Once the sun started to fall, Ying Yue and Su Ru were ready to leave. Dressed in her male clothing, Ying Yue ties her sword to her waist and her hair into a ponytail. Quickly shoving the scrolls into a cloth and tying it to her back, Ying Yue was ready.
"Ah! My lady! Your money pouch!"
"Oops! Slipped my mind."
Ying Yue slips the money pouch into the top part of her shirt and motions for Su Ru to follow her. Making their way to the back of the cold palace, Ying Yue removes the bushes that were covering the hole. It was a small hole, but if it could fit a man it could fit a woman. Ying Yue wasted no time and crawled through the hole first; followed by Su Ru.
Ying Yue quickly glances around to make sure no one was nearby. Making sure to hide their traces, Ying Yue blocks off the hole on both sides with nearby bushes.
"Su Ru, lead the way to where the merchant family is."
"This way, my lady."
Once they were out of sight from the palace grounds, Ying Yue breathes a sigh of relief and continues to follow Su Ru. Su Ru leads Ying Yue to a small tea shop near the outskirts of the kingdom gates. As they got closer, Su Ru points to a carriage in the distance. A man looking to be in his forties, with a woman and two little girls were outside the carriage. Once the man spotted Su Ru, he waved to them.
"Nice to see you again sir!
"Likewise, little lady. Is this woman your master?"
"Yes! We will give you the rest of the money once we get to Jianxiang!"
"Fine by me! Come along now, get in the carriage. I have a delivery to make in Jianxiang anyways!"
The man motions for Ying Yue and Su Ru to head inside the carriage with their daughters. Once Ying Yue got inside the carriage, the man wasted no time and headed for the main gate. After getting approved to leave, Ying Yue could feel the carriage getting further and further from the kingdom of Xinjing.
"My lady, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Ying Yue could feel eyes on her. Turning to the pair of twin sisters, Ying Yue breaks into a little smile to release some tension.
"So... what're your names?"
"I am Lei and she is Mei."
"How old are you little ladies?"
"We're ten!"
"Oh, how come Mei doesn't talk?"
"Mei is always shy! She only talks to me, mommy or daddy!"
"Ah...I see."
With nothing but the sound of the carriage on the dirt road, Ying Yue decided she was going to get some sleep. Removing the bag on her back, Ying Yue uses it as a pillow and lays on her side. Slowly drifting off; Ying Yue dreamt of someone she hadn't in a while. In a flower filled field, Ying Yue could see Jianyu standing in the middle of it with a smile on his face. As Ying Yue was about to reach out to touch his hands, someone shakes Ying Yue up.
"My lady, wake up."
Ying Yue quickly opens her eyes, and sits up. Thinking something bad happened, she was about to reach for her sword.
"Wait, why did we stop? Did something happen?"
"No, my lady. It's lunch time, everyone's out there already. You wouldn't move at all, I got worried."
Ying Yue, takes a deep breath and lets out a small cry. She missed Jianyu and longed to be back in the dragon kingdom. Su Ru; could only stare as she was unsure of what to do. Ying Yue was usually the strong willed one. Seeing Su Ru so frantic, Ying Yue couldn't help but crack into a smile.
"I'm sorry, Su Ru. I just miss my husband, that's all."
"My lady...."
"Come, I'm sure you're hungry."
Ying Yue crawls towards the carriage entrance and climbs out first, followed by Su Ru. Ying Yue quickly looks around her and could tell they were far from Xinjing now. The old man motions for Ying Yue and Su Ru to take a seat as his wife handed out soup bowls of veggies and meat.
The wife reminded Ying Yue of her mother. As she handed out the bowl of food to Ying Yue, she quickly nods and thanks her for feeding them as well. Once, everyone had a bowl of food. The old man who was sitting across from Ying Yue, stares at her.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you two looking to go to Jianxiang?"
Su Ru remains silent and continues to eat her soup as she looks over to Ying Yue.
"I am looking for a family member."
"Oh? What are you planning to do once you find them?"
"Go home, what else?"
"I see."
Ying Yue listened as the mother and father continued to talk among themselves. She continued to eat her soup when she heard the father muttered something to his wife.
"Did you hear? I heard envoys from the dragon kingdom came to Xinjing three days ago."
"I heard the ladies at the tea house mentioning that too."
Ying Yue looks up and stops eating. Trying to hold herself back, she drops her bowl of food.
"Oh, goodness! Are you alright?"
The mother walks to Ying Yue and helps her pick up her bowl of food. Meanwhile, Ying Yue locks eyes with the father and asks for more details.
"Sir.....did you say people from the dragon kingdom came to Xinjing?"
"Of course! It's been years since we've last seen any of them. It was all over town! Apparently, the dragon empress has gone missing! The dragon emperor is in an uproar trying to find her! No one knows what she looks like, so how do they expect us to find her?"
Ying Yue bites her lips and holds back her tears. Ying Yue knew Jianyu would come looking for her. She had no idea they were so close.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong."
"Alright then, I won't pester you too much then. Oh! Just a heads up, the roads will get bumpy from here on out. I suggest staying awake as well. Soon, we'll get deeper into the forest. Lots of wild animals on this part."
"Why are you taking this route if it's dangerous then?"
"Heh, we're a family of merchants, being in danger means nothing. This is something we do for a living. I use a sword, my wife does too. My daughters are young but can wield a crossbow on their own. You also look like you know how to use a sword. Not to mention this path is dangerous enough for robbers to avoid."
The old man points to Ying Yue's sword that was tied around her waist. Ying Yue remains silent and continues to eat whatever was left of her food. Once everyone was finished, they cleaned up any traces and left the scene. Ying Yue and Su Ru were now back to sitting inside the carriage.
Before long two weeks had gone by. The carriage rarely ever made any stops and only did so for bathroom breaks or food. During the travels, Ying Yue grew rather close to the pair young sisters. During their little chat, Ying Yue all of sudden starts to feel nausea. Unable to hold it back, she runs to the edge of the carriage and pukes. The little girls scream in horror as they thought Ying Yue was dying. The random screams alarmed their mother and father who were outside the carriage. The carriage came to a sudden stop, and the mother made her way towards the back of the carriage.
"Girls! What's wrong? Why are you screaming?"
"Mommy, she's sick!"
"Mommy she's not going to die, is she?!"
"Sick?"
The mom took a quick look at Ying Yue and knew what was wrong. She breaks into a small smile and pats her daughters on the head.
"Mei and Lei, she's not going to die. She has a baby in her belly, that's why she's sick. Why don't you two go stay with daddy? Mommy needs to clean up here."
The mother helps her daughters out of the carriage. Once they were out of sight she turns to Ying Yue and places a hand on her forehead.
"How are you feeling?"
"I....I'm alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare the girls."
"It's alright, how far along are you now?"
"A little over three months now."
"I see, you should be eating more then. Explains why you are barely showing. You'll show a lot more in a month, but until then. Try to lay down when you can. I'll go boil some herbs for you to drink. It should help with the nausea."
"Thank you."
The mother motions for Su Ru to hand her the kettle and a small bag of herbs inside a bin. The mother quickly turns to leave; leaving only Su Ru and Ying Yue inside the carriage.
"My lady, will you be alright?"
"I'm fine, I was fine for two weeks and I let my guard down. I feel better after letting that out."
"If you say so, my lady."
After sitting around for twenty minutes, the mother returned with a cup of herb water and the kettle filled with the herb drink.
"Drink some of this, it will help to strengthen you and help with the nausea."
"This...won't harm my baby, right?"
"Of course not. If you are feeling better, I will let my husband know we are set to go."
With those parting words, the pair of sisters came running back and sat down inside the carriage. Ying Yue turns to Lei and asks her where they've been.
"Where did you two go?"
"To clean with father!"
"Clean?"
"Yep! We have to clean your puke so it doesn't leave a trail!"
"Ah....I see."
Ying Yue couldn't help but find it rather odd that they were taking extra measure to hide any traces of them using this mountain route. Ying Yue shrugged it off as she didn't want to overthink and think badly of the family helping her. With the night rolling in, Ying Yue brings herself to catch some sleep. Lying next to Su Ru, Ying Yue sleeps while hugging her sword.
Soon, days became weeks and Ying Yue could now see Jianxiang in sight. Although the travels were long, the trip itself wasn't bad. Ying Yue had pictured for things to be worse considering how everyone avoided it. The family was now on their last stop before heading for Jianxiang's capital. Ying Yue stood at the edge of a small cliff and stared over the vast forest and luscious green fields.
"Beautiful place isn't it?"
"Yes...very."
"We will be heading out shortly, come back to the carriage when you are done."
The old man turns around and leaves Ying Yue to enjoy the scenery. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, she turns around and heads back to the carriage.