In the end, they still had to pay the grain tax. They found an inn in the next town and paid it off completely, over and over again.
Gan Qiongying was satisfied, washed up and went to sleep, smelling wonderful. Li Hua, on the other hand, lay there tossing and turning, constantly dreaming and longing for their future life.
Longing for the two children he had never met, he wished he could shake Gan Qiongying up right now and hurry on their way.
However, they still need to buy a lot of things along the way, and even if Zhongli Zhengzhen is not foolish enough to send people to hunt down Li Hua, there are other forces secretly watching Li Hua.
Although their journey was uneventful, the people Li Hua had sent out to follow them encountered several battles. Fortunately, the opponents were only testing them, and none of Li Hua's men were killed or wounded.
While shopping on the road, Gan Qiongying once again realized how happy life would be if she had a husband who could give her 200,000 taels of pocket money every month.
Li Hua loaded a whole cart with the best of everything, including the softest fabrics for making clothes for children.
All sorts of fabrics, such as the finest embroidery and brocade, even the diapers prepared for Li Hua were made from the same fabric used by high-class families for their intimate clothing.
In the end, Gan Qiongying couldn't help but advise Li Hua: "That's enough. You even brought two tailors with you... There's simply not enough room in the mountains, and children grow up very quickly. You've made too many clothes, and they won't be able to wear them when they grow up."
“You can keep them if you can’t wear them anymore,” Li Hua said with a smile, her face full of tenderness. “The two of us can keep them and look at them later.”
Keep the children's clothes to look at... Gan Qiongying's heart felt as if it had been struck, both moved and tender.
She threw herself into Li Hua's arms, letting him have his way, since he was exceptionally capable and good at making money anyway.
Along the way, we bought a lot of toys and the like, and then headed northwest in a grand procession.
However, all the things they bought were escorted by special people, and because Li Hua and Gan Qiongying were so eager to return home, they eventually didn't even ride in a carriage, but rode horses together.
They had never ridden horses together before because Li Hua's legs were bad, but now Li Hua's legs are almost completely healed and he is not much different from a normal person.
Moreover, he was so anxious that he couldn't even sleep well, so Gan Qiongying had no choice but to rush with him.
They finally arrived at Jishi Temple before the first heavy snowfall in the northwest.
This year's snow wasn't as heavy as last year's. At this time of year in the Northwest, there's only a thin layer of snow on the ground, and the snowflakes falling from the sky aren't very big, but they're falling very fast because of the slanting wind.
In no time, the white substance covered Gan Qiongying and Li Hua, and even the horses were covered in a layer of pure white.
They traveled light, with all their goods and purchases on the way. Gan Qiongying's cloak slipped off her head due to the angle of the climb, and soon her head was covered in snow.
"Please don't be disgusted by my accommodations later, they are very simple."
The weather wasn't cold today, but Gan Qiongying's face was flushed; she had been running all the way and felt a little warm.
Her long hair was mostly covered by snow, and she rode a horse wearing a fiery red fox fur coat, looking like a fox spirit.
“I’ve been away from home for three months… I wonder how big the two little ones have grown!” Gan Qiongying kept talking excitedly, while Li Hua, who had been very enthusiastic on the way, seemed to have her mouth shut when they arrived at the foot of Jishi Temple.
"Why are you so quiet?" Gan Qiongying rode her horse closer to Li Hua, walking alongside him, tilting her head to check Li Hua's expression.
Li Hua looked extremely nervous, her lips pursed, and her gaze when she met Gan Qiongying's was even a little flustered.
Gan Qiongying chuckled. "What are you afraid of? They're just two little ones. They were born on May 15th last year, and today is, um, November 15th? Only six months old... Good heavens, already six months old!"
Gan Qiongying sighed and said, "Time flies so fast."
"A six-month-old baby should recognize people by now, right?" Seeing Li Hua's nervousness, Gan Qiongying pretended to be nervous as well and leaned closer to Li Hua to ask, "They didn't recognize people when I left. What if they're shy around us?"
With Gan Qiongying's words, Li Hua was no longer being rejected for returning home alone. How could Li Hua not understand Gan Qiongying's meaning? Her nose tingled slightly, her eyes reddened, and then she smiled.
“It’s alright. I’ve seen many children, all ages, and I’ve adopted many… I’ve even personally taught some.” Li Hua looked at Gan Qiongying and said, “We’ll just play with them for a bit.”
Gan Qiongying nodded: "Then let's go, don't delay any longer, let's go!"
After Gan Qiongying finished speaking, she squeezed her legs against the horse's belly, bent her back slightly, and increased the speed of her ascent up the mountain. Li Hua quickly followed behind her.
The cloaks on their heads all fell down, and their heads were quickly covered in snowflakes.
They would occasionally check on each other's progress, and when their eyes met, they would exchange a smile to comfort each other's tension.
After entering the mountains, when passing by Jishi Temple, Gan Qiongying told the fat monk, Deputy Abbot Guanghua, about the many things she had bought to donate to the temple.
Guanghua was naturally overjoyed, his round face beaming with a wide smile. Facing Lihua, the investor, he treated him like his own son returning home after a long journey.
“The temple recently burned a new batch of charcoal. I’ll have someone deliver it to you all at night. This batch of charcoal doesn’t produce much smoke, which is perfect for warming up overnight.”
Gan Qiongying naturally accepted it without hesitation. The two walked through Jishi Temple and headed towards a small courtyard on the back mountain.
The horses were handed over to the people of Jishi Temple to feed. The two of them, carrying loads of belongings, held hands and helped each other along the slippery path.
The servants and maids who attended to them closely, led by Sweetie, followed behind them without offering any support or protection.
Because Sweetheart knew very well that the princess and her husband didn't need anyone to fawn over them; simply holding each other's hands was the happiest thing for them.
“Be careful. Your leg has only just recovered. I shouldn’t have agreed to let you ride back in such a hurry… You stumbled when you dismounted just now. Don’t think I didn’t see it.”
Gan Qiongying has been in excellent health during this period, and her strength has increased considerably. She can even help Lihua carry things.
Li Hua whispered, "I'm fine, really fine."
After a while, she said again, "I'm fine, I'm really fine."
"You'd better be alright," Gan Qiongying rolled her eyes. Li Hua had already repeated this sentence several times.
He was so nervous that his limbs were a little stiff. If Gan Qiongying hadn't supported and held him, he probably would have already slipped into the snow.
They finally managed to walk, supporting each other, to a wider path. When they reached the front of the house, people came out to greet them.
One of the wet nurses exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Gan Qiongying and hurriedly went back into the house to greet her.
"Miss Full Moon! Hurry up, your master is back!"
As a result, after the wet nurse shouted, the first person to rush out was not Manyue, but Xiao Qiansong.
"My goodness, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, your two children wouldn't have recognized you!" Xiao Qiansong had long forgotten the etiquette he used to observe when dealing with nobles in the palace, and spoke to Gan Qiongying as if they were old friends.
Before the person had even fully appeared at the doorway, their voice had already drifted out.
As a result, he rushed out the door and saw the tall man standing next to Gan Qiongying, holding her hand. The words he was about to say got stuck in his throat.
She stood there, mouth slightly agape, stunned.
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