Chapter 35: Yanzhou
The two worked together, with Jinsui dragging the red-clothed woman by the collar of her back, while Hei Hu directly carried the round-faced girl on his shoulder.
However, by the time they swam ashore, both girls were unconscious. Jinsui immediately began first aid without a word.
First, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, then straightening the head and neck, clearing the mouth of dirty water, and artificial respiration.
Her actions were natural, but Hei Hu, standing beside her, was stunned.
Jinsui urged, “You don’t know first aid, do you? Learn from me. Quickly, press her chest first, then blow air into her mouth.”
Hei Hu’s face turned red. He glanced at the round-faced girl, gritted his teeth, and instead of following Jinsui’s instructions, he grabbed her ankles and dangled her upside down, shaking her vigorously.
The girl actually spat out a lot of dirty water and let out a pained groan.
Jinsui, while performing artificial respiration on the red-clothed girl, kept an eye on Hei Hu. Seeing that the woman named Baozhu was groaning, she quickly said:
“Lay her down quickly.”
She pinched the red-clothed girl’s nose again and, just as her lips touched hers, saw her eyes slowly open.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Jinsui’s heart leaped with joy. Before she could even feel relieved, her face stung slightly as the young girl raised her hand and slapped her.
“Pervert!”
Jinsui, innocent and indignant, exclaimed, “I saved your life!”
The young girl was not grateful at all. She glared with wide eyes, gritted her teeth tightly, her face full of stubbornness.
“If you hadn’t shouted so carelessly, would we have fallen into the water?”
The round-faced girl also woke up and was crawling towards her, “Miss, are you alright?”
Hei Hu wanted to help her, but she cried out as if startled:
“Don’t come near me! You two perverts, get away! If you don’t leave, I’ll call for help!”
Jinsui felt like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, but she had seen ‘doctor-patient conflicts’ in her past life; this was a minor incident.
She stood up and walked to Hei Hu’s side, saying earnestly to the red-clothed girl:
“I am not trying to take liberties with you, young lady, I am merely saving your life. If you feel I have been disrespectful, then I apologize.”
“Rest assured, we will not speak of this matter to a third party. We should never meet again.”
“Farewell.”
She was truly not angry. She was disguised as a man, and this was an era with strict gender segregation.
When the young girl opened her eyes and found herself being kissed by a strange man, she was naturally scared and angry.
She pulled Hei Hu away, afraid that Hei Hu would reveal that she was the Li King.
Unexpectedly, Hei Hu, usually simple-minded, knew the gravity of the situation this time. He didn’t mention their identities at all, only quietly told the round-faced girl:
“I was saving you too, not taking liberties. Farewell.”
He led the black horse, which had been watching the commotion, and quickly followed Jinsui away.
The two young girls, likely afraid of being seen, didn’t shout loudly. They just stared hatefully at her retreating back, muttering in low voices:
“Pervert! Don’t let me see you again!”
On the way, Jinsui warned Hei Hu, “Absolutely do not tell the brothers in the camp, especially Captain Han.”
Hei Hu hadn’t even thought about it. He was heartbrokenly wringing his new clothes, the red cloth having faded to a more unsightly earthy red. He replied:
“But our clothes are wet. What do we say if Captain Han asks?”
Passing through the forest, they saw the cooking smoke from the Black Feather Camp. Jinsui pointed to a patch of grassland and said:
“Let’s lie down and dry off.”
The two spread out their limbs, like dried beans, drying their backs first, then their fronts. Before they were dry, Han Xing found them.
Seeing the two of them rolling on the grass like children, he was speechless:
“Your Highness, in this strong sun, you’ll get heatstroke.”
Jinsui chuckled, “I was sleepy and almost fell asleep.”
Dinner took a long time. Han Xing ran towards the main road nearly ten times. It was almost dark when he finally suppressed his reluctance, fearing that His Highness would notice something amiss.
He said with a light smile, “It’s cooler to travel at night. Your Highness, why don’t we head to the border camp tonight?”
Jinsui smiled, “Alright! The sooner we return, the better the brothers can rest.”
No one mentioned that no officials from Yanzhou City came to welcome the Li King.
Even more amusingly, as they passed Yanzhou City, a detachment of the Yan Prefecture Army was waiting far from the city gate.
Holding a bright yellow imperial edict, the minor official, while outwardly respectful, said in a stiff tone:
“Greetings to the Li King. By Imperial Edict, the Li King is to guard the borderlands, and the Li King’s Residence is to be built in the border city.
Currently, Yancheng is under lockdown due to the plague in Luocheng, making it impossible to welcome Your Highness into the city. We ask for Your Highness’s understanding.”
Jinsui accepted the imperial edict with a half-smile, then tossed it to Han Xing behind her, and said to the minor official:
“Are you that afraid of this King entering the city? Heh heh, the officials of Yandi are truly imposing!”
The minor official was about to say something more, but Jinsui raised her hand, ignoring him, and said to the soldiers of the Black Feather Camp:
“Did you all hear that? Yanzhou City doesn’t welcome us, so let’s not be unwelcome guests. Follow this King back to the border city camp!”
Leaning forward on her horse, she looked directly at the minor official and said coldly:
“Tell your Prefect that if he wants this King to enter Yanzhou City next time, he should come and invite me personally, with fresh flowers paving the way and a toast of welcome.”
The minor official, perhaps thinking of Jiang Nansheng, realized that being arrogant with the Li King would not benefit him. He then bowed respectfully and said:
“Your Highness, please rest assured, I will certainly deliver this message!”
After Jinsui and her entourage had left, the minor official’s subordinate spat and said:
“Look at her! An abandoned Crown Prince, driven to the border by the Emperor, given the most useless Black Feather Camp, and she still has the nerve to be arrogant?”
The minor official glared fiercely at his subordinate, “Can you say such things in front of others? No matter how down on his luck he is, he is still an Imperial Prince. As long as he doesn’t act too outrageously, we have to tolerate him.”
The subordinate grumbled unconvinced:
“Prefect Li can tolerate it, but Master Yan won’t. She’d better be smart. If she dares to treat our Yanzhou like Huai Prefecture, there are plenty of people who will teach her a lesson.”
Prefect Li was an official appointed by the Imperial Court, serving a three-year term before being transferred. The Yan family, however, was an aristocratic family that had been in Yanzhou for a hundred years.
Everyone in Yanzhou knew that while military camps and prefects came and went, the Yan family stood firm for a century.
Glancing at the receding figures of the Black Feather Camp, the so-called border city was not even as large as a town under Yanzhou’s jurisdiction, and it was eighty li away from Yanzhou City.
Beyond the border pass lay the vast Northern Frontier, the territory of the foreign races of the Northern Frontier.
Hopefully, after the Li King arrives, she will stay peacefully in the border city camp, not cause trouble in Yanzhou, nor provoke conflict in the Northern Frontier.
Otherwise, no one would know how she died.
For some reason, although the minor official had only met the Li King once, his heart was pounding uneasily.
The way she looked at him on horseback just now carried disdain, contempt, and a condescending gaze.
Above the sky, clouds surged and winds rose. The heavens of Yan Yun were about to change!
Jinsui’s lips were tightly pressed together the entire way, and she didn’t say a word. Han Xing didn’t know how to comfort her; the Emperor was truly ruthless to the Li King!
If the Li King’s Residence were to be built in Yanzhou City, then His Highness could be a leisurely prince, and life would be easier.
But to build it in the border city, what was the difference from a banished criminal?
At this moment, Jinsui asked him, “How many people live in the border city?”
Han Xing was stunned for a moment before replying, “The border city is a strategically important border area. Only the border army and the garrison army reside there, along with the families of the soldiers. There are no ordinary civilians.”
“How many people?”
“The Black Feather Camp has twelve hundred men, the garrison army has three thousand six hundred men, and there are over five hundred military families.”
Jinsui raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but think, it was fortunate that she came first. If Gu Changxiao had come and received such disrespect, how stifled he would have felt.
Seeking reviews. I don’t know if it’s written well. After reading, could you please offer some suggestions?
