The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1239 - 1239 606 Father (Third Watch)

Chapter 1239: 606 Father! (Third Watch) Chapter 1239: 606 Father! (Third Watch) Lord Xuanping left the Tea Shed still feeling sentimental, “The folks here are truly warm-hearted, not even charging for tea.”

The owner of the Tea Shed had been running his stall for seven or eight years and had never seen such a stingy customer before!

Absolutely unbelievable!

The torrential rain showed no signs of abating, making traveling in such weather extremely dangerous and inconvenient.

Of course, that applied to others, but Lord Xuanping was a military general, who had experienced even worse weather on the battlefield; he would not easily be stopped halfway.

Dressed in a thick straw coat and wearing a bamboo hat, Lord Xuanping rode atop his tall steed.

He patted its head, looking into the waterfall-like rain and said, “That old man is on his last breath, don’t you understand he cannot be allowed to die a peaceful death?”

The horse seemed to sense its master’s determination and murderous aura, neighing loudly and rearing up before charging fearlessly into the downpour.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hen, after a whole day’s arduous journey, finally arrived at the same Tea Shed Lord Xuanping had once visited.

At night, the Tea Shed was supposed to close, but because the rain was too heavy, the customers could not leave, and the owner could not return home.

The Tea Shed was packed, and the price of tea and food skyrocketed, with steamed buns that cost two coins each now soaring to ten coins.

The carriage raced through the rain, and Liao Quan, dressed in a straw coat, with eyes barely able to open, said, “Young Master Xiao, there’s a Tea Shed ahead, shall we take a break there?”

Xiao Hen replied with a focused gaze, “Uncle Liao, please continue to push on.”

Liao Quan tightened the reins, “I’m fine, but I’m worried about you! You’ve been traveling all day, how are your wounds?”

“I’m alright, let’s keep going then,” Xiao Hen said.

“Eh,” Liao Quan acknowledged.

“Wait,” Xiao Hen suddenly interjected, “Stop a moment.”

Liao Quan pulled the carriage to a halt, “What’s the matter?”

Xiao Hen looked at the map in his hand, then glanced at the fork in the road ahead, “There are two paths ahead, I don’t know which one he took.”

Both roads led to the Official Road near Creek Village, but the conditions of the roads varied, and the time spent on each would also differ.

Xiao Hen was familiar with the geography of Zhan Country to be aware of these details, whereas Lord Xuanping hardly visited the fiefs of Prince Liang and might not know which road was the shorter one.

“Let’s ask at the Tea Shed,” Xiao Hen decided.

“Alright!” Liao Quan drove the carriage towards the Tea Shed.

The owner of the Tea Shed was boiling water when he saw a carriage stop beside him and said without thinking, “We’re full, no space left; you should keep going. There’s a post station about ten miles east from here.”

Xiao Hen pushed aside the curtains and peered through the thick rain toward the Tea Shed owner, “Sorry to disturb you, I’m looking for someone. Did a tall, handsome man in his early thirties visit here today?”

Lord Xuanping was not in his early thirties, but he looked too young; the maturity was just an added trait of his appearance.

The Tea Shed owner added a handful of firewood to the stove and casually replied, “Quite a few came by, which one are you talking about?”

Xiao Hen wanted to say the most handsome one, but as a grown man, it felt a bit awkward to say, and even “handsome” was the extent of his comfort.

After a moment of thought, with a shift in his eyes, Xiao Hen asked, “The particularly stingy one?”

“Ah! So you mean him,” the Tea Shed owner was suddenly energized, his complaints flowing ceaselessly like the torrential Yellow River.

“I’ve run a Tea Shed all my life and never seen someone so stingy! A single Copper Plate! Can you believe it?”

“Even the beggars gave me two!”

“…”

Xiao Hen bore a barrage of complaints that someone his age should not have to endure.

“Which way did he go?” Xiao Hen inquired.

“Over there!” the Tea Shed owner pointed vigorously in a direction, still fuming.

“Thank you,” Xiao Hen lowered the curtain and spread the map, “Uncle Liao, let’s set out.”

The Tea Shed owner was baffled.

Was he just asking for information without buying anything?

Should’ve at least bought a couple of steamed buns before leaving!

“Stop!” the Tea Shed owner called out to Xiao Hen’s carriage.

Xiao Hen lifted the curtain, “Is there something else?”

The Tea Shed owner handed him two steamed buns, then flipped his palm up twice.

Two times five, meaning ten.

Xiao Hen wasn’t in the mood for food and didn’t really want them, but since the owner insisted, he reluctantly accepted them.

He took the steamed buns and waved to the Tea Shed owner, “Thanks, until next time.”

And then he left.

The Tea Shed owner again, “…!!”

He looked at his hand frozen mid-air, then at the steamed buns that had been taken.

Is that what I meant?!

…

The rain was far too intense, and the horse could barely run, only able to proceed at a slow pace.

“Uncle Liao, if it keeps raining like this, he should only have reached here by now,” Xiao Hen pointed to a small village on the map, “Yangliu Village.”

Liao Quan didn’t understand this; he had never been to Pingcheng Prefecture City and had been following Xiao Hen’s directions all along.

He asked, “Is he far from the incident site? If it’s too far, perhaps he won’t be caught in the landslide.”

“Anyone else taking this road would definitely not make it in time,” Xiao Hen said.

But he is Lord Xuanping.

No matter how many obstacles lie ahead, he will surely find a way to reach Prince Liang’s residence.

Liao Quan heard the worry in Xiao Hen’s voice, pressed his forehead, and let out a sigh before asking, “Then are we able to catch up to him?”

It’s difficult.

That was the likelihood Xiao Hen had come to after analyzing every route on the map.

“Take a different road,” Xiao Hen said.

“Okay.” Liao Quan steered the carriage onto the opposite path.

This road was longer than the one chosen by the Marquis of Xuanping according to the map, but it was smoother and in better condition than that road.

Yet even so, a journey that would normally take two hours took them an entire night.

Luckily, Xiao Hen had thought ahead and had Liao Quan switch to the strongest warhorse from the imperial guards. Otherwise, they would have been fine, but the horse would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.

It was dawn, but the rain poured in torrents, leaving almost no light over Pingcheng Prefecture City.

Xiao Hen frowned, “We haven’t reached Yangliu Village yet.”

The Marquis of Xuanping was moving faster than they were, and at this rate, they wouldn’t even reach the site of the incident by midnight.

Xiao Hen lifted the curtain and said to Liao Quan, “Uncle Liu, we’ll cut through the forest to the north. It leads directly to near the Creek Water Village.”

Liao Quan was startled, “Go through the forest? That won’t do, the carriage can’t make it!”

“Forget the carriage, let’s ride the horses,” said Xiao Hen.

Liao Quan disapproved, “Can you ride with your injury?”

Xiao Hen took out a set of waterproof clothes from underneath the carriage and put them on, then grabbed a bamboo hat, “It’s just a flesh wound, it hasn’t touched the bones, it’s not a problem.”

A flesh wound shouldn’t get wet either!

And even if it did touch the bones, would you stop then?

Unable to convince him otherwise, Liao Quan had no choice but to abandon the carriage by the roadside. Fortunately, they had two horses harnessed to the carriage, so each of them mounted one and headed into the forest.

The journey was not smooth sailing for the Marquis of Xuanping, though he had chosen the shortest route on the map, problems abounded.

The Marquis of Xuanping looked at the wooden bridge washed away by the torrential rain and felt a throbbing pain in his teeth.

Beneath it was not some shallow stream, but a river rushing like a flood.

The Marquis of Xuanping stroked his horse’s head, gazed determinedly at the broken bridge, turned around and walked back about fifty steps. Then he turned again, his eyes becoming sharp, “Go!”

The horse lifted its hooves and galloped forward. As they neared the broken bridge, the Marquis of Xuanping tightened his legs around the horse’s belly and yanked the reins hard!

Confronted with the surging flood, the horse didn’t retreat. Instead, following its master’s command, it leapt boldly from the broken bridge!

“Good job.” After landing, the Marquis of Xuanping patted it, “Let’s go!”

Beyond the village ahead was the Official Road leading directly to Prince Liang’s residence.

Old Prince Liang, your time has come.

“Young Master Six! Slow down, will you!”

After tumbling countless times, Liao Quan was almost out of strength. Their situation was such that even the horses refused to move; they could only proceed by leading them with great difficulty.

“Look! There it is!”

Xiao Hen pointed to the village engulfed in the downpour, “That’s Creek Water Village!”

“Is it?”

The darkness and the heavy rain meant Liao Quan’s lantern hardly illuminated any distance.

From morning till now, Liao Quan had no idea what time it was; he only knew he could no longer go on.

“It should be nearly midnight,” Xiao Hen panted, “Don’t go any further, just wait here for me.”

“I can’t… I can’t…” Liao Quan sat down on the ground.

Xiao Hen took the lantern from his hand and, without leading the horse, walked on foot towards the village.

“Six… Young Master Six…” Liao Quan was too exhausted even to call out.

The villagers had already evacuated, taking with them whatever poultry they could. The village was desolate, with only his lone figure standing there.

He walked through the village, and as he reached the village entrance, he heard the sound of horse hooves on the Official Road getting closer.

It’s him!

It’s the Marquis of Xuanping!

Xiao Hen was too far from the Official Road. By the time he could make a run for it, the horse had already gone far away.

He had to continue walking in the rain, all the while shouting, “Stop! Stop!”

The noise of the torrential rain largely muffled all other sounds, even the horse hooves beneath him seemed weakened, let alone a distant human voice.

But the Marquis of Xuanping still faintly heard something, unclear though it was.

Was someone talking?

Was someone calling him?

It sounded like… his son’s voice.

And then the Marquis of Xuanping laughed. His son was in the Capital City. How could he possibly have rushed here?

He must have heard wrong.

“Go!”

He roared.

Xiao Hen watched helplessly as a man and his horse rode past him on the Official Road.

He felt as though his breath was being choked off.

The Marquis of Xuanping saw the lantern in his hand but didn’t stop. He wouldn’t just stop for a stranger by the road.

Xiao Hen watched the staggering mountain. Rocks were already cascading down. He could almost hear the sound of the mountain’s internal fractures collapsing.

Looking at the tall figure recklessly charging toward the mountain, a voice from deep within broke through the heavy shackles.

“Father—”