in2ebook Chapter 353 It seems like the world is about to change.
Chapter 353 It seems like the world is about to change.
"Your Majesty, we may depart now." Li Desheng tiptoed into the room and respectfully reported to Su Nuannuan.
Su Nuannuan nodded slightly and replied, "Okay." She stood up, straightened her skirt, and walked gracefully out of the room.
Outside the inn, a carriage had been waiting for some time. Su Nuannuan gracefully boarded the carriage, and the curtain fell, concealing her figure.
Throughout their journey, Su Nuannuan and her entourage mostly chose to stay at post stations. Firstly, Su Nuannuan was a member of an official family and had guards accompanying her, making it difficult for ordinary inns to accommodate her; secondly, post stations were well-equipped and provided a sense of security.
With the respectful farewell of the post station officials, Su Nuannuan and her entourage slowly set off. The wheels rolled and the horses' hooves clattered as the group gradually disappeared into the distance, vanishing at the end of the road.
Before leaving, Su Nuannuan did not forget the people at the post station. She asked Jinse to distribute the prepared red envelopes to the people at the post station, each containing ten taels of silver.
These ten taels of silver were nothing to Su Nuannuan, but for those who were stationed at the post station year-round, it was a considerable fortune, equivalent to their annual salary.
"Your Highness, is this alright?" Tingxue asked softly, holding a carefully adjusted silk flower in her hands and gently handing it to Su Nuannuan.
Su Nuannuan looked up, smiled, and nodded: "It's okay."
"Then I'll use needle and thread to shape it," Tingxue said softly, then picked up the needle and thread to shape the silk flower.
Su Nuannuan nodded and continued to focus on her work. Her fingers moved nimbly through the fabric, as if weaving a beautiful dream.
Because of the long journey, Su Nuannuan found sitting there rather boring. She tried reading, but quickly realized she couldn't concentrate and also got carsick. Just as she was feeling a bit helpless, her gaze suddenly fell on the scraps of cloth that Tingxue was tidying up.
Although the scraps of cloth were small, they were all different colors and looked very vibrant. Su Nuannuan had a sudden inspiration: "Perhaps these scraps of cloth can be used to make something?"
She observed carefully and realized that while the scraps of fabric might not be enough for other things, they should be more than enough for making hair accessories. So, she asked Tingxue and Jinse to cut the scraps into small pieces, preparing to make some hair accessories to pass the time.
This is why Tingxue was in Su Nuannuan's carriage. Before this, Tingxue had always ridden in the same carriage as Zhixiang.
After a while, Jinse put down the scissors in her hand, looked up and said, "Your Majesty, the scraps of cloth have been cut."
Hearing the sound, Su Nuannuan looked over and saw stacks of identical, neatly arranged small squares on the table, resembling a small, colorful hill. She nodded in satisfaction, gave Jinse a thumbs-up, and praised, "Well done!"
Then, she skillfully picked up a small square and folded it diagonally to form a triangle. Next, she folded one corner of the triangle inward to overlap it with another corner, then folded the remaining part inward as well, finally arranging the entire small square into the shape of a petal.
Jinse watched intently from the side and soon learned the skill. She quickly picked up a small square piece of cloth and, imitating the steps she had just followed, successfully folded a petal.
"Your Highness, you are truly amazing!" Jinse exclaimed. "How come I never thought of using these scraps of cloth to make hair ornaments?"
"What's so difficult about that?" The Empress smiled slightly. "It's just a pastime in your spare time."
Jinse continued folding the small squares of cloth, asking as she worked, "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly decide to make hair ornaments?"
Su Nuannuan stopped what she was doing and explained, "The journey is long, so we need to find something to do, otherwise it will be so boring. Besides, when we get to the border town, we will definitely have to meet some ladies and young women. It wouldn't be good to meet them empty-handed, so we need to prepare some gifts for them."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "But I don't know them, so it wouldn't be appropriate to give them overly expensive gifts. After thinking it over, I think it would be more suitable to give them some hair ornaments. Although these hair ornaments are made of scraps of cloth, they still have several pearls on them, so they are worth something."
Upon hearing this, Jinse and Tingxue both looked at the pearls on the finished hair ornaments, exchanged a smile, and shook their heads.
“Your Majesty is right,” Jinse said with a smile. “No matter what, they will definitely accept anything bestowed by Your Majesty with joy.”
"Whether you're happy or not, I don't know, and I don't care. In short, don't even think about getting any advantage from me. My money is for Jianping's dowry and for Jingcheng to marry his princess. Every penny has a specific purpose, so how can it be squandered!"
Just then, a cool breeze blew by, gently stirring the curtains on the car window. As if given a life of its own, the curtains began to sway slowly, eventually being blown open completely.
Seeing this, Jinse quickly reached out to straighten the curtains. Her movements were swift and gentle. After straightening the curtains, Jinse breathed a slight sigh of relief, then glanced casually out the car window.
"Your Majesty, it seems the weather is about to change," Jinse suddenly said, her voice revealing a hint of worry.
Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan's expression changed slightly, and she quickly instructed, "Li Desheng, go and ask Commander Wu if there is a place nearby where we can take shelter from the rain?"
"Yes," Li Desheng replied, then called out loudly for Commander Wu.
However, before Li Desheng could even call out, Commander Wu had already driven his horse to the side of the carriage.
"Your Highness, I know of a place where one can take shelter from the rain, but it is located off the main road, and I cannot confirm whether the temple still exists," Commander Wu reported respectfully to Su Nuannuan in the carriage, bowing as he rode on horseback.
"Li Desheng, follow Commander Wu." Su Nuannuan instructed Li Desheng, who was driving the carriage outside, after hearing this.
"Your Majesty, we need to speed things up; the humidity in the air has increased significantly," Jinse said to Su Nuannuan with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan quickly lifted the car curtain and looked outside. Sure enough, although the sky outside was still clear and the sun was shining brightly, she could feel a faint dampness in the air.
Su Nuannuan's heart tightened. She knew Jinse was right; the dampness meant rain was likely coming soon. She couldn't help but worry, as rain would cause many inconveniences to their journey.
Li Desheng seemed to have noticed this as well. Without waiting for Su Nuannuan to give any further instructions, he shouted loudly to Su Nuannuan in the carriage, "Your Majesty, please sit tight."
Before he finished speaking, Li Desheng swung his arm, and the whip in his hand cracked crisply in the air. With this sound, the carriage's speed increased significantly, and at the same time, due to the sudden increase in speed, the carriage began to shake violently.