"Why? That child..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue immediately walked over, waved her hand, and replied, "Hey, why bother with her? Whether she comes back or not is up to her. She always acts like everyone owes her eight hundred strings of cash. We've taken good care of her along the way. What, does she want all of us to lose our lives for her before she's satisfied? There's no such logic in the world."
Qin Xiaoniang sighed, "You're just saying that, why are you actually getting angry? Oh well, it's just a pity for the child."
"What's the point of a mother like her who only cares about her own emotions and not the safety of her child being alive!"
Zhang Xiue is just that kind of straightforward person; she won't be happy if she doesn't speak her mind. But what she said is also true; Su Yu's wife's willfulness might harm her two children.
Fortunately, the young prince isn't heartless and probably wouldn't harm a child. As long as she stays here, she'll have a hot meal. Once we get to Xinzhou, we can just report that she died on the way.
It's still unknown where the Li mother and daughter have gone, or if they're hiding somewhere and causing trouble again...
"He'er? Are you hungry? These are steamed buns I took from the palace. There are a few more. You younger ones can have them."
Song He'er lowered her head and looked at the several cold bean buns in Qin Xiaoniang's hands, and couldn't help but frown, "Mother, how can you eat them cold?"
"How can we start a fire in this desolate wilderness? It's better to avoid trouble. Now that you're out here, we should hurry on our way."
Song He'er felt that what she said made sense. Although Jiang Huaifu gave her money, they also lost all their supplies, which they could only buy after leaving the city.
"Mother, you eat. I'm not hungry. I ate noodles before leaving the palace, and I still haven't digested them."
"Don't lie to your mother."
"No, I really ate it, you guys eat it!"
Qin Xiaoniang then distributed the steamed buns to the adults. Zhang Xiu'e was so big, how could she possibly eat such a small steamed bun? It seemed they had to hurry on their way, otherwise they wouldn't even know what to eat for dinner.
After resting for a while, the group changed their clothes and continued their journey as the sun rose higher.
"Third Aunt, let's just throw these clothes away to avoid causing trouble."
Zhang Xiu'e hesitated for a long time before replying, "Such nice clothes might fetch a good price?"
Li Qiang's wife suddenly became smart and immediately stepped forward, interrupting Zhang Xiu'e, "You still want to sell? These aren't ordinary clothes; they're from the royal palace. You think we're not making a fuss and won't get caught if you try to sell soldiers' clothes in broad daylight?"
Zhang Xiue was speechless for a moment, then threw the clothes into the grass pit and buried them. "Alright, let's just throw them away and go."
"Um."
As soon as they finished speaking, everyone picked up their children and began to hurry on their way.
But after walking halfway, they heard rustling footsteps behind them.
Song He'er thought they were being followed by people from the royal palace, so she told everyone to stop and wait where they were to find out.
After a while, a handsome man dressed in Western Region clothing appeared in the woods not far away. Song He'er felt that he looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen him before.
The Western Regions men were tall, but this person was quite petite, with a fairer complexion than the average person, so delicate it seemed like water could be squeezed out of it. He didn't look like a man at all.
After a long pause, Song He'er finally realized that this was not a man at all, but Shen Jiadai, the willful and capricious little princess in the palace.
“Mother, I know her. She is the Queen’s niece. She must be here to see me.”
"Huh? Did she bring any men with her? Is she here to arrest us?"
"No, she's probably just here to see me. Please keep quiet here. I'm safe going alone. There's only her and one of the Queen's maids ahead of me; they won't pose a threat. Don't worry..."
Qin Xiaoniang nodded and obediently held Huan Ge'er, waiting in place.
Song He'er walked calmly into the woods. Shen Jiadai and A Miao stood not far away, watching her quietly. Their eyes revealed complex emotions, making it difficult to guess what they wanted to do.
"Greetings, Little Princess, greetings, Aunt Miao. I wonder why you've followed us here so quietly? If there's something you need, let's resolve it now, so as not to frighten my family."
Ah Miao smiled gently. "Miss, you're overthinking it. We won't do anything to you. We're just here on the Queen's orders to investigate something personally."
"What is it?"
"Let me see if you really want to leave Xizhou."
Song He'er sneered, raised her head, and calmly met Shen Jiadai's gaze. "Little Princess, you can rest assured. I really am leaving this place forever. No one will compete with you for a man. What kind of good men don't we have in the Central Plains? I'm going to fall in love with a foreign man!"
Shen Jiadai actually admired Song He'er's courage. Looking at the entire palace, no one dared to disobey Jiang Huaifu, and no one could refuse such immense wealth.
Song He'er was the most individualistic woman she had met in her twenty-odd years of life, which made her admire her.
"I just didn't expect you to be a prisoner from the Central Plains. My cousin also said that you could guarantee your safety and you didn't have to go to that desolate place. Why did you refuse?"
"Protect me alone? What about my whole family? Besides, I don't want to be someone else's substitute."
Shen Jiadai's gaze froze for a moment, unsure how to answer this sharp question. After a long while, she finally spoke softly, "I admire you very much. I wish you a safe journey."
Song He'er didn't speak, she just looked at her quietly.
Shen Jiadai lowered her head, took out a piece of Hetian jade from her waist, and was about to hand it to Song He'er.
"The things I said to you before, I was wrong to you. Now that you're no longer a threat to me, there's no need for me to hate you anymore. Take this and leave Xizhou safely..."
Song He'er glanced at the exquisite little jade pendant in her hand. It is said that the Western Continent produces beautiful jade, and this piece of jade is so pure and flawless, with the color and clarity being of the highest quality. It must be a rare treasure that is hard to find in the royal palace.
"Thank you for your kindness, little princess. Such precious Hetian jade is rare in the world. You should keep it for yourself."
"Without it, you cannot leave the Western Continent."
Song He'er froze, looked up, and stared blankly at her. "What do you mean by this?"
……
Good afternoon, my little darlings! My new book is a fledgling that desperately needs the nourishment of five little stars in its positive review. Your praise is my motivation to update even more!
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