A pure heart in a jade pot - Chapter 49
Knowing his intention, Ning Jin shook his head, gestured towards Mo Yan without saying a word, and indicated that he should cover the sleeping Mo Yan with a blanket.
Although somewhat unexpected, Wu Zichu still obeyed orders, gently draping the robe over Mo Yan. Zhan Zhao gently pulled it over her shoulders, then gave him a grateful glance.
"You should all rest too. Even if you can't sleep, taking a nap will be good," Wu Zichu said softly. "I'll keep watch."
Zhan Zhao nodded, but did not move. He simply closed his eyes to rest.
The rain poured down all night. Except for Mo Yan, everyone else was either restless or preoccupied, and almost all of them stayed up all night. Bai Yingyu was the most conflicted. She couldn't believe that such a cruel act could be committed by her own father. She had only vaguely known that Bai Baozhen was ordered to embezzle silver, but she always felt that her father was forced into this situation, that he must have had no other choice. She recalled her childhood; after serving as a county magistrate for three years, her father was promoted to sub-prefect, and the family seemed to have become much wealthier around that time. Two of her father's wives and concubines had entered the family then. She wondered if all of this was related to this incident. If not, were there many more terrifying things hidden in the darkness that she didn't know about?
The next morning, the group thanked the old couple again and, seeing their difficult circumstances, gave them some more silver before heading to the river.
The boat was still in the same place, and the boatman and his wife were busy repairing it. When they saw them, they apologized and explained that the mast had been damaged due to the strong winds and rain last night, and the boat had to be sailed back to Suzhou for major repairs, so it could no longer carry them on the way.
Unable to find any other boats nearby, they had no choice but to return to the thatched hut to inquire about the nearest dock. They were told that if they wanted to find a boat to set sail, they would have to go to Yangzhou.
Now, they have to walk more than ten miles of mountain road to the nearest town of Gua before they can hire a horse-drawn carriage to go to Yangzhou.
Wu Zichu protected Ning Jin as they walked ahead. Although Zhan Zhao was injured, he didn't want to slow everyone down, so he endured the pain and made sure not to lag behind. The others saw this. Ning Jin and Zichu were fine; they knew he was like this by nature, so they didn't say anything and silently slowed their pace. Mo Yan, on the other hand, simply took Zhan Zhao's bundle and sword and carried them for him herself.
Seeing this, Zhan Zhao was about to speak when Mo Yan frowned: "You don't trust me?"
"No," he said helplessly.
She then smiled sweetly and began to admire the giant sword as she walked.
Bai Yingyu, on the other hand, had never walked such a mountain path before. The furthest she ever went was to a temple to offer incense, and even then, she would travel by sedan chair. Now, after walking less than five li, she was already exhausted and seemed to be struggling even more than Zhan Zhao. But she was a stubborn person; after last night's events, she assumed everyone looked down on her. Despite her aching legs, she stubbornly persisted, refusing to utter a single word, and trudged along at the very back of the group.
Because it had just rained, the mountain path was muddy, wet, and slippery. Bai Yingyu, wearing embroidered shoes, slipped several times, only managing to steady herself by holding onto a nearby tree. At a small bend halfway up the mountain, she lost her footing again and hurriedly tried to grab a tree, but missed, and slid down the slope.
By the time the others noticed and tried to pull her back, it was too late. Fortunately, the slope was not steep, and Bai Yingyu landed at the bottom of the slope with only minor scratches and no other serious injuries.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Are you alright? Can you climb up?"
Mo Yan leaned forward and called down. Bai Yingyu was gritting her teeth and standing up, but before she could even stand properly, she cried out in pain and fell back to the ground. Seeing that she was not in any danger, the others were not so worried. After all, because of Bai Baozhen's actions, she was indeed not well-liked. "Could she have broken her leg?" Ning Jin frowned.
“Impossible. If her leg were broken, she would be screaming much louder,” Mo Yan shook her head. “It’s most likely a sprain.”
"You think she's like you? After all, she's a daughter of an official, so of course she speaks softly."
“When it really hurts, I guarantee she won’t remember that she’s a daughter of an official.”
How do you know she can't stand it?
"I can tell at a glance that you've never suffered!"
"..."
Seeing that the two of them were rambling on and on, Zhan Zhao interrupted them: "Let's go down and take a look first."
"I'll go down now." Wu Zichu handed the bundle to Mo Yan, then turned to Ning Jin with concern and said, "Your Highness, please be careful where you step."
"Why are you making such a fuss? Do you think I, your prince, am that useless?" Ning Jin said impatiently.
Wu Zichu smiled and leaped to the bottom of the slope. Mo Yan wasn't in a hurry. She took out her water pouch and handed it to Zhan Zhao. She then wanted to find a relatively clean place to rest. Just as she found a rock, she heard Wu Zichu call from the bottom of the slope: "Miss Mo, come down here for a moment."
"What's wrong with her?" Mo Yan called back.
Wu Zichu replied, "His foot is probably dislocated."
"Why don't we just reattach it for her?" Mo Yanqi asked, as she considered such a minor injury insignificant.
Zhan Zhao, standing to the side, already understood: "Miss Bai is, after all, a young lady, so it would be inconvenient for Brother Zichu."
Mo Yan resignedly put down her bundle and sword, shaking her head and sighing, "These daughters of officials are just so awkward. If I weren't a girl, would she still be waiting down there for the New Year?"
"It's a good thing you are," Zhan Zhao said with a smile.
Mo Yan shrugged and then lightly jumped down.
Wu Zichu turned his back, and Mo Yan half-squatted down to remove Bai Yingyu's shoes and socks. She slowly turned her around, then suddenly pushed her upwards...
Zhan Zhao and Ning Jin, on the slope, heard Bai Yingyu cry out in pain twice as loudly as before. Ning Jin clicked his tongue in surprise and turned to look at Zhan Zhao: "Why was there such a loud commotion?"
Zhan Zhao smiled wryly; this girl had no sense of restraint.
"Can you walk?" Mo Yan helped Bai Yingyu up and helped her try to move.
Although it still hurt a lot, Bai Yingyu bit her lower lip and forced herself to endure it: "...I can walk."
It seemed the method was correct. Mo Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "Then it's connected." She turned around to call Wu Zichu to take Bai Yingyu up with her, but found Wu Zichu peering into a mountain crevice not far away.
It was clear that there had originally been a lot of sand and stones piled up there, seemingly intentionally sealed off. However, due to the rain and wind, much of the sand and stones slid away, revealing the dark entrance to the hole.
"Could there be some treasure hidden inside?" Mo Yan leaned closer, her eyes sparkling.
Wu Zichu saw something flash nearby, so he leaned over to grab it. When he pulled his hand back, he was holding a pickaxe, which he handed to Mo Yan: "Here, baby!"
Mo Yan took the pickaxe, lightly tapped the rusted blade with her fingers, and said listlessly, "So it's a mine, abandoned for many years."
How did you know it was a mine shaft?
"You can tell just by looking at this pickaxe." The blade is so worn, with several chipped edges, that it's clearly been caused by frequently striking hard objects.
Wu Zichu narrowed his eyes slightly. Without the emperor's imperial decree, ordinary people were not allowed to mine privately, and here...
Mo Yan, feeling bored, was about to throw away the pickaxe when Wu Zichu caught it. The two of them then carried Bai Yingyu up the slope.