Chapter 318: Bai Cha Is Very Content
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“That is Heng Yi’s follower, Bai Cha, Your Highness.”
“He used to be a manservant of the Duke’s Public House.”
Emperor Zhao Qian was stunned.
The High Duke’s Public House, the Shen family…
Emperor Zhao Qian’s thoughts returned to his childhood.
Empress Shen had been childless for many years and had raised him by her side, recording him under her name. He had gone from an ordinary prince to the Empress’ legitimate son.
Naturally, all of the Shen family’s forces also gathered to rely on him, practically raising the power of a few families to let him become the Emperor.
He wanted to treat the Shen family well for the rest of his life so when he was a prince, he married the legitimate daughter of the Shen family and had a son and a daughter.
They might not love each other, but they held great respect for one another.
Empress Shen also nurtured him carefully.
But he did not expect that the Crown Prince, Shen family, Empress Dowager, and Imperial Consort wanted to poison him to death and let the Crown Prince replace him.
If not for his alertness and the information he had received, he would have entered the Imperial Tombs long ago.
Even so, he only searched the house and confiscated their possession. The Crown Prince was demoted to a commoner to guard the Imperial Mausoleum, the Empress was banished to the Cold Palace, the Empress Dowager was sent to Mount Wutai to worship Buddha, and all the families involved were sent to the desolate land.
The slaves were sold, and the slaves around the masters were not allowed to become good citizens. They could only be slaves for their entire lives.
However, it was not his fault if they could make it out alive.
He had done his best.
Emperor Zhao Qian sighed after he regained his senses.
He did not expect…
The wave of assassins didn’t even reach Emperor Zhao Qian and the hidden guards didn’t even move out from their hiding spots before they were all killed. “How long until we reach Chenzhou?” Emperor Zhao Qian asked.
“About five more days, Your Highness.”
The journey took quite a long, mostly because they were traveling a little slower. If they moved a little faster, they would have arrived within three to four days.
However, who dared to be careless when it came to the Emperor?
The accompanying imperial physicians were so nervous that they couldn’t eat or sleep.
The Emperor was in high spirits and looked very excited.
“Let’s move quickly.”
“Emperor, we’ve already traveled through the night, we can’t go any faster.” Heng Congshan advised softly.
And even though they looked quite calm in front of the Emperor, the officials were all trembling in fear wherever he went.
They were afraid that the emperor would grab their braids and pull them off their heads.
However, Emperor Zhao Qian was someone who would listen to advice. After hearing Heng Congshan’s words, he faintly nodded.
His carriage was extremely comfortable. The weather was not very hot or humid. He was not tired from lying down and having someone to wait on him.
His people were dealing with the corpses of the battle’s aftermath outside. These people were the guards who followed behind to do the cleanup. They were also the guards who cleaned up the “mess”.
There were scouts ahead, guards behind, and even experts hidden at the side. Who knew which idiot would come to assassinate him?
Heng Congshan shook his head.
He went to find Bai Cha.
Bai Cha was drinking water at the side. He had a carriage and a servant boy driving it.
The servant boy knew some martial arts and had good eyesight.
Even if there was an assassination attempt, he did not panic.
At this moment, he was getting water for Bai Cha to wash his hands.
“Lord Heng.”
“Bai Cha.”
Heng Congshan came over. The servant immediately bowed and carried the bucket to the back.
There were two buckets of water at the back of the carriage. There were also some necessities in the carriage.
Even if they have to camp in the wilderness, they are prepared.
“You performed well. The Emperor knows your identity. When the time comes, he will ask Heng Yi to plead for you…”
Heng Congshan didn’t continue.
Bai Cha hummed lightly but didn’t plan to let Heng Yi speak up for him.
He was a slave to begin with.
Even if the High Duke’s Public House did not fall, he would still be a slave and would not have the dignity he had now.
People should be content with what they have. It wasn’t good to be greedy.
Moreover, not everyone dared to casually give him 200,000 taels of silver to buy a house in the capital.
This kind of trust and respect was rare.
If he really wanted to open his mouth in the future, he would have to follow his big brother to the battlefield to kill the enemy and make a great contribution before he opened his mouth.
Heng Congshan patted Bai Cha’s shoulder.
He returned to the carriage to rest.
“Dong Kui.”
“Second Master.”
Dong Kui immediately stepped forward.
“Rest for a while tonight. I’ll hurry on my way, and you can return during the day.”
“Understood.”
Dong Kui immediately agreed.
The team set off once more.
Back in the village in the countryside, the children woke up very early to pick plums from the orchard.
The plums now were sour, sweet, and crispy. Most of all, they tasted good.
However, after a while, their teeth started to ache.
By the time Han Qiao finished grilling the pork chop, their tongue felt so sour that they couldn’t even taste the meat.
“You all should eat less plums,” Feng Xinru laughed.
Feng Xinru couldn’t help but laugh out loud when she watched how the pitiful children ate the “sour” ribs.
They were all greedy when they ate, but now they regretted their actions
Not only did Han Qiao raise the pigs herself, but she also had sheep raised in another house. She even specially asked someone to buy more.
Which was why they could eat meat regularly.
Roast lamb chops.
Braised mutton.
And more.
She even specially cut down two sugar cane that were too tall. She washed the leaves and put them into the mutton stew.
In fact, it would be best if they had sugar canes that were not too old, but old enough to be tender.
Added together, the mutton stewed with sugar cane would taste very fragrant.
Han Qiao asked Heng Yi to take the children to the stream to catch some fish and crabs.
The boys seemed to have opened a door to a new world. They were having a lot of fun and enjoyed splashing in the water.
The girls took off their shoes and socks in a hidden place above the stream and slowly stepped into the water.
Sun Xiu and Sun Yi could catch crabs, but the other girls were purely playing in the water.
Moreover, their feet hurt from stepping on the stones.
However, this was a novel way of exercising.
Not far away, a few servant girls and old women were guarding the area, not allowing outsiders to enter the territory and peek at the girls’ little feet.
Li Mi was reserved at first, but when she saw that Sun Xiu and Sun Yi had already dug out a few crabs, she began to get serious.
“I caught a crab, wah-!” Li Mi shouted as soon as she finished speaking.
Her fingers were pinched by the crab.
It was so painful that she couldn’t care less about being reserved and cried out.
Sun Xiu immediately went up to help her remove the crab before the maids and old women arrived.
It was just a small and tender wound, but there was a mark on her skin.
Thankfully there wasn’t any blood, but the pampered Li Mi felt extremely painful.
“Sister Mi’er, why don’t you go to the shore to rest first?” Sun Xiu advised.
“I’ll catch a few more. I’m fine.” Li Mi said and started to look for more.
This time, Sun Yi earnestly shared her experience.
Li Mi was a rich young lady, so she listened seriously. However, she was not strong enough to move the stones. Naturally, the crabs were also very small.
However, she quickly found interest in the new experience.
One, two, three… When she caught the fifth one, she felt a sense of accomplishment.
Just like the wedding dress she was embroidering now, she felt a sense of accomplishment even during the process.
They continued to catch more crabs for a little while before the old woman came over to invite them back.
They were all young girls, and it was not good for them to stay in the water for too long.
After playing for a while, they would get over their adrenaline and find some fun.
On the way back, the girls couldn’t bear to look at the boys playing in the stream without getting shy. They could only walk away as quickly as they could, with their faces red..