A loud shout drew everyone’s attention toward the rear of the procession.
The woman wore no makeup, her beautiful face devoid of emotion, her gaze only lifting faintly as if nothing could possibly fluster her.
Wang Yue took a few hurried steps toward her, then abruptly stopped, clutched her fists in front of her chest, and forced composure as she said, “Jiang Jinyue, you know medicine, why don’t you hurry up and take a look at the Grand Tutor.”
Her tone was not kind, carrying the attitude of someone in a position of authority.
Jiang Jinyue’s expression remained ordinary, cold and aloof, and with a slight nod, she walked over.
The gazes of the crowd followed that slender and tall figure, watching her walk to Grand Tutor Yu, bend down, and close her eyes to take his pulse.
“How is it? This Palace is asking you a question?” After just a brief moment, Wang Yue asked anxiously.
Jiang Jinyue closed her eyes without speaking, as if she hadn’t heard her words at all.
Wang Yue felt displeased and was about to ask again, when she was shoved aside by someone.
“Stay honestly, or watch out for Master’s whip.” Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow lazily, turning around with a flattering smile, “Boss, please come this way.”
With that, he yielded his spot, allowing the approaching Boss Gu to stand right behind Jiang Jinyue.
Boss Gu nodded in satisfaction. It wasn’t his first time escorting prisoners, but it was his first time encountering a situation like this. With the severe drought across the land, the prisoners had only been on the road for two days and were already fainting one after another; this was no good thing.
It was normal for a few people to die on the exile road, but at least thirty percent of the headcount had to remain, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to report back. With water so scarce along this journey, who knew how many more prisoners would fall, making Jiang Jinyue, the only person who knew medicine, very important.
He needed to take a good look at how much capability Jiang Jinyue had.
Wang Yue’s line of sight was blocked. Seeing that the person who pushed her was Zhou Yuan, she couldn’t help frowning, “This Palace…”
“What Palace, remember your current identity, run your mouth again and Master will whip you to death.” Zhou Yuan impatiently interrupted her words.
Wang Yue was stunned. How dared this person treat her with such an attitude? Could the Grand Tutor have guessed wrong, and this Zhou Yuan wasn’t someone sent by the Empress?
Zhou Yuan no longer looked at her, turning around to stare at Jiang Jinyue as well.
Before long, Jiang Jinyue opened her eyes and slowly stood up.
“How is this old fellow?” Boss Gu asked.
Jiang Jinyue steadied herself and spoke calmly: “It should be caused by a lack of water.”
Boss Gu frowned. Sure enough, it was a lack of water; the problem was huge!
Right at that moment, ignoring Zhou Yuan’s obstruction, Wang Yue rushed over, “Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor wake up, it’s all this Palace’s fault…”
Back then, after she drank water, she had handed her water skin to Grand Tutor Yu, but Grand Tutor Yu said he wasn’t thirsty and stubbornly refused to drink a single drop. In the end, that water skin couldn’t be kept either, and instead, the remaining water was wasted.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuan’s brows knitted almost into a knot. Her Highness was protected far too well by the Empress; when facing troubles she only knew how to blame herself instead of thinking about solutions, how could she accomplish great things?
He suddenly felt somewhat bewildered. If Her Highness remained like this, and Grand Tutor Yu collapsed too early, would he still be able to complete the Empress’s instructions?
“Jiang Jinyue, you know medicine, you must be able to save the Grand Tutor, hurry up and save the Grand Tutor.” Seeing that Grand Tutor Yu still had no response, Wang Yue panicked completely and shouted toward Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue didn’t pay any attention, tilting her head to look at Boss Gu.
Boss Gu’s gaze was dark and heavy, “If they can’t get any water, what will happen?”
“It will be very difficult for them to wake up.” Pausing for a moment, Jiang Jinyue swept her gaze across everyone, “Ordinary people who don’t drink water can endure three to five days at most.”
And today was the third day of exile, and three people had already fallen down. By tomorrow, more people would definitely collapse.
Boss Gu fell silent. Three to five days—if it were before, he certainly wouldn’t think there was any problem. Heading north along this journey, rivers weren’t exactly few, and in the previous two days they had passed several, but the riverbeds were all dry, and presently not a single blade of grass grew.
Yet they still needed another full day ahead to reach a village with people, and even in that village there might not be any water to provide, which would mean walking yet another day until reaching Youlong County town before there would be water.
That would make it five days later, and according to what Jiang Jinyue said, these prisoners simply wouldn’t last until that time.
Seeing him remain silent, Zhou Yuan couldn’t help saying, “Boss, we still have a little bit of water.”
Boss Gu immediately glared at him, “What use are those few mouthfuls of water?” If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have boiled meat soup yesterday. Now they only had half a water skin of water and half a water skin of wine left, and the several bailiffs were so thirsty they kept taking turns sipping a tiny bit; their own people didn’t even have enough, how could they give it to the prisoners?
Besides, with just that tiny bit of water, taking it out wouldn’t do any good either.
Zhou Yuan lowered his head sheepishly; he hadn’t wanted to give all the water to the prisoners, he just wanted to save Grand Tutor Yu…
The atmosphere was silent for a moment, everyone’s expressions heavy and despairing. Was there truly no other way?
Without leaving a trace, Jiang Jinyue swept a glance at Boss Gu. There was a way; although it might not necessarily be effective, it was also a glimmer of hope, depending entirely on how this leader chose to decide.
Boss Gu met her gaze and, by some inexplicable impulse, asked: “Does Miss Jiang have a way?”
Perhaps Jiang Jinyue’s expression was too calm, giving him an illusion that since this woman was so steady, maybe she really had a method.
Unconsciously, the tone of his speech became much more polite. Yet once the words left his mouth, he didn’t hold much hope—what way could there be, unless Heaven had eyes and suddenly sent down sweet rain.
“There is still some time before dark, Boss Gu might as well let everyone scatter to look for water, forming teams of three to five, using sunset as the deadline. If someone is lucky enough to find a water source, not only will it be a lifeline for everyone, it will also be an achievement for your journey, isn’t that right?”
Jiang Jinyue’s pace of speech was unhurried, her voice pure, cold, and detached, sounding very indifferent. But falling into Boss Gu’s ears right now, it sounded like heavenly music.
He was merely a bailiff of the Shuntian Prefecture, without rank or title. It was his first time hearing someone call him “Boss Gu”, especially that last sentence. Jiang Jinyue was right; if they could find a water source and manage it well, perhaps it really could become his merit.
These prisoners were idle anyway, and with unconvicted relatives and clan members holding them back, coupled with strict inspections everywhere, they surely wouldn’t dare to run away. What harm was there in trying?
Boss Gu felt a burning sensation in his heart and immediately waved a hand: “Everyone come over, just do as Miss Jiang says…”
The prisoners looked at each other in dismay—go look for water?
In this wilderness, before a village and behind an outpost, none of them even knew the way, nor did they know which direction the river flowed; how were they supposed to find it?
Instead, those four bailiffs responded first, “Boss, the four of us happen to be one team.”
They weren’t doing it to look for water, but rather…
The few of them exchanged knowing looks, quietly sizing up the women in the procession. These people used to be official wives and young misses who wouldn’t even look at them straight in the past. If there was an opportunity later, hehe…
Jiang Jinyue noticed their gazes, her pupils turning cold, “The wilderness is dangerous; women, children, and the elderly are best left behind to guard the camp to avoid unexpected mishaps and instead dragging down the team.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of those four bailiffs drooped down. Tch, what bad luck!
Of course Boss Gu could also tell what those bailiffs were planning, and even he himself had a few thoughts. But matters had priorities and emergencies; there were still plenty of days ahead, no need to rush.
He waved his hand indifferently and said, “It’s settled then, get moving quickly.”
Boss Gu had experience escorting prisoners to the northern lands; he was indeed a leader with some decisiveness. Amidst beating and kicking, he drove the able-bodied men to scatter, quickly dividing them into teams and leading them out.
With the headcount reduced by more than half, the remaining people either sat or lay down, their gazes subconsciously glancing over toward this side. They didn’t really know what they were looking at, but catching a glance of the calm-faced Jiang Jinyue made them feel inexplicably a bit more grounded.
Jiang Jinyue, however, didn’t want to stay like this. Li Chenghuan’s ability was so mysterious and unfathomable, and her actions had method to them. Since she claimed she could absolutely protect herself, it shouldn’t be empty talk, so why not take advantage of this golden opportunity to test it out more…
Thinking of this, she looked at Li Chenghuan.
Their eyes met, and Li Chenghuan understood Jiang Jinyue’s look. She also had the mind to test out what her golden finger was all about, so she proposed: “I’ll go look with Sister-in-law too.”
“No!”
Old Madam Li refused the proposal without even thinking. Those bailiffs looked like they had improper intentions, and outside there were all men. Not to mention her granddaughter looked pretty and delicate, the jinx was as gorgeous as a flower—rushing out right now was like meat falling into a pack of wolves, far too dangerous.
In the dead silence, the people who had already been paying attention to this area quietly looked over. They didn’t know what to look at, but seeing Jiang Jinyue’s calm expression made them feel strangely steady inside.
Li Chenghuan: I mean, who else, whoever comes dies!