Chapter 194 - 194 King Ding

194 King Ding

Other people were also on the streets, and someone quietly asked, “Who’s on that carriage?”

“That doesn’t look like an ordinary person.”

A passerby was carrying a basket to buy groceries when he heard someone ask, “Are you people from the prefecture capital?”

“Yes, we just returned from somewhere else.”

Someone kindly explained, “That is our King Ding’s carriage. King Ding had arranged to take over Dingzhou, so he visited the local officials.”

An outsider asked, bewildered, “Wait, shouldn’t the officials visit King Ding instead?”

Someone whispered, “Who knows? We don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking. We only know that King Ding isn’t in good health, yet he musters the strength to visit people constantly. It’s backbreaking work, in my opinion.

“Still, the people from our prefecture capital are grateful to King Ding because he works hard for us. King Ding has issued laws we have yet to understand, but he has reduced taxes and helped his people seek justice. We just hope he’s well.

“Moreover, the price of food has risen since the war, but King Ding came to help so people could afford to feed themselves. He’s only eighteen years old too. If only there were a capable enough doctor around to cure King Ding.”

…

Su Binglan and Lin Zheng stood on the sidelines and quietly listened to the passersby’s discussions.

When the soldiers and carriage passed by, the duo heard coughing sounds inside the carriage.

“Cough, cough. Hack, ahem!”

It was a continuous cough that sounded fragile. For some reason, Su Binglan felt her heart tighten when she heard the incessant coughs. Her chest felt stuffy as if she could not breathe.

She covered her chest with her hand and thought it was bizarre. Su Binglan wondered why her heart ached so much. Was it because the coughs reminded her of Luo Jin’an?

She had been away for more than two days, after all. Perhaps she missed her husband. Still, Su Binglan did not overthink.

…

At this moment, the person in the carriage coughed even more violently. His trusted subordinate was also in the carriage. He looked at King Ding’s appearance and was concerned.

“Your Highness, are you okay? The doctor said he managed to stabilize your condition. Why are you coughing like this all of a sudden?” The subordinate’s face turned ashen, and he was highly anxious.

King Ding placed his hand on his chest. “I don’t know why, but my heart is hurting terribly. Her heart might have felt the same way when she died. It hurts so badly, and I don’t know what triggered it.”

The subordinate said, “If only the princess were here. She wouldn’t let others treat our prince like that.”

King Ding’s voice was hoarse as he said, “She has protected me for a long time and had grown tired.”

“Your Highness, you must live on for our princess. We will find a capable doctor soon, and they will cure you.”

King Ding waved his hand and coughed. “The princess said I have a chance of surviving here, but I don’t know what that chance is.”

“We will know eventually, Your Highness.”

King Ding closed his eyes tiredly. When he opened them again, for some reason, he felt the need to lift the curtain to look outside.

Then he saw a person on the street, and his heart jumped. He looked closer and found she was just a young lady. King Ding’s expression dimmed, and he fell into deep thought.

‘She’s already dead, and there’s no longer a trace of her in this world. Why am I still hoping she’s alive? She doesn’t have to worry now that she’s gone. I’m only alive because I promised her I would live on, and I can’t let her efforts go to waste.’

King Ding’s cough was severe, so his subordinate hurriedly said, “Quick, we must return to the mansion immediately!”

…

When the carriage disappeared from his sigh, Lin Zheng returned to his senses. He looked at Su Binglan and said discreetly, “It wasn’t easy for King Ding to live this long.

“I heard his mother had issues with her womb when he was conceived, and King Ding’s body was frail. He even fell into a river when he was a child. That time, the princess was the one who saved him.

“After that, the princess fell ill. Even so, she protected King Ding. However, the princess died three years ago, and the higher-ups began to attack King Ding’s mansion. Still, the king has many capable people around him.

“These people are loyal to King Ding and the princess and have been by the king’s side since the princess died. Ordinary people will not dare attack King Ding because of these people’s protection.”

…

Su Binglan looked at Lin Zheng. “You’re quite knowledgeable, aren’t you?”

“I-It’s just gossip I heard from others,” Lin Zheng stammered.

Su Binglan felt they had gotten distracted for too long, so she said, “All right, let’s get moving.”

“Aren’t we going to rest here for the night?” Lin Zheng asked.

Su Binglan calculated the distance and time. She said, “It’s best if we hurry up. We can take our time when we’re on the way back to Tenghe Town.”

“Okay, Boss.”

Then the duo continued on their journey. After leaving the prefectural city, the duo finally witnessed what a real war looked like. When they passed a village along the way, they discovered that all the villagers were dead.

The villagers’ corpses were lying all over the place in a mess. Even fresh blood flowed from a few of them. Lin Zheng vomited when he saw the scene and smelled the blood.

“Retch!”

He could not stand to see such a scene. He choked and said sobbingly, “Some of them are just children. Those b*stards won’t even spare children?”

Lin Zheng used to be a gangster, but he was a small fry that never hurt anyone. At most, he wanted to scare others. It was his first time seeing so much blood and so many corpses.

Su Binglan got off her horse and walked. She observed her surroundings and realized all the food was gone, and even the fields were empty.

She said, “Someone must’ve killed the villagers for food. This village is close to the top of the mountain and far from the town, so no one will notice it if someone killed these people.”

Lin Zheng collected his thoughts and said, “Was all this caused by mountain bandits? I heard mountain bandits would burn, kill, and plunder in some places.”

Su Binglan said coldly, “Maybe some people disguised themselves as mountain bandits to plunder the villagers’ food. However, plundering alone doesn’t necessarily mean killing people to silence them.

“They would only kill the villagers to silence them for fear of the people reporting them to the authorities.”

Lin Zheng understood what his boss meant. “Those people are horrible!” He was outraged.

Su Binglan remained cold as she said, “Some people will do anything to achieve their goals. It’s normal. Human lives are like a blade of grass in a chaotic war world. Still, no war is good, and people just want to live their lives.”

Lin Zheng’s heart panicked as he angrily punched the tree beside him. He bruised his hand, but he did not feel any pain. “I don’t want wars to happen too.”

...

Su Binglan said, “That’s easier said than done.”

Lin Zheng asked frowningly, “Master, how influential are generals? Generals can protect their family and country while helping others, right?”

Su Binglan looked at Lin Zheng’s expression and knew he had seen many things along their journey. It was as if he had grown up suddenly.