Chapter 14

Today, Su Mi and Su Zhen were going to follow the mule cart that the government had sent all the way to the capital city.

Except for Su Qi, who was still practising in the county, everyone in the Su family got up early to send Su Mi and Su Zhen off on the carriage. After several rounds of tears from Yu Qingniang and Auntie Zhao, the carriage finally slowly left the entrance of the Su family and headed towards the city.

Inside the carriage, Su Zhen seemed to be in a good mood, but Su Mi was still concerned about what Yu Qingniang had said yesterday about her having a younger brother. Coupled with leaving her hometown, she couldn’t feel relaxed for a while.

“Sister Mi, in my opinion, you must be the most beautiful among these one hundred women,” Su Zhen said with a smile.

“How could that be?” “Everyone I’ve seen is very beautiful,” Su Mi put down the curtain and said lightly.

Su Zhen was similar to Auntie Zhao, accustomed to saying good things. In fact, women’s appearances are all different, and different people have different opinions on what they see. It all depends on who is looking. Su Mi couldn’t be bothered to indulge her, so she turned her head and leaned back on the back seat, closing her eyes.

Seeing that Su Mi didn’t respond to her words, Su Zhen snorted inwardly. She was just being polite on the surface. Su Mi’s appearance was too delicate and charming. Men certainly liked it, but as a woman, she felt that Su Xian’s dignified appearance was the look of a proper wife. Someone like Su Mi should just be a concubine.

She also knew about Li Xiuyuan’s proposal. That man seemed to have a flirtatious intent towards anyone he saw. Even she had been stopped a few times on the road. Why couldn’t Su Mi just marry him peacefully instead of suddenly running over to compete for the position of a court lady?

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Vlabyrp bl oyp pkvvkdt kd vbyv nyaakytl. Wsa psxl alypsd, pllkdt vbl nyaakytl vbyv rsppkczu clzsdtle vs Ckd Zyd xyel bla zlpp yqayke sq zlyhkdt bla bsxlvsod.

“Qkazp, bwaau wr yde qsax y zkdl. Xdl cu sdl, tlv sd vbl nyavp,” Uys Qsdttsdt pbswvle. Fw Yk iwknjzu fskdle vbl iwlwl yde oykvle qsa vblka yaaydtlxldvp.

Mbl sdl bwdeale clywvklp sq Kkysgbsw olal ekhkele kdvs vld zyatl xwzl nyavp, okvb lynb nyav nyaaukdt vld rlsrzl. Wsavwdyvlzu, pbl yde Fw Hbld olal dsv kd vbl pyxl nyav.

Fw Yk zssjle yaswde yv vbl rlsrzl clpkel bla yde pyo psxlsdl pbl alnstdkgle—Hbydt Zwl’la, obs bye csaasole bla bydejlanbklq. Mseyu, pbl bye alxshle bla xyjlwr, alhlyzkdt nzlya lulp yde vllvb, yde bla aswde yzxsde lulp pllxle vs pbkdl okvb y oyvlau zktbv, iwkvl nbyaxkdt.

Hbydt Zwl’la yzps alxlxclale Fw Yk, pkdnl pbl bye plld bla qynl clqsal. Lsv xydu rlsrzl nswze qsatlv bla.

“Mbydj usw qsa zldekdt xl vbl bydejlanbklq vbyv eyu, pkpvla,” Hbydt Zwl’la czkdjle yde pyke.

“It was nothing.”

“Are you from Jiangling City, sister?” “I’m from Lianshui County,” Zhang Yue’er smiled, with two dimples embedded in the corners of her mouth, which was quite cute.

“Mhmm,” Su Mi laughed and replied.

Yu Qingniang’s instructions were heartfelt, and outside was different from home—it was better to avoid trouble if possible. As a result, Su Mi didn’t say much more.

Seeing that Su Mi had no intention of chatting, Zhang Yue’er didn’t feel discouraged and started talking with the others. Su Mi could tell that she was a lively and cheerful young girl.

It was midsummer, and although there were many people on the mule cart, they were all women, so the space inside the cart didn’t feel too cramped. Laughter and chatter from the girls could be heard throughout the journey. Although Su Mi didn’t speak much, the lively atmosphere helped alleviate some of her fear of leaving home.

Xu Zhou separated Jiaozhou from the capital, and even travelling by horse-drawn carriage would take a few days. It was even more so for their mule cart. Fortunately, when they passed by post stations along the way, they could rest for the night. Qin Yan’s carriage could travel quickly, but he probably wasn’t in a hurry and remained alongside the mule cart.

That night, the candidates arrived at the post station in Xu Zhou to rest. The station was simple and had one large sleeping area that accommodated over ten people. But compared to the bumpy mule cart, it was much more comfortable. After getting used to it a few times, no one would complain or make unnecessary noise.

A series of moans and groans coming from next to her awakened Su Mi. The post station room had one large sleeping area, and she was sleeping second to last on the inside. The one closest to the inside was of the candidate for the court lady from a neighboring cart.