Chapter 473: Rare Treasure
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Lord Wei, Miss Zhou is here.”
Wei Zhongming glanced at the guest room courtyard again before saying to the people outside the courtyard, “All of you stay here and stand guard. If there’s any movement inside, all of you go in and save him.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Wei Zhongming went to the study room after giving his instructions.
Xiao Jin slept all the way until nightfall before waking up languidly.
The first thing he did when he opened his eyes was to tighten his grip to make sure that the person in his arms was still there.
Su Ying didn’t sleep at all. She was just lying quietly in his arms. She only spoke when she saw him open his two eyes. “You’re awake?”
At that moment, Xiao Jin felt that the most beautiful thing in the world must be Su Ying’s voice.
“I’m awake.” He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had slept so soundly.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Get up quickly. There are still many things to deal with.”
Su Ying patted him. She wanted to return to the capital city as soon as possible and see her children quickly. She wanted Uncle Hea to prepare more food and feed Xiao Jin to fatten him up. He was really too skinny now.
Xiao Jin didn’t want to get up. He wished fervently that time could stop at this moment so that he could be with Su Ying forever.
However, Su Ying said she was hungry, so he had no choice but to get up.
As soon as Su Ying sat up, the cloth covering her body slipped off, revealing her naked body.
Su Ying felt a chill on her chest. As she raised her eyes, she met Xiao Jin’s two darkening eyes.
She raised an eyebrow. She just remembered that she wasn’t wearing any clothes when she came out.
She wanted to get up to get her dress, but Xiao Jin pulled her back forcefully and pressed down on her.
The kiss landed lightly as if he was carefully appreciating a rare treasure. It was completely different from the wild and aggressive way he used to be.
The warm current in Su Ying’s heart seemed to break through in that instant, and she hugged him back to enjoy this moment of intimacy.
While they were intertwined, she realized that all the thoughts that had been suppressed in her heart were gushing out now. She only wanted to fuse with his body at this moment.
The tumultuous cavorting only stopped after a long time. Xiao Jin kissed her back longingly as if he wanted to leave his mark on her whole body.
“I’ll go get the clothes.”
He got up and walked to the bathroom to take out a clean robe.
Su Ying reached out to take it, but he evaded her hand.
“I’ll do it.”
Su Ying was tired after a big workout, so she simply let him do it.
Xiao Jin lowered his eyes, and his movements were gentle and skillful. He did not seem to think that there was anything wrong with him doing this.
“Are the children alright?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Su Ying was a little worried. After all, she hadn’t expected Xiao Jin to turn into this state.
When she hugged him just now, she felt that he was so thin that her arms felt uncomfortable.
“Did they take their meals properly?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Let’s go back as soon as possible.”
“Sure.”
After the two of them put on their clothes and Xiao Jin put on his mask again, they walked out of the guest room.
Earlier, Su Ying had learned from Xiao Jin about the details of how he came here. It was best not to expose his identity to avoid unnecessary trouble.
The guards outside the door had thought of many possibilities, but they never expected the two of them to walk out hand in hand safe and sound.
Didn’t they agree to go in and capture the fake Empress?
The caretaker who stayed behind was also dumbfounded. He kept looking at Xiao Jin, eagerly hoping that Xiao Jin could give him a hint with his eyes. However, Xiao Jin only had an icy look in his eyes as he looked at them and roared furiously, “How impudent! Don’t you know how to kneel and pay your respects to the Empress when you see Her Imperial Highness?”
These words confirmed Su Ying’s identity outright.
The people outside the courtyard were all flabbergasted. Su Ying was actually the real Empress?
The caretaker felt that the official from the capital city would definitely not lie. They were all dumbstruck and hurriedly knelt down in fear.
“Greetings, Your Imperial Highness. Greetings, Your Imperial Highness.”
Su Ying’s gaze swept across them. “Where’s Wei Zhongming?”
“Your… Your Imperial Highness, Lord… Lord Wei went to the study.”
Su Ying didn’t waste any time and headed straight for the study.
The caretaker trembled all over as he stood up. He racked his brain trying to think which path he should take to inform Wei Zhongming in advance!
However, Su Ying and Xiao Jin’s pace was extremely fast. The servants couldn’t outrun them even if they ran. What should he do?
In the study room, Wei Zhongming was still asking Zhou Xiangrong for details of how she managed to cure the plague patients. The more he listened, the more he felt that Zhou Xiangrong was his salvation!
Just as he was about to compliment Zhou Xiangrong, the study door was suddenly pushed open and Su Ying walked in.
Upon seeing Su Ying, Wei Zhongming instinctively shrank back for a moment, but he quickly remembered that Su Ying was an impostor and he had nothing to fear at all. He puffed out his chest and said, “You bold and impudent evil woman. How dare you impersonate the Empress! Guards, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and arrest her.”
“Lord Wei, what great authority you have. You even dared to question the Empress!” Xiao Jin entered the room one step behind Su Ying. Right now, his deep dark eyes could make Wei Zhongming die on the spot!
Wei Zhongming got a shock, and his brain short-circuited. It took him a while to understand what Xiao Jin meant.
However, his body reacted faster than his brain, and he immediately knelt down in front of Su Ying.
“You are truly the real Empress.”
Su Ying laughed scornfully. “So you’ve always thought of me as an impostor. Then why did you still listen to my commands willingly? Lord Wei, you’re not stupid. Yes. Of course, you’re not stupid. If you were stupid, why would you let a fire burn down the granary and then put all the grain in the granary into your own pocket!”
Wei Zhongming’s face turned pale. Su Ying actually knew!
“Your Imperial Highness, please forgive me. This… this is because… please listen to my explanation. That fire… I’ve already…” Wei Zhongming was so scared that he became incoherent. The granary’s matter had been done in secret, and he really didn’t expect Su Ying to find out about this matter.
“Shut up! Wei Zhongming, in the first place, you deserved to die a hundred times for your crime, but I will be kind and give you a chance to live.”
Wei Zhongming trembled. He was really afraid that all his years of hard work would go to waste, but he was also afraid that his head would be chopped off. “Please… please enlighten me, Your Imperial Highness.”
“A drought occurs in Luo City every year. In order to reduce the burden on Luo City, the Imperial Court will reduce the taxes of Luo City every year. However, it can’t solve the fundamental problem. A few days ago, I went into the mountains and found that Luo City is actually not far from the South River, but there is no drought in the area around the South River.”
Although there was water in the South River, the river embankment areas near Luo City were not suitable for living. This was also the reason very few people moved there even though Luo City was suffering from drought.
Since people could not move there to stay, they would think of a way to bring the water from the South River here.
Su Ying looked at Xiao Jin, who nodded slightly at her, indicating to her to continue.
Su Ying told Wei Zhongming to bring over a topographic map of Luo City’s surroundings and told him her plan.
According to Su Ying’s field investigation, there was a cave beside the South River. The cave was filled with water, and the location of the cave happened to be where the flood season of the South River took place. In other words, as long as they could use this cave as a suction point and bring the water that gushed up during the flood season to Luo City for storage, not only would they be able to relieve the pressure during the flood season of the South River, but they could also store water for Luo City for the farmers to irrigate their fields.
However, Wei Zhongming shook his head and said, “That won’t work, Your Imperial Highness..”