Chapter 282 - The Lost Child

282. The Lost Child

“You just let her mess around!”

“She is well-behaved. She is not messing around.”

Li Hongmei stomped her feet angrily like Liu Qianqian did.

“I won’t care about you two anymore!”

……

In the desert.

Jin Xiaoyu and Tarico went along quite well.

She would do whatever Tarico and others did, eat whatever they ate.

At first, everyone thought that she would make trouble and be fussy along the way because of her beauty, but Jin Xiaoyu was even rougher than a man and could also involve in their chat easily.

These men were always mannerless before, but they restrained themselves a little because of this woman in the team.

It turned out that Jin Xiaoyu’s personality was the same with these men’s and could even talk to them about women, so they were not overcautious.

Jin Xiaoyu did almost everything except rotating the night shift with them. Her reason was that women was easy to get old if they always stayed up late.

She would divide water and food for the team during the day.

She ate fast, then she would find a sand dune and sit on it to look into the distance when others were eating.

In fact, only sand could be seen. No one knew what she was looking at, so they whispered.

Wang Wen said, “She looks rather blue.”

Wang Wu, “She has something on her mind.”

Mcginon asked, “Do we need to ask someone to ask her if there’s something wrong?”

Tarico immediately refused.

Tarico said, “She’s not easy to mess with, and it seems that she doesn’t want to be disturbed by us. She will come by herself when she really needs to talk.”

So they left Jin Xiaoyu alone.

The journey of the desert was so tight that everyone had no time to rest and sleep. How could they waste their time chatting?

……

The camel team finally arrived at Beihui City.

Jin Xiaoyu donned her veil and entered the town with the camel team.

The guard already knew Tarico and greeted him, “Quite early this time.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, why is there a woman?”

“A girl from our tribe who wants to come out and see the world,” Tarico said.

Because the garrison was familiar with Tarico, they let him go without questioning him too much.

Jin Xiaoyu entered the town and inadvertently glanced at the bulletin board of the city gate. She saw a portrait of her own with the word “wanted” written on it.

However, it was put up a long time ago. And her portrait had already been almost covered by other criminal suspects’ recently. Revealing only half of her face and the word “gold” below.

She was now dressed as a woman in Tianshan tribe with a veil, so the guards couldn’t recognize her naturally.

At the post house, she went to wash herself and then slept.

Tarico and the others were going to unload the stock. Since Jin Xiaoyu was a woman and they didn’t dare to call her out to help, they let her go to bed.

……

Jin Xiaoyu slept until evening. She was a little dazed after woke up.

It had been a long time since she opened her eyes and saw the simple roof of yurt. She only saw tent and sand the first ten days or so.

It had been a long time since she’d seen this kind of house with beams.

She almost thought she was still in Longmen Inn.

As she heard the noise outside later, she slowly realized that she was in Beihui city, the most prosperous place except the capital.

She opened the window. Although it was already late, the streets outside were still bustling with people. Even livelier than the day, with snacks and stall peddlers everywhere.

She dressed up as a woman from Zhongyuan, tied her hair again, and then went out with the silver.

She first walked around the street and bought a lot of things, including hairpin, comb, Rouge powder, etc. Then she felt very hungry.

Tarico had reminded her that they would eat separately because some liked to go out for snacks and a few liked to wander the flower streets, so Jin Xiaoyu naturally couldn’t hang out with them.

Jin Xiaoyu went to a bistro, ordered two appetizers, a pot of wine, then drank alone.

……

Tarico was currently wandering on the street.

The brothers went to brothels, but he went there once and felt bored, so he went out to eat alone.

Coincidentally, he entered the pub where Jin Xiaoyu was drinking.

Jin Xiaoyu was drinking when she saw Tarico, then greeted him. Tarico’s eyes lit up and he didn’t expect her to be here too.

Tarico walked towards her and Jin Xiaoyu pointed to the stool beside her, motioned for him to sit down.

“Would you like to have a drink together?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.

“Sure,” Tarico said unceremoniously. He picked up the glass on the table and poured himself. Then he called the waiter to stir-fry two appetizers.

He was a man, always embarrassed to eat girl’s food for free.

“Why are you alone?” Jin Xiaoyu asked.

Tarico smiled, “They all went to brothels for fun.”

“Then why don’t you go?” Jin Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows.

“It’s boring.”

“Is it no interesting to have fun in brothels, or you have been to brothels too many times that you feel bored?” Jin Xiaoyu added, “If you get bored with a certain brothel, just change to another one. You can always find someone you like around a bevy of young girls.”

Tarico laughed, “You know men well.”

“I can also help you find one or two to make you happy,” said Jin Xiaoyu.

“Not necessarily,” Tarico smiled still, then picked up his glass to drink.

“Do you have a girl you like? Do you worry about going to brothels will make you feel guilty to her?” Jin Xiaoyu asked again.

Ye Xiaoxian’s figure flashed in Tarico’s mind.

However, he knew he couldn’t miss her anymore, so he said with a smile, “No one.”

“The moment of your hesitation betrayed you.”

“Haha, really?” Tarico didn’t explain and only was drinking.

Jin Xiaoyu was not afraid of angering him, so he continued to ask, “Is that person little Ye?”

Tarico paused again and looked at Jin Xiaoyu wonderingly.

“Your facial expression betrayed you again,” Jin Xiaoyu giggled, “You have a good taste. She is indeed a good woman. But it is a pity that the man she likes is not you.”

“Obviously, she likes her husband,” Tarico drank two more cups.

Jin Xiaoyu patted him on the shoulder. “There is nothing wrong with liking someone. That’s out of your control, but you did a great job not bothering her. As long as you are willing to let go, you will definitely meet someone suitable for you in the future.

Seeing that Jin Xiaoyu was so eloquent, Tarico asked, “What about you, you don’t have a husband, do you have someone you like?”

Jin Xiaoyu cast him a charming smile, “Make a guess.”

“Brothers said that you might have been abandoned, so you look unhappy,” Tarico said bluntly.

Jin Xiaoyu used arms akimbo and felt that Tarico’s words were too direct, but she had to admit that he was right.

“Alright, you are right. Then we’re even. Cheers for nobody likes us!”

Their glasses met.

They drank together into the night unconsciously.

Both were a little tipsy when they went back in the evening.

The streets were quiet, and cold as it was late autumn now.

Jin Xiaoyu stumbled a bit as they walked back together.

She nearly lost her balance and fell off when she went up the stairs of the post house.

Tarico was sharp-sighted and swift, instantly grabbed her waist and brought her in front of him.

He didn’t expect her waist to be so soft. With a gentle movement, she fell into his arms, a fragrance rushed into his nose.

He was stunned.

He hasn’t had such a close touch with a woman since he got closed to little Ye in the storm.

Of course, those grils in the brothels didn’t count.

Jin Xiaoyu looked mature and full of feminine charm, but there was a faint fragrance on her body, like a blooming rose, dripping with water.

The moment she bumped into him, he could feel her softness even more.

Tarico looked at her in amazement.

Jin Xiaoyu reacted first, but she was not angry. She just smiled and gently pushed him away. Then she said, “Thank you, you really are a graceful man.”

She went upstairs after pushing him away and then threw him a charming smile when she walked around the corner.

Tarico suddenly remembered Jin Xiaoyu’s words, “As long as you’re willing to let go, you’ll definitely meet someone suitable for you in the future.”

He suddenly felt the sound of flowers blooming around him like a prairie in spring, blooming overnight.

……

Imperial court.

State preceptor went to see Li Chengshen.

Li Chengshen asked, “Has the grandson of the prime minister Xun been found?”

State preceptor sighed, “Several groups of men had been sent out to look for, but none of them found him, and the clues are gone. I assume he was wandering in the boondocks in Baoning City.

Li Chengkun said while correcting the memorial, “Forget it. Prime minister  Xun is already dead after all and he is just a child. He won’t make any big waves. He will be protected by the people of Ganghood at most, who may teach him martial arts, so he will come to seek revenge in the future. However, there are quite a few people who have come to seek revenge recently. No one is able to survive the Yulin Guard.

The state preceptor also said, “Yes, that little child is not worth mentioning.”

Li Chengkun asked again, “How is the situation in the north?”

State preceptor said, “The situation is under control, the Emperor doesn’t need to worry.”

In fact, the so-called situation was just to send troops to suppress it, not to quell the rebellion at all.

Li Chengkun’s intention wasn’t to quell, otherwise it won’t pursue.

If they wanted to quell the rebellion, there would be a war or it would be difficult to suppress the anger of the people there.

He did not think it was time to use force.

……

State preceptor came out of the Emperor’s palace and went to the empress dowager’s chamber.

The matter between the two was no longer a secret in the palace, and rumors also spread outside the palace. However, after prime minister Xun died, no one dared to criticize them in person, so they became more brazen.

When they met, empress dowager looked a little unhappy. “Why haven’t you been here for so long?”

“It’s all because of the old man, prime minister Xun, had dismissed three groups of my men in order to hunt him down.”

“Still haven’t found him yet?”

“His corpse was found, but his grandson ran away.”

“Just let it be. A child won’t make any threat to us. We should show some mercy.”

Empress dowager suddenly began to mourn as mentioned here.

She had a child with the state preceptor before she entered the palace. In order to please the late emperor, state preceptor offered her to the late emperor. Their child was secretly sent out of the capital city, Then it disappeared.