Old Mrs. Chen stood on the hillside looking down; the official road was filled with mule carts as far as the eye could see.
Chen Zigeng led the village’s half-grown boys to help at the charitable granary.
Since it was transporting military supplies, it was naturally best to set off as soon as possible. Otherwise, by the time Cai Rong reacted, he might interfere.
Mrs. Gao, busy for a while, rushed to Old Mrs. Chen’s side and said, "It’s almost done. One wouldn’t know if they didn’t transport it—only when transporting it did I realize... Aunt, we have quite a bit of savings."
Old Mrs. Chen proudly lifted her head, "Of course, Yongsheng has been hustling millet everywhere early on, along with the wasteland we planted in spring. It might not seem like much each time, but over time, it accumulates."
Mrs. Gao remembered how Chen Yongsheng often led people in the dark to the underground shelters, looking like they were doing something secretive. Later, when there was a charitable granary, other villages also brought their grain over, quickly filling all the prepared shelters.
It was the same with medicinal herbs.
Ever since making finished medicines, Xie Liangchen had been preparing. Lately, Mr. Xu had been holed up in the Familiar Medicine Institute without stepping out, making finished medicines with people from morning to night.
Medicinal herbs were made into pills, convenient to carry. A few carts could sustain Song Xian’s army for a while. By the time these were depleted, the military supplies from Xingzhou should have arrived.
"Liangchen is really clever," said Mrs. Gao, "She calculated it precisely. Without these early preparations, even if we took out all our rations now, it wouldn’t be enough."
During spring plowing, the government office helped. During the autumn harvest, the people contributed their grain. Old Mrs. Chen murmured, "There is cause and effect!"
After seeing the hustle and bustle, Old Mrs. Chen walked down the hill with her hands behind her back, greeting the villagers as they passed. Surprisingly, everyone had a smile on their face.
It didn’t seem like the hard-earned grains they cultivated were being carried away.
After a year of hard work, they were practically starting from scratch, but no one panicked. It might be that having seen the path, they knew where it led, and even if the journey was bumpy, it would merely be a bit more difficult, not directionless.
"Aunt," Mrs. Gao lowered her voice, "We’ve saved some grain for the village’s young and old, and for Mr. Xu and Mr. Dongli. It may not be great, but they won’t starve, so don’t worry."
Old Mrs. Chen inhaled, mumbling, "What am I worried about?"
Mrs. Gao lowered her eyes, noticing Old Mrs. Chen picking at her pants’ waistband. If the Aunt was worried, she’d touch her waistband; how could she not know?
As Old Mrs. Chen entered Chen Family Village, she saw Old Mrs. Song standing at the village entrance.
The Song Family residence had been cleaned up, and Old Mrs. Song had been escorted home. Today, however, she had come to Chen Family Village for some unknown reason.
Old Mrs. Song said, "There’s nothing to do at home. Xian is off on a campaign, and Liangchen is going to leave; the more I think about it, the more worried I get, and I can’t sleep."
Old Mrs. Chen felt that Old Mrs. Song had grown much closer to Liangchen lately. Now she even mentioned General Song and Liangchen together.
Old Mrs. Chen laughed, "This child is different from others. If you don’t let her go, she won’t agree. When I brought her from the Xie Family, I realized she likes to be busy, so let her be busy!"
Moreover, every time her granddaughter got busy, it resulted in something good.
The mule carts were filled with military supplies, and Xie Liangchen, along with Chen Yongsheng, Chen Yongyi, Chu Er, Zhong Qiu, and others, prepared to set off.
Xu Tingzhen held Xie Liangchen’s hand and urged, "You must be careful."
Xie Liangchen replied.
Xu Tingzhen’s eyes reddened as she looked at Lishu, Yu Niang, and several other women nearby, who were also going to accompany Xie Liangchen to Baimaling. They did not know Liangchen’s true identity yet, but Yu Niang and the others were particularly close to Mr. Xu.
Lishu noticed Mr. Xu’s worry, took a few steps forward, and said quietly, "Don’t worry, sir. Miss Xie has always been clever, and we will also take care of things on this journey."
"Off you go," Xu Tingzhen said, "Don’t delay any further."
As Xie Liangchen left the village, Xu Tingzhen stood there looking on steadily, not knowing when everything before her eyes blurred.
Mr. Dongli’s voice sounded, jolting Xu Tingzhen back to her senses. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said coolly, "Who is who? Have you muddled up?"
Mr. Dongli said, "I am not muddled; that’s why I want to ask you—is she related to Prince Guangyang?"
Recently, Xu Tingzhen had been behaving oddly, which Mr. Dongli noticed. He knew her well after all these years together. There was a clear difference in Xu Tingzhen whenever the territories and Prince Guangyang were mentioned in recent months.
Moreover, the Liao people targeting Xie Liangchen also raised some doubts in Mr. Dongli. Xiao Xingzong wouldn’t cause such commotion without reason.
Xu Tingzhen did not speak but deliberately avoided Mr. Dongli’s gaze. Mr. Dongli was shocked, "So it’s true, then? So Chen Family Village..."
Xu Tingzhen cast a sharp glance over, silencing Mr. Dongli, leaving him both shocked and relieved.
Xu Tingzhen did not intend to talk to Mr. Dongli. She turned back towards the Familiar Medicine Institute. She still had to continue making medicine and send it to Baimaling continuously. As the battle dragged on, more people were getting killed and wounded, increasing the risk of epidemics, so medicine was absolutely essential.
"Don’t go yet. I won’t mention Prince Guangyang anymore, okay?" Mr. Dongli chased after her. "I remember you said... about the two of us... unless Prince Guangyang is alive. Prince Guangyang can’t come back to life, but if there are descendants..."
Before Mr. Dongli finished speaking, all he saw was a blur before his eyes, followed by dust flying everywhere. Xu Tingzhen had thrown half a bag of sun-dried medicinal dregs on him.
Xu Tingzhen seized the chance to shut the Familiar Medicine Institute’s door tight.
Hearing Xu Tingzhen’s voice from behind the door, Mr. Dongli randomly wiped his face with his sleeve, then revealed a smile.
After smiling for a while, Mr. Dongli set aside the joy of an old tree sprouting new buds and remembered the serious matters at hand.
So Prince Guangyang still has descendants, that’s great.
He had long thought that it wasn’t the best time for Song Xian to send troops to the Eight States. Given Song Xian’s intelligence, he shouldn’t be so impatient, and now he seemed to have the answer.
Perhaps Song Xian knows about Miss Xie’s identity.
Song Xian, Xie Liangchen.
Mr. Dongli walked back to his courtyard with his hands behind his back.
... ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Xie Liangchen rode forward on horseback.
Tian Huizhen and Chen Zigeng accompanied her to fifteen miles outside the city, where they finally stopped.
Chen Zigeng’s eyes were red, "Sister, you must be safe; Grandmother and I will wait for you at home."
Xie Liangchen nodded and instructed Chen Zigeng, "Listen to Mr. Dongli and Mr. Xu more. Second Uncle and Fourth Uncle have gone with me, so you need to take good care of the village, understand?"
Tian Huizhen looked at Tian Chengyou not far away and said, "Father, be careful."
Tian Chengyou, looking at his daughter, was quite open-minded, "Take good care of the home, and you will also need to help with coordinating the horses and carts."
Miao Zigui was also among those heading out with Xie Liangchen and Tian Chengyou.
Now Chen Family Village and the Trading Post had dropped everything to respond to the current warfare.
Chen Yongsheng, Tian Chengyou, and others had gone ahead. Tian Huizhen held Xie Liangchen’s hand for more words, "This time you’ll probably get to see General Song and the others, right?"
Xie Liangchen just sensed a hint of evasiveness from Tian Huizhen.
General Song and the others? Did she mean Song Xian and the Song Family Army, or was there someone else?
Tian Huizhen said, "I hope none of them are injured."
Xie Liangchen needed to catch up with the team, so she didn’t have time to think carefully about what Tian Huizhen meant. Tian Huizhen also sensed Xie Liangchen’s doubts, hurriedly covering up by saying, "I’m talking about the Daqi soldiers. In any case... you take care, off... off you go!"
Xie Liangchen realized there might be something she didn’t know yet, but she would have to wait until she returned to get things clear with Tian Huizhen.
Xie Liangchen urged her horse forward.
Watching the solitary figure and the long procession moving together ahead, Chen Zigeng felt that at this moment, Sister’s presence was exceptionally transcendent, in no way inferior to General Brother.