Because Yan Qing was oblivious, Ling Hua could do nothing about it and had to abandon the idea of enjoying a romantic encounter with him inside the carriage.
With boredom setting in, all they could do was sleep.
So there they lay side by side, simply sleeping inside the carriage.
The only consolation for Ling Hua was that Yan Qing no longer resisted holding her, allowing her to use his arm as a pillow while his hand wrapped around her waist. The two of them embraced and slept together.
The horse, well-trained by Yan Qing for half a day, was very obedient. Even without its master driving, it steadily pulled the carriage forward without any of the incidents that had occurred when Ling Hua was in charge—veering into ditches or plunging into snowbanks.
After trudging through heavy snow for over ten days, one day Ling Hua complained to Yan Qing, "Brother, my body is all stiff from lying down, and I'm starting to taste like bird from all the blandness."