Chapter 36: Young Man, You Are Too Bold

Everyone was truly exhausted today.

After so many days of leaving the capital, today involved the greatest amount of walking. If calculated by step count, Xin Nian estimated it might have reached forty thousand steps.

Forty thousand steps is incomparable to walking on modern paved roads.

The climbs and descents were all damn dirt paths, and in the middle of it, they had to run and jump to avoid the earthquake crisis, eventually circling all the way back to where they started.

Never mind the others; even Xin Nian's family of three felt exhausted—extremely exhausted—after this day.

When the bailiff announced a rest period, everyone immediately collapsed. Regardless of whether the ground was dirty or not, once they lay down, they couldn't be bothered to move an inch.

Xin Nian sat beside her parents, secretly channeling healing energy into them.

"Don't just lie down immediately; sit up a bit. I'll give you both a few acupuncture sessions and massage your knee joints."

"You've been walking twenty to thirty thousand steps every day these past few days, and today was even more. Your knee joints are bound to have some wear and tear."

In reality, walking six to eight thousand steps a day is the safest, while ten thousand steps can help burn three to five hundred calories.

For elderly people like Old Mrs. Yu, four to six thousand steps a day is best for the body.

But they lacked those conditions now. Once you're exiled, what human rights can you expect?

So, they could only do their best to create conditions for a stable transition based on their current circumstances.

Xin Wen'an looked up at the pitch-black sky, his voice trailing off in a long, melodic whine, "My daughter... if this keeps up, my two legs are going to be worn down to needles."

"Dad, I'll go to the river to fetch some water for you both. I'll heat it up in a bit so you can soak your feet."

Xin Wen'an's voice continued to ripple, "Oh, my daughter~~ you've worked so hard."

Xie Ninglan lay slumped to one side, not wanting to utter a single word. Although Old Xin's voice was comical and carried a hint of pathos, she truly lacked the strength to tease her husband right now...

The most energetic person at the moment was actually Old Mrs. Yu.

In total, she had walked at most an hour and a half, so her spirits were still decent.

Despite having been rebuked by the "prodigal brat" earlier, she had set aside her grievances and was busy helping Dali take the bedding and straw mats down from the cart.

Before the group could catch their breath, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from a distance.

Xiao Jia was also exhausted from today's trek; upon hearing the hoofbeats, he immediately reported to Liang Guang.

The bailiff Old Zhang approached with a limping, uneven gait. "Boss, a lot of people are coming. I caught a glimpse from afar; based on their attire, they look like they're from the capital."

"Ouch." Liang Guang leaned on a subordinate's shoulder, hopping up on one leg. "Help me to the front."

To make up for lost time today, they had walked for a full eight hours. His old bones were failing him, and his legs ached terribly.

"Chief Liang." Mao Hu'zi approached with his followers, cupping his hands. "It's people from the Court of Judicial Review."

"Who?" Liang Guang thought he had misheard.

In the middle of the night, why would the high officials of the Court of Judicial Review come to this desolate wilderness?

"It is Vice Minister Zhou of the Court of Judicial Review."

"Ah, quick, quick, quick!" Liang Guang hurriedly straightened his messy hair and hat, standing tall and jogging forward, trying his best to make his gait look less awkward.

Over there, Xin Nian and Dali had taken several basins and pots to fetch water. As they passed by the two Han brothers from the Earl of Yongkang's estate, they happened to overhear them whispering.

"Why is Zhou Linchuan here?" "What is he doing here?"

Xin Nian's gaze turned cold as she locked eyes with the two brothers, and they immediately fell silent.

Even after walking a distance away, Xin Nian heard the second Han boy say weakly, "Big brother, don't you feel like that young girl's eyes are cold and a bit scary?"

Xin Nian subconsciously rubbed her small face and turned to Dali with what she thought was a very understanding, sweet smile. "Dali, do I look cold?"

Xin Dali shivered inwardly and shook his head. "Little Miss, you look quite lovely."

The answer was completely nonsensical, but Xin Nian liked hearing it.

"I think so too," she nodded solemnly and happily went to fetch the water.

When the two returned carrying the basins and pots, they saw the bailiff chief, Liang Guang, leading a group of subordinates, bowing and scraping with sycophantic smiles toward a dozen or so people.

The leader was a tall, slender young man with a cold, solemn, and humorless countenance; he must be the Zhou Linchuan the Han brothers mentioned.

The bailiff chief acted subserviently before him, his every word laced with respect.

At the rank of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, one generally wouldn't deign to speak to a lowly bailiff, and Zhou Linchuan was no exception.

The ones speaking to Liang Guang were two guards, and their tone was quite blunt. "Did you truly encounter no one on your way?"

"No. The earthquake happened suddenly before dawn today. We were running for our lives and didn't have the heart to care if anyone else had passed by."

"That's true," Old Zhang the bailiff said with a smile, cupping his hands. "Our group is escorting many prisoners, including several serious criminals. We were too busy fearing for our own safety to..."

"Liar!" a guard barked. "Based on your travel trajectory, how could you not have encountered Princess Jiu Ni?"

Princess Jiu Ni? Everyone was stunned. Liang Guang realized the situation and nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken. "So, the Vice Minister has come looking for Princess Jiu Ni?"

"We did indeed encounter Princess Jiu Ni yesterday morning. But it was only a brief meeting. Could it be that something happened on the road before the Princess reached the villa?"

Zhou Linchuan gave Liang Guang a cold look.

The guard understood and immediately commanded, "Report everything you saw regarding the Princess yesterday, in exhaustive detail."

Xin Nian sat back down beside her parents. Meeting their questioning gazes, she pouted and started a fire. "I don't know what's going on. The people from the Court of Judicial Review are probably just investigating according to protocol. It has nothing to do with us anyway."

A commotion arose in the crowd. Xin Nian turned her head and saw several guards entering the group, roughly dragging out Si Nanfeng's family of four.

Xie Ninglan questioned her youngest daughter with her eyes, her intuition telling her that today's incident was undoubtedly linked to her troublemaking daughter...

"Young Master Si, the Princess came looking for you. What did she say to you?" Zhou Linchuan looked down from his height, staring at the four members of the Si family who were forced to kneel on the ground by the blades of the guards.

Si Nanfeng's eyes tilted upward as he gave Zhou Linchuan a cold, indifferent glance, then suddenly smiled. "What is there to say to a female dog in heat? Isn't it just a few barks to express her spring longing?"

The guard was enraged and struck the back of Si Nanfeng's neck with a blade.

Si Zhaotang and Madam Si screamed, but they were held with their hands pinned behind their backs by two guards. Unable to move, they could only stare in frantic desperation.

Si Nanfeng slowly reached up to touch the blood on his neck, lifting his eyelids with a half-smile. "I heard that the female dog has many men beneath her skirt. Could it be, Brother Zhou, that you are one of them?"

Zhou Linchuan's gaze dropped, staring at the provocatively challenging Young Master Si like a blade or a sword. He curled his lips slightly. "Young Master Si is well-read and is one of the most famous 'Four Young Masters' in the capital. I did not expect you to utter such base words."