Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Prince Cheng’s Mansion.
“Your Highness, we’ve received word of a possible Star Maiden.”
In the study, a Shadow Guard bowed as he delivered his report.
Prince Cheng sat behind his desk, painting a vast landscape of mountains and rivers.
His brush did not pause at the news. He received at least a dozen reports like this every day.
“Handle it as usual. Send someone to bring her back and hand her over to the Star Diviner.”
The Shadow Guard hesitated instead of leaving immediately, then explained what made this case different.
“Your Highness, according to the message, this girl is quite unlike the recent candidates. She seems able to glimpse the unknown.”
This time, Prince Cheng finally set down his brush and raised his head.
His eyebrows swept like distant ink-dark mountains, his nose was straight and sharply defined, and the natural curve of his lips lent him a gentle, refined air even when he did not smile.
His amber-clear eyes always held the warmth of a spring breeze, concealing the cold calculation and cunning beneath.
He slowly rose from behind the desk. Tall and elegant, he carried the natural authority of an imperial prince. The Shadow Guard became even more deferential, lowering his head further and not daring to let his gaze wander.
“Oh? Tell me more.”
The Shadow Guard answered respectfully. “The girl is three years old and is being exiled with the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. According to Cui Jin’s letter, the people of the Marquis’s Mansion have repeatedly foreseen danger along the road and avoided it in advance. They even eliminated, one after another, the three condemned criminals sent by the Ministry of Justice on the Minister of Justice’s orders.”
“More than that, they also made it through the swamp…”
Prince Cheng clasped one hand behind his back and gently turned the thumb ring on his other hand. His expression was inscrutable, and murderous intent flickered through his eyes.
“Interesting. The Xiao Family still hasn’t been eliminated?”
His voice was calm and perfectly even, yet it frightened the Shadow Guard into dropping to his knees, hardly daring to breathe.
“Your Highness, the men we sent have yet to report back. Since Cui Jin last requested reinforcements, the only letter we’ve received was the one about the Star Maiden.”
Prince Cheng paced once across the study, then suddenly asked, “Where are they now?”
“Based on the timing, they should be nearing Kaiyuan.”
Prince Cheng turned to the map and placed one slender finger precisely on a spot. “The area is crowded with tribes, many of which have longstanding grudges against one another. Pass down my order. Have our men create some disorder. Poison a few cattle and horses, for instance, then frame Xiao Che and his people. Make sure the Xiao Family is branded a bringer of disaster. We won’t have to lift a finger. The tribes will tear them to pieces for us.”
He swept his sleeve and clasped both hands behind his back. A killing aura spread from him.
“Eliminate Xiao Che at any cost. Capture the Star Maiden alive.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Shadow Guard had just left the study when the steward rushed in.
“Your Highness, a letter from the Capital.”
The hard lines of Prince Cheng’s face gradually relaxed.
He opened the letter, skimmed it, and smiled again.
“Pass down the order. This year, I will travel to the Capital to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. We depart in seven days. Have everyone begin the necessary preparations.”
The steward acknowledged the order respectfully and bowed himself out.
Prince Cheng walked to the window. The setting sun streamed through the lattice and bathed him in light, outlining his body in gold. He gazed toward the distant Capital.
“More than ten years. You truly can endure. Why put yourself through such suffering? Gnawed to the bone by a hundred poisons every day… How much longer can you hold on?”
He murmured to himself, a smile of certain victory touching his lips. “This realm will change hands in the end.”
…
Kaiyuan was a chaotic place crowded with tribes of every kind.
They constantly fought among themselves over territory, pastures, water sources, and salt ponds.
The imperial court never interfered in their internal conflicts. The more fiercely the tribes fought, the more secure the court remained.
If they ever united, the court would immediately send troops to suppress them and support one tribe to counterbalance the others. That was why they remained a pile of loose sand to this day.
Zhu Laosan gazed across the endless plain and frowned.
“Brother Xiao, we’re about to cross the territory of the Blackstone Tribe. They love wealth and often rob passing merchants and refugees. It would be best if we could move through quickly. If we can’t, things may go badly for us.”
Xiao Che had heard of the northern nomads before. They were skilled riders and archers, bold by nature, lived in close communities, and united against outsiders.
“Have you ever been robbed by them before, sir?”
Zhu Laosan shook his head. “No. I’m a bailiff, so they never dared do anything to me. The former chieftain of the Blackstone Tribe was also on good terms with the court and wouldn’t trouble those of us escorting prisoners. But I heard they changed chieftains last year.”
Xiao Che frowned. Worrying now would accomplish nothing. Whatever was coming would come, and they could only respond as the situation unfolded.
They did not dare stop the mule carts, hoping to race through the Blackstone Tribe’s territory.
But what they feared most was exactly what came.
The carts had traveled only a few dozen miles when the thunder of hooves sounded behind them, accompanied by men’s ringing shouts.
“Hyah! Whoa!”
Before long, dozens of horsemen had completely surrounded the Xiao Family’s three carts.
“We’re finished! The Blackstone Tribe caught up to us.”
Li Si sat outside the carriage, taking turns with Xiao Che at the reins. Now they were surrounded, and none of the men looked friendly. His heart quaked with fear.
Zhu Laosan was the first to jump down. He tried to negotiate, only to be surrounded by several burly men.
“We’re bailiffs of the imperial court, escorting prisoners through this area. If you dare touch me, you’ll be making an enemy of the court.”
His expression was grim. These men clearly had no intention of letting them pass.
Zhu Laosan immediately invoked the imperial court.
Instead, the men burst out laughing.
“To hell with your court. I’m the law out here. Seize them all and take them back.”
Li Si secretly tugged at Xiao Che’s sleeve.
“Brother Xiao, what do we do? If they take us away, we’ll be lambs in a wolves’ den. We’ll never get out again.”
Xiao Che remained calm and lowered his voice. “Wait and see. We’re badly outnumbered and shouldn’t start a fight. Follow them for now.”
He handed the first cart over to Li Si and went to the rear to take Xiao Jinghao’s place.
Old Madam Xiao, Nanny Chen, Pei Wanqing, and Jin Bao rode in the cart Xiao Jinghao had been driving.
Xiao Jingmo drove the last cart, which carried Madam Liu and the other two members of her family.
Xiao Che had just taken the whip when several riders closed in. They leaned down and lifted the carriage curtain with their riding crops. Their faces brightened when they saw the women inside.
On the grasslands, women were valuable resources too. Without women, there would be no descendants.
Xiao Che cast one of them a cold glance, only for the man to lash him across the back.
“What are you looking at? Keep staring and I’ll gouge out your eyes to eat with my wine. Move!”
The whip split the flesh on Xiao Che’s back.
Pei Wanqing’s heart ached, and she clutched Jin Bao even tighter.
Jin Bao struggled out of her arms and rushed from the carriage. One look at the wound on Xiao Che’s back filled her with rage.
She clenched both little fists and glared fiercely at the man holding the whip.
“Bad man! Don’t hit Daddy. Say sorry!”
The man had not expected the little girl to dare challenge him. A trace of admiration even appeared in his eyes.
“Good cub. You’ve got some spirit. I thought everyone from inside the pass was a weakling.”
Seeing his smug grin, Jin Bao abruptly spun around and scrambled onto the carriage roof. Under his astonished gaze, she leaped onto him, seized the cluster of thin braids on his head, and yanked with all her strength.
The man reached for her.
Jin Bao dodged left and right, sitting on his neck one moment and hanging from his back the next. She moved so quickly that he soon broke into a sweat without managing to touch a single hair on her head.
Enraged, he spurred his horse into a gallop, hoping to shake her off.
Jin Bao’s sharp eyes spotted the dagger tucked inside his boot.
With one hand gripping the saddle, she drew the dagger with the other and drove it hard into the horse’s belly.
Pain and terror sent the horse berserk among the herd.
The other horses panicked instantly.
Jin Bao’s whole body hung along one side of the horse, one small hand clinging to the saddle. As the animal raced wildly, her face went pale. She looked ready to fall at any moment.
Pei Wanqing witnessed everything from inside the carriage, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Xiao Che chose the perfect instant to launch himself forward and catch Jin Bao as she fell. Father and daughter rolled several times through the grass before coming safely to a stop.
“Good girl, are you hurt?”
Jin Bao blinked her large eyes and shook her head. “Baby’s fine. Daddy hurts. Baby will blow it better.”
She crawled out of Xiao Che’s arms, stood behind him, pursed her lips, and blew hard on the welt several times.
Emotion filled Xiao Che’s heart. No wonder everyone wanted a daughter. A daughter truly was the warmest little comfort to her parents.
“Good girl, Daddy doesn’t hurt anymore. Let’s hurry.”
This was their chance to flee while the enemy was in chaos.
But they had underestimated the skill of the nomads.
Those people spent their entire lives on horseback. A spooked horse was far from a mortal threat to them.
The group had not gotten very far before they were surrounded again.
This time, the men of the Blackstone Tribe slaughtered their mules, leaving them with no means of escape.