Chapter 72: Princess Xuan's Exposed
A dilapidated temple in the mountains.
Chi Ying stared at the nearly empty rice jar, her heart sinking lower and lower.
The dry rations in the carriage were for dealing with the weather and sleeping outdoors. Whenever they stopped to rest in a town, they would buy some rice and flour for emergencies. Little did they expect to be trapped in this vast mountain, and their remaining rations would not last much longer.
The coachman who went out to scout the way hadn't returned yet. Chi Ying thought for a moment and decided to go out and find him first.
Chi Ying asked Aunt Xue to watch the fire, "Mother, I'm going out to find a driver and scout the way to see if anyone lives nearby and try to find some food to bring back."
Having been trapped in the mountains for many days, Aunt Xue caught a cold and has been coughing ever since.
She knew that staying in the dilapidated temple was not a solution, so she could only nod and say, "It's cold outside, don't go too far, come back soon, if there's really no other way..." Before she finished speaking, she started coughing again.
"I'll be right back, Mother, don't worry."
Chi Ying patted her back, scooped up a bowl of porridge cooked with snow water, which was still steaming hot, and fed it to Aunt Xue. "You should stay here by the fire and not go out, so as not to catch a cold again."
Aunt Xue nodded, and Chi Ying got up and left.
The snow had stopped, but the mountains and fields were still a vast expanse of white and bare. The previous tire tracks had long been covered by snow. Chi Ying picked up some dry branches and stuck them in the snow in case she couldn't find her way back.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, all I could see was desolation and desertedness, with no farms or houses in sight.
The driver carried them along this mountain road for about a whole day, and they were probably already deep in the mountains. They didn't know where the villages or markets were, and the remaining rice and flour wouldn't last them long.
The cold wind cut through her skin like blades, her limbs stiff and numb with cold. Chi Ying pulled her clothes tighter around her neck, her heart filled with bitter cold.
As they walked, Chi Ying suddenly noticed a snowdrift at the foot of the hillside. She stepped forward and used a branch to clear away the snow. To her surprise, she saw a stiff human face vaguely visible under the snow and immediately screamed in fright!
It was the coachman's corpse!
Chi Ying was so frightened that she took two steps back, covered her lips tightly, and almost collapsed in the snow.
It turned out that he hadn't returned for several days because he hadn't run off and abandoned them, but because he had died in the snow.
The person was already frozen stiff. Judging from the situation, he had most likely slipped and rolled down the hillside. There was no one around, and no one came to his rescue. He eventually froze to death in this icy and snowy place.
Chi Ying's eyes stung, and she shivered with cold, feeling a chill seep into her very bones.
A wave of despair washed over me.
Although this man was not kind and had caused them trouble along the way, he was still someone who had been traveling with them for over a month. If such a living, strong man could die here, what would become of her and her mother? Would they starve or freeze to death in this cold and snowy place?
Just when she could see no hope, she suddenly sensed a heavy gaze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone standing not far away. She hurriedly looked up and saw a tall, dark-skinned man in an animal skin coat standing in the snow, his dark eyes staring at her.
Chi Ying's pupils contracted sharply, her heart pounded wildly, but what followed was the joy of seeing a living person in the snow.
The man, carrying a bow and arrows and prey in his hand, walked forward with heavy steps. He glanced at her first, then squatted down to examine the coachman's body on the ground. As if confirming that she had not killed the coachman, he then prepared to get up and leave.
"Wait..." Chi Ying hurriedly called out to him.
The man stopped and looked over expressionlessly.
Chi Ying mustered her courage and stepped forward, asking, "Excuse me, how far is this place from the market? My mother and I are trapped in the mountains and can't find our way out. We're also running out of food. How can we get out of here?"
The hunter looked at her, seemingly trying to understand the meaning behind her words.
Seeing that he remained silent with his lips pursed, Chi Ying realized something and hurriedly took out a piece of silver from her sleeve and handed it to him: "I want to ask you, how far is it to get out of the mountains?"
The hunter pointed to his lips and waved his hand.
Chi Ying realized that he couldn't speak.
The hunter looked her up and down, then held up three fingers and pointed out the mountains.
“Three…” Chi Ying paused for a moment, then guessed, “You mean, it will take three days to get out of here?”
The other person nodded.
Chi Yingxin's heart sank. Her mother was frail and had caught a cold. How could she possibly trek for three days in this freezing weather?
Oh, right, she suddenly remembered there was a carriage outside the temple!
Neither she nor her mother knew how to drive a carriage, and they dared not attempt it in the snow. They could only ask the hunter, "Do you know how to drive a carriage? We have one, could you... help us?"
The hunter hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the rugged mountain path covered in snow at the foot of the mountain and waved his hand.
Chi Ying guessed, "Is the road difficult for carriages to pass?"
The hunter nodded.
Perhaps the heavy snow on the mountain blocked the road, making it difficult for vehicles and horses to travel. If they had to wait for the snow to melt before leaving, they feared they would starve to death in the dilapidated temple.
Chi Ying looked at the prey in his hand, which appeared to be a pheasant.
As if grasping at a last straw, she pulled a slightly heavier silver ingot from her sleeve and pleaded, "Could this buy the game you have? Or, could you please exchange it for some rice for us? My mother is sick and can't come down the mountain; she needs someone by her side..."
The hunter hesitated for a long time before reaching out to take the silver and handing her the pheasant.
Chi Ying happily accepted it, "Thank you!" She then pointed in the direction of the dilapidated temple, "My mother and I live in that dilapidated temple over there. I see some abandoned hunting nets there. Were they left by you before?"
The hunter thought for a moment, nodded, and then turned and strode away.
Holding the hard-won pheasant, Chi Ying almost burst into tears.
Fortunately, there's always a way out. They happened to run into a hunter in the mountains. They didn't know if he would bring them food, but they had a good harvest today. This pheasant was enough for them to last for another two days.
The hunter's figure quickly disappeared into the vast snow forest. Chi Ying withdrew her gaze and looked at the coachman's corpse in front of her. She sighed. She couldn't bear to see people's bodies exposed in the wilderness, but it was freezing cold and there was no way to bury the body in time. She could only go back to the temple to see if there were any abandoned shovels and try to find a way to give the body a proper burial.
After Chi Ying returned, she washed the pheasant with snow water. There were still some pepper and cardamom left in the carriage that she had used to marinate the meat. She sprinkled some of them into the soup to season it and cooked a big pot of chicken soup, which was just right to warm her mother up.
At this point, they really had to thank the years they spent in the village; otherwise, without any preparation for the journey or the skills to survive in the mountains, they might have really died here.
The two sat around the fire, and after a bowl of hot soup, Aunt Xue's pale face gradually warmed up.
Upon hearing that the coachman had died, Aunt Xue sighed. When she heard that the coachman had asked the hunter to buy rice and flour for them, she felt it was unlikely. What if the hunter didn't come?
Fortunately, the hunter did come a few days later, carrying half a heavy bag of rice and two pieces of meat, and even returned the remaining silver.
Chi Ying was overjoyed. She and her mother didn't eat much, and this amount of rice would be enough for them to eat for a month. The weather was cold, so the meat could also be stored for a while.
She didn't know how to thank him properly, so she insisted on returning the silver to him, saying, "Once the snow on the road melts, we'll need your help to get my daughter and me out of the mountains, okay?"
The hunter nodded silently, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and left.
...
With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, another round of bloody purges swept through the court.
Officials faced the capricious and ruthless new emperor every day, living with their lives hanging by a thread. In just a few months, more than ten corrupt officials were dragged out and flogged. Every time they went to court, it was like going to the execution ground, and their court robes would be soaked with cold sweat several times.
Nearly three months have passed since Chi Ying left, and the officers and soldiers she sent out are still nowhere to be found.
Yan Xuecui's emotions grew more and more anxious each day. The restlessness and depression surging in his blood filled him with a gloomy and violent aura that he could hardly control.
On several occasions during court assemblies, his veins bulged, he was drenched in cold sweat, and his internal organs suddenly ached uncontrollably. He forced himself to return to his palace, where he collapsed to his knees as if all his strength had given out.
He might lose her, lose her completely...
This thought, like a knife, slowly tore at his flesh, dragging him into an abyss of pain and despair.
That day, a guard from the dark prison reported that Lady Yin had suddenly requested to see him while being tortured, and that it concerned news about Chi Ying.
Yan Xuecui had been torturing the Chi family for months, and apart from knowing that the travel permit in Chi Ying's hand led to Jiangnan, the Changyuan Earl and his wife had no other useful information.
But he still went.
Even if she's just rambling, perhaps she can offer him some insight.
Meanwhile, in prison, Lady Yin suddenly remembered what Chi Ying had said before she left. Although she didn't know if it was true or not, she could ask the emperor to investigate. If they could find her, their lives might be a little better.
Upon seeing him arrive, Madam Yin, covered in wounds, gripped the prison door tightly and said, "Before leaving, she secretly sent a message by carrier pigeon to a noble person, saying that she would write to her to let her know she was safe once she arrived in Jiangnan."
Yan Xuecui's eyes were calm and still: "A distinguished person?"
Lady Yin nodded repeatedly: "Yes, she said she wanted to leave herself a way out. If that noble lady doesn't receive the letter, she'll tell His Majesty the truth... By the way, she saved that noble lady's life at the palace banquet. The noble lady will definitely help her..."
Seeing that he seemed not to believe her, Madam Yin hurriedly assured him: "Every word I have said is true. If there is even a single lie, may I die with my intestines ruptured!"
Yan Xue forced a smile: "If it's true, why didn't you say so before?"
Lady Yin could only say, "Originally, I thought... I thought His Majesty would find the person soon, so there would be no need to talk about arriving in Jiangnan. Later, I suffered so much torture that I didn't think of it anymore..."
Yan Xuecui guessed that A Ying probably lied about delivering a letter because she was afraid that the Yin family would secretly kill her on the way.
If she really had the opportunity to send a message by carrier pigeon, why didn't she send a message to her mother, or even to the guards he left behind?
He searched tirelessly for months, scouring almost the entire southern Zhili region. From before the Lunar New Year until now, he had sent people to investigate every mother and daughter who had arrived in Jiangnan. He had also rigorously questioned people at important towns and ferry crossings along the way, and even destroyed several bandit strongholds, but still found no clues.
Her household registration and travel permit couldn't stay in other towns for long. Perhaps she hid with the caravan and forged her household registration and identity again? Perhaps she temporarily took refuge in towns where travel permit checks were lax and people were allowed to pass at will... But if that were the case, in the vast sea of people, he would really be looking for a needle in a haystack.
After returning to the palace, he closed his eyes for half an hour, but still could not fall asleep.
He hadn't been able to fall asleep in a long time.
She kept recalling the people she had interacted with at the palace banquet.
Yu Xi couldn't possibly have known. If she had any news about A Ying, she would have already mentioned it when she pleaded for the Empress.
Huizhen, Chunyi, Princess Rui, Princess Qing... perhaps there is still a sliver of a possibility.
Clinging to this faint hope, Yan Xuecui decided to summon several people to the palace for questioning.
The four women all looked bewildered. They had no close relationship with Princess Zhao, so what could she possibly want to say to them?
Logically speaking, with the new emperor ascending the throne, Princess Zhao, as the principal wife, should have been made empress long ago, but no news has come from the palace for a long time, which they find strange.
Seeing that the women's expressions seemed genuine, Yan Xuecui instructed them not to spread the word. These royal women had all heard about the new emperor's ruthless methods of ascending the throne, so they dared not utter a word outside.
Yan Xuecui sat alone in front of the imperial desk, rubbing her temples, and suddenly thought of the two of them again.
King Xuan hates him to the bone, but he also has feelings for A Ying. Is it possible that he has hidden her away?
Even though he knew the chances were slim, he still came to the Prince Xuan's residence in person.
Prince Xuan was demoted to a commoner, but the late emperor, mindful of his severe injuries and disability, did not reclaim the prince's residence. Instead, he sent guards to watch over it. Now, the prince's residence is deserted and no different from the abandoned old residences of ordinary officials.
As soon as Yan Xuecui stepped into the mansion, he keenly noticed a figure in the shadows. He gave Cheng Huai a wink, and the latter immediately understood. He and Qin Zheng leaped up and blocked the agile figure that was about to cross the courtyard wall.
After a fierce struggle, the guard, outnumbered by his own two fists, was quickly pinned to the ground with his arms twisted behind his back.
Yan Xuecui coldly scrutinized the man, never expecting that even though Prince Xuan was already crippled, there was still such a highly skilled martial artist hidden in his residence.
His journey was sudden, and he did not send anyone to inform the emperor. When he arrived at the main hall, Princess Xuan received the news and rushed over to see him. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw her trusted confidant Peng Wang being held captive on the ground, and she was terrified.
The emperor's sudden visit and the arrest of Peng Wang—could it be that his secret stalking of Princess Zhao has been exposed?
Yan Xue noticed the sudden change in her expression when she saw the guard and sensed something was amiss. Perhaps this person was not one of Prince Xuan's men, but rather someone brought by Princess Xuan's family.
He didn't reveal his intentions yet, but instead stared at Princess Xuan and asked, "I came to visit my elder brother today, and I also have something to ask my sister-in-law."
Princess Xuan replied respectfully.
Despite her forced composure, the knuckles of her tightly clenched handkerchief betrayed her inner tension.
Yan Xuecui withdrew his gaze from her trembling fingertips, then fixed it firmly on her face. After a moment of deliberation, he slowly and deliberately asked, "What I wish to ask my sister-in-law is whether there has been any news of my Princess Zhao recently?"
Princess Xuan's pupils contracted sharply, and a stormy sea seemed to surge in her eyes.
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Author's Note: Almost there! I thought I could finish writing today [crying emoji] My keyboard is practically smoking [crying emoji] 50 red envelopes to comfort me [heart emoji][heart emoji][heart emoji]
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