Chapter 348 - Chapter 348: Chapter 348. A Hunted Night
Chapter 348: Chapter 348. A Hunted Night
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Su Qing narrowed her eyes, feeling that Qiu Yongkang was hiding something. His eyes flickered when he saw her with Xiaoying, meaning he knew that Shuisheng did not say those words. Shuisheng was deeply in love with her, and he deliberately said those words to provoke her, wanting her to leave.
He was still calm and composed, not feeling embarrassed at all. This trickery was no longer what he should have at his age.
Su Qing was even more wary of Qiu Yongkang; she didn’t think Qiu Yongkang was just concerned about Shuisheng and wanted to force her to leave.
Su Qing and Xiaoying went to the government office. After Zhong Yong checked the carriage, he was about to go to the city gate to wait for Su Qing and Xiaoying. Madam Li chased after them and put the sheepskin hat she had just made on her son.
“Mother, it’s so warm.”
Zhong Yong liked it very much and said to his mother with a smile.
“Go on, come back, and 1’11 surprise you.”
Madam Li looked at her tall and mighty son with a rare gaze. Her eyes were filled with kindness. When Yong ‘er returned, she would marry him a wife.
“Yes.”
Zhong Yong smiled and nodded. He was looking forward to the surprise his mother mentioned. He was pleased to have his mother around.
“Let’s go, let’s go. Be careful on the road and take care of Su Qing and Xiaoying.”
Seeing her son’s honest smile, the smile on Madam Li’s face became even broader. She waved at her son and told him to leave quickly. She could not let Su Qing and Xiaoying wait for her son in this world of ice and snow.
“Okay, Mother, take care of yourself. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Zong Yong reminded his mother with concern. In the past, when he was silly, he also cared about his mother like this. Now that he had returned to normal, he was only more filial.
“Yes, Mother knows.”
Madam Li smiled happily as she watched her son and a few able-bodied men from the village pull the coal cart and disappear into the wind and snow. She reluctantly returned to her house when they could no longer see their shadows.
She had a lot of things to do today. Madam Li was happy that he was going to get married.
Su Qing went to the backyard of the government office to drive the carriage. Su Qing did not find any servants, so he went to the stable to pull out Big Black and set up the carriage herself. The carriage was separated from the horse.
“Little… Miss.”
The servant came out as soon as Su Qing got into the carriage. His face was blue from the cold, and his teeth chattered as he spoke. His mouth was so cold that it was covered in a spoon.
“Why are you sleeping in the carriage?”
Su Qing saw that he was freezing so badly that his hands were frostbitten. Only then did he remember that he had been in a hurry to find Xiaoying yesterday and had forgotten about the servant.
“I… I…”
The servant was about to cry. He sent the carriage to the backyard and went to look for the young lady. Ultimately, the young lady was gone, and no one arranged his accommodation or meals. He did not dare to walk around, afraid that the young lady would not be able to find him. He could only hide in the carriage and wait.
He waited for an entire night. He was so hungry and cold that he was about to freeze to death. Fortunately, there were two wool blankets in the car. Otherwise, he would have been a popsicle by now.
“Sorry, I forgot about you.”
Su Qing felt she had gone too far and apologized to the servant. The servant cried.
“It’s okay, Miss. 1 can hold on.”
Su Qing felt even more guilty when he saw the servant crying so much that his nose ran. He still wanted to help drive the carriage.
“You’re resting today. I’ll arrange a place for you to stay.”
Su Qing didn’t let him follow her and sent the servant to her godmother’s house. When Madam Li heard that the servant had been frozen the whole night, she quickly cooked hot porridge for him. Su Qing instructed the servant to rub his hands with snow. He already had frostbite, and rubbing it with snow could relieve it. When she returned, she would give the servant medicine to treat it.
With this delay, Su and Xiaoying rushed to the city gate and saw Zhong Yong had already turned into a snowman. He hugged the horsewhip and looked forward to it. When he saw Su Qing, he called out happily,
“Master, are we leaving now?”
“Let’s go.”
Su Qing looked at the open city gate and was a little anxious. She wished she could grow wings and fly to Tartan, hoping Shuisheng would still await her. When they left the city, they saw many refugees holding crutches and stumbling on the heavy snow toward Mo City.
“There are more and more refugees in Mo City.”
Su Qing looked at the refugees and said. Xiaoying sat with Su Qing outside the car and looked at the refugees sympathetically.
“It’s too pitiful. They’re all wearing single-layered clothes. They’ll freeze to death in this weather.”
“Yes.”
Su Qing had already retracted her gaze. She wasn’t as soft-hearted as Xiaoying and couldn’t pity people she didn’t know. Mo City had taken in too many refugees, and there were spies among them, which posed a significant threat to the security of Mo City.
However, they had to accept them. In this freezing weather, they would only die if they did not receive the refugees.
“Zhong Yong, you guys take your time. Xiaoying and I will leave first.”
Su Qing despised Zhong Yong’s carriage for being too slow. The heavy roads were made of snow horses, making it difficult for the carriage to move fast.
“… Alright.”
Zhong Yong wanted to say that it was unsafe for Su Qing to leave on her own, but when he thought of his master’s ability, he swallowed his words. He had no right to say that he would protect her.
Su Qing didn’t know what Zhong Yong was thinking. After saying that, she sped up. Big Black was firm and ran steadily on the snow.
Very few people walked on this road, and there wasn’t even a rut. The snow was too deep, and half of the track was buried so the speed couldn’t be increased.
Usually, they would arrive in the afternoon by walking from Mo City to Ta City in the morning. It was snowing heavily today, and it was dark before they arrived at Ta City.
As soon as they entered Ta City, they were checked by soldiers. Su Qing took out the pass given by the old emperor, and the soldiers of Tartan quickly let them pass.
Here came the problem. Ta City was bigger than Jingshi Dao, and there were yurts everywhere. Where would they find Ji Shuisheng?
Su Qing thought about it and decided to look for the Third Prince first. He was doing business with the Third Prince, and Ji Shuisheng would look for the Third Prince if he waited for her.
Su Qing decided to drive the carriage to the Third Prince’s camp. Xiaoying was no longer sitting in the carriage. When she arrived at Tartan, she ran outside to accompany Su Qing. Unfortunately, it was dark, and she couldn’t see anything. She was excited when she arrived at Tartan.
When they arrived at the Third Prince’s camp, Su Qing shouted and pulled the reins of her horse. The soldiers on duty immediately came over to check. When they saw it was Su Qing, they stopped checking and let them in.
The Third Prince had ordered that Su Qing would be allowed to enter without any notice. Xiaoying followed closely beside Su Qing.
“Miss Su, our wangye hasn’t returned from his trip to the palace. This lowly one will prepare dinner for you. Please rest in the yurt first. When Wangye returns, 1 will tell him that you are here.”
The Third Prince’s butler warmly led Su Qing and Xiaoying to the guest yurt and said respectfully to her.
“Alright.”
Su Qing nodded. Seeing that the butler was about to leave, she called out to him,
“Butler, let me ask you something.”
“Please speak.”
The butler stopped and looked at Su Qing, waiting for her to speak.
“Did anyone come to Mo City in the past two days?”
Su Qing thought the butler might not know even if she mentioned it, so she asked if any guests from Mo City were there.
“No, they didn’t.”
The butler shook his head with certainty. Su Qing was stunned. Could it be that she had made a mistake? Shuisheng didn’t wait for the Third Prince to come and wait for him.
“It’s alright now.”
Su Qing saw that the butler was still waiting for her instructions, so she waved at him.
After the housekeeper left, Su Qing frowned and pondered.. If Shuisheng didn’t come to find the Third Prince, then where was he?