Jiang Yihan pressed one knee against his chest, his shirt stained with grass and dust: "Still laughing?" His bony hands grabbed the collar and pressed it into the gravel. The rough stone particles mixed with blood foam rubbed red marks on Yao Zhe's straight nose.
The onlookers retreated, their necks dwindling. A few timid ones lifted the corners of their robes and slipped toward the moon-shaped door. Ye Zhe's parrot, feathers puffed, burrowed into his clothes, scattering sunflower seeds all over the floor.
"Jiang Yihuan!" Yao Zhe struggled to expose half of his face, which was covered in sand. "Are you a jerk?"
Bai Linxi came trotting over, her skirt lifted, the pearl hairpins on her temples trembling. "Brother Yihuan..." Before she finished speaking, she stopped abruptly, her slender fingers grasping the apricot-colored shawl. "I...I didn't say anything just now!"
"Childish." Jiang Yihuan shook off Yao Zhe and stood up, his dark combat boots treading over the messy ground. His cheekbone was still swollen, yet he walked with the gait of a dragon or a tiger, resembling an Asura wearing half a gilded mask.
Jiang Songyi lowered her eyes, sipping her cold tea, when she heard footsteps stop three feet from the stone table. Su Sheng was whispering in Xia Yong's ear, a tangle of gold-embroidered cloud patterns and silver-threaded bamboo leaves.
"Why are you holding me?" Jiang Yihan's voice was as rough as gravel, and his Adam's apple was still stained with hot sweat from the fight.
The crumbs of walnut biscuits on the stone table swirled in the wind. Jiang Songyi tapped the sandalwood box containing the banknotes with her fingertips. "Yao Zhe's jade pendant is an ancient jade from the previous dynasty." She raised her eyes, her eyes glancing over his swollen cheekbone. "Your sword tassel is adorned with a pearl from the East China Sea."
Xia Yong chuckled, and the jade token jingled into the pile of prizes: "Is the county lady here to pick up the spoils?"
Su Sheng was rummaging through the sandalwood box counting banknotes when he suddenly caught sight of the empty hilt of Jiang Yihuan's sword at his waist. The satin tassel was indeed missing. Bai Linxi twisted her handkerchief, hesitant to speak. Broken plum blossoms mixed with sand clung to the edges of her embroidered shoes.
Jiang Yihuan's hand, reaching for his waist, froze, and the tips of his ears flushed suspiciously. Yao Zhe limped over, his face stained with a smile that looked like he was asking for a beating: "Brother Jiang, could it be that the sword tassel is... Ouch!" Before he could finish his words, he was elbowed in the stomach.
Jiang Songyi closed the sandalwood box's copper clasp. The crisp sound of metal clashing startled Ye Zhe's parrot. The green-haired beast flapped its wings and flew over everyone's heads, leaving behind a series of noisy cries of "Beat! Beat!" that mixed with Su Sheng's exasperated stamping, and startled the half-opened crabapple buds from the tree.
Jiang Yihuan's expression was grim as he glanced at Xia Yong, the Prince of Feng, who was counting a bulging pile of silver with his head bent down. He strode over and reached out to flip through the pile of glittering spoils in front of Xia Yong.
"Prince Feng, you must have made a lot of money this time, right?" Jiang Yihan's voice was cold.
Without even raising his head, Xia Yong answered casually, "Of course, I make much more money than cockfighting and cricket fighting... Wait, what's that sound?" He suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly looked up.
Jiang Yihan's face, scarred but still stern and intimidating, was staring down at him condescendingly.
Xia Yong shuddered with fear and subconsciously hugged the silver in his robe pocket tighter. He forced a dry smile on his face: "Jiang, Third Young Master Jiang? Why are you here? Don't you want to fight anymore?"
Jiang Yihan's eyes became even colder, and he repeated slowly: "Cockfighting? Cricket fighting?" His tone seemed to be saying, "Try saying it again."
Xia Yong felt a chill on his back and laughed dryly, "Hahaha, misunderstanding, misunderstanding! You must have heard it wrong! How dare I compare you to those things!"
The corners of Jiang Yihuan's mouth curled up slightly without any warmth: "Do you think I'm deaf?"
Xia Yong's forehead was covered with sweat, and he tried to make amends: "Then I... take back what I said?" he asked cautiously.
Jiang Yihuan stared at him and coldly spat out four words: "Spilt water cannot be undone."
Xia Yong was speechless for a moment, groaning inwardly. Bai Linxi had just said this to you, but you didn't act like this! This discrepancy in treatment was too obvious! Looking at Jiang Yihuan's face, which looked ready to attack at any moment, and thinking about Yao Zhe's "treatment" just now, Xia Yong was quick-witted and quickly stuffed the silver and banknotes in his pocket into the hands of Jiang Songyi next to him.
"County Lady Jiaqing! Let's share the money! Come on, the lion's share is yours! Take it!" As he spoke, he hid behind Jiang Songyi in a flash, moving as fast as a frightened rabbit.
"Huh?" Jiang Songyi was caught off guard as a heavy pile of banknotes and loose change was suddenly thrust into her arms. Embracing this unexpected fortune, she looked up at Jiang Yihuan's still-stoic face. Just as she was about to raise an eyebrow and offer a sarcastic remark, Jiang Yihuan simply gave her a deep look—more precisely, a glance at the pile of money in her arms—and said nothing. He turned, swiftly mounted his horse, and rode away.
Forget it, considering that the money eventually went into Jiang Songyi's hands (which to some extent also supported him?), I won't bother with the coward Prince Feng. Jiang Yihuan thought so in his heart.
Jiang Songyi held the silver, looking puzzled: "?"
[Are you scared now? Are you leaving?]
[Who cares! Counting the money is more important!] She instantly put Jiang Yihuan out of her mind and happily lowered her head to count the unexpected money in her arms.
Xia Yong, who was hiding behind her, finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had escaped a disaster.
…
Xia Miao's team finally arrived at the outskirts of Mount Li. Everyone dismounted and began looking for a suitable place to set up camp. They would spend the next two weeks here.
Jiang Songyi and Bai Linxi naturally teamed up together. Bai Linxi, having lived in Saibei for years, had extensive wilderness experience, so pitching a tent was a piece of cake for her. She was so skillful that she didn't need any help from the guards. In no time, she had her and Jiang Songyi's tents securely set up.
Jiang Songyi wasn't idle either. She first went to the edge of the woods and fed some hay to the horses tied there. Then, carrying a small cloth bag, she carefully sprinkled a special powder around the tent to repel the annoying insects and snakes in the forest.
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