Returning after a three-year escape from death, the tyrant has turned evil.

Chapter 130 So sweet
Song Yi felt that Jiang Lanye was too tired from talking about so many things today, so she simply agreed.

"I don't want to eat anything, let's go back."

Jiang Lanye glanced at her with some surprise, not expecting her to be so straightforward, and asked again:
"Are you really not going to shop anymore?"

Song Yi glanced at him. "I'm very sensible, okay? You're tired today. I didn't plan to have you come out with me anyway. Let's go back."

Jiang Lanye's heart stirred slightly, and he said in a low voice, "After the war is over, I'll take you out for a proper stroll."

Song Yi responded and said, "We've been traveling for ten days now. You said it would take fifteen days if we were late. Are we almost at Qingzhou?"

"It won't take more than fifteen days. After crossing the river tomorrow, we'll arrive in another day."

Song Yi let out a breath, looked at the many food stalls in the market, and said, "They have worked hard along the way. Now that we are almost in Qingzhou, they haven't eaten anything with any oil or fat. It's not easy to find a market, so I want to buy them some good food to take back with them."

Jiang Lanye gave her a deep look and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Song Yi, conscription for war is never mandatory. They chose this mission themselves. There is no precedent in history for emperors and imperial concubines to suffer. You may think it is unfair, but that is the fact. People are destined to have different experiences because of their different statuses.”

Song Yi responded, "I understand what you mean. They chose this situation themselves, and they will receive a large sum of money later, but it won't interfere with their current situation. I think they've had a hard journey, so I'm thinking..."

Jiang Lanye didn't say anything more, but simply reached out and patted her head.

He thought of his mother.

During that period, the Emperor favored a particular concubine and took her with him on his southern tours.

Throughout the journey, she adopted the airs of a concubine, looking down on the common people and soldiers, believing that as a concubine, she was born to be pampered and had no reason to pity or sympathize with others.

Therefore, after the southern tour, her father was disappointed with her actions and demoted her.

When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she gently told the Emperor that almost everyone in the harem shared the same idea.

People of different classes and statuses rarely have empathy for those in lower classes.

But Song Yi did it.

Even though she was harmed by Zuo Sheng and fell down the hillside, she still did not act rashly.

She deserves the title of Imperial Concubine.

"Okay, but with so many people, are you sure you can handle it all?"

"I'm willing to make one more trip."

Seeing her insistence, Jiang Lanye didn't say anything more and directly gave her the money bag. Watching her dart around the stalls like a sparrow, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his eye.

Jiang Lanye accompanied her on a second trip, bringing up all the food.

Jiang Lanye took the most, and while watching her, he would occasionally glance at the candied hawthorns on the side, but he didn't say anything and walked back with her first.

Upon returning to the mansion, the soldiers gathered in the halls and corridors, eating their dry rations with only a bowl of water.

"We're setting off tomorrow. I feel like I haven't had enough rest yet."

"Be content. If you had only listened to General Zuo's orders along the way, you would have been exhausted. If His Majesty hadn't brought the Imperial Concubine with him, and if the Imperial Concubine hadn't been so considerate of us and His Majesty hadn't listened to her, you would have collapsed from exhaustion before we even reached Qingzhou."

No sooner had they finished speaking than they heard a panting sound.

They quickly looked up and saw Song Yi carrying many things in her hands. She hurried over, placed them all on the table, and said breathlessly:

"We're setting off tomorrow. There's a market nearby, so Your Majesty and I went together to buy you some food. Get some rest tonight; you've all worked hard these past few days."

Everyone stood up, somewhat astonished.

"Your Highness, you don't need to do this."

Song Yi was a little tired, and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, you all go ahead and eat."

Seeing Song Yi being helped back by Jiang Lanye, everyone felt a mix of emotions.

Along the way, when Song Yi occasionally felt her strength waning, His Majesty would carry her on his back. She never troubled anyone in the slightest and was often considerate of them.

"I don't think the Imperial Concubine is as annoying as General Zuo thinks, is she?"

"Shh, stop talking, just eat."

Back in her room, Song Yi wiped the sweat from her brow, grabbed some clean clothes, and said, "I'm going to take a shower first." Jiang Lanye frowned and whispered, "Be careful to avoid the wound."

"I know."

Watching Song Yi walk away, Jiang Lanye called in Eunuch Cao.

"Your Majesty, what do you want?"

Jiang Lanye took out another piece of silver and whispered, "Go buy two strings of candied hawthorns."

Eunuch Cao was taken aback, and asked earnestly, "Your Majesty, would you like to eat candied hawthorns?"

Jiang Lanye slightly lifted her eyelids and looked at him indifferently.

Eunuch Cao trembled slightly and hurriedly said, "This servant will go right away!"

When Song Yi returned after taking a bath, she saw Jiang Lanye sitting upright at the table, with two strings of bright red candied hawthorns sitting quietly on it.

Her eyes lit up, and she walked over, asking excitedly:
"When did you buy it?"

Her hair was still damp, the ends were wet, and as she bent over, water droplets fell onto his neck.

Jiang Lanye saw her reach out to pick up the food, so he grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Dry your hair first."

Song Yi reluctantly looked away from the two strings of candied hawthorns.

Jiang Lanye stood behind her and carefully dried her hair.

"By the way, since we're crossing the river tomorrow, what will happen to our carriage?"

"Take us to the riverbank first, then the people from this mansion will take the carriage back. We'll leave it here for now."

Song Yi nodded, and finally couldn't resist picking up a skewer and stuffing the top candied hawthorn into her mouth.

Her cheek was bulging like a hamster's. After chewing for a while, she spat the pit into her palm.

It's coated with a layer of crystal-clear sugar, making it both crisp and sweet.

Seeing her eating so happily, Jiang Lanye couldn't help but move closer and ask softly, "Is it delicious?"

“Delicious, very sweet.”

"Give me one."

Song Yi had just taken a bite of one herself, and then handed the candied hawthorn to his mouth.

Jiang Lanye grabbed her wrist, moved her hand to the side, then leaned down and looked at the bright red hawthorn on her lips before taking a bite.

Song Yi was taken aback, then her cheeks instantly turned red.

"you"

Jiang Lanye reached out and wiped the sugar frosting from his lips, saying in a hoarse voice, "Indeed, Chapter 130 is so sweet."

She quickly stuffed the candied hawthorn into Jiang Lanye's hand, her words somewhat hesitant.

"Chapter 130 is so sweet, then you should eat more. What's the point of taking what's in my mouth?"

After much thought, I've decided to say it here.

The male and female leads' journey was originally scheduled to take ten to fifteen days, and at least so far the plot has not progressed beyond the initial tentative timeline.

The female lead's fall down the hillside was not her intention, nor was her recovery. Why would anyone blame her for holding them back instead of blaming Zuo Sheng for neglecting his duties and deliberately failing to save her? Even if the female lead hadn't been injured, they were supposed to rest there for two or three days after crossing the mountain overnight.

Furthermore, the male and female leads are an emperor and a concubine, so it's completely impossible for them to have the same experiences as the soldiers.

Throughout the entire journey, the female lead was carried by the male lead when she was tired, and had snacks brought from the palace when she was hungry; she never troubled the soldiers.

She's the one buying food, making straw sandals, and brewing ginger soup. She's completely shed the airs of a pampered imperial concubine. If, after all this, anyone still thinks the female lead is unkind or that her character is inconsistent, then I really don't know how to write this.
I'm saying this just to explain that some people want the male and female leads to be overly considerate of the soldiers and suffer the same hardships as them, while others want the male lead to maintain his aloof demeanor and not become approachable. These two extremes are pulling against each other, making it particularly difficult for me to put pen to paper and type.

Finally, I'd like to say that the plot and character settings were finalized before this book was published, and I will try my best to remain undisturbed and focus on writing.

Finally, I hope everyone is happy every day, and thank you for your support!

(End of this chapter)