They left the Shu Kingdom and started their adventure to the Han Kingdom. Yao Ying and Yao Ling's relationship was getting closer than before. While the other couples, Xiu and Xiao Yu, Lin Jian and Xiao Fang, still couldn't get past the flirting phase. They only looked at each other secretly and turned away when the others accidentally looked back.
It made Yao Ying and Yao Ling want to laugh at their blushing face.
On one of those rest days, Yao Ying met secretly with Xiao Fang. He asked a few pointers about the most romantic places along the way to the Han capital. The Han Kingdom was consisted of deserts and wilderness, so there weren't many places to do that. However, there was one good spot, so Yao Ying had only one chance to make it a perfect moment.
Yao Ying already took a note about the place and also made a secret plan without Yao Ling's knowledge. It made his mood become better and when Yao Ling asked him whether something good had happened, he only answered that it was a secret. Yao Ling could only look at him in confusion, but didn't ask more. She just thought that he was being weird and didn't dwell on his weird behavior.
Because they wanted to blend in at the Han Kingdom, they wore the Han Kingdom's traditional clothing. If they wore the Shu Kingdom's clothing, they would certainly ask their purpose of visit and it would be a pain in the ass to find an excuse each time.
Yao Ling wore the sexy clothing that Xiao Fang gave her, making Yao Ying grit his teeth in anger. He was quite conservative and didn't really want other men to see her body, however, he could do nothing about it. Besides, all of the women wore the same type of clothing --- including Xiao Yu. If he didn't allow Yao Ling to wear the same, he would look so petty and unreasonable.
However, he was indeed petty. He kept frowning the whole time, making Yao Ling didn't know whether she should laugh or cry ah~! She was also helpless and feeling shy all the time, but she couldn't awkwardly try to adjust her clothing every moment.
The men were wearing a set of clothing that was consisted of white long-sleeve shirt and also matching color of pants and vests. Generally, their clothing were in bold colors. Not only that, they also wore the same color of hat, making Yao Ying and Lin Jian feel a bit uncomfortable, but they soon got used to it.
When the men watched their beloved women looked so alluring, they gulped and looked at them in awe. Somehow, their faces were blushing heavily --- except, Yao Ying whose face was darkened... If he could, he wanted to pack her up and put her inside his pocket so no one would be able to look at her...
Yao Ling, who was actually shy, quickly tried to appease him and say, "Ying... Look! We wear a couple set of clothing --- we wore the same electric blue color..."
Yao Ying noticed this and saw that indeed, in one glance, people would know that they were a couple and it slightly made his expression better. Yao Ling sighed in relief. After that, she heard Yao Ying said, "Then, you are not allowed to leave my side! We should tell the world that we are husband and wife."
Yao Ling, "..."
She was quite speechless. 'This petty man!' She really wanted to put some senses into him, however, she also knew that the Shu people were far more conservative than the Han people. She helplessly answered, "Okay..."
"Good!" After saying that, he hugged her waist to show the others his possessive side.
Yao Ling, "..."
Then... should we glue ourselves together like this the whole way? She felt that this man was quite unreasonable, but at the same time, a bit cute...
The others looked at their interaction and stunned. After a brief moment, they laughed out loud. However, Yao Ying glared at them, trying to shut them up. The others pretended to cough and stopped their laughter, but it didn't stop them from laughing inwardly.
Lin Jian and Xiu were actually also uncomfortable in seeing their beloved women wearing such clothing, despite their initial reactions. However... they were in no position to behave like a cave man, just like Yao Ying. They could only swallow their grievance inside.
Just like that, they went off...
To get to the romantic secret place, it would take a few days. That was why the first few days, they enjoyed the trip happily. Due to the carefree attitudes of the Han people, they were welcomed everywhere with kindness and big smile. It was totally different with the way Shu people always needed to pay attention to polite talk with fake smile.
In Han Kingdom, they could talk freely without any restraint. It made them feel so comfortable and they could behave naturally with each other --- there was no obvious hierarchy here. They also treated Xiu and Xiao Yu just like friends which made the latter feel uncomfortable. However, after persuasion, they started to accept the different culture or else the Han people would become suspicious of their identity.
Their first stop was Loulan --- it was near the place where they fought for the bridal dowries. When they passed by the place, there were quite many people surrounded the treasure chests. The commoners were trying to see whether there were any treasures left, but they were disappointed when they realized that everything had been wiped clean.
The local authorities already put on a barrier and the onlookers could see perfectly clear how scared the leader was. After all, this was the second time the bridal dowries has been robbed. Both times happened under his jurisdiction and the first time it happened, the Emperor had warned him. He knew that he couldn't run away from this hurdle the second time ah~! He knew very well how angry the Emperor ah~!
He also heard about the princess' death. That was why he thought the bridal dowries must have been brought back by the Han Emperor. Who knew that it wasn't the case! He needed to find a scapegoat. He was a bit confused with the bandits' appearance, after all, there were only two low levels bandits gang in the area. He always maintained a good relationship with them, after all, they gave him a big sum of money as bribes so he didn't capture them and turned a blind eye to their activities.
He already talked to them and none of them attacked the bridal dowries. How could he find the culprit? He had a gut feeling that it was done by a big shot. They had tried to find any clues, but found nothing. The footprints had been wiped clean by the sand and there was no casualty from the robbers. There was no body that they could check for clues. It seemed like a professional work. This matter... really gave him a headache!
Xiao Fang pretended to ask a man who stood beside her, "Da Ge, do you know what happened?"
"Someone robbed the bridal dowries again," the man answered her question.
"Was it done by the same people?" Xiao Fang asked curiously, trying to find out more. The others didn't dare to talk much with the people here, because the Shu and Han Kingdom had different accent. They were still learning the new accent and didn't dare brazenly talk, especially near the crime scene.
"I heard it isn't so. Both of them have different style..."
"Yes ah~ Probably the second one tried to rob because of the first successful robbery. The first one already got a lot of treasures, so why would they take the risk again?"
When Yao Ying, Yao Ling, and Lin Jian heard about their speculation, they smirked inwardly. It meant that they successfully didn't leave any trace and the in-charge official hadn't found any clues. They also felt relieved.
Of course, it would look different... those two times were indeed done by different crews.