“You must have seen him.” The bearded man cast a suspicious glance at them, his face full of doubt.
Earlier, when he noticed Xie Ninglan and her daughter leaving the group, he immediately sent Gouzi to extort money from them. Surely the Xie family had prepared ample travel funds for their protection. With Gouzi’s skills, he should have been able to squeeze some money out of them.
But who would have thought that Gouzi would vanish without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.
“He clearly went looking for you two. How could he not have run into you? You’re definitely lying. Tell me, where did Gouzi go?”
Where did he go? Where did he go? He went to heaven to hug your uncle and cling to your grandmother’s legs!
A flicker of impatience crossed Xin Nian’s eyes.
Why were these people so annoying? She had been so well-behaved the entire journey, not causing any trouble at all. Why were they still picking on her? Might as well kill them all and be done with it.
Xie Ninglan, standing close to her daughter, could clearly sense the change in her emotions.
Seeing her body gradually tense up and her fingers slowly moving, Xie Ninglan’s heart sank, and she silently thought, “This is bad.”
If they killed all the Escorts in front of everyone, it would be no different from rebellion…
They had only been away from the capital for a day. If that damned Emperor found out, he would surely dispatch the capital garrison to hunt them down as rebels in no time.
Their family of a few could escape without much trouble, but doing so would implicate the other native residents of the Xin family.
That household had elders and children, and they hadn’t committed any grave sins. There was no need to drag others into this.
Xie Ninglan quickly grabbed her daughter’s hand, frantically thinking of how to resolve the situation. Just then, Liang Guang approached with the old Escort Xiao Jia and a few others, his face stern with anger. “What’s going on now? You have no energy for the journey but plenty of spirit for causing trouble.”
He raised his large hand and pointed at the half-circle of people around him. “Looks like you’re still not tired. We’ll walk five more miles tomorrow.”
At this, the exiled prisoners burst into complaints, all chiming in to explain, “Sir, it’s not us causing trouble here.”
“Yes, yes, Sir. It’s the Xin family who had a conflict with the Escorts. This has nothing to do with us…”
Liang Guang frowned and glared at Xin Wenyuan and the others. “What’s going on? You, explain.”
“Sir, Sir.” Xin Wenan hurriedly squeezed forward, cupping his hands repeatedly as he explained. “The women don’t understand things and can only cry and make a fuss when something happens. Actually, it’s like this…”
Xin Wenyuan glanced at his third brother, who had cut in. This guy was usually annoyingly talkative, but today he was acting somewhat like an uncle should.
After Xin Wenan explained the whole story, Liang Guang understood and relaxed his frown, turning to the furious bearded man. “Why did you send Gouzi to look for the mother and daughter?”
His question hit the nail on the head, leaving the bearded man stammering and unable to respond.
Could he admit that he had sent Gouzi to openly extort benefits from Xie Ninglan and her daughter? Of course not.
Seeing his guilty expression, Liang Guang understood the reason perfectly.
He had been looking for a way to keep the bearded man in check, and now the opportunity had presented itself.
Liang Guang curled his lips into a cold smile, putting on a righteous and stern demeanor as he solemnly criticized, “Old Mao, you’re not a newcomer. There are rules you should know without me having to spell them out.”
“Although they are now exiled prisoners, we still have to abide by the rules. Maintain a certain distance from the female prisoners—it’s better for everyone that way.”
“We’re not far from the capital yet, don’t cause me any trouble. Don’t forget I hold everyone’s performance evaluations for this journey in my hands. Who’s doing well and who isn’t – it’s all clear as day! When we return to the capital for debriefing, I’ll be reporting everything in detail.”
The bearded man gritted his teeth, seething with resentment inside.
Damn it, this bastard thinks everything’s fine just because he took bribes? He pocketed silver from the Minister’s residence until his hands went soft, yet didn’t bother to share even meager belongings with his brothers below.
If he had gotten a share of the money, would he have needed to secretly send someone to extort from that woman and her child?
The bearded man’s yellow teeth ground audibly, but outwardly he had to maintain a bowing, scraping appearance of listening to instructions.
“Yes, Liang Tou is absolutely right. This humble one will definitely discipline his subordinates properly from now on. But about Gouzi’s matter… A person can’t just vanish into thin air, right?”
Liang Guang glanced sideways at Xie Ninglan and her child, noticing their prison uniforms only had dirt and dust stains without any blood traces, and couldn’t help sneering. “Old Mao, you don’t actually think this woman and child killed your brother and buried him, do you?”
Wasn’t that ridiculous? Two noblewomen who couldn’t even tie a chicken’s legs – if they had such capability, wouldn’t they be able to reach heaven?
“Enough, enough, stop the nonsense. That guy always liked his drink. Probably got drunk and fell into some pit he can’t climb out of. All of you go search the perimeter again.” Liang Guang waved his hand and led his men away.
“Everyone get to sleep now, we depart at exactly Yin hour tomorrow.”
“Liang Tou, Liang Tou.” The bearded man followed unwillingly, gesturing animatedly. “Gouzi might really be in trouble.”
“What trouble could a drunkard get into? Have you searched upstream and downstream? Any bloodstains on the ground?”
“Sent people to search both upstream and downstream. No bloodstains though.”
“Heh.” Liang Guang couldn’t help scoffing. “No bloodstains and you’re already suspecting others? Could it be that Gouzi turned into a kite and got flown away?”
Old Zhang Jicha followed behind them and chuckled at the remark.
As this farce concluded, Xin Nian’s medicine happened to finish brewing.
After letting it cool slightly, Xin Wenyuan hurriedly carried the medicine to force-feed his eldest son.
Xin Wenan came over to take a look. “Never heard that Sixth Girl knew how to diagnose illnesses and brew medicine.”
“There’s plenty you haven’t heard about. Can’t my daughter keep a low profile normally?” Xin Wenyuan snorted, using hemp cloth to wipe the spilled medicine from his good son’s lips.
The old father held his good son’s hand, murmuring incessantly. “Son, you need to recover quickly. Your mother and sister are waiting for you.”
Xin Wenan curled his lip. “He didn’t wake after three days of good soups and medicine in the residence. You think your daughter’s bowl of medicine will work miracles?”
Xin Wenyuan shot him a glance, saying irritably, “You always say such unpleasant things. Too much nonsense! Unlikeable!”
“Me!” Xin Wenan fumed. “Aren’t I speaking the truth?”
Xin Wenyuan took out half a stiff coarse rice cake from his robe and stuffed it directly into his third brother’s mouth. “Eat this and shut up quickly.”
If not for this man helping the family during critical moments, he wouldn’t bother with him.
Xin Wenan pulled the cake from his mouth, looking puzzled at Old Fourth. “Why are you giving me food?”
“Old man noticed you haven’t eaten enough these past two days, kindly sharing half with you. If you don’t want it, return it.”
“Pah! Once it’s in my mouth, you want it back? Aren’t you disgusted! Old man? Who are you calling old man?”
Under the banyan tree upstream, a figure cast a long shadow in the moonlight.
The gentle moonlight fell upon the plain silk sleeves, as if brimming with shimmering reflections of water, radiant and luminous.
Zhu Yan knelt before this person with his head bowed low, not daring to lift it even slightly, only able to hear the frantic, drum-like pounding of his own heart.
So terrifying, so terrifying—he dared not ask further.
If his master hadn’t suddenly appeared by his side, he, he, he would have been discovered by that murderous little girl!