"Seems like it’s been a long ti, maybe five months or half a year. She wore a hat every day, and one day I accidentally saw that her hair was white," said Teng Ya with so regret.
"You said she changed ships later. Where did she change? Can you find out where they are headed?" Bai Ruozhu asked anxiously.
"The rchant said they switched to their own ship. It seems their ship didn’t have so sort of passage permit, so it was docked at a small pier not long after leaving Danliang. They said they were going to Fusang Country to make a lot of money. Back then, Zheng Xin’s eyes were blazing, but they quickly changed ships without any incident," Teng Ya replied.
Bai Ruozhu got a little excited, "It must be that rchant we investigated previously, the one trading to Fusang Country. Princess Diao Bin must have gone to Fusang Country!"
"Is that lady called Princess Diao Bin? Such a nice na," Teng Ya said with a face full of envy.
"Did she say anything else to you? Did you see any young man?" Bai Ruozhu asked, then hurriedly turned to Jianqi and said, "Go draw Ning Yu’s portrait again."
"Yes." Jianqi agreed and went back to the room.
"She said her mother is in Fusang Country and asked if I had seen the cherry blossom trees in Fusang Country. I said no, and she said she’d show if I ever had the chance," Teng Ya said longingly.
Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged a look. How could Princess Diao Bin claim her mother is in Fusang Country?
"What kind of tree is a cherry blossom?" Jiang Yichun asked.
Bai Ruozhu rembered that there were no cherry blossom trees in Danliang Country at that ti. Jiang Yichun hadn’t heard of them, and neither would Princess Diao Bin, but her tone sounded like she was very familiar with Fusang Country.
Bai Ruozhu felt uncertain again. If it were Princess Diao Bin, she probably wouldn’t want to go to sea, would she?
This ti Jianqi quickly finished Ning Yu’s portrait. He had seen Ning Yu more than Princess Diao Bin, so he completed it quickly.
Unfortunately, Teng Ya looked at the portrait for a long ti and shook her head, "I’ve never seen this person. He’s so good-looking, if I had seen him, I would definitely rember."
"Was there anything unusual about Princess Diao Bin and them?" Bai Ruozhu asked persistently.
Teng Ya shook her head, "Just her white hair, it actually seems like that’s it."
Bai Ruozhu was stunned for a while, and it was Jiang Yichun who reminded her, helping her to co back to her senses.
"Teng Ya, you go ahead and do your work, make sure to keep the ointnt safe and don’t let anyone else see it. And don’t tell anyone about what I asked you today," Bai Ruozhu instructed seriously.
Teng Ya nodded earnestly, "Madam, I understand. I won’t even tell my mother."
Bai Ruozhu patted her fluffy hair and said, "Go on."
Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun returned to the room, and both of them carefully pondered over the matter.
"I estimate there are two possibilities: either it’s soone who looks like Princess Diao Bin and happens to have the palace’s ointnt, or Princess Diao Bin doesn’t rember who she is and thinks she’s a girl from Fusang Country," Jiang Yichun said.
"Do you rember soone once tracked Princess Diao Bin’s whereabouts and said a rchant from Fusang Country brought a daughter who looked very much like Princess Diao Bin at that ti?" Bai Ruozhu said firmly, "I think it must be her. What cherry blossom trees, what mother from Fusang Country, these could all be things others told her. Once we find Fusang Country, there must be a way to find Princess Diao Bin."
"Yes, we will find her," Jiang Yichun said, wrapping Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder.
Bai Ruozhu turned her head and smiled at him, "This is truly great news!"
Hurried footsteps were heard outside, followed by the voice of Fo Lanying, "Ruozhu, that Zheng Xin has a lot of red spots on his neck. Retribution, indeed!"
Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged a glance and couldn’t help laughing.
They had dealt with Zheng Xin a few nights ago, but they couldn’t make it too obvious, or Zheng Xin would surely suspect them, especially since Teng Ya’s ear had just been hurt.
So Jiang Yichun pressed his acupoints to put him into a deep sleep and stepped hard on his chest. Thus, although Zheng Xin was in pain, he wouldn’t wake up easily and would think he had a nightmare once he did.
Bai Ruozhu used so delayed-acting Itchy Powder on Zheng Xin, which took a few days to take effect slowly.
It’s often said that itching is more unbearable than pain. The red spots from Bai Ruozhu’s Poison were just like mosquito bites. With the boat’s humid heat and the reasonable presence of mosquitoes and even fleas in so places, Zheng Xin paid no mind to a few red spots on his neck until today, when the itching beca unbearable.
Bai Ruozhu opened the door and warned Fo Lanying, "With so many people around, be mindful of your words."
Fo Lanying nodded quickly, "I definitely won’t say much. I’ll just act the part. At most, I could go ask about it and show so concern?"
"No need to go for now. He’s so itchy that he’ll have to co to ," Bai Ruozhu said.
Fo Lanying nodded, "That’s what they call desperation in seeking a cure."
Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched, "You should read more books, or I’ll think you’re mocking ." After saying that, Bai Ruozhu left the room, and Jiang Yichun hurried out after her, leaving Fo Lanying looking dumbfounded. Did she say sothing wrong? Why should she read more books?
Bai Ruozhu pretended to be sunbathing on the deck and saw from afar that Zheng Xin was applying ointnt to his neck. The ship’s supply of ointnt for mosquito bites was limited, yet Zheng Xin was frantically applying it to his face and neck, quickly using up a small box of ointnt.
The itching was unbearable, and the ointnt had no effect. Could it be a poisonous mosquito that bit him?
Bai Ruozhu was delighted, letting such a person suffer day and night felt even more satisfying than killing him, a fitting punishnt.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Xin saw Bai Ruozhu and suddenly ran over, his face expectant, "Master Bai, please take a look. What bit to make itch like this? Look at these blood scabs; I scratched them myself because I couldn’t control it from the itching."
Bai Ruozhu had thought he had so pride and would at least try more ointnt before seeking help. She didn’t expect that he’d kneel right away; indeed, not much integrity at all.
"Helmsman Zheng, what’s happened to you? Did sothing happen?" Bai Ruozhu asked deliberately with concern.
Zheng Xin knelt down with a thud, anxiously saying, "Pleasure , Master Bai, I’m begging you. I must have been bitten by sothing poisonous. Look at my neck, it’s constantly getting bumps, and the ship’s ointnt is totally useless!"
"How could this happen? What bit you?" Bai Ruozhu peered at his neck, "I’ve never encountered sothing like this before. If we don’t know what kind of mosquito bit you, it’s hard to treat you."
She saw Zheng Xin start scratching again, to the point where his neck was bleeding.
"Why don’t you think about where you’ve been? The sooner we find the root of the problem, the better we can treat it," she said.
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