Afewstepsaway,XieZhengstoodbesidethehorses,speakingwithoneofhissoldiers。HeglaowardthemwhenAyaosuddenlylaughed。
Suyuanlookedover。
“What?”
Ayaopoihim。
“GeneralSuhasntboughtanything。”
XieZhengraisedaneyebrow。
“Idontneedanything。”
Ayaoimmediatelyheldoutoneofthefruitsticks。
“Youshouldtryit。”
Thesoldierbesidehimlookedasthoughhewasstrugglingnottosmile。XiZhenglookedatthefruitthen,atAyaoandSuyuan。
Suyuanquicklyturnedaway。
“Dontlookatme。”
XieZhengpausedbeforetakingthefruitstick。
Ayaosmiledtriumphantly。
“There。Nowyourepartofthejourney。”
OneofthesoldiersquietlycoughedintohishandbeforeXieZhenggavehimalook。Suyuancouldntholdbackherlaughterthistime。Thesoundsurprisedevenherbecauseitfeltunfamiliar。Notbecauseshehadneverlaughedbefore,butbecauseshecouldnotrememberthelasttimeshehadlaughedwithoutsomethingpainfulwaitingbehindit。
Forthatafternoon,therewasnothingwaiting。Onlysunlight。Theytravelleduntiltheyreachedawidegrassymeadowbesideastream。Thehorseswereallowedtorestwhilethesoldierspreparedasimplemeal。Ayaoimmediatelyremovedhershoesandsteppedintotheshallowwater。
NannyZhangcalledafterher。
“Dontfall!”
“Iwont!”
Suyuansatbehtheshadeofatree,watgthem。Afterawhile,Ayaosplashedwatertowardher。Suyuanstaredatthedropletsonhersleeve。
Ayaofroze。
Slowly,shesmiled。
“Run。”
SuyuanstoodupwhileAyaotookoffrunningforseveralmoments,themeadowwasfilledwithlaughterasAyaofledaroundthetreeswhileSuyuanchasedherjustfarenoughtomakehernervous。Eventually,Suyuanstopped,slightlybreathlessandAyaoturnedaroundproudly。
“Iwon。”
Suyuanshookherhead。Frombehthetree,NannyZhanglaughedquietly,evenXieZheng,standingbesidethehorses,hadafaintsmileonhisface。Theafternoonpassedwithoutanythingremarkablehappening。Foronce,Suyuandidnotfeelasthoughshewaswaitingforsomethingterrible。Shesimplysatbehthewarmsun,listeningtothestreamandthevoicesofpeoplearoundher。
Thecapitalwasstillmanydaysaway,therewouldbequestionswaitingforherthere。Hermothershomeland,theemperor,theSufamilyandeverythingshehadleftunfinished。Butthosethingscouldwaitandfortoday,theroadeaceful。SoSuyuanallowedherselftoenjoyit。