After saying these words, Wei Yun seemed to feel exhausted. He wearily walked out the door, supporting himself as he made his way to Chu Yu’s courtyard. He refused any assistance and, upon reaching the entrance of Chu Yu’s room, instructed everyone to remain outside while he entered alone.
The room still bore the chaotic signs of having been ransacked. He sat on the steps before the bed, not uttering a word.
He didn’t know what to say or what to do. In the night, he silently gazed at the moonlight filtering into the room. After a long while, he struggled to climb onto the bed, lying down as if Chu Yu were beside him. He closed his eyes and stretched out his arm, as though embracing someone. However, after some time, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He curled up and began to cry silently.
Outside the door, Wei Qiu and Wei Xia stood guard. Wei Xia couldn’t help but whisper, “Should we persuade His Highness to at least bandage his wounds?”
Wei Qiu glanced at Wei Xia and calmly said, “You go.”
“You bastard, always pushing the difficult tasks onto me!” Wei Xia cursed in a low voice. Wei Qiu’s expression remained unchanged. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Wei Xia stormed off to find Shen Wushuang.
By the time Shen Wushuang arrived, Wei Yun had already fainted on the bed. Shen Wushuang cursed under his breath, “What sin did I commit to end up serving such a master?!”
With that, Shen Wushuang began inserting his needles. After a day and a night of turmoil, Wei Yun finally regained consciousness. Liu Xueyang sat by his bedside, crying, “What are you doing? Is this how you force me?”
Wei Yun closed his eyes tiredly, not saying a word.
Seeing Wei Yun’s state, Liu Xueyang realized he didn’t want to see her at the moment. She bit her lip and ran out.
After Liu Xueyang left, Wei Yun finally spoke, asking Shen Wushuang, “How long will it take to recover?”
“The external injuries aren’t a big deal,” Shen Wushuang, accustomed to such situations, said nonchalantly. “But it’s best to treat the internal injuries. You’re quite something, aren’t you? Ninety-nine lashes and you didn’t manage to kill yourself?”
“I knew what I was doing when I did it myself,” Wei Yun replied flatly. He turned to Wei Xia and said, “Prepare for our departure to Hui City tomorrow.”
“Your Highness!” Wei Xia finally couldn’t hold back and knelt. “Please, just rest properly!”
After a moment of silence, Wei Yun finally said, “We won’t rush. I’ll recover in the carriage. Hui City has just been taken; we can’t let our guard down. I have an agreement with Gu Chusheng to capture Qing Province and take down Yao Yong within five months. We can’t delay.”
His words silenced everyone present. Shen Wushuang smiled, showing his white teeth, “Don’t worry, your prince is strong and healthy. He could take another ninety-nine lashes if needed.”
With that, Shen Wushuang stood up and stormed out.
Just a few steps out the door, he could be heard cursing loudly, “I don’t care anymore! Die if you want to!”
Wei Yun lay on the bed, feeling exhausted. Wei Xia hesitated, “Your Highness…”
“He’ll be back soon. Carry on with the preparations, we leave tomorrow.”
While Wei Yun was recuperating in bed, Chu Yu was pursuing Wei Qingping.
Wei Qingping didn’t intentionally slow down to wait for her, so by the time Chu Yu caught up, they were already near the outskirts of Qingshui Town. Qingshui Town was not far from Yuan City, about a day’s journey away. Nestled between mountains, it was an isolated small town, yet it was on the necessary route to Yuan City.
Wei Qingping casually found a teahouse to warm up with some tea. Unexpectedly, while she was drinking, Chu Yu arrived. Wei Qingping saw Chu Yu’s carriage racing towards her. When Chu Yu dismounted and approached her, Wei Qingping acted as if she had been expecting Chu Yu all along. She poured tea for Chu Yu and said, “Will you lead us into the city in a while?”
Yuan City was still Yao Ju’s territory, and Chu Yu had prepared new identities that could be put to use.
Seeing Chu Yu’s agreement, Wei Qingping looked up at her again and noticed her poor complexion. She couldn’t help but ask, “You rode in the carriage all the way here, didn’t you find it bumpy?”
“There was too much stuff,” Chu Yu said with some resignation. “I had no choice. Besides, coming on my own wouldn’t have been much better.”
Saying this, Chu Yu picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.
It was now approaching the end of winter, with the Spring Festival soon to come. There weren’t many people in the teahouse, but when Chu Yu and Wei Qingping’s group arrived, it quickly filled up. The owner came personally to attend to them.
Looking at the busy owner, Chu Yu couldn’t help but say, “The Spring Festival is coming soon. We need to arrive early.”
Wei Qingping gave a low sound of agreement. As the owner was serving dishes, he overheard their conversation and said, “There have been many nobles recently. I don’t know what’s happening, but you young ladies should be careful.”
Hearing this, Wei Qingping and Chu Yu exchanged a glance. Wei Qingping spoke first, “What nobles?”
“I don’t know,” the owner said, lowering his head. “A few days ago, there was a group from Huajing. They were in a great hurry, had just one drink, and then rushed off to Yuan City.”
Chu Yu thought for a moment, then asked, “Was their leader a handsome young man in red robes?”
“How did you know?” The owner was surprised. Chu Yu smiled and said, “Just an old acquaintance,” before dismissing the owner.
After the owner had walked away, Wei Qingping furrowed her brow, “What are people from Huajing doing here?”
“It’s nothing,” Chu Yu said calmly. “It’s probably Gu Chusheng.”
“Gu Chusheng?” Wei Qingping was puzzled this time. “What is he doing here?”
“Probably…” Chu Yu hesitated for a moment before finally voicing her guess, “Gu Chusheng has come for disaster relief.”
Back then, Gu Chusheng had handled this matter personally, and he knew more about the details of the earthquake than she did.
Now that Qing Province belonged to Yao Yong, it indirectly belonged to Zhao Yue, so naturally, Gu Chusheng would come to protect it. If he did a good job, Zhao Yue might promote him and make him rich.
Moreover, Gu Chusheng was the kind of person who always cared about the common people. Since he had also been reborn, he couldn’t possibly stand by and watch the people suffer from disaster.
Although Wei Qingping found Chu Yu’s answer strange, she accepted it. The two chatted about other matters for a while before setting off again towards Qingshui Town. It was now approaching nighttime, when everyone should have been returning home. However, Chu Yu saw people continuously leaving Qingshui Town. Most of them were carrying luggage and walking hurriedly. When they saw Chu Yu’s group, they cast strange glances at them.
At first, when they encountered a few people, Chu Yu and Wei Qingping just found it odd. But when they reached the top of the mountain and saw large groups of people packing up their belongings and being driven out by soldiers, Chu Yu immediately called for the horses to stop. She went forward to ask a villager, “Grandmother, what are these soldiers doing?”
“I don’t know,” the elderly woman complained. “We were farming our land just fine, and suddenly people came telling us to leave, saying that the earth dragon was going to move. But our place has always been fine, we’ve never had the earth dragon move before. Who knows what these officials are up to? They probably want to steal our food and land, using this as an excuse.”
If this woman thought this way, others would think the same. Below, soldiers and some young, strong villagers were arguing, causing the road to become congested. Hearing this, Chu Yu frowned and looked up at the mountain’s shape.
The exact extent of the disaster in Qing Province that year had always been a state secret. However, from what the refugees they encountered said, the damage caused by the earthquake in Qing Province was unprecedented. Qingshui Town was adjacent to Yuan City, which had been severely affected that year, and it was located in a valley. If an earthquake were to occur, the consequences would be unimaginable. The one who could predict the earthquake in advance was Gu Chusheng, and these soldiers were likely sent by him. He had handled the earthquake situation personally back then, so he knew more details. Since he had sent people today, Qingshui Town must be in a high-risk area.
So Chu Yu lowered her head and said, “Grandmother, I’m from Huajing. To tell you the truth, the heavens are about to change.”
“Change?” The old woman was stunned. Chu Yu looked around and whispered, “The priests in Huajing said that a great disaster will strike here. You should run as fast as you can. Don’t tell too many people, or you might not be able to escape in time.”
Hearing this, the old woman’s expression immediately changed.
Compared to the words of officials, such mystical sayings from priests were always more trusted by villagers. Moreover, this kind of whispered information seemed even more credible. The old woman nodded repeatedly, and after parting with Chu Yu, she immediately found her brother and whispered, “Let’s hurry up and leave. I just met a noble person who said that something really bad is about to happen!”
After Chu Yu finished talking with the old woman, Wei Qingping came to her side and whispered, “What happened?”
“First, have some people retreat to an open area,” Chu Yu turned her head to give instructions, then said, “Another group should help me and these soldiers evacuate the crowd.”
Just as Chu Yu finished speaking, she heard a soldier say, “It’s time, let’s go!”
Then, the entire valley echoed with the soldiers calling to each other, “It’s time, let’s go!”
Hearing this, Chu Yu’s heart sank.
Gu Chusheng must have given them a fixed evacuation time, which meant that danger would come after this time!
At this moment, some villagers were still arguing with the soldiers. An impatient soldier said, “If you want to die, then stay! We’re leaving first!”
With that, the soldiers desperately tried to leave. Chu Yu looked at the remaining villagers and turned to Wei Qingping, saying, “When they start to panic, lead the team and guide them out in an orderly manner.”
“What are you going to do?” Wei Qingping frowned.
Chu Yu smiled, “Just wait and see.”
As she spoke, Wei Qingping saw Chu Yu run towards the other side of the mountain. Some of the villagers were still stubbornly refusing to leave, shouting, “When have these officials ever told the truth? I don’t believe…”
Before the words were finished, there was a loud “boom” as a huge boulder tumbled down from the mountain!
This sound startled everyone, and then someone shouted, “Run! The earth is moving, run quickly!”
The crowd immediately panicked and started running in all directions. At this moment, Wei Qingping understood Chu Yu’s trick. She quickly rushed forward, leading the guards to line up on both sides, shouting, “Follow me, don’t panic, get in line!”
Those who didn’t listen were forcibly pushed to the back, and the queue quickly became orderly, moving much faster.
Chu Yu stood on the opposite mountaintop, with a huge pit at her feet where she had pried loose the boulder. She watched from afar as the crowd evacuated. Wei Qingping turned to look at her and shouted from a distance, “Stop playing around, come back!”
“Alright!” Chu Yu responded. At that instant, the ground began to shake violently. Both Wei Qingping and Chu Yu turned pale. Chu Yu shouted, “Run!!”
In an instant, the earth split and the mountains shook. No one could care for anyone else as soil cascaded down like a torrent, rushing towards the village below. The crowd screamed as if doomsday had arrived in an instant. Wei Qingping ran frantically until she reached level ground. When she looked back and saw the mountain that had collapsed on one side, she suddenly realized.
It was a mudslide!
And Chu Yu was still there!