117 Arrival at Lingnan County
â—Ž "Is this considered a serious injury?!"â—Ž
That's a wolf!
Its black and gray fur was extremely smooth, and there seemed to be a tuft of white hair on its forehead. Its eyes were dark and terrifying. When it met Ye Yunzhao's eyes, it suddenly opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, followed by a wolf howl that echoed in the mountains and forests.
Ye Yunzhao's hands were still tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, which contained golden wild oranges. If she remembered correctly, wolves were pack animals. Thinking of this, a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her back, and she felt extremely uneasy.
She didn't dare turn around and run. Her eyes were still fixed on it, but her feet didn't stop moving. She slowly and tentatively retreated.
At first, it was fine. After howling to the sky, the wolf lay on the ground gently, and it didn't seem to be trying to attack her.
But Ye Yunzhao didn't dare to gamble. The wolves in the deep mountains and old forests might have their own way of hunting. Suddenly, his right foot stepped on a thin branch, and a strange noise was heard between the man and the wolf.
The black wolf's ears twitched, and a wisp of black and gray hair at the tip of the ear twitched as well. It immediately stood up, as if it realized that she wanted to escape, and took a few steps forward calmly.
Ye Yunzhao didn't know if he was frightened silly, but he could see some surprise on the wolf's face.
It moved forward, she moved backward.
The black wolf bared its teeth at her threateningly, its eyes slightly narrowed, and a sharp murderous aura followed.
She suddenly fell to the ground, and the wild orange she was protecting tightly rolled all over the ground. She closed her eyes as if she was going to die, but her right hand was tightly grasping a stone, waiting for it to move forward again so that she could raise her hand to fight back.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded: "Xiao Hei, what are you yelling about? Look carefully..."
The voice suddenly paused, and asked in surprise: "County Magistrate Ye?"
Ye Yunzhao suddenly looked up and saw Chen Yuechuan, who was stroking the black wolf not far away.
Before she could speak, Chen Yuechuan hurriedly asked, "Isn't my brother with you?"
"He's in the cave." She raised her hand and pointed, asking in disbelief, "Is this wolf yours?"
"Yeah." Chen Yuechuan rubbed Xiao Hei's neck in admiration, "Don't scare me next time. I'll give you more meat when we get home."
Ye Yunzhao hurriedly picked up the wild oranges scattered on the ground. Even if Xiao Hei didn't bite, she didn't dare to get too close to it and instinctively kept a distance from it.
Xiao Hei, on the contrary, took silent steps, shaking his shiny and slippery fur as he chased her. She didn't intend to look back, but was startled by Xiao Hei who was so close to her. She couldn't help but screamed, "Ah——"
"Xiao Hei, come back and stop messing around." Chen Yuechuan saw how scared she was and quickly explained, "Don't be afraid, County Magistrate Ye. Xiao Hei is very well behaved and won't bite anyone. It must be because you have Jingshan's scent on you, so it came close to you. It's nothing serious."
After being scolded, Xiao Hei walked back unwillingly. He shook his tail in a reserved manner and had to return to his side.
Unlike Chen Jingshan's always tense and indifferent expression, Chen Yuechuan has a rather forthright personality, perhaps because he came from a military background. His unconcerned personality can be seen in his words and actions.
Seeing her carrying a large number of wild oranges, Chen Yuechuan laughed and said, "How could he be so reckless? He was resting in the cave, leaving you, a weak woman, to look for fruit. Don't worry, County Magistrate Ye. When I see him later, I will definitely help you deal with that brat."
Ye Yunzhao couldn't laugh. He sighed and told the truth hesitantly: "He was injured in order to save me..."
I thought I would be scolded, but the expected situation did not happen. Instead, he stood there laughing: "Hahahahaha, what did you say? Injured? That's too embarrassing, hahahaha..."
Seeing this, she was stunned and looked at Chen Yuechuan strangely, thinking: Are you two really brothers?
Naturally, she couldn't say these words out loud. She said tactfully, "It's my fault, actually. His injury wasn't a minor one. He's your brother after all. Why... is this happening?"
Chen Yuechuan spread his hands, still smiling heartily, and nodded towards the wild tangerines in her arms: "He still has an appetite for wild tangerines, how serious can his injury be? Where is the cave? I'll go take a look."
This was true. Even his own brother was like this, so Ye Yunzhao, an outsider, had no right to comment. She recalled what she had heard before and asked hurriedly, "I heard that there was a heavy rain in Yuezhou two days ago, and someone was drowned?"
When he mentioned this, the smile disappeared from his face and his expression became a little serious: "He didn't die, but he was seriously injured."
She continued to ask, "Is he the servant of Ruyi Tower? Or the boatman at the dock?"
"I only heard it was a man, but I'm not sure who he was." Chen Yuechuan asked, "How did you know?"
Ye Yunzhao told him clearly what he had heard at the Beijing dock, including why the two of them only went as far as Liangzhou.
Chen Yuechuan understood: "I guessed you would sit here. Liangzhou is slightly higher than Yuezhou. The heavy rains every year don't have a big impact on Liangzhou's shipping. Plus, taking the mountain road back to Yuezhou is a shortcut."
She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "So you came here specifically to pick us up?"
He didn't expect Ye Yunzhao to react so quickly. He raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling very satisfied with this future brother-in-law. She was very smart, which happened to complement Chen Jingshan's stupidity. "That's right."
Although Ye Yunzhao didn't know what he was thinking, she changed her impression of him. She was still in Liangzhou, and she met him here. She thought that he must have gone out last night in the rain. The mountain road was difficult, but he managed to get here. It seemed that the relationship between the two brothers was not as bad as she had guessed.
The two men and the wolf walked towards the cave one in front and the other behind. When they arrived at the cave, Chen Jingshan had already extinguished the fire and even packed his bags. He was just waiting for Ye Yunzhao to come back and persuade her to go home.
Whoever she thought of would appear. She lifted the vines and came in. Chen Jingshan immediately stood up and said softly, "A Zhao, let's go back..."
Before she finished her words and the vines fell, another person came in from behind her. He saw who it was and couldn't help but frowned: "Brother? Why are you here!?"
"If I don't come, can you still go back alive?" Chen Yuechuan walked in, looking left and right. It was an ordinary cave, an ordinary fire, and a look of disappointment flashed between his eyebrows. "I heard from County Magistrate Ye that you were injured, seriously injured. Let me take a look."
He cast his gaze back at Chen Jingshan, who was standing upright. Aside from his clothes being a little torn and his face looking a little pale, he still had the strength to stand and talk. He didn't look seriously injured at all. Chen Yuechuan circled around him and discovered a wound on his back that was a palm's length, but only two fingers wide. It was covered with medicine powder. He smacked his lips and said teasingly, "Is this a serious injury?"
Ye Yunzhao was shocked: "Isn't this considered a serious injury?"
"This is just a minor injury. You don't know, I thought..."
Chen Jingshan was speechless and choked, but he spoke first, taking over his words: "You don't know, when I was on the battlefield, the enemy swung a big knife at me, almost cutting off my arm. The bone was exposed, which is called a serious injury. The military doctor poured a bottle of strong liquor, and I didn't say a word. Of course, I killed the man who swung the knife, so it can be considered a military achievement."
He changed his tone and rolled his eyes inwardly: "Brother, you have said this so many times, I have memorized it..."
"Well." Chen Yuechuan patted his shoulder heavily and said proudly, "Not bad, not bad."
Chen Jingshan was already weak, and now he was hit hard by him, and he couldn't help groaning.
Seeing this, Ye Yunzhao quickly stepped forward, supported his arm, and cast his eyes on Chen Yuechuan. Compared to him, Chen Jingshan's injuries were indeed not serious, but - who could compare to such a strong and brave man...
"Indeed, it's brave," she said, winking at him, signaling him to move his hand away.
Before Chen Yuechuan moved away, he squeezed her hard, muttering to himself, "I haven't settled the score with you for that sneak attack on me last time. For County Magistrate Ye's sake, I'll let this matter go."
"A sneak attack?" Ye Yunzhao looked at the silent Chen Jingshan, somewhat surprised.
The last incident was related to bandits, and he evaded the question by saying, "It's just a trivial matter at home."
Then, after her repeated confirmation, the Chen brothers made a solemn vow, and the three of them and the wolf set out on their journey home.
*
After the rain, the sky cleared up and a faint rainbow hung in the sky. The soil in the mountains was washed away by the rain, and there was a lot of silt in the depressions along the way. The mud on Ye Yunzhao's shoes became thicker and thicker, and he had to rub the mud on the tree trunks from time to time. However, with Chen Yuechuan's care, the journey was relatively smooth. When they reached the back mountain of Lingnan County, the three men and the wolf parted ways.
Ye Yunzhao had a bundle hanging in his arms, his clothes and shoes were covered in mud, his previously neat hair was now a little disheveled, and he looked conservative and aged.
"County Magistrate Ye?" someone asked tentatively.
She looked in the direction of the voice and met Aunt Hu's eyes at the butcher's shop. She smiled and replied, "Aunt Hu, it's me. How's business been while I've been away?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Aunt Hu heard that she had personally gone to the capital for the people. It rained heavily a few days ago, and she was worried every day about how she would come back. Now she saw it with her own eyes and felt relieved.
She quickly cut a piece of pig liver, selected seven or eight large bones, wrapped them in bamboo leaves, and stuffed them into Ye Yunzhao's arms: "County Magistrate Ye, you have worked hard this time. You have become thinner and darker. Take these things back to replenish your body..."
"No, no!" Ye Yunzhao tried to refute, "I'm already very happy that you care about me so much. I absolutely cannot accept these..."
Aunt Hu pretended to be angry: "County Magistrate Ye, I know you are honest. Look carefully, which of the pig liver and the pig bones is more valuable? Even if ordinary people buy some pig fat, I give it to them as a gift. Please accept it quickly. If you don't, it means you despise me!"
As a result, Ye Yunzhao had no choice but to accept it with embarrassment. He secretly kept it in mind and planned to find an opportunity to return it in the future. With a smile on his face, he said, "Okay! Okay! I'll take it."
After saying goodbye to her in a hurry, Ye Yunzhao hurried to the county government office. When he thought of the deed, he couldn't hide his joy in the corners of his eyes and brows. He happened to bump into Liu Mazi at the gate of the county government office.
"County Magistrate Ye!? You're back!?"
"I'm back." Then, she smiled and said, "That's just right. It saves me from having to look for you again. I'm really tired from this bumpy ride. Later, you can go to Xixiang and ask the village head to bring the people who grow and weave the hat mushrooms from Xixiang to the county government office. Don't send all of them, just one person from each grower. I have something important to tell you."
"Oh, right." Ye Yunzhao paused and called to Liu Mazi, who was about to leave, "I'll have to trouble you to go to Dongxiang again and call the Dongxiang village chief."
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