"The stars really do talk! Come here, give Grandma a kiss! Mwah!"
Xiao Muxing's face flushed slightly, but she didn't resist her approach. She caught a faint, sweet scent and couldn't help but inhale it a few more times.
"Grandma's hands smell so good!"
Yes, she just washed her hands with hand sanitizer.
The carriage continued its journey, but Qin Qing began to ponder the man's identity. Not to mention that the key's shape was clearly unusual, its craftsmanship was exquisite, its all-red color looked quite peculiar, and the decorations on it were made of the rarest cat's-eye stone in ancient times...
I have a feeling that I've gotten myself into some kind of trouble again for no reason!
A gentle breeze blew by, carrying wisps of heat, but the previous scorching heat was gone…
Looking ahead, Qin Qing's heavy and agitated heart suddenly calmed down. At this point, this was the only way.
As the sun set, the sky turned fiery red, with rays of light stretching across the sky! Finally, an inn appeared ahead, the very place where they had stayed before.
The group breathed a sigh of relief; at least they wouldn't have to squeeze into a horse-drawn carriage that night!
After the carriage pulled into the post station, an elderly woman with white hair stepped out, her face full of wrinkles, beaming with a smile.
"Welcome, esteemed guests. Are you here for a stay or a meal?"
Qin Qing limped off the carriage, tied up the horse, and turned around in surprise when he heard these words.
"Grandma, are you all alone here? I remember there was a young man here before."
The old woman was taken aback, seemingly not expecting it to be a regular customer. After a moment of surprise, she revealed a helpless and heartbroken expression.
"You mean my youngest son? A while ago, because all the wells nearby dried up, he had to go to the border town to fetch water every now and then in order to support the family. He just left a couple of days ago and probably won't be back for another five or six days."
At first glance, Qin Qing didn't think anything of it and didn't pay much attention to it.
"Alright, ma'am, our family will stay for one day, one room is fine."
The old woman smiled and nodded, then turned to look at the people getting off the carriage, and was immediately stunned by what she saw…
Qin Qing thought she was annoyed by the large number of people in her group, so she quickly explained.
"Don't worry, although there are many of us, the three children are very well-behaved and don't make a fuss."
After all, there might be other people in the inn, and the worst thing is for children to make noise!
Upon hearing this, the old woman snapped back to reality, smiled, and shook her head.
"Not at all, it's just you and a few other guests tonight. It's good that it's lively, it's good that it's lively!"
As she spoke, the old lady walked into the post station without looking back. Qin Qing was also about to take out his silver when he casually said something.
"Grandma, have you raised your prices recently? How much is it per night now?"
Then she looked up at the old man in front of her and noticed that he seemed to be stunned, as if he hadn't thought about the question yet. Then he realized what she meant and smiled.
"No, we live far from the capital, and it's not easy for us to have a few guests. Why would we raise the price? It's still the same price."
Qin Qing felt a little strange seeing this. For some reason, she felt that the old lady in front of her seemed to know nothing about the post station. She remembered that the young man was very eager to collect money when she came last time. Why was the old lady so casual? She had a feeling that if she hadn't asked how much it cost per night, the old lady probably wouldn't have even thought about asking for money!
She was filled with doubt and uncertainty, but her face remained impassive as she continued to mutter to herself as usual.
"Oh, okay then. So it's still one tael of silver a night. I thought the price would go up."
Hearing her voice, the old woman quickly nodded.
"Oh, you're right, my son is so loyal. In this world, it's not easy for anyone."
Then he took the tael of silver from Qin Qing, but didn't notice the change in Qin Qing's eyes...
When they went upstairs, the old woman pointed to the room at the very end and told them to go in, then left in a hurry without asking if they needed any food or anything else.
An inn is nothing more than a place that provides drinks, food, and lodging. However, from the moment they arrived until now, the old woman has not shown any of the shrewdness that someone who wants to make money should have!
Qin Qing watched the old woman walk away briskly with a serious expression, then carefully closed the door.
"Kids, it's getting dark. Let's eat something and get some rest. We have to get up very early tomorrow."
The three little ones nodded obediently. Peony seemed to sense something was amiss, but she didn't ask.
At night, while everyone was sleeping soundly, they suddenly heard a neighing sound, followed by the panicked cries of a horse, which instantly woke Qin Qing.
"Peony, watch over the children!"
After saying that, she quickly went downstairs with her cane, because they couldn't see the monkeys downstairs from the second floor where they lived, so she had to go down and check on them herself.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw the horse shaking its body wildly, resisting the thieves' approach, its hooves kicking incessantly!
A figure rode on horseback, holding the reins and whipping the horse's body, urging it on as if trying to steal it. Qin Qing immediately shouted.
"You little thief! You dare steal your grandma's horse? I'll beat you to death!"
That's what she said, but she wasn't sure if the man had any weapons, so she didn't dare to rush at him rashly!
The figure on horseback realized it was too late upon hearing the sound, decisively cut the reins, and quickly scaled the wall to escape.
Qin Qing breathed a sigh of relief and limped to the horse's side. Only then did he notice that the thief had only cut the reins and had no intention of harming the horse.
When the horse saw Qin Qing approaching and smelled the familiar scent, its panic quickly subsided. It purred softly against Qin Qing's nose, as if expressing its grievances...
Qin Qing couldn't help but frown with heartache, and jokingly patted the horse's large forehead.
"Hey everyone, did I scare you just now? My bad, I didn't expect anyone would come specifically to steal the horse! You're really stubborn, though, they almost whipped your braid off and you still wouldn't take a single step!"
The horse couldn't speak, but it seemed to sense her distress, nuzzling her head with its forehead as if to comfort her.
This spiritual gesture immediately warmed Qin Qing's heart, and a relieved smile finally appeared on her face.
"I've been with you for so long, and I still haven't named you! I wonder if Qianbaiwan has ever named you..."
Under the cold moonlight, the horse shook its head, its strong muscles and powerful body looking very reliable, and its dark red coat exuding wild energy.
Qin Qing thought of a familiar TV series, and the spirited horse in it! She blurted it out subconsciously.
"Fire ear..."
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