Yi Qing looked at Wu Min in bewilderment. It was Wu Min who had snatched the food actively while eating, but now she was accusing others of harming her.
"You must have planned this long ago," Wu Min said as a worm crawled out of her body.
"Is it really necessary?" Yi Qing cast an annoyed glance at Wu Min. "It's normal to have gastrointestinal discomfort due to dietary changes. Stop making a fuss."
Wu Min moved a bit, and the worm crawled back. "If I die, none of you will be able to leave Wu Gorge alive."
Yi Qing didn't seem to care at all. "I'll have someone bring some fish tomorrow. I'll cook fish for you."
"Fish?" Wu Min thought for a moment. "There are plenty of fish in the rivers of Wu Gorge."
Yi Qing had always known there was an underground river here. She had even heard the sound of it when they first came in, but she hadn't seen it yet.
The underground river in Wu Gorge was no secret. Wu Min led them to catch fish. It was a bit colder here than outside. Yi Qing instinctively folded her arms. After turning a corner, a pile of bones appeared in front of her, scaring her.
"Some things are washed down by the underground river every year," Wu Min said, feeling a bit proud when she saw Yi Qing being scared.
Looking at Wu Min's expression, Yi Qing thought, This is just "some things"? Your definition of "things" is too broad.
"Is the person you saved also washed out from here?" Lu Tianxun suddenly realized why Xiao Jinghan had appeared here.
"Yeah," Wu Min didn't offer any further explanation.
Actually, she had already grasped the time pattern of things being washed out here. There were a few days every year when she would come here to see what would be washed out this year. It was one of the few pleasures she had in Wu Gorge.
Yi Qing also understood why Xiao Jinghan had so many external injuries and comminuted fractures. He must have accidentally fallen into the underground river and bumped into things inside.
He was really lucky. First, he used the turtle - breathing technique to sink to the bottom of the water and then was washed here. He had always been protecting his heart meridian, which was why he had managed to hold on to his last breath.
As for why he wasn't attacked by the piranhas in the moat that day, it must be because there were too many people who had fallen into the river that day, and Xiao Jinghan always carried an insect - repelling sachet, which helped him avoid those creatures in the moat.
Yi Qing never expected Xiao Jinghan to have such an encounter. But it seemed that Wu Gorge should be quite close to the capital. If it were too far away, Xiao Jinghan would have died in the underground river.
"With so many skeletons here, can the fish in the water be eaten?" Yi Qing looked around.
"This isn't the right place," Wu Min said and led them further ahead.
The fissures in Wu Gorge were already extremely intricate, and the underground karst cave was even more criss - crossed. They walked for a while before they saw a tiny stream that was connected to another cold pool.
On top of the cold pool grew a cluster of vines similar to those at the entrance of the forbidden area. But these vines didn't even have the yellow veins anymore. They were completely crystal - clear.
There were fish in the cold pool. From time to time, they would leap up to eat the vines.
Yi Qing saw the leaping fish. They were slender, less than a foot long, but could leap nearly two meters. Their meat quality must be excellent.
"Hiss—" Lu Tianxun touched the water in the cold pool. "It's so cold. How can we catch the fish?"
"We can fish," Yi Qing said. She plucked a piece of the vine on the side and threw it into the water. Immediately, some fish swam up to snatch it.
Yi Qing took out a hairpin and bent it into a fishhook. She tied it with a rope and wrapped some vine on it. As soon as she put it into the water, several fish jumped up.
Yi Qing thought these fish were so naive. They were so easy to be caught.
Since the fish were right here in Wu Gorge, Yi Qing didn't catch too many. She caught two and then left.
In the evening, one fish was steamed, the other was braised, and the two fish heads were used to make soup. She thought it would be enough. She brought the fish - head soup to feed Xiao Jinghan. When she came back, the plates were empty, and there were only two pieces of fish in her bowl.
"You eat slowly," Wu Min said and got up to leave.
"Maybe I should go and catch another one," Lu Tianxun said awkwardly. Wu Min was such a big eater. If he hadn't left a bit for Yi Qing, Wu Min would have eaten it all.
"No need. These are enough," Yi Qing said without getting angry.
The fish tasted amazing. Just the steamed one was full of freshness. Yi Qing had never eaten such delicious fish before or after time - traveling. No wonder Wu Min didn't even care about her Saintess halo.
From that day on, Wu Min started eating with them.
The fact that Xiao Jinghan was missing couldn't be hidden forever. But the emperor only said that he was missing. Outsiders guessed that he was probably dead.
Xiang Beizheng's identity was no secret. This also explained why the emperor suddenly sent troops to the Southern Border to help the Southern Border empress quell the civil unrest. If that was the case, others speculated that Xiao Jinghan's initial purpose was to investigate this matter, and the possibility of his survival was even smaller.
Whenever the emperor saw the jade seal on one side, he would think of all the times he had spent with Xiao Jinghan, and his guilt would deepen.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Great joy! The empress is pregnant!" Xiao Dezi excitedly ran into the imperial study.
The emperor was stunned for a moment. His first reaction wasn't joy. Instead, he thought of how Xiao Jinghan had always told him to be kind to the empress. Now he finally realized his mistake, but the person who had said that was gone.
"Reward!" the emperor said heavily.
Seeing the emperor like this, Xiao Dezi knew that the emperor was thinking about General Xiao again. "Yes."
"The empress has an heir. Lady Xiao has contributed a lot. Reward...," the emperor paused. "The eight - dragon gold bell. From now on, she doesn't need to kneel, and she doesn't need to pay respects to anyone below the first - rank official."
He knew that Yi Qing hated these formalities the most. Xiao Jinghan had always wanted to protect his family well. Now that he was gone, the emperor would protect them on his behalf.
"Your Majesty?" Xiao Dezi was shocked.
"Go and arrange it," the emperor said and got up to go to the empress's palace.
It seemed that everything was getting better, but the person who had made everything better didn't come back.
Madam Di often walked around the general's mansion but didn't go in. Xiao Ran was still young, and Duo'er was so sensible. If she went in like this, it would only make the two children sad.
Although she didn't cry all day long, she was as if her heart was dead. What had she done in her life? For the sake of face, she had married a man like Yi Changxing. Her daughter had been swapped. In the end, she was all alone.
Ran Ran always believed that General Xiao would be okay. Xu Maozhi didn't give up on inquiring, but it seemed that Yi Qing had also disappeared in the Southern Border. There was no news of her at all.
When it started to snow in the capital, the Southern Border finally wasn't so stuffy and hot. But this had little impact on Wu Gorge. The climate in the underground Wu Gorge was almost the same all year round.
"You're doing it wrong," Lu Tianxun was teaching Wu Min the characters of the Great Jin Dynasty.
"It's too difficult. I don't want to learn anymore," Wu Min said and directly threw the writing brush on the table.
Lu Tianxun picked up the writing brush and put it in the brush washer. He wiped the ink stains on the table with a cloth. "Practicing calligraphy is to cultivate one's mind. You can't be impatient."
His words were elegant, and his actions were gentle, making people feel like they were in the warm spring breeze. Even Wu Min was influenced a lot.
Wu Min's skin looked much healthier than before. Her face was rosy, and her eyes were more lively. Hearing what Lu Tianxun said, she lowered her eyes and looked in Yi Qing's direction.
"How's her calligraphy?" she asked, lying on the back of the bamboo chair.