The little princess's eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled, asking, "Do you really have an idea?"
"Of course, Princess, have you ever heard of Qi Guze and Pei Xuan?" Kezi deliberately kept the little princess in suspense, wanting to tease her. "They can cure your heartache."
Princess Agina knew that she was teasing her on purpose, so she didn't press the matter. Instead, she said coquettishly, "If you don't tell me, I will never play with you again. I will also send you to Brother Agitai's place and never let you come back."
She knew that Ajitai had always coveted Kizil's beauty, but Kizil was like family to her, so naturally she couldn't just give him to Ajitai so easily.
Kezi knew she was teasing him, but he still played along and pretended to be scared. Then he said, "Princess, those two are from the Central Plains and have a close relationship with Manager Xu. If I could get them here, I'm sure they could make the Central Plains dishes you want."
"Kizil, you had such a good idea but didn't tell me sooner! You've made me sad for so many days. Go and send someone to invite them!" Ajina immediately became anxious.
She can't wait to eat Central Plains cuisine again.
Knowing that his princess would be anxious, Kezi quickly said, "Princess, if we could invite these people, I would have told you about this idea long ago. However, they are not ordinary people, but the regent of the Central Plains and important officials of the court. At present, they are in charge of the friendly relations between the two countries. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to invite them over."
Ajina's face, which had finally brightened, now showed disappointment again.
"No matter what, just give it a try; maybe they'll come." She still held onto a sliver of hope.
"Yes." Kezi hurriedly went out to order someone to invite him.
As for the outcome, that remains to be seen.
...
The next morning, Zhou Wan was the first to wake up. She stretched and went to check on Tie Xiong's injuries. Fortunately, they were not infected.
"Tie Xiong, wake up, we're about to set off." Although Zhou Wan was exhausted from traveling for several days, she knew that it was not safe to be in this desolate wilderness. The nearest village was Luoping Village, and they needed to quicken their pace.
Tie Xiong slowly woke up and decided to go outside to check the situation first. He would only continue on his way after confirming that there was no danger.
Meanwhile, the old lady's stomach started growling.
She hadn't eaten much yesterday because the grilled fish was a bit spicy, and after running around for so long, she was starving. Her face flushed, and she was too embarrassed to ask, "Zhou Wan, do you have any more flatbread?"
Zhou Wan was a little embarrassed for a moment: "That's all..."
She hadn't expected this situation. She had planned to reach Luoping Village last night, so she hadn't left any food. Who would have thought such a change would happen?
"Auntie, please hang in there a little longer. Let's keep walking. There will be food when we get to Luoping Village," she could only say to comfort her.
The old lady nodded.
Just then, Tie Xiong came in from outside: "Let's go, no one is following us outside."
After that, the group packed their belongings and prepared to set off. They quickened their pace and finally arrived at Luoping Village before noon.
At that time, Luoping Village had become a wasteland. The houses, which were not sturdy to begin with, were now ruins. The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, and it was impossible to tell that it was a village.
When the old woman saw the place that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her, she couldn't help but burst into tears. The flood that year had turned this place into ruins; her home was gone, and her family was gone too.
She squatted down and scooped up a handful of yellow earth: "Gone, all gone..."
She's already this old; if it weren't for wanting to return to her hometown, she would never have been able to persevere for so long.
But now everything is over.
"Auntie, don't be too sad." Seeing this, Zhou Wan quickly tried to comfort her, but her heart was also in turmoil.
With Luoping Village gone, she could no longer get any useful information from Xu Yuehuai.
Seeing that the surrounding area was all ruins, Tie Xiong was afraid that they might encounter some danger, so he simply stayed by Zhou Wan's side to protect her, while also constantly observing the situation in front of him.
His eyes suddenly lit up: "Zhou Wan, do you see any houses up ahead?"
It was almost noon, and every household was preparing meals; at that time, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys before their eyes.
Zhou Wan's hope was rekindled: "It seems we can go ahead and inquire about it."
"We've come all this way, we can't just give up halfway, we need to find a place to stay and settle down first," the old woman reminded Zhou Wan.
She had wiped away her tears and regained her composure.
When Tie Xiong saw her like this, he couldn't help but frown.
Zhou Wan thought the old woman made sense. After a moment's thought, she led them over and knocked on the door: "Is anyone home?"
"Who?" A deep voice rang out, and soon a man emerged from inside, who appeared to be a hunter.
"Brother, we came here to visit relatives, but we haven't heard from them since. We have to wait for them here. Could we stay at your house for the night?" Zhou Wan made up a lie.
The hunter frowned slightly, becoming very wary of the unfamiliar Zhou Wan and Tie Xiong. He remained silent, wanting only to turn and close the door.
Unexpectedly, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Aunt Meng? You...you're still alive?"
The other person was utterly shocked, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
"Zhao San, I didn't expect you to still be living here." Aunt Meng said hurriedly, "I finally managed to come back, but I never imagined the village would become like this..."
She hesitated for a moment, then said shyly, "I haven't eaten anything all day, could I...?"
"Come in quickly, come in quickly..." Zhao San didn't hesitate any longer and immediately invited the person to come up.
Fortunately, he was cooking vegetables in the pot, and there were still a few flatbreads left in the pot. He quickly took them out and served them to the group: "Try them, they're still warm."
"Thank you very much, brother." Zhou Wan quickly expressed her gratitude before slowly chewing her food.
The hunter then started eating as well.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the hunter continued to chat with them: "Aunt Meng, when you got separated from the villagers during the flood, everyone was very worried. Your son and daughter-in-law even came back to look for you and stayed for a while. The house next door to me belongs to them. They waited for a year and didn't see you come back. They thought you... It just so happened that your grandson passed the imperial examination, so they moved to Chang'an City and seem to be running a small business now."
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