Chapter 42
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Ling Rui had studied his own kind before. He wasn’t afraid of water but was terrified of fire.
Once, while Ah Wu was out hunting, he had secretly started a small fire and put his furry paw into it, only to have it burned bald in an instant.
Unafraid of water, the little cub was as agile as a small fish in the water.
Kicking his chubby legs, he didn’t dare return to find his father and mother. There were too many bad people on the boat, and if he went back, he might get caught.
Both his mother and elder brother had taught him to protect himself in dangerous situations.
Even if he ran far away, his mother and brother would find him.
Remembering these words, the little cub swam even harder.
After an unknown amount of time, his kicking slowed until he couldn’t kick anymore. The expanse of water, large enough for a big boat to travel for days, was vast.
Exhausted, the little cub closed his eyes and sank into the water to rest.
He could breathe underwater.
Floating in the water, he fell asleep. The current carried his small body, and gradually, he drifted farther and farther away.
Time and space blurred in the flow of the water.
Meanwhile, the chaos on the big boat eventually subsided.
Emperor Ling sat on a chair, his face grim. He was personally bandaging Noble Consort Yi’s arm, which was bleeding.
She had taken a blow meant for the emperor.
“I told you to dodge.” Emperor Ling’s actions were gentle, but his tone was stern. “You haven’t handled weapons in years. Why did you act rashly just now?”
Recalling the incident, Emperor Ling was still shaken.
He knew Noble Consort Yi was skilled in martial arts, but she had lived in the palace for many years, far from the border, and her skills had waned.
Noble Consort Yi frowned, not taking the emperor’s words to heart.
Her action to shield the emperor was instinctive.
As the ruler of the nation, if something happened to him, the country would fall into chaos. The young eldest prince alone couldn’t bear the responsibility.
Noble Consort Yi’s decision to block the attack was rational.
While the emperor scolded her, his heart was conflicted.
Over the years, the one who had consistently risked everything for him was Murong Yi.
He had saved Murong Yi once, and since then, Murong Yi had been willing to give up his life to protect him.
“Your Majesty, I’m fine. Just a quick bandage will do.”
In the past, Noble Consort Yi might have exchanged some caring words with the emperor to strengthen their bond.
But now, she had only one thought: “We haven’t found Little Seven yet, Your Majesty. I need to search for him myself.”
The guards had already been looking for the princes, princesses, and other consorts, but while the second princess and third prince had been found, Little Six and Little Seven were still missing.
Noble Consort Yi was frantic with worry.
Seeing her anxiety, the emperor finished bandaging her and allowed her to go search.
He stayed behind to interrogate the captured assailants.
Noble Consort Yi stood up and walked briskly towards the exit. Halfway there, she turned back to look at the emperor and the assassins, who were temporarily gagged and restrained. “Your Majesty, is what he said about the disasters true?”
Severe disasters across the land were no small matter.
But Noble Consort Yi had never heard of such things.
The emperor frowned slightly and replied softly, “I will investigate this matter. Go find Little Seven first. He and Little Six are probably hiding somewhere.”
The emperor’s words implied he didn’t want Noble Consort Yi to ask further questions.
Noble Consort Yi glanced at the assassins once more before leaving to search for her Little Seven.
She and the guards searched thoroughly and finally found a chubby figure hidden behind a large barrel.
“Little Six, where is Little Seven?”
Seeing only the chubby figure and not her own cub, Noble Consort Yi was truly anxious. “Wasn’t he looking for you?”
The little fatty was badly frightened.
It took several questions from Noble Consort Yi before he came to his senses and burst into tears. “Little Seven told me to hide here, and he ran away.”
Noble Consort Yi hurriedly asked, “Where did he run to? Did you see?”
The little fatty shook his head.
Under Noble Consort Yi’s gaze, he sobbed and provided a clue: “I don’t know if it was Little Seven, but I heard the sound of something falling into the water.”
Hearing this, Noble Consort Yi nearly fainted.
Ji Yan, who was with Noble Consort Yi, quickly supported the trembling consort and reassured her, “Your Highness, the Sixth Prince did not see it with his own eyes… It may not be the Seventh Prince who fell into the water. Let’s keep looking.”
Ji Yan was also anxious, but she forced herself to remain calm.
The consort was already very worried, and Ji Yan had to stay composed to help the consort calm down as well.
Several people continued searching for several more rounds.
The uninjured Third Prince heard about Ling Rui’s disappearance and left his room, disregarding his mother still inside, and walked out briskly.
“Ji Yan, have you found Little Seven?”
Seeing Ji Yan approaching, Ling Yi asked.
Ji Yan bit her lip and shook her head, her voice hoarse, “We have searched everywhere, but there is still no trace of the young prince.”
In this situation, there was only one possibility.
A possibility that the noble consort was unwilling to accept no matter what.
The sailors who could swim had already taken small boats to search the waters.
The noble consort, overwhelmed with worry, had fainted earlier. She had Cui Xi take the noble consort to rest temporarily while she continued the search.
“I’ll search with you,” Ling Yi said, joining her in another search.
Unfortunately, their efforts were again fruitless.
As the night grew darker and the sky outside turned completely black, Noble Consort Yi’s composure crumbled. She even considered jumping into the water herself to search.
After finishing his interrogation, the emperor also came over.
Noble Consort Yi had a strong personality; no matter what happened or how badly she was hurt, she would grit her teeth and endure without a word, at most letting her eyes redden.
But now, standing by the ship’s railing, her beautiful face was covered in tears.
Ling Yi stood beside her, looking out over the water with her.
The sailors continued to search in shifts.
The emperor watched them search, his heart heavy. He walked over to Noble Consort Yi, “Yi Er, I have ordered more boats from nearby. They will come and help search.”
“Don’t panic.”
The emperor himself felt the reassurance was weak.
Little Seven was so small. If he wasn’t on the boat, he must be in the water. The outcome for such a tiny child falling into the water was obvious.
The emperor wanted to comfort Noble Consort Yi, but her tears were beyond his ability to soothe.
That night, the ship remained brightly lit, and no one could sleep.
The Sixth Prince cried until he could hardly breathe, blaming himself, “I’m the elder brother, but I didn’t protect Little Seven.”
Not only had he failed to protect Little Seven, but he had also been protected by him.
If Little Seven had hidden instead, he would be safe now and not fallen into the water.
The emperor and Noble Consort Yi watched the small boats from outside. The emperor was also deeply troubled, thinking of the little one who called him “father,” the child who would always come to hug his leg and ask to be held. His eyes were filled with gloom.
He had been wary of this child and even been cold to him for a few days.
But this child was genuinely his most favored and beloved among all his children.
The night was dark as ink, but even the deepest ink would eventually fade.
For the first time, Noble Consort Yi wished time would pass more slowly, and the small boat would find her little one sooner. She was willing to do anything as long as they could find her child.
Noble Consort Yi didn’t dare close her eyes. She stared intently at the water, refusing to rest despite anyone’s persuasion.
At dawn, the emperor couldn’t hold out and experienced another headache. He went back to take his medicine, while Noble Consort Yi stayed where she was, continuing to wait.
Suddenly, Noble Consort Yi asked, “Did the captured assassins confess? Is what they said about the disaster true? Did the court really suppress it without sending aid?”
Her question was quiet.
But Ling Yi, who remained there, heard her. He moved his lips and finally said, “It’s true. My older brother doesn’t know about many disasters; he only knows about the one in the south. For the locust plague in the south, he recommended the most upright official, Lord Gongsun, to go there.”
“My older brother even asked for a sum of money from our maternal family and sent it there.”
Of all Ling Yi’s words, Noble Consort Yi only remembered one sentence—
The accusations of the assassins were true.
The Qi Dynasty was weak, and the Murong family guarded the border, fending off countless enemies. The Murong family couldn’t possibly keep an eye on the internal affairs of the country.
This land ultimately belonged to the Ling family, not the Murong family. If the Murong family interfered too much, the emperor would not tolerate it.
Noble Consort Yi understood this, so she only had the Murong family defend against external enemies.
“The disaster is real.”
She murmured to the water, “This assassination…”
It was brought on by the emperor himself.
The emperor attracted the assassins, but in the end, only her Little Seven went missing.
For the first time in her life, Noble Consort Yi felt a rift in her heart toward the man she had loved for many years. At that moment, she even felt a bit of unfamiliarity with the emperor.
Noble Consort Yi continued to wait for her child to return.
As for the captured assassin, Noble Consort Yi knew he was originally a victim, a poor commoner her Murong family should have protected.
But at this moment, she couldn’t muster any sympathy for him.
Her fingers gripped the railing, her eyes vacant as she gazed at the water.
In a more distant part of the waters.
The little one who had been floating for most of the day was swimming while crying. It was too dark around him, and he had lost his sense of direction, not knowing where he had swum or where he should go.
His little legs cramped from the effort.
After spending a long time in the dark water, the little one was cold and hot, and instead of drowning, he fainted from exhaustion.
Shortly after he fainted, a large fishing net happened to catch him.
His small body was entangled in the net, and the little one was lifted out of the water.
The boatman who had fished him out instinctively wanted to toss him back into the water, but a woman next to him pulled him back, saying, “He’s just a child, don’t be in such a hurry to throw him away.”
The boatman was old, his face wrinkled and filled with impatience. Looking at the wet little boy brought aboard, he grumbled, “He’s probably already dead. What’s the point of bringing a little corpse back?”
The woman crouched down and turned the boy over.
When she saw his face clearly, a hint of astonishment flashed in her eyes. She had lived to this age and had never seen such a beautiful child.
She carefully felt the boy’s pulse and then exclaimed joyfully, “He’s alive, still breathing!”
The boy’s chest rose and fell gently, his heart beating strong.
Even though the woman said he was alive, the boatman still wanted to throw him away: “We can barely survive ourselves, why should we feed another mouth? Are you out of your mind?”
The woman glared at him and scolded, “Maybe it’s you who’s out of your mind, or maybe you don’t have any brain at all!”
She searched the boy and found several valuable jade pendants. She kept them and pinched the boy’s cheek, saying, “See? This child is so handsome. When we get ashore, we can sell him for a good price. And these valuable things on him can be sold too.”
“Old Wu, we’re going to make a fortune.”
The woman’s calculations were spot on. She knew this child, fished out of the water, was either wealthy or noble. Perhaps his parents would come looking for him, but she had no intention of dealing with them.
Some wealthy families may appear affluent but are actually very treacherous. Even if the parents of the lost child would spend a lot of money to find their child, there’s no guarantee they would pay once the child is returned. If they refuse to pay and cause trouble instead, it would be disastrous for the finders.
The woman had witnessed wealthy people getting away with murder without facing any consequences.
The small boat continued on, and the newly rescued Ling Rui had his luxurious clothes stripped off, replaced with a rough and simple outfit. Fortunately, this drab gray outfit was dry, providing some warmth.
Upon waking, he rubbed his eyes and saw the fisherman’s wife who had rescued him. She handed him a bowl of porridge made from unsellable small fish, which was of little value and not very nutritious.
But Ling Rui’s stomach was empty, and he couldn’t be picky.
As he ate the fish porridge, the woman murmured in dialect to the fisherman, “This child looks truly good. Even in these tattered clothes, he looks handsome.”
The woman had seen other children in similar clothing. Those children looked like little beggars, but this pretty child looked like a young master fallen on hard times.
“Thank you.”
After finishing the porridge, the little one handed the bowl back and politely thanked the couple.
Sitting on a makeshift bed, he spoke to the couple, “I fell into the water. I have a father, mother, and brother. Can you help me find them?”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “My mother will pay you.”
The woman looked at this polite little one without any hint of compassion. They, who lived at the bottom of society and struggled to fill their bellies, had no excess kindness to offer.
While she had no intention of helping him find his family, she didn’t say this directly. She took the chipped bowl and casually told the little one to go to sleep.
The little one couldn’t sleep.
He watched the busy couple without blinking, trying to speak several times but being ignored.
After two days with the fisherman’s family, the little one in his tattered clothes finally grasped the reality: “Are, are you going to sell me?”
By now, they were no longer on the boat. The couple had brought him to a remote town with a fair number of people. The little one, dressed in rags, had a price tag on his head.
He was about to be sold.
The little one tried hard to communicate with the woman, “Please sell me to my mother. She will buy me, I promise. Please, sell me to my mother.”
The woman ignored him.
The little one tried his best but eventually squatted on the ground, touching a nearby little beggar. Then he used his last resort to contact Ah Wu.
The beggar’s future showed he wouldn’t remain a beggar but would join the army.
Ling Rui saw this and, holding back tears, spoke to Ah Wu, “Ah Wu, I’m about to be sold. Please come quickly and buy me.”
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