Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1157: Chapter 1159: Search Beneath the Cliff_1

At the time, Bai Ruozhu didn’t know why, but the idea suddenly popped into her head that the courtesan might be Jiao Bingqin. Now that she had confirmed it wasn’t the case, she found it amusing. Jiao Bingqin was quite attractive, but that demure elegance of a well-bred lady was hardly enough to match the stunning beauty of the courtesan. Moreover, Jiao Bingqin couldn’t reach the level of the courtesan.

Just then, the courtesan named Qingqiu suddenly turned her head to glance at Bai Ruozhu. Her gaze was cold and detached, and while she seemed fragile, she exuded a unique aura that resembled the misty cloud-like women described in poems. Bai Ruozhu was certain and sure that even if Jiao Bingqin had disguised herself, she didn’t possess such a temperament.

Bai Ruozhu and her company quickly turned to another street. No one noticed that on the courtesan’s flower carriage, a corner of the curtain was lifted, and a pair of resentful, poisonous eyes shot out.

That’s right, it must be her. Even though she was dressed as a man, wearing a gauze cap, there was no mistaking her guard! Jiao Bingqin thought bitterly to herself.

”Si Qin, do you know those people?” Qingqiu’s voice was very cold, causing Jiao Bingqin to shiver.

”To reply to miss, the one wearing a veil might well be my sworn enemy. Even though I can’t see her face, I recognize her trusted guard,” Jiao Bingqin answered.

Qingqiu hummed a note, ”I don’t care about your past, but now you are my servant. Remember your place well and do not mess up my affairs.”

Qingqiu’s voice was not loud but still cold, now with an added hint of sternness.

”Yes, this servant understands,” Jiao Bingqin bit her lip, saying with reluctance in her heart.

To think that Jiao Bingqin, who was once esteemed by the Emperor himself, had fallen to the point of serving a courtesan. So what if she was a courtesan? Wasn’t she still just a prostitute? But Jiao Bingqin couldn’t overlook the fact that Qingqiu’s methods were formidable; she dared not relax her guard for a moment or else she might be punished.

After Bai Ruozhu and the others had a meal in the city, their subordinates immediately started searching but found no clues.

After the meal, the group headed towards Wucang Mountain. By evening, they finally reached the cliff where Jiang Yichun had met with trouble. Throughout the journey, they hadn’t spotted any trace of the group that ambushed Jiang Yichun.

”How many Shadow Guards survived that day?” Bai Ruozhu suddenly asked.

Lü hesitated briefly before honestly replying, ”Only two, both severely wounded. Currently, only one has been revived, and he was the one who described the situation.” Lü paused then added, ”His loyalty is not in question; the young master can rest assured.”

”But for such a covert operation to be nearly wiped out, it can only mean there is a traitor in the team,” Bai Ruozhu stated.

”The body of one of the dark guards wasn’t found; I fear he might be the traitor,” Lü said, his expression tinged with despair, feeling it a disgrace for a Shadow Guard to turn traitor.

Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, ”Perhaps Jiao Bingqin is the traitor?

Lü was taken aback, ”Impossible, she wouldn’t need to jump off the cliff if she were the traitor.”

”You might not know what they came to Wucang Mountain for; you might know more than the average Shadow Guard just as I don’t dare to know or guess too much. But Jiao Bingqin’s identity is a mystery, and jumping off the cliff doesn’t prove anything,” Bai Ruozhu said.

Could it be that Achun discovered she was the traitor? And what was said to be both jumping off the cliff was actually him throwing her down?

As Bai Ruozhu thought about this, anger seethed within her. But, seeing the look in Lü’s eyes, he seemed to think what she said was just a bout of jealousy from a woman.

Bai Ruozhu knew she had no evidence; without proof, Lü would never believe her. He was convinced of her poison skills but that didn’t mean he was convinced of her analytical ability.

She walked step by step towards the edge of the cliff, searching the ground for traces, as if looking for Jiang Yichun’s footsteps, walking in his footprints step by step towards the cliff.

”Young Master, you mustn’t!” Lü was startled and hurriedly shouted a warning.

With a snort, Muyu beside him couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t that he was heartless and didn’t care about his master’s safety, but Lü was just too funny. Did he really think the lady was the kind of woman who would become so distraught over a little trouble that she’d seek death or become inconsolably grief-stricken?

Moreover, Muyu had just glanced down at the bottom of the cliff and, knowing his master as he did, he was sure that his master would be able to escape from there.

Bai Ruozhu’s lips twitched, and she shot Muyu a warning glare before helplessly telling Lü, ”I have a child, I won’t be seeking death so easily.”

After speaking, she walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Her eyesight was exceptional, and she clearly saw the flowing river below. The current wasn’t exceptionally rapid, but it also wasn’t slow. With Jiang Yichun’s skills, the worst he would suffer from jumping from this height would be some internal injuries, and then he could actually use the flow of the river to quickly get away.

”Everyone, find a way to get down the cliff and then follow the direction of the river to search. Be careful of enemies who are also looking along the way,” Bai Ruozhu ordered.

She hadn’t mentioned to the emperor the news about Tang Feng, so no one else knew that the enemy hadn’t found Jiang Yichun yet and that their master’s command was: to see him alive, or see his corpse if dead.

Lü and his subordinates set up ropes and sent someone down first to check the situation. Once they confirmed it was safe, they protected Bai Ruozhu as she descended. Bai Ruozhu’s lightness skill was fairly good now, and with ropes to assist her, the descent wasn’t difficult.

Once they reached the bottom, she noticed a very thin strip of fabric. It looked like the edge of someone’s garment had been torn off. Bai Ruozhu walked over to take a closer look, with Jianqi and the others quickly following behind her.

”Is it the master’s clothing?” Chen Feng asked.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head, ”I’m afraid it’s something left behind accidentally by the enemy searching for Achun.”

She then plucked the fabric and handed it to Lü, saying, ”Send someone to check for clues from here and find out who dares to oppose the emperor.”

Lü swiftly took it, carefully placed it inside a bamboo tube, and gave it to a subordinate to send the message.

Without their horses after descending the cliff, they had to proceed by lightness skill. Lü, concerned about Bai Ruozhu’s endurance, suggested they take turns carrying her if she couldn’t keep up, but she shook her head and said, ”I can hold on.”

When they had searched forward for several meters, Jianqi suddenly pointed to something at the edge of the riverbank and said, ”There’s something over there.”

He leaped over and dug a hairpin out of the mud and sand on the bank.

”Master, take a look,” Jianqi offered the hairpin to Bai Ruozhu.

After glancing at it, Bai Ruozhu said with an unhappy tone, ”It belongs to Jiao Bingqin. I remember her wearing it. It seems she really did fall into the water, and the water washed away her hair, causing the hairpin to fall out.”

”Yes, that dark guard was quite sure that Lord Jiang jumped off the cliff with her, and the river down here is the one they would have fallen into,” Lü said urgently.

Chen Feng glanced at him, thinking that for all his supposed skill, he lacked tact—couldn’t he see that the lady was very annoyed by this detail?

And indeed, Bai Ruozhu gave Lü a sharp look and continued to search forward.

To think that Jiang Yichun would bother to save Jiao Bingqin at a critical moment made Bai Ruozhu uncomfortable, so she felt it was more likely that Jiang Yichun couldn’t let her fall into enemy hands—which would mean the enemy was also after the treasure!