A life of leisure is worse than a life of flowers and splendour

Another month passed, and the city gates opened. First, my second uncle took a long vacation and left the city with his family. The hidden assets of the general's mansion were all dealt with, and my second uncle took away most of the money and people. After a few days, the assets that were easy to deal with were also dealt with, and the rest had to be abandoned. After packing up all the property, Du Shuangshuang and the old general secretly left the capital in the middle of the night. After that, the whole family of Zhenguo General's mansion disappeared completely. It was half a month later when the emperor found out.

He was thinking about Du Shuangshuang, but he was busy with various things recently and was busy making plans to get money to fill the treasury, so he didn't pay attention to her. It happened that he had some free time recently, and the emperor finally couldn't help it again. This time, he was afraid that others would ruin his good fortune, so he didn't even use the name of the queen and directly summoned Du Shuangshuang to the palace. However, when the imperial edict arrived, he found that the entire general's mansion was deserted.

When the emperor learned about this, he was furious. He didn't expect that the general's mansion didn't even have a servant left.

Originally, the General's Mansion had a small population, but now almost everyone had been secretly dismissed, leaving only those who had volunteered to stay and provide personal care. The majority of those who had left the first time had followed Du Laoer, who was now nowhere to be found. The rest of the people were also nowhere to be found.

The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation, but all he could find was that Du Laoer and his family seemed to have headed east. After leaving the city, they left only a few traces in Fengcheng in the east before disappearing without a trace. In reality, the general's residence was under constant surveillance, but these individuals were solely focused on the old general. As long as he stayed inside, no one would investigate anything else. The daily vegetable delivery workers were apprehended and interrogated. They claimed the general's residence had ordered the cheapest potatoes for a month, requesting they be delivered to the kitchen daily and then leave immediately upon arrival. Once the potatoes had accumulated for a month, they could collect them. Furthermore, the guards at the front and back gates were temporary hires, not members of the general's family. Even the people who frequently moved around the residence were hired from outside.

He was filled with immense anger and disappointment. He had bestowed upon General Zhenguo's residence endless honor and favor, granting them supreme status. Even after his granddaughter's engagement with the eldest prince was broken off, he still intended to bring her into the palace, granting her a high position and endless favor. Yet, they showed no appreciation and dared to flee without permission, leaving him deeply distressed and angry. This behavior was pure ingratitude, a betrayal of his painstaking efforts and deep affection.

However, if he knew that the culprit who had caused him so much trouble recently was Du Wushuang, I wonder what his expression would be, and whether he would dare to think like that.

Du Shuangshuang didn’t know what he was thinking. If she knew, she would definitely call him shameless!

It wasn't a big deal that Du Shuangshuang was missing, just a woman. But the old general couldn't be lost. If the surrounding countries knew about his disappearance, Daxia would be in turmoil again. If the old general had betrayed his country, that would be even worse. The emperor was really worried this time. He didn't dare to search for him openly, so he could only do it secretly, using other excuses to search, which was very frustrating.

The emperor urgently summoned the Grand Councillors to the palace for a confidential meeting. They remained awake for three days and three nights, making comprehensive and meticulous adjustments to the military deployments in the capital and along the border. Every detail was carefully considered, every deployment thoughtfully considered. They knew that this matter was a matter of national security and their own lives and property, and that no carelessness was allowed.

After intense discussions and research, a detailed military deployment plan was finally developed. This plan covered all aspects of the defense of the capital, the imperial palace, and the border defenses, ensuring the safety of the country. A series of emergency plans were also formulated to deal with possible emergencies.

Immediately afterwards, urgent military orders were dispatched to all locations like snowflakes. These orders, transmitted with lightning speed, demanded that troops everywhere take immediate action and deploy according to the new military deployment plan. The troops responded swiftly, rushing to designated locations day and night to commence an intense and orderly military deployment.

Within the capital, soldiers strengthened the guards at the city gates, and patrols frequently crisscrossed the streets to ensure the city's safety. Within the imperial palace, guards remained vigilant, guarding the emperor and his family day and night. In border areas, troops reinforced their defenses, adding sentries and watchtowers to constantly monitor enemy movements, fearing a surprise attack.

Du Shuangshuang didn’t know what was happening to others, but the entire general’s family had already gathered outside Pingyao City.

Having seen Du Wushuang practice swordplay before, he knew she was quite skilled. After learning she had taken over several warehouses, he felt his granddaughter was about as skilled as his father. But when his granddaughter led him over a wall, the very wall of the capital, without even using any equipment, the old man was truly astonished. In reality, Du Shuangshuang simply relied on her agility. She could leverage any available foothold, even the tiny gaps between the stones of the wall, or even the rough surface. So climbing the wall was a piece of cake. She could even silently hang Bai Ruxue on the city gate. What was there to be surprised about?

When the two of them arrived outside the city, they were already waiting for them. They rode straight to Pingyao City. They hadn't even entered a town, let alone a city. They had already arranged for their journey and purchased everything they needed. They were on the road all the way, even setting up tents for the nights, sleeping outdoors. They had their own guards, all of whom had been the general's personal soldiers. After the general returned to Beijing, many of them had followed him back and were now serving as guards at the general's residence. Some were assigned to manage the general's assets.

This time they were in a hurry and rode as fast as they could, spending most of the night traveling. It took them just over two days to reach the outskirts of Pingyao City.

Before the old general and Du Shuangshuang came, the second uncle's family lived in a manor outside the city. This was a secret property of the general's mansion, managed by people in the dark, and the manor was also registered in their name.

After meeting, Du Shuangshuang did not even rest before bringing her second uncle and cousin to the cave. Of course, they had been traveling for more than two days, and Du Shuangshuang did not want to continue. She brought her maid Jinxiu and the cook to take care of their daily lives. Her second uncle and cousin also brought Xiao Si along.

The servants stayed not far from the cave entrance, and the three of them walked directly towards the spiritual spring.

Facts proved that the two men were unable to practice not because of other reasons, but because the spiritual energy in the mortal world was too scarce. The second uncle only took a short while to find the sense of qi, while the cousin took longer and only felt the qi after three days.

Forget spiritual springs, even any water with a hint of spiritual energy was collected by Du Shuangshuang. The spiritual springs in the cave converged extremely slowly, but the spiritual energy was much greater than outside. However, it was still extremely slow to support three people's cultivation. Du Shuangshuang had been cultivating inside for a month, still hovering at the fourth level of Qi Refining, with no sign of a breakthrough. She had originally reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, having reached a bottleneck at the third level. It was only with the help of the spiritual energy here and the elixir left by her mother that she successfully broke through. From the spiritual energy she had used up in her previous practice to replenish her spiritual energy, plus the one she had used up for this breakthrough, she had already used up a whole bottle of elixir, and there were only five bottles left. Du Shuangshuang felt a little distressed.

At this moment, only half of the meridians in Second Uncle's body were opened, but after some hesitation, Du Shuangshuang resolutely gave him the last of the extremely precious Biling Fruit. Second Uncle did not refuse. His niece had embarked on the path of cultivation earlier than him, so she must know more than him.

Uncle Du swallowed the Biling Fruit without hesitation, and then something incredible happened! In just half a day, his meridians began to open up at an astonishing rate. Then, a familiar, foul odor filled his nose. Du Shuangshuang quickly exited his cultivation state. Uncle Du had clearly successfully completed the process of opening up his meridians. Coupled with the Biling Fruit's miraculous cleansing properties, even his cousin, standing nearby, found the odor unbearable and forced to open his eyes. Du Shuangshuang quickly performed several purification techniques, and Uncle Du, once swarthy, instantly transformed back into his elegant, handsome self.

"Wow, Sister Shuang'er, you are so awesome!" The little boy's eyes were shining with surprise and admiration.

"Haha, what's so difficult about this? As long as you practice hard, you will be able to do it in the future. Come on!" Du Shuangshuang encouraged with a smile.

Uncle Du sensed the spiritual energy from the Biling Fruit was beginning to dissipate. Fearing it would be wasted, he continued to cultivate without stopping, breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining. He was even more likely to reach the fourth level. However, he ultimately remained at the peak of the third level, suggesting that a little more time would allow him to successfully break through. Witnessing this, Du Shuangshuang marveled at his uncle's progress, even faster than she had in her youth. He seemed to possess a remarkable talent.

"Niece, I'll remember this kindness. If you need me in the future, please let me know." Uncle Du was overwhelmed with emotion. He could feel the changes in his body and the energy flowing through him. Uncle Du was filled with gratitude and respect for his niece's generosity and selflessness.

"Second uncle, we are family, there's no need to be so polite. It's a pity that there is only this one fruit, otherwise Zhengze could have tried it as well." Du Shuangshuang said with some regret.

"Having such a miraculous treasure is already incredibly precious. One should learn to be content with what they have and not be greedy. Zhengze is still young, and perhaps there will be other opportunities waiting for him in the future," the uncle consoled him. His niece's willingness to give him such a precious gift was a huge benefit to him. He had already been cultivating for a month and knew the hardships of cultivation. He would remember this kindness.

Zhengze sensibly comforted her, "Don't worry, sister. I will practice hard and improve my realm with my own strength." His eyes were firm and full of determination.

Du Shuangshuang touched Zhengze's head with satisfaction, expressing her belief that he could do it.

The three of them stayed here for another month. Two Qiankun bottles were placed beneath the stalactites to collect water. Each bottle held less than a pound of water. Du Shuangshuang gave one to her second uncle and kept the remaining bottle for herself. Grandpa's storage bag was also given to her second uncle, who carefully took the bottle and placed it inside. The spiritual energy in the air was almost completely depleted, and there was no point in staying any longer. The three of them packed up their tents and left together.