Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Two chests of jewels and a man barely clinging to life.
That was the harvest from their night of work.
“Father, I saw a stable behind the buildings.”
The three of them could not carry two chests and an unconscious man down the mountain.
“See if there are horses.”
“Second Brother, Baby’s coming too.”
Xiao Jinghao took Jin Bao’s hand and ran west.
Before long, he returned leading a horse in each hand, with Jin Bao seated on one.
“Father, there are only two, and they’re old. But they should carry everything down.”
Xiao Che checked them over. Both were indeed old, and one appeared to have an eye disease.
With no alternative, they would have to suffice.
Xiao Che and Xiao Jinghao tied the jewel chests to one horse. They placed the man across the other.
Xiao Che seated Jin Bao on the same horse and led it downhill himself.
They returned to camp after dawn. Because the group had traveled for an hour during the night, everyone was still asleep.
Xiao Che summoned Ye Qi and handed him the chests.
“Deliver these to Xiao Jingxing. Tell him to proceed boldly. Prince Cheng will certainly try to seize Jin Bao again. Have him secretly contact the Xiao Family Army in preparation.”
Ye Qi accepted the order and left.
Xiao Che hurriedly hauled the man off the horse.
“Sister-in-law, are you awake?”
Madam Liu and her two daughters-in-law shared a carriage. Lu Shuangshuang, an early riser, was already packing when she heard Xiao Che outside. She hurriedly lifted the curtain and climbed out.
“Marquis? Who is this?”
Lu Shuangshuang jumped down and saw Xiao Che supporting a man covered in wounds.
“Sister-in-law, I rescued him from the bandits. I don’t know whether he can be saved. Please examine him.”
“Lay him flat quickly.”
Xiao Che lowered the man onto the fallen leaves.
After checking, Lu Shuangshuang frowned.
“This is bad. He was tortured for a long time and lost too much blood. He needs quiet rest and medicines we don’t have.”
More importantly, how could exiles possibly provide the peaceful conditions he needed to recover?
Xiao Che sighed. “Do what you can. I brought him because he didn’t seem to be a bandit. If he can’t survive, that is his fate.”
Lu Shuangshuang nodded.
The others woke, and Zhu Laosan looked curiously at the stranger.
“Brother Xiao, where did he come from?”
Xiao Che smiled. “I found him while relieving myself in the woods. He was still breathing, so I carried him back. If you think it’s inappropriate, I’ll throw him out again.”
Zhu Laosan would never object. He and Li Si were supposedly the bailiffs, yet they had made it this far entirely through the Xiao Family. Even their food and shelter now came from the family. They had never escorted exiles with such ease.
“No need. He doesn’t look long for this world. Saving him would still be a good deed. If he dies, we can throw him out then.”
The man had thus been openly accepted.
With another patient, the carriages had to be rearranged.
All the women shared one carriage, while another was reserved for him and watched by the Xiao father and sons in shifts.
After breakfast, the group prepared to leave.
Lu Shuangshuang handed a bowl of medicine to Xiao Jingmo.
“Second Young Master, please feed him this. It will preserve his life. A ginseng root at least five hundred years old would greatly improve his chance of survival, but such a treasure may not be worth spending on a stranger.”
She left without saying more.
Xiao Jingmo took the bowl, entered the carriage, and patiently fed the man the medicine one spoonful at a time.
Fortunately, he could still swallow.
Shortly after noon, the caravan stopped in a relatively open spot.
The forest road was extremely difficult and barely wide enough for one carriage.
At narrower places, they had to clear the way before passing.
The moment the carriage stopped, Jin Bao jumped down to relieve herself.
Nanny Chen and Lu Shuangshuang began making lunch.
Xiao Jinghao took Jin Bao and Xiao Jingyu to search nearby for herbs or game.
Lu Shuangshuang had taught everyone to recognize many herbs along the way.
Whenever the group stopped, they searched for herbs and competed to see who could find the most.
“Stay nearby. Don’t wander far. There are wild beasts in this forest,” Pei Wanqing warned.
She had heard from Zhu Laosan that large predators often roamed these ancient woods. Encountering one could cost them their lives.
Xiao Jinghao called back his agreement, but he was already running off with the two children.
“Wow! Notoginseng! Third Brother, look what I found. Aunt Lu said this stops bleeding. Isn’t Baby amazing?”
Xiao Jinghao examined it. It truly was notoginseng.
“Little Sister is always luckier than us. Brother San will help you dig it up.”
Jin Bao stepped back while he carefully dug out the whole plant with his dagger.
“Brother Hao, Yu’er found one too. Come look!”
Xiao Jingyu happily pointed to a plant beside his foot.
Xiao Jinghao praised him as well.
Finding two notoginseng plants so quickly delighted everyone.
“Let’s go back. Mother will worry.”
Xiao Jinghao bent to lift Jin Bao, but she dodged.
“Third Brother, Baby saw red berries-the ginseng Aunt Lu talked about. Let’s dig it up.”
Xiao Jinghao knew she never lied, and they needed ginseng to save the man.
At twelve, he had little experience and forgot Pei Wanqing’s warning.
Thinking only of saving a life, he overlooked one thing: a fierce beast always guarded a precious herb.
“Where is it? Aunt Lu said ginseng can wake him.”
Jin Bao pointed higher up the mountain. “Over there. Hurry, Third Brother.”
“Let’s go! Third Brother will take you to dig ginseng.”
He seated Jin Bao on his shoulders and tucked Xiao Jingyu under one arm.
The three of them set off toward the ginseng.
Half an hour later, panting, he set them down.
“Little Sister, why aren’t we there? You said it wasn’t far.”
“It isn’t far. Third Brother walks too slowly. Baby could run there really fast.”
Xiao Jinghao thought, She had a point.
Who could possibly match Jin Bao’s speed?
“Third Brother, hurry. We’re almost there.”
Jin Bao tugged at the corner of his robe, but she accidentally used too much force. With a rip, the cloth tore away.
Her eyes widened. She quickly dropped the cloth.
“Baby didn’t mean to. Sorry, Third Brother.”
“It’s fine. Let’s keep going.”
Afraid she would blame herself, he laughed and quickly changed the subject.
This time, Jin Bao walked ahead to lead the way instead of letting Xiao Jinghao carry her.
With Xiao Jingyu on his back, Xiao Jinghao moved much faster.
After another thirty minutes, they arrived.
“Third Brother, look! Red berries.”
Xiao Jinghao saw them, but he did not recognize ginseng.
“Brother Hao, it is ginseng. Yu’er saw it in Mother’s book.”
Only Xiao Jingyu knew its appearance. Jin Bao remembered merely the red berries.
“If Yu’er says it is, then it is. Let’s dig it up and return.”
Xiao Jinghao drew his dagger and prepared to step forward.
Jin Bao and Xiao Jingyu stood to one side and cheered him on.
Snap.
A crisp sound came from behind.
Xiao Jinghao turned, and his soul nearly left his body.
A full-grown tiger with fierce eyes and a white forehead was stalking toward them from roughly ten feet away.