An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 201

If Yun Shang and Prince Jing traveled to Mount Kirin by horse and carriage, it would take them half a month. That would be too long for Yun Shang, as her wedding with Prince Jing was a month away. If she and Prince Jing weren't in the Palace at that time, it would be troublesome.

So Yun Shang decided not to take the horse and carriage. She chose the Ferghana horse that Prince Jing had found for her. Together, the Prince and Princess rode day and night to reach Mount Kirin as quickly as possible. It took them five days to arrive at the village at the foot of Mount Kirin.

It was a small village with a population of only several hundred people. It was called Peach Stream Village, and the villagers were said to be honest and friendly. Seeing Yun Shang and Prince Jing, the villagers became agitated and defensive.

"This is the twelfth time that strangers have come to our village. Is something wrong?" The villagers pointed to Yun Shang and Prince Jing as they whispered amongst themselves. Yun Shang and Prince Jing were both good at Kung Fu, so they had good hearing. They heard what the villagers had said.

Yun Shang couldn't help but become suspicious. In such a small village, any strangers' arrival was big news for the villagers. If the secret army of one hundred thousand soldiers stationed themselves in Mount Kirin, why hadn't they been noticed by the villagers? And given the fact that the villagers were so suspicious and gossiped a lot about strangers, Yun Shang was afraid that many people were aware of her and Prince Jing's arrival, even before they reached Mount Kirin. This meant that Xia Houjing must know of their arrival, too.

Yun Shang glanced up and exchanged a look with Prince Jing. They both noticed the worry reflected in the other person's eyes. Yun Shang kept silent for a while. Then she approached a woman and started talking, "Madam, I come from Xiyi Town with my husband. We came here to visit my brother and his family. But my brother only told me that he lives near Mount Kirin. This is the only village near Mount Kirin that I could find, but I don't think my brother lives here. I wonder if there are any other major cities around Mount Kirin."

The woman examined Yun Shang and Prince Jing, and found that they looked quite elegant, which made her respect them. But the woman couldn't understand why Yun Shang and Prince Jing rode horses to the village. 'Who would ride horses to visit their relatives? Not to mention there are only two of them.' Upon hearing Yun Shang's explanation that they came from Xiyi Town, the woman stopped questioning their story. Xiyi Town was located at the border. The Town's folk were known for their emboldened outlook, and every person in Xiyi Town knew how to ride a horse and shoot an arrow.

"There are no other major cities around Mount Kirin......" The woman quickly answered.

Yun Shang frowned. She thanked the woman and turned to look at Prince Jing. Prince Jing pondered before he said, "Since our brother doesn't live here, we can leave now. I'll send someone to ask about his address later."

Yun Shang nodded and mounted the horse in preparation to ride away from the village with Prince Jing.

"If grandfather is right about the army of one hundred thousand soldiers, then how do they support themselves without the basic living facilities of a big city?" Yun Shang frowned. She felt that they must have missed something.

Troubled by doubt, Yun Shang gave her secret signal. After a while, as she and Prince Jing walked to a quiet place, a man in black knelt before Yun Shang. "My Lady, " he said respectfully.

Yun Shang nodded before speaking, "People in the Peach Stream Village seem hostile to strangers. Where have you been staying these days? Have you been noticed by someone? You've reported to me that Xia Houjing has arrived here. Where is he now?"

"My Lady, I've been living in the dense forest behind Peach Stream Village. Peach Stream Village is small in size, so any stranger will catch the villagers' attention. To avoid that, I don't live in the village. And no one has noticed my existence yet. The seventh Prince of the State of Xia lives in Peach Stream Village. When he first came here, he fell ill and was found lying beside a stream. A deaf-mute girl took him to her house and took care of the Prince."

"Oh? A deaf-mute girl?" Yun Shang frowned. 'Is that pure coincidence? And if not, why did Xia Houjing do that?' "What has Xia Houjing been doing these days?" Yun Shang asked again.

The man in black quickly answered her, "In the daytime when the girl is home, Prince Houjing pretends to be ill. At night, after the girl falls asleep, the Prince goes out to meet the chief of Peach Stream Village. Sometimes the Prince also goes into Mount Kirin. But there is miasma on the mountain, so I didn't dare to go in."

Yun Shang nodded, "What else did you find?"

"My Lady, I found that there is an iron mine in Mount Kirin......" The man in black thought for a while before he continued, "There's something else that I found strange. There weren't many people living in Peach Stream Village a decade ago. However, eight years ago, a few people moved in and started living here. Official records show that these people are all refugees from Yunlang City. There was a flood eight years ago in Yunlang City, and some citizens left the city and found this village to settle in. That's how this place became Peach Stream Village."

Yun Shang frowned. Things were getting more and more complicated.

When Prince Jing heard about the iron mine, he rolled his eyes. He stared at Mount Kirin which was so high that it looked like it was hiding in the clouds.

After Yun Shang let the man in black leave, Prince Jing looked at Yun Shang and said, "I thought you only have female servants."

Yun Shang smiled, "I like female servants because I am a girl, so it is convenient for me to give orders. And sometimes, women are more effective than men when I need to lower people's guards. But still, some things must be done by men. It breaks my heart to let my beautiful girls suffer."

As Yun Shang was talking, Prince Jing studied the Princess. Since they were in a rush to get here, Yun Shang had pulled her hair into a simple hairstyle and set it with an ordinary hairpin. Her hairstyle looked simple but refreshing.