Seeing that Yu Xiang was drenched in cold sweat and pale as a ghost, Yu Pin Yan hurriedly stepped forward and asked anxiously, "Does it hurt a lot? Has the doctor been summoned?"
Yu Xiang grabbed hold on his sleeve and asked, "Elder brother, where are you going?"
The little girl seemed to be shaking with an intense restlessness. It could be that after accompanying her unfailingly every day, this sudden departure had terrified her. Yu Pin Yan sat beside the bed and softly appeased her, "Elder brother is going on an official mission and will be back very soon. Xiang'er, do not be afraid. Look for Feng Momo if you have any problems. She will take care of you."
While Yu Xiang was pondering deeply on how to make him stay behind, Liu Lu came in with the doctor. She might just as well let the doctor check her pulse to stall for more time.
Yu Pin Yan waited patiently. Once the doctor concluded that there was no problem, he felt relieved and ordered the maidservant to decoct the medicinal herbs urgently. Mouthfuls of concoctions were then fed to Yu Xiang.
Yu Xiang racked her mind for solutions as she drank the medicine. Unconsciously, she finished the whole bowl of concoction without getting any ideas.
Yu Pin Yan looked at her improved complexion and stuffed a piece of candied fruit into her mouth. He took out a soft pillow and lay her flat on the bed. As he carefully tucked the quilt around her, he softly crooned some comforting words: don't be afraid, rest well and then he turned to leave.
Yu Xiang had always been able to perceptively and accurately sense her elder brother's personal safety in her previous life. Although the elder brother in this lifetime had changed, those perceptive feelings did not disappear but seemed to have intensified. Thinking over it carefully, this could be regarded as a good turn of events. If Yu Pin Yan could be safe and sound, she would also be able to live well and smoothly. As the Marquis Yongle manor made quite a lot of enemies, there would undoubtedly be turbulent times in the royal court and Yu Pin Yan would definitely face many calamities in the future.
She didn't know the novel's plot line. She had no idea if the author would have written the decline of the Marquis Yongle manor for the sake of increasing the female lead's determination and fight for success. They might merely have to wait for the female lead's return to illustrate her prowess and to propel the Marquis manor to the pinnacle of success, leading everyone in the manor, including the Old Madam, to worship the female lead.
Thinking over that scenario, Yu Xiang felt a frigid chill run through her. She couldn't bear to think what kind of censure she, as the 'jinx', would have to endure in a declined Marquis manor. All kinds of charges would definitely be piled on her as the cannon fodder who was doomed to be the female lead's stepping stones!
However, Yu Xiang, who was known to be prideful her whole life, would not allow anyone to treat her as the stepping stones. Even if she was not the lead character, she nevertheless still wanted to live impressively at ease, and that would mean Yu Pin Yan would absolutely not be allowed to meet with any mishap.
Yu Xiang gritted her teeth and moaned mournfully, putting on an expression of one suffering excruciating pain.
Yu Pin Yan hurriedly turned back. He then pulled her quilt-covered body into his embrace and patted her from top to bottom, ordering someone to go fetch the doctor again. The doctor had not gone too far away, anxiously returned to check her pulse again, and persistently explained that there was no problem at all.
However, Yu Xiang was moaning more distinctly and both her hands stubbornly clasped around Yu Pin Yan's neck. "Elder brother, I am in so much pain," she pleaded. "Elder brother, please don't go..."
Yu Pin Yan was nearly throttled and couldn't breathe properly. He looked into her sparkling black eyes that kept shuttling closer to his face, bright with a guilty conscience and a certain craftiness. After pondering the situation over, he did not know whether to laugh or cry and instead questioned her, "Xiang'er, are you feigning illness? En? Elder brother is merely going away for official missions. It's not like I won't return. Don't be afraid." He felt somewhat helpless but at the same time elated with the feeling of being so fondly attached and wholeheartedly relied upon by someone.
"Elder brother, please don't leave today. Leave tomorrow. I just had a nightmare." Yu Xiang did not plan to conceal her ability and one by one, she recounted the details. "In my dream, I saw you in the same attire, straddling a horse with many horse-drawn carriages and soldiers behind. You went through a small path, there was a mountain on the left and a canyon on the right. A wide river was surging through the canyon. Suddenly torrential rain started pouring down from the sky. You were passing through rapidly. When you were winding around the corner, mud and rocks gushed down from the top of the mountain, and all the carriages were submerged. Chests from the carriages were pulverized by the rocks while all the silver ingots in the chests were thrown into the river, never to be found again!"
As she recited the detailed narration, Yu Pin Yan's expression became increasingly startled. Leaving the Capital this time, the Crown Prince was indeed carrying a relief of eight million silver liang. Only those in the convoy and the Emperor knew about this. Xiang'er's dream was indeed strange...
While Yu Xiang starting to narrate her nightmare, Cui Ping quietly left the room and rushed towards the main courtyard.
Cui Xi stood next to the window and gazed at the departing Cui Ping. She thought inwardly: You can coax the Marquis into submissiveness, but the Old Madam will surely not be fooled! Just because she had a nightmare, she pretended to be sick to stop the Marquis from his royal mission. If the Old Madam knew this, she would definitely skin her alive. Thinking of this, Cui Xi hastily covered her mouth with a handkerchief and snickered secretly.
Yu Xiang saw that Yu Pin Yan had relaxed somewhat. When she was about to persuade him further, Old Madam unexpectedly strode into the threshold with her walking cane and sternly reprimanded, "Xiang'er, stop making trouble. Go and attend the Young Miss for bed." Waving her hand, two strong Momo pulled Yu Xiang from Yu Pin Yan's embrace and pushed her down onto the bed.
"Yan'er, go quickly. Don't delay the Crown Prince's mission." Her stern look relaxed somewhat as she faced her grandson.
"Grandmother, Xiang'er is not fully recovered yet. Grandson is pleading with grandmother to take care of her. This grandson's life was a gift from Xiang'er. Without Xiang'er, Grandson will not be able to stand here and talk with grandmother." Yu Pin Yan vaguely reminded Old Madam not to make things difficult for Yu Xiang.
Despite many doubts in his mind, Yu Pin Yan was not in the least allowed to shirk his responsibility. The Crown Prince was seventeen this year and had attended the royal court for almost a year, and this would be the first time he was taking charge of a mission - an extremely vital royal mission where innumerable pairs of eyes were attentively watching, both from within and outside the imperial court. He patted his younger sister's head and left without looking back, knowing this was his duty-bound honour.
Yu Xiang shoved herself up with her elbows and shouted loudly, "Elder brother, if it is raining heavily, immediately stop. You must not hasten on with the journey! Please remember, you must not hasten on with the journey!"
Yu Pin Yan waved his hand and walked further away. Yu Xiang ceased her struggles and laid flat on the quilt, gasping. Several Momo retreated and submissively waited for Old Madam's orders.
Tao Hong and Liu Lu were rather worried, while Cui Ping and Cui Xi secretly schadenfreude.
With the aid of the walking stick, Old Madam walked forward and sternly reprimanded, "Initially, I thought you would be much more sensible compared to before after this calamity. Unexpectedly, you still behave the same. The business that your elder brother has to handle are all important matters. If due to you that he suffers any implication and censure either from the Emperor or the Crown Prince, the whole of Marquis manor will not be able to persevere!"
Yu Xiang lowered her eyes and softly complied, "Xiang'er is at fault, grandmother." It would be better to conduct herself more conscientiously before Yu Pin Yan's safe return.
Old Madam looked at her pale face drenched in cold sweat, as if she was suffering more ailment. She recalled her grandson's words just before he left and told herself to let it go. After all, Yu Xiang was paralyzed for saving her grandson's life. It would still be regarded acceptable for being wilful and not deranged.
Old Madam sighed deeply, "It is good that you know your fault. Do not be wilful and make any more trouble in the future. Go to sleep. I am leaving now."
Yu Xiang promptly promised. She had Cui Ping and Cui Xi escorting the Old Madam out.
Cui Xi saw that the Old Madam had spoken a lot but no action was taken, thus she felt deeply dissatisfied, feigned a worried expression and started to say, "Old Madam, the dream that Second Young Miss had, was truly unbelievable. She said that the Marquis will be flushed away by mudslide ...."
"Shut your mouth!" Old Madam sternly interrupted before she could finish her sentence. "These kinds of calamitous words must not be brought up in the future. Otherwise, your tongue will be pulled out."
Old Madam stamped her walking stick vigorously on the floor and repeatedly condemned the word "calamitous". She then turned and quickly walked away, as if this small courtyard was shrouded with an indescribable filth.
Cui Ping and Cui Xi pretended to quiver in fear and trepidation as they escorted the group's departure, but eventually started chuckling behind their hands. Perhaps Yu Xiang's tag as a 'jinx' would never be stripped. The Marquis had yet to leave, and she had dared to speak aloud those ominous words. How stupid!
After leaving the manor, Yu Pin Yan persistently spurred at top speed and finally caught up with the Crown Prince's group at the ten-mile pavilion outside the city wall.
The Crown Prince was sitting erect atop a Feghana horse. He was tall in stature and had eminently handsome features. His comportment was graceful and poised with an elegant and refined demeanour, which had roused much admiration.
"What matter held you up?" He turned around and asked.
Yu Pin Yan reverently cupped both his hands, "My younger sister's old injury relapsed. I stayed behind to wait for the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, and left afterwards. I request Your Highness' forgiveness for holding up the journey."
The Crown Prince and Yu Pin Yan had a genuinely good friendship, thus he would certainly extend his fondness towards Yu Xiang, who had sacrificed herself to save Yu Pin Yan. As a broad-minded person whose natural disposition was honest and kind-hearted, he would definitely not berate him over such a petty matter. He just waved his hand and said, "There is no harm. Has your younger sister's injury taken a favorable turn? When we return, bring my name card to the imperial hospital and invite Physician Xie. He is quite skillful in the respect of treating bone injuries."
"My younger sister is doing much better right before I left. I'm truly grateful for Your Highness' concern. I would then be shameless in borrowing Your Highness' name card once we returned." Yu Pin Yan promptly expressed his gratitude after hearing those words. Nobody could request for Physician Xie's service as he would only treat the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
As the damage caused by this disaster was too serious, they could not afford any more delays. After a brief chat, they both spurred their horses to hasten on with the journey. When they reached the mountainous terrain, the weather had turned gloomy and clusters of dark clouds could be seen rapidly gathering above. Rolling thunder and surges of lightning billowed between the layers of clouds. The sight was rather terrifying.
"This is not good. It's about to rain heavily. There is a village seven to eight miles away. We can borrow the place of a peasant for shelter temporarily. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Pick up speed." The imperial guard who was the lead scout shouted.
The convoy unconsciously tightly straddled and spurred their horses forward, intending to speedily brave through the rain.
Yu Pin Yan was the only one hesitant. The more he looked down the path, the more it seemed to resemble Xiang'er's description. Mountains on the left and a canyon on the right, and a large surging river winding through the valley of the canyon. The current of the river rushed past with an immense roar. Xiang'er had never been away from home and yet her description of the scene was as realistic as though she'd been here herself.
Was that dream really just a dream? Yu Pin Yan clenched his teeth inwardly.
It was now too late to ponder. Large rain drops pelted down ferociously from above. Someone urged the Crown Prince to get into a carriage but he declined, spurring his horse past the imperial guards and rushed to the front. Yu Pin Yan hastily caught up to him and overheard peals of a rustling sound. He turned his head and caught a quick glimpse to where a block of loosened rock tumbled onto a tuft of grass.
Yu Pin Yan's eyes darkened. He pursued the Crown Prince and shouted, "Crown Prince, please stop. We must not continue moving further. There's danger ahead!"
The Crown Prince vaguely heard the word 'danger' and thought there might be an ambush ahead. He immediately tightened his reins, his horse raised its front hooves and neighed. It steadily halted a moment later.
"What is the matter? Are there bandits ahead?" His words were laced with anxiousness.
"It's not bandits," Yu Pin Yan shook his head. "The force of the rain is too massive. We had better wait until the rain stops before moving further. Look, Crown Prince. Those mountain rocks are on the verge of collapse scouring by the rain water. It would be dangerous if we are to be smashed by those."
As he talked, a cantaloupe-sized rock coincidentally tumbled down and dropped onto the creeper grass beside the path. If that rock had been much larger, it would have possibly taken a man's life. The Crown Prince knitted his brow in hesitation.
The Minister of Revenue, Yu Wen Tao, waved a disapproving hand. "It is only seven to eight miles away. How could we meet with a mishap during a half hour journey? Where would we take cover from this torrential downpour? How long should we wait?"
The Crown Prince felt even more perplexed.
"Better safe than sorry. It would be a trifle matter if we got injured, but the Crown Prince must not get injured. Moreover, we are carrying eight million silver liang worth of disaster relief. If the falling rocks startled the horses and caused the carriages to overturn, those silvers might fall over the gorge and plunge into the river, then who is going to compensate? It's better to be cautious." Yu Pin Yan strongly argued his ground.
Yu Wen Tao shook his head and wanted to refute, but the Crown Prince interjected with a command, "All stop here. Find a safe and spacious area to set camp to rest and reorganize. Fang Wei will bring along several imperial guards to go ahead and explore. Once the road conditions are determined favorable, we will move again."
Fang Wei was the commander of the Crown Prince's imperial bodyguard. Without demur, he accepted the command and left. Yu Pin Yan took out a tent and set it up.
It was raining cats and dogs. Muddy water seemed to drip from every possible surface. The pitched tents merely acted as canopies over their heads as their feet were soaking in the water, and one could not even sit or stand or relieve the unbearable strain of exhaustion on their thighs.
Staying in the peasant households just seven to eight miles away would have been many times more favorable than this desolate open field puddled with rainwater. There would have been hot water, dry soft blankets and delicious food. Although none of the convoy said anything out loud, they were grumbling inwardly.
Yu Wen Tao heaved a sigh at his personal attendant and said, "The Crown Prince is capable, but he is certainly overcautious. It is only a half hour journey; what mishap could possibly happen? He doesn't heed anyone else's words and only listens to that pubescent study companion..."
The personal attendant pointed his finger at the next tent and motioned his master to lower his voice.
Yu Wen Tao puffed on his moustache, rather nonchalantly.