Chapter 81 "Master, firewood and lamp oil..."
“Master, firewood and lamp oil are precious, especially in the countryside like this. People don’t want to light lamps at night unless there’s something important to do. Everyone goes to bed early, so it’s naturally pitch black.” The cat said matter-of-factly.
"If that's the case, then it does seem so." Although Xiao Yan still felt something was off, it made sense when she thought about it.
Why do poor people keep the lights on at night instead of sleeping? Do they have too much money to spend?
"So, Master, you should rest soon too." Patting the soft bed and lifting a corner of the blanket, the cat tried its best to coax its master to settle down.
Look at that pale face and the dark circles under her eyes, and that forced spirit. Her master is clearly exhausted, so why is she trying to keep going?
Tianmao was urging people to rest quickly when Zhuyue brought up a tray of food: "I saw that the light in Master's room was still on, so he hasn't gone to sleep yet."
"What did you bring?" Looking back at the wooden tray, one could see it was filled to the brim with bowls and plates.
"Master, I saw some milk in the kitchen, so I heated up a cup and brought it over. There's also porridge, made with rice we brought from home. We just added a little ginger after it was cooked, so it doesn't have much ginger flavor but it'll warm you up."
Then Zhu Yue brought out a cup of milk and a bowl of white porridge and placed them on the table. Oh, and then a stack of side dishes on a tray were brought out one after another.
When Xiao Yan looked back, well, apart from a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions and a plate of pork floss they brought themselves, the other four dishes were all kinds of pickled vegetables.
When Xiao Yan's gaze fell on the side dishes, Zhu Yue realized that she had indeed prepared too simply.
Although this was prepared according to her mistress's taste, her mistress is, after all, a princess. If she had just added another plate of braised beef, what would have happened?
"The inn's kitchen still has braised beef and fried beans. I'll go down and bring some more for you, my mistress." With that, Zhu Yue hurriedly headed downstairs again.
"Stop, no need to go down. I don't have an appetite for those today, these are fine. But why did you bring four small plates of pickled vegetables all at once?" Anyone who didn't know better would think she was eating Korean food.
"The cook at the inn is very hospitable. She was preparing our provisions for tomorrow, but when she saw me cooking porridge, she took out five kinds of pickled vegetables that they had made themselves. I didn't take any because you don't like pickled garlic, but please try these four. If you like them, we'll buy their stock tomorrow."
We still have about ten days of travel ahead of us, and we've eaten quite a bit of what we brought, so this is a good time to replenish our supplies.
While slurping her words, Zhu Yue ladled out a bowl of porridge and placed it beside Xiao Yan Hui. She then enthusiastically recommended the pickled white radish: "It's sweet, refreshing, and a little sour. It's very appetizing. Master, please try it. You'll definitely like it."
"Zhu Yue, what did you just say?" Xiao Yan Hui suddenly put down her chopsticks, turned to look at Zhu Yue, and asked with a hint of sternness in her voice.
"Huh?" Zhu Yue was completely unfamiliar with the organization. Why did her master suddenly become so serious? She was a little stunned and said "Ah" before saying, "I just said that these pickled radishes taste excellent."
"No, you said the cook was preparing provisions." Xiao Yan had already realized what she had felt was wrong before.
"Oh, right...right, we're setting off tomorrow, so naturally we need to prepare some dry rations for the journey." Zhu Yue really couldn't understand why her master's expression suddenly changed when she heard this, even though it was a perfectly normal thing.
"Go and call the patrol officer over here," Xiao Yan instructed the cat standing to the side, who also looked bewildered.
Since they needed to prepare provisions overnight for the rest of their journey, the smaller caravans following behind them naturally needed to do the same.
But at that moment, the village where they were going to stay was pitch black.
The speculation that they all brought plenty of food is less likely than the more probable possibility that something happened to them there.
...
"Have someone investigate whether the traveling merchants who have settled in the village are safe."
"If anything happens, investigate whether they accidentally ended up in that treacherous village, or if someone is plotting against us, or if those people have suffered an undeserved misfortune," Xiao Yan instructed the patrol guard.
"Yes." Without saying a word, Wei Xun bowed and went out to carry out his duties efficiently.
But his heart was not as calm as he appeared on the surface; in fact, he wished he could slap himself a few times.
He, a man who spends most of his time traveling and roaming the country, failed to notice such a huge loophole tonight, while the princess, a young woman confined to her quarters, saw through it.
Wei Sa had previously mentioned that the princess was intelligent and that the princess was highly favored by the emperor. He had only listened to it, but had not taken it seriously in his letter. Only then did he realize that he still had a problem with being arrogant and sometimes getting carried away.
Thinking back on the mistakes he had made in recent years, Wei Xun suddenly wondered if he was incompetent.
Who could have imagined that tonight's incident would deal such a huge blow to Wei Xun, causing even the usually arrogant man to have strong self-doubt. And the more he thought about it, the more incompetent he felt.
In the end, he even felt that perhaps he should hand over the mess outside to someone else, and he himself should come back and stay by the Lord's side.
At this moment, Wei Xun felt that he desperately needed a brain and a backbone.
Regardless of Wei Xun's change of heart, the secret guards he sent to investigate the village behind the village knew as soon as they entered the first courtyard that something had indeed happened in the village.
"The entire village was drugged. The drug was put in the village's water source, but we don't know who did it. When our people arrived, there was nothing left but the villagers who were all asleep. The person who did it had already disappeared without a trace."
Qin Ji had just arrived at the inn when he heard this report.
"Qin Ji, you're back!" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Qin Ji, and even her voice became cheerful.
Qin Ji thought that a day apart felt like three autumns, and was feeling quite pleased with herself. Just as the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile, she heard her say, "Perfect, I'll leave this to you. I'm so sleepy, I'm going to go to sleep."
After saying this, Xiao Yan nodded to the people present, then turned around and walked out of the room without any hesitation, going back to her own room number one to sleep.
She hadn't felt this sleepy before; she was even analyzing the situation of the village with Wei Xun and a few other secret guards who had gone to investigate.
But from the moment he saw Qin Ji's face, it was as if he too had been under some kind of spell; all the fatigue he had accumulated over the past few days suddenly overwhelmed him.
Sleepiness surged in like a tidal wave, and Xiao Yan felt she had no strength left to resist. Her mind, which had been calm and sharp just a moment ago, was now as muddled as paste.
The only thoughts swirling in my mind were "bed, want to sleep, so sleepy".
......
Xiao Yan woke up to the chirping of birds, and felt herself being held in a warm embrace. She had slept soundly for a while, and although her body was still tired from days of carriage travel, she felt great.
Opening her eyes and looking out through the paper pasted on the window lattice, she could see that it was already bright outside, clearly quite late. However, not only had she gotten up late, but Qin Ji, who was holding her, was still fast asleep.
Being held tightly in someone's arms and covered with a thick blanket, Xiao Yan felt quite hot and tried to break free from the heat source. But the moment she moved, she was pulled even tighter into someone's embrace.
"Don't move, let me hold you and sleep a little longer." A muffled and hoarse murmur sounded in her ear. Perhaps because the sunlight shining through the window was shining into her eyes, Qin Ji simply buried her head in Xiao Yan Hui's neck to avoid the annoying light and tried to fall back into a sweet dream.
But is Xiao Yan, who has already woken up, the kind of person who would willingly become a body pillow? Of course not.
"It's dawn, get up! Only Piggy is still asleep. Qin Pig, get up!" Xiao Yan's eyes darted around, a mischievous glint in them, and she leaned closer to Qin Ji's ear and started whispering.
This is a unique wake-up service for gentle wives.
Unfortunately, this waking up—or rather, this waking up—seemed to have no effect on Qin Ji whatsoever; it was more like a lullaby.
Seeing that verbal attempts to wake her had failed, Xiao Yan turned around and began to use her hands.
He poked her cheek, pinched her earlobe, and tugged at her long eyelashes with his fingertips: "Hey, I saw you smile. Get up, we still have a lot to do today!"
Even though she could clearly see a suspicious curve appear at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth, his eyes seemed glued shut, refusing to open. Xiao Yan Hui, now intrigued, deliberately moved her hand, which had been wandering around his face, downwards.
Starting from the earlobe, use two interlaced fingers to simulate walking down the jawline, neck, and Adam's apple.
Feeling the Adam's apple slide rapidly under those fingers, Xiao Yanhui lingered there with even greater interest.
Qin Ji suddenly opened his eyes, a dangerous glint in them: "Yan Hui'er, do you know what you're doing?!"
The arms holding the person tightened once more, pressing the two tightly together without any gap, and naturally, Xiao Yan Hui deeply felt a certain special burning temperature.
"I'm calling you to get up!" Even though her ears were red and her face was burning, Xiao Yan Hui still put on an innocent expression, as if she was seriously calling her to get up.
"Wake me up?" Qin Ji deliberately threatened with a cold laugh: "I think you just don't want to get out of bed today."
"This is a shabby inn in the middle of nowhere." Xiao Yan Hui stopped bringing up her age, but since she dared to provoke him so early in the morning, she was confident that he wouldn't do anything.
With a crisp "smack," Xiao Yan Hui's ears turned red, and the redness spread all over her face.
"Qin Ji, you bastard." After slapping the chest of the person in front of her, Xiao Yan jumped out of his embrace, her whole body turning as red as a boiled shrimp.
After uttering those words, she hurriedly got out of bed and moved to the other side, separated by a screen.
"Yeah, I'm a bastard, but who exactly messed with me this morning?" Although the heat surging down below made him feel a bit uncomfortable, seeing Yan Hui like this made it all worthwhile.
Moreover... Qin Ji curled up a wicked smile and deliberately said to the person behind the semi-transparent screen, "Feels good."
"Ah!" Xiao Yan gave a short scream, then warned, "Shut up."
Seeing her blushing face, which was clearly reflected in the bronze mirror, and hearing Qin Ji's laughter, Xiao Yan felt her face getting even hotter. Looking at her embarrassed reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but glare at the person in the mirror: "Serves you right for being so playful. You almost went too far and got teased."
Then she turned her head and glared at Qin Ji through the screen, thinking to herself with resentment, "Qin Ji, you just wait."
Qin Ji's eyes were filled with tenderness as he kept his gaze fixed on the figure behind the screen. He knew that Yan Hui had been very tense lately, and her physical condition had also been poor due to motion sickness. Today's outburst had actually helped her relax quite a bit.
While the young couple were teasing each other early in the morning, the atmosphere in the inn's lobby was quite different. Although it wasn't exactly a scene of desolation, it was still filled with sorrow.
In the lobby, the Shen siblings who had been rescued the previous night had been given a quick wash and changed into clean clothes provided by Lu's Trading Company. They both had identical red, swollen eyes and sorrowful, bewildered expressions.
The four guards who protected them last night were all still asleep, their wounds bandaged and lying unconscious in bed. If they could, they would like to simply pass out or hide in their rooms to lick their wounds, but reality did not allow it.
The two of them needed to show their sincerity, so they waited in the lobby of the inn early in the morning for their savior—the owner of the Lu family business.
At this moment, both of them felt the same fear and tension.
The murder of their entire family last night, and their harrowing experience of teetering on the brink of death, still cast a deep shadow over their hearts. The fact that they could maintain a semblance of normalcy at this moment is a testament to their remarkable resilience.
However, their family suffered a major upheaval, and now only the brother and sister remain. This cruel reality forces them to be resilient.
Last night, they were rescued from the brink of death by those people, and then escorted all the way to this inn. The brother and sister asked about the identities of their saviors, but they only said that they were guards from a merchant guild.
Even though the brother and sister were inexperienced in the ways of the world, they understood that the formidable fighting power of those dozens of people could not possibly be trained by a mere trading company.
It's as if they themselves knew very well that those who claimed to be bandits who robbed and killed their family on the way couldn't possibly be real bandits.
Although the identities of their saviors from last night remain a mystery, the fact that these people rescued them and brought them back to this inn indicates that they still have value.
The other party likely needs their help in some way, and the two of them...
The brother and sister exchanged a glance, and then recalled the scene from the previous night when they were crying and discussing their future.
Last night, in room number five of the inn.
Shen Nan held his sobbing sister and kept comforting her: "Xi Yin, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's alright now."
"Brother, what are we going to do next?" Shen Xiyin's crying was not only due to fear and sadness, but also to helplessness in the face of an uncertain future: "The bandits who came to kill us this time must be that old thief, Marquis Dingbei."
Father had said before that he and the Second Prince might not let our family go. Sure enough, yesterday... Now only the two of us are left in the Shen family. But if we didn't die this time, what about next time? That old scoundrel wanted to kill our whole family yesterday, so he'll definitely wipe us out completely. Waaah, brother, I'm scared.
The girl's voice was filled with sorrow and sobs: "Brother, what do we do? Father and Mother... how can we possibly fight against the Marquis of Dingbei..."
Shen Nanhe knew perfectly well that his sister was speaking the truth. Yesterday's bloody ordeal, though leaving him deeply bewildered, had also ignited a ruthless streak within him. This young master, who had always been well protected by his parents and brother, now harbored an unwavering determination for revenge.
He gritted his teeth and said, "We can't just let this go. So many members of our Shen family can't have died in vain. We'll go back to the capital. Perhaps my father's superior, Lord Li, can still uphold justice for us. And there are those who saved us... Yes, there are those who saved us. They must have had ulterior motives. We can ask them for help."
As he spoke softly, a dangerous glint flashed in Shen Nanhe's eyes.
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