Ink Burns

Chapter 293 Putting Lots

Shui Guang had saved up three days of rest, and Xue Xiao slept in the lakeside pavilion for those three days.

It wasn't until the fourth day, when Shui Guang returned to the palace to attend to her duties, that the West Wing was returned to Xue intact.

When Shuiguang left, the two sisters huddled together and chatted for a long time: of course, Shuiguang did most of the talking, while Shanyue listened with a smile.

Under the old locust tree, the little girl lay on the rocking chair with her legs crossed, eating oranges and telling stories with great enthusiasm. She told the story of how the head maidservant of the concubine was jealous of the little girl's beautiful eyes, so she burned off the little girl's eyelashes with a matchstick while the little girl was asleep, and told the imperial physician that the little girl was unclean and had worms in her eyes.
The seemingly upright and respectable young doctor of the Imperial Medical Academy is actually a two-faced person who secretly badmouths everyone.

The story goes that Master Lin, a kind and honest man, was instigated by his subordinates to prescribe bitter medicine for Consort Shu. Consort Shu, relying on her family's wealth and influence, threw the bowl of medicine directly into Master Lin's face.
Shui Guang picked out the white veins of the orange and ate them like strands of noodles, concluding, "The palace is full of lowly people, so we need to eat something cooling down."

There was a famous painting from the previous dynasty called "The Tale of Five Rats," which depicted rats.

To memorize the appearance and demeanor of the rat, Shan Yue locked it in a sealed box and observed it through a glass cover for several days. He observed that when the rat was locked up, it became irritable and easily angered, and attacked its companions.

Even low-intelligence rodents struggle to relieve the frustration of being trapped, let alone humans.
In a closed environment, people develop falsehoods, which in turn create emptiness. An empty person is naturally unrestrained by right and wrong, and dares to do anything.

Shui Guang crossed her legs, raising the insteps high and resting them on her knees. She lightly and gracefully tapped her toes to some unknown melody, her skin shining in the rare warmth of the winter sun, like wheat fields rippling in the wind.

Humans only live for a few moments.

It can help you get through tough times.

Such as now.

The donkey cart chugs along, its carriage rudimentary and damp, the wood soaked in the smell of fish and a humid, fishy odor, as if it had been in a fishpond for a long time.

Fishy smell?
Shan Yue's eyes were tightly covered with a black cloth, her hands were behind her back, her wrists were tightly bound with rope, and her mouth was stuffed with a wad of rag: Zhu Siming's new painting had appeared in the world. Just an hour ago, she went out of the mansion alone to order the painting. As soon as she turned into the alley, her head was covered with a black cloth, and a hand chop was slashed at her neck. When she opened her eyes again, she was in this dilapidated donkey cart.

The black cloth was wide, completely obscuring the woman's eyebrows, eyes, and the bridge of her nose, leaving only her small, pert nose and slightly upturned lips.

The tall, thin man beside him casually picked up a rag, rolled it up, and prepared to stuff it into Shan Yue's mouth.

"Tsk, don't stuff it in." Another short, fat man scoffed, "This woman has nice lips, I want to look at them a little longer!"

The tall, thin man grinned and threw the rag at his companion: "If Mad Dog finds out, he'll kill you!"

The short, fat man shrugged off the rag, coughed up a mouthful of phlegm from deep in his throat, spat it hard onto the wooden board, and raised his hand towards Shan Yue's waist: "Mad Dog? If Mad Dog dares to show his face today, I'll make sure he never goes back to his doghouse!"

Shan Yue dodged backward, narrowly avoiding the groping hand, and said in an extremely calm voice: "Both of you should have some self-respect. If either of you is dishonest, I will take you down with me even if it means my death—I may not be able to say anything else about the Grand Princess, but at least she will never tolerate her subordinates committing adultery with women."

The short, fat man's hand froze, his pupils widening in terror: "You, how did you know it was His Highness who tied you up!"

If she hadn't given him the chance, Jing'an wouldn't have been able to touch a single hair on her head by now.

Shan Yue slightly raised her chin, and through the gaps in the black cloth, the fishy smell gradually became clearer and stronger. Where was this donkey cart heading? Countless answers raced through her mind: the smell of fish? There were no major rivers in the capital, and the nobility mostly ordered fish from the surrounding areas. This donkey cart must be transporting fresh fish into and out of the capital.

But heading towards Qiushui Ferry? The place where Shuiguang stayed when she first arrived in the capital?

—Or was it Qi County in Jizhou, northwest of the capital, as they initially guessed? The patrol inspector of Qi County should take the antidote for "Qianji Yin" this month. In order to survive, he can open the city gates without anyone noticing and send a large number of people into the city.

What does Qixian have?
The painting "Mountain Moon" is unforgettable.

A vast map slowly unfolded in Shan Yue's mind.

Eastward, a little further east.

All right.

The answer is clear.

Huanghuadu is located in the southeast corner of Qixian County. It flows into the Bohai Bay.

In the depths of winter, when seafood is at its most abundant, nobles in the capital would order shrimp and fish from Qi County, and their donkey carts would travel in and out of the capital unnoticed. Moreover, donkey carts laden with fish usually smelled unpleasant, so the soldiers guarding the cities would not inspect them carefully, and they would pass through smoothly.

Having figured it out, Shan Yue slowly let out a long breath after putting on the black blindfold.

Perhaps Shan Yue's intimidation had an effect, or perhaps the Grand Princess Jing'an was too strict in controlling her subordinates. The journey was peaceful. After passing through the four gates of the capital, the donkey cart was switched to a horse-drawn carriage, and the speed of travel increased. However, as dusk approached the next day, the carriage wound its way up the mountain ridge and finally stopped at the ridge.

Within the coastline, atop the mountain ridges, and beneath the cliffs, lies an endless coastline.

This place is like an isolated island.

It is a place rarely visited by people, and it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Waves crashed against the jagged rocks, the salty smell of the sea rising like mist, swirling into the clouds on the horizon in the afterglow of the thin fog.

Shan Yue was pushed off the carriage. The person who came to greet her was the female official who was by the side of the Grand Princess Jing'an. The female official's surname was Chen, and everyone called her Madam Chen.

"Mrs. He—please."

Amidst the crisscrossing rocks on the beach, Madam Chen made way for Shan Yue.

Looking back at the coastline, Shan Yue saw towering watchtowers every three zhang (approximately 10 meters) along the shore. The rising tide crashed against the reefs and then quickly retreated, leaving behind a string of foam that looked like pearls.

Shan Yue turned around, raised her chin, gathered her skirt with one hand, and steadily stepped on the sharp rocks with her soft-soled embroidered shoes, heading towards the solitary temple deep in the coast as dusk fell.

The sea was a pale blue-green, stretching far into the distance, like a piece of old jade, worn thin and translucent. The waves were neither large nor small, gently pushing and scattering on the rocks like transparent veils, before silently receding.

Shan Yue's figure is slender and graceful, her skirt fluttering in the sea breeze. Stepping on the rocks, she is like a brave warrior going to a meeting alone, calmly and firmly standing on the back of a giant beast.

Fishermen who go out to sea usually worship the sea god and will build the most magnificent temple they can afford on the beach.

Nowadays, the temple no longer enshrines the sea god.

Shan Yue's gaze shifted from the sea god statue in the corner to the golden statue of the laughing Buddha that now occupied the main position, and then to the back of the weary figure kneeling on the futon.

The figure was wrapped in a thick white fox fur.

"You came?"

The sound came from the chest cavity of the figure in the back.

"Mmm," Shan Yue responded softly.

Princess Jing'an turned to the side and pushed the worn-out divination tube in front of Shan Yue: "Draw a divination."

Shan Yue had never seen the Grand Princess Jing'an without her face; her loose, sagging skin and deep and shallow wrinkles spoke volumes about the length and turmoil of her life.

Shan Yue squatted down and shook the divination tube with both hands.

A ticket fell to the ground.

Jing'an was faster than Shan Yue and picked it up in one go. After reading the fortune slip, her sickly and tired face showed a genuinely innocent smile: "The worst fortune slip - I have been worshipping this Buddha statue for decades. There is no reason why it will not help me at the last moment."

Shan Yue slowly straightened up and calmly looked down at Jing An: "Only those who are willing to do it regardless of good or bad fortune are qualified to ask the will of Heaven."

(End of this chapter)