Chapter 96 Human Warmer

Chu Zhenxuan went to Meng Ya's room to take a look, then suddenly went in. He indeed smelled a faint fragrance, but it disappeared when he smelled it carefully.

Xia Chun found the inn owner, who said that the climate here is humid and the houses are all built of wood, so they often use various incense to repel mosquitoes.

So he couldn't tell what kind of fragrance the nobles smelled.

The explanation is reasonable and has no obvious loopholes.

Chu Zhenxuan winked at Xia Chun and asked the inn owner to go back.

Chu Zhenxuan went to see Princess Qingping and found nothing unusual, so he came back.

The night passed peacefully until dawn. The burning inn seemed like a minor incident. No one was killed, only some cloth and food were lost.

Xia Xue slept soundly this time. In her dream, she entered a sea of ​​lavender flowers. There were many children around her, calling her "Mom". She was extremely happy.

Not far away there was a man's back, watering the flowers. She called out again and again, but the man didn't turn around.

The children pulled her in the opposite direction. She turned back every few steps, looking at the man's back, which was getting farther and farther away...

Xia Xue didn't know what this dream meant, but when she woke up she felt relaxed.

Because of the heavy rain during the work, the temperature dropped sharply this morning. Although the temperature seems to be slightly higher than that in Ancheng, the damp and cold feeling is really uncomfortable.

Chu Zhenxuan knew that Xia Xue was afraid of the cold, so he ordered everyone to have breakfast in the room and asked someone to add a heater in Xia Xue's carriage in advance.

The further south you go, the greater the difference between the diet and that in the north.

Xia Xue lost her appetite immediately when she saw all the "weird" dishes being served, and she only had some porridge and snacks.

In stark contrast to Xia Xue, Princess Qingping, who usually ate little, suddenly had an appetite. Not only did she eat a lot of side dishes, she also finished all four servings of snacks.

Juqian, the maidservant beside Qingping: ...

"Sister Juqian, what happened to the princess? When I tasted the food just now, the side dishes were terrible." said the little maid next to her.

"Hush! How can you talk nonsense about the master's affairs?" Ju Qian interrupted her.

The little maid curled her lips and looked at Ju Ping who was packing clothes nearby.

"Why is Sister Juping acting weird today? She's been chattering the whole time and hasn't said a word the whole morning. I called her just now and she nodded." The little maid said again.

Juqian smiled and teased her, "You are the one who talks the most!" After saying that, she couldn't help but look in Juping's direction.

This time, they came with two dowry maids and two personal maids. Juqian and Juping were the dowry maids, and the little maid who just spoke was called Cuiliu. She and Cuiyu were personal maids.

No matter whether it is a dowry maid or a personal maid, all of them must be married to the Southern Kingdom together. The only difference is that the dowry maid has a higher status and can become a concubine or a concubine in the future.

But Juqian doesn't care about these. She and Juping grew up with the princess since childhood, and she just wants to serve the princess for the rest of her life.

Chu Zhenxuan sent someone to ask if there was anything unusual.

Ju Qian thought about it and realized that apart from the fact that the princess had eaten an unusually large amount of breakfast this morning, there was nothing else unusual.

The visitor laughed after hearing this and went back to report, but of course he did not tell the princess that she ate so much.

Afterwards, everyone packed their luggage and continued on their journey.

Today's schedule is not too tight, as this small town is not far from Ningzhou City, the border between Da'an and the South.

The Ningzhou governor was previously the deputy general of General Jiao. He was loyal to the emperor and open-minded. His wife was from the south and also from a military family. They met because of a war, and this became a good story for a long time.

Later, Da'an issued a ban to expel people from the south. Some of them joined Da'an and stayed, but most of them could not join and went to the south. Therefore, the population of Ningzhou is now more than half less than before.

Chu Zhenxuan explained to Xia Xue.

Xia Xue rubbed her hands and put them on the heater. "The climate here is really uncomfortable. I can't get warm. No wonder it's suitable for these pigs to survive."

Chu Zhenxuan did not ride a horse today, but sat in her carriage blatantly.

"Prime Minister Chu is obsessed with beauty, he should be careful of being criticized." Xia Xue joked.

"I have a lovely wife at home, who dares to criticize me?" After saying that, Chu Zhenxuan walked up to Xia Xue and hugged her in his arms.

"What do you think about us trying it in the carriage?" Chu Zhenxuan leaned close to Xia Xue's ear, his voice tingling.

Xia Xue felt itchy because of him and pushed him a few times.

But Chu Zhenxuan’s body was really warm, and it felt more comfortable to touch him than a heater.

Xia Xue groaned softly, and just when Chu Zhenxuan wanted to continue, she fell asleep!

Chu Zhenxuan laughed and adjusted Xia Xue to a more comfortable position, letting her lean her whole body into his arms.

The guards who continued to move forward outside kept asking about the time. In the past, they would take a break before noon. Today, noon was almost past, so why had no one notified them to rest?

What about lunch? Why no one mentioned it?

At this time, the vanguard who had been following Chu Zhenxuan came over and said, "Prime Minister, I have something to report!"

The front-line soldier waited for a while after he finished speaking, but there was no sound from inside. "Prime Minister, I have something to report!"

He went up another octave.

"Prince..."

The curtain was opened, revealing Chu Zhenxuan with an angry face.

The vanguard was sweating profusely.

"You'd better have something important to say." Chu Zhenxuan said coldly.

"Princess Qingping said she was hungry and wanted to have lunch." The vanguard felt more and more guilty as he spoke. The Prime Minister was in a bad mood today. He wondered if it was because of the fire last night. If the Prime Minister got into the carriage again next time, he would definitely not come to ask!

Chu Zhenxuan raised his eyebrows, "Go get some snacks and give them to her first."

The vanguard nodded quickly. The Prime Minister's words meant that they should keep going forward without rest! It seemed that the Prime Minister was in a bad mood today. He couldn't step on landmines again. Thinking of this, the vanguard ran away to report.

In fact, Chu Zhenxuan was in a very good mood today. He had been with his little woman for the whole morning, so how could he be in a bad mood? He had a sullen face just now only because that vanguard had disturbed his little woman's sleep. The main reason for not resting was to let his little woman sleep a little longer!

Xia Xue woke up after the vanguard reported this.

"Why are you still here?" Xia Xue asked sleepily.

"Is Madam not satisfied with this warm stove of mine?"

Xia Xue then remembered that the warm and comfortable feeling she had just felt was actually Chu Zhenxuan!

A blush appeared on her face. "Didn't you tell me to keep a low profile? How can I keep a low profile when you're in my carriage?"

"Benxiang has changed his mind!"

Xia Xue raised her eyebrows, "Hmm?"

"Last night's fire was probably just a test. They didn't dare to start a war openly, so they attacked the guards' inn. Since they like to fight outside, it's better to keep your true identity in your arms rather than hide it to protect you!"