Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 368: Silver Mountain (Part 1)

Cui Du was taken aback, and instinctively rubbed it; it turned out to be a round wild fruit.

Jiang Shaohua whispered, "Eat a wild fruit to wake up."

Cui Du responded with a sound and brought the fruit to his mouth, taking a bite. Instantly, a burst of sourness filled his mouth, jolting him awake, his five senses scrunched together involuntarily.

...Indeed, it made him awake immediately.

Jiang Shaohua looked at Cui Du’s puckered face from the sourness and couldn’t help but laugh.

Nearby, Chen Jinyu and others also turned their heads to snicker.

Cui Du squeezed the wild fruit, unable to take a second bite: "This fruit is too sour!"

Jiang Shaohua earnestly replied, "It’s just sour, eating it makes you more alert. We used to eat these wild fruits when we were tired and thirsty while trekking in the mountains."

Cui Du twitched his lips and glanced at the Commandery Princess: "I’m young; Commandery Princess, don’t trick me."

No one could hold it in, and they all laughed together.

The originally quiet mountain forest was filled with joyful laughter.

Jiang Shaohua rarely showed a mischievous and playful side, giving Cui Du a smile: "If you don’t like it, just throw it away."

That wouldn’t do. She had picked the wild fruit herself; how could he bear to throw it away? Cui Du took a deep breath and bit into it forcefully, his handsome face continuing to twist into a wrinkled mess.

Jiang Shaohua chuckled again.

Song Yuan watched this scene silently, a hint of laughter in his eyes. The Commandery Princess was usually too calm and composed, often making people forget her age. In fact, the Commandery Princess was just a young girl. When together with Cui Du, the Commandery Princess showed the vitality and energy of her age.

In such a relaxed and joyful atmosphere, they walked another hour through the mountain path and finally reached their destination.

Cui Du was deeply shocked by the sight of the mine under the moonlight, nearly losing his voice: "Commandery Princess, is this also an iron mine?"

Jiang Shaohua turned her head with a smile, a hint of pride in her tone: "Of course not, this is a silver mine."

Cui Du took a gasp of cold air.

A silver mine!

No wonder the Nanyang Prince Mansion was so wealthy, able to support so many personal soldiers, maintain "relations" with high officials in the Capital City, "honor" the Grand Empress Dowager, sometimes make offerings to the court, and continually recruit hungry refugees! It was far from enough to achieve all this by relying on new grain alone.

He had jokingly said in private that the Prince Mansion was like having an inexhaustible mountain of gold. Now this mystery was finally unveiled.

The Prince Mansion didn’t have a gold mountain but had a silver mountain.

Yang Zheng and Ma Yaosong hadn’t entered the true core circle of the Nanyang Prince Mansion and were not privileged to know this matter. Today, the Commandery Princess bringing him here signified the Commandery Princess’s trust.

Cui Du’s chest was filled with an indescribable surge of emotions; he wanted to say something but held it back under the onlooking gazes of Chen Jinyu, Meng Sanbao, and others.

Jiang Shaohua laughed softly and said, "It’s already midnight; let’s go inside to rest. Tomorrow, I’ll show you around the silver mine."

Cui Du nodded vigorously.

The chief steward of the silver mine had already received the message and came over with several stewards to greet them.

Hot water was prepared, and the accommodations were tidied. In the mountains, accommodations were limited; for this night, Chen Jinyu and Jiang Shaohua shared a room. Chief Historian Chen and his son stayed together. As for Cui Du, he had to thicken his face and share a room with his uncle Song Yuan.

After walking the mountain road for an entire day, Jiang Shaohua was also a bit tired and quickly fell asleep lying on the bed.

The night wind in the mountains was strong, the leaves rustling, with the occasional cry of a night owl. Cui Du was quite unaccustomed, unable to fall asleep with his eyes closed, yet he didn’t toss or turn to avoid waking Song Yuan.

It wasn’t until the fourth period of the night that he fell asleep drowsily.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already daylight.

Song Yuan had long since gotten up and gone to the Commandery Princess’s side. The room was empty, with only him inside. Cui Du got off the bed, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt a sharp pain and let out a hiss.

"Mr. Cui is finally awake." The door was pushed open, and a familiar, honest young face appeared in front of him; it was none other than Meng Sanbao, with whom Cui Du was most familiar.

Meng Sanbao looked at the grimacing Cui Du and, without much courtesy, teased: "What? Can’t hold up after a day of walking in the mountains?"

Cui Du wasn’t embarrassed, confidently retorting: "I am not like you martial artists who practice from a young age. I’m good at farming, okay!"

Indeed. Everyone has their strengths. Mr. Cui is a great contributor for growing new grain, so how could he be compared to these trusted aides?

Meng Sanbao took out a porcelain bottle from his chest and handed it to Cui Du: "This is medicine personally prepared by Doctor Sun. The blisters on your feet, prick them open, apply some ointment, and after resting for half a day, they’ll be fine."

Now wasn’t the time to put on a brave front. Cui Du took the ointment without courtesy and sat down. Each foot had developed a large blister.

Meng Sanbao added, "You rest first; I’ll go report to the Commandery Princess, saying you’re not fit to tour the mine today."

That wouldn’t do. Cui Du immediately said, "I’ll be fine after applying the ointment; walking is not a problem."

Meng Sanbao chuckled: "That’s not up to you; it’s up to the Commandery Princess."

Cui Du didn’t object verbally and silently watched Meng Sanbao leave the room.

After a stick of incense time, Meng Sanbao returned again. Accompanying him was a familiar graceful figure.

Cui Du rarely felt a bit embarrassed, quickly putting on his shoes and standing up to greet.

"There’s no need for formalities; there’s no outsider here." Jiang Shaohua said with a smile, "I heard from Meng Sanbao that you’re unwell, and I couldn’t help but come over especially to check on you."

Cui Du felt warm and fuzzy inside: "It’s just two blisters on my feet. I pricked them and applied ointment, so it’s fine."

"You should just stay indoors today." Jiang Shaohua immediately said, "The silver mine is right here, it won’t grow legs and fly away; just take a few more days to explore it."

This time spent together, Jiang Shaohua’s attitude had subtly changed.

Before, they were certainly familiar; however, one was a ruler, another a minister, one a savior, the other rescued, not equally matched statuses. To put it bluntly, in her eyes, he was just a capable and useful minister.

But now, Jiang Shaohua treated him as an ordinary young girl would treat a young man. Ambiguous and unclear, drawing closer imperceptibly.

This kind of feeling must be the most wonderful taste in the world.

Cui Du seemed submerged in a pool of honey, unable to resist smiling broadly: "Alright, I’ll listen to the Commandery Princess."

The silly grin on his face was truly amusing.

Jiang Shaohua’s eyes softened, smiling with pursed lips.

She found it strange herself. Whenever she was with Cui Du, her mood was particularly relaxed and cheerful.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Not yet."

"I’ll have someone bring breakfast over; we can eat together." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Has the Commandery Princess not eaten breakfast either?"

"That’s not it. I’ve eaten, but my appetite is large. I don’t mind eating a bit more with you."

...