Li Hua listened to Bu Li recount what had happened during this time, mainly about San Jiu. He was originally reckless and only had Li Hua in his heart. In San Jiu's view, Li Hua's current state was entirely due to Princess Duan Rong.
During this time, Princess Hui'an sent someone to deliver a century-old ginseng to Li Hua to prolong his life. The person who delivered it happened to be Manyue, and Sanjiu almost got into a fight with Manyue.
If Sweetie hadn't risked her life to stand between the two, Sanjiu's knife would have really pierced Manyue's neck.
Besides, Li Hua's half-dead state caused some unrest among Zhongli Zhengzhen's loyal followers. Although it was suppressed in time, it did cause panic among the people.
People in the Chamber of Commerce also heard some rumors. There are always people who are driven by profit. Although no major trouble has been caused, with Li Hua gone, the group is leaderless and naturally everyone wants to go it alone.
Li Hua blinked but didn't speak immediately. Bu Li quickly took the ginseng soup that had been kept warm, helped Li Hua up, and poured it down his throat like water.
Li Hua had become so thin that he was no longer recognizable as a human, but his eyes were bright, indicating that he had fully woken up.
Since Li Hua woke up, he has been drinking the soup and rice porridge that he was given every now and then, and his mental and physical condition has been gradually recovering.
He calmed down completely and fully cooperated with the treatment. When the people below received the news that Li Hua had woken up, they all quieted down.
For the time being, we didn't dare to bother him with any messy things, so Li Hua just focused on recovering from his illness. He spent most of his time sleeping and never had any more nightmares.
Li Hua wasn't the only one in a coma. Gan Qiongying, who was already far away from Li Hua, also fell into a coma in a carriage after leaving the imperial city.
While I was asleep, I was having a hazy dream. In my dream, there was my past life, my present life, and the life that belonged to Princess Duanrong. The dreams kept turning over and over, like a movie that kept playing on a loop.
However, Gan Qiongying had already gotten used to it, so it didn't affect her rest or mood. Moreover, Gan Qiongying's appetite became unusually good. After only a few days of traveling normally, Gan Qiongying felt that she had gained a lot of weight.
While she felt sadness, because she truly missed Li Hua very much, every time sadness surfaced, hunger would rush out and take over Gan Qiongying's mind.
There were three people sitting in the carriage: Gan Qiongying, the monk Dingzhen, and Gan Lin. Besides them, everything else was Gan Qiongying's snacks.
With a variety of flavors, from sour and sweet to bitter and spicy, Gan Qiongying was like a hamster hibernating every day, wearing a thick monk's robe, and sometimes her mouth was never still except when she was sleeping.
Gan Lin was very happy to see Gan Qiongying eating so much. Ding Zhen didn't pay any attention to the two siblings at all, and did nothing but chant scriptures all day long.
After traveling together for several days, the group was about to split up and head in two different directions. That evening was the eve of the Lunar New Year, and they all had a meal together.
Gan Qiongying had already discussed it with the fat monk at Jishi Temple who looked like Maitreya Buddha. She, Gan Lin, and all the shadow guards who had been secretly following them but were now openly following them would temporarily stay at Jishi Temple.
The fat monk's name was Guanghua. All the senior monks at Jishi Temple belonged to the Guang generation. Guanghua told Gan Qiongying that Jishi Temple was currently undergoing an expansion, and there was a large courtyard on the back mountain that had just been completed but had not yet been occupied.
Gan Qiongying and her group could settle down there. It was nestled against the mountains and by the water. Although the winters in the north were long, the water would flow and the trees would grow lush and green in spring and summer, making it a very beautiful place.
Moreover, Gan Qiongying and Gan Lin were fleeing for their lives and wanted to hide their tracks, so the north was the perfect place for them. The fat monk said that when Jishi Temple was snowed in, even birds were scarce, let alone pursuers. Even people familiar with the terrain would have trouble getting up the mountain.
There's a risk of encountering an avalanche, and no one dares to venture into the mountains without familiarity with the terrain.
Gan Qiongying immediately thought it was perfect. Jishi Temple didn't want their money, but only hoped that Physician Xiao, who was by Gan Qiongying's side, could provide them with medical treatment when the mountains were blocked by heavy snow.
After all, the monks have to do morning prayers and practice martial arts every day. The weather in the north is bitterly cold, and there are still a group of young monks on the mountain. They are unlikely to have any serious illnesses, but catching a cold is commonplace. If the snow is too heavy, it is very difficult to go down the mountain to get a doctor.
Every year, several monks on the mountain die during the winter, so no matter how rich their temple is, it's all for naught.
Meanwhile, the doctors down the mountain, those with even a little skill, were not short of money. Even if they didn't have a harem, they all lived in grand mansions.
No one wanted to stay on the mountain year-round to take care of a group of monks... so the difficulty of accessing medical care allowed Gan Qiongying to easily use Physician Xiao's skills to find the most suitable place for the siblings to settle down.
After the farewell dinner, Gan Qiongying praised Doctor Xiao very earnestly: "You are indeed useful, keep up the good work!"
Physician Xiao is indeed very versatile. Gan Qiongying now respects and likes him very much, especially after discovering that he can also embroider. She is very curious about how his parents raised him to be like this.
Physician Xiao refused to say, but he was indeed the best escape partner and an essential beauty for home and travel.
This group no longer needed to hide their tracks, and the people in the capital city didn't have time to extend their reach so far.
So they stayed at the inn for one night. Early the next morning, Dingzhen was going to lead the refugees south, while Gan Qiongying and Gan Lin were going to follow the monks of Jishi Temple and head northwest.
It was quite a coincidence that Gan Qiongying's original route was not northwest but due north, but she got along very well with the monks at Jishi Temple, and the temple was also the best place to hide her identity.
So they changed direction at the last minute, which happened to be the same direction as the Chen family army stationed in Chenwa Village.
When they parted ways by the carriage in the morning, Gan Qiongying also thanked Dingzhen very sincerely, even though he was aloof and didn't like to talk, as if he had practiced a silent meditation and wouldn't speak unless he had money.
But he did help Gan Qiongying a lot.
"It wasn't easy for the master to take so many people to the south this time. If he wants everyone to be able to settle down in a foreign land, it will be difficult to turn back in less than three to five years."
Dingzhen nodded, and Gan Qiongying then asked him, "I heard that the prince consort gave you a lot of silver notes that day. How much silver did the prince consort give you?"
Dingzhen, who had maintained an aloof and detached expression, suddenly became somewhat wary.
Seeing that Gan Qiongying did not answer, he seemed afraid that Gan Qiongying would steal his money.
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