The Marquis Is Innocent

The next day, Xiao Qiao woke up with a fever, and Chun Niang scrambled to ask for a medicine from the doctor.

Xiao Qiao waited until the evening, but Mr. Lin had searched the mountain in vain. Dragon Mountain was too big with treacherous terrain. Aimlessly looking for a person without direction and trying to find it within a limited time was too hard and required luck.

Xiao Qiao was worried. Mr. Lin transferred another group of soldiers from the four cities to search the mountain. Another night passed, but they still failed.

Xiao Qiao spent this night sleeping and waking up. The shadow Chen Rui cast over her was still there, and the thought of Yuan made her even more depressed. Although they had only met in passing, it felt like destiny. Although the insect and beast didn’t hurt him, he would die of hunger and thirst if she couldn’t find him sooner. When she arranged for Mr. Jia to save him, she thought more for the Beihe tribe behind him. But at this point, she didn’t care about that anymore. She only hoped that she could find him while he was still alive.

On the evening of the third day, when the sky was getting darker, Xiao Qiao began to feel desperate, and good news suddenly came.

Mr. Jia, who had rushed back in the middle of the night, learned the news at the city gate and did not enter the city to apologize to the Lady. But he led his men to Dragon Mountain and joined the search.

When Mr. Jia passed a common grave at the mountain’s foot, he ordered his men to remove the weeds and push away the stones blocking the grave’s entrance. Sure enough, in the hole of the grave, he found the unconscious boy, Yuan. He was tied up and gagged. Deep purple bruises marked his wrists and ankles.

They sent Yuan back immediately. After being fed with water, he woke up.

After the doctor’s consultation, Xia Gu helped him wash his body and change his clothes. After he had some liquid food, he fell into a deep sleep because he was too weak.

Xiao Qiao herself was not feeling well but was in a good mood. She heard someone report that Mr. Jia was waiting outside to apologize to her, so she summoned him in. Once he saw Xiao Qiao, he kneeled and apologized. Xiao Qiao stopped him and said, “What is General Jia’s crime? You are not guilty. I should credit you with great merit instead. Please rise quickly.”

Mr. Jia was ashamed because he let Chen Rui run away with the Qiang boy that night. Upon discovering it, he continued to chase after him. Until another hundred miles out, by noon the next day, he felt something was wrong and hurriedly turned back to Jinyang. How could he not feel ashamed for failing to such an extent that he caused the Lady to suffer a frightening experience?

“I also failed to get rid of that group. Diao Mo’s subordinates were either killed or caught, but he escaped. I had failed to live up to your expectations!” Mr. Jia knelt.

Xiao Qiao stepped aside and laughed, “Get up, General Jia. There is a reason for the incident. How can I blame you for it? Instead, I have to thank you. Thanks to you, the Qiang boy was finally found in time. I’m afraid he wouldn’t have survived another night. In terms of merit, you still come first. But General Jia, how did you know the boy was in that grave?” Xiao Qiao saw that he kept apologizing, so she deliberately changed the subject and asked.

The Lady was smiling and laughing without the slightest intention of blaming him. Mr. Jia finally settled down a little. He said: “Ghosts and gods should be respected and avoided. The grave is near the mountain’s foot, and we can see it at a glance. Although Mr. Lin and the others had passed it several times, they would not have thought Chen Rui would be so heartless to stuff people into this grave. I had not thought of this either. But when I passed by, I noticed that the green moss on the stones at the mouth of the grave had fracture marks as if it had been newly moved, not like the appearance of an old grave. The weeds on the grave also had traces of someone deliberately piling them up to cover up something. I got suspicious, so I opened it to see what was inside. I was just lucky. I don’t dare to take your praise.”

Only then did Xiao Qiao realize and admire him from the bottom of her heart. She went forward and personally helped Mr. Jia up. After he got up, she said, “General Jia must not blame yourself anymore. I have another important matter to entrust to General Jia.”

Mr. Jia immediately said, “Please give me an order, Lady. I will not hesitate to die!”

Xiao Qiao said, “When that boy can travel, I would like General Jia to personally escort him and send him back to Huanzhong as soon as possible!”

……

Note:

•  Huanzhong : Beihe tribe territory
•  Huangshui area : Area where all the Qiang tribes lives
•  Guyuan : Shaodang tribe territory