Song Jinzhao carried a bamboo basket as she walked towards the back mountain, with Qin Yunqian and Chu Liuyun following beside her, each leading a horse.
It was the third watch of the night before the three of them came down the mountain.
Old Lady Song came out to open the gate at the sound of their calls. Seeing her granddaughter standing with two unfamiliar men, her expression instantly turned wary.
"Jinzhao, who are they?"
Song Jinzhao: "Officers I met in the mountains. They'll be leaving soon."
Entering the main hall, Song Qiming and Song Shixue stumbled sleepily out of their rooms. "Elder Sister, you're finally back!"
Song Jinzhao raised her hands and took a step back. "Don't touch me, I'm filthy."
After hastily washing her face, she walked to the table, drew a portrait of the escaped northern bandits, and handed it to Chu Liuyun. "Will I get a reward if you catch them?"
Judging by the token they held, their status was not simple; this might be a significant merit.
Chu Liuyun stared at the portrait. It was indeed a man from the north.
"What reward would Miss Song like?"
Song Jinzhao tilted her head and looked at the two army horses waiting outside the courtyard gate. "I'd like a horse."
Chu Liuyun put away the portrait and agreed readily.
"Once we catch him, I'll give you two."
Old Lady Song watched the two men ride away, then closed the courtyard gate and pressed for answers. "Jinzhao, who was the person in the portrait?"
Song Jinzhao put the bamboo basket in its place, took off her outer garment, and prepared to go bathe.
Having spent five days in the mountains, her hair was greasy and she smelled awful.
"I can't say until they're caught."
If word got out and reached the northern bandits, it might alert them.
At dawn, Song Qiming got up and, not finding Song Jinzhao in the kitchen, immediately went to look for her in her room.
Old Lady Song stopped him. "Your elder sister is still sleeping. Don't wake her."
Song Qiming nodded, secretly peeking through the window for a while.
By the time Song Jinzhao woke up, it was already noon, and the sunlight outside the window was glaring.
Old Lady Song, seeing she was awake, immediately asked, "What would you like to eat for lunch? I'll make it."
You've lost weight after five days in the mountains.
Song Jinzhao sat on the bed, rubbing her eyes. "Anything light is fine. Thank you, Grandma."
Old Lady Song turned and went out. "Then I'll make vegetable porridge. You haven't eaten properly for days; porridge is best."
At the dinner table, Old Lady Song asked, "Weren't you going to hunt and dig for medicinal herbs? Why did you bring nothing back? The basket was full of white sand."
Song Jinzhao's hand holding the chopsticks paused. "Stones can also be used in medicine. I searched for a long time to find them."
Old Lady Song raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You can eat stones?"
"They can be made into medicinal paste for external use. There are taboos for internal use; too much is bad for the body."
Old Lady Song shook her head. "Who knows which side of the family you two sisters take after, wanting to become physicians."
"Shixue tends to those medicinal herbs in the backyard more diligently than she does the crops."
Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue exchanged a glance, silently bowing their heads to eat without a word.
After the meal, Old Lady Song gathered her things and returned to the old house.
Song Shixue helped the unsteady Song Anhao stand by the bamboo basket. "Elder Sister, how do these little stones turn water into ice?"
Song Jinzhao filled a clay pot with water and brought it to a boil.
The saltpeter currently had too many impurities; it needed to be purified first.
She put the saltpeter into the boiling water, dissolved it, and filtered out the mud and sand.
After it cooled, a layer of colorless, transparent crystals formed.
Repeating the process three times greatly increased the purity of the saltpeter.
"Go get a small stool and sit here. Now we'll make ice."
Song Jinzhao filled a wooden basin with well water and placed it in the saturated saltpeter solution. After letting it sit for a quarter of an hour, the water surface slowly began to freeze.
After half an hour, the water in the wooden basin had completely turned into ice.
Song Shixue's lips parted slightly, her eyes wide open. "Elder Sister, it really froze!"
Song Jinzhao took out the wooden basin and placed the saltpeter solution in the courtyard to dry in the sun.
"Saltpeter can be reused. Once the sun dries the water, what's left is the saltpeter."
The sour plum and rock sugar tea tasted just right with the added ice.
Song Shixue's face was flushed with excitement as she eagerly asked, "Elder Sister, when are we going to the city to sell cold skin noodles and sour plum tea?"
"In a couple more days. Pulling the cart every day is too tiring. Let's wait until I get an ox cart or horse cart to set up the stall."
Originally, she had planned to buy an ox in the city, but now that someone was giving her horses, she might as well wait a couple of days.
To see if they could catch those two men.
Chu Liuyun and Qin Yunqian took the portrait and led men to ambush near the ruined temple outside Xining City for three days, finally capturing the starving northern bandits.
Qin Yunqian kicked the man in the stomach and coldly demanded, "Where's the other one?"
The northern bandit pinned to the ground clenched his teeth and remained silent.
Displeasure flashed in Chu Liuyun's eyes as he instructed Qin Yunqian, "You take some men and keep watch here. The rest will follow me to escort the prisoner back."
After a night of severe interrogation, the man spilled everything.
The three who had escaped were all covert agents from the northern kingdom's commandant's office.
The northern bandits' invasion of Dongzhao territory around the New Year, burning, killing, and plundering villages, was merely a smokescreen.
Their real objective was to map military routes, ensuring their army could bypass the Thunder Army's garrison next year and directly attack the weakly defended Xining City.
After guarding the ruined temple for a day and a night, Qin Yunqian, who had left men to report back, said, "Four days have passed. That man probably isn't coming."
Miss Song had said one of them was chased by wolves and likely died on the mountain.
Chu Liuyun nodded. "This man came from the west. Take more men and search the mountain southward. I want him found, alive or dead."
That day, Song Jinzhao was weeding in the field when Village Chief Song Mancang came running over, waving his sleeves and shouting, "Jinzhao, girl! Jinzhao!"
The villagers working in the fields all looked up at the village chief.
Song Jinzhao straightened her back.
Song Mancang braced his hands on his knees, panting heavily, and looked up at her. "People from the yamen are here. They say you rendered meritorious service and have a reward for you. They're already at your doorstep."
It seemed they had caught the man. Song Jinzhao came up from the field. "Did they bring two horses as well?"
Song Mancang nodded, then shook his head. "The yamen runners came with a horse cart and are leading a horse."
Seeing Song Jinzhao leave with the village chief, the remaining villagers buzzed with discussion.
"Old Man Song, what meritorious service did your Jinzhao perform?"
Faced with the villagers' questions, Old Man Song guessed it was related to what his wife had mentioned upon returning the other day.
Oldest Song and Second Song and their wives were completely in the dark, having no idea what was happening.
By the time they arrived at Song Jinzhao's house, they happened to hear a yamen runner reading an official notice.
"Upon investigation, it is found that the Song family maiden, Song Jinzhao, rendered meritorious service in assisting the capture of northern bandits. She is hereby rewarded with two fine horses and one horse-drawn cart."
The onlooking villagers were stunned. Capturing northern bandits?
Hadn't Song Jinzhao always stayed in the village? When did she capture any?
How come they didn't know?
And a reward of two horses—that was worth a lot of money!
