Chapter 389 - The Wokou Pirates Land (1/2)
“What about Imperial Prince Jing’s residence on the mountain? Did anyone inform them?” Although there were a decent amount of guards there, the pirates also had a lot of people and they were cruel. Without the self-proclaimed martial arts expert Royal Prince Yang there, it wouldn’t be safe for Princess Consort Jing to stay in the villa.
Senior Servant Yang, who was in charge of the piggery, hurriedly stepped forward and said, “When we got the news, my husband went to the mountain residence immediately. At this time, the princess consort should be almost done preparing!”
Yu Xiaocao looked around the courtyard and saw that everyone was carrying a packed up bag that wasn’t too big so they could easily flee. It was likely they only packed the most valuable items in their residences for this trip. Yu Hai and Liu Hu had a bit more in their packs. Other than daily necessities, everyone also carried around twenty catties of grain, a steel pot, and some utensils. They didn’t know how long the pirates would stay and when they could finally come back. It was likely they needed to spend several days in the mountains, so the Yu Family and Liu Family needed to bring enough grain to last!
Yu Xiaocao entered her own room and packed two simple sets of clean clothing. She also took out the banknotes, silver bits, and some jewelry along. After thinking a bit, she also took her medicine box. Inside she had medicines to treat colds and other mild illnesses. In addition, she had medications to stop bleeding.
Before long, Princess Consort Jing and her twenty-some imperial bodyguards came down the mountain. Along with the twenty-some senior servants, stewards, and maids, her entourage made a grand sight and was much larger than the combined Yu and Liu Families.
Princess Consort Jing appeared exceptionally calm and she looked over everyone in the courtyard before she spoke to the now serene Yu Xiaocao, “When we came down the mountain, we saw that those people with questionable backgrounds were already very close to land. Have you decided everything yet? Are we really going to flee into the mountains? Don’t people say that there are a lot of ferocious beasts in there?”
Yu Xiaocao came up and held onto Princess Consort Jing’s arm reassuringly as she gently said, “Please don’t worry, Your Highness! We’re not going deep into the mountains, so we should not encounter any vicious beasts.”
“If we’re on the outside part of the mountain and the pirates come and find out there’s nothing to take, won’t they chase us up the mountain to find us?” One of the bodyguards, who looked on the younger side, frowned and remarked somewhat pessimistically.
Yu Xiaocao considered his question and then replied, “I know a ravine in the mountain that is pretty well hidden and the entrance is easily guarded and hard to attack. We should go there to hide. Even if the Wokou pirates find the entrance, with you guys protecting it, it’d be hard for them to get through.”
Princess Consort Jing gave her a knowing look and then asked, “Is that the ravine that has a lot of wild camellias and orchids? If that’s the place you’re talking about, it should be very well hidden.”
After she finished, she then gave a penetrating look at her two personal maids, Meixiang and Lanxiang. These two maids had once gone with Xiaocao to that ravine and they brought back a few rare specimens. However, the next time when they tried to go there themselves, the two maids couldn’t find the entrance of the ravine again. Meixiang had said that they clearly remembered every twist and turn to get there but they just couldn’t find the entrance again. It was as if that ravine had suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Yu Xiaocao nodded and agreed, “Yes, other than that place, I can’t think of another place that is suitable to hide a few hundred people!”
“A few hundred people? We need to take along all of the men, women, children, and elders from the village along? The more people there are, the more chances there are for mishaps. Miss Yu, you need to make sure you know what you’re doing!” The commander of the bodyguards didn’t seem to approve of this idea of bringing so many civilians along. The frown on his face became even more apparent.
“We’re all from the same village and some of us are even related to each other. We can’t just leave them alone to fend for themselves. Since we have the ability, what’s wrong with helping them?” It had been almost four years since she transmigrated over to this world. Other than a few special people in Dongshan Village, the vast majority of villagers were all pure-hearted and adorable. Their simple ways of life and warm interactions with each other caused Yu Xiaocao to consider this place more and more like her home. When danger was approaching, she couldn’t abandon any of them, even if they had treated her poorly in the past.
The Yu Family was already done preparing, but the people in the village were a whole other matter. The villagers were all running around in a panic. Many people couldn’t bear to let go of anything that was of any value, especially those of the older generation. Every needle and thread in the house required money to buy them, so they even brought along old bamboo baskets with holes in them.
It was getting closer to the time to leave and there were a whole bunch of people standing in front of the village chief’s home. The village chief saw a fellow with a giant pack on his left shoulder and a large wicker basket crammed full of items on his right. The man could barely walk as he staggered down the road and stumbled in the group. The village chief was incensed and scolded them, “Right now we’re running for our lives, not moving! Do you think you’ll be able to climb mountains and hide with all of that stuff you’re bringing ah? You’re just a sitting duck waiting for the Wokou pirates to catch you and then rip you apart! Everyone, open your bags for me now! Other than money, you should only be carrying along two changes of clothing and three days worth of food. Everything else, you need to throw away!!”
When he saw the villagers looking at each other stupidly but not doing anything, the village chief’s temper exploded again, “If you guys don’t want to listen to me, that’s fine! You are all in charge of yourselves! I’m not going to bother anymore, alright? Figure things out yourselves! Second Son’s wife and Third Son’s wife, you’re both in charge of taking care of the kids. Give all of your packs to your husbands and follow me!!”
When the villagers saw that the village chief wasn’t going to be in charge of them anymore, they immediately panicked. A lot of the villagers started opening their packs and taking out the stuff that wasn’t that important. After cleaning out their bags, they found a place to hide the other items. Although the packs were still pretty heavy, they no longer hindered their movements anymore. Once they finished reorganizing their belongings, these villagers pulled their families along to follow the village chief as they headed towards the West Mountains.