Chapter 37

Chapter 37

After dinner, Zhu Laosan leaned in and murmured a few words into Xiao Che’s ear.

“Brother Xiao, you and your family need to keep a closer eye on Cui Jin and Zou Yong tonight. Those two are acting on someone’s orders. They want the lives of the Xiao Family. But one thing I can be sure of is that they weren’t sent by the Emperor. Brother Xiao, think carefully. Have you offended anyone else?”

A flicker of surprise passed through Xiao Che’s eyes, though nothing showed on his face.

How could Zhu Laosan be so certain they had not been sent by the Emperor? They themselves had only guessed that the Emperor would not go to such unnecessary lengths.

In his heart, Xiao Che had never stopped suspecting the Emperor.

It was entirely possible that the Emperor had deliberately set up a smokescreen, unwilling to bear the stain of infamy. Now that Zhu Laosan had said this, could it mean he was one of the Emperor’s men?

For a moment, Xiao Che could not get a read on him.

Looking back on the journey so far, Zhu Laosan had indeed never truly made things difficult for them.

He had merely carried out his duties by the book, and he had not beaten or cursed the people of the Main Branch without cause.

Thinking about it now, there was likely more to this than met the eye.

Xiao Che nodded and told Zhu Laosan to rest without worry.

That night, he and Xiao Jingmo would take turns keeping watch.

Zhu Laosan was no longer afraid that Xiao Che and the others would flee. If they had wanted to run, they would not have risked their lives to save them that day.

Besides, the laws of Great Xia were extremely harsh toward fugitives.

Once a person’s name was placed on the wanted list, they could forget about ever clearing it for the rest of their life. Even their descendants would be branded fugitives.

After Xiao Che saw Zhu Laosan and Li Si finish their medicine and quickly fall asleep, he found Xiao Jingmo and told him what Zhu Laosan had said.

“Father, you’ve spent most of your years away from the capital. What political enemies could you have?

“Unless this person isn’t someone we offended in the past few years.

“Think back to when you were young. Did you ever offend anyone?

“Or was there anyone you were once close to, but later stopped contacting?”

With Xiao Jingmo’s reminder, Xiao Che really did think of someone.

“Prince Cheng!”

Xiao Jingmo looked at Xiao Che in surprise. “Prince Cheng?

“Father, you were acquainted with Prince Cheng?

“I’ve never heard you mention it before. Besides, isn’t Prince Cheng in his fief?

“He hasn’t returned to the capital in many years, has he?”

Heavy with thoughts, Xiao Che nodded. He looked at the campfire before him and sank into memory.

His friendship with Prince Cheng had begun with an assassination attempt.

That year, he was only ten years old, the legitimate eldest son of the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery.

Spies from the Southern Frontier infiltrated the capital and tried to capture him as a hostage to force the Old Marquis to submit.

He was seriously wounded by the spies and nearly taken out of the capital. When he woke again, he saw that Prince Cheng had brought him to a physician.

From then on, he regarded Prince Cheng as his savior. The two began to associate with each other and became very close in private.

Until that year, when the Late Emperor fell gravely ill, and Prince Cheng intended for the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery to support him in ascending the throne.

But the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery never took sides. They had always served the reigning Emperor.

Who could have known that the Late Emperor had long since drafted an edict of succession, passing the throne to the current Emperor?

Prince Cheng was unwilling to accept it, but everything had already been decided, and he was powerless to reverse it.

Afterward, Xiao Che had gone to Prince Cheng’s Mansion, but Prince Cheng had already departed for his fief. From then on, the two never met again.

“Father, what kind of person do you think Prince Cheng is?

“Could he have held a grudge over what happened back then and tried to harm us from the shadows?”

Xiao Jingmo felt that one could never truly know what was in another person’s heart. He had never even met Prince Cheng, so he could not judge him. Still, one could never be too cautious.

Xiao Che shook his head. “He should not be. Prince Cheng was a fairly gentle man, worthy of being called a virtuous prince. I heard he governs his fief very well. The common people are prosperous and live in peace and contentment.

“It is just that that seat is far too tempting. As an imperial prince, it was only natural for him to want to fight for it back then. In the end, the new Emperor ascended the throne. All these years, I have never heard of Prince Cheng harboring rebellious intentions. It should not be him.”

Xiao Jingmo placed a question mark over that in his heart. He kept feeling that this Prince Cheng was a man of deep schemes and could not possibly be as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Anyone who had taken part in the struggle for succession back then, and then swiftly left the capital after failing, could not possibly be harmless.

“Father, did Eldest Brother leave any backup plans? Why don’t we have his people look into that man in secret?”

Xiao Che fell silent for a long while, conflict showing on his face. He did not want the friendship he had shared with Prince Cheng in their youth to become a deadly feud because of the estrangement back then. But if he had to name any other political enemies, he could no longer think of anyone.

“I am not sure about the people your elder brother arranged. Now that your elder brother’s whereabouts are unknown, everything will have to wait until we reach the Northern Frontier. I wonder how your elder brother is now… whether he is alive or dead.”

After Xiao Che’s legs had become crippled two years ago, he rarely left the residence. All affairs in the household had been handled by Xiao Jingxing, and when their home was searched and confiscated, Xiao Jingxing had arranged everything as well.

After something happened to Xiao Jingxing, it was as if all contact between them and those people had been severed.

At the mention of Xiao Jingxing, the atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.

Xiao Jingmo touched the ground beneath him. It was a little damp. The temperature difference between day and night in these woods was large, and dew would form at night. He glanced at the women resting huddled together.
Old Madam Xiao’s hair was streaked with gray, her face drawn and haggard. Even in sleep, she looked deeply unsettled.

Pei Wanqing held Jin Bao in her arms and leaned against a tree, swatting away mosquitoes and insects from time to time.

Lu Shuangshuang had not slept at all. She had been tending to her son and her mother-in-law the entire time.

Every now and then, Nanny Chen would tuck Old Madam Xiao’s padded jacket more tightly around her. It was something they had hurriedly sewn overnight during those few days in town, afraid that the farther north they went, the colder it would become, and they would have no thick clothing to ward off the chill.

“Father, you should rest first. I’ll keep watch. Grandmother and the others don’t seem to be sleeping well, and I bought some oiled paper cloth. I can set up a temporary tent for them, so Grandmother and Granny Liu won’t catch cold.”

Xiao Che also stood up. “I’m not sleepy anyway. I’ll give you a hand. It’ll be faster.”

Xiao Jingmo found a few long branches in the woods and drove them into the soil at an angle. He tied the tops together with hemp rope, then draped the oiled paper cloth over them, creating a simple triangular tent that could fit several people inside.

From the day before they set out, Xiao Jingmo had already expected that they would have to sleep out in the wilderness, so he had prepared fairly well.

He built two simple tents, spread oiled paper cloth inside them, and called all the women and children over to sleep there. With cotton-padded clothes as blankets and the oiled paper cloth lowered, the tents could keep them warm and block out mosquitoes and insects.

If the women and children rested well, it would also make traveling the next day easier.

Just as Xiao Jingmo turned around, he sensed a gaze fixed on him.

He looked up and saw Cui Jin staring at him, his eyes cold and sinister. Even after Xiao Jingmo noticed him, Cui Jin had no intention of looking away. Instead, he provocatively drew a finger across his own throat.

Xiao Jingmo raised an eyebrow. So he already couldn’t hold back anymore?

By noon the next day, they finally reached the territory of Shanhai Pass.

Another hundred or so li ahead, and they would arrive at Shanhai Pass. At their current pace, it would probably take another four days.

What the Xiao Family had not expected was that Old Madam Xiao would fall ill.

They had just found a broken temple to rest in when Old Madam Xiao fainted.

After Lu Shuangshuang took her pulse, she discovered that Old Madam Xiao had fallen ill because of her advanced age and the chill she had caught the previous night. She had already felt heavy-headed and unsteady that morning, but the old lady had an extraordinarily strong tolerance and had not said a word the entire way.

Now that they had reached a place to stop, she could no longer hold on and finally collapsed.

“Officer, the old madam has a fever. I would like to look nearby for some fever-reducing herbs for her. Could you make things convenient for me?”

Lu Shuangshuang dipped in a polite curtsy and looked toward Zhu Laosan.

“Go ahead.”

Zhu Laosan was covered in cold sweat as well. He sat down and panted for a long while before he finally felt a little better.

Xiao Che had saved him and Li Si, and showed no intention of running away, so Zhu Laosan no longer kept them on such a tight leash. When they stopped to rest, he also allowed them to search nearby for something to fill their stomachs or for medicinal herbs.

Seeing her grandmother sick, Jin Bao felt terrible too.

“Daddy, can we go catch a wild chicken for Grandma? Then Grandma will get better faster.”

Since his daughter had asked, he could not refuse her. Besides, there had been no relay station the previous night, and there was not much food left in their bundles. If they could catch a wild chicken to supplement their supplies, that would be good too.

“Then we still need to tell the officers first.”

Before Xiao Che could step forward, Zou Yong and Cui Jin stood up.

“You want to go catch wild chickens? Then we’ll have to follow you. Who knows if you’re trying to escape?”

Xiao Jingmo grew a little nervous. Cui Jin had openly threatened him the night before, and now he wanted to follow them. That meant he was planning to make a move.

Xiao Che gave him a reassuring look.

At that moment, Zhu Laosan forced himself to his feet.

“If someone has to follow, then Zou Yong and I will go. Cui Jin, you and Li Si stay here and guard the other prisoners.”

Cui Jin glanced at Zhu Laosan and did not argue further. With a cold snort, he sat back down.

Xiao Che left the broken temple with Jin Bao in his arms. Behind the temple was a mountain.

Lu Shuangshuang did not dare enter the forest alone, but with these people accompanying her, she finally set off.

After walking for some time, Lu Shuangshuang still had not found the herbs she was looking for, so she could only continue deeper into the mountain.

Worried, Xiao Che followed with Jin Bao in his arms, while Zou Yong and Zhu Laosan stayed close behind.

They had only walked a few steps when the sounds of fighting suddenly came from the dense woods up ahead.

Xiao Che stepped forward to stop Lu Shuangshuang and told her to stand where she was and not move.

Xiao Jingmo handed Jin Bao to Lu Shuangshuang, then went ahead alone to check the situation.

Zhu Laosan and Zou Yong quickly followed.

Not far away, five or six men had surrounded three others, one of whom seemed to be seriously injured.

“Make it quick. He’s already wounded. If we bring back his head this time, we’ll definitely earn great merit.”

Xiao Che heard them clearly. The other party’s accent did not sound like that of Great Xia.

“Brother Xiao, they seem to be Hu people. Why would they appear inside the pass?”

Zhu Laosan immediately tightened his grip on the broadsword in his hand, his face full of vigilance.