Chapter 74: Traveling Together (1)
With the main road stretching endlessly before them, Hua Zhi had no reason to forbid others from traveling the same path—especially since Shaoyao had personally requested this arrangement. She could only resign herself to the situation with reluctant acceptance.
“Then I’ll trouble you with this, Lu Xiansheng.”
Gu Yanxi’s eyes sparkled with exhilaration. Though he had traversed the entire Daqing Empire, he felt an unexpected joy at the prospect of this journey.
Glancing back at the majestic city walls, Hua Zhi turned her gaze toward the boundless sky ahead, her heart swelling with determination. What was two thousand li? To her, it meant nothing!
Cracking her whip, she pressed her heels into the horse’s flank, leaning slightly forward. “Hyah!”
Gu Yanxi patted his horse’s neck. The restless black stallion reared up with a long whinny before trotting briskly after her. Just as it was about to overtake Hua Zhi, Gu Yanxi tugged the reins, bringing his horse alongside hers and inadvertently pushing Shaoyao, who had been riding beside Hua Zhi, to the rear.
Taking advantage of her veiled hat’s concealment, Shaoyao shot The Heir a dramatic eye-roll.
Hua Zhi had thoroughly prepared before departure, even carrying a topographic map with her. During the midday break, she unfolded it to calculate their progress.
Shaoyao juggled a freshly warmed flatbread in her hands. She had just stood up to deliver it to Hua Hua when—in a blur—the bread vanished from her grasp. She could only watch, dumbfounded, as The Heir took the flatbread and strode toward Hua Hua!
Shaoyao fumed. Was The Heir trying to steal her friend?
Gu Yanxi glanced back at her. “Heat a few more.”
Shaoyao’s indignation deflated instantly. Pouting, she squatted back down to resume roasting flatbreads, grumbling inwardly: How annoying! Why did The Heir have to tag along?
Gu Yanxi settled beside Hua Zhi and offered her the flatbread stuffed with meat jerky. “Eat it while it’s warm.”
“Thank you.” Hua Zhi folded the map and set it aside before accepting the bread.
Gu Yanxi picked up the map and unfolded it. Noting the numerous annotations along the northern route from the capital, he—thoroughly familiar with this road—instantly understood their significance. Though he had long known Hua Zhi wasn’t one for reckless impulsivity, seeing these notes revealed the depth of her forethought.
“Are we aiming for this relay station tonight?”
Hua Zhi leaned over to look, nodded, and swallowed her mouthful before replying, “Yes. We need to reach it before sunset. Based on our pace this morning, it should be feasible.”
“It certainly is.”
A thought struck Hua Zhi. “Have you been there before, Lu Xiansheng?”
“Many times, back and forth. I know it well.” Gu Yanxi pointed to another location. “This station has been abandoned and relocated here. To reach it, we’d need to depart much earlier.”
Hua Zhi immediately followed his indication. “Thank goodness you warned me, or we’d be traveling through the night. I obtained this map from my grandfather when I was young. I’ve been worried that changes might have occurred over the years—and indeed they have.”
Gu Yanxi possessed the complete set of these topographic maps—eight sheets in total. Hua Zhi’s copy covered precisely the region from the capital to the northern territories. Given her meticulous nature, she must have contemplated this journey to the north even back then.
He studied her intently. “Not just here. Four years ago, His Majesty reallocated three towns under Weishan County to Shuanghui County. The official road was rerouted, and the relay station moved to the new route—right here.”
Hua Zhi abandoned her meal, clutching the flatbread in one hand while fumbling to untie her bundle with the other. After several failed attempts, she considered simply finishing the bread first—but it was gently taken from her grasp. “I’ll hold it for you.”Gu Yanxi didn't move closer physically, merely extending his hand. Hua Zhi didn't overthink it, expressed her thanks, and began unwrapping the package. She took out an eyebrow pencil and made two new annotations on the topographic map before looking up to ask, "Are there any other places?"
"None. Minor adjustments won't affect much."
Hua Zhi lowered her head. Back home, she had already calculated the distances between counties and matched them with the daily travel distance their group could cover. She had a clear plan for where to stop and rest. Although the current adjustments would make one day's journey tighter, starting earlier would solve the problem.
"You can't calculate everything this way."
Hua Zhi looked up, her clear gaze falling on Gu Yanxi, making his heart inexplicably tighten. Yet his expression remained unchanged as he pointed to a spot and said, "The further north we go, the colder it gets. This year is colder than previous years, and Chenping County should already have snow by now. The areas beyond will be even colder."
They would only be halfway through their journey upon reaching Chenping County. If it snowed, the daily travel distance would likely shorten by about a quarter. In that case, they might not always be able to stay at relay stations.
Hua Hua shifted her gaze to several county towns. It wasn't impossible to rest elsewhere, but the relay stations gave her a greater sense of security.
"If you trust me, Young Lady, why not let me arrange the rest of the journey?"
Shaoyao had approached at some point and, this time, sided with The Heir. "Yes, Hua Hua, you should listen to... Yan Ge about this. He often travels this route and knows it well."
"Do you think I'm trying to show off? I'll have to trouble you with this journey, Lu Xiansheng."
Gu Yanxi gave Shaoyao a glance. "Since I've come along, I ought to be of some use. Don't worry, I won't lead us astray."
Hua Zhi folded the topographic map, looked up with a smile, and noticed Shaoyao's face smudged like a cat's whiskers, which deepened her amusement. "Are you preparing to play the clown on stage?"
Shaoyao looked bewildered, so Hua Zhi had to stand up and lead her to the stream to wash her face.
Gu Yanxi watched the two from behind, stretching his legs comfortably as he sat. He tore off a piece of flatbread and put it in his mouth, chewing a few times before suddenly stopping and looking at his hand. This was... the flatbread Hua Zhi had been eating.
After washing Shaoyao's face, Hua Zhi returned, took the flatbread from Gu Yanxi, and continued eating, unaware that a piece of her bread was missing.
Gu Yanxi watched her cheeks puff as she chewed and unconsciously mimicked the motion, swallowing the mouthful of flatbread. It was quite tasty.
"Shaoyao, bring me a flatbread."
Shaoyao had just finished roasting one and was about to eat it when she heard this. A phrase instantly came to her mind: Snatching food from a tiger's mouth!
Hua Zhi chuckled at her reluctant expression, stood up, and said, "Give it to Lu Xiansheng. I'll roast one for you."
Shaoyao immediately forgot her displeasure, quickly ran over to stuff the flatbread into The Heir's hand, then eagerly handed a cold, hard flatbread to Hua Zhi, watching her with hopeful eyes.
Hua Zhi skewered the flatbread on a fork, asked a servant to find the bag of seasonings, and roasted it evenly on both sides until warm. She sprinkled it with salt, cumin, and chili powder, then tore the softened flatbread in half, stuffed it with meat jerky, added more seasoning, clamped it shut, and roasted it a bit longer. Soon, a rich aroma filled the air.
Shaoyao swallowed her saliva and urged, "It smells so good, Hua Hua! It's ready to eat."
"Roasting it a bit longer lets the meat flavor seep into the bread, making it even tastier. Use oiled paper to wrap it—it's hot.""I'm not afraid of the heat," Shaoyao said, reaching directly to grab it. The heat made her toss it from her left hand to her right, then back to her left, yet she still took a bite without worrying about burning her mouth, exclaiming eagerly how delicious it was.
Gu Yanxi immediately felt the pancake in his hand had lost all flavor. Suppressing the urge to snatch it from her, he simply turned his head away to avoid watching.
Soon, footsteps approached. "Lu Xiansheng, have something warm. The pancake gets too hard when it cools."
The aroma lingered around his nose. Gu Yanxi turned to look—under the sunlight, Hua Zhi's nose was beaded with sweat as she smiled warmly, extending the pancake to him with both hands.
Gu Yanxi reacted a beat slower than usual. Taking the pancake, he said, "Thank you."
PS: The meeting went until nine. I wrote a bit secretly during the meeting and have been revising it since then. Ladies, please don’t rush for updates—I’m really doing my best.
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