"Princess, Fourth Miss, it's getting hotter and hotter as we go along. Would you like to take a break?" The guards in front shouted to the carriage behind.
Then a woman with a face as pretty as a spring flower in March came out of the carriage.
Shen Qingqiu stretched out his fingertips and felt a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. The summer sun was really scorching. He opened the curtain of the sedan chair and looked at Gu Yanran, who was also hot and fanning herself with a handkerchief. She spoke less and less along the way, and she looked more and more listless.
If I walk any further I'm afraid I'll get heat stroke.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingqiu said: "Tell everyone to put down their things and find a cool place to rest."
"yes."
Shen Qingqiu jumped out of the sedan chair. Unlike Gu Yanran, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, she didn't have much strength left. She held her forehead and walked to the side of the sedan chair. If Shen Qingqiu hadn't followed, she would have probably fallen off.
Shen Qingqiu helped her to the side of the carriage and brought her a pot of water. After she drank a few sips, her complexion gradually improved.
"The weather has been too hot these days..." Shen Qingqiu frowned. This kind of weather is most likely to cause a severe drought.
Gu Yanran nodded, "Yes, I'm not that fragile. I used to go out to worship Buddha with my mother in the summer, but it's really hot and uncomfortable in the carriage today." The son felt like vomiting when he thought of what happened in the carriage just now.
Seeing her like this, Shen Qingqiu patted her on the back and said, "You may have a bit of heatstroke. I'll give orders later to not rush on the road today. Let's rest a little longer in this shady place at noon, and then continue on our journey when the weather is cooler in the evening."
Gu Yanran shook her head. "Then it will take too long to go back and forth. Don't worry about me. I can..."
Shen Qingqiu pressed her shoulders and told her to sit down, "You can't do that even with the drivers and guards."
The weather today is really hot. Not to mention Gu Yanran, even several strong guards can't stand it.
"It's a hot summer day. Even with the shelter we are sitting in the carriage it's uncomfortable, let alone them." Shen Qingqiu said.
Gu Yanran has been worshipping Buddha for many years and is a kind-hearted person. "Okay, then we'll start our journey at night."
Seeing that she was okay, Shen Qingqiu told the people around him to give instructions. Upon hearing the news, everyone naturally cheered and thanked Shen Qingqiu, and then they all went to the lake nearby to bathe in pairs. There were not many lakes in the mountains and forests, but there were quite a few.
Girls like Gu Yanran can only hide under a tree to cool down when it's too hot, but it's much easier for men. They can just find a wild lake and jump into it to cool off.
Gu Yanran looked at those people with some envy. She had experienced a lot over the years and really felt that sometimes women were not as free and easy as men.
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw Shen Qingqiu suddenly stand up from the ground.
"Qingqiu." Gu Yanran quickly grabbed Shen Qingqiu, "What are you going to do?"
"Let's go find some cooler places." Although Shen Qingqiu was a martial artist and was not afraid of the heat, she was also a flesh and blood body, how could she not feel hot? Gu Yanran knew that she was fearless, and was afraid that she would be like these rude men, just find a lake to jump into and take a bath outdoors, so she hurriedly said: "Qingqiu, you can't do that. Although this is a mountainous area, it leads to the temple after all. Maybe there will be a convoy of dignitaries passing by. If someone sees us——"
Shen Qingqiu looked at her with a hard-to-speak expression... How unreliable he had been in the past that he made her think that he was going to take a wild bath.
After breaking away from Gu Yanran's hand, Shen Qingqiu just said: "Don't worry, I won't take a bath."
Gu Yanran looked at her doubtfully. Shen Qingqiu turned around and walked into the forest.
It has been a long time since he came back. It is probably noon now. Even under the treetops, it is hot. Even the wind is hot.
Shen Qingqiu hasn't come back yet, Gu Yanran looks out anxiously, people are naturally uneasy.
After waiting for another half a minute, she still didn't come back. Just as Gu Yanran was about to get up, she saw Shen Qingqiu walking towards her.
She took off her outermost smock and came back holding a large bag of something that looked like green leaves.
"I got some mint leaves back. This will cool you down when you burn it."
Shen Qingqiu dumped the pile of things on the ground and started to light a fire, but Gu Yanran ignored them and dusted off her blouse and put it on her again.
"I've taken it off... Why am I wearing it when it's so hot?" Shen Qingqiu naturally didn't want to wear it.
"There are quite a few people. If others see you in such a disheveled state, what if they go back and gossip about you?" Shen Qingqiu had a headache when he saw Gu Yanran opening her mouth to chatter again.
Although she didn’t bring Mother Chen with her, Gu Yanran is even more annoying than Mother Chen.
After being caught by her gaze several times, Shen Qingqiu had no choice but to put on the blouse. Only then was Gu Yanran satisfied.
Mint and wormwood are good things for cooling off in summer. When burned, they can also calm people down. The two leaned against each other and fell asleep soon. The guards beside them naturally didn't feel hot after smelling these. They took turns to go outside to cool down and watch over the two girls.
Time always passes exceptionally quickly when one is asleep, and when Shen Qingqiu opened his eyes, it was already dark.
Gu Yanran was a light sleeper, so she would get up as soon as she moved a little. She said, "Should we hurry on our way?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded, and when he was about to get up, he suddenly heard a slight noise. He immediately frowned and ordered, "Hurry up, someone is coming here." And there was definitely more than one footsteps, and the footsteps were light and fast, obviously coming towards them. They also knew martial arts, so it was unclear whether they were enemies or friends.
The guards quickly got up from the ground, and almost as soon as they got up, the arrows were shot at them.
If it weren't for Shen Qingqiu's reminder just now, some people might have already become ghosts in their sleep.
"How dare you! Who are you to block our way here?"
The guards surrounded Shen Qingqiu and Gu Yanran, "We are from the Marquis Gu family in the capital. If you don't want to die, retreat immediately!"
"Marquis Gu's family?" The leader looked at Shen Qingqiu and Gu Yanran.
Gu Yanran had her face covered, but her exposed eyes were clear and bright, and Shen Qingqiu inherited all of Liu's beauty, so she was naturally stunningly beautiful.
"I've heard that Marquis Gu's daughters are stunningly beautiful, and now I see that they are indeed as beautiful as they say," said the leader. "Since you've caught up with me today, why don't you come with me to my village for a stroll? I want to see how the two delicate daughters of Marquis Gu are different from the women in our village, hahaha!"
Shen Qingqiu's eyes turned cold, while Gu Yanran shrank beside her.
"Get started!" the guard on the side gave the order, and the two groups of people started fighting.
And in the dark, Gu Cheng was also ready to make a move.
"Your Highness, shouldn't we go up and help now?" someone nearby asked.
Gu Cheng shook his head and said, "What's the point of my son helping me now? When the people in the Marquis' Mansion are exhausted, we will take over." Gu Cheng had inherited some of Concubine Li's calculating nature and knew when to take action to gain the greatest benefit.
But sometimes, plans are made too hastily and mistakes are made.
"Princess, step back!"
At this moment, a man's loud shout was heard.
Dao Yue has already led everyone into the crowd. Dao Yue is so young but can hold his current position, of course he has real ability. The number of people he leads is not much less than those bandits.
Seeing that the guards of the Marquis' Mansion were idle, Shen Qingqiu entrusted Gu Yanran to their care and charged into the battlefield.
Dao Yue's arrival had already turned the tide, and when Shen Qingqiu entered again, those bandits could no longer resist.
"Idiot, what are you waiting for? Come on!" Gu Cheng said angrily.
These idiots didn't even know that there was a pair of people following Shen Qingqiu, and instead let others take away their credit.
After saying that, he immediately rushed forward with his men. The battle situation was already very obvious. Gu Cheng's men came in just to clean up the battlefield and capture all the bandits.
Shen Qingqiu put away his knife and sneered at Gu Cheng, "I wonder why the Seventh Prince is here?"
Gu Cheng followed the plan that had been agreed upon early in the morning and said, "My mother has offered a sea lantern in the temple. I came here today to add some incense oil, but I didn't expect to meet the princess."
Shen Qingqiu curled his lips, "Really? That's such a coincidence."
Gu Yanran also looked at Gu Cheng suspiciously, "These people came by chance, why did the Seventh Prince appear here?"
Gu Cheng had originally listened to his mother's words and was thinking about taking Gu Yanran back to the mansion, but looking at this face reminded him of those crisscrossing ravines, plus she questioned him, he couldn't help feeling unhappy, "Gu Yanran, you only ask me, why don't you ask the people around you?"
Gu Yanran bit her lip. She certainly couldn't say that Dao Yue followed them just to protect Qingqiu, otherwise it would ruin Qingqiu's reputation.
Shen Qingqiu smiled, "Come to think of it, I'm also very curious. If the Seventh Prince wanted to help, why didn't he help at the beginning? Instead, he watched the excitement from the sidelines for a long time before jumping out."
Shen Qingqiu had already noticed that someone was following them. When the bandits jumped out, she saw that the other people had not come out and was afraid that something unusual might happen, so she did not dare to take action and only protected Gu Yanran. When she saw Gu Cheng again at this moment...
Gu Yanran frowned after hearing this, "Could it be that someone deliberately hired people to rob in order to pretend to be a hero saving a beautiful woman?" If so, it would be too despicable.
Gu Cheng had not expected that Shen Qingqiu knew he was there, and he had no way to defend himself. He could only say to Gu Yanran, "We are husband and wife after all, and you actually doubt me for doing something so despicable! I am only saying here that if these people were ordered by me, I will let this prince be struck by lightning!"
Shen Qingqiu retracted his gaze, saying neither believe nor disbelieve.
At this time Dao Yue stood up and asked, "Princess, how do we deal with these people?"
Shen Qingqiu sneered, "We can't go to this temple today. Bring these people back to the Marquis' Mansion. I want to interrogate them."
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