Some men may never know what a map is in their entire lifetime.
For a woman of Song Jiyun’s background, whether she learned from Yuan Yunzhong or knew it before, it was somewhat shocking and unconventional. And Song Jiyun was already dazzling enough; the thought "Tall trees catch much wind" unconsciously flashed through Magistrate Jiang’s mind, and without thinking, he stepped on the corner of those "gibberish symbols."
In Song Jiyun’s eyes, this was a fundamental survival skill. She didn’t care at all. She dropped the branch in her hand, dusted off her hands, and said, "I see everyone is busy, and I want to help too. I’m prepared to offer some money and have Zheng Quan bring some people to search. Maybe we can find some clues!"
Then she introduced the two men who came with Zheng Quan to him, "These are mountain villagers from nearby, who have lived here for generations. According to them, there are several natural caves around here. Some cave entrances are so overgrown with vegetation that they are impossible to discover; others they use for storing food, with camouflage at the entrances to make them even more difficult to find. I’ve asked them to bring their relatives and friends to help search for people."
Magistrate Jiang thought that with Song Jiyun’s way of doing things, she wouldn’t just "offer some money"; it must be "where there’s a hefty reward, there will be brave men."
However, she was frantic with worry. If they couldn’t find anyone, how could she possibly do so? But under these circumstances, it was better for her to find something to do than to just wait helplessly.
"Then I’ll have to trouble Miss Song," he said politely.
Song Jiyun replied with a "Just don’t mind me taking the initiative," when suddenly one of the men who came with Zheng Quan, speaking in a thick mountain accent, said, "Boss, if you’re looking for someone, just people won’t do; you need dogs too. I brought my dog along, can he count as one share of the money?"
Had the situation not been so dire, Magistrate Jiang would have laughed.
But Song Jiyun responded seriously, "Yes. As long as they go searching, they all count."
The two men walked away cheerfully.
Deng Chen strode over with a stack of papers, "Magistrate Jiang, I’ve obtained a partial list of the deceased. They are unequivocally people from Prince Ning’s Mansion; it’s no use even if Prince Ning himself denies it. This is bound to provoke public outrage."
Magistrate Jiang quickly said, "Let me see."
Deng Chen handed the stack of papers to Magistrate Jiang and took a torch from an attendant to light for him.
Song Jiyun didn’t come forward with concern as before but instead cast her gaze back towards the darkened woods.
Magistrate Jiang excitedly flicked the papers in his hand.
Xu Guangzeng, too, abandoned his previous negativity, "Lord Jiang, I’ll accompany you to see Prince Ning."
Magistrate Jiang nodded, then turned to Song Jiyun with a gentle voice, "Miss Song, dawn is approaching. Would you like to go back and rest for a while? If there’s any news here, I’ll immediately send someone to notify you." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
Song Jiyun shook her head, "I won’t be able to sleep if I go back. I might as well stay here and wait for them to find people."
Seeing her firm attitude, Magistrate Jiang didn’t insist and instructed Deng Chen and the others who stayed behind to take care of her before leaving with Xu Guangzeng and Shao Qing.
Deng Chen had someone brew strong tea for Song Jiyun, and Zheng Quan led a group of mountain villagers into the mountains.
The torches scattered in the mountains like fireflies, and as the night wind blew, Song Jiyun pulled her garment closer.
Deng Chen had someone send over a cloak.
Song Jiyun thanked him.
In the wind of the night, whispered discussions faintly reached her ears, "What a pity, Boss Song is so young, and yet she may have to become a widow."
"Maybe this is actually a blessing in disguise. Given Boss Song’s background, she certainly couldn’t marry into the Yuan Family. If Lord Yuan unfortunately encounters disaster, maybe the Yuan Family would compromise and consent to the marriage. With the protection of the Yuan Family, her life would be set. Maybe adopting a son, she could even become the Old Madam, a hundred times better off than us."
"Don’t listen to their nonsense," Deng Chen came over without her noticing, and whispered comfortingly, "Lord Yuan will be alright."
Song Jiyun nodded.
At this moment, she had only one thought.
Find Yuan Yunzhong.
The sky gradually turned the color of dawn.
"Miss! Miss!" Zheng Quan’s figure appeared on a small path in the woods, "We’ve found it! We’ve found the trail markers."
Song Jiyun was overjoyed, her heart thumping wildly as she ran towards Zheng Quan, "Where did you find them? Did you follow those cloth strips to look for him? Are there any other clues?"
Zheng Quan, out of breath, couldn’t hide his wide grin, "Yes. All those trail markers are around Hong Mountain Hollow. I’ve already got the locals to call for more people to help look for Young Master Yuan. Anyone with a clue gets reward silver of ten taels. Whoever finds Young Master Yuan gets Five Hundred Taels."
Realizing her guess was correct, Song Jiyun couldn’t hold back and laughed heartily.
She waved at Zheng Quan and said, "Hurry and take me to see."
Zheng Quan hesitated about whether to take Song Jiyun into the mountain, when Deng Chen hurried over, somewhat in disbelief, "Miss Song, have you discovered new clues of Yuan Yunzhong?"
Song Jiyun couldn’t contain her joy, "Yuan Yunzhong is directionally challenged! Searching like this, you’re definitely not going to find anyone, just striking blindly. In pitch darkness, even if he managed to escape the siege, he wouldn’t be able to find his way back. And if he’s badly injured, it’s even less likely that he would be easily found."
As she spoke, a sharp pain started to grow in her heart.
It had been almost a day and a night, and the golden hour for rescue is twenty-four hours.
Although she had found the direction to look for him, she had yet to find the person.
In case he... If he had sustained serious injuries...
Song Jiyun’s mood plummeted instantly, and her smile disappeared from her face.
"I won’t talk to you any longer," she told Deng Chen, bidding him a hasty goodbye, and proceeded into the mountain with Zheng Quan.
The mountain path was difficult to navigate, cloaked in heavy mist and cold dew.
Zheng Quan carried Song Jiyun on his back, just like when they were children.
"Yuan Yunzhong is so clever, he must have thought of a way to call for help even if he’s badly injured," she murmured. "I just don’t know whose clothes he’s torn up. If we find him with hardly any clothes on, I’ll be able to tease him for the rest of my life. He couldn’t be that unlucky, could he?"
Zheng Quan, looking down, nimbly leaped over large blue stones that protruded from a mountain stream and said, "Young Master Yuan is blessed by fortune; he won’t come to harm. The cloths tied to the trees as trail markers are all fine, either Lake Silk or Hangzhou silk. You can tell they’re not torn from the same garment, so they’re likely not his. It’s just that the cloth strips are either black or dark blue, so it’s normal they weren’t discovered at night."
Song Jiyun gave a hum and asked, "Is Hong Mountain Hollow also a place that belongs to the Hong Family? What did the locals say? Are there any hidden caves nearby?"
"There are!" said Zheng Quan. "Several of them. They were still searching when I came down the mountain to bring you the news. Hong Mountain Hollow isn’t owned by the Hong Family, but since it’s next to Hong Family’s land, everyone just got used to calling it that."
The two chattered intermittently, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at Hong Mountain Hollow.
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