Chapter 81: Soldiers Arrived
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
He had sent someone to report to the Emperor about the dandy, but it turned out that he was Chancellor’s only son.
Ke Ruan did it without saying anything, which would definitely arouse hatred from Chancellor, so it could explain the behavior of the people they met.
Thinking of Ke Ruan.
Lin Qingye subconsciously touched his mouth. In his trance, someone was agonized, who bellowed to wake him up, not allowing him to die. And his warm lips. He thought that he was dead, and it was just a dream. But the person in this dream, he never thought that it was Ke Ruan.
The moment he opened his eyes, he couldn’t distinguish reality and dreams. Even when Ke Ruan hugged him tightly in his arms, his whole body trembled. He thought it was a beautiful dream, but… it wasn’t a dream.
That person’s pain, fear, terror, and the rapture of regaining his loss…
Everything was real.
The corner of Lin Qingye’s mouth was slightly raised, and his eyes were filled with warmth as he silently said, “Childe.”
Ke Ruan and Lin Qingye were both injured. Under Si Yuhan’s sinister gaze, Ke Ruan hesitated to offer to check the condition of Lin Qingye.
He was only injured on his arm, but Lin Qingye was not. His wound was much worse than his. Since he couldn’t go in person, he could only inquire about Lin Qingye’s condition whenever he got the chance.
As for Lin Qingye, he also wanted to see Ke Ruan but Qi Cheng didn’t allow him to run around.
Qi Cheng did not want his brother Qingye to be injured, but it was owing to his injury that in these days, he could only stay in the room, so Qi Cheng was able to accompany him.
“Chief, bad news.” A person hurriedly ran in.
Qi Cheng’s smiling eyes dimmed and he was annoyed, “What’s the matter?”
“The news from the sentry is that a large number of soldiers gathered at the foot of the mountain. It looks like they are going to launch an attack to Qiao Mountain.”
Lin Qingye frowned.
Ke Ruan hurriedly walked in. He was just slightly injured and had almost completely recovered. Idling about in Qiao Mountain all day long, he soon learned about the news.
Ke Ruan wore a sullen face, “General Lin, we’ve been in the mountain for too long.”
Lin Qingye nodded.
“What we can do now, is to get down the Qiao Mountain as soon as possible.” Ke Ruan continued.
They had really stayed for too long. If they wouldn’t go down, the people at the foot of the mountain would definitely raze the mountain.
Lin Qingye looked at Qi Cheng. “How was the person we caught that day?”
Qi Cheng shook his head. “He won’t say anything.”
Lin Qingye nodded. “Take him back. He might be of some use.”
Who?
Ke Ruan was unable to keep up with their thoughts.
“Childe, let me explain it after we return. The priority now is to let the people at the foot of the mountain confirm your safety.”
Ke Ruan nodded. “I understand.”
Lin Qingye looked at Qi Cheng. “From now on, your name is not Qi Cheng, get it?”
Qi Cheng looked bad. Lin Qingye patted him on the shoulder, “One day, you can use this name open and aboveaboard.”
Qi Cheng nodded silently.
“Very good. we will give an explanation to settle Yuliang County and Qiao Mountain. Now gather our people and get down the mountain.”
Qi Cheng nodded and turned to leave.
He was about to leave. Ke Ruan’s eyes fell on Si Yuhan, hesitating a bit.
Si Yuhan frowned. What was Ke Ruan up to?
He had a bad feeling.
Chapter 82: Going down the Mountain
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
Qi Cheng’s movements were quick. He had summoned people of the Qiao mountain in an hour, whose competence impressed Ke Ruan a little.
“Brother Qingye, it’s ready.”
Lin Qingye nodded.
Quite a few people were still grumbling.
“What are you doing? Why do we have to go down the mountain with everything going on well?”
“Yeah. Chief never had such an idea. Why is it so sudden?”
“Did these people say something to Chief?”
“We don’t want to go down the mountain.”
“Yes, Chief, we don’t want to go down.”
……
Ke Ruan frowned. So many people were chattering and grumbling, with a firm attitude of not going down. If it was not suppressed, it would definitely be a problem.
He didn’t know whether the people at the foot of the mountain could be reasoned with.
Qi Cheng gestured and everyone shut up obediently. Qi Cheng looked at them and said earnestly, “You people who were speaking here have no family or friends, so you want to be here. What about the others?”
“I know that everyone came to the Qiao mountain involuntarily. Some bygones can be bygones. But what about the people and things that we cannot let go? What should we do?”
“You’ve been here for so long. Haven’t you thought about going back for a visit?”
The mass remained silent.
Qi Cheng continued, “We were all cornered here. Now that we have a chance, why don’t we go down the mountain and reunite with our family and friends?”
“But…” There came the sound from the crowd.
Qi Cheng glanced at the speaker. “If you have any questions, go ahead, ask me. I can explain clearly.”
The man was no longer hesitant and said, “Chief, the bastard official of Yu Liang County bullied us. If we go back, we will definitely not end up well.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
……
“Guys, don’t worry. With me around, I will not let that bastard official have his way. This time, if…” Qi Cheng looked at Ke Ruan with a threatening gaze and said, “If they can’t deal with the bastard official, I will kill him in person and spare all future troubles.”
When he mentioned Li Kan, everyone flew into a rage.
They couldn’t detect the menace hidden in Chief’s words, nor could they hear the “they”mentioned by Chief. What they knew was that Chief said that the bastard official would definitely die.
Chief would definitely kill him.
“Chief is mighty!”
“Long live Chief!”
……
Ke Ruan swallowed his saliva and met Qi Cheng’s threatening gaze. He laughed dryly. He would do it even risking his life, otherwise he dared not even imagine how miserable he would wind up.
“Then, do you have any objections now?” Qi Cheng glanced through the crowd.
“No, we’ll follow Chief.”
“That’s right. We believe in Chief.”
“We trust Chief.”
……
Ke Ruan, “…”
He had the urge to roll his eyes. If they trusted Chief, how come they grumbled so much at the beginning?
“In that case, let’s go down the mountain,” Lin Qingye looked at Ke Ruan and said, “For the sake of safety, Childe should stay by my side.”
Ke Ruan nodded with a gentle smile on his face. Lin Qingye pursed his lips. For some reason, his lips suddenly became a little hot and he shunned the eyes of Ke Ruan.
“General Lin, don’t worry. I won’t run around this time, I give you my word,” he said as he held Si Yuhan up. “You, you can’t run around this time. Did you hear me?”
Chapter 83: General Long Is Here
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
Si Yuhan glanced at Lin Qingye and a tinge of coldness flashed across his pupils. Ke Ruan was his man and no one could take him away.
“Since it’s ready, let’s go down the mountain.”
On the way, Ke Ruan roughly learned about what happened that day.
What surprised him even more was that the person he had punished was Chancellor’s son. What a coincidence!
Now they were on the same boat and no one could get away with it.
Not long after they set off, Ke Ruan felt the ground underneath vibrated, which gave him a start. Were they going to blow up the mountain?!
“Speed up,” Lin Qingye ordered coldly.
“Yes!”
Ke Ruan held Si Yuhan’s hand tightly and looked down at him. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”
Si Yuhan nodded, his eyes flickering, as if he really trusted this person wholeheartedly.
The group advanced halfway down the mountain. Ke Ruan could see the half of the mountain from afar, which was really almost razed.
“General, hundreds of people are in front of us.”
“Who are they?” The leader’s eyes glanced across the mountain. Their mission was to bring the prince back. If the prince died here, everyone here had to die.
“I don’t know… but they do not look like ordinary mountain thieves.”
“General, what should we do now?”
“Archers, get prepared. Shoot once you detect any threat,” the official of Yuliang County had said that General Lin’s group had been on the Qiao mountain for so many days and there was no news sent back. If these people held the prince as hostage, they must make an early plan.
“Yes!”
As they were getting closer to the soldiers downside, Ke Ruan became more and more nervous. Seeing the nervousness of Ke Ruan, Lin Qingye gave him a comforting look.
“Don’t worry. I will try my best to protect you.”
Qi Cheng suddenly looked at Lin Qingye, his eyes flickering as if in disbelief.
Ke Ruan scratched his head with a hand. Lin Qingye’s seriousness relieved him a lot.
“Don’t worry, General Lin, I’m not that useless.”
Si Yuhan tightened his grip on Ke Ruan’s hand. Ke Ruan shouted out in pain and then heard a faint voice, “Sorry.”
Ke Ruan raised his eyebrows and looked at Si Yuhan’s little head. The male lead had become more and more obedient recently, so he felt more and more reassured.
He gently rubbed his hair. “It doesn’t matter. You’re so little, how much strength can you apply? It does not hurt, and no need to apologize.”
Lin Qingye’s inquisitive gaze fell on Si Yuhan. As Ke Ruan became closer to Si Yuhan, Lin Qingye’s strange feeling became more and more distinct. In recent days, it was especially so with some unknowing emotions mixed in.
Very unbearable!
“Who are you?”
They stopped and there came a roar from not far away.
Lin Qingye breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ke Ruan, “Don’t worry, it is General Long who is loyal and devoted.“
Ke Ruan nodded. Lin Qingye said that there was no problem, then there must be no problem.
“Childe, follow me.”
Lin Qingye replied, “General Long, it’s me, Lin Qingye.”
With the words, there came more and more heavier footsteps, and a lot of soldiers showed up. Before Ke Ruan could react, the leader knelt in front of him with a ‘bang’ sound, and so did the soldiers behind him.
“I’m late to save Your Highness, please forgive me.”
Chapter 84: A Fuddy-duddy Just As Lin Qingye
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
Ke Ruan waved his hand. “Don’t say that, I’m totally fine. I came here just for investigating something. Stand up please and don’t worry, general.”
He really didn’t like these ancient formalities, like kneeling down frequently for nothing.
The General Long didn’t seemed to be quite young now, perhaps in his forties or fifties. Ke Ruan felt kind of embarrassed letting elders to kneel down in front of him.
General Long stood up and looked at Qi Cheng’s gang behind him with a murderous look in his eyes. “These people are bandit.”
In a certain tone, Ke Ruan was not afraid of being punished by the general in the next second.
As soon as Lin Qingye was about to say something, Ke Ruan took one step ahead and said, “I will deal with this matter. General, you don’t have to worry about it.”
They were ministers and had to follow the lord’s orders. Besides, under the protection of so many people, these mobs had no chance to do anything to the prince.
General Long replied in a low voice, “Yes!”
“Your Highness, please return to the palace immediately. His Majesty is really worried about Your Highness, so he ordered us to take you back as soon as we find you.”
Ke Ruan shook his head. “I have to wait for a few more days here for my own business.”
“This…” General Long looked troubled.
“Don’t say anything, I must take care of this matter. For my father, I will explain to him myself. Besides, General, you are here with so many people and still worried that you won’t be able to protect me?”
Si Yuhan smiled and thought that Ke Ruan was good at cajoling. Even he, a veteran, was already coaxed by him.
“This…”
“Just do it! Let’s get back to Yuliang County,” he need to handle the matter about the county magistrate.
“Your Highness,” General Long’s expression suddenly turned serious. Ke Ruan’s heart missed a beat and thought that he’s going to say no.
“What… what’s wrong?”
“Your Highness, you couldn’t call yourself like that.”
Ke Ruan was speechless.
He subconsciously looked at Lin Qingye. How could these people care so much about an address?
Seeming to have sensed Ke Ruan’s gaze, Lin Qingye felt nervous and shifted his gaze to the General. He intended to help Ke Ruan and said, “General Long, it is not convenient for Young Master to reveal his identity outside, so…”
The general seemed agreed with him and nodded,” indeed!”
Ke Ruan breathed a sigh of relief. If the general really wouldn’t let it go, he couldn’t just give him a lecture like he did to Lin Qingye.
Apart from Qi Cheng’s identity, Lin Qingye said all the thing to General Long on their way. After all, about his identity, it would be safer if less people knew it.
To Ke Ruan’s surprise, the general was resentful about what the county magistrate did as well and had to deal with Li Kan personally. With two generals’ help, Ke Ruan felt relaxed about this. What’s more, he had something more important to do.
When they arrived at the county, Lin Qingye and General Long immediately resolved Li Kan’s matter. Civilian in Liang County cheered and broke into rapturous applause. Such a greedy official was executed soon upon conviction, not deserved to wait.
General Long sent people to the capital city to inform His Majesty about what happened in Yuliang County. Soon, a new magistrate would be sent over, and the court would also monitor it from time to time.
His promise to Qi Cheng had finally been met. Although it was not all his charge, he did his bit, anyway.
Ke Ruan led Si Yuhan into the courier station. He had a mixed feeling to come here again, after experiencing so many life-or-death moments for the past few days.
Chapter 85: Going Through Blaze and Abyss
Translator: Storm in a Teacup
“Little Han, what would you like to eat? I’ll send someone to buy it for you.”
Si Yuhan looked up at him, “Wonton.”
Speaking of wonton, Ke Ruan felt the chillness down his neck. The other night, he took liberties to buy him wonton. The little action from the male lead literally scared him to death. He didn’t want to be so spineless, but…
“Is there anything else?”
Si Yuhan frowned when he saw Ke Ruan’s stiff expression. “You don’t like me eating wonton?”
Ke Ruan hurriedly said, “How is that possible? You can eat whatever you like. Even if you want to eat the choicest delicacies from land and sea, I’ll go through blaze and abyss to acquire them for you.”
Ke Ruan looked at him earnestly.
Si Yuhan was moved, but there was no change in emotion on his face. “Speaking of which, the choicest delicacies from land and sea must be easy to get for a prince like you. I guess you don’t need to go through blaze and abyss to get them.”
Ke Ruan, “…”
Was this what he meant?
He just wanted to show his determination, to exhibit his consideration towards the male lead. Alas! All was ruined.
“So, Your Highness is only willing to give me some of your most common things, the least important things?”
Ke Ruan, “…”
He had been so lost in digressions. Now Ke Ruan deeply understood the saying that the one with a high IQ usually tend to have a low EQ.
Ke Ruan laughed dryly. “What nonsense are you talking about? That’s not what I mean.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“I…” Ke Ruan wanted to cry. How could he continue?
“I am…”
“How can you be alive?” An unbelievable voice came from behind him. Ke Ruan paused and turned to look at the speaker.
Yu Xin looked at them in disbelief. To be precise, he was looking at Si Yuhan. In the next moment he realized the problem of his words, he quickly explained, “Your Highness, I… I’m not… I don’t mean that.”
He who excused himself accused himself. Ke Ruan’s face instantly chilled down. Previously, little Han mysteriously showed up at the Qiao mountain, saying that he was knocked unconscious, and was then brought here.
Ke Ruan’s eyes grew chilly as he looked at him. If it was not for the fact that he had planned to send Yu Xin back to his country, he would never forgive someone who was full of hostility towards little Han.
Ke Ruan subconsciously pulled Si Yuhan within his shelter and looked at Yu Xin coldly. “I advise you to behave yourself before you leave. I won’t look into the previous matter, but… if you scheme anything next, I won’t be so easy on you.”
Yu Xin trembled and said stubbornly, “I don’t know what Your Highness is talking about.”
“You don’t know?” Ke Ruan snorted, “Do you need me to find out? I won’t mind staying here for a few more days.”
Yu Xin pinched the corner of his clothes tightly and shut up.
“Get lost!”
“Yes!” Yu Xin’s eyes flickered and retreated.
Ke Ruan lowered his head and saw Si Yuhan’s cold face. Regardless of the male lead’s young age, Ke Ruan could feel the gloom and horror in his face.
He wondered if it was the preconception.
“Little Han, I…” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to teach Yu Xin a lesson. He failed to do so because to him, Yu Xin was also a child.
Si Yuhan looked at him. “There is no need to explain what Your Highness is doing.”
Then he turned around and entered his room.
“Hey!” Ke Ruan raised his hand to stop him. Si Yuhan paused for a moment and walked straight to his room as if he had heard nothing.