"Well..."
Ji Bochang scratched his head and sighed, "I've never heard of any Qin hostages coming to Dukang County. Maybe they got eaten by wolves on the way. Oh dear! Brother Zhao, you don't know, we've been having a wolf plague here lately. It's really fierce. A thousand wolves are attacking the village..."
Zhao Yong had no interest in listening to Ji Bochang's idle chatter.
"Ahem! Your Excellency the Prefect!"
Zhao Yong said with a bitter expression, "That's true, but you know the temper of our King of Jin... He wants to see the person alive or dead. Even if only bones are left, the King insists that I find them and bring them back..."
"I see!"
Ji Bochang's eyes darted around, and he said, "It's alright! We have a divine person in Dukang County!"
"A divine being?"
"Uh-huh!"
Ji Bochang nodded and said, "In Chenjia Village of our Dukang Prefecture, there is a village head who is skilled in divination and magic. It was he who used magic to wipe out a thousand wolves!"
Zhao Yong really didn't want to listen to Ji Bochang's nonsense, but since the other party was the host and he was the guest, he patiently listened to Ji Bochang continue to brag!
"Brother Zhao! I'll have him do some calculations for you. He'll definitely be able to find out where that Qin hostage is. He can even kill the mountain god, so he knows where the mountain god hides gold. Calculating where you, a Qin hostage, are is a piece of cake, isn't it? Hahaha!"
Facing the smug Ji Bochang, Zhao Yong rolled his eyes and laughed, "So, this really is a remarkable person. I'd like to take a good look and see if he's a native of your Yan state."
"Uh... the accent doesn't sound like it! It sounds like someone from the south."
"From the south?"
"right!"
......
What Ji Bochang didn't know was that Jiang Ming had been deliberately imitating the southern accent to avoid suspicion.
......
Chenjia Village, Jiang Ming's home.
Jiang Ming entered Murong Xue's room and saw Xue'er secretly shedding tears.
"Xue'er, what's wrong?" Jiang Ming sat down beside her with a pained expression and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Husband! Xue'er is scared and can't stay with you for long, waaaah!" Murong Xue cried even harder.
"What do you mean by that?"
Jiang Ming looked bewildered: "We're already married and living under the same roof, how can we not stay together for a long time?"
"Does my husband know who came to collect the hides today?"
With tears blurring her vision, Murong Xue said, "He is Tuoba Ren, the Left Chancellor of the Tuoba tribe under my father. He watched me grow up since I was a child. How could he not recognize me? Waaaaah! Today, it's all my fault. As soon as I heard that my husband's fur was selling, I got excited and wanted to go out to check it out. As a result, I exposed myself. Waaaaah!"
"He called you Princess?"
"No... Waaah."
Murong Xue choked up, "But he definitely recognized me, he was just pretending not to. His eyes don't lie, sob sob sob!"
"Hiss~!" Jiang Ming gasped, his mind racing as he considered the logic and implications of the situation.
Murong Xue hastily wiped away her tears, sniffled, and said, "I didn't marry into the Yan Kingdom on the appointed day. The Yan royal family questioned me, and my father must have sent people to look for me... Originally, I thought it would be best if they thought I was dead, but... Today, because of my curiosity, I exposed myself. I was so stupid! If I had known, I would have stayed in this house forever, sob sob!"
"Baby, don't cry. Every cloud has a silver lining," Jiang Ming comforted her.
"My father will definitely drag me back!"
Murong Xue said heartbrokenly, "Born into such a family, we daughters are all political sacrifices... It wouldn't be a pity even if we died. I would rather die than go back, and I would rather not marry that damned Prince Yan! Waaah! My husband, Xue'er originally wanted to die to prove her loyalty this afternoon, but I really wanted to see you one last time. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, Xue'er is going!"
After saying that, the girl picked up a dagger and tried to stab herself in the heart, but Jiang Ming knocked the dagger away with a "smack".
"Damn it!" Jiang Ming cursed angrily, "How could you be so stupid! Things aren't as bad as you think!"
"Waaah!"
Murong Xue covered her face and wept bitterly: "The Yan Kingdom and the Xianbei have already formed an alliance, and they only need me as a hostage... I've been married into the Yan Kingdom, and now that I'm exposed, not only will my father come looking for me, but the Yan government will also come looking for me... At that time, I'll be nothing but a piece of trash, and I'll implicate my husband..."
Thinking of this, Murong Xue's eyes lit up, and she looked up, stubbornly pulling Jiang Ming's hand, saying, "Husband! I'm going back to the mountains! I'll live in the mountains and never come out again..."
"Tsk! Oh dear!"
Jiang Ming frowned and clicked his tongue: "You little brat! What's the rush? Let the bullets fly a little longer."
"Bullets? What are bullets?"
"Alright, baby!"
Jiang Ming gently patted Murong Xue's shoulder and said, "You must have heard it when you were in the room. I have replaced the sorceress and become the new 'sorceress' of Dukang County. The prefect is completely convinced of my abilities and admires me. He will definitely protect you. Just stay at home and eat and drink as usual. The sky won't fall down!"
"Really...really?" Murong Xue looked at Jiang Ming in surprise.
"As for Tuoba Ren, I'll go talk to him for a bit... Anyway, we still have business to do. Now that we know each other's cards, dealing with him shouldn't be too difficult," Jiang Ming said playfully, stroking his chin.
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