“Not bad.” Yin Huaixi’s lips curled up. “It seems that you haven’t neglected learning how to ride a horse recently.”
Yu Youyao stroked Snow Mountain’s mane. “When I’m free, I’ll go to the back mountain of the Yu Garden to practice horse riding. Snow Mountain is an outstanding warhorse. I already feel very aggrieved for it to follow me. I can’t keep raising it in the stable.” Yu Youyao rode alongside Yin Huaixi.
At this moment—
The mountain was high and the road was long. The autumn air was solemn, and the mountain wind was a little strong, as if there was a small knife scraping against her face. Yu Youyao did not feel cold. Instead, she felt that the sky was vast and unrestrained, and she felt carefree.
The army maintained its pace of alternating between a fast speed and a slow speed. They did not stop.
Every five hours, when they were marching slowly for an hour, Yu Youyao would take the opportunity to eat something. Then, she would get out of the carriage and ride Snow Mountain to relax.
Although the journey was difficult, Yu Youyao’s horizons had broadened and she was still in good spirits.
It wasn’t until the sun was in the west that the army finally stopped to rest.
“We’ll rest here tonight and settle our dinner on the spot. We have to turn off the fire and rest before dark. We’ll prepare to leave at 3am tomorrow.”
The soldiers were busy setting up camp, building simple stoves, hunting, and
looking for ingredients…
It was orderly.
After traveling for an entire day, Yu Youyao was still nervous and excited. Instead, she did not feel tired.
At this moment, as soon as she relaxed, a strong wave of fatigue surged up like a tide. Yu Youyao felt as if her body had been crushed, and it was sore and painful.
In all her life, Yu Youyao had never suffered before. She kept saying that she was not afraid of suffering, but when she really suffered, she felt aggrieved and uncomfortable. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit her lip and refused to cry, afraid of embarrassing herself.
Yin Huaixi carried the food tray into the tent. Seeing that the little girl was about to cry, he said, “If you really can’t hold on anymore, I’ll send you back overnight..
“Don’t look down on me.” Yu Youyao pursed her lips and glared at him angrily. “I’m already feeling so uncomfortable. Why aren’t you coaxing me? You’re even deliberately making wise remarks to anger me.”
As she spoke, her eyes gradually turned red. Large tears flowed down her face and hung on her chin, making her palm-sized face look even more exquisite and small, thin and helpless.
“You don’t want to take me to Jinzhou at all, right?”
“Because you can’t dissuade me, you pretended to agree. When I suffer on the way and can’t take it anymore, you’ll naturally send me back to Xiangping…”
Yin Huaixi had never seen her cry like this before. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his heart.
That was indeed what he thought. If she couldn’t even withstand the hardship of traveling, how could she withstand the hardships of Jinzhou?!
Even if she forced herself to go, she would suffer.
He had never been able to bear to see her suffer.
Yu Youyao’s eyes were filled with tears. She glared fiercely and said fiercely, “You don’t want me to go to Jinzhou, but I insist on going. I won’t give you an excuse to send me back…”
She tried her best to look fierce, but her eyes were red and her tears were in circles. Instead, she looked like a rabbit with red eyes, making her look pitiful.
Yin Huaixi placed the plate on the small table. Without thinking, he strode forward and pulled her into his arms.
“Don’t cry.” He patted her thin back clumsily. “Chun Xiao has made medicinal porridge and dried mushroom soup. Have some food first and take advantage of the night to recuperate. We have to set off before dawn tomorrow. The road ahead will be harder to travel on.”
Yu Youyao whimpered softly and asked pitifully, “You’re— You’re not sending me back, right?!”
“Yes.” Seeing that her eyes were filled with tears, Yin Huaixi’s deep eyes softened. “I won’t send you back.”
Yu Youyao pursed her lips again, looking like she was about to cry. “You’re not lying to me?”
She was clearly saying, “If you dare to lie to me, I’ll cry for you.”
This move had always worked.
Yin Huaixi was immediately caught between laughter and tears. “If you can’t take the hardship yourself and want to return…”
“That’s impossible.” Yu Youyao interrupted him. “I definitely have to go to Jinzhou. Even if I have to crawl, I’ll crawl over. If you send me back, I’ll sneak over alone.”
“I’m not lying to you.” Yin Huaixi’s face darkened. He brought the plate over and scooped a bowl of medicinal porridge for her. “Are you willing to eat well now?”
After receiving his assurance, Yu Youyao quickly took the medicinal porridge and was about to eat it when she frowned and said angrily, “You big liar. You placed calming medicinal herbs in the medicinal porridge. Do you want me to fall asleep at night and…’
She had come into contact with many spices and medicinal herbs, so her sense of smell was much sharper than ordinary people. With just a sniff, she could roughly guess what medicinal herbs were in the medicinal porridge. It was the wrong idea to use this method to secretly send her away.
Hmph, she wouldn’t fall for it.
This had indeed been arranged previously, but now…
Seeing her angry and vigilant expression, Yin Huaixi sighed softly. He was completely defeated by her. “You’ve been on the road for a day. I’m worried that your body won’t be able to take it and you won’t be able to sleep well in the wilderness, so I added some calming medicinal herbs into your food. Have a good sleep and recuperate so that you won’t suffer more tomorrow.”
Yu Youyao did not believe it.
Yin Huaixi looked helpless and could only promise, “If you don’t want to go back, I won’t send you back.”
Only then did Yu Youyao feel relieved. She took a small bite of porridge and put down her spoon.
The veins on Yin Huaixi’s forehead throbbed, but he endured it and asked her gently, “Why aren’t you eating anymore? You haven’t eaten anything seriously all day.”
Yu Youyao pursed her lips and looked like she was about to cry. “I have a headache and no appetite. I don’t want to eat.”
Yu Youyao also knew that it was impossible not to eat on the way. However, after traveling for an entire day today, her body was about to fall apart. As soon as her delicate aura rose, it was inevitable that she would cause a commotion.
“I’ll feed you.” Yin Huaixi took the medicinal porridge from her hand without thinking. He scooped a spoonful and brought it to her lips, coaxing her patiently. “Humans are made of iron, and rice is made of steel. No matter how powerful you are, you have to eat If you don’t eat for a meal, you’ll be starving. You should eat some food…
This time, Yu Youyao did not make a fuss. She obediently opened her mouth and ate the porridge she had been fed. Her face immediately scrunched up like a bun. It was obvious that she really did not have any appetite at all. The tears that had just dissipated began to well up in her eyes again, but she resisted the urge to cry. She looked indescribably pitiful, but her eyes were filled with determination.
After suffering for a day, she did not complain or cower. She only threw a little tantrum and was obedient after being coaxed.
She had been like this since she was young. Although she had been pampered by the Matriarch, she had never been pampered, let alone cause trouble for anyone. She was strong and flexible, making one’s heart ache. She was used to swallowing her grievances and tears.
She was even more used to enduring.
The young man’s eyes gradually softened. As he coaxed her to eat, he talked about some interesting things in the army to make her happy..