59 Looking For Someone
When Xiao Jin got into the carriage, Wang Lang looked at his pale face in pleasant surprise. “Your Highness, you’re really alright. That’s great.”
“Mm-hmm. I’m fine.” Xiao Jin didn’t feel good when he saw his former subordinates in this state.
“Why didn’t you come to look for me?”
Wang Lang’s eyes became red-rimmed. “When I first left the capital, I was looking for Your Highness…” However, at that time, his mother found out that Xiao Jin’s two legs had been broken and he had become disabled. She steadfastly refused to let Wang Lang go and look for Xiao Jin, afraid that he would be implicated. When he insisted on looking for Xiao Jin, his family would make a scene. Once they made a scene, they would get whipped by the officials. He couldn’t bear to see his family being beaten by the officials, so he had put the matter aside for the time being.
Later, he was attacked suddenly and stabbed by the other party in the process of counterattacking. After that, he had been struggling to stay alive in a muddleheaded state until now. During this period, Madam Sun and the others said that they would go and look for Xiao Jin, but when Wang Lang found that he was so badly injured, he forbade his family to look for Xiao Jin for fear of being a burden to Xiao Jin. It was only when he was almost at his limit that Madam Sun came to look for Xiao Jin, cursing and swearing all the way.
“Your Highness, your subordinate is useless. Not only did I not protect your Highness, but I’ve also become your burden. Your Highness, you don’t need to care about me. It’s just that I’m worried about my mother and the rest. I beg Your Highness to help them and offer them a way out.”
Xiao Jin patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”
Wang Lang knew his own body well, so he only took it that Xiao Jin was trying to comfort him. He was also prepared to commit suicide at any time in order not to be a burden to anyone.
“Did you see anyone else on your way here?”
Wang Lang frowned and thought for a moment. “I met Chu Yun before I was injured, but he was quickly driven to the front of the group. I haven’t seen him since.”
Chu Yun was Xiao Jin’s live-in guest and had always been deeply trusted by Xiao Jin. After the situation stabilized, Xiao Jin asked Jiang Yang to look for Chu Yun, but whether it was because their timing did not coincide or something else happened, his subordinates had not been able to locate Chu Yun.
“Rest and get well first. Don’t worry about other things.”
After Xiao Jin pacified Wang Lang, he got off the carriage.
Wang Furong, who was standing on the side, quickly glanced at Xiao Jin and then lowered her head. Her actions were so fast that no one noticed.
Su Ying, who was enjoying the shade under a big boulder, saw Cheng Yang helping Xiao Jin walk past her. She called out to the two of them. “Where are you going?”
“Going to look for the officials,” Cheng Yang said, stopping in his tracks.
Su Ying stood up. “What for?”
“To inquire a person’s whereabouts. Previously, I asked Jiang Yang to look for him, but he couldn’t locate him,” Xiao Jin replied.
Su Ying raised her eyebrows. “What’s his name? I’ll go.” No one was more familiar with officials than she was.
“Chu Yun, one of my previous live-in guests.”
“I’ll go ask. You guys wait.”
With that, Su Ying walked towards Li Da.
Li Da wiped the sweat off his forehead. The sun was making him feel extremely irritated. He was about to take a nap when he saw Su Ying walking over.
Li Da hurriedly hid the money pouch in his pocket a little more securely. Otherwise, if this fiend took a fancy to his little fortune, he would have made a wasted trip this time.
When Su Ying walked closer, Li Da subconsciously stood up. “Princess Consort, why are you here?”
“I want to check with you. Is there a man by the name of Chu Yun in your record book of names?”
“Chu Yun?”
Li Da curiously asked his subordinate beside him and the latter took out a book. This book recorded the criminals who died on the road and those who escaped.
Su Ying couldn’t stand the way they dragged their feet. She simply took the book and said, “I’ll send it back to you after I’ve finished checking.”
“Alright. Princess Consort, this book is very important. Please don’t lose it.”
“I know.”
Su Ying brought the book to Xiao Jin and told him to look for the person himself. “This is the list of the criminals who ran away and who died. See if the person you’re looking for is listed there.”
Xiao Jin took the book and flipped through it.
When he saw some familiar names on the list of the dead, he felt his chest tighten unbearably. However, after looking through the whole book, he could not locate Chu Yun’s name.
“There’s no Chu Yun,”
Su Ying raised her eyebrows. “That means he’s still in the group. I’ll go with you guys to search while they’re resting now.”
Xiao Jin nodded. With Jiang Yang carrying him on his back, he and Su Ying split into two groups and began searching from the front and back of the group.
However, when the three of them met again, they still could not find any sign of Chu Yun.
Su Ying returned the book to Li Da. “Are you sure that your records are comprehensive and there are no mistakes?”
Li Da nodded his head firmly. “Princess Consort, I’ve been in this line of work for many years. I won’t make a mistake in such a simple matter.”
There was no name in the record book, but the person was missing. This shouldn’t be the case.
Su Ying started to count the people. When she reached a particular man, she noticed that he was avoiding her gaze somewhat oddly.
Su Ying stopped in front of him, and the man quickly raised his head to glance at her. “What… what are you doing?”
Su Ying squatted down and looked at him. “You seem to know where Chu Yun is.”
The man’s eyes flickered, but he forced himself to remain calm. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Su Ying’s lips curled up slightly, but she wasn’t smiling. “Don’t lie, or you might die a horrible death, okay?”
The man’s lips trembled. He didn’t expect himself to be so unlucky. He had just taken a dead person’s thing and he had run into misfortune almost immediately.
“I… I really don’t know anything…”
Thud!
A piece of green jade pendant fell out from the man’s body. Before he could pick it up, Jiang Yang rushed over and picked it up. “This is Chu Yun’s jade pendant. It’s his.” He grabbed the man’s collar and roared angrily, “Where is he? Where did Chu Yun go?”
“Spare me, spare me. I… I saw that he was almost on his last breath last night, so I took this thing. I didn’t know…” The man was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground and almost cried out.
Su Ying glared at Li Da icily. Li Da felt his back go numb. He then turned around and gave a big slap on his subordinate’s head. “You idiots. You don’t even know that one of the guys is missing. Why am I keeping you guys?”
“Where was he? Where did you discover him yesterday?”
“Last… last night, in the open space where we made our encampment. I… I found him lying under a big boulder. He was motionless, probably dead, so I took his belongings.”
When Su Ying saw that the man was so scared that he almost fainted, she didn’t think that he was lying.
The three of them returned to the carriage to discuss their next move.
“Your Highness, allow me to go. I will ride a horse. If everything goes smoothly, I should be back in four hours.”
Su Ying glanced at her family which comprised the old and young, the sick and disabled, and kept quiet.
Xiao Jin thought for a moment before nodding. “Mm-hmm. Be careful on the way.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jiang Yang unharnessed the horse from the carriage. Then he got on the horse and left the group.
Su Ying would explain the situation to Li Da. Although it was against the rules, Li Da didn’t have the ability to refuse, so he could only allow Jiang Yang to leave temporarily.
“When you searched around just now, how many familiar faces did you see?”
Xiao Jin frowned slightly. “Not many.”