Chapter 35: The Treasure for Protecting One's Wife

That day, they had less than fifteen minutes of rest at noon; they had barely eaten something before being driven forward like ducks being forced onto a perch.

After walking for another half an hour in the afternoon, they finally managed to bypass that deep, gaping fissure.

Mrs. Yu felt embarrassed to keep letting Zhao Xun carry her. She got down to walk for less than half an hour on her own, only to have several blood blisters form on the soles of her feet.

Seeing the old lady persisting despite her ankles wobbling, Zhao Xun, being a person of great loyalty, immediately hoisted Mrs. Yu onto her back again, comforting her as she went, "Old Madam, please don't feel embarrassed."

"I've accepted your family's rations; if I don't carry you, I'll feel like the food is burning my hands."

"Miss Zhao, you are truly being too much trouble for us on this journey." Mrs. Yu was both moved and sentimental, thinking for the ten-thousandth time in her heart that her profligate son had actually done a decent job this time.

"It's nothing." Zhao Xun waved her hand dismissively. "Just be careful yourself and hold onto me tightly so you don't slide off. I have plenty of strength; I could carry several hundred pounds without a problem. You aren't that heavy, Old Madam."

"Aye, aye, alright."

The girl looked to be only about twenty-five or twenty-six. Despite carrying a yoke of over ten catties and having both hands shackled within the yoke's tubes, she still walked with a vigorous, spirited stride even while carrying over a hundred pounds. She was truly formidable.

Over on the other side, Xin Wenyuan had drifted closer to the mother and daughter as he walked, complaining in a low voice, "We'll have to sleep in the wild again tonight. Daughter, smell your father—I feel like I'm about to go sour!"

Xin Nian couldn't help but laugh. "Who isn't?"

Last night, she had wanted to soak in the Princess's bathtub, but there simply wasn't enough time.

From the time of her imprisonment to being exiled from the capital, it had likely been five or six days since her last bath. Forget her father and mother being sour; she felt like she had been fished out of a manure pile herself...

"Miss, you have to think of something. Look at this lock of my hair, it's too greasy to even look at directly," Xin Wenyuan said, lifting a strand of his long hair.

Xie Ninglan, standing nearby, couldn't stop grinning.

Old Xin looked so ridiculous; he looked like a long-haired bohemian, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to his usual tough-guy image.

"Dad, forget about bathing. With everyone watching, where am I supposed to find a bathtub for you?"

"If all else fails, go for a few laps in the river tonight and let Mom keep watch for you."

Xie Ninglan laughed so hard her shoulders trembled. "Old Xin, could you have ever imagined yourself looking this greasy before?"

"Wife, you're still laughing." Xin Wenyuan was speechless. "Oh right, during that earthquake just now, I felt as if an endless amount of energy was surging from beneath the earth. How about you two?"

"What else could we do? We did our best to absorb it," Xie Ninglan said with a wide grin. "Old Xin, the two of us are almost at the second rank. How about you?"

"I actually reached the first rank." Xin Wenyuan secretly pinched his fingers together, quietly showing his wife and daughter a small orb of light. "Look, it's bright, isn't it?"

"What use is this little lightbulb? Where are your *whoosh-whoosh-whoosh* flashing light blades from before?"

"No more *whoosh-whoosh-whoosh*, wife. It's good enough to have something at all! This is just my current level; those old abilities took us over ten years of training..."

Realizing he was right, Xie Ninglan quickly comforted him, "Don't panic, Old Xin. One thing leads to another; just take it slow. Besides, this little lightbulb is quite useful. It can light the way if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night."

Xin Nian lowered her head and stifled a laugh.

"I'm very satisfied," Xin Wenyuan said with a silly grin. "After reaching the first rank, I can clearly feel my physical stamina recovering significantly. Even if you made me run another dozens of kilometers with this yoke, I wouldn't feel particularly exhausted."

"Besides, we have our daughter. She's almost at the third rank; in the future, we old folks can just lie flat and relax..."

"I'm already at the third rank."

"Exactly, I've already... what?" Xin Wenyuan trailed off halfway through his sentence. Both husband and wife turned around simultaneously, staring intently at their daughter.

Suppressing a hint of excitement, Xie Ninglan asked in a low voice, "Miss, you've reached the third rank? When did this happen? How did we not know?"

"Just now. During the back-and-forth trip tonight, it happened naturally."

Before they could finish their private conversation, they heard the bailiff Zhang shouting from the front of the line, "Rest in place for fifteen minutes. Anyone needing to relieve themselves, go quickly. Today we will walk an hour and a half longer than originally scheduled, aiming to reach the vicinity of the next water source according to plan."

The crowd groaned in unison once more.

Xin Nian quickly pulled her mother and called for Dali to go relieve themselves, asking her elderly father to watch over the supplies on the cart first.

When they returned, she had Xin Wenyuan take Xin Mohan to use the restroom.

At that moment, Mu Zhong ran up to them and bowed. "Sixth Miss, Fourth Madam, it seems the Third Young Master just opened his eyes."

Xie Ninglan and Xin Nian jumped up instantly and followed Ah Zhong to run to Xin Mochen.

Upon receiving the news, the Old Madam couldn't even bother to rest; she hurriedly had Xin Ruoyu support her as she went to see her grandson.

Xin Nian checked her eldest brother's eyelids and felt his pulse. She turned to Xie Ninglan with a smile, "He's almost there. If he takes another dose of medicine tonight, he should wake up."

"Truly?" The Old Madam stepped forward excitedly, her hands trembling as she reached out.

Xie Ninglan quickly supported her. "Don't be anxious. We'll know tonight whether Mochen will wake up."

Wiping her tears, the Old Madam clasped her hands toward the heavens. "Thank Heaven. My San-lang has truly suffered so much lately. If he can recover, it would be wonderful."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but complain to Xie Ninglan, "This child was so clever and sensible when he was little; you've spoiled him rotten. Such a good boy, and you've taught him to wander about seeking pleasure, being idle, and wasting time on cockfighting and horse racing."

In her heart, Xie Ninglan silently added a question mark.

*Her fault again?* This old lady—she only refrained from arguing because of her age; otherwise, she would have certainly pulled her aside for a long lecture.

*Educating children is a long and arduous task; is it solely the wife's responsibility? Does your son bear no responsibility at all?*

Xin Wenyuan returned after taking his youngest son to the restroom. Seeing his wife's expression shifting rapidly, he hurried forward to squeeze between his mother and wife, soothing them both. "Mother, why are you bringing this up now? Aren't you tired after walking so long? Go and rest."

"My wife hasn't had it easy either. She hasn't enjoyed a moment of luxury following me; she's been through exile and constant fear. Don't speak of her like that. Even I wouldn't dare criticize my own wife, so why do you keep nagging her?"

"Besides, I share the blame. It's my fault for not inheriting our father's fine tradition of protecting the country, and instead passing on some bad, hooligan habits to our son. Mother, please don't interfere in our small family's affairs. I will teach San-lang and Si-lang properly in the future. That is my responsibility as a father, and it has nothing to do with my wife."

The Old Madam was so exasperated she nearly fell backward, pointing at the spendthrift son, unable to find her words.

She had only nagged his wife a few times, and he immediately jumped to her defense. Was she not allowed to say anything?

Xin Ruoyu hurriedly helped the Old Madam breathe steadily to calm her down.

Xin Nian had no time to deal with them; she held her eldest brother's hand, secretly transmitting healing energy to him.

Fortunately, the bickering did not last three minutes, as they had to set off immediately and had no time to argue.

By the end of the day, everyone, including the bailiffs, was utterly exhausted.

Less than half a minute after they settled down for the evening, Xiao Jia jumped up and shouted, "Boss, a dozen or so horses are coming!"

(End of Chapter)