"A broom star?"
The carriage driver exclaimed in unison.
Ajiu quickly pushed open the carriage door and glanced up at the sky.
Wow, it was too beautiful.
"One... two..." They streaked across the sky, leaving brilliant, long tails, making the twilight clouds near darkness pale in comparison.
"But I heard broom stars are unlucky," Eunuch Zhou muttered, his hands clasped in front of his abdomen. Then, realizing he had spoken incorrectly, he quickly added, "Bah, bah, bah."
"They say one broom star is the embodiment of a departed soul," the driver said.
Ajiu remembered the older generation always said that.
However, three, four, and then a sky full of broom stars streaked across the horizon, illuminating the sky with flickering brilliance. She only felt that these so-called unlucky broom stars were incredibly beautiful at this moment.
"I've never seen so many broom stars appear together. Will many people die?"
"With war raging everywhere, death is inevitable," Eunuch Zhou sighed.
In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, the broom stars in the sky were so dense they were overwhelming, their colorful lights illuminating the sky in various hues.
Ajiu was so stunned she couldn't speak. She lifted the curtain and gazed intently at the broom stars that fell from the sky only to vanish without a trace. In her entire life, she had never seen so many broom stars; they were truly breathtaking.
She wondered where they had fallen in the distant sky. If she could pick them up, would they still glow?
Upon arriving outside Nanming City, Ajiu realized the night had deepened completely. She had watched broom stars streak across the sky the entire way.
"It's already curfew. Who goes there?"
"This is Meng, the female physician from Hualan Medical Hall, personally awarded by His Highness. Open the city gate quickly!" Eunuch Zhou personally alighted to explain.
"So it's Meng, the fierce female physician from Hualan Medical Hall. Eunuch Zhou, my eyes were unobservant, please forgive me."
The city guard turned and shouted, "Open the city gate."
When Eunuch Zhou returned to the carriage, the refugees outside the city pressed forward with parched throats. Knowing they couldn't enter, they still crowded towards the city gate with a sliver of hope.
Ajiu heard screams.
"Let us into the city. There's war, and we have nowhere to go."
"I want to see the King of Nanming..."
"The King of Nanming won't abandon us. You're just bullies taking advantage of power. We don't believe the King of Nanming, knowing we are his scattered subjects, would ignore us."
"That's right!"
Ajiu couldn't help but frown. She couldn't understand why the King of Nanming would concern himself with refugees fleeing from Menghua City but not his own subjects.
Was it merely about usefulness? Ajiu shivered involuntarily.
"Miss Jiu must be accustomed to this. These refugees are truly bothersome," Eunuch Zhou seemed to notice the emotion on the girl's face.
The carriage had already entered the city, and the cries of despair were left far behind.
Hualan Medical Hall.
Ajiu alighted and bowed, "Thank you, Eunuch Zhou, for escorting me."
"You're too kind. Physician Meng has contributed to the military efforts. His Highness thinks highly of you. This old servant was merely following orders."
After speaking politely, Eunuch Zhou turned and boarded the carriage.
"Ajiu? You're back?"
Before she could even knock, Liu Cai'er opened the door. "I received news today that you were returning, and I've been waiting for you. And our mother, they say there's war over there..."
Ajiu's heart warmed. Just as she was about to speak, a little one below hugged Ajiu's leg. "Xiao Huhu, play with me! Mother said when Xiao Huhu comes back, she'd play with me."
Ajiu looked down at the little face, her heart melting. "Ah Yuan, Auntie will play with you."
"Don't cling to your auntie anymore. You've been tired for days. You saw the sky full of broom stars just now and you haven't had enough. Go to sleep quickly."
Liu Cai'er put on a fierce expression to scare Ah Yuan.
"Sister-in-law, you two also watched the broom stars half the night?" Ajiu bent down and playfully tickled Ah Yuan's little nose.
"Yes, so many broom stars are truly a once-in-a-millennium sight." Liu Cai'er also had a sore neck from watching.
"What are you two sisters-in-law talking about? Those aren't broom stars, they're meteor showers," Cai Lihua heard the commotion and brought over a bowl of hot congee.
"Meteor showers?" Ajiu and Liu Cai'er said in unison. What kind of shower is this? Not a drop of water.
"Shower?" Ajiu suddenly remembered Tuoba Yan mentioning that it also rained in his hometown... Ajiu seemed to recall something and turned back to her room, taking out that divorce agreement from the drawer.