On the wedding day, I was broken off, so I remarried his uncle

Because they were not planning to reach the county town at night, they avoided the hottest time of the day under the shade of trees before setting off.

As they moved further and further away from Nanyun County, the group saw fewer and fewer villages. It was not until they reached Nanyang County that Song Xile saw scattered villages again.

As the sun gradually set, the sky was dyed with a faint orange-red.

The few of them walked slowly across the territory of Nanyang County, and the surrounding scenery gradually changed from lush fields to sparse villages.

Song Xile gazed into the distance and saw patches of thatched and yellow mud houses dotted among the fields. They were simple and plain. If she hadn't been among them, she would have felt that the scene before her was like something in a landscape painting.

As a bodyguard, Qiao Da is familiar with this route.

Seeing that it was getting dark, he stepped forward and suggested to Chen Yunyou, "Mr. Chen, there is a village not far ahead. It is getting dark. I will go and ask if I can stay there for one night."

Chen Yunyou saw that Qiao Da was a strong man, and he was worried that his appearance would cause concerns to the villagers, so he thought for a while and said, "I will go with you."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Da nodded in agreement. The group stopped at the path leading into the village and walked towards the small mountain village.

A group of strangers came to the village entrance. The villagers had discovered them early in the morning. They stopped the two people who were going to stay overnight at the door and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"

Qiao Da bowed to the villagers and said, "We passed by here and it was getting late, so we wanted to stay overnight."

"We don't let you stay overnight in our village. You can go and take a look somewhere else."

Seeing that Qiao was a strong and unfamiliar man, the villagers did not want him to enter the village.

The weather is bad now, and there are so many women and children in the village. If this person is a bad guy, wouldn't he bring disaster to the village?

Chen Yunyou, who was standing at the back, took a step forward and was about to explain when he heard someone among the villagers calling the clan leader.

A gray-haired old man, led by a village boy, hurried to the entrance of the village.

Chen Yunyou bowed to the old man and said, "I'm sorry to come here. I'm from Nanyun County. I'm going to the city to participate in this year's provincial examination. It's getting late, so I want to stay here for a night. I wonder if it's convenient for you, old man? Don't worry, we'll pay for it."

When the villagers saw that Chen Yunyou was gentle and elegant, with an extraordinary demeanor, and that he was obviously a scholar, and heard that he wanted to pay, they were all tempted and looked at the village chief.

The old village chief looked Cheng Yunyou up and down and saw that he was indeed dressed like a scholar. He then pointed at Qiao Da, who was tall and strong and looked like someone who was not to be trifled with, and asked, "Who is this?"

Chen Yunyou smiled and explained, "My family was worried about me traveling alone, so they hired two escorts to escort me to the city."

After listening to Chen Yunyou's explanation, the old man's attitude softened a little, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Our Yangjia Village is simple, if you don't mind, please come in."

Chen Yun bowed right to express his gratitude, then asked General Qiao to call a few people at the intersection, and he followed the village chief into the village to find a place to live.

The houses in Yangjia Village were indeed simple. Except for the village chief's house which was slightly better and could accommodate a group of people, other families simply could not spare any extra houses to accommodate a group of people.

Village chief Yang led the guests into his home and asked his son Yang Dalang to clear out the children's rooms so that they could squeeze in with him at night to make room for the guests.

There was nothing in the room, so Yang Dalang asked his wife to take away the children's bedding and bring two clean beds.

Song Xile stopped the other party from offering them bedding, "Thank you, sister-in-law. We have prepared all these. I wonder where I can get some water here. I want to get some water to wash myself."

The middle-aged woman looked at Song Xile in surprise. She was a little stunned. After a moment, she came to her senses and looked at Song Xile in surprise, "You are a woman?"

The person in front of her was dressed in men's clothes. If she hadn't spoken, she would have thought that he was the servant of the young master just now.

Song Xile nodded and explained with a smile: "I am accompanying my husband to take the exam, so it will be more convenient for me to travel dressed like this!"

The woman smiled at Song Xile. So many strange men had moved into her house all of a sudden. Although the young man said that he was going to the provincial capital to take an exam, the woman still had some concerns in her heart. But when she saw that there was a woman in the group, she felt a little relieved.

"Madam, please wait a moment. I will bring you some water in a moment." After saying that, he walked away holding the mattress in his hand.

Not long after, a teenager brought Song Xile a basin of water.

Seeing this, Song Xile, who was packing, quickly stepped forward and took it from the girl, "Thank you, I'll do it."

Song Xile was stunned when he took the water. He saw that the water in the basin was visibly turbid.

I saw that the girl did not leave, but stood there awkwardly, rubbing the corner of her clothes, looking very nervous.

Seeing that the other person was thin and small and very shy, Song Xile took a few cakes from the table and handed them over, "Come on, don't be nervous, sister will treat you to some cakes."

The girl blinked her big eyes, took a look at the pastry handed over by Song Xile, and couldn't help swallowing her saliva. She looked very eager, but did not immediately reach out to take it.

Song Xile reached out, held her slightly rough little hand, and placed a few pieces of cake in her palm, "Don't be afraid, take them and eat them." Then he rubbed the girl's slightly yellow hair soothingly.

The girl then smiled and thanked Song Xile, then ran out of the house with the cake in her hand like a happy bird. Song Xile could even hear the little girl talking excitedly to the woman.

"Mother, the lady in the house gave me some cakes, please try them."

"Mom won't eat it, so you eat it yourself."

"Then I'll eat one piece, and give the rest to the brother who's queuing for water..."

Song Xile's originally heavy mood eased a little as she listened to these conversations. She set her gaze on the basin of turbid water again. The drought here seemed to be even more serious than theirs.

Yun You is now talking to the people in Yang Village. I don’t know if he can find out anything.

Song Xile calmed down for the moment and began to make the bed.

On the other hand, upon learning that Chen Yunyou came from Nanyun County, Village Chief Yang stopped him and asked about the drought in their county.

"It's the same in our area. The water level in the river has dried up. The fields near the river can still be saved by carrying water, but other remote villages are almost out of water. Fortunately, the county magistrate has organized people to find water and dig ponds, which should be able to alleviate some of the problems."

After hearing this, Village Chief Yang couldn't help but sigh, "It sounds like your county is better than ours. At least the county magistrate is willing to get things done, unlike us..."

Seeing that Village Chief Yang was so depressed, Chen Yunyou couldn't help but ask, "Nanyang County is still upstream of our county, and the water in the river should be more abundant than our county. Does the village chief mean that your drought is more serious than ours?"

He clearly heard what the county magistrate said. Nanyang County had intercepted the upstream water early in the morning. Logically, the situation in Nanyang County should be better than their county, right?

Chen Yunyou looked at the other party with clear eyes, waiting for his answer.