Chapter 151
Chapter 151
The woman’s heart pounded as she listened.
“Heavens above! Why did Prince Cheng’s army go to war with the Murong Family?
“I heard the Murong Family commands twenty thousand iron cavalry. They’ve been a mighty dragon entrenched in the Northern Frontier for years. Who would ever dare attack them?
“Has Tieshan City truly fallen?”
Hongying hugged her shoulders and nodded through her sobs. “Cousin, I don’t understand it either. But Tieshan City has become a living hell. Everyone who could flee has escaped.”
Worry filled the woman’s face. If Tieshan City had fallen, this estate might not remain safe either. The city stood three hundred li directly south of the estate, and anyone traveling here had to pass through it.
Now that Tieshan City had been breached, this estate…
Then again, three other families of the Northern Frontier occupied the surrounding area.
No sooner did the thought occur than the woman shook her head. The three families combined could not defeat the Murong Family, much less Prince Cheng’s iron cavalry.
Hongying suddenly lifted her head, her face streaked with tears. “But I think Tieshan City fell because Prince Cheng sent out a Black-Robed Man.
“I think I saw him the day the city fell. He held a glowing sphere, but I couldn’t see his face. His entire face was hidden beneath his robe, and every one of Prince Cheng’s soldiers obeyed him.”
This information was far too important to ignore. Her cousin decided they had to tell the masters of the estate.
The world outside was in chaos. People like them had finally found a safe place and earned a meager wage. She did not want to meet the same fate as Hongying.
“Cousin, come with me to see the masters. Don’t you want work?
“Tell them everything you experienced. This information will be extremely important to them. You may even earn merit, which will make it much easier for you to find work here.”
Hongying froze and asked blankly, “Will that really work?”
Her cousin pulled her up. “How will we know if we don’t try?”
Hongying rose with her help and tugged at her clothes. But they were so ragged and dirty that there was nothing she could do to make herself presentable.
“Aunties, Baby can show you the way!”
Perched atop the wall, Jin Bao greeted them with a cheerful grin.
The sudden childish voice above their heads startled both women.
Hongying was so frightened that she hid behind her cousin. They looked up together and saw a little girl as lovely as an immortal maiden sitting on the wall. Her eyes were enormous, her dimples deep, and her fair cheeks rosy. Her little lips were pink and plump as she smiled down at them.
“C-Cousin… who is she? When did she get up there? Did she hear everything we just said?”
Hongying’s voice was not especially quiet, and Jin Bao heard every word.
Before the other woman could answer, Jin Bao tilted her head and smiled.
“Baby heard it. Baby heard everything! Baby saw you both a long time ago.
“Baby saw Auntie bring you food too. Are you full now?
“Baby is having roast chicken later. Baby can share one drumstick with you.”
Jin Bao thought for a moment, then quickly added, “Maybe one wing too, but Baby can’t give you any more than that.”
The other woman had calmed down by then. She had never met Jin Bao, but the workers said a little girl as pretty as a New Year painting had recently arrived at the estate. The child loved meat, especially roast chicken. Could this be that formidable little miss?
They said the girl possessed astonishing powers. She was the Star Maiden and the person Prince Cheng wanted to capture. How had the woman happened to encounter her today?
Worse, Jin Bao had caught her stealing food. Would the girl report her?
Would she lose her livelihood as well?
“Auntie, why aren’t you talking? Is Baby not giving you enough?”
Hongying hurriedly waved her hands. “No, I…”
She did not know how to answer. Nervously, she looked at her cousin and tugged at the corner of her clothes.
“Cousin, who is this child? She looks like the daughter of a wealthy family. Haven’t you seen her while working here?”
Her cousin shook her head. “I’m only a kitchen helper. Without the masters’ permission, I’m not allowed in the front courtyard. We leave as soon as our work is finished. But I suspect she’s the young guest who arrived recently. They say she’s the master’s niece.”
“What? Then she’s the Young Miss?”
“She must be. There aren’t any other children on the estate.”
Hongying was so frightened that she immediately knelt and kowtowed.
“Greetings, Young Miss. I wish you good health. I would not dare refuse anything the Young Miss grants me. Please spare my cousin and do not tell the masters that she stole food for me.”
Jin Bao was confused. She had never meant to report them.
“Auntie, you don’t have to kowtow. Baby won’t tell on you. Are you going to see Daddy and Uncle now? Baby can lead the way.”
At this point, the two women had to go whether they wanted to or not. They had already been discovered. If they came forward voluntarily, perhaps the masters would forgive the stolen food in consideration of the valuable warning.
Her cousin nodded quickly. “Then we will have to trouble the Young Miss.”
Jin Bao waved cheerfully. “It’s no trouble! Baby will come down now.”
The woman instinctively reached up to catch her, but Jin Bao climbed nimbly down the wall and landed before them in the blink of an eye.
Her surprise lasted only a moment. They said the Young Miss had all kinds of marvelous powers. A tall wall was nothing to her.
Jin Bao stood before the women and took one finger from each of them.
“Aunties, let’s go!”
Hongying instinctively pulled away.
“Young Miss, don’t… I’m dirty.”
Jin Bao blinked and looked at Hongying’s fingers. They were caked with grime, but she did not care.
She had looked much the same back in Sanjiacun. There was nothing to dislike.
“Auntie, washing makes hands clean again. Dirty hands aren’t scary when your heart is good.”
Those few simple words sent large tears spilling down Hongying’s face.
All along the road, people had avoided her as though she carried the plague. Yet this delicately raised young lady treated her with kindness and spoke such warm words. Smiling through her tears, Hongying closed her hand around Jin Bao’s.
“Then I will trouble the Young Miss to lead the way.”
“Mm-hmm! Okay!”
Jin Bao skipped between the two women as they headed toward the front courtyard.
Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan were in the study discussing how to purchase the valley residents’ potatoes when Jin Bao’s uninhibited shout rang throughout the main courtyard.
“Daddy! Uncle! Come quick! Baby brought you a woman!”
Xiao Che’s eyes nearly popped from his head. This daughter of his really was alarmingly bold. If her mother heard her say that, who knew what she would think?
Jin Bao had spent the past few days at Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan’s side, so she had overheard them mention that their new home lacked women.
She was too young to understand why the new home absolutely needed women. Since she could not figure it out, she had stopped worrying about it, but the matter remained in her mind. Now, whenever she saw an unattached woman, she wanted to drag her in front of Xiao Che.
Xiao Che and Xie Chengyan ran out in bewilderment and saw Jin Bao racing toward them with a woman in each hand.
She looked as delighted as if she had found a chest of gold.