Chapter 666: Inquiring

Editor: Atlas Studios

When Qi Haoran went to see Ah Yin again, he brought news of her in-laws. He only said that the people who entered the mountain did not see anyone after searching the area. He only instructed two of his men to guard there and rescue them if they saw them.

Ah Yin cried on the bed and said, “Father and Mother must have been captured by them. If not, they must have fled more deeply into the forest. What should we do? I promised Jilu to protect Father and Mother well.”

Qi Haoran lowered his eyes and asked, “Did Jilu tell you how to protect your in-laws?”

Ah Yin shook her head. “The situation was too urgent at that time, so Jilu didn’t have time to say much. He only had time to push us out and lure the pursuers away himself.”

“Those people chased after Jilu the moment he returned home?” Qi Haoran asked in confusion.

Ah Yin shook her head. “No, those people only came after midnight. When Jilu came back, it has only just turned dark. He felt a little uneasy and told me at night that he had heard something incredible, and he didn’t know if the second prince would come for him. Who knew that at midnight while we were sleeping, we started hearing sounds…”

“Then did he talk about that incredible matter in detail? Did he only say that the second prince and Dali were in contact?” Seeing Ah Yin’s hesitation, Qi Haoran said, “You have to tell me the truth so that I can go to the Miao stockade to save Jilu. According to what you said, Jilu has been taken away for a period of time. If we don’t save him now, I’m afraid he might not survive.”

Ah Yin was shocked. The furthest she had ever been in her life was to Ji’an’s Miao stockade. She had never even been to Ju Prefecture City and had never seen more than a hundred people. How could she know if Qi Haoran was telling the truth? Her mind was entirely focused on her husband, Jilu. Since it was unknown if her in-laws were dead or alive, she would really have no relatives if her husband died.

Ah Yin knelt in front of Qi Haoran in a panic and blurted out to him everything like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube. “Jilu said that the second prince feels that Chief Ji’an has overstepped his boundaries. He feels that since he has curried favor with the Imperial Court, he has been interfering in our stockade’s matters. Originally, the Miao people of our stockade only listened to the orders of our tribe’s chief. He felt that the chiefs should be the ones responsible for the exchange of goods for grains. However, Chief Ji’an went past them and gave us the goods directly, pissing off the second prince.”

After hearing the translation, Qi Haoran narrowed his eyes. “That’s all?”

Ah Yin hesitated for a moment before saying, “Jilu said that the second prince doesn’t like Your Highness very much. I don’t know much else.”

“What about Dali?”

Ah Yin shook her head blankly.

Qi Haoran was deep in thought. It seemed that Jilu didn’t hear much, or rather, he didn’t hear the most crucial aspects. It was quite unfortunate that they were going after him, in that case.

Seeing that he was deep in thought, Ah Yin looked at him expectantly and asked, “Your Highness, can you save Jilu? We’re honest folks and certainly not bad people.”

Qi Haoran sighed. That second prince would not let Jilu off just because he was not a bad person. However, Qi Haoran still nodded and said, “I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee it.”

Ah Yin heaved a sigh of relief. It was fine as long as the Prince was willing to help.

Qi Haoran got someone to call Liu Dahei over and specially instructed him to bring his wife, Jinhua, along. Although he had long inquired about the relationship between the Miao stockades, there were some things that only the Miao people knew. As Han Chinese, such information was not available to them.

Therefore, Mu Yangling had to step in to speak to Jinhua.

Jinhua said, “In our region with nine valleys and 18 villages, Bisha Miao stockade is mixed, hosting many surnames, but the chief is from the prominent Sanglin family. He has many, many sons. I heard from my father that he gave birth to a total of 11 sons, out of which seven survived.”

Jinhua treated this as gossip and did not know that her father had forbidden her to reveal this to the Han people. These words were gossip among the Miao people, but it was different for the Han people.

As expected, Mu Yangling asked with interest, “Are all his sons born from the same mother?”

Jinhua nodded. “We Miao people are not like you Han people who take in concubines. Unless your wife or man dies, the couple will live together forever. Chief Sanglin’s wife is alive and well, so of course his sons were born from the same mother.”

“That’s a lot of children. They’re really good at giving birth.” Mu Yangling sighed and asked, “Then how did his four sons die?”

“One died of illness, one was bitten by a poisonous snake in the mountains, and the other two died in battle with your Han soldiers.”

“Then Chief Sanglin must not like us Han Chinese.”

Jinhua pursed her lips and said, “Many Miao people don’t like Han Chinese.”

Mu Yangling smiled. Only Jinhua would dare to speak so straightforwardly. “Since he has so many sons, who will be the chief after he dies?”

Jinhua tilted her head and said, “Depends on who’s stronger.”

“I thought the eldest son would inherit the chieftainship.”

Jinhua said with a smile, “That’s the way of the Han people. We Miao people believe that whoever has the ability will be the chief.” Jinhua sighed for once. “My father said that the Miao people’s lives are too hard. If the chief is incompetent on top of that, the Miao people’s lives will only be more difficult. Therefore, we don’t have the chance to choose a chief. The elders will choose someone who is capable and virtuous. Only then can he lead the Miao people to better days.”

Mu Yangling narrowed her eyes slightly. “So the chief isn’t appointed by the current chief, but by the elders?”

This was a little different from the information they had gathered. Mu Yangling carefully asked the inheritance procedures and then inquired about Sanglin’s sons. “Have you seen Chief Sanglin’s sons? Who do you think is the most capable?”

“Yes.” Disinterestedly, Jinhua pursed her lips and said, “I don’t think any of them can compare to my older brother. If I absolutely have to choose someone, the sixth son is probably the better one amongst them since he’s good at martial arts. However, my father and brother-in-law both said that the Second Prince will probably be the head of the Bisha Miao stockade in the future. I really can’t see what’s so good about the Second Prince. In terms of fighting, he definitely can’t beat his sixth brother.”

“What about the Eldest Prince?”

“He’s dead. Died fighting with you Han Chinese.”

“Other than the Second Prince, who else is capable?”

Jinhua thought for a moment and said hesitantly, “The Third Prince? I heard my brother-in-law mention him before. He said that he’s very good at doing business. That should mean he’s quite capable, right?”

“Of course.” Mu Yangling gained a rough understanding of the remaining seven sons of Chieftain Sanglin from Jinhua and found out about some things that only circulated among the Miao people. She also asked about the relationship between the other Miao stockades and the Bisha Miao stockade.

The more she listened, the more Mu Yangling decided that she had to tell Qi Haoran to make sure that Liu Dahei didn’t reveal any secrets to Jinhua. She was too gossipy and couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Although this was a good thing for them, it wouldn’t be good if the roles were reversed.

Fan Zijin knocked on the table and asked, “In other words, Chief Sanglin might be hostile to us?”

“Not necessarily.” Qi Haoran frowned and said, “I remember that when in terms of leading the troops to surrender, Chief Sanglin was the second to surrender after Chief Ji’an. Moreover, we’ve been here for more than half a year and he hasn’t caused any trouble for us. In comparison, the other Miao stockades are always creating some kind of trouble.”

Chapter end