That evening at dinner, Songtang, with her swollen eyes, was teased by the adults in the caravan. Fortunately, seeing that her eyes were red again, the adults quickly comforted her and gave her several pieces of candy.
After a simple dinner and a night's rest at the post station, the caravan set off again.
Songtang secretly shared the candy with Aicao and hid the rest in her inner pocket.
Several more days passed. Just as Songtang was getting used to the bumpy carriage ride, the capital city was almost in sight. The caravan entered the capital and rested at a post station. Songtang and Aicao bid farewell to the merchant guild owner and received some candy and blessings.
They stood at the entrance of the post station, with passersby around them.
Ai Cao stretched, looked up at the clear morning sky, and said, "We've arrived in the capital."
Songtang hid behind Aicao, secretly watching the people on the road. The smooth, lustrous hems of their silk garments pressed together, jingling like jade pendants. Songtang looked down at her own plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), then at Aicao's old clothes, pursed her lips, and lowered her head.
Neither her clothes nor Ai Cao's clothes looked old... If she were still living in the original house, no one would see her old clothes.
Songtang turned her head and glanced at the post station, longing to get back on the bumpy carriage and return home. But since there was no caravan in sight, Ai Cao pulled her out again and placed her next to her.
The mugwort asked, "Is there a place you'd like to stay?"
She glanced at the map of the capital city that the system had displayed in her mind. Not to mention the main streets and alleys, even the imperial palace located in the very center of the capital, every corner of the road was clearly marked on the map.
The current residence of Songtang's parents, along with several other villas under her family's name, were also marked.
Songtang hesitated, then hid behind the mugwort again, and whispered, "...No."
“Let’s go ask together,” Ai Cao said. “Or would you like to ask where your parents live now?”
Upon hearing the words "parents," Song Tang opened her mouth. She stared at her shoes for a moment before whispering, "Let's go ask them."
She hadn't seen her parents or other members of her tribe for many years. Her childhood memories were hazy, but she still remembered her mother's warm embrace and words.
Song Tang clenched her fist, trying to encourage herself. She asked the guard at the post station if he knew her father, then gave him her name and received an address. Ai Cao compared it with the address given by the system and found no discrepancy, so she tacitly approved of Song Tang's joy.
They asked for directions again in detail. Half an hour later, they stood at the gate of a luxurious mansion. Song Tang stepped forward, asked the gatekeeper for directions, gave her name, and waited at the gate.
As dusk approached, no one came out. Song Tang asked again, but the gatekeeper who had previously smiled and answered her ignored her this time.
Songtang returned to Aicao's side with her head down, and said dejectedly, "Why won't they let me go home?"
Ai Cao accompanied her to see the luxurious mansion. Both the main gate and the courtyard were large and opulent; the main gate alone was several times larger than Song Tang's small courtyard. Song Tang and Ai Cao squatted together by the roadside, watching the lights in the mansion gradually come on.
Ai Cao stared at the courtyard gate for a while, then asked, "Should I help them remember you?"
She flexed her wrists and touched the short sword at her waist.
Song Tang hugged her knees, shook her head, and said, "If they forget me, are they still my parents?"
Ai Cao thought for a moment. She didn't give her answer, only saying, "Hmm... I don't know. But since we can't stay here for the time being, let's find a place to spend the night?"
Song Tang hugged her knees and nodded. She stood up and forced a stiff smile: "If they are no longer my parents, why did I come to the capital... Never mind, let's find an inn to stay at for the night."
The mugwort nodded.
They slept in an inn for the night, and the next day they began looking for a courtyard to rent for a short period. Courtyards in the capital were a bit expensive, but when the person renting out the courtyard saw Songtang, they lowered the price to half. They went to see a second courtyard, and the person there even said that if they were willing to keep the courtyard clean, the rent would be waived.
After looking around at several nice courtyards, Songtang settled on a two-courtyard house with reduced rent and no time restrictions. They paid the first quarter's rent and received the key from the landlord.
Although the courtyard had two sections, the landlord only rented out the rooms and courtyard of the first section to them. The landlord said that the second courtyard was full of miscellaneous items, so he locked the door leading to the second courtyard and did not give them the key.
The two men saw the homeowner to the door and then locked the door.
In this way, they had a place to stay in the capital.
Song Tang sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought. Ai Yuan wanted to talk to her about future plans, but seeing her sitting there blankly, he went to the kitchen, lit a fire, took some dried meat, made soup, and served two bowls to Song Tang.
When Songtang came to her senses, she saw Aicao beside her, holding a bowl and drinking soup.
Ai Cao blinked and pointed to another bowl of soup on the table for Song Tang. Song Tang's stomach growled, and she blushed as she picked up the bowl and silently drank the soup slowly.
Ai Cao finished her soup first, then put down her bowl and asked, "What are we going to do next?"
Song Tang silently drank her soup for a while before slowly saying, "...Let's go for a stroll in the capital." She smiled awkwardly, "But this is my first time in the capital, and I don't know what's so great about it."
Ai Cao nodded: "Yes, I don't know what's so good about the capital."
She discussed with Songtang how to use the house. She originally planned for the two of them to sleep separately so she could find an opportunity to kill the male protagonist and eliminate any future troubles; but Songtang insisted that Ai Cao sleep in the same room with her.
When Ai Cao asked her why, Song Tang couldn't explain it.
The system said, "Perhaps the female lead's good fortune is reminding her." A rustling sound of electronic pages turned came from its mouth. "It seems things are indeed a bit turbulent in the capital lately. Oh well, just do what she says; she won't harm you."
"If you make me take care of the kids again, I'll throw your spindle at the top-playing guy," Ai Cao calmly warned the system. She looked at Song Tang, who was staring at her expectantly, sighed, and said, "Fine, I'll go move the bed."
She moved the bed from the side room to the bed next to the one in the main room, and the two beds were placed side by side in the bedroom.
Songtang smiled as she lit the candlestick, then cheerfully jumped onto her bed. She placed the cloth bundle she always carried on the bed and carefully untied it. After deducting the small amount of silver she had paid during the day, she still had a considerable sum left from selling the herbs.
After checking the silver, Songtang placed the package under her pillow and then obediently crawled into bed.
"Goodnight?" she blinked and asked Ai Cao.
Ai Cao placed the short sword at her waist beside her pillow, smiled, and lay down, replying, "Goodnight."
Songtang's breathing quickly calmed down.
Artemisia calmly gripped the short sword. She opened her sleepless eyes and stared calmly at the bedroom window.
She lowered her breathing and said to the system, "There's someone outside the window."
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