After Shen Yunxi and Wu Xuanye left Yizhou City, they were afraid that the government officials would catch up with them, so they did not take the official route.
They found a path, but it became more and more remote, and it was almost dark.
Shen Yunxi said: "We won't get lost, right?"
"Probably not. Although I don't know the road, I know the direction. We have been walking north, so we can't go wrong."
Wu Xuanye looked up at the sky and said, "It looks like it's going to rain today. We have to find a place to take shelter."
Shen Yunxi nodded, and the two of them quickened their pace, and finally saw a house before it got dark and rained.
They hurriedly knocked on the door.
The person who opened the door was a girl. Although she was dressed simply, her appearance was outstanding, like a piece of uncut jade.
Shen Yunxi said: "Girl, my brother and I passed by here and got lost. Is there any place nearby where we can stay?"
The girl said: "Qingping County is still some distance away from here. If you rush there, it will probably get dark.
If you two don't mind it, why not just stay at my house for one night."
Shen Yunxi was very grateful, thanked her hurriedly, and then followed the girl into her home.
Although the yard is dilapidated, it is kept very clean.
There was nothing valuable in the room, but the most eye-catching thing was the piece of embroidery on the table, which was very exquisite.
Shen Yunxi asked: "Did you embroider this, girl? This embroidery is really good."
The girl poured water for them and said with some embarrassment: "I can only do this to supplement the family income. Please have tea. The apartment is simple and there is nothing to entertain, so please bear with me."
"Girl, you are so kind. We are very grateful that you can take us brothers and sisters in."
Shen Yunxi took a sip of water from the table and asked, "I don't know what to call the girl? My name is Shen Yunxi, and this is my brother, called Shen Ye."
Wu Xuanye raised his eyebrows and glanced at Shen Yunxi, then drank tea in silence and listened to the conversation between the two girls.
The girl said: "My name is Chen Caihe."
She asked curiously: "I wonder where you two are going?"
Shen Yunxi replied: "My brother and I were going to Nanyue, but on the way our money was stolen, our greetings were lost, and we got lost.
Fortunately, Miss Chen took us in, otherwise my brother and I would have ended up sleeping in the wilderness."
Chen Caihe looked at them. Although the man did not speak, he looked at them less like brother and sister, and more like an eloping couple.
However, she didn't ask any more questions and just said, "You must be hungry. I'll get something to eat."
She got up and went out to prepare the meal.
As soon as they left, Wu Xuanye slowly put down his cup and said, "Brother? Shen Ye! You don't even blush when you act like this."
Shen Yunxi said: "In urgent matters, follow the authority. If you don't say that we are brothers and sisters, what should we say?"
Wu Xuanye said sternly: "I think the eloping couple looks more like each other."
The corners of Shen Yunxi's lips trembled, and her ears felt a little warm. She coughed lightly and said, "Miss Chen is such a good person. I didn't expect that there is such a beautiful girl in this remote and remote country."
As she said that, she sighed and said: "It's a pity that Brother Chu is not here, otherwise we could have made a match."
When Wu Xuanye heard the words "Brother Chu", he felt a little unhappy for no reason.
He said: "You do care about him, but your Brother Chu is not so lucky. This Miss Chen has a sweetheart."
Shen Yunxi looked surprised: "How do you know?"
Chen Caihe just announced his name, but said nothing.
Wu Xuanye pointed to a corner of the room and said, "Did you see it? There is a bookshelf there, and the books on it are must-reads for men to take the imperial examination.
And when we came in, there were men’s clothes hanging to dry in the yard, but we hadn’t had time to put them away.”