Chapter 17

Wutou Xian is over twenty *li* away from the town; relying on one's own two legs is certainly not an option, so the three of them had no choice but to spend money to hire a horse-drawn carriage.

After a dusty journey, they finally caught sight of the city gates of Wutou Xian at sunset, along with the watchtowers with their upturned eaves on the city walls.

Everyone took turns undergoing inspection and questioning; when it was Du Ruo's turn, the guard at the gate immediately dodged far away, covering his nose as he asked if she was a leper.

"Big Brother, this isn't some infectious disease, it's just inflammation. If you don't believe me, you can go find a doctor to take a look," Du Ruo explained helplessly.

The soldier was half-doubting, but in the end, he let them pass.

As Du Ruo walked past him, she heard him complaining to his brother: "To be this ugly and still come out to scare people—if I were her husband, I'd smash my head against this city wall and die..."

Du Ruo rolled her eyes.

It's a good thing you aren't, otherwise, with that foul mouth of yours, you'd have been poisoned to death by me before you even had the chance to smash your head.

Once they entered the city gate, the sky had turned completely dark, and the streets were soon empty; it was said that because of that assassination attempt, the entire city was under martial law.

They had no choice but to find an inn to stay at first, and wait until daybreak to go inquire.

Early the next morning, she was woken up by Yao Yulan, and the group didn't even bother to eat breakfast before heading straight for the embankment.

Several Ya Men runners stood by the embankment, looking fierce and menacing: "What are you doing here? Idlers are not allowed inside!"

Yao Yulan hurriedly stepped forward, secretly slipping a dozen copper coins into the leader's hand, and pleaded: "Officer, I would like to ask you about someone. How is Jiang Tong from Longquan Cun doing now? Is he still alive?"

"Jiang Tong?" The Ya Men runner tucked the money into his robe, rolled his eyes, and thought for a moment: "Never heard of him. There are thousands of people from all over who have come here; how could we possibly remember every single one?"

He then asked the others: "How about you all, have you heard of this person?"

The few of them shook their heads one after another, indicating they didn't know him.

Yao Yulan wanted to ask more, but the Ya Men runner grew a bit impatient and began waving his club to drive them away.

Jiang Zhan grew anxious and shouted: "Then what about Jiang Li? Do you officers recognize Jiang Li?"

Jiang Li?

The Ya Men runners suddenly stopped their efforts to drive them away, and the leader looked Jiang Zhan up and down, asking: "What relation are you to him?"

"I am his younger brother," Jiang Zhan said hurriedly.

He then pointed at Du Ruo: "And this is my eldest sister-in-law; she is Jiang Li's wife!"

The Ya Men runner's gaze lingered on Du Ruo for a few turns, his tone filled with suspicion: "Are you trying to fool a ghost? Jiang Li's eyes aren't blind; how could he possibly marry such an ugly woman?"

Du Ruo sighed.

This really is it—people who are ugly are discriminated against everywhere; can there not be even a shred of basic respect between people?

However, judging by their reactions, they should know Jiang Li, which means there is a high probability that Jiang Li is alive.

She smiled good-naturedly, stepped forward, and performed a bow: "Dear brothers, we really are Jiang Li's family. Please, let us have a meeting with my husband; after it is done, there will definitely be a generous reward."

Seeing her speak so seriously, the Ya Men runners were somewhat hesitant; after a few of them huddled together to whisper for a while, the leader spoke up.

"Fine, you wait here. I'll go over and ask. If it's true, I won't take your reward; but if it's fake, hmph hmph..."

Jiang Zhan was overjoyed: "Many thanks."

The man turned and headed toward the embankment, where many temporary sheds had been built for those performing corvée labor; he lifted his foot and entered one of them.

After a while, the man returned.

"Follow me in, but only one person can enter, and you can only speak a few words outside the shed; you must leave immediately afterward." He looked at Du Ruo with a complex expression.

Du Ruo expressed her thanks and decided to let Jiang Zhan go.

For one, the brothers hadn't seen each other for so long and surely had much to say; for another, Jiang Li didn't yet know he had acquired a wife, so he needed to be mentally prepared first.

She watched Jiang Zhan walk onto the embankment, and at this moment, a man also emerged from the shed.

The man was very happy to see Jiang Zhan, patting his shoulder and laughing heartily, looking just like best friends.

Du Ruo finally saw his appearance clearly.

The man was very burly, estimated to be nearly two meters tall, wearing short-sleeved work clothes that exposed his arms and legs, his muscular physique radiating a strong scent of hormones under the sunlight.

Especially those large, fan-like palms; it felt like one punch could kill an ox.

Du Ruo felt a tremor in her heart.

It really was just as Yao Yulan said—standing there like a mountain, especially popular with young girls. Unfortunately, her soul was no longer that of a young girl, and she didn't like such muscular, brawny men.

Her gaze moved upward.

The man's face truly matched his body: a large square face, a high nose bridge, with hard lines as if carved by a knife. The most conspicuous feature was the full beard covering his face, occupying nearly half of his features, making him look like a bandit.

Stars danced before Du Ruo's eyes.

It's over; Jiang Li is not at all her type—this is going to be the death of her!

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Yao Yulan hurriedly helped her sit on a stone nearby.

Du Ruo closed her eyes and managed a forced smile: "I'm fine, perhaps it's just heatstroke."

This body of hers was truly too weak, and after rushing about for a day, plus the emotional agitation of seeing Jiang Li just now, she couldn't quite handle it.

Thinking of Jiang Li, she couldn't help but take another look; just then, the man also happened to look toward her from afar. Although the sun was dazzling, Du Ruo still clearly saw the look of utter disdain in his eyes.

You look down on me? I look down on you too! With such a huge build and so much beard, are you keeping it to sell for money?

Du Ruo decided on her future path.

If the two of them get along well, then we'll keep to ourselves and live in peace; if we don't get along, then we'll part ways and live our own lives—neither of us should hold the other back, hmph.

The brothers didn't talk for very long, and soon Jiang Zhan returned.

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, Eldest Brother is doing quite well and will be able to come home in a while," he said happily.

Du Ruo gave a hum.

What did she have to worry about? With a build that large, who could possibly bully him?

Yao Yulan was also quite happy; Jiang Zhan had helped her inquire, and Jiang Tong had no problems other than being a bit thinner.

Since the purpose of their visit had been achieved, the group didn't intend to delay any further and prepared to head straight home.

Watching their retreating backs, the man stood on the embankment, his brows furrowed tightly.

The lead Ya Men runner walked over and laughed: "Still looking, Old Wang? They are Jiang Li's family, not yours; why can't you let go?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Wang Bujiu glared at him. "I'm just feeling that it's a pity for Brother Jiang. Brother Jiang is a man of talent, both literary and martial, and his character is beyond reproach. You tell me, why is his luck so bad that he had to marry such an ugly woman?"

"Who's to say? If it were me, I wouldn't even want to climb into bed with her after blowing out the lamp," the Ya Men runner also sighed.

Wang Bujiu waved his hand: "Forget it, you go do your work. Brother Jiang has been called away by the Magistrate; it'll probably be a while before he returns. When the time comes, I'll talk to him about this unfortunate marriage."

Wutou Xian, after all, is where the Magistrate resides, and it is much livelier than the small Xiushan Zhen; the streets are wide, with shops one after another, dazzling to the eye.

However, having seen the prosperity of later generations, Du Ruo felt no attachment.

She was still worried about the two children at home; they had agreed to be out for one day, but ended up not returning all night—Jiang Sheng and Jiang Wan must be worried sick.

The three of them rented a carriage at the city gate, and while the horses were still eating grass, they ordered porridge and steamed buns at a small stall, intending to fill their stomachs before hitting the road.

Just halfway through their meal, many people suddenly surged in from all directions, blocking the city gate until it was impassable.

Everyone was craning their necks to look toward West Street, their faces filled with awe and curiosity.

"What happened? Who is coming?" Yao Yulan grabbed the stall owner, who was also trying to squeeze in, and asked in confusion.

The owner said excitedly: "You're not a local, are you, Sister? It's the Thirteenth Prince! The Thirteenth Prince is leaving the city!"

The Thirteenth Prince?

Du Ruo raised an eyebrow; no wonder the public was so excited—it turned out to be someone from the Emperor's own family.

She associated this with the previous assassination attempt and roughly had an idea—it was nothing more than the usual drama of princes fighting for the throne; every dynasty and generation had this same behavior, killing each other for the sake of the throne.

Such muddy waters must absolutely not be waded into.

Du Ruo pulled on Jiang Zhan and Yao Yulan: "Let's go, let's hide further back; be careful not to get trampled."