Chapter 68
It was our Commander Huo who tearfully saw Prefect Li off.
Huo Zi’an watched Prefect Li’s team, unharmed and without any scuffles.
He was so moved!
I don’t have to beat up Prefect Li!
I need to find a way to send a message to Prince Yu. Your subordinate is not dead yet, send someone to save me!
This capricious Fake Li King, who smiles as he throws people into an ant nest.
Actually planned for me to use the Commander’s Office waist token to beat up an official of the Imperial Court, this Fake Li King.
Who knows what he’ll have me do next?
I actually feel now that when she first caught me and used me like a beast of burden, it was quite good.
At least then my body was tired, but I didn’t have to endure this fear of the unknown mentally.
Huo Zi’an didn’t want to stay in the border city for even a day, but he couldn’t contact anyone outside.
Looking at the bustling market that had recently become lively, he felt this was an opportunity.
That evening, when Jin Sui came to the Tuntian Camp to check on the tomato seedlings, she stopped by to see our ‘Lord Niu’ along the way. Huo Zi’an seized the moment and said:
“Your Highness, your subordinate’s body has recovered. I feel uneasy staying in the infirmary all the time.”
Jin Sui’s heart stirred, how could she not understand what Lord Niu was planning?
It was just that he saw the Yan Family members and Prefect Li’s people arriving and wanted to send a message outside.
She was about to tell Lord Niu to continue reclaiming land and plowing fields when she suddenly saw Crazy Dave pulling a dung cart in the distance.
Jin Sui said with a touch of malice, “You’re thoughtful. The border city is in ruins and needs rebuilding, and people are needed everywhere.”
“If that’s the case, go follow Dave and pull dung! Don’t think about escaping. If I catch you, I’ll slice you up and feed you to the ants.”
The veins on Huo Zi’an’s temples twitched twice. Although he was extremely resistant to pulling dung, he was afraid of angering this Fake Li King and missing the opportunity to contact the outside world.
He could only endure it and cup his hands in salute, “Your subordinate dares not.”
Jin Sui told Hei Hu to tell Dave that our Commander Huo was, after all, an Imperial Guard of the Commander’s Office and couldn’t do manual labor, so they should give him a small team leader position.
Dave chattered excitedly, and Hei Hu said:
“The team leader will be responsible for emptying the outhouses at peasant families.”
Jin Sui took out a white silk handkerchief to wipe her hands and handed it to Huo Zi’an, patting his shoulder:
“Good luck! This King believes you will be good at emptying outhouses.”
“This is a reward for you to cover your nose and mouth. You’re welcome.”
Huo Zi’an: You are a devil!
Jin Sui: “What did you say?”
“Your subordinate said nothing.”
Jin Sui laughed heartily and slapped his chest:
“You said it here! This King can read minds, so don’t curse me in your heart!”
As Huo Zi’an walked away with Dave, Jin Sui noticed Hei Hu’s breathing deepen, his face unnaturally red, and his small eyes full of curiosity.
Jin Sui asked with a smile, “What do you want to ask?”
Hei Hu chuckled, “Your Highness, can you teach me mind-reading?”
Jin Sui: …You really believe everything I say!
“Whose mind do you want to read?”
Then it was Jin Sui’s turn to feel a chill, because Hei Hu, who was like Xiong Er, made a gesture that only children would do, poking his index fingers together, his cheeks flushed red, fidgeting awkwardly:
“It’s Miss Bai.”
“Who is Miss Bai?”
“The maidservant of the Young Miss of the Yan Family, a good girl whose face is as round as the moon.”
Jin Sui remembered that when Yan Twelve Niang came today, she brought a maidservant. Hei Hu had saved this Miss Bai before.
Jin Sui teased him, “I have to teach you in person. Next time Miss Bai comes, I’ll teach you.”
I can’t do mind-reading, but I can teach a pure-hearted young man how to date.
Hei Hu was overjoyed and began to look forward to Miss Bai coming tomorrow. He then counted on his fingers:
“Tomorrow I have to accompany Your Highness to the seaside. It would be better if Miss Bai came the day after tomorrow…”
Jin Sui argued with Han Xing about who to bring to the seaside.
It could be said that Hei Hu did whatever the Prince said, never asking an extra question.
Han Xing regarded the Prince’s safety as paramount. Even if the sky fell, he would prioritize protecting the Prince.
Just like when Jin Sui saved Yan Twelve, she said she would jump into the water to save him, and Hei Hu immediately jumped in with her.
If Han Xing had been there, he would absolutely not have let Jin Sui jump into the water. Even if it meant defying orders, he would not have let Jin Sui be in danger.
The reason for today’s argument was that Jin Sui didn’t want to bring him, fearing trouble from the Zheng Family, and wanted him to guard the border city.
She also didn’t want to bring Cheng Yu, because Jin Sui knew Cheng Yu’s heart was with Chen Yunniang, and Chen Yunniang would be terrified if she couldn’t see Cheng Yu.
And she couldn’t take Chen Yunniang on horseback to the seaside. Jin Sui estimated they would have to stay overnight there, and it would take time to conduct the salt field experiments. Bringing a woman would be too inconvenient.
So she only brought Wei Assistant Secretary, and for bodyguards, she brought Hei Hu and a group of soldiers.
Wei Assistant Secretary was at most strong, but he didn’t know martial arts. If they encountered enemies, the Prince might even have to protect him.
Therefore, Han Xing strongly objected, saying that he and Cheng Assistant Secretary must bring one of them.
However, Jin Sui won in the end, saying that her trip to the seaside was a sudden whim, and outsiders wouldn’t know about it, so no one would ambush her.
Instead, the border city was more dangerous, with the Zheng Family potentially arriving at any time. Li Heng was a fence-sitter and a troublemaker.
There was also Lord Niu. Who knew if there were still his accomplices in Yanzhou City?
Compared to that, the trip to the seaside was much safer.
Finally, Jin Sui, with Hei Hu, Wei Assistant Secretary, and a hundred soldiers, set off at dawn after eating fish ball noodle soup and packing dry rations, riding at full speed.
On the way to the seaside, they could still encounter their brothers carrying river mud and Tuntian Soldiers cutting grass.
After riding dozens of miles out of the border city, they entered the vast Gobi Desert, and no one else was seen.
But the scenery was excellent, the sky was vast and the earth was wide, with a gentle wind stirring the sand. Their group of a hundred people were as tiny as marching ants in the desert on this land.
When they smelled the salty dampness of the sea breeze, Jin Sui’s mood greatly improved. She spread her arms and laughed, “This is this King’s territory!”
Hei Hu and the others echoed her laughter, but they found what the Prince said very strange.
You were the Crown Prince before, the entire Great Xia empire was your territory!
Now you’ve been demoted and exiled to the borderlands, called exiled to Yandi, yet not a single prefecture out of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi obeys your command.
You can only live in seclusion in the border cities and passes. This vast Gobi, where even refugees are unwilling to come, yet you are so happy to have such a fiefdom?
Everyone was laughing, only Wei Assistant Secretary was wiping away tears, saying, “Our Prince has suffered too much!”
Jin Sui was speechless at Wei Assistant Secretary’s crying, “What are you crying about?”
“It’s not crying, it’s the wind and sand getting into my eyes.”
Jin Sui thought to herself, you’re crying here about how pitiful your Prince is, but you don’t know that in my previous life, I couldn’t even afford a roof over my head.
Now that I have such a large fiefdom, why wouldn’t I be happy?
Uh, of course, it’s not mine, Ling JinSui’s, but the Li King’s. When he comes looking for it, this account will have to be returned to him.
I can’t get too invested in the role, otherwise, I’ll be even more miserable when I have to give it back!
Just then, Hei Hu, who had the best eyesight, spotted a patch of lush greenery. Jin Sui ordered a short rest and went to check it out with a few people.
They discovered a large patch of wild cacti. Unlike the large cacti of later generations, these cacti were short but still bloomed with small yellow flowers, swaying gracefully on the Gobi Desert.
Wei Assistant Secretary covered his mouth and hissed:
“Horses don’t eat this, only camels do… Oh, Your Highness, don’t move, that’s a bug!”
Sorry, my dears, the update is late today.
