Chapter 230: The First Step to Changing History
It was the third day of the ambush, and night had fallen.
Darkness brought a sense of relaxation, as night was the best form of protection.
However, it became very cold after dark, and people’s moods naturally grew low and weary.
They also had scouts. To avoid alerting the enemy, they only kept watch at a few key points and dared not send out patrols.
For it was said that Jiang the Second was extremely sharp. And with him was the young General Meng, a son of a military family, who was surely no ordinary person.
They were very cautious; they merely relayed information back through a few nodes, selected the ambush point, and then remained still.
This was the only road to the capital. With the old, the weak, women, children, and a pregnant woman in their party, they certainly wouldn’t choose to take a detour and would have to pass through this stretch.
They couldn’t let their guard down at night, either. In case they sensed something was wrong, traveling at night was also a possibility.
However, long periods of waiting and squatting reached a point of exhaustion. By the third day, they were already quite tired.
They only persevered because hope was right before their eyes; they had seen someone coming that morning. It would be soon. Once they made it through tonight, the real test would begin.
They ate their dry rations and took turns to relieve themselves. Relieving oneself was a difficult task.
Usually, one had to dig a pit, do their business, cover it up, and then cover it with rotting leaves.
The mountains in these grasslands were actually a bit bare, unlike those big forests. There were mountains and trees, but not big ones—only shrubs. The ambush relied on rocks, angles, and shrubs; they couldn’t stand up. In short, it was quite difficult. It was easy to lose body heat at night, so they had to stay warm.
After dark, Death Soldier A opened his mouth wide to yawn, then gently closed it. If he had done it too hard and accidentally bitten the poison sac in his teeth and died, that would have been a rather unjust death.
Just as everyone was exhausted from watching, feeling sleepy, cold, and shivering, they suddenly felt a bit warmer. It seemed as though some fragrance was drifting over.
Someone even sniffed hard with their nose. Then, someone shouted that a fire had started.
Looking down, they saw that the fire had already started at the foot of the mountain, rapidly climbing up along the dead grass and rotting wood. Fanned by the wind, the flames leaped quickly, and thick smoke billowed.
Some realized something was wrong and ran down the mountain, but they found the smoke seemed strange. After inhaling it, their heads felt dizzy, and they fainted before they could even reach the bottom.
Others who had inhaled less held their noses and forced themselves to run down the mountain, only to find that at the foot of the mountain, there was already a group of people wearing layered masks. Their faces were unclear, but regardless, as soon as they came down, they were captured.
The fire wasn’t large and didn’t spread everywhere. The serious issue was the smoke. With thick smoke billowing, everyone was coughing, “Cough, cough, cough,” and then they fell one by one.
Before falling, someone cursed, “How can there be such shameless people in this world, actually using poison!”
Those death soldiers were exceptionally strong; even poisoned, they risked being burned by the fire to charge down and fight. Then they were stabbed to death by several people together. It was a case of strength in numbers.
Mountain fires, toxic smoke, and finishing blows—the Jiang Family army was exceptionally busy that night. Vultures gathered in the sky in increasing numbers, yet they dared not land easily, only waiting for the food to be ‘cooked’ (dead) before coming down.
The sky was filled with stars. If the Star-Gazer were here, it would probably aggravate his cervical spondylosis. In places with little human activity, there was little obstruction overhead, and the sky was exceptionally clear.
However, the distant mountains were on fire. There was smoke. It drifted about, but couldn’t drift over here as this was upwind. The stars were still bright. It was cold—a dry cold—so one needed to dress warmly.
Jiang Mianmian got up, and Pang Ya naturally followed, very alert. The bodyguard, Wei Biao, was keeping watch outside, sitting by the campfire.
Jiang Mianmian saw that Father and Mother were both there, and neither was sleeping. They were all neatly gathered, seemingly having a barbecue behind her back.
It turned out that when she got up, a certain pregnant woman had also gotten up. Jiang Yu was even more exaggerated; acting as if she had caught a group of rebels, she was just about to shout, “You are eating behind my back!”
Seeing the serious Mother and the gentle Father, she swallowed her shout. She greeted them sheepishly, “Father, Mother.”
Jiang Mianmian moved away from the spot her bottom had warmed up to let Elder Sister sit. Jiang Yu, with her big belly, sat down, and Aunt Yin wrapped an extra-thick cloak around her.
Elder Sister’s skin had been milky white lately, making anyone who saw it want to touch it. Jiang Mianmian thought this, and she did it, too; her cold little hand pinched Elder Sister’s soft cheek. The texture was indeed as soft as she had imagined.
Jiang Yu gently patted her younger sister’s hand. Elder Brother and brother-in-law were not there, but seeing the relaxed state of Father and Mother, there shouldn’t be any trouble.
Tea was boiling on the fire, and earth melons were buried by the fire’s edge; once raked out and peeled, they could be eaten, and they were super fragrant.
On this journey, perhaps because she had eaten too few vegetables, Jiang Mianmian felt her nutrition was a bit unbalanced, and she was having trouble having a bowel movement. It might also be a common ailment of beautiful girls; it was said that beautiful girls were all prone to constipation.
So, smelling the fragrance, she hesitated whether to eat. If only she had effervescent tablets; she could drop one into water, drink a cup, and have the illusion of taking vitamins, skipping the step of eating vegetables. Mianmian was a bit of a picky eater.
However, in the end, she couldn’t resist the temptation. Mianmian ate earth melons with Elder Sister, had a little bit of roasted meat, and drank some tea.
When Jiang Yu wanted to eat more, she saw Mother’s palm, which was as big as a washbasin, fanning the air, and she silently withdrew her hand.
Mianmian was also full; at worst, she would go back and drink some Spirit Spring water. She was probably the only person who used Spirit Spring water as a laxative.
However, she would wait until she had a place to poop before drinking it; it felt uncomfortable to poop here, whether in the carriage or hiding somewhere. Being unable to poop might just be a psychological factor.
After finishing the late-night snack, she felt psychologically satisfied and much happier. She was also sleepy. One wanted to sleep after getting full.
Jiang Mianmian let out a dainty yawn, went to brush her teeth, and then went back to sleep. Jiang Changtian and Qin Luoxia:…
Regarding their little daughter who brushed her teeth after eating at night, both of them were a bit silent. She was truly clean and truly vain.
As for the other one, The Eldest Miss, who was about to become a Mother herself, wouldn’t even wipe the grease spots off her face. Fortunately, she was already married.
Jiang Mianmian finished her routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, and relieving herself, then crawled back into the carriage to sleep, filled with drowsiness; she would fall asleep as soon as she lay down.
She thought that there should still be frost tomorrow morning. Waking up early, she would be able to see the feeling of a thousand miles of ice once more—the vast, desolate grass, and because icicles hung within it, when the sunlight shone down, it would be like countless gems hidden in the grass piles. It was beautiful.
Being able to see it again was also very good. Jiang Mianmian fell asleep peacefully.
Tomorrow they should be setting off on their journey. There would be better scenery along the way, and most importantly, she would be with her family. It was very good.
She clutched the well-worn Ant in her hand, her breathing even, and she was truly asleep.
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