Chapter 843: Hostage

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Yu Youyao’s face was pale as she nodded weakly. “It doesn’t hurt so much anymore.” Her fingers tugged at his sleeve, relying on him as she had when she was young. “Don’t worry.”

Yin Huaixi nodded and took a handkerchief from her waist to wipe the sweat off her forehead. “Don’t walk on the ground for the next few days. After soaking in the medicinal bath every morning, noon, and night, ma.s.sage your foot with medicinal oil for 15 minutes. You’ll recover in about five to six days. In the future, you’ll be completely fine after recuperating for a few more days.”

“Okay!” Yu Youyao nodded.

Yin Huaixi picked her up by the waist. “The village is very chaotic, so I don’t want subject you to jerking motions. In addition, there are still many things to deal with. I’ll send you down the mountain first. The princess’s phoenix carriage is waiting at the foot of the mountain. You’ll be more at ease with a maidservant serving you.”

They put on a complete show. On the second day after Yin Shi disguised herself as a “young miss of a wealthy family” and set off first, Princess Shaoyi’s phoenix carriage was also escorted out of the city by the You army and headed towards Anshan.

The carriage traveled for an entire day until they arrived at the foot of the mountain at night.

At this time, it matched the time of the “mountain bandit attack” and the “You Army suppressing the bandits”.

Yu Youyao was exhausted, sleepy, and exhausted. She did not even have the strength to speak. She nodded slightly and leaned into his arms. Soon, she fell asleep.

Yin Huaixi looked down at her. Her ugly makeup complemented her gloomy expression and was even a little scary. She was originally a precious little girl. After leaving the Yu Residence, she had suffered a lot along the way. Her wisdom, knowledge, and horizons had grown. Her days were much more carefree than before, but he knew that Yu Youyao yearned for a stable life.

However, he couldn’t give her such a life at the moment.

Chun Xiao was waiting outside the house. When he saw Yin Huaixi carrying Young Miss out, she quickly bowed.

… .

Yin Huaixi figured out the terrain in this area and brought Yu Youyao down the mountain in less than an hour.

The escort army set up camp in a relatively open area. There was a fire in the camp and torches. The princess’s phoenix carriage was parked among the layers of guards.

The four-wheeled carriage, which had two wheels at the front and back, was covered in a luxurious canopy, like a small moving house. The long carriage was carved with phoenixes, flowers, and plants, making it beautiful. It was not sealed. The carriage was also inlaid with gold and jade. There were two pillars at the front and back, and the four pillars supported a large curtain that naturally hung down, blocking many peeping gazes. Jewelry and jade surrounded the carriage. When the carriage moved, pearls and jade clashed, and rings and pendants clanged. As the carriage moved up and down and made sudden turns on the terrain, they played their own movement.

It was very luxurious.

The emperor had six horses, dukes had four horses, senior officials had three horses, soldiers had two horses, and commoners had one horse. As a princess, Yu Youyao enjoyed the etiquette of riding four horses and riding a four-wheeled carriage.

With four wheels and four horses, it would be more stable and not too b.u.mpy.

Yin Huaixi personally carried Yu Youyao into the carriage.

The interior of the carriage was even more extravagant. There was a folding screen in the carriage, and outside was a place for activities. Behind the screen was a soft couch for resting.

Nanny Xu was outside the carriage, asking Chun Xiao about what had happened in the mountains. When she saw Yin Huaixi leave the carriage, she quickly bowed.

Yin Huaixi mentioned that Yu Youyao had sprained her ankle. Then, he instructed, “Don’t let her step on the ground for the next few days. Feed her the medicinal soup that can improve one’s blood circulation and disperse stasis, and soak her in it. Couple it with medicinal oil that can nourish her muscles and meridians. You have to ma.s.sage her three times a day. Her tendon is torn, so you have to pay attention to your ma.s.sage method. Use the flat pushing method to help reset the position of her fascia. Her diet also has to be light and nourishing. Her bones and tendons have to be nourished. She can’t eat meat or fish during the mourning period, so she should eat more beans, fresh milk, and some fresh fruits. She has to rest more usually…”

This explanation was detailed. Nanny Xu agreed with a smile.

After explaining everything, Yin Huaixi returned to the stockade.

At this moment, General An Yuan had already attacked the stronghold. The hostages were gathered in an open area with a few soldiers guarding the side.

Huang Wenxian had a list and was interrogating the hostages.

Seeing Yin Huaixi come over, the soldiers immediately knelt on one knee and cupped their hands. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

The hostages immediately knelt down in panic. Only then did they realize that they had really been saved, and the person who had saved them was the G.o.d of War of the North, King of the North Yue Fei.

Yin Huaixi raised his hand, and the soldiers immediately stood up. However, the hostages kneeling on the ground were still kneeling.

Huang Wenxian walked over. “There are a total of 142 hostages in the stronghold. Among them, 86 are women and children, and 56 are young and strong. Most of them are villagers at the foot of the mountain, and only a few of them are from merchant families who were pa.s.sing by…”

He handed the name list to Yin Huaixi.

Yin Huaixi flipped through it and had an idea. “Have you interrogated their ident.i.ties?”

Huang Wenxian nodded. “There’s no problem for the time being. When the government comes over, we’ll further verify their ident.i.ties. I guarantee that no mountain bandits will deceive us.”

Yin Huaixi returned the list and swept his gaze across over a hundred hostages below. “These bandits fled from Shanxi. After the bandits are eliminated, verify your ident.i.ties. I’ll make the decision and return the a.s.sets that belong to you as appropriate.”

The reason why he said that he would return their a.s.sets as appropriate was because the mountain bandits had definitely consumed a portion of their supplies. It was impossible for him to compensate them for their losses out of his own pocket.

There were soft cries from the crowd, and then many people cried with them. There were even people who wailed. The scene was heartbreaking.

After appeasing the hostages, Yin Huaixi and Huang Wenxian went to count the treasure vault.

Huang Wenxian said, “There are two treasuries in the mountain. One is on the surface and the other is secret. The treasury on the surface is used to store the resources that were plundered. The bandits registered the looted a.s.sets and put them into the treasury. The resources that are used were also registered. The account book is in my hands. Meanwhile, the other secret treasury is in a very secret cellar in the Chief’s house.”

Huang Wenxian had to go up the mountain first. In addition to further ensuring the Little Princess Consort’s safety, he also wanted to keep the treasures in the mountain.

Yin Shi created chaos in the stronghold. She was the first to find the location of the treasure vault. Then, she obtained the key and account book immediately.

The two of them first went to the treasury on the surface. There were messy piles of gold, silver, jade, and gems. There were a lot of resources, and a few soldiers were already counting them.

Then, they went to the secret cellar in the Chief’s house.

The torch lit up the pitch-black dark cellar. There were five large boxes inside. Huang Wenxian stepped forward and opened the boxes. Immediately, the room was filled with dazzling pearls and jade.

Among them, there were four boxes that were all filled with good pearls, jade, and gems. There were also some precious calligraphy and paintings. Only one box was filled with gold ores.

The truly powerful mountain bandits were all people who knew their stuff. They knew that compared to pearls and jade, some precious calligraphy, paintings, and books would be more valuable.

Yin Huaixi was a little surprised, then he smiled. “It seems that the wealth that these bandits have acc.u.mulated over the years is all here. I’ve benefited.”