The next morning, Ai Cao woke up Song Tang, who still had dark circles under his eyes.
She tucked the stolen short sword into her waistband and then watched Songtang tidy up with her hands free.
Songtang yawned and pulled out a few sets of old clothes.
She changed into a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that covered her feet, and supervised Ai Cao to change her dirty Hu-style clothes into a clean old set. Although it wasn't as good as the Hu clothes, the cuffs and trouser legs were tied up tightly, making it easier to move around.
She stuffed the extra old clothes into her cloth bag as a buffer. She divided the silver into two parts: one part for expenses on the journey, and the other part for when she arrived in the capital.
Songtang took some dry rations and some commonly used herbs, and put them in her bag along with the silver. She tidied up the room one last time, and even found an old, large lock in another side room.
Songtang hung the lock on the gate and carefully put the key into her bag.
Her voice was a little nervous: "Aicao, are we really going to the capital?"
Ai Cao nodded. Although her clothes were old, the fabric was soft and comfortable to wear. Now, she stood beside Song Tang with only a short sword hanging at her waist, arms crossed, looking like her bodyguard.
Ai Cao said, "Don't you want to go? If you don't want to go to the capital, we can unlock the door and go home now."
This will also allow her to achieve her goal.
She could kill any man who got close to Songtang—after all, she was stronger than all of them.
But she hoped that Songtang could use his own abilities to strive for something else.
Song Tang took a deep breath. She said, "Okay, then let's really go to the capital."
They searched the town for a caravan bound for the capital. Coincidentally, a merchant guild caravan heading to the capital that day had plenty of room for them. The guild owner, a woman in her prime, looked at Song Tang and smiled, saying, "I have a little sister about this age back in my hometown!"
So their travel expenses were also waived.
Songtang and Aicao sat facing each other in the swaying carriage. The caravan had set off fifteen minutes earlier and was expected to reach the capital in a few days. Holding the bundle, Songtang asked Aicao blankly, "Is this all there is to it?"
Ai Cao peeked out from behind the carriage. A young man driving the horse saw the curtain lifted, glanced over, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Ai Cao shook her head at the man, lowered the curtain, and said, "Yes."
Song Tang looked down at the package in her arms, somewhat dazed. She had thought she would spend a lot of money on travel expenses, but now all her money was still in her arms.
After thinking for a moment, Songtang handed over the portion of the silver originally intended for travel expenses to Aicao.
The mugwort was not collected.
Songtang stepped forward again, stuffing the small cloth bag containing money into Ai Cao's hand: "Here you go." She looked at Ai Cao for two seconds, then forced herself to continue, "Keep some silver with you too, in case anything happens..."
Ai Cao thought for a moment. Although she wouldn't be troubled by money, she couldn't simply refuse and reject Song Tang's good intentions. She patted the short sword at her waist and said, "I have a sword hanging on this garment, so I won't put any money in it."
Song Tang hesitated before putting the cloth bag back on her lap and said, "After we enter the capital, we can stay in a better house."
Ai Cao chuckled softly and said okay.
The carriage wasn't very big, and the road was mostly dirt, so it was quite bumpy. Songtang sat for a while, then went to the carriage window and peered outside for a bit. When it got dark, the caravan finally stopped at a post station to rest.
Song Tang, feeling weak in the waist and legs, and pale-faced, got off the carriage.
She coughed twice, leaned against a tree by the roadside for a long time to catch her breath, and finally had the strength to ask the unfazed Ai Cao, "Why don't you have any reaction?"
Ai Cao, who jumped off the carriage in a few steps, responded and stretched casually beside her: "I'm not feeling well either."
The guild leader led the horse over. The middle-aged woman gently stroked the black horse's soft coat, glanced at Ai Cao, and then asked Song Tang with a smile, "Is this your first time traveling so far by carriage?"
Songtang nodded with a bitter face.
The guild owner stroked the horse's mane and laughed heartily, "For a little girl like you, to be able to do this after a day in a carriage is already quite impressive!" She smiled and took a wrapped candy from her pocket, placing it on the bundle that Song Tang was holding.
"If you're still not feeling well, have a piece of candy!" she said with a smile. "A girl your age should eat more sweets."
She glanced at the mugwort again, then smiled and led her horse into the post station. After her teasing, Song Tang didn't feel so nauseous anymore. She picked up the maltose candy to examine it closely, and adjusted the position of the package as she did so.
Songtang said softly, "This is so beautiful."
She peeled back the layers of wrapping paper, revealing a perfectly square piece of maltose candy inside. The candy was only an inch square, but its shape was delicately designed like a melon.
With a little effort, Songtang broke it in half. She picked up one half of the candied melon and stuffed it into her mouth, her round eyes lighting up.
With sparkling eyes, she held up the remaining half of the sugar and handed it to Ai Cao, whispering, "This is delicious, you should try some too."
Ai Cao glanced at Song Tang's bulging cheeks, then at the remaining half of the candy melon, and squatted down again, picking up the rest and putting it in her mouth. The candy melon melted in her mouth and stuck to her back molars.
Artemisia smiled and said, "It's so sweet."
Song Tang nodded earnestly, "Delicious." She looked around guiltily, and seeing that there was only mugwort around, she lowered her head and licked the crumbs of maltose off the candy wrapper.
The system sighed with pity in her mind: "The female protagonist of this world has such a miserable life... How can she be so happy even when she's eating a piece of candy..."
Ai Cao smiled and said, "It's good that she lived alone in the countryside and grew up safely to this age."
During her time at Songtang's house, she ate so much fish that she could hardly taste it anymore. If it weren't for the occasional rabbit or venison to change things up, she would have kidnapped Songtang and taken her to the capital long ago.
Not to mention when Songtang lived alone.
Ai Cao slowly chewed the candied melon. Song Tang leaned against the tree beside her, looking up at the sky. Her cheeks didn't move; she just kept the candied melon in her mouth, slowly savoring the taste. The rich sweetness filled her mouth and slowly spread to every corner of her body.
She didn't know why she was looking up at the sky until her eyes stung—she sniffed and forced the tears back.
Song Tang couldn't remember the last time she ate candy. Maybe it was five years ago, or maybe even longer... She had tasted candy when she had no memory of it.
But now, she remembers what sugar tastes like.
Ai Cao's warm, dry hand gently rested on the top of her head. Song Tang sniffed, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
Artemisia sighed silently and pulled the crying little girl into her arms.
She gently patted Songtang's back and said, "We'll go buy candy again later—the silver you're holding could buy a sugar mountain taller than you."
Songtang buried her face in Aicao's arms and cried even harder.
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