Chapter 457: Chapter 426, Sanchuan Valley_1
After dinner, Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, “Do you want to head back to the capital city, or go to Taohua Village?”
Daohua glanced over, “Why?”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at the sky, “It’s already getting late, I’ll take you back.”
Daohua quickly shook her head, “I’m not going back.”
Xiao Yeyang froze for a moment, then chuckled, “What, do you want to play here for a few more days?”
Daohua blinked, “Can’t I?”
Xiao Yeyang sized up Daohua, “Are you serious or just joking?”
Daohua, “Of course I’m serious.”
Xiao Yeyang fell silent for a while, “I’m very happy you came to see me, and now that you have, and have also applied medicine to my wound, you should go back.”
He wished he could spend more time with Daohua, but having a young lady stay overnight outside would harm her reputation.
Daohua, “…Who said I was here to see you? I came to find Jing Cao.”
Xiao Yeyang held his peace, noticing her evasive gaze but not calling it out, he smiled, “Didn’t I say that I would take care of the Jing Cao matter?”
Daohua gave him a sidelong glance, “You are all bandaged up now, how can I rely on you?”
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Xiao Yeyang felt a hint of rejection and after observing Daohua in silence for a while, asked again, “Are you really not going back?”
Daohua shook her head, “My third and fourth brothers will come over later.” It wouldn’t be too improper with her two brothers accompanying her.
Xiao Yeyang turned his head towards Defu.
Defu immediately said, “There’s a clean room next door, no one else dares to come over here.”
Xiao Yeyang pointed at Daohua and Wang Manman, “The two of them came over, no one noticed anything unusual, right?”
Defu shook his head, “Third Master and Fourth Master took a back path with Miss Yan, no one saw them.”
Daohua interjected, “You can relax, even if someone did see us, they would just think Manman and I were servants. I’m more worried about being discovered than you are; I’ve been careful all the way here. Besides, there’s Yan Ying, with him covering our backs, no one will find out.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yeyang nodded and then stepped out of the room, summoning his Hidden Guard, instructing them to guard the courtyard well and prevent outsiders from intruding before re-entering the room.
“Prepare two sets of soldiers’ clothing for them.”
Defu nodded and left the room.
Xiao Yeyang smiled at Daohua, “Since you are not leaving, I will accompany you around.”
Daohua shook her head, “Let’s not for today. Your fever has just gone down; what if you catch a chill and the fever comes back?” She said, looking at Xiao Yeyang with dissatisfaction, “Such a big wound, and you’re not resting properly.”
Xiao Yeyang looked at the sky, “The day is still young, what shall we do staying inside the room?”
Daohua, “You do your thing, and I…” she said, picking up a book from beside the bed, “will read a book.”
Xiao Yeyang chuckled, “As you’ve said, I am now a patient, what is there for me to be busy with?”
Daohua was silent for a moment, then looked at the book in her hand, “This has a map of the areas around Ningmen Pass, you can show me where you’ve found Jing Cao.”
Saying this, she placed the book on the table and sat down on a stool herself.
Xiao Yeyang nodded, sat next to Daohua, flipped through the book, and began pointing out locations to her.
“There is some in this valley.”
“At the base of this mountain too.”
“And here, and here…”
“Slow down, I haven’t finished looking yet.”
Daohua pressed down on the page, preventing Xiao Yeyang from turning it, occasionally peering forward to look.
Xiao Yeyang watched Daohua, his face breaking into a smile, “Alright, take your time looking, tell me once you’re done, and I’ll point out another spot for you.” He propped his cheek on his hand and silently watched Daohua.
Wang Manman stood to the side, observing the two emanating a warm and peaceful aura, and silently withdrew to the outside of the door.
Listening to Little Prince speaking to her mistress with that doting tone, Wang Manman couldn’t help but turn her head to peek inside, seeing the two with their heads together reading, her lips curling into a smile.
The Little Prince obviously liked the girl, a fact she had discerned long ago.
As for the girl… she must like the Little Prince too, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been unable to sleep upon hearing about the Little Prince’s injury, tossing and turning all night—a sound Wang Manman heard without cease.
Suddenly, Wang Manman thought of Xiaoliu, recalling how every time he spoke to her, he would whisper softly just like the Little Prince, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
When Defu returned with the soldier’s clothes and saw Wang Manman standing at the doorway with a silly grin, he wanted to tease her, but as he approached, and saw Daohua and Xiao Yeyang quietly perusing a book inside, he immediately suppressed the urge to jest.
He couldn’t disturb his master and Miss Yan.
“Miss Manman, come with me to the next room to tidy up a bit; you all will need to sleep there tonight,” Defu said in a low voice to Wang Manman.
Wang Manman nodded and followed Defu to the next room.
Inside the room, Daohua quickly skimmed through the pages that mentioned Jing Cao, something flashing through her mind, but frustratingly elusive.
Xiao Yeyang saw Daohua furrowing her brows one moment, deep in thought the next, then looking somewhat frantic, her expressions rich and adorable. He found it extremely endearing and just quietly enjoyed watching her changing expressions.
Suddenly, Daohua lifted her head, her eyes shining as she looked at Xiao Yeyang, “Xiao Yeyang, tell me, is there a valley formed by river erosion near Ningmen Pass?”
Xiao Yeyang nodded, “Yes, there is.”
Daohua’s eyes sparkled, “Where is that valley? Show me quickly.”
Xiao Yeyang flipped through the geographical records, and soon he pointed to a page.
Daohua hurriedly compared the location of the valley with where Jing Cao was found, saying excitedly, “Xiao Yeyang, look quickly, are the places where Jing Cao was found all around the outskirts of this valley?”
Xiao Yeyang took the records and compared carefully, indeed finding it to be the case.
Daohua quickly said to Xiao Yeyang, “When you’re prospecting for gold, don’t just focus on the ground, try searching in the river too.”
Xiao Yeyang’s eyes lit up, he had read in the county records that some gold deposits are buried under rivers. With this thought, he immediately stood up.
Daohua grabbed him quickly, “What are you going to do?”
Xiao Yeyang replied, “I must lead people to investigate.”
Daohua’s face showed hesitation, “But you are still injured.”
Xiao Yeyang said with a smile, “I don’t have to go into the water myself, I’ll just supervise from the side.”
Daohua hesitated for a bit, “Then I want to go too.”
Xiao Yeyang, feeling Daohua clutching his hand, immediately grasped hers back. Due to the gold prospecting, he hadn’t seen her for quite a few days.
Now that he had, he didn’t want to leave her, nor did he want to leave her alone in the fortress. Thinking that the valley hadn’t been explored and was relatively safe, he agreed, “Alright.” Saying this, he pulled her out of the room.
Defu and Wang Manman, hearing noises, quickly walked out from the next room.
Xiao Yeyang snapped his fingers in the air and immediately, two Hidden Guards appeared in the courtyard, “Get our men to gather near Sanchuan Valley.”
The Hidden Guards nodded and, with a leap, vanished swiftly.
Subsequently, Xiao Yeyang led Daohua out of the fortress through a back gate where no soldiers patrolled.
After traversing the mountains for more than an hour, Xiao Yeyang and Daohua arrived at Ningmen Pass’s only valley—Sanchuan Valley.
“Be careful, there’s someone ahead.”
Approaching the valley, Xiao Yeyang sensed something amiss and quickly pulled Daohua behind a large rock to hide.