CH 79.2

After the meal, Yaoniang washed all the dishes and chopsticks then went to boil a pot of water. It was for cleaning Jin Wang’s wound and changing the dressing later.

Fortunately, Jin Wang came out with a military-standard bag, which contained cloth strips, wound medicine, and other first-aid supplies. Otherwise, there’d be no way for them to deal with the wound and they would have to wait for it to heal on its own.

The wound medicine was pretty good quality. In one night, some of his cuts already became scabs. Only the arrow wound on the shoulder and the knife wound on the leg oozed a bit of blood. As Yaoniang changed Jin Wang’s dressings, she had to work hard to keep her hands from shaking.

Seeing the wound, Xiaobao, who was sitting beside him, couldn’t help being silent. Although this person had ulterior motives, he did sacrifice a bit.

While Yaoniang was changing the dressing, she realized that the cloth was sticking to the wound. Jin Wang suddenly ripped off the cloth without even raising his eyebrows, tearing off a large piece of freshly formed scab in the process. Lots of blood began to gush out and even Xiaobao felt a sense of pain.

“It’s bleeding again! Why couldn’t you be more patient? Now the wound would take longer to heal!” Yaoniang scolded Jin Wang for his recklessness.

Only after she said all that did she realize her words were a bit harsh. She was about to apologize when he murmured there was no need to be afraid and that the wound would heal faster this way. She suddenly forgot about her previous blunder and cleaned his wound with some water angrily. Patting it dry with some clean cloth, she then sprinkled wound medicine on it and bandaged it.

After all this work, Yaoniang was sweating.

After tidying up the messy bandages and washing her face, she realized the abnormality. “This place is really weird. It should be almost winter now, yet it’s not cold at all.”

Jin Wang’s eyes flashed but didn’t say a word.

“What if those people come after us? We are also lost, so how do we find the way back?”

Yaoniang was worried.

“I left a mark along the road. Someone will come to us in a few days.” 

After hearing this, Yaoniang was finally relieved.

With nothing else to do, Yaoniang played with Xiaobao. After playing for a while, she felt very awkward, because Jin Wang was staring at her for so long.

“When I went to fetch the water today, I saw some fish in the stream. There was a lot of fish. I’ll go catch some fish so I can make soup for you in the evening.” She placed Xiaobao back on the bed, and said to Jin Wang awkwardly, ” Your Highness, help me look after Xiaobao. He is very obedient and won’t cause any trouble. I’ll be back soon.”

Jin Wang agreed. She went to the kitchen, grabbed a small basket and hurried out.

The stream was crystal clear. Even the bottom of the stream was visible. Yaoniang squatted on the rocks by the water. In a short period of time, she could already see a lot of fish. It was a satisfying scene but when she placed the basket into the water, the fish all swam away.

“So stupid!”

Yaoniang turned her head and saw Jin Wang slowly walking towards her. He was wearing a blue set of clothing made of coarse fabric but it did not stop him from looking handsome as usual. He walked very slowly, probably because he was afraid of tearing his wound.

“Ah, why are you here? There are still injuries on your body!”

“It’s nothing,” said Jin Wang indifferently.

He approached a cluster of bamboo, glanced at it twice, then chose one. He pulled out a short knife and cut it down. The bamboo was broken neatly.

Yaoniang only had time to see a silver light, and the knife was in its sheath. When she looked again, she saw that the knife was only a foot long. Its dark brown leather scabbard was covered with colourful gems, which showed it was nothing ordinary.

Jin Wang took the bamboo, went to sit down on a big rock by the stream, and drew the knife out. With a few up and down motions, the bamboo’s branches and leaves were removed. A few more ups and downs and the bamboo was split into sections. Another few cuts and the bamboo sections were split into strips.

The entire process was like moving clouds and flowing water, simply breathtaking.

Yaoniang was fascinated and in a daze. Jin Wang’s movements were too graceful.

While she was in a trance, Jin Wang had already picked up the bamboo sticks and sharpened the end. With the sharpened bamboo sticks in his hand, he approached the stream. All of a sudden, the bamboo sticks flew out of his hand and nailed a fish to death in the stream. The process was so quick, Yaoniang couldn’t even see it properly

Yaoniang suppressed the urge to scream. An inexplicable feeling surged in her heart. With her eyes shining, she ran to Jin Wang. “Your Highness, you are so amazing!”

Jin Wang still had a cold face, but he couldn’t stop his eyebrows from raising. He thought to himself: There’s a lot of things that this prince is amazing at.

Yaoniang was about to pick up the fish in the water but was stopped by him. “Don’t go in. Find a rope first.”

Yaoniang immediately realized that the fish had died in the middle of the stream. If she went down, it was inevitable that her clothes would get wet. But a rope?

She didn’t think much about it and hurried back to the wooden house.

After entering the bedroom, she found that Xiaobao was actually left on the bed alone. Seeing his angry pouty face, Yaoniang smiled.

She first went to find a hemp rope, then went to pick him up. As they walked out, she said to him, “It’s all because Mother neglected Xiaobao, he…” Yaoniang paused and didn’t say any more.

Jin Wang was a member of the nobility, what would he know about taking care of a child? He was a man who acted as he pleased. Yaoniang inherently understood all this so she didn’t blame Jin Wang, but found the reason from within herself.

She was the concubine of Jin Wang, but Xiaobao was the child she gave birth from someone else.

Thinking of this, Yaoniang couldn’t help but glance at her son, with raised eyebrows.

When the mother and son arrived at the stream together, Jin Wang was sitting on a rock sharpening bamboo sticks.

Yaoniang sighed in her heart but maintained a smile as she said, “I found some rope. Can you take a look to see if it is usable?”

Actually, Jin Wang had seen her and the little brat approaching a long while ago. His heart felt stifled but he didn’t want her to notice his sourness so he pretended not to have seen them

He glanced at the rope. The thickness was just right. “Usable.”

Yaoniang kept her eyes on him and when she saw that he didn’t even glance at Xiaobao, she couldn’t help holding Xiaobao’s hand tighter.

She hadn’t seriously discussed their relationship or Xiaobao with him. At first, she was full of helplessness because of his forcefulness. Then, since he turned a blind eye, she decided to bury her head in the sand and not discuss any of this with him. Something finally started to develop between the two of them but then that incident happened. She hadn’t forgotten the arrival of the person, and how furious he was to the point of not seeing her again. Only after he fell unconscious due to the poison, did she see him again.

At that time, he was in a coma.

Seeing him like that, she seemed to have let go of everything completely. She didn’t need to be embarrassed, panicked or ashamed of herself. So she pretended that nothing ever happened, that she and he were still good. But then the facts proved that what he disliked and felt disgusted with, was someone who she loved and cherished like a treasure.

“Your Highness, after we go back, can you release me?” 

Her voice was very quiet, but it still fell into Jin Wang’s ears. The bamboo stick in his hand broke with a snap.