Chapter 970 - 964: Son-in-law
The Nanliang General mounted his horse and rode away.
The man sheathed his sword and also got on his horse.
Before leaving, his gaze lingered on Su Jin for a moment.
Once they left, Su Chong quickly dismounted and removed the cloth from Su Jin’s mouth.
Her mouth had been stuffed for so long that she could barely close it.
"Sister, are you hurt?" Su Chong asked worriedly.
"I’m fine," Su Jin replied.
Su Chong helped Su Jin untie the rope binding her hands. Su Jin removed the mask from her face, tore off the human skin mask, and went over to treat Steward Zhou’s arrow wound.
Steward Zhou had an arrow in his shoulder. Although it wasn’t life-threatening, it needed to be treated quickly.
Su Jin took golden sore medicine from the carriage and gave a piece of wood to Steward Zhou to bite on, saying, "Bear with it for a moment."
Steward Zhou nodded.
Su Jin gripped the arrow and pulled it out forcefully.
When she looked again, Steward Zhou’s forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat from the intense pain.
Su Jin poured the golden sore medicine on the wound and helped bandage it.
Su Chong sent someone to the site of Su Jin’s ambush to rescue the others.
Xingxing helped Steward Zhou lie down comfortably.
The Flying Tiger Army removed all the arrows from the carriage, not discarding them.
Resources were scarce on Qingyun Mountain, fostering a habit of frugality.
The arrows weren’t damaged and could still be used.
Find an opportunity to return these arrows in full.
The carriage was pierced with numerous holes, allowing the wind to blow in, but it was still better than sitting on grain and grass.
Leaning against the side of the carriage, Su Jin fetched the jade pendant from her bosom.
The dragon-shaped jade pendant was taken by Marquis Dongxiang at the Great Buddha Temple, intended by the Emperor for Su Jin.
Though it was just a jade pendant, the power it symbolized was significant.
With this jade pendant, she could easily behead a few magistrates.
Xingxing’s eyes widened, "Why is the jade pendant on you, Miss?"
She had been relieved that the man searching hadn’t found the jade pendant.
Being mistaken for the young master of the Li Family was better than them knowing she was the princess.
If they held the princess hostage, they’d definitely be fearless.
"Why wasn’t the jade pendant found?" Xingxing realized belatedly.
Su Jin tucked the jade pendant back, saying, "Because the one searching me was your groom."
Xingxing was speechless, "... ???"
The groom?!
The man she glared at with dislike was the groom?!
How was that possible?!
"Miss, are you mistaken?" Xingxing asked in disbelief.
Su Jin couldn’t believe it either.
But other than being Xie Jingchen, she couldn’t think of any other possibility.
He had stopped the arrows aimed at her and was the first to search her body.
He searched so thoroughly, feeling the bamboo tube but not finding the jade pendant — was that possible?
The silver notes were all taken, yet he helped them by shooting a signal into the sky.
At the time, they were all so scared that they didn’t even think to send a distress signal.
But the place was too far from the border; even if they sent a distress signal, the chances of it being seen were slim.
Clearly, the man had been helping them all along.
Even though his scent of medicine was faint, upon closer sniffing, a trace could still be detected.
Besides, who else could withstand her poison for so long, until she realized and detoxified him?
He had to be Xie Jingchen!
Realizing this, Su Jin was so angry she wanted to punch him.
Even though it took a long time to get to the border, she suffered quite a bit, knowing he wasn’t dead but was missing, causing much anxiety. She hadn’t imagined he had infiltrated the enemy!
She had made the difficult journey to find him, yet he captured her...
Remembering the jostling on the grain and grass, her dizzy head... If the fetal movement had been affected, she’d scratch him to death on sight.
Su Chong and Prince NanAn were guarding around the carriage.
Su Jin spoke softly, but loud enough for them to hear.
They looked at each other, incredulous.
In the days when Xie Jingchen had gone missing, they had searched day and night, their faces chapped from the cold wind.
They were determined to find him, alive or dead.
After half a month of searching, the others buried in the snow were found and laid to rest.
If not for knowing the Unity Gu linked Xie Jingchen and Su Jin’s lives, they might have prepared a cenotaph for him.
Knowing Xie Jingchen wasn’t dead but unable to find him, they had ceased further searching.
And now, he had stealthily infiltrated the enemy, not even providing a message to reassure them, letting them worry needlessly.
If not for his absence, they would have beaten him half to death.
How infuriating!
They had just been captured, but they had to admit their sister-in-law’s luck was remarkable.
She had just arrived at the border and already accomplished her goal.
Even though she met an altered Brother Jingchen.
Infiltrating the enemy is not easy and extremely dangerous; one mistake could be catastrophic.
Even the Flying Tiger Army should know as little as possible.
...
As for Xie Jingchen and that general, they rode back to Nanliang with the remaining seven or eight survivors.
The general wasn’t very old, just over twenty.
His surname was Dong, given name Xian, courtesy name Chenglang.
Though the weather had warmed a bit, the chill wind on the face was still sharp, especially after sweating profusely.
Xie Jingchen looked at him, "We don’t have to rush so much, they’re not chasing us."
General Dong slightly slowed his pace, looking at Xie Jingchen, "Thankfully you shot down my arrow and spared one alive, or we’d be doomed this time."
Not only did he hold back, but he also shot down the arrow aimed at him, saving his life.
In total, he’s saved him three times now.
General Dong said, "When I report back to my uncle, I will ensure you are rewarded."
Xie Jingchen’s eyes twitched and said, "General Shi ordered you to lead troops for an ambush and bring the troops and supplies back to Nanliang. We lost soldiers and horses. We’ll face military law upon return."
"Pleading for my merit at this moment will only anger General Shi."
"Even though he is your uncle and protects you, military law is like a mountain, all the soldiers are watching."
General Shi, who held significant military power and was trusted by the Emperor of Nanliang, was indeed General Dong’s uncle.
General Dong, seeing how few soldiers he had left, felt uneasy.
Although his uncle doted on him, he valued military law more and might use him, his own nephew, to establish authority.
"Quickly think of a way to avoid the military cane," General Dong urged anxiously.
"Didn’t they say this was foolproof? How did the Flying Tiger Army arrive so quickly?"
"I must have been set up!"
"...."
The horses galloped, kicking up dust.
His complaining voice was drowned out by the sound of hooves.
...
When they were a few miles from the camp, Su Jin leaned against the carriage, suppressing the urge to vomit.
At this moment, a loud cheer arose—
"Great General!"
Xingxing, excited, lifted the carriage curtain, and Su Jin saw Marquis Dongxiang approaching on horseback.
Marquis Dongxiang’s face was stern, like an imposing mountain.
But upon seeing Su Jin, his solemn demeanor faded, becoming a doting father.
The carriage halted, Xingxing jumped down to assist Su Jin.
Marquis Dongxiang dismounted swiftly and hurried over.
Xingxing supported Su Jin as they moved forward.
This scene looked like a touching father-daughter reunion filled with tears of joy.
The Flying Tiger Army was already preparing for the emotional moment, knowing how much the Marquis worried about the young lady.
However—
The atmosphere was entirely different from what they expected.
After walking a few steps forward, Su Jin quickly turned aside and started vomiting.
Marquis Dongxiang, "...."