Chapter 97: Good Little Raccoon Dog

Perhaps it was because he was truly exhausted.

Du Shanü slept extremely deeply that night, and didn't dream at all.

She lay deep in the warm blankets, only occasionally sensing someone sniffing to the east and peeking to the west, yet they never truly disturbed her rest.

Finally, Du Shanü was awakened by the sound of rain.

It wasn't the torrential downpour that had poured over her head and face the night before, but a fine, dense autumn rain, pattering on the eaves like a silkworm chewing mulberry leaves.

A layer of grayish light seeped through the window paper, making it impossible to tell what time it was.

Du Shanü opened her eyes; first she saw the rough wooden beams, then Chinu's face.

Chinu lay on his side beside the pillow, one hand propping his head, the other resting on the edge of her blanket.

His hair fell loose, covering half his face, and his strikingly clear brow ridge stood out sharply in the dim, hazy light.

He had clearly been awake for a long time; his eyes bore faint bloodshot lines, but his spirits were excellent.

So much so that as soon as Du Shanü opened her eyes, she met his gaze—unflinching, unwavering, as if he had been waiting just for her to wake.

In the instant their eyes met, Chinu leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead.

Light as a goose feather, they parted at the slightest touch.

Immediately, he rose, took a few garments from a bamboo pole in the corner, and returned to the bedside.

"We brought no spare clothes; after you fell asleep last night, I specially went to ask the innkeeper for a brazier, hoping to warm them a bit so you won't feel cold wearing them today..."

His voice was lower than usual, hoarse from waking, and tinged with last night's fatigue.

Each word was gentle, his eyes full of reluctance.

Du Shanü had never seen such a kindly expression on Chinu; she stared for a few breaths before taking the clothes, and before she could lower her head to put them on, she saw Chinu bend over to fetch her socks and shoes, drop to one knee on the floor, gently open the shoe openings, and help her put on her shoes.

A good night does not last long.

The clothes were completely dry, but the shoes were still half-dry, half-wet.

The mud on the soles hadn't dried; as it rubbed against Chinu's hand, it left a faint mark.

But he seemed not to care at all, merely attending to her obediently.

His expression and demeanor showed first-rate patience and humility...

It seemed, seemed as if he could be used at will.

Du Shanü even heard him softly humming a tune of unknown origin, extremely light and slow, drifting slowly into her ears, with a hint of something that tugged at the heartstrings.

Before last night, Chinu had still been that grim, ruthless sort—bad temper, cold eyes, his whole bearing screaming 'keep strangers away.'

Now he was obedient as a cat whose fur has been smoothed, his breathing light, utterly endearing.

Du Shanü didn't even think of holding back; she bent down and kissed him beside the lips.

Chinu received another kiss, and a smile he couldn't suppress tugged at his lips.

He finished putting Du Shanü's socks and shoes on, then pulled a sealed letter from his bosom; the wax seal was intact, obviously a fresh one.

"Half an hour ago, the porter also returned."

"Yeshe keeps his own horses; last night you gave him extra silver, so the porter worked through the night, which actually saved us some trouble."

Du Shanü had also wanted to ask about this, but Chinu, as if he lived in the tip of her heart, brought it up right away.

Du Shanü stood on no ceremony; while dressing, she took the letter, broke the seal, and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.

On the paper was a single line of elegant handwriting, which read:

"Cang Cheng is peaceful; no one has come to investigate."

She read those words twice, and the worries that had coiled through a day and night finally loosened.

No one has come to investigate—at least not yet.

Either Qian Youde is an old fool who hasn't reacted yet, or he's too preoccupied to send anyone to verify things in Cang Cheng.

Either way, it bought them some breathing room...

In fact, it was good news.

She rose, burned the letter in the candle flame; the tongues of fire leapt, but the warmth fell far short of that from the person behind her.

Chinu stuck close to her, somehow producing a rain cape which he draped over her, then carefully tied its straps.

His fingers deftly tied the knots; perhaps sensing her gaze, he lifted his eyelids to glance at her, then lowered them again and continued fastening.

That glance held no special meaning, but Du Shanü noticed his ears were red again.

Just an instant later, Du Shanü's mind held only one thought——

"Afang's words...... really do seem reliable."

They shared another kiss, lingered a while, then pushed the door open and went out.

The time was no longer early, yet the interior remained somewhat dim.

The main room was small, with a few rough wooden tables and stools; in the corner sat several wine jars, and inside the back room a large pot on the stove could be seen bubbling away as it cooked porridge.

The innkeeper was ladling porridge into bowls; seeing the two come out, he cracked a smile, revealing a mouthful of uneven yellow teeth.

"Up already? The porridge just finished boiling—have it while it's hot."

Du Shanü sat at the table edge, Chinu beside her; they sat extremely close, even more clingy than before.

The innkeeper glanced at them several times while serving the porridge, then shook his head out of sight, silently amused at his own earlier overthinking.

The porridge was coarse-grain, thick enough to stand a chopstick in, served with a dish of dark, unevenly chopped pickles.

Du Shanü lifted the bowl, took a sip—it scalded her slightly, making her brow twitch, but she didn't set it down and took another sip.

Chinu pushed his own bowl aside, then took the bowl from her hand, grabbed a spoon to stir and cool it, the motion as natural as if he'd done it a thousand times.

The innkeeper cradled his own bowl, sat opposite them, and while blowing on the steam, chatted with the affectionate young couple.

"Yesterday's rain was heavy; I didn't have a chance to ask—where are you two headed, honored guests?"

Du Shanü had been waiting for the porridge; hearing this, her thoughts shifted slightly, and she replied:

「We two originally went out to buy some grain, but we didn't expect to run into a heavy rain; now we don't want to go too far... Is there anywhere nearby where we can buy grain? 」

This trip is indeed for grain, no doubt.

However, we're not wandering about aimlessly like a headless fly.

Those two in the forest are about to steal the grain; they'll need a place to sell it, so checking along this road should be a good method.

Du Shanü's thought was not bad, but unexpectedly the old man, hearing this, held his porridge and shook his head:

「Buy grain? That's not easy to buy. 」

「Recently the government has imposed heavy taxes, grain prices have risen sharply; the little grain in the village, each family barely has enough for themselves, so there's none to sell. With this rain, the roads are bad, outside grain can't come in, and in a few days it will rise even more. 」

Du Shanü furrowed her brows slightly.

The old man took another sip of porridge, then said:

「However, if you're still willing to walk a bit farther, you could go check out Dun Cheng. I heard from my relatives recently that Dun Cheng has plenty of grain, and the price is much cheaper than here. 」

Dun Cheng.

Du Shanü ran over that place name in her mind, and the map Chen Weifang gave her appeared again in her thoughts.

「Dun Cheng lies to the southeast of here, about a day's journey. 」

The old man stretched out his hand and pointed in a direction, his thin fingers tapping in the air:

「Over there recently a big grain merchant has appeared; you won't have trouble buying grain. 」

「These days, there's actually a big grain merchant coming here to sell grain? 」

「Aren't they afraid of being swallowed up by the authorities? 」

「Or rather... 」

「Could it be that they are officials engaging in trade? 」

?? Come on, come on! Loudly tell me, is the little slave in this chapter obedient enough? Do you want them to be even more obedient? (*^▽^*)