half a month to get there. If we keep going like this, we might even lose our lives."

They had only been sitting for an hour, and their buttocks were already aching.

Another palace maid chimed in, "Granny, why don't we have someone send over a few more cushions? That way we'll be more comfortable."

Granny Xu opened her eyes, gave the two of them a cold look, and only said indifferently after they felt their scalps tingle: "You are here to be servants. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, then go ride horses. Otherwise, you can go live with your parents in the desert."

The four palace maids' expressions changed. They were not ordinary palace maids, but rather the families of disgraced officials who had been purged after the new emperor ascended the throne.

All the men in the family had been sent to the border garrison, so the unmarried girls were naturally taken in as government slaves and were now being sent to the Di tribe.

Although this is a wild and untamed place, at least serving the tribal chief is much better than being a soldier for life.

If she hadn't come to the grasslands, she would have stayed in the capital and become a courtesan in the Imperial Music Bureau.

However, they were all pampered young ladies in the past, and it was already their limit to make it to the grasslands, let alone ride horses.

It was a palace maid who had remained silent until she spoke up: "Granny, please calm down. We know we were wrong."

"But my body hasn't been properly trained before, and I'm afraid that if I encounter this situation for the first time, I won't be able to handle it by the time I get to the tribe and won't be able to serve the lady."

Hearing her sincerity, Granny Xu knew that these former noble ladies were indeed unable to withstand the long journey, so she said coldly, "Bear with it for now, and bring it up with the young mistress when the carriage stops to rest!"

Even though they were already traveling at a leisurely pace, she wanted the carriage to go even slower, otherwise these palace maids who couldn't ride horses would really die.

Young Madam!

The four exchanged glances, and their spirits lifted.

They were sent to the grassland tribe as part of their dowry, but these "dowry" items had never met their master, the bride, and were probably not easy to get along with.

Half a day later, the group stopped to eat and rest. When Song Liyun found Granny Xu, several women were struggling with beef jerky.

After eating the dried biscuits, in order to help them adapt to the Di people's life as quickly as possible, Granny Xu made them eat dried beef and drink milk tea like everyone else.

The four noble ladies had to hold the hard, dry beef in their hands, trying hard to tear off a piece before stuffing it into their mouths, rather than having to bite it with their teeth.

Beside them, eight maids were starting a fire with cow dung. Although they were clumsy, they could still make a faint light, but they left ash everywhere.

"Thank you for your hard work, Granny!"

When Song Liyun entered the tent, this was the scene she saw, and she couldn't help but want to laugh.

Xu Mama put down the beef jerky with teeth marks on it and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, young mistress. This old servant is new here and not used to it yet, so I have to suffer a bit."

"You all come here and greet the young mistress!"

The other palace maids had already put down their food and came over to pay their respects.

Some people boldly looked up to examine the new bride. They saw that Song Liyun had fair skin and a well-proportioned figure. Although she was not wearing makeup or gold and silver jewelry, her bright eyes and the string of bright red agate stones on her forehead gave her a very imposing presence.

"Greetings, young mistress!"

Some bowed their heads in greeting, while others looked up and sized them up. Song Liyun naturally took in their expressions.

After the ceremony, Song Liyun said to Granny Xu, "Granny, you don't need to go to so much trouble. Just tell the knights outside to come in and do things like starting the fire and making tea."

As soon as she finished speaking, all the women present changed their expressions.

The noble ladies' faces turned purple with embarrassment, and they turned their heads away as if they had been insulted.

However, no one dared to provoke them.

They were all legitimate daughters carefully raised by their families. Knowing that they were criminals and now palace maids, they wouldn't act rashly.

With Xu Mama's reminder, even those who were angry at this moment behaved themselves properly.

Granny Xu waved her hands repeatedly: "This is not allowed. We servants are here to serve the madam and cannot have contact with men."

Although the Wu Dynasty did not prohibit interactions between men and women, women from wealthy and powerful families were not allowed to leave their homes easily.

There was something else that Granny Xu kept to herself, but she didn't say it aloud.

The soldiers outside, wrapped in fur robes and looking dirty, were seen as lowly commoners whom these women could not approach.

Song Liyun narrowed her eyes. This was a dilemma. These women were given to the lady by the Duke of Anguo and were not allowed to have contact with men. She couldn't make the decision for the lady.

These women clearly didn't know how to fill their stomachs on the road, and they would starve to death in a few days.

Elder Shan did not bring any maids when he came to fetch the bride, so apart from Song Liyun and Yun Niangzi, the entire procession consisted of men.

They couldn't very well expect Yun Niangzi to serve them.

After thinking for a moment, Song Liyun sat down on the felt rug, took out a small knife from her waist, and shaved the beef jerky that Xu Mama had bitten into into small pieces and soaked them in the milk tea in front of her.

"Granny Xu, the beef jerky needs to be sliced ​​into thin pieces so it will be softer when soaked in milk tea."

Inside the tent, several women looked at each other in bewilderment: were they eating with knives instead of chopsticks?

With great difficulty, Song Liyun demonstrated how to eat to the women.

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