Chapter 141: Did You Go to Rob?

Xiao Ze silently shook his head.

After a while, Xue Jin regained his composure and raised his voice: "Su Mu, come in!"

A young man in white hurried in from outside the courtyard, the very one who had blocked everyone at the valley entrance.

Su Mu saluted: "Valley Master, what are your orders?"

Xue Jin looked around the room: "Great kindness needs no thanks; if any of you need something from my Sacred Medicine Valley in the future, feel free to speak up."

"I still have family matters to attend to; you may all return. Su Mu, see to it that the seniors are properly escorted out of the valley, and do not delay."

"Yes!" Su Mu cupped his hands toward the others: "Everyone, please follow me."

The group rose; Mo Zhanggeng walked to Xue Jin's side and patted his shoulder: "Don't overthink it; if your father returns to the valley, tell him I'm in Jingcheng."

Xue Jin nodded.

Tuan Tuan glanced at Xue Zhiyou, pulled a handful of spirit leaves from a pile, and shoved them into his hand: "Here, take this!"

Xue Zhiyou looked at her and gave a soft hum.

The group rode without pause, left the Sacred Medicine Valley, and set off back to Jingcheng.

The carriage wheels rolled over the cracked yellow earth of the official road, kicking up a choking cloud of dust.

Tuan Tuan perched on the window edge, staring at the grayish sky outside and the cracked fields along the way.

The once lush fields were now just a swath of withered yellow, the scene growing ever more desolate.

Small groups of refugees, in tattered clothes, pale and gaunt, their eyes numb as they staggered along the road.

The carriage slowly halted before a tea stall for a brief rest.

Low idle chatter drifted from the crowd gathered here to rest.

An aged voice sighed: "Alas, this Old Heaven Lord really won't give us a way to live!"

"Exactly! The river in our village has never run dry for generations, and today it finally ran out! All the crops are dead!"

"It's the same here; months without a drop of rain, the cracks in the ground could fit in a child's fist!"

"With this situation, how can we survive!"

Someone lowered their voice: "Have you heard?"

"I've been walking all this way, hearing many say this isn't an ordinary natural disaster!"

"It's a heavenly punishment!"

"Heavenly punishment?" The people around swarmed toward that person.

"Shh—! Keep it down! Are you crazy?"

"Cough! Let him speak! Our lives are worth nothing anyway!"

"I'm not making this up! Lots of people say so!"

"All that flowery talk, saying the Son of Heaven was immoral and angered the gods! That's why this huge drought happened!"

"Hiss— I wouldn't dare say that outright!"

"Why call it nonsense? Think about it, why is it our Liè Nation that suffers such a great disaster?"

"How come Da Xia is fine? Isn't that obvious?"

"Don't say that, what he said makes sense!"

"What else did they say?"

……

Inside the carriage, Mo Zhanggeng silently sipped tea, and Xiao Ze and Xiao Er exchanged a glance, their faces darkening.

Tuan Tuan didn't understand: "Third Elder Brother, what is a heavenly punishment?"

Xiao Ze hesitated: "It means, it's the heavens blaming us."

Tuan Tuan still didn't get it: "Why would the heavens blame us?"

Xiao Er explained: "The drought is severe, refugees everywhere; the common folk think someone did something wrong, so Old Heaven Lord is angry and stopped the rain."

"Oh." Tuan Tuan asked again, "Then who did the bad thing?"

Xiao Er glanced at Xiao Ze and said nothing.

Tuan Tuan tugged Xiao Ze's sleeve: "Third Elder Brother, Uncle Two doesn't know, tell me."

Xiao Ze thought for a moment, then softly uttered two words: "Father Emperor."

Tuan Tuan looked puzzled: "But Imperial Uncle didn't do anything wrong! Clearly it was that Tou Shen who stole Imperial Uncle's national fortune!"

Xiao Ze patted her little head: "Tuan Tuan, rumors have no basis; they're just nonsense."

"But the problem is, too many people say it, and when everyone says the same, it becomes chaotic."

Tuan Tuan laughed: "Then Third Elder Brother just tell them not to say it, and that'll be fine!"

Xiao Ze shook his head: "With rumors, the more you try to suppress them, the more people think they're true; you can't stop them."

Tuan Tuan stretched out a small hand, scratched her head, still confused.

Xiao Ze smiled: "Let's go! Let's hurry back to Jingcheng!"

The carriage set off again, racing away.

At last, they arrived at Ning Prince's Mansion.

Xiao Ze left with the Guard, taking his leave.

Tuan Tuan ran into the Prince's Mansion: "Father! Mother! Ancestors! I'm back!"

Cheng Ru'an ran over excitedly to greet her, gave her a big hug, and examined her up and down: "My Tuan Tuan! Do you miss Mother? How have you become so thin!"

Tuan Tuan touched her cheek: "Mother! I miss you too! But why do I feel like I haven't lost weight, even got fatter?"

Cheng Ru'an pinched her little face: "Why say you're fat! There's still a bit of flesh on that little face; tonight Mother will cook a few of your favorite dishes, okay?"

Tuan Tuan nodded vigorously: "Okay! Thank you, Mother!"

Xiao Yuanhang, after the mother and daughter finished speaking, scooped his daughter into his arms, gave her a little weigh, and said, "Your mother is right, you've gotten thin!"

Tuan Tuan helplessly shook her head, "Clearly not!"

Mo Zhanggeng smiled as he watched and interjected, "That Wang …"

"Right! Uncle Wang, is he okay?" Tuan Tuan slipped from her father's arms onto the ground, grabbed Mo Zhanggeng's hand and pulled him outward: "We brought back a lot of those leaves! Divine Doctor Grandfather, let's go see Uncle Wang quickly!"

Xiao Yuanhang said: "He's still at Yangzheng Pavilion, take it slow! Guo Taiyi comes every day, his condition is stable, but he still hasn't awakened."

When they arrived at Yangzheng Pavilion, Xiao Yuanhang held Tuan Tuan and sat aside, Mo Zhanggeng took Wang Mingrui's pulse: "Hmm, okay, my disciple's skill isn't bad."

He fetched the four literary treasures, wrote a prescription, and handed it to Xiao Yuanhang: "Prince, please brew the medicine according to this prescription for him to take."

Xiao Yuanhang took the prescription: "Can this medicine neutralize the toxin on his body?"

Mo Zhanggeng glanced at him: "That's natural! When has my rejuvenating hand's medical art ever erred?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled faintly: "Thank you, Divine Doctor!"

Tuan Tuan leapt to the bedside, looking at Wang Mingrui's sleep‑like face: "Uncle Wang, I brought the spirit herbs back for you! Get well quickly!"

Mo Zhanggeng recalled those spirit herbs: "Good disciple, those spirit herbs, I'd like to leave them here with you; is there a suitable place?"

"Ah! Right! Spirit herbs!" Tuan Tuan looked up at Xiao Yuanhang, "Dad! Give me a courtyard, okay? We brought back a lot of spirit herbs and plan to plant them!"

Xiao Yuanhang thought: "Herbal medicine? Then plant them in Li Xiang Yuan; the sunlight there is ample, and the courtyard even has a well, perfect."

Mo Zhanggeng heard: "Good, where is it? I'll go right away."

Xiao Yuanhang instructed a servant, and took him there.

Tuan Tuan, with a mysterious look, said: "Dad, I have something good for you!"

"Oh?" Xiao Yuanhang looked at his own daughter, "Tuan Tuan, this time you went far away, what good thing did you bring back?"

"Second Uncle! What about the things we brought back?"

Xiao Er came in holding a heap of items: "All brought in, miss!"

Xiao Yuanhang watched while listening to Xiao Er introduce them one by one: "Molded Polygonum multiflorum, sword blank, stabilizing spirit pearl, heart demon stone…," his eyes widened with each item.

"Tuan Tuan, did you go on a raid? Any one of these items could shake Jingcheng!"

Tuan Tuan's proud tail seemed to reach the heavens.

Xiao Yuanhang's gaze suddenly fixed: "Is this the Jade Seal?!"

Tuan Tuan glanced, indifferent: "Yeah! This rock lump is Da Xia's Jade Seal!"

Xiao Yuanhang was shocked: "How could you take someone else's Jade Seal home?!"