Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 131

Chapter 131: Missed Opportunity

Night deepened.

The wind on the wasteland was always a bit chilly at night, even though it was only early autumn.

Before the burning flames, the Gao family caravan members ate their dry rations and chatted. Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi, two outsiders, sat in a dimly lit corner. After taking a few bites of his flatbread, Shao Xiaozi noticed Jiang Mi swallowing her food slowly. He leaned closer and said, “Hey, are you homesick?”

Jiang Mi turned her head. In the red glow of the flames, her eyes were bright and clear, watery and tender. Shao Xiaozi was mesmerized.

Jiang Mi, oblivious to his absentmindedness, nodded slightly, then shook her head. She whispered, “I do miss him a little… but I have no home; I don’t miss home.”

Shao Xiaozi, lost in thought, hadn’t heard Jiang Mi’s earlier words. When he came to his senses, he was greatly annoyed: he’d actually stared at a boy so intently! He slapped himself hard.

Meeting Jiang Mi’s surprised gaze, Shao Xiaozi quickly chuckled and said, “Mosquitoes, mosquitoes.”

It was early autumn, and mosquitoes were plentiful, but Jiang Mi didn’t pay any attention. She lowered her head and continued munching on her dry rations.

Shao Xiaozi was a restless person. After finishing his flatbread, he stood up, wandered around aimlessly for a moment, and then, humming some unintelligible tune, returned to Jiang Mi’s side. He had just sat down when he noticed Jiang Mi’s lips moving, as if she were chanting something. Shao Xiaozi was very curious, thinking, “Could this guy be a Buddhist? Chanting scriptures at a time like this, he’s really too sincere.”

While thinking this, he quietly moved closer to Jiang Mi to listen.

“I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not walked in. The knowing go beyond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not understood. The men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless do not come up to it. There is no body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can distinguish flavors.”

As he listened, Shao Xiaozi widened his eyes and interrupted her, “What are you chanting?”

Jiang Mi turned her head. “Have you read ‘The State of Equilibrium and Harmony’?” she asked in surprise.

Shao Xiaozi glared at her and exclaimed, “You don’t need to take the imperial examinations; why were you studying so hard? And if you’re going to recite a book, fine, but how come you speak ‘The State of Equilibrium and Harmony’ like a curse?”

Shao Xiaozi’s voice wasn’t quiet, and everyone around turned to look. The Gao family caravan members chuckled at the sight of the two young boys.

Jiang Mi, feeling embarrassed, pouted and said, “I just have this favorite. Is that wrong?”

“Sure, sure!” Shao Xiaozi quickly replied with a grin, leaning closer to Jiang Mi. Curious, he asked, “Hey, what’s the point of reciting this?”

“It’s useless,” Jiang Mi muttered, throwing a piece of firewood into the fire. “I’m just used to reciting it like this; it makes me feel a little more at ease.”

She bickered with Shao Xiaozi for a while. Then, Jiang Mi stood up.

Seeing her turn to leave, Shao Xiaozi asked, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Mi glared at him and said in a low voice, “What’s it to you where I’m going?”

Seeing her blushing, Shao Xiaozi scoffed, “Tch! It’s just to pee; we’re all men. You always have to sneak around like a thief.”

Because Shao Xiaozi’s voice wasn’t quiet, Jiang Mi glanced around cautiously, glared angrily at him, and ran into the darkness. Jiang Mi walked a hundred paces, and only when the caravan’s lights could no longer reach this corner did she glance around, furtively choosing a spot to crouch down.

Almost as soon as Jiang Mi loosened her belt, the sound of galloping hooves thundered ahead. Startled, Jiang Mi peeked out from behind a rock, watching as a troop of hundreds of soldiers charged straight into the caravan.

From afar, carried on the night wind, came the sound of soldiers’ instructions: “My master, Young Master Cui, has ordered all those of small stature to step forward!”

A foreman from the Gao family caravan hurriedly stepped forward. After bowing and scraping and asking a few questions, he turned back, his voice no longer tense. From a distance, Jiang Mi heard him shout, “Don’t panic, everyone! It’s the Cui Clan of Boling. Thieves have stolen their young mistress’s dowry, and the men of the Cui family are here to find them.”

So that’s what happened? A buzz of discussion erupted within the caravan. In these chaotic times, even a State Lord’s reputation was far less than that of these powerful clans. Upon hearing that the Cui Clan of Boling were searching for someone, the caravan knew they wouldn’t rob treasure or indiscriminately kill innocents. Immediately, the caravan, as if finding amusing entertainment, eagerly lined up.

Watching the soldiers check each person one by one, Jiang Mi, having fastened her belt, leaned against a rock and lowered her head.

After an unknown amount of time, the soldiers mounted their horses and rode away. The caravan members returned to the fire, and Jiang Mi quietly stepped forward.

Jiang Mi returned to the fire.

Fortunately, Shao Xiaozi was squatting behind the foremen, listening to their discussion about the Cui Clan of Boling, so no one noticed Jiang Mi’s absence.

Jiang Mi, head bowed, listlessly poked at the fire. Behind her, a steward spoke loudly, “When Lady Jiang took out her dowry, I sensed something was wrong. How precious must a secret recipe be to attract the Cui Clan of Boling? Lady Jiang taking it out so openly in broad daylight was bound to attract thieves. And sure enough, it has!”

A young man behind him said, “Uncle, that’s too hasty. How did you know the Cui Clan of Boling was actually robbed and not something else?”

Another old man spoke up. He was the head of the caravan, knowledgeable and highly respected within the group. The old man said, “Given the high regard for reputation held by a family like the Cui Clan of Boling, they would not open the East Gate at night or launch such a massive search unless something extremely serious had happened. The only plausible explanation is that Lady Jiang’s dowry was stolen.”

A buzz of discussion erupted around them. The conversation centered on “what secret recipes were in Lady Jiang’s dowry” and “wow, that thief was incredibly skilled! I wonder which State Lord sent him; even the Cui Clan of Boling were taken advantage of.”

Jiang Mi, having listened for a while and finding it uninteresting, climbed into the carriage and fell asleep without waiting for Shao Xiaozi to return.

Because most of the carriage was filled with cargo, it was usually cramped even for Jiang Mi and Shao Xiaozi to sit, let alone sleep. Now, Jiang Mi leaned against a bundle of goods, her face resting on her arm. Gradually, the noise outside subsided.

A short while later, Shao Xiaozi returned. He lifted the curtain, saw the cramped space in the carriage, pouted, and ran off. A moment later, he returned with a felt mat from somewhere. Shao Xiaozi placed the mat under the carriage and lay down on it.

Fortunately, it was early autumn, and the weather was still a bit warm. Although it was slightly cool, it wasn’t impossible to sleep like this.

Soon, Shao Xiaozi drifted off to sleep.

How long had passed, he didn’t know, but Shao Xiaozi and the Gao family caravan were once again awakened by the rapid, powerful sound of horses’ hooves!

In these chaotic times of war, hearing the sound of horses’ hooves in the middle of the night always caused panic. Although they knew they were less than twenty li from Mingzhou City and there shouldn’t be any bandits, they still panicked.

Amidst the chaos in the caravan, the sound of hooves grew closer and closer. In the flickering torchlight, a soldier dressed in black, galloping at the forefront, suddenly came into view.

Upon seeing that soldier… Many in the caravan relaxed, and Shao Xiaozi leaned back, muttering, “It’s just some lost dowry, isn’t it?”

In fact, everyone in the Gao family caravan relaxed at this point. A loud-voiced man even shouted, “It’s alright, it’s alright; that’s Cui Zi Xuan, Young Master Cui!”

Amid the chaos of the caravan, Cui Zi Xuan, leading about a hundred soldiers, gave a whistle and stopped in front of the caravan. Cui Zi Xuan stepped forward.

He rode to the front of the caravan, to the burning fire. After a quick, sharp glance around, he said in a hoarse voice, “Please, elders, call out all the smaller-statured people in the caravan!”

Because of a previous incident, the caravan was extremely efficient this time. As the steward went from carriage to carriage, calling out to each person by the fire, Shao Xiaozi remembered Jiang Mi.

As Shao Xiaozi lifted the carriage curtain, another steward arrived. He glanced at Jiang Mi, who was fast asleep in the carriage, and said to Shao Xiaozi, “Go and wake him.”

Shao Xiaozi grinned. “He doesn’t need to, does he? Uncle Chang, you don’t know; this kid told me during the day that he hadn’t slept for several nights. He finally managed to fall asleep…”

The steward, surnamed Chang, was just saying that. Deep down, he didn’t think the little fellow, who was so tired from building a stove, could be a thief. He nodded and said, “Alright then,” and lowered the carriage curtain.

Just as Shao Xiaozi and the steward surnamed Chang turned around, Jiang Mi opened her eyes from behind the carriage curtain that fluttered in the wind.

She quietly lifted a corner of the curtain and looked at Cui Zi Xuan standing not far away.

In the bright red flames that illuminated the earth, Cui Zi Xuan’s dark robes fluttered in the night wind.

Jiang Mi’s gaze greedily took in his stubble-covered chin, his bright, almost sharp eyes, yet with bloodshot veins, and his fist gripping his sword tightly.

He stood there silently, his expression grave, his eyes concealing a rage.

His hand gripping the sword hilt was so tight that the veins bulged!

It was just as the morning star was rising, the world in the last moments of darkness before dawn—a time when most people were in their deepest sleep. But instead of resting, he stood in the night wind, suppressing his anger and tension, watching the small, thin figures emerging from the caravan.

As he watched, Jiang Mi put her fist in her mouth. Strangely, she hadn’t shed a tear for so many days, but now tears streamed down her face.

…How she longed to throw herself into this man’s arms and tell him how hard it was outside, how she was always busy and yet always criticized for being useless. She also wanted to tell him how scared and lonely she was. She wanted to whine to him, “I missed you so much! Why did it take you so long?”

But she could do nothing!

Jiang Mi put her fist in her mouth, silently weeping. She thought, “In these chaotic times of war, separation often means death.” Perhaps this was the last time she would see her Young Master Cui.

She wanted to look at him one more time, just one more time…

Just then, as if sensing Jiang Mi’s gaze, Cui Zi Xuan suddenly turned his head. In the darkness, his eyes flashed like lightning!

Jiang Mi quickly pulled down the carriage curtain and shrank into a corner.

Sure enough, she heard the clatter of hooves outside. A moment later, a guard outside her carriage asked, “Young Master, what did you see?”

Inside the carriage, Jiang Mi flinched.

After a long pause, Cui Zi Xuan’s low, hoarse voice came, “Nothing.” Then the clatter of hooves faded into the distance.

Having done so before, the Gao family caravan quickly formed a queue.

Cui Zi Xuan, spurring his horse, inspected each person one by one by the torchlight.

The further he went, the more grim his expression became. After examining all the shorter individuals in the caravan, Cui Zi Xuan stood there blankly, a sense of loneliness and desolation emanating from him.

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Zi Xuan rode away. Hearing the receding hoofbeats, the others, awakened by the noise, fell back asleep.

Shao Xiaozi, young and energetic, couldn’t sleep. He and several other equally sleepless guards added some firewood to the fire and sat around chatting.

Because they weren’t far away, Jiang Mi heard Shao Xiaozi muttering, “Did you see Young Master Cui’s expression at the end? He seemed quite sad. Now I suspect he wasn’t looking for any thief at all.”

A steward sighed upon hearing this and said, “I also felt he seemed to be looking for someone.”

Nearby, a middle-aged scholar immediately replied, “It couldn’t be looking for someone!”

Everyone looked at him.

The middle-aged scholar nudged the fire in front of him and said, “Well, if he’s looking for someone, who could it be? An enemy? Why would the Cui Clan of Boling’s enemies hide in a small caravan like ours?”

The scholar continued his rambling, but Shao Xiaozi could not help but chuckle and interject, “Maybe it’s a woman? Everyone says Cui Zi Xuan’s a womanizer, but judging from his distraught state at the end, he looked like he’d lost his sweetheart…”

The men around the fire burst into laughter.

The middle-aged scholar laughed heartily. “A woman? How could that be? Let’s not even talk about which woman would dare to flee alone in this chaotic world. Even if there were, since that woman left the Cui Clan of Boling, and for several hours at that, her chastity’s probably already lost. Why would the Cui Clan of Boling still be looking for her?”

Shao Xiaozi was still a little confused. An old man nearby nodded and said, “You’re still young, young man, and don’t understand many things. In these years of war and family separation, I’ve long heard that in those large clans, if a woman goes missing, they don’t look for her. A woman who has been outside is unlikely to be chaste. Why would they look for her in this situation?”

Shao Xiaozi muttered to himself, “The more you talk, the more I think Cui Zi Xuan’s looking for a woman. Otherwise, why would he be so angry and heartbroken? He must have thought of the consequences.”