It took them about half a day to carefully cross the edge of the seemingly endless forest and continue northward. As darkness fell, Zhang Yu and Ahao found a cave abandoned by wild animals, which they could spend the night in.
After hiking with Zhang Yu for most of the day, Ahao developed blisters on her feet, which hurt terribly, but she didn't complain for fear of wasting time. She had already spent half the day wearing wet clothes, and taking care of Zhang Yu at night had prevented her from getting a proper rest. Then she went out with Zhang Yu, and after this long day of hiking... by the time they found the cave, her body, which had been holding on for so long, could no longer take it.
The moment she fell straight toward Zhang Yu's back out of her control, even though Zhang Yu realized in advance and turned around to catch her, Ahao didn't even have time to feel relieved before she fainted again.
Perhaps it was because the night was too cold and Song Shuhao was too exhausted, even though a fire had been lit, her hands and feet were still icy cold. Zhang Yu held her for a while before she felt a little better. Seeing that this was helpful, Zhang Yu continued to hold her like this, worried that she might have caught a cold.
Despite staying up until late into the night, her symptoms worsened. There was no water nearby, and Zhang Yu tried to help Ah Hao lower her temperature by making the fire burn brighter so she could sweat it out, but to little avail. Zhang Yu then decided to carry Ah Hao to find water as dawn approached. However, before he could act, he and Song Shuhao were found first.
Ling Xiao and another young imperial physician, each carrying a medicine chest, followed the search team, just in case they found someone who was too badly injured. Now that they had finally found her, Ling Xiao stepped out of the group and rushed to A-Hao to check on her condition.
Zhao Jian stood beside Prince Ning, looking at Song Shuhao lying quietly on the ground, but he couldn't go forward and had to look away, pretending not to care. It was because he had been too hasty that she had been forced to this point.
He sent another imperial physician to check on Song Shuhao's condition, then followed Zhang Yu out of the cave, along with the others who had gone in. Zhao Jian didn't look at Zhang Yu, nor did he want to know how he and Ahao had been alone together, or what had happened during that time.
None of that matters; he doesn't care. Nothing is more painful than losing Song Shuhao. Song Shuhao's safety is more important than anything else.
·
Ling Xiao checked on A-Hao's condition, took out some pills he had prepared in advance from his medicine box, and forced her to swallow them. It was fortunate that there were almost no major external injuries; anything else would have to wait until they got back.
After a brief diagnosis, Prince Ning came in and carried Ahao out of the cave. She was still unconscious, and even if she woke up, she wouldn't be able to continue the journey. Although horses were prepared, they were left some distance away; this was the only option for this part of the journey.
During the journey, A-Hao groggily woke up and found herself being carried by Prince Ning. With a splitting headache and remembering that she had collapsed, she didn't want to cause any more trouble and remained quiet and unassuming. Later, when Ling Xiao rode alone, A-Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After meeting with Prince Ning and his entourage, the return journey was much faster and easier. Zhang Yu and Song Shuhao's safe return caused a slight stir in the camp. Ahao was taken directly back to her tent, where Ling Xiao was still responsible for checking on her condition.
Ling Xiao wrote out a prescription and asked a palace maid to fetch and prepare the medicine. He then called another palace maid to bring in hot water. After giving A-Hao a quick wash, Ling Xiao used a diluted liquor to wipe her down, hoping to quickly lower her body temperature.
The blisters on Ahao's feet had broken and were somewhat ulcerated. When Lingxiao helped her take off her deerskin boots, he accidentally pulled at the wound, causing her to wince in pain and gasp. After helping Ahao change into clean clothes, Lingxiao then treated the problem on her feet.
Ling Xiao had seen many more horrific wounds, but she remained calm as she washed the blood off A-Hao's feet and applied ointment. She didn't stop until she finished even that. Sitting beside the small couch, she smiled and said to A-Hao, "Congratulations, Aunt Song, on surviving such a calamity. Whether you'll have good fortune later is still unknown, but for now, things are good."
Although her head was still spinning, Ah Hao politely thanked Ling Xiao for doing these things for her, knowing that he meant her no harm. Thinking about Ling Xiao's words more carefully, it seemed more like a reminder to be more careful in the future, so Ah Hao said, "No matter what happens, since we're alive, we still have to keep going."
Ling Xiao understood the hidden meaning in A-Hao's words, and smiled again. He told her that as long as she rested well and didn't overthink things, her recovery was the most important thing. A-Hao nodded repeatedly, thanking him each time.
·
Besides Prince Ning and his group, there were undoubtedly others who had gone out separately to search for Zhang Yu and Song Shuhao. Although Prince Ning and his group had found them, it would take time for the message to reach the others, so the others who had gone out had not yet returned. Lü Chuan stayed behind to guard the camp, and when Zhang Yu returned, he served him.
After the imperial physicians treated Zhang Yu's injuries, they were dismissed. At this point, Princess Zhang Jin and Princess Zhang Xin were able to enter the tent to take a good look at him.
Facing Zhang Yu again, Zhang Xin felt nothing but guilt and fear. No matter how Xia Mingzhe comforted her, saying it wasn't her fault, she knew she bore some responsibility for Ahao's accident. She had caused trouble again, failing to guarantee Ahao's safety as promised to her elder brother... She couldn't face herself with a clear conscience.
Zhang Yu wasn't paying attention to Zhang Xin at the moment, and seeing her cowering timidly behind her elder sister, he didn't say anything. He didn't really blame her, but it wasn't a bad thing that Zhang Xin was able to reflect on her own actions.
"I am fine, you need not worry anymore." After talking with Zhang Jin for a while, Zhang Yu said this again.
Zhang Jin immediately understood, knowing that he had other matters to attend to, and said, "Your Majesty, please rest well. A-Xin and I will not disturb you any longer." After Zhang Yu nodded, she left with Zhang Xin.
Zhang Xin didn't dare say a word during that time, and when she came out, she was completely dejected. Zhang Jin found it amusing and reached out to pat her forehead, "Look at you, it's good that you're alright, why are you acting like you're half-dead? Who would like that?"
Zhang Xin glanced at her elder sister with a bitter look, but ignored her sarcasm. Instead, she nodded and said, "I'll go check on A-Hao." With that, she headed towards A-Hao's tent.
Hearing this, Zhang Jin reached out and grabbed her. Zhang Xin turned her head in confusion, and Zhang Jin said, "Ah Hao doesn't look too good. Little Doctor might still be busy right now. If you go, you won't be able to help. Wouldn't that just be getting in the way?" Seeing the hesitation on Zhang Xin's face, Zhang Jin added, "Go back first. It's not too late to go see Ah Hao later."
Zhang Xin didn't want to get in anyone's way, so she listened to Zhang Jin and let her lead her, no longer insisting on going to Ahao's place.
Chapter 30 Exploration
Ling Xiao stayed with Ahao for a while before returning to rest. She hadn't slept all night and couldn't stay awake any longer. A maidservant brought over the medicine, and Ahao had just finished drinking it when someone entered the tent. She put down the porcelain bowl and looked up; the person was none other than Princess Zhang Jin.
"Just lie down and don't move around."
Seeing Song Shuhao struggling to get down and bow to her, and not having the habit of abusing people, Zhang Jin spoke first to stop her. There were two other palace maids inside; Zhang Jin glanced at them, and they both tactfully withdrew.
Because of Empress Dowager Feng, Zhang Jin and Song Shuhao were acquainted, though not nearly as close as Zhang Xin and Song Shuhao were. They didn't usually have much to talk about. Therefore, Ahao was quite surprised that Zhang Jin had taken the initiative to come to her.
Having thanked the Princess for her kindness, Ah Hao no longer insisted on getting down, but instead of lying down, she sat up. Zhang Jin walked to the small couch, first finding a seat for herself and settling in, then slowly glancing at Song Shuhao, and couldn't help but smile.
"Don't be so nervous, I just came to see you." That's what she said, but Zhang Jin deliberately told Zhang Xin to come later, and that she had gone ahead of time, so it couldn't have been just to see her. Nevertheless, Zhang Jin still asked A-Hao some questions about her health.
Zhang Jin would ask a question, and A-Hao would answer with a similar response, all very politely. However, such conversations were inevitably boring and uninteresting, which was not what Zhang Jin wanted to know. After going around in circles for a while, Zhang Jin stopped talking, stared at Song Shuhao, and finally asked, "What exactly happened between you and His Majesty?"
Even though Zhang Jin tried her best to control her tone, Ahao still sensed something was off from her probing. Zhang Yu had informed Ahao beforehand that he wouldn't say anything unnecessary. Ahao thought that this was exactly the kind of situation he was referring to.
If she doesn't reveal what happened during her disappearance, most people will likely never know. Even the eldest princess might not be able to get anything out of His Majesty the Emperor—unless His Majesty has no intention of speaking.
After pondering for a moment, Ahao simply told Zhang Jin, "Your Highness, I don't know either. When I woke up, I didn't know where I was; I just barely escaped with my life..."
This was clearly not the answer Zhang Jin wanted to hear, and even though Ahao didn't seem to be giving a perfunctory answer, she knew the truth was far from it. Just as Ahao thought, Zhang Jin had only turned her attention to her because she couldn't get any information from Zhang Yu about their experience after falling off the cliff.
Understanding that this was likely the Emperor's intention, Zhang Jin didn't dwell on the matter further, nor did she use any threats or inducements against Ahao. She simply remained silent for a while before asking Ahao again, "Have you really not done anything with His Majesty these past few days?"
A lone man and woman in the middle of nowhere, *, for several days... Zhang Jin thought, if there was nothing between them, it would be too... difficult to control oneself? It's not that she's indecent; anyone else would naturally have the same opinion.
Although Zhang Jin's words didn't sound like a joke, what Ah Hao remembered for a moment wasn't any of the moments she had spent with Zhang Yu in the past few days, but rather the night she bumped into the Eldest Princess at the palace... The Eldest Princess was naturally open-minded, or perhaps she didn't care much about such things.
Ah Hao thought to herself, but solemnly shook her head at Zhang Jin and said, "This servant truly has nothing between me and His Majesty."
On this matter, Zhang Jin believed her. It was precisely because she believed her that this answer made even the eldest princess, Zhang Jin, gasp in surprise.
Hmm... I actually managed to hold back.
·
When Prince Ning came out of Zhang Yu's tent to check on Ahao, Ahao was already asleep. He didn't disturb her and went to find Ling Xiao, only to find that Ling Xiao was also resting. He had no choice but to give up and go about his own business.