CHAPTER 1125: 1203: HANXUE PASS

She felt somewhat better, just as a series of muffled coughs emanated from the carriage.

Her heart was heavy with worry. She had thought she was well-prepared before setting off, not realizing that the expanse of the Great Northwest was mostly barren hills. Often enough, there were no villages or inns in sight.

The emergency medicines she brought along before setting out were almost used up.

Moreover, the weather had been bitterly cold in recent days, and with Shu Yu’s frail body, she had fallen ill and couldn’t get up, coughing with heart-wrenching intensity all day.

Shujun gently patted her shoulder, soothingly saying, "I’ve checked the map; after two more days, we’ll reach Hanxue Pass. Little Wu’s letter was intercepted by us midway, and luckily so; otherwise, we would have taken a lot of needless detours."

Dong Huiying stamped her foot again from the cold, "Let’s go, back to the carriage. At least inside, it can block some of the wind."

Two days later, Hanxue Pass.

A convoy reached this place in the heavy snow. It resembled more a gathering of villages than a city. Because of the cold and the thick snowfall, barely anyone could be seen on the streets.

"Cough, I’m fine," inside the carriage, Shu Yu half-lay in Dong Huiying’s arms. This time he truly suffered. Back when he traveled to Jiangnan with his wife, although he caught a few minor illnesses due to his antics like purposely sleeping on the floor and walking in the rain, he recovered quickly. But never had he fallen ill for so long as this time.

His constitution was genuinely weak, almost fragile. Ever since his chronic ailments were cured by his wife two years ago, this was his first time being so severely ill.

Dong Huiying put a heavy cloak on Shu Yu. Her eyes were a bit red. "We’ve arrived at Hanxue Pass. Once we’re settled in, Shujun and I will go to the pharmacy to get some medicine for you. Don’t worry; as long as you have the medicine, you’ll get better quickly."

Shu Yu wanted to say, actually, I’m really not worried, it’s just that his body feels uncomfortable from the illness, a bit weak. Compared to himself, it was his wife who was truly worn out, staying up with him through the nights all these days.

He lightly sighed, "Had I known it would be like this, I would have stayed at home and let big brother come with you." He meant it sincerely. He had dragged them down and caused his wife to worry for him. If it had been big brother, it wouldn’t have been like this. After all, unlike him, big brother wasn’t the weakest in the family.

Thinking this, he sighed again.

She glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking?"

At this moment, Shu Yu lifted the thick curtain of the carriage, and the cold wind instantly rushed in, the dry and cold air stimulating his nose and mouth, causing him to cough twice again.

Shujun quickly slipped into the carriage and then closed the curtain again. He frowned at Shu Yu and then, with an unhappy expression, said, "I checked the inn just now; recently, many outsiders have come to Hanxue Pass, and all the inns are full. I’ve asked Yi Ran to help find a residence. The owner is a widowed old lady; although the place is simple, there are many rooms, enough for all of us to stay."

Dong Huiying said, "That works too. In the Northwest, they also have kang beds, while most inns have wooden beds. In such cold weather, at most, they have a few braziers in the rooms, but it’s not as warm as a kang."

Shujun’s expression softened a bit, "Then let’s be off."

Not long after, the carriage stopped outside a large courtyard. Just from the courtyard, it was evident that in earlier years, the home’s owner had a thriving family, but now only the old lady remained, which was indeed lamentable.