In the middle cabin of a vessel, Chu Ying and his entourage had gathered around a charcoal brazier to warm themselves.
"This damned weather, why is it even colder than the Capital? If this keeps up, this skin and bones of mine is going to pack it in for good."
Hao Fugui was curled up into a ball of cotton, rubbing his hands as he complained, occasionally lifting his sleeve to wipe away a runny nose.
"Hehe, feeling cold, are you, Director Hao? I actually have an idea."
Cui Zhao rubbed his hands together, wearing a meaningful smile.
As a military man, his physique was much sturdier than Hao Fugui's. Aside from a slightly pale complexion, he showed no other signs of distress.
Hao Fugui was overjoyed. "What idea? Tell me quickly, Flag General Cui."
"Hehe, it's actually quite simple. Just a dozen or so li ahead is Huaiyin City. They say that along the river in Huaiyin City, there are seven towers and twelve quarters. While it can't compare to the Qinhuai River of the Capital for fame, it has a distinct flavor of its own."
Cui Zhao smiled. "When we get there, Director Hao, you'll only need to spend a few taels of silver to hold a beautiful maiden in your arms under the covers. Aren't you afraid you won't be able to warm up your body then? Am I right, brothers?"
"Hehe... Boss Cui's idea is good. Don't worry, Director Hao, with us accompanying you, we guarantee you won't lose out."
The men let out knowing, ambiguous chuckles while trying every possible way to cozy up to Hao Fugui.
This fat man was now the personal eunuch attending the First Prince, and he controlled all the silver for everyone's food, clothing, and daily expenses.
If they wanted a night of romantic bliss in Huaiyin City, they had better get on the good side of this boss.
"You guys... are you thinking of visiting a brothel?"
Hao Fugui looked at them in shock, instinctively clutching his money pouch. "No, absolutely not! Our silver is limited for this trip, we can't spend it recklessly!"
"Hehe, Director Hao, spending just a little bit shouldn't matter, right?"
"Flag General Cui, it's not that I'm unwilling to let the brothers relax, but it really won't work. To tell you the truth, even if we use our silver sparingly, we probably won't make it to Shuncheng."
Hao Fugui wore a deeply worried expression. Seeing this, Chu Ying couldn't help raising his head to ask, "What is it? What happened?"
Chapter 29: Ask how much sorrow one can have, just like having no money to visit the brothel.
"That's right. Could it be that the inner court gave us too little traveling money for this trip?"
Following right after Chu Ying, Cui Zhao also asked a question.
"What do you mean, 'too little'? Aside from those two horses and the carriage, the inner court didn't give us a single coin."
Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, Hao Fugui finally blurted out the truth.
As it turned out, the expenses of the past few days had all come out of Hao Fugui's own pocket.
Yet he had only been in the palace for a few years, and his savings were meager—just a little over thirty taels in total.
Thirteen people plus two horses, daily meals and fodder, plus the costs of staying at inns and renting boats—no matter how frugally they lived, two or three taels of silver a day was the bare minimum.
From here to Shuncheng was still over a month's journey. At this rate of spending, they definitely wouldn't last until they reached their destination.
Not to mention forking out money to let Cui Zhao and the others go have a merry time.
If they really did that, the very next day they would all be collectively tasting the true flavor of the northwest wind.
Chu Ying sighed. In a situation like this, eight or ten to one, someone was targeting him.
"This prince only brought a change of clothes for this trip. What about you lot? Did anyone bring money?"
As soon as Chu Ying spoke, everyone scratched their heads in awkwardness. Cui Zhao smiled awkwardly.
"Your Highness, after the brothers heard the news that we were going to Shuncheng, we went to the Qinhuai River to live it up a few times. Hehe, actually, we rarely go to places like that ordinarily, but weren't we afraid we wouldn't come back..."
What kind of place was the Qinhuai River?
The most famous money-pit in Great Chu.
A few hardship-plagued soldiers saving up for a lifetime would probably only have enough to go there those few times.
They were all real talents, every last one of them!
Chu Ying sighed. "This is my fault. You all suffered because of me... But don't worry, I'll figure something out about the silver."
Even so, he had no idea for the moment just how he was going to make money.
Unbeknownst to them, the boat had already docked, and the boatman's urging came from outside, his voice sounding somewhat tense: "Honorable guests, time to go ashore! Can't you people move a bit faster?"
"How are you talking, our... my good man isn't shortchanging you!"
Hao Fugui was deeply displeased with the other man's attitude. He yanked his money pouch from his waist and dumped a pile of broken silver fragments into his palm.
See that? Your grandfather here is a wealthy man!
Upon seeing the money, the boatman instantly changed his expression. "Hehe, please forgive me, honorable guests. This old man didn't mean it, it's just that recently, things around Huaiyin City have not been peaceful."
"Not peaceful?"
Chu Ying, who had just stepped out of the cabin, stopped in his tracks at these words.
"Indeed. I hear an epidemic has broken out here, and it's been going on for nearly half a year. If you honorable guests take this old man's advice, you'd best leave Huaiyin City as soon as possible. This is no place to linger."
With that, he rubbed his hands and flashed an ingratiating smile at Hao Fugui. "Honorable guest, the boat fare this time..."
"Naturally, it'll be paid as we agreed beforehand. Could I possibly shortchange you?"
Hao Fugui carefully picked out a few fragments of silver to hand to the boatman, then repacked the remaining silver into his money pouch.
Ignoring the boatman's startled expression, he turned and extended both hands to Chu Ying. "Young Master, this servant will help you..."
This title of "Young Master" was at Chu Ying's prior instruction.
Only when no outsiders were present were they allowed to address him as Your Highness.
After all, his identity was special. If it were rashly publicized before reaching Shuncheng, not only would no one come to curry favor, but some clever aleck might take the initiative to "second-guess the imperial intent" and bring him unimaginable trouble.
"There's no need."
Chu Ying waved a hand in refusal and stepped onto the dock alone.
By now the wind and snow had stopped, but the sky remained gray and overcast. Two or three li away, a city stood in quiet silence.
Hardly any pedestrians could be seen on the main road. It seemed just as the boatman had said, the epidemic had taken a heavy toll on this place.
Yet despite this, they had no choice but to pass through here.
Once past Huaiyin, they would be in northern territory.
In such bitter cold weather, sections of the canal ahead were already frozen over, making it completely unsuitable for boat travel. From here on, they would have to take the land route north.
Behind him came the sound of Hao Fugui and the boatman exchanging snide remarks.
One cursed the other for having no money yet putting on airs, while the other cursed the former for being insatiably greedy.
"It's all the fault of money!"
Chu Ying sighed softly.
Mortals toil for a lifetime, all for a few fragments of silver; yet these very few fragments of silver could resolve ten thousand kinds of melancholy.
At this thought, Chu Ying was troubled once more.
In a ghost town like this, where on earth could one find a way to make money?
Had he known, he shouldn't have refused the hundreds of taels of traveling expenses his mother had prepared for him. A penny can truly baffle a hero.
Yet he felt not a jot of regret.
Compared to his own current predicament, Consort Rong clearly needed silver to fall back on far more, stuck as she was in the treacherous environment of the imperial palace.
"Let's go."
He blew into his hands and tightened his collar, then stepped forward.
Though this place was not entirely safe, as long as they were careful, there was no need to be overly nervous.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a clump of withered yellow reeds beside the road suddenly swayed.
Ice and snow cascaded down with a rustle, and a frail figure crawled out, stumbling unsteadily right into Chu Ying's path.
"Save... save..."
The young girl's voice was as faint as gossamer. She reached out a hand toward Chu Ying, but before she could even reach halfway, she collapsed limply.
"Miss! Miss?!"
With quick eyes and swift hands, Chu Ying caught her first, frowning slightly.
What... is going on here?
Having already fallen unconscious, the young girl was obviously in no condition to answer his doubts, but a terrified shout rang out from behind:
"Epidemic! That's right, this is someone infected with the plague! Run! Stay away from her, this thing is contagious!"
As if laying eyes on the most terrifying monster in the world, the boatman who had been bickering with Hao Fugui just a moment ago now thrust his long pole into the water and fled for his life, boat and all.
"Don't run! My say hasn't finished yet! Come back, if you've got the guts, argue with me another three hundred rounds!"
Hao Fugui shouted insults at the distant ripples, striking a posture of victory.
Turning around, he saw that Chu Ying was still holding the young girl. His expression changed drastically, and he hurried forward a couple of steps, only to recoil quickly:
"Yo... Your... Young Master, put her down quickly! This is a patient infected with the plague!"
"The plague?"
Hearing his anxious voice, Chu Ying's gaze fell upon the young girl's slightly distended belly, and he slowly shook his head. "I rather think it doesn't look like it..."
He reached out and pressed firmly a few times on the young girl's lower abdomen. The latter suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, startling the others.
Ignoring their astonished gazes, Chu Ying took out a handkerchief and wiped the young girl's mouth clean.
His gaze then fell upon the handkerchief, which bore a clot of phlegm streaked with blood. A thoughtful look crossed his face.
"Youn... Young Master?"
After a moment, Hao Fugui's anxious voice sounded once more.
Chu Ying raised his head to look at him, then looked toward the horse-drawn carriage that had just been unloaded at the bank. He helped the young girl up and turned to instruct Cui Zhao:
"Get her settled inside the carriage and cover her with a thick quilt."
Cui Zhao's expression shifted. "Young Master, this girl has been infected with the plague..."
"Rest assured, it is not contagious."
Chu Ying smiled with confidence. After a moment's thought, he added: "Besides, this prince seems to have found a way to make some money."
Chapter 30: Money unearned, disaster already arrived.
To save money, they chose not to enter the city to stay at an inn, but instead set up camp at a posting station not far outside the walls.
Likely due to the epidemic, the posting station was similarly deserted, with sparse carriages and few horses.
The stationmaster at first caught sight of the infected girl and tried every means to block them from entering.
However, when Hao Fugui pulled out a waist token bestowed by the Imperial Household Department, all problems were instantly resolved.
Among low-ranking local officials, no one was foolish enough to offend a palace eunuch.
Even if this eunuch was merely a stir-fry hand in the imperial kitchens.
Not long after entering, Chu Ying had Hao Fugui spend a bit of silver to send someone from the station out to buy several packages of medicine.
He then took some time to compound the ingredients and handed them over to the back kitchen to decoct.
Once the medicine was brewed, he personally carried the bowl over to the room where the young girl was resting.
Hao Fugui, Cui Zhao, and the others couldn't figure out what he was up to. Driven by curiosity, they followed along and arrived just in time to see him feeding the medicine to the girl.
When he finished, Hao Fugui stepped forward to take the empty bowl, finally unable to suppress his astonishment. "Your Highness, you... could you be treating this girl's illness?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Chu Ying pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the medicinal stains from his hands.
"But... this is the plague! Can the plague even be cured?"
Hao Fugui found it hard to believe, and Cui Zhao and the others nodded along in agreement.
In their understanding, any pestilence meant there was no cure; patients could only obediently wait for death.
"I told you before, this is not the plague."
Chu Ying paused, then added: "Of course, if you insist on viewing it that way, that's fine too. If my medicine proves effective, our travel expenses for the journey ahead might just be sorted out."
The men looked at each other in dismay.
How on earth did an epidemic get tied up with everyone's travel funds?
Hao Fugui stared at the medicine bowl in his hands for a moment before sudden inspiration struck him, and he cried out in pleasant surprise: "This servant understands! Your Highness, Your Highness intends to sell this prescription for curing the illness?"
As expected of someone who had spent time in the palace, he still had a bit of wits about him... Chu Ying nodded in appreciation. "Correct."
Upon hearing this, the others grew equally excited.
A prescription capable of curing the plague—just how many lives would that save?
With such immense value, there was no way they would sell it cheap, right?
Only Cui Zhao remained somewhat uneasy. "What if it doesn't cure her? Besides, where did Your Highness learn your medical skills?"
The expressions of the men stiffened, and they suddenly recalled Chu Ying's background, feeling a cold ripple of apprehension in their hearts.
Did His Highness really know medicine?
If she wasn't cured, it wouldn't matter much, but what if she actually ended up dead? Wouldn't that spell massive trouble?
"Rest assured, the specifics are inconvenient for me to share with you all. If you trust me, stay right here and watch how things unfold."
Chu Ying gave them a reassuring pill to set their minds at ease.
He wasn't acting rashly. In his past life as a special forces soldier, he had more than once answered his organization's call to plunge into war-torn nations to participate in peacekeeping operations.
Those war-torn lands were frequently underdeveloped regions with backward public medical facilities and abysmal sanitary conditions, making them fertile ground for all sorts of infectious diseases.
Thus, alongside peacekeeping duties, he had been required to assist various medical experts in participating in public health aid.
After years of tempering and absorbing knowledge through constant exposure, he had mastered many methods for treating and preventing infectious diseases.
Admittedly, in this ancient society lacking both doctors and medicine, much of the knowledge he possessed was often inapplicable.
Yet perhaps it was divine will that the malady afflicting the young girl happened to be curable using primitive Chinese herbal medicines.
"Cough, cough... Mn?"
Before long, coughing suddenly sounded from the bed, followed by a weak, plaintive moan.
To the ears of those present, it was no different from a sudden clap of thunder.
"She's awake! She's awake!"
Hao Fugui could hardly believe his eyes. He rushed to the bedside and grabbed the young girl's hand, which was sticking out from under the quilt. "Miss, you... are you alright? Are you really alright?"
"I... You, who are you? Ah, don't try anything funny!"
A face comparable to Pigsy's suddenly loomed before her eyes, startling the young girl so badly that she shrank back beneath the covers.
A pair of dark, darting eyes flickered about, as if searching for a self-defense tool.
"Don't be afraid, I am..."
Hao Fugui was equally startled. Just as he was about to speak, the young girl's expression suddenly changed, and she hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Let me."
Chu Ying shoved Hao Fugui aside, casually grabbed the washbasin from the bedside table, set it before the girl, and said gravely, "Throw it up in here."
The young girl glanced at this handsome young man, hesitated with a blush for a moment, but ultimately unable to hold it back, she heaved a loud "wa" and retched up a stream of yellowish, blood-tinged fluid.
Once she finished vomiting, her complexion visibly relaxed, even regaining a trace of healthy color.
"Thank you, young master."
The girl was too shy to lift her head.
Chu Ying glanced into the basin, seeing it was much as he had guessed. He raised his head with a smile. "How do you feel?"
"This maid... Oh, this maid seems much better."
The girl looked down at her own stomach in wonder, hardly daring to believe it.
She clearly remembered that just moments before, her belly had been bloated as high as if she were several months pregnant, but right now, it had visibly flattened.
"Good, that's fine then. The abdominal distension has only just eased; lie down and get some proper rest."
Chu Ying turned and walked away, handing the basin to Hao Fugui with the instruction: "Go outside, dig a hole, dump it in, and bury it. Make sure not to pour it anywhere near a water source."
"Your Highness, this won't really be contagious, will it?"
Hao Fugui looked at the filth in the basin, asking in a trembling, apprehensive whisper.
"Don't be afraid. You only need to know that our silver should be safely in hand this time." Chu Ying patted his shoulder in comfort.
"Really?! Good, this servant will go dump this stuff right away."
At the mention of silver, Hao Fugui instantly forgot his fear, his feet turning into wings.
Heaven be praised, his retirement coffin-money for his later years was finally secure.
Heaven knew how much his heart ached every time he settled the bills each day.
It was literally like slicing flesh with a dull knife!
A commotion suddenly arose behind him. Chu Ying turned around to see that the young girl had already sat up and was searching for her shoes, appearing intent on getting out of bed.
"Miss, what are you doing?" Chu Ying stepped forward to stop her. "You haven't fully recovered from your illness, you still need further treat—"
"Young master, please stay away from me!"
The girl suddenly shrank backward, raising a hand to block his approach, acting like a completely different person from just moments before.
"What is it?" Chu Ying frowned.
"In any case, don't come over. This maid thanks the young master for saving her life, but I am afflicted with the plague and likely do not have long to live. If I should pass the contagion to my benefactor..."
As she spoke, grief overwhelmed the girl, her voice choking with sobs. "Besides, I ran away. If the young master rashly takes me in, once it's discovered... it will surely bring down massive trouble.
"I beg the young master not to stop me, just let me leave. This great kindness—I fear I cannot repay it in this lifetime, and can only hope to return it in the next."
With that, two trails of teardrops slipped down her sallow cheeks.
"Ran away? Massive trouble? What do you mean by that?"
No sooner had the words left Chu Ying's mouth than an urgent shout echoed from outside: "My Lord! Lord Cui! This is bad, there's a crowd making trouble outside the gate, demanding that we hand the person over!"
"Hand someone over? Hand over who?"
Chu Ying and Cui Zhao exchanged glances, their gazes locking simultaneously onto the young girl.
Could the trouble have arrived so soon?
Chapter 31: Fierce Outsiders
"Hand the person over to us right now!"
"That's right, hand over Ma Xier, that bringer of disaster!"
"If you dare refuse, we'll put a torch to this godforsaken place!"
Under the cover of night, more than a dozen torches illuminated the front of the posting station as bright as day.
A group of sturdily built men, their faces masked with white cloth, had surrounded the gates of the posting station so tightly not even a drop of water could leak through. They clearly meant business.
When Chu Ying and his men emerged, the stationmaster was currently trying to dissuade them with two subordinates, though it was plain to see the effect was less than ideal.
Spotting the principals coming out, the stationmaster wiped away a cold sweat and tactfully stepped aside.
"You're the ones demanding we hand someone over?"
As Chu Ying spoke, his gaze swept swiftly across the crowd opposite them.
Not bad, twenty-odd people—just double the size of their own party.
He paced forward with his hands clasped behind his back and a cold smile. "If I recall correctly, we've never met any of you before, have we?"
"Hmph! Of course you haven't seen us, but we've certainly seen you!"
A young man stepped out from the opposite side, pointing at Chu Ying as he addressed an elderly man beside him: "Patriarch, they're the ones who carried Ma Xier away. Old Five and I saw it with our own eyes by the riverbank. At the time, seeing as they had numbers on their side, we had no choice but to turn back first..."
The sinewy old man stepped forward after listening, swept a glance over Cui Zhao and the others standing behind Chu Ying, and cupped his fists.
"This young master's accent doesn't sound like a local's. This old man is the patriarch of Majiashang Village in Lower River Village under Huaiyin City. May I ask where the young master hails from?"
Sizing people up at first meeting, ginger really is spicier the older it gets... Chu Ying cupped his fists in return. "So it's Village Chief Ma. I am a native of the Capital, surnamed Chu."
"Hiss... The current imperial surname? Could you be a member of the imperial family?" Old Man Ma probed deliberately.
"Imperial family? Hehe, not a single one of them would acknowledge me as a relative."
Chu Ying spoke not a word of falsehood; those imperial relatives in the Capital truly didn't treat him as kin.
"Has anyone in your household served as an official?"
"None."
"So you have neither power nor influence?" The old man's attitude began to turn disdainful.
"You could put it that way." Chu Ying nodded.