The Double-Chapter 661 - 204: Disbelief_2

Wen Ji helped Jih Heng dress his wound, his movements practiced and adept. Despite being a large man, his work was extremely meticulous. Jih Heng took off his outer robe; even though the red fabric didn’t readily show bloodstains, it had still picked up some traces. If one looked closely, they were discernible.

"My lord..." Wen Ji hesitated before asking, "Why do you want to go back?"

Wen Renyao and Lu Jiu could not sense it, but Zhao Ke and Jih Heng could feel that Jih Heng had suddenly left the carriage during daytime and doubled back, returning in the direction from which they had come.

Zhao Ke was taken aback. He was curious too, but he did not dare to ask. It was Wen Ji who had the courage to voice the question. Without answering Wen Ji, Jih Heng merely looked at the wound on his hand, which had been well bandaged by Wen Ji, and said, "Attend to your own duties."

He wasn’t smiling any longer, and both Wen Ji and Zhao Ke felt a chill in their hearts, understanding that this was a sign of Jih Heng’s displeasure. Instinctively, they said nothing and went to keep watch at the bedding area by the door they had arranged earlier.

Jih Heng sat on the stone bench, his gaze profound.

In the end, he had done something he shouldn’t have.

...

The next day, when Jiang Li awoke, Wen Renyao was outside talking to Jih Heng.

When Lu Jiu and Wen Renyao got up and saw that Jih Heng was there, they were pleasantly surprised. Once they confirmed that Jih Heng was unscathed, they clung to him, eager to know exactly what had happened yesterday. Of course, Jih Heng didn’t answer. After a few bouts of pestering, Wen Renyao calmed down.

Jiang Li greeted Lu Jiu and Wen Renyao, and also greeted Jih Heng. They tacitly behaved as if nothing had happened the previous night. Everyone was busy with the journey; they boarded the carriage, and on the road, Jiang Li was even more silent than before. If it hadn’t been for Wen Renyao’s continuous attempts at conversation, she might not have spoken at all the entire way. Wen Renyao noticed the silence, and even Lu Jiu asked with concern what was troubling Jiang Li.

Jiang Li could only fend off their queries by saying she was pondering how to deal with her father’s suspicions upon her return to Yanjing.

"What’s so difficult about that?" Wen Renyao said, "You just blame it all on us. You were abducted by Prince Cheng’s men to Huangzhou, and by good fortune, you were saved by Ah Heng. You wanted to return to Yanjing, but Ah Heng was too busy to find someone to escort you, so you had no choice but to wait until now. Even if Jiang Yuanfu wants to say something, it has nothing to do with you. Tell him to go to the Duke Residence and let Ah Heng speak with him."

Jiang Li: "..."

Wen Renyao truly understood the art of deflecting trouble.

"I wonder how Yanjing is doing now," Lu Jiu sighed.

"What’s Yanjing City like?" Lin Yao asked, "Brother, is Yanjing City full of people?"

"Of course," Wen Renyao responded, "Yanjing City is much larger than Huangzhou City, and the emperor resides there. The girls there are also very pretty. Take your Sister Jiang, for example; she is a girl from Yanjing City. So, do you think the girls from Yanjing City are pretty?"

Lin Yao, still young and probably unable to understand what Wen Renyao meant by "pretty or not," was both excited and slightly nervous as he asked, "So, are we going to stay in Yanjing City from now on?"

"Uh..." Wen Renyao choked for a moment, aware that he often traveled around, much like Ye Mingyu, and couldn’t respond to Lin Yao’s inquiry directly. Instead, he managed to say, "We will stay there for now, and later I will take you to travel to more places. Actually, Yanjing City... well, it’s not that great..."

His conflicting statements about whether the city was good or not left Lin Yao puzzled. Jiang Li watched as Wen Renyao rambled and suddenly thought of something. She asked, "Based on our current pace, Prince Cheng’s troops might be faster than us. By the time we reach Yanjing City, might we encounter his men outside the city? Or if we just enter as Prince Cheng is coming in, there would be chaos, and it’s likely the city gates won’t be open. How will we get in?"

Jih Heng did not answer, but Lu Jiu did, patiently explaining, "Miss Jiang the Second, the path we are traveling is a bit shorter than the other one. Moreover, we’ve been hastening our journey and will reach Yanjing City earlier than Prince Cheng’s troops. As for the city gates, you need not worry about that."

Relieved by his words, Jiang Li put her mind at ease.

Afterward, just as Lu Jiu had said, the journey was very smooth. After getting through the most difficult mountain roads, even though they were on a smaller path, their progress accelerated. They encountered no more unwelcome surprises.

By the morning of the seventh day, Yanjing City was within sight.

Previously, while in Huangzhou City, it didn’t quite register, but as they were truly about to return to Yanjing City, Jiang Li couldn’t help feeling a bit lighter. It seemed that Yanjing had not yet been affected by Prince Cheng’s troops; at least she saw no sign of anything unusual. However, the traffic inside and outside the city gates had diminished, perhaps because the people were somewhat afraid. Furthermore, the guards at the gates were much more cautious than before, thoroughly inspecting each passerby. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm