CHAPTER 216: CHAPTER 216: CLEARING THE INN

Yu Xiaolian fell asleep in the swaying carriage, and when she woke up groggily, she found it was raining outside. The Li brothers had no umbrellas and were just getting soaked in the rain, still pushing on with the carriage.

The rain was heavy, and they were now in the middle of nowhere. Although Yu Xiaolian had an umbrella in her space, she didn’t want to reveal her space in front of the Li brothers.

But when she asked the brothers to come inside the carriage to shelter from the rain, they refused.

Fortunately, after a quarter of an hour, the heavy rain gradually lessened and finally stopped.

About three hours later, they finally reached the town that Yu Xiaolian had mentioned.

Yu Xiaolian breathed a sigh of relief, proving to herself that she hadn’t misremembered the way.

After the rain, the temperature dropped abruptly and it became very cold. Both Yu Xiaolian and the Li brothers were almost frozen.

Although Yu Xiaolian had stayed in the carriage and didn’t get wet, the material of her clothing was thin and the cold wind penetrated through.

The Li brothers were soaked to the skin and certainly colder than Yu Xiaolian, so she decided not to travel any further that day.

She found an inn and let the Li brothers change out of their wet clothes, also arranging for the waiter to bring them ginger soup to ward off the cold. Afterward, Yu Xiaolian decided to buy some thick clothes.

Their bags were packed with thin clothes, and no one had expected the weather to turn so cold all of a sudden.

In this small town, the clothing shops had limited styles, and the fabric wasn’t great. Yu Xiaolian bought herself a set of coarse black men’s clothing and got two sets of coarse cloth clothes for the Li brothers.

The ancient clothing sizes were almost the same since there weren’t many obese people in ancient times. As long as you mentioned the height of the person wearing them, suitable clothes could be bought.

Simply put, as long as the sleeves and pants weren’t too long, the clothes were considered a fit.

Once Yu Xiaolian returned to the inn, she told the waiter to bring the meals to the room, then crawled onto the bed and wrapped herself in the quilt.

It was just too cold, making her teeth chatter.

Was autumn skipped, heading straight into winter?

Pretty soon, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, and Yu Xiaolian thought it was the waiter bringing hot soup noodles, so she reluctantly got out of bed to open the door.

Upon opening it, it was indeed the waiter, but he wasn’t holding anything. With an apologetic expression, he said, "Guest, my apologies, Prince Jin’s carriage is passing through the town and plans to rest at our inn..."

Yu Xiaolian cursed under her breath, wondering if Prince Jin was going to clear the place.

Then, she saw the waiter’s mouth open and close, as he mentioned clearing the place.

Damn, everyone’s on the road, it’s not easy for anyone. After the rain, the roads are muddy and hard to travel. You’re tired and weary, wanting rest, just rest then, nobody’s bothering anyone.

Why are you clearing the place? This shabby town has only this one damn inn, don’t you know?

What use is there in putting on airs?

Really ruins one’s impression.

All the while, she had thought Jun Yian would grow up to be a benevolent emperor who loved his people like his children.

Ugh, the son of a dragon is a dragon, the son of a phoenix is a phoenix, and a rat’s child knows how to burrow. Same rotten morals, just like your damned father.

In her mind, Yu Xiaolian cursed Jun Yian from head to toe.

The waiter noticed Yu Xiaolian’s displeasure and quickly added, "Prince Jin said he would compensate you double the room fee to find lodging elsewhere."

The waiter also knew this town had only one inn, so he quickly added, "Guest, if you head towards Jizhou now, you should reach the next town before dark."

"Next town?" Yu Xiaolian gritted her teeth, as if she hadn’t traveled this road before?

"You think I haven’t traveled this road?"

Seeing Yu Xiaolian like this, the waiter realized he couldn’t deceive her, his face flushed, and he continued to try persuading, "Or, guest, you could take the Silver Coin and find a local family willing to host you."

Although Yu Xiaolian was angry, she didn’t dare openly oppose Jun Yian. Just as Li Meng and Li Lie finished changing into thick clothes and came out from next door, Yu Xiaolian directly told them to pack up and move.

No matter what, traveling wasn’t possible today; the roads outside were too muddy, and the horses would slip if they hurried.

Besides, once they left this town, there wouldn’t be another town for a hundred miles around.

As the three of them carried their bags downstairs, they saw armed guards filling the inn, inside and out.

Those people saw the knives on Li Meng and Li Lie, and stared sharply at them, as if they would immediately attack and hack them to death at the slightest provocation.

Li Meng and Li Lie went to retrieve the carriage from the inn’s backyard, while Yu Xiaolian waited by the roadside with her bag.

After Yu Xiaolian climbed into the carriage, and Li Meng drove the carriage a distance, he asked Yu Xiaolian, "Young Master, where are we heading?"

Yu Xiaolian replied, "Let’s just ask along the way and see if anyone can offer us a place to stay for the night."

Li Meng nodded and slowed down the pace. Fortunately, this section of the road in the town was paved, so the horse wouldn’t slip. But if they went any further, it would all be dirt roads.

When they reached what seemed like a decent household ahead, Li Meng pulled the horse to a stop, and Li Lie immediately jumped down to knock on the door.

An old man in simple linen clothes, somewhat hunched over, opened the door. After Li Lie explained their intention and showed a silver coin, the old man, who initially intended to refuse, agreed to take them in, tempted by the coin.

However, all three had to stay in one room.

This was unacceptable to Li Lie, as their ’young master’ was a woman. He argued with the hunchbacked old man, and finally, managed to get a private room for Yu Xiaolian.

After tethering the horse in the courtyard and settling it down, Li Lie noticed that although the household seemed large, it was only the hunchbacked old man living in such a vast courtyard.

Finding it strange, Li Lie went to ask the hunchbacked old man some questions.

He finally learned that the old man was merely watching over the place for someone else, which eased Li Lie’s wariness.

The old man arranged a separate room for Yu Xiaolian and told her that he was only there to look after the courtyard. He urged Yu Xiaolian not to touch anything inside the room.

Meanwhile, Li Meng and Li Lie stayed in a room next to the gatekeeper’s.

Having been driven out before eating, Yu Xiaolian was now starving. She gave Li Lie a piece of Silver and instructed him to go buy some food.

Yu Xiaolian instructed Li Lie, "Buy more cooked food and dry rations. Tomorrow, when we walk this route, there will scarcely be a soul in sight, and we’ll probably only manage a bite here and there in the carriage."

Just a few months ago, Yu Xiaolian had traveled this route, so it was fresh in her mind.

Back then, they hired horse-drawn carriages, and upon reaching this road, Yu Xiaolian, having checked the map, stated that they had taken a wrong turn.

The coachman back then just laughed and said that while this road wasn’t as mapped, it was a shorter distance, and assured they’d be taken smoothly to the next city, so they needn’t worry.

At that time, they had hired two carriages for a group of eight. Both coachmen asserted this road was shorter, though it was a hidden path unknown to non-locals. The coachman even joked that the person who made the map wasn’t local, knowing only part of the story.

This path was quite secluded, with only this small, poor town for miles around.

But... how did Jun Yian know of this path?

Why would a grand prince avoid the main road to take this obscure route?