Ch. 776..780: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 776-780

Chapter 776: Chapter 776: A Small Man in Power (3)_1

Following the footprints left by the people ahead, they successfully arrived at the cave where Lin Ziyin had rested. The next day, they found the place where Lin Ziyin and his group had been attacked. However, this was already the fourth day after Lin Ziyin’s group had fallen down the slope.

"There has been a fight here." Luo Yan squatted down to investigate.

"There were quite a few of them." Si Jinhan’s face grew serious, "The princess fled towards the mountain."

Due to the lack of snowfall over the past few days, a strong mountain wind had covered many of the footprints and signs of struggle with fallen snow. Luo Yan and his party had to rely on their experience to seek people out.

"Someone has gone into the woods." A guard in black armor reported, "The footprints aren’t very clear."

Si Jinhan and his group immediately checked the woods. As expected, the footprints were obscure but signs of panic could still be seen due to the uneven and disorganized depth of the footprints.

"She fled up the mountain through the woods." Luo Yan’s face was devoid of any smile, "If the princess hadn’t encountered the sudden attack, she would have crossed over this mountain ridge directly. Not far on the other side is Batulu’s camp. Batulu is Alhatu’s uncle, he definitely would not have attacked the princess."

"Didn’t Batulu’s men manage to get here in time to welcome her?" Si Jinhan asked, cold light gleaming in his eyes.

"Let’s divide up. I’ll follow the footprints up the mountain, you take some people over the ridge to check the nearby camp." Luo Yan decided to split the soldiers into two groups.

"No, I’ll go after them through the woods." Si Jinhan responded, his face turning cold.

Luo Yan sighed, then patted his shoulder, saying nothing.

And so, the two decided to divide their soldiers temporarily and search separately. However, they overlooked the place where Lin Ziyin had rolled down, as the tracks of his fall had already been covered by the falling snow.

Luo Yan did start climbing over the mountain ridge, but soon he led his group back to join Si Jinhan’s pursuit.

"Is the princess not in the camp?" Si Jinhan asked anxiously.

"No need to go and check, the princess won’t be in the camp. There are only footprints leading towards it, none returning. They must be looking for the princess too," Luo Yan answered seriously. The two shared a look, then immediately gave orders to thoroughly search the nearby woods.

With this delay, two days passed. When Si Jinhan and Luo Yan finally caught up with the injured Changchun National Guard two days later, they realized they had been searching in the wrong direction. They also learned from the guard about Lin Ziyin’s tumble down the slope, which instantly brought everyone’s morale down to an all-time low.

"Kill them." The group immediately vented their frustration on the unlucky Changchun National Guard.

Even though the guards did their best to fight back, those who were wounded were no match for the killers brought by Luo Yan and eventually met their end in the wilderness.

"Send a message to the prince immediately." Luo Yan ordered his men.

"No, let’s find the princess’s whereabouts first." Si Jinhan coldly interrupted.

Luo Heng stared at him sharply, but Si Jinhan did not budge.

The guards in black armor who had followed them watched anxiously as their leaders reached an impasse.

"Do you know your position?" Luo Yan finally spoke out in anger, "Can you think before you act?"

"The princess will be fine." Si Jinhan replied seriously, "That woman is smarter than anyone. If you deliver the news to the prince now, it will only bring him more grief."

Luo Yan stared at him for a long moment, while Si Jinhan remained unmoved, "She will be fine."

"Alright, let’s search for two more days. Let’s return to the slope where the fight occurred first. If we can’t find anyone, we will immediately report to the prince." Luo Yan finally conceded a bit.

Chapter 777: Chapter 777: A Despicable Person Gets Promoted (4)_1

The group hurried back at the fastest speed, while at this time, Lin Ziyin had already begun her journey towards the capital of North Country.

"May the tomb prince’s wife persuade the Emperor." Siqin Qimuge prayed.

"The journey might not be peaceful, we should prepare for it." Batulu replied, "The Prince was a bit impulsive."

"The State Preceptor has an intense hatred for Chu Suifeng, the trouble caused by the Prince trying to protect the tomb prince’s wife won’t be small," Siqin Qimuge analyzed, "However, if the tomb prince’s wife is indeed able to feed our people in the North Country as the Prince said, the people will support the Prince. The situation may not be entirely hopeless."

Batulu did not say anything, but both of them knew in their hearts how difficult it would be to persuade the Emperor to abandon his war plunder.

"If the situation was to change, we should prepare for everything," Batulu said, sighing as he looked at the sky and walked towards the camp.

The weather was unpredictable. It had been sunny for only four days. Not long after Lin Ziyin and her group set out, the sky began to flutter with snowflakes again.

This time, because she was with Alhatu, the second prince, she did not have the same disarray as when she came, but instead sat on a warm and comfortable carriage, with Tana by her side.

"Your leg healed rather quickly." Lin Ziyin put down the book in her hand and said as she looked at her leg.

"It was just a sprain, I can’t exert much force so I’m taking advantage of your generosity," Tana was somewhat embarrassed to meet her gaze.

When they were rescued, she and Bayan both saw the handkerchief tightly gripped in Lin Ziyin’s hand. Inside it were five bright red fruits. Those were the fruits that Lin Ziyin had risked her life to find. They were sure that the tomb prince’s wife did not eat those fruits alone. Those fruits were meant to be shared with them.

No one had ever treated her so well, Tana felt guilty and her respect for Lin Ziyin increased greatly.

Hearing Lin Ziyin’s concern for her leg, she didn’t know how to respond normally.

Seeing her awkwardness, Lin Ziyin couldn’t help but laugh, "Now I’m your captive, this carriage is just a slightly more beautiful prison carriage. Therefore, you don’t need to feel like you’re taking advantage of anything."

"No, it’s not like that." As soon as Tana heard her words, she immediately panicked, "Miss, our Prince is an honorable and open person, he doesn’t treat you as a captive, but as a respected guest. This time he has invited you to visit our North Country in hopes that you can persuade the Emperor to pay attention to farming and animal husbandry, allowing the people’s lives to stabilize."

"Are you sure Alhatu treats me as a guest, not a captive?" Lin Ziyin asked her with a teasing smile.

"Of course, Miss, you can ask around. The Prince is not a deceitful villain." Tana seemed to highly admire Alhatu.

"Would an upright person use this method to bring me here?" Lin Ziyin decided to test her, she wanted to see just how loyal Tana was to Alhatu.

"Miss, you have misunderstood the Prince," Tana replied gravely, "It was the eldest prince’s men who kidnapped you first. We just intercepted you midway. The eldest prince’s men have always harbored hostility towards the tomb prince and Miss. If you fell into their hands, the consequences are unimaginable."

"So, I should be thanking your Prince, right?" Lin Ziyin asked in a teasing tone.

Tana’s face turned red all at once, "I am not trying to win merit for the second prince, everything is exactly as I said. If Miss doesn’t believe me, I won’t say anything."

Lin Ziyin lowered her head without responding, continuing to read her book with rapt attention. In reality, her mind was already in turmoil. If the eldest prince’s men kidnapped her, it would be unbelievable if there wasn’t an insider in the Wang Residence. The security in the Wang Residence has always been tight, yet such a huge oversight occurred. It indicated the insider must have held a high rank. Who could it be? Those messy women in the backyard? Logically speaking, even though they hated her and wanted to get rid of her, their freedom was severely restricted. They couldn’t possibly have the power to deliver her out of the Wang Residence.

Chapter 778: Chapter 778: A Despicable Person Gets Promoted (5)_1

Tana secretly observed her face, afraid she might be angry because of the conversation earlier.

However, Lin Ziyin seemed very absorbed in her book, showing no signs of irritation. Tana started to feel uneasy. On their journey, she had been closely around Lin Ziyin for some time, and had some understanding of this Prince’s wife.

The quieter Lin Ziyin was, the angrier she was in heart.

What should she do? Should she tell the prince about this? If she did, would the Prince’s wife become more suspicious of her? Tana was quite perplexed for a moment, not knowing the best course of action.

While Lin Ziyin held a book in her hands, she hadn’t absorbed a single word. Instead, she was pondering over who the insider that betrayed the Prince’s wife could be?

Wait, someone suddenly came to her mind.

A woman in the backyard, one who can move around freely. That would be Ming Meiren but she had been punished and was recuperating at the residence. She had not seen her go out either.

Due to the management regulations set up by Lin Ziyin, people entering and exiting the Wang Residence had to be registered so she had a fairly clear understanding of the situations within the residence. She was sure that Ming Meiren and her close associates had not left the Wang Residence.

If it wasn’t Ming Meiren, then who could the spy be? One thing she was sure about was there couldn’t just be one spy. It would be impossible for a single person to smuggle her out of the Wang Residence.

Had Chu Suifeng found out who the spy was?

"Miss, we’re almost at the town, we can rest and have dinner there tonight." Tana tried to break the silence and tentatively explained, "North Country has many delicacies for you to try."

Lin Ziyin nodded, "Hmm."

Seeing that she was not in the mood to talk, Tana stopped.

The snowflakes were not too heavy, but there was a thin layer of white snow on the ground. After entering the town, there were many people on the street, all dressed in North Country’s unique fur coats and heavy fur hats. Their faces were filled with joy, and most of them were out to buy some stuff.

Lin Ziyin suddenly remembered, today was the twenty-ninth of the year, and tomorrow was Lunar New Year’s Eve.

If she hadn’t been abducted to North Country, she should be bustling around the Wang Residence at this time receiving people who came to give gifts. She would also be busy returning gifts to other residences and would go back to Shili Village to give New Year’s gifts.

With such a big incident occurring, her grandfather and others must be worried to death, Changting and her sister must be crying their hearts out...

What worried Lin Ziyin the most was Chu Suifeng. Even though she hadn’t heard any news of Chu Suifeng, Lin Ziyin knew that he must be going crazy looking for her.

She was Chu Suifeng’s sole source of warmth. He had mentioned that he would arrange for her grandparents to come to the Wang Residence this year to celebrate the New Year together. Lin Ziyin clearly remembered his excited expression, but all those plans had now fallen apart.

Damn the people of North Country!

The more she thought about it, the worse Lin Ziyin’s mood got.

"Miss Lin, we’ve arrived at the inn. We’ll rest here for tonight and set off again tomorrow." Alhatu’s voice sounded from outside the carriage.

The curtain was lifted, and two maids appeared.

Tana was the first to get off the carriage. Due to her leg injury, one maid assisted her to stand firm while the other taller and burlier maid respectfully waited for Lin Ziyin to get off the carriage.

Lin Ziyin was properly assisted out of the carriage and then looked up to see the small inn in front of her.

The inn was small but appeared to be quite comfortable.

"Welcome, please come in." Seeing customers arriving, the inn’s shopkeeper personally came out to greet them. "You’ve arrived just in time as I was about to close up and go home for the New Year."

Chapter 779: Chapter 779: A Despicable Person Gets Promoted (6)_1

"We’ve reserved the second floor," a guard stepped forward and threw down a silver note.

"Serve all the best dishes from your restaurant," barked a guard at Alhatu’s side.

"Yes, I will prepare them right away," the shopkeeper picked up the silver note to examine.

Lin Ziyin, looking over at them, seemed to tighten up, yet she did not say a single word.

"The Princess has already been taken away by Alhatu." Luo Yan and Si Jinhan, who had finally located the cave where Ziyin had spent the night, inferred, "This method of heating by fire must have been thought up by the Princess."

A proud look streaked across Luo Yan’s face as he spoke.

Indeed, Si Jinhan was certain that only Lin Ziyin could have conceived such a unique way of keeping warm.

"Let’s rest here tonight. We’ve already missed them, chasing after them now won’t allow us to catch up. We should consider our next steps," directed Luo Yan.

"The cave is a bit small," Si Jinhan made a disgusted face.

Knowing his companion was in a bad mood, Luo Yan decided not to argue, "It doesn’t matter. The cave is barely big enough for all of us."

As they spoke, the soldiers who had gone out to hunt for food and firewood gradually returned.

This isolated spot was a good place to rest; as long as no one was patrolling the mountain, making a fire wouldn’t draw attention.

Those who had been looking for Lin Ziyin had returned, so there would undoubtedly be no one coming into the mountains anymore. Thus, they lit a fire right in the cave, roasting the deer their soldiers had caught and cleaned.

"There’s little chance of a good New Year’s now." After a long journey, they all laid exhausted on the pine needles, Luo Yan and Si Jinhan without a shred of sleepiness.

"The message has been sent. The Prince should arrive soon," Luo Yan tried to boost Si Jinhan’s low mood.

Si Jinhan slammed his fist onto the ground, his face full of regret.

"Doesn’t it hurt?" Luo Yan asked innocently, blinking at him.

Another place having a depressing New Year was Shili Village.

This year, the imperial court had stopped importing grain into the Northern Land. The goods of Prince and Lin Ziyin were also prohibited from being sold to the Capital City, but in reality, goods produced by the Lin family still had plenty of buyers.

Feng City was situated in a transport hub where merchants and traders frequently passed through, and customers from the Western Regions were common.

These merchants, who traveled to various places and held transactions in vast markets, had no difficulty selling the Lin family’s goods.

By the end of the year, each household in Shili Village and neighboring villages had received a good amount of wages and bonuses. The Lin family was generous and their benefits were better than others. Under normal circumstances, every family should have been joyfully celebrating the New Year, yet as the Lunar New Year’s Eve approached, there was hardly a hint of festivity to be found in the villages.

The reason was simple: Lin Ziyin had disappeared.

It was no more a secret that Lin Ziyin was the true owner of the Shili Village Workshop.

With the owner missing, nobody knew what the workshop would be like in the coming year. Many people, although knowing it might not be effective, tried to help by gathering information; it represented their concern.

If anyone was to be genuinely happy, it would undoubtedly be the Ma family.

Yan Family, unmindful of the villagers’ worries and the Lin family’s distress, had cheerfully set off a string of firecrackers in front of their home, even before Lunar New Year’s Eve.

"It’s not even New Year yet, what’s with the firecrackers?" Wu Erli, leading a group of young men from the village, questioned them.

"What’s the matter, can’t we set off firecrackers to celebrate before the New Year?" Yan Family retorted defiantly, hands on their hips.

Chapter 780: Chapter 780: A Despicable Person Gets Promoted (7)_1

"Mom, it’s not even New Year yet." Ma Zhixin came out, expressing his dissatisfaction first.

"Are we not allowed to set off firecrackers before the New Year? I’m doing as I please, what are you going to do about it? You seem to regulate everything, are you going to regulate my farting now as well?" Yan’s woman-like attitude emerged, "As I please, what’s wrong with setting off firecrackers?"

After she said that, she picked up a broom and hit Ma Zhixin on the forehead, "You ungrateful thing, others may bully me, but you, the one who crawled out of my belly, are you also teaming with outsiders to bully me?"

The broom hurts a lot when it hits the body, Ma Xincai was angry but dared not speak, holding his head and fled out, seeing some older boys in the village, he immediately apologized with a smiling face, "My mom is confused, don’t mind her."

"You ungrateful thing, speaking ill of me behind my back, today, I’ll beat you to death." Yan raised the broom in her hand and started beating Ma Xincai again.

Wu Erli and others saw this and felt both aggrieved and angry, yet there’s nothing they could do about Yan.

"Granny, don’t hit dad." Ma Xincai’s son and daughter came out, as soon as they saw Ma Xincai being beaten, they immediately hugged Yan’s legs and began to cry.

The fire in Yan’s heart has not been extinguished, where could she hold back? Seeing she could not hit Ma Xincai, she vented her anger by lashing out on the two kids.

The older boy knew to dodge, but the younger girl got several slaps from Yan squarely.

The cries of the children suddenly rang out loudly.

"Crying for death, you money-wasting things." Yan had never liked this granddaughter, seeing the child crying so loudly, the anger in her heart grew even more.

She lifted the broom in her hand and began hitting, the boy saw his sister being hit and rushed over to drag his sister away, Ma Xincai also came over to protect his daughter, for a moment, the Ma family courtyard became lively.

"You old shrew, how dare you hit my child." Hearing the cry of the child, Huang immediately came out to check. Her hands were still covered with flour, clearly she was busy making flour-based food in the kitchen.

She came out just in time to see Yan beating her two children, hence her new and old hatreds all surged up to her heart.

After working in the Lin Family, Huang has learned to stand up for herself. These days, she couldn’t stand Yan and Ma Dalang’s hypocrisy, let alone be afraid of Yan throwing them out, because this year, she and Ma Zhicai have made quite a lot of silver. Even if things went wrong, she wouldn’t fear being homeless.

So, the now braver Huang picked up a broom in the house and rushed over, hitting Yan without any restraints.

"Impossible, the daughter-in-law hitting the mother-in-law. There’s no justice left." Yan was taken by surprise. She was not a match for Huang in age, so she simply sat in the snow, throwing a fit.

Huang glanced at her coldly, not afraid of her at all.

The people around were only laughing, secretly cheering, no one stepped forward to stop it, let alone blamed Huang.

"Why are they really fighting?" Ma Xincai couldn’t bear it, after all, Yan was his own mother.

"You pity her, but you don’t pity your children or me?" Huang’s years of accumulated resentment suddenly burst out, "Let me tell you Ma Xincai, I’ve had enough of your Ma family’s miserable life."

"If you’ve had enough, then leave." A scolding voice suddenly came from outside the door, "We don’t want someone rebellious like you in the Ma family."

Everyone turned their heads and saw that it was Ma Zhicai who had returned.

When Yan saw her favorite son had come back, she immediately regained her spirits and started crying even harder, "Zhicai, you’re finally back. If you don’t come back, you wouldn’t see your mother."

"Mom, don’t be afraid, just let big brother divorce her." Ma Zhicai said coldly, "I bought a lot of stuff in the cart, help me get it."

Ma Zhicai deliberately downplayed it, his aim was to let everyone see that even if he didn’t work at the Lin Family, he still lived a good life.

Upon hearing that there were things to fetch, Yan immediately stopped crying and forgot about settling scores with Huang, she curiously went over to take the things from the cart. When she saw the stuff in the cart, her eyes lit up with joy, "Oh my, working in the city does have its benefits, I get so much stuff."

"You don’t have to drive me out, I’ll leave. I have no face to stay in such a cheap household." Huang sneered at Ma Zhicai, "But who do you think you are to encourage your brother to divorce me? "

The crowd burst into laughter at once, Ma Zhicai’s face turned red. He didn’t want to quarrel with Huang, so he turned his anger on Ma Xincai, "Big brother, look at what kind of woman you married."

"How are you talking?" Ma Xincai wasn’t on his side, "She’s your sister-in-law, and this is how you treat her, where has all your education gone?"