CH 78

Yaoniang touched Jin Wang's hot forehead then looked at their surroundings.

The house was made of wood, with wooden walls, wooden floors and wooden furniture. Only the roof was thatched.

In the innermost corner was a wooden bed. Nearby was a square wooden table with a few wooden stools nailed to the ground. Two wooden cabinets were by the wall and there was nothing else.

Everything seemed very basic, but the furniture was quite new. The house was as if it had just been built, but its owners had left before even living in it.

Yaoniang climbed down the bed but placed Xiaobao on the inside of the bed.

With Jin Wang blocking one side of the bed and the wall on the other, as long as Xiaobao didn't deliberately climb to the foot of the bed, he wouldn't fall off.

"Xiaobao, behave. Mother will go look for some water." With that said, Yaoniang left the room.

Outside the bedroom was a small living room that was pretty much empty. There was a door on the left. Yaoniang opened it and looked inside. It was a kitchen.

There was a stove, a pot, and a water tank. When she opened the cabinet door, she saw some bowls, chopsticks, and jars that appeared to be for seasonings. She opened them and found that the jars weren’t empty. She opened another cabinet door and saw two cloth bags inside. One filled with rice and the other with noodles.

Yaoniang looked at the water tank again, but there was no water inside.

Yaoniang sighed. There was everything here, yet there was no water. But on another thought, it was unknown who lived here before. Even if there was water in the tank, she dared not drink it.

The house was only so big. Yaoniang went outside to look for some water.

She stood at the front of the house and looked off into the distance. It was almost winter, but not quite. Before her sight was a sea of lush green. To the left side of the door was a lawn of green grass, similar to a blanket, with several small pink wildflowers blooming on it. In front of her was a bamboo forest standing tall and straight with its leaves dancing in the wind.

The surrounding area was very quiet. She seemed to be able to hear the sound of gurgling water and the faint cries of birds. It was a beautiful scene with bird songs and fragrant flowers.

With joy in her heart, Yaoniang hurriedly returned inside. Grabbing a bucket with her, she headed towards the sound of running water.

Inside, Xiaobao clenched his fist and looked at the person pretending to be unconscious on the bed.

This man is so despicable and shameless! He dares to pretend to be injured to garner sympathy! That wasn’t even everything. Before, he actually tried to throw him to the ground!

Maybe it’d have been too obvious to do so, so he relented and put him at the end of the bed, where he could smell his stinky feet.

Xiaobao was almost stunk off the bed!

His exalted, majestic and honourable Emperor Father actually had such a side to him. Xiaobao felt that it was too much. After such an incident, Xiaobao also understood that he had been kidnapped from the mansion only because Jin Wang had allowed it. Coupled with all the past grievances, there was no respect or admiration in his heart for Jin Wang now. He only felt that he couldn’t wait to grow up and fight him immediately.

Plus, he knew very well what his intentions were!

Damn it! He hated that he couldn't speak or walk now!

Jin Wang opened his eyes and saw the little boy staring at him bitterly. He thought his eyesight had gone dim. When he looked again, indeed it was his vision that had been blurry.

He glanced outside. A smile flashed in his eyes, and he lazily pulled Xiaobao over. He reached out and flicked his little nose.

"Fortunately you can't speak. Otherwise, this prince will have to think about how to seal your mouth. You should be thankful that you can't speak, otherwise, this prince wouldn’t have brought you here."

Xiaobao was so angry that he wanted to bite him. Then he actually took a bite of Jin Wang’s finger, biting down hard with his two front teeth that had just grown out.

Jin Wang didn't frown, but he narrowed his eyes.

At this time, a rush of footsteps sounded. Jin Wang hurriedly put Xiaobao into the bed and laid down himself.

Lately, he’s had a lot of experience pretending to be unconscious.

Yaoniang put down the bucket of water, dipped a cloth in the water and wrung it dry. Using it, she wiped Jin Wang's face. This cloth was a piece of fabric she tore from the lining of her skirt.

As she wiped, the rims of her eyes reddened. Looking at Jin Wang’s haggard face, she thought about how badly he was hurt. And all of this was because of herself. She choked from her sobs.

Jin Wang groaned and woke up leisurely.

"Why are you crying?"

Seeing him wake up, Yaoniang forgot about crying and threw herself towards him.

"Your Highness, do you feel better now that you have woken up?"

Jin Wang cleared his throat and said with a stiff face, "This prince is fine."

"It's all my fault that you’re injured so badly…"

Jin Wang took a glance at his body. None of his injuries could be counted as serious except for that arrow wound on his shoulder. He had even suffered more severe injuries before…

"This prince already said it’s nothing."

His tone was a bit fierce, and Yaoniang didn't dare to cry anymore.

"I found some rice, noodles, and firewood in this house, so I boiled some gruel. It is almost ready to be eaten."

Jin Wang hummed in acknowledgement.

"From the state of the house, there seem to be people living here. The owner has probably gone out."

On a treetop not far from here, An Shiyi squatted, naturally not aware that he was praised again.

At the same time, Yaoniang also learned from Jin Wang how they came to be here.

It turned out that as Jin Wang drove the carriage, they were constantly blocked by the bad guys along the way. Fortunately, Jin Wang was brave, and they escaped but it took a lot of effort. This was why his injury was so serious.

They escaped at last, but then he realized they were lost. Jin Wang could only drag his exhausted body, with Yaoniang on his back and Xiaobao in his arms, and walk for a long time before he finally found this house, deep in the mountains.

When they arrived, there was no one inside. Jin Wang did some superficial treatment for his injury, then fainted. As for what happened later, Yaoniang knew the rest.

While Jin Wang was explaining everything, Xiaobao sat up. Sitting there, he watched as Jin Wang weaved his web of lies.

Jin Wang was really good at making up stories. His words were concise and he lacked facial expressions but he still created such an image of him enduring humiliation, going through hardships, and refusing to give up.

Sure enough, Yaoniang was moved to tears again.

Seeing the man wrapping one of his arms around his mother's waist and patting her with the other, along with that smug gaze of his, Xiaobao was furious.

He crawled over and pulled on Yaoniang's clothes from behind.

Yaoniang reacted and looked back at her clear-eyed son, her face flushed. Busy getting herself out of Jin Wang’s arms, she lowered her head and said, “I’ll see if I can find a set of clothes for you. Your clothes are too torn to be worn.”

Jin Wang looked at his empty hands and sneered. He looked at that little bastard. This little bastard must have done it on purpose.

On the other side, Yaoniang said in amazement, "There are clothes here! Not only are there men's clothes, but also women's. Woah, there are also ones for children!"

Xiaobao waited for his mother to realize the truth and this person’s shamelessness. Unfortunately, Yaoniang didn't find anything. She took a set of clothes and walked over. "We are just borrowing it. Perhaps, we can leave them with some money when we leave?"

Jin Wang agreed, and Xiaobao's hopes were dashed.

Yaoniang brought over a basin of hot water, about to help wipe Jin Wang’s body, but Jin Wang refused. He looked over at Xiaobao.

Yaoniang's face blushed. "He’s still young and doesn't understand anything."

Jin Wang still refused. Yaoniang could only go towards the sitting Xiaobao and say to him, "Xiaobao sit here for a while. Wait for Mother to wash you until you’re fair and chubby." She took out another set of clothes for him to play with.

Xiaobao froze. He picked up the small set of clothes that was for him to change into later and tore it. Surprisingly, Yaoniang laughed and called him naughty. She didn’t notice the grievances in his heart at all.

Yaoniang dampened the cloth and wiped Jin Wang.

Jin Wang was very dirty, and Yaoniang had never seen him this dirty before. From what she could remember, Jin Wang had always been reserved and honourable, elegant and decent, but also aloof. No one had ever seen him like this in the past. His body was covered with dust, and even his wounds were stained with dirt. He looked unkempt, like a beggar fleeing from famine.

Jin Wang in such a state made Yaoniang feel sour.

She regretted her previous suspicions. How could Jin Wang deliberately ignore Xiaobao going missing? How could she have thought that he would use Xiaobao for his schemes?

Yaoniang's vision was limited. She could only feel that something wasn’t quite right, but she had no idea what these abnormalities implied.

She didn't even tell anyone that she had left the manor in secret. She had no choice but to use herself as a gamble. Since Jin Wang was unconscious, Fucheng would still need her to relieve Jin Wang, so it was impossible for them to leave her alone.

She was right. What she didn't expect was that Jin Wang would come in person. She had miscalculated the risks, putting him in danger.

It was because she was aware of the darkness in her heart that Yaoniang felt more guilty.

"Sorry, Your Highness…" ;

As she wiped him, tears slipped down again.

"Why are you crying again? I don't blame you!"

"I won't cry anymore." Yaoniang wiped away her tears and concentrated on cleaning Jin Wang.

When she got to that place, Yaoniang blushed and refused to wipe it. She gave the cloth to Jin Wang. Jin Wang had wanted to say something but then he glanced at the little brat who had his back facing them and didn’t speak.

He was such a small thing, but why was he always in the way!

After dressing Jin Wang, Yaoniang brought over more hot water to wash Xiaobao.

Xiaobao was a small human. Sitting in a wooden basin, there was more than enough space.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that person staring at them. Xiaobao grinned and started a water fight with his mother. With his little hand, he threw water at her and also slapped the water in the basin very hard, causing water to splash everywhere. Yaoniang's clothes soon became drenched.

"Don't move. Mother is washing you until you’re clean!"

Xiaobao bounced and rolled in Yaoniang's hands like a lively fish.

Seeing such a cute Xiaobao, Yaoniang couldn't help but smile. Her entire face was lit up.

This kind of smile, Jin Wang had never seen before.