Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 450 - 448

Seeing that Xiao’er still showed no signs of waking up even after taking the soup made from soul-reviving grass, Shangguan Xuanyi, despite his injuries, decided to return to the Imperial Capital immediately.

Zhu Yan had not yet recovered from the unkind words of the man she loved, when her husband had to leave.

Just as Shangguan Xuanyi’s party left, a visitor arrived at the house of Magistrate Zhu.

Upon seeing the visitor, Magistrate Zhu warmly invited him to the flower hall and instructed the maid to serve tea.

"Cousin Wen, how do you have time to visit today?"

"Xiyue Country has been destroyed, so we generals stationed in the northwest are now at leisure."

"It is unexpected that the Sixth Prince could overthrow Xiyue Country at such a young age. Finally, the people here can live in peace." If there’s no more war and the people live in peace, surely that would elevate his rank once his term ends.

Wen Jie pursed his lips upon hearing this:" His single effort alone would achieve nothing. The soldiers fought to bring down Xiyue Country. Besides, after the last war, Xiyue Country was already at the end of its tether!"

"Even so, it was the Sixth Prince who led the soldiers. It’s not easy to eradicate an entire country, even a small one, in just over three months. I think the Sixth Prince is pretty decent; he may just be our Minze Dynasty’s blessing." Magistrate Zhu thought about how Shangguan Xuanyi, despite being seriously injured and having a constant fever, managed to deliver the soul-reviving grass back. This kind of determination is extraordinary, especially for a pampered prince!

"You admire the Sixth Prince? You haven’t even met him. How can you conclude that he’s a blessing for our dynasty?" Wen Jie scoffed.

"Truth be told, the Sixth Prince just left my residence," Magistrate Zhu whispered to Wen Jie.

He thought that since Wen Jie was a Deputy Lieutenant in Zhaowu and had fought alongside the Sixth Prince in attacking Xiyue Country, it would be no harm to inform him now that the Sixth Prince had left his residence.

"What!" Wen Jie became so excited after hearing this that he stood up and even knocked over the tea on the table.

"Why are you so upset? It’s obvious the Sixth Prince, after a victorious battle, would return to the Imperial Capital. Isn’t it normal that he passed through my county?" Magistrate Zhu looked at him, baffled.

Suppressing his excitement, Wen Jie tried to keep his voice steady: "Why did the Sixth Prince leave your residence?"

Considering Wen Jie as his cousin and a reliable person, Magistrate Zhu narrated the whole situation.

"So, you’re saying the Sixth Prince is seriously injured?" A fleeting shadow of murderous intent flashed in Wen Jie’s eyes.

"Yes, Doctor Lin said that it’ll take at least half a month to recover from his injuries." The sight of that day nearly scared him to death!

"Half a month? That’s a severe injury. Why didn’t you keep him until his injuries were healed?"

"Can I possibly keep the Sixth Prince if he wanted to leave?" Hearing that, Magistrate Zhu rolled his eyes.

Besides, a severely injured prince under his care was nerve-wracking!

"My mistake. I just remembered something I forgot to instruct my subordinates on. I wanted to come over and have a drink with you, but I have to postpone it."

Magistrate Zhu waved his hand," Go ahead, duty first. We can drink anytime."

"Then I’ll take my leave, Cousin." As Wen Jie patted Magistrate Zhu’s shoulder, he quickly turned around and left.

Snow began to fall on the first night Shangguan Xuanyi’s party left. It snowed heavily for several consecutive days.

The weather grew colder. Shangguan Xuanyi, who was in the carriage holding Xiao’er, couldn’t help but cough twice.

"My lord, are you alright? Should we find a place to settle down and recover before we continue?" Zhao Yong, the coachman, asked worriedly after hearing the cough.

With the dropping temperatures, the snow falling, his master had even started coughing. This was the first time he had heard his master cough in the several years he had been serving him!

"I am fine, no need!" It was winter. With snowfall, the weather was going to get colder day by day. When the roads became icy, they would become difficult to travel.

They were taking the official road, and not far ahead was Moon Canyon. If they decided to take a shortcut, they would have to travel through Yueluo Valley, which had once witnessed a bloody battle.

Many travelers from north to south would head home at this time to prepare for the New Year, so there were many carriages on the official road every day.

The road section in Moon Canyon was narrow, with only enough room for two carriages to pass side by side—and even then, only if they each gave way to the other. This led to a great traffic jam along the road.

For those who were more belligerent, disagreements and even fights couldn’t resolve the problem. It was usually the individuals behind who had grown impatient and intervened, allowing the road to be passable once more.

Just as Shangguan Xuanyi’s carriage reached the middle of Moon Canyon, another quarrel arose from two horse-drawn carriages that had accidentally collided.

The people behind them couldn’t bear it anymore and started to shout impatiently.

"Those at the front, whoever hit whose carriage, just pay the silver and move on! If you keep arguing like this, we’ll have to spend the night here!"

"Yes, indeed! If you don’t want to leave, we still want to go home!"

"We’re all on the road, right? Shouldn’t we be accommodating to each other? You’ve blocked the road! Don’t you consider others at all?"

...

"Damn it! Why are people arguing on such a cold day? No one died from the collision, so why don’t they just move on quickly?" Zhao Yong couldn’t help but curse, as they had not made much progress along the road after half a day.

Just as Shangguan Xuanyi was about to ask Zhao Yong to mediate, his ear twitched and his face drastically changed. He quickly picked up Xiao’er and jumped off the carriage.

"Avalanche! Run!" Shangguan Xuanyi roared.

Many people looked up at the top of the mountain after hearing this.

White snowflakes mixed with yellow rocks rolling down the hill; it was hard to make out if it was a snow or a rockslide! freewebnoveℓ.com

Everyone panicked at that moment. The coachmen abandoned their horses and fled, and those in the carriages quickly got out.

Those on horseback tried to turn around, but there was no room, so they also abandoned their horses and fled.

The scene was chaotic—wind, cries, screams for help, all filled their ears.

Shangguan Xuanyi held Xiao’er and used his Qinggong, stepping quickly atop the horse carriage, retreating swiftly.

Zhao Yong and Yang Liu, supporting Jingrui, followed closely behind Shangguan Xuanyi.

In the blink of an eye, the rocks mixed with the white snow hit.

There was a deafening sound, dust filled the air, and cries were instantly drowned out.

Shangguan Xuanyi holding Xiao’er, managed to run quite a distance away before he finally stopped.

Zhao Yong had been hit by a rock on the shoulder, but fortunately, the injury wasn’t severe.

The survivors gasped for breath and looked back.

The mud and snow from the mountain were still pouring down, then gradually stopped.

The snowflakes still fell from the sky.

The people who had escaped death, all broke out in a cold sweat.

In the crowd, someone yelled suddenly, "Where’s my son?"

Then, a series of calls and cries echoed within the crowd.