That night, Lu Wanning and Zhen Yan squeezed onto a small hard-board bed. They tossed and turned but couldn't sleep well.
Zhen Yan let out a helpless sigh. "Why are we doing this? We could be sleeping in a nice big bed, but instead we're squeezing onto this tiny one. This bed is like the one my little nephew slept in when he was just born. No, my nephew's bed wasn't this hard, and the bedding didn't smell so musty."
Lu Wanning was much calmer. In modern times, her living conditions were poor. Born into a family that favored sons over daughters, she was given a small, hard bed like this. If there were guests at home, the small bed wouldn't be hers either, and she'd have to squeeze with her younger siblings.
Now she was squeezing with Zhen Yan willingly, and she didn't feel uncomfortable.
"For the common people, of course. To solve the case as soon as possible so that no more women and children will be harmed."
Hearing this, Zhen Yan thought she could endure it.
They managed to sleep through the night. Maybe the bedding was dirty, because as dawn broke, the two of them woke up and started scratching all over. They felt like their whole bodies were covered in bug bites.
Lu Wanning lifted her clothes and saw that, sure enough, her body was covered in a dense rash. It looked like an allergic reaction.
Zhen Yan was on the verge of tears. "I may have been a bit rough before, but that was just because I trained hard. I'm not a dirty person. How dirty must this bedding and bedboard be to give me a rash all over?"
The commoner woman who was playing their mother felt very embarrassed and brought over a bottle of ointment. "I'm so sorry. Our family's conditions are so poor. I've made you two girls suffer."
Lu Wanning and Zhen Yan applied the ointment on each other, and finally they didn't feel so uncomfortable.
"It's not that they're dirty. They just don't have the money to replace them. We usually replace our bedding at home every year, but the common people don't. A set of bedding is quite expensive. It's normal for them to use the same set for ten or eight years. As for the bedboard, as long as it doesn't break, it can be used for a lifetime... No, not just a lifetime. The previous generation uses it, and then the next generation continues to use it until it breaks."
Zhen Yan looked at her curiously. "How do you know all this? Your life is even more privileged than mine."
Lu Wanning rolled her eyes. "You can find everything in books. You just don't read enough."
Zhen Yan touched her nose, feeling a bit embarrassed. She followed Lu Wanning out of the house. Suddenly, she remembered something and chased after her. "Don't lecture me. Do you read books? You don't like reading either. Don't think I don't know what kind of books you usually read."
Lu Wanning and Zhen Yan laughed and joked for a while. Then they each picked up a bucket and were going to fetch water from the well on the north side of the town.
After dawn, it got brighter quickly. But they got up early, and there weren't many people on the street. Except for the people selling breakfast who had already set up their stoves, most families were still asleep.
The two cousins they were pretending to be didn't have any adult men in the family. Their old father had gone to work in the neighboring town early in the morning, and their mother was in poor health. Since there was no water at home, they had to go out together to carry water.
On the way, they greeted an old man. Then the two girls went to the well.
One fetched water while the other carried it. It was obvious that the prettier one was from the city. She probably hadn't done much rough work before. She not only couldn't fetch water well but also always got in the way, which made the other girl giggle at her.
After having some fun and laughter, Zhen Yan said, "Alright, Ning'er. Stop fooling around. Fetch the water quickly. We need to make breakfast before they wake up."
Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and both of them shivered.
Lu Wanning pouted. "I heard that someone went missing in your town yesterday. Aren't you scared?"
Zhen Yan looked around and whispered, "My mother told me that she didn't go missing. She eloped with her lover..."
"Tsk tsk. Is there really such a thing?"
The two girls chatted and laughed for a while. Then they carried a bucket of water back to the town.
Just then, two men jumped out of an alley. Each of them had a handkerchief in hand and kidnapped the two girls. When Lu Wanning struggled, one of her embroidered shoes fell to the ground.
Sheng Jinyu was standing in front of the mine, watching the workers working in an orderly manner. No one knew what he was thinking.
The foreman was startled when he rushed over. He immediately knelt on the ground. "Your Highness... Your Highness is up so early?"
Sheng Jinyu's gaze was calm. "The project has taken a bit too long."
The foreman quickly nodded in agreement. "It's my fault, Your Highness. I'll tell everyone to continue working right away. No one will be lazy."
Sheng Jinyu pursed his lips and didn't say much. He turned around and walked forward. Looking down the mountain, he pointed to the foot of the mountain and asked, "Where is that?"
The guard quickly replied, "Your Highness, that's a small mountain village. I don't know its specific name."
Sheng Jinyu frowned and asked again, "Where is Yaofu Town?"
The guard paused for a moment and pointed north. "Yaofu Town is over there. It's about seventy or eighty miles away from us."
Sheng Jinyu rubbed his fingers and took a deep breath before saying, "I wonder how the case in the Supreme Court is going."
"Your Highness, please rest assured. Lord Fang is very reliable. It was he who found the clues before. This time, with our people as bait, the secret guards will surely find their lair."
Sheng Jinyu gave him a sharp look, which scared him into silence. He didn't know what he had said wrong.
"Your Highness?"
Sheng Jinyu withdrew his gaze. "Today... it should be done..."
The guard lowered his head and thought for a while. "It's not fully dawn yet. It may not be done. Yaofu is a hundred miles away from here. We can't use carrier pigeons for fear of alarming the enemy. Even if we send a messenger on horseback, they won't be here yet."
Sheng Jinyu whispered again, "What will happen after it's done?"
The guard explained, "If it's done, the two young ladies just need to be patient. Once they reach the bandits' lair and the secret guards and Lord Fang's men capture them all, everything will be fine."
Sheng Jinyu felt his heart beating a bit faster. "What about... on the way?"
The guard looked at Sheng Jinyu blankly. On the way? What on the way?
Sheng Jinyu licked his dry lips. "Those villains kidnap good girls for immoral purposes. If the princess falls into their hands..."
The guard finally understood. So the prince was worried about the princess's reputation. He quickly said, "Your Highness, please rest assured. It won't happen. Both young ladies are skilled in martial arts. They surely won't let anything like that happen."
Suddenly, Sheng Jinyu felt that he had been too arrogant and made a serious mistake. How could Lu Wanning be considered skilled in martial arts? She was just a reckless little girl who liked to show off because she knew a bit of basic martial arts.
Sending her there was like sending a lamb into the tiger's den.
"Prepare my horse. I'm going there."
The guard quickly followed him. "Your Highness, aren't you going back to the capital today? But today, the magistrate of Zhezhou... And Your Highness hasn't entered the palace for several days. You should go back to see the emperor, Your Highness..."
"Are you the prince, or am I?"
The guard had no choice but to trot off and tell someone to prepare the carriage and horses quickly. Then he followed Sheng Jinyu all the way in the direction of Yaofu.