Chapter 161: The Northward Journey
Jin Sui calmly accepted the hot tea. She didn’t have a masochistic tendency. If the boss didn’t treat her as a maidservant, could she proactively remind him?
“Thank you, I’m fine. I’m just a bit tired from not sleeping well these past few days.”
Yan Jiu said softly, “Then you rest. Do you need me to leave?”
Jin Sui quickly waved her hands, “No, no. This carriage is very spacious, and I sleep very comfortably.”
Even if the boss doesn’t treat you as a maidservant, you can’t just get on his nerves and kick the boss out!
Yan Jiu slowly turned the tea cup in his hand and said, “I hope Miss Ji can feel more at ease when interacting with me, and not be so reserved.”
“I haven’t forgotten that night, the joy of discussing the Thirty-Six Stratagems with you.”
Jin Sui really wanted to say, at that time I was Daoist Ji, solely focused on buttering you up and doing business with the border city.
The situation is completely different now, and that mindset can never be replicated.
But she didn’t speak, only saying softly, “When I feel better, I’ll chat with the Head of the Family.”
At this moment, they had already left the Pass and were traveling outside the borderlands, in Gu Changxiao’s team, where no human habitation could be seen for miles.
Gu Changxiao and Han Xing were anxiously awaiting Cheng Yu’s next letter. Although the previous letter clearly stated that Daoist Ji was not dead, they had not yet received a letter detailing Daoist Ji’s current situation.
Had Daoist Ji safely left Yandi? Had the situation in the border city reached his ears? What if he turned back to the border city?
Gu Changxiao clenched his fist tightly. He had used such a painful method to send her away. He absolutely could not let her be in danger again.
Daoist Ji, you must leave Yandi alive. Whether it’s to Jiangnan or back to the Central Plains, I only wish you a peaceful and fulfilling life for the rest of your days.
Just then, Hei Hu chuckled and approached, “Prince, our Eunuch is making noise again.”
Gu Changxiao frowned, “No need to pay attention.”
Having left the Pass, if he didn’t want to freeze or starve to death on the road, he had to behave. He tolerated him at the border city back then only because he was worried that Prince Yu’s men would secretly rendezvous with him and take him away.
Han Xing quietly asked Hei Hu, “What did you do this time?”
Hei Hu chuckled, “Hao Duojin smeared chili paste on his toilet paper.”
Han Xing kicked him hard, “We only brought that little bit of chili paste, not even enough to eat. Who told you to play around like that!”
Eunuch Zhou was crying and shouting over there. If he heard this, he would surely have a heart attack from anger. You’re scolding him for wasting chili paste!
This Eunuch is about to be tormented to death!
From his arrogant and rude demeanor when they first set out, Eunuch Zhou had become the entire team’s ‘toy’. First, he lost his carriage and had to travel on horseback like the Black Feather Camp.
In this cold weather, his body was stiff with cold. Then, sleeping in a tent at night, the blankets couldn’t even keep him warm; it was like an ice cave. He ate cold food and drank snow. Now, he only had one thought: to return alive.
This assignment is truly difficult! I’d rather serve a mad concubine in the cold palace than take on this kind of assignment!
Thinking of this, Eunuch Zhou admired Li King. Not many royal descendants could endure such hardship! If it were Prince Yu, he would have been complaining incessantly by now.
What he didn’t know was that the current pace of travel was still considered slow, because Li King was waiting for news.
One was Cheng Yu’s letter; without definite news of Daoist Ji, he couldn’t eat or sleep. The second was news from the Northwest Army.
Prince Yu, taking advantage of the Emperor’s critical illness and regency, first targeted his old Northwest Army subordinates, cutting troops and reducing military expenses, even ordering the Northwest Army to fight the Fan People in this harsh winter.
This was sending people to their deaths! Gu Changxiao couldn’t understand what the Empress’s faction was thinking!
Even if they wanted to completely prune his influence, they shouldn’t use the border as a pawn. Without the Northwest Army, what if the Fan People marched south and reached Chang’an?
Therefore, what he needed to protect now was not just the border city, but also the Northwest Army.
More importantly, the border city was an isolated city with no external aid in Yandi. To break the deadlock, he needed to establish contact with the Northwest Army.
This was a risky move. One wrong step, and he would die, the border would fall into chaos, and countless soldiers and civilians would die at the hands of external enemies.
And the only person he could protect was Daoist Ji.
She shouldn’t be dragged into this treacherous political struggle. Gu Changxiao even felt that just thinking of Daoist Ji living a leisurely life in some sunny place would fill him with strength.
Daoist Ji was always so full of life, full of hope for life and everything in the world.
There was no sun in the long winter outside the border. Daoist Ji was the sun in his heart. Thinking of her, no matter how dark the road ahead, he would fear nothing.
So, Daoist Ji, you must live safely and happily…
Daoist Ji was teaching the Yan Clan Bodyguards how to make lamb flatbread soup. Yan Jiu had brought everything he needed, but unfortunately, he had brought too few cooks, only two.
It was said that the Yan Clan had more female cooks, but the Head of the Family specifically said not to bring female cooks along, fearing they wouldn’t be able to endure the extreme cold.
Coupled with the extreme cold making firewood hard to find, people often ate cold food. Jin Sui really couldn’t stand it. Yan Jiu said she didn’t need to do anything, but she sat in the carriage waiting for others to bring the food.
She didn’t have that much nerve! When she was the Fake Li King, she often directed the cooking of large pots of food. Now, she was just returning to her old ways.
“Use clean stones to build a stove, simmer the lamb soup in the pot, and add plenty of pepper to ward off the cold.”
“Eat less chili pepper; it makes you sweat. You’ll feel warm at the moment, but you’ll feel colder later.”
“What? Chili pepper at ten taels a pound! The border city is… very cost-effective! Chili peppers are only available in the border city, you can’t buy them anywhere else. This price is considered fair.”
She had just wanted to curse the border city for being greedy, ten taels of silver for a pound of chili paste, it was simply exorbitant!
But then she remembered that she was a resident of the border city not long ago. It was difficult for the border city to earn money, so they should sell it at a higher price to wealthy families like the Yan Clan.
“While the lamb soup is simmering, start proofing the dough. The dough is difficult to proof in this cold weather, so let it rest in warm water. These stones here are for roasting, perfect for baking flatbreads. See, isn’t it much faster?”
The assisting guards all praised, “Miss Ji is truly intelligent. This way, it saves firewood, the food cooks quickly, and the brothers don’t have to eat cold food.”
Jin Sui sighed, “Actually, what you eat on this long journey is quite good, with meat and flatbread. When border soldiers go on long journeys, they only eat bean and pea porridge.”
“How does Miss Ji know what border soldiers eat? Border soldiers are poor, how can they compare to our Yan Clan!”
Jin Sui was stunned and silently carried two bowls of lamb soup to the carriage. Yan Jiu put away his book and opened a crack in the window to let out the smell of pepper and lamb.
He looked at the bowl of milky white meat soup with a slight frown, not moving for a long time, clearly lacking appetite.
Jin Sui’s mouth twitched. She moved a flower pot from a corner of the carriage. It wasn’t planted with flowers or plants, but with a pot of green garlic sprouts.
She carefully pinched off two garlic leaves. They didn’t need washing; she wiped them clean with snow every day.
She chopped them with silver scissors and sprinkled a layer into Yan Jiu’s bowl, “Eat quickly, it will get cold soon.”
Now he had more appetite. Yan Jiu, like her, broke the flatbread and soaked it in the lamb soup. Jin Sui, on the other hand, had already finished a large bowl.
While she was drinking soup from a bowl larger than her face, Yan Jiu looked at it with increased appetite and ate more than half a bowl.
It was rare to see a girl like Miss Ji eat so heartily. She was not at all pretentious and always found ways to make ordinary food look and taste delicious.
The only thing that made Yan Jiu feel a sense of dissatisfaction was that Miss Ji still didn’t see him as a ‘man’, or rather, she didn’t see herself as a ‘woman’.
When the two were alone, there was no romantic atmosphere. She did whatever she needed to do. At night, she would draw the curtains and fall asleep quickly, treating him completely like a roommate of the same gender.
This left Yan Jiu wondering whether to be happy that she trusted him so much, or to be sad that she had no romantic feelings for him at all.
Seeing Yan Jiu looking at her, Jin Sui revealed two eyes from behind the large bowl:
“What’s wrong? You can’t finish it again! You’re so tall, why are you eating so little? Are you lacking exercise? How about you ride a horse after your meal?”
Yan Jiu’s mouth twitched slightly. Look, what woman in this world would speak to Yan Clan’s Jiulang like this? Any other woman would only be shy and awkward.
“I think Miss Ji eats quite a lot for both meals, and she also consumes a lot of snacks in the morning and evening, yet she always sleeps. That’s what’s bad for her health.”
Jin Sui replied with a dry laugh, “I’m young, sleeping is exercise for me.”
When I sleep, I have to do many things in my space! Making glass, boiling fish oil, making medicine, making compressed biscuits, stocking up on energy bars…
It couldn’t be helped, Jin Sui had too little sense of security. When she was in the border city, she had a group of trusted companions. Now, it could be said that she had to rely on herself for everything.
Yan Jiu and the Yan Clan Bodyguards were different from Han Xing and the Black Feather Camp. The two were an alliance of interests, and the things she promised could only be fulfilled if she returned alive.
The only place that gave her peace of mind was her space. Thinking back to her time in the border city, when she was busy, she would do anything in her space except go to the toilet.
Even stocking up on energy bars was a secondary task. Now, her space was her only trump card, and she had to stock up on more things to feel secure.
Looking at the Yan Clan Bodyguards eating flatbread soaked in lamb soup, she couldn’t help but think of Gu Changxiao’s group. She wondered what they were eating. Had they harvested the potatoes and sweet potatoes when they left?
If they had harvested a batch, they could bring them as food. Roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes were tastier than bean and pea porridge.
Hei Hu must not have eaten sugar for a long time. Hei Hu was always foolish, why was he foolish about this important matter?
Why did you go to the Northern Frontier with Gu Changxiao? You should have married Miss Bai and lived a good life! A bunch of foolish boys!
But what right do I have to laugh at them? I’m no different…
After the meal, there was a half-hour rest. Jin Sui naturally didn’t do chores like washing dishes or feeding horses. She only needed to keep the carriage clean and tidy.
The piece of animal hide Yan Jiu used as a footrest was taken out and patted and shaken in the snow, becoming clean again.
The cooks were boiling water to make tea. She thought of opening the wooden box given by Cheng Yu and taking out a packet of dried ginger and brown sugar.
This was naturally taken from her space, but to deceive Yan Jiu, she made an excuse that Chen Yunniang had given it to her.
She brewed two large pots of brown sugar ginger tea to warm the guards on duty. They were at the front and rear of the team and suffered the most from the cold.
Perhaps it was because she was the only woman in the entire team, or perhaps it was because of Yan Jiu’s unusual attitude towards her.
She had heard the guards discussing privately more than once that she was not an ordinary maidservant, but likely a girl favored by the Head of the Family.
“We don’t have such beautiful girls in Yandi. She looks like she’s from Jiangnan. The Head of the Family is going out this time and isn’t bringing anyone else, only her. Could she become our mistress?”
“Although we don’t know Miss Ji’s background, she has a kind heart and is diligent. She’s not condescending to us at all. If we had such a mistress, it would be our good fortune.”
Jin Sui couldn’t help but twitch her mouth every time she heard this. You’re all thinking too much. I’m just a top-tier worker you want to recruit, a top-tier ox and horse!
Fortunately, Yan Jiu didn’t hear this, otherwise, to clarify the boundaries, he would have sent her to sleep in another carriage.
The cargo carriages were not covered with animal hide, nor did they have silver charcoal braziers. Sleeping in one for a night would be half-dead from the cold.
In short, Jin Sui strictly adhered to her persona. In front of others, she was respectful to Yan Jiu, a model maidservant.
She was not pretentious and would help with any task she could. Behind closed doors, she provided emotional value to Yan Jiu. After all, he was a wealthy man who didn’t lack gold and silver, and all she could offer was emotional value.
Yan Jiu no longer enjoyed reading the Thirty-Six Stratagems; he had switched to reading the Northern Frontier Map and liked to chat with Jin Sui about which mountain was a strategic stronghold, which valley could be used to station troops, and which pastureland was fertile.
He even knew which goods the herdsmen liked to buy from Han merchants, listing them all. Jin Sui reasonably suspected that his visit to the Left Wise King to discuss business was a genuine reason.
Perhaps the Yan Clan had been doing business with the Northern Frontier in secret for many years. Earlier, she had heard from Cheng Yu and Wei Assistant Secretary that after Yandi was recaptured by Great Xia, many local gentry had connections with the Northern Frontier.
Jin Sui naturally didn’t ask directly. Regardless of Yan Jiu’s true intentions, she had no right to say anything, considering she was freeloading his carriage and manpower to go to the Northern Frontier.
Besides, she liked the people of Great Xia, the Han Chinese. As for the imperial court, she had no good feelings towards it either.
“How much longer until we catch up to the Black Feather Army?”
Yan Jiu shook his head, “Their speed is that of an army on the march. We’ll likely only meet them after reaching the Northern Frontier Royal Court.”
Seeing Jin Sui’s disappointed expression, he said softly, “It’s not suitable for us to travel together. If the Northern Frontier people knew, they would become wary of me.”
Jin Sui naturally knew they couldn’t travel together. She just wanted to meet Han Xing and Hei Hu before reaching the Northern Frontier, at least to know Gu Changxiao’s plan.
“Can we contact them?”
Yan Jiu shook his head again, “There are Inner Attendants in their team. If the Yan Clan contacts Li King in the Northern Frontier, it would be disadvantageous to Li King.”
Jin Sui could only put her heart at ease for now and continue stocking up in her space. Given that she slept too much every day, Yan Jiu had even asked the accompanying physician to examine her.
The physician’s diagnosis was that Miss Ji was sleeping so much because it was too cold.
It was as good as saying she was lazy because she liked to sleep! What illness could this girl have, who could eat and sleep so much?
That evening, after setting up camp, Jin Sui got out of the carriage to walk. Her legs were sore and numb from sitting for too long. She also wanted to look at the map to see the geographical location.
As soon as she reached the hillside, she saw a guard at the rear of the team riding a fast horse, galloping towards Yan Jiu’s carriage.
Her heart stirred, and she quickly walked towards the carriage. At this moment, the entire team felt isolated from the rest of the world, so any bit of outside news was exciting.
What she heard was: “That person has been following us for seven days. Is he friend or foe?”
Yan Jiu frowned, “Whether friend or foe, capture him.”
The guard was a bit embarrassed, “We set a trap, but didn’t catch him. Judging by his silhouette, it’s a youth with excellent Qinggong.”
Jin Sui’s mind instantly conjured up a person. She quickly said, “He should be looking for me. I’ll go bring him over.”
If her guess was correct, this youth should be Liu Yun.
Wow, Sui Sui has been serialized for 100 days today! I haven’t taken a single day off, do I deserve praise? Please give me a vote to support Sui Sui’s 100th day.
