Noble Lady

"Let's get down to business. After Chen Mingxuan arrived, we sneaked into the village again and found that there was something unusual about the village."

"In broad daylight, there were no elderly people or children walking around in the village. The only people coming and going were young and middle-aged people, and they appeared in groups. It was more like they were patrolling than walking around."

At this point, Du Jingyuan sighed regretfully, "The people in that village were too alert. We were discovered just moments after we sneaked in. Luckily, Du Juan and the others were there to help us, so we managed to escape."

"But while protecting Chen Mingxuan, Yayi Liu was accidentally injured, so it was decided that Chen Mingxuan and I would lead them away and let the injured come back to receive treatment first."

"But those guys chased us all the way. They wouldn't have given up until we got to the county town. You know everything that happened after that."

Xue Chenyu nodded. When they were being hunted like that, they naturally didn't dare to trust others easily.

Moreover, it is not easy to travel with the wounded, so it is a good idea to let Dujuan and two people with high martial arts skills to protect the wounded come back first and divert the target.

No wonder they both looked so embarrassed.

No wonder Dujuan separated from her and came back first.

Even though such a big thing happened, Chen Mingxuan did not make excuses saying that he had something extremely urgent to do, and he patiently talked to the two of them.

This is enough to show his intentions.

However, Dujuan and the others came back first, and my father and Prince Cheng should have known about this.

"By now, Instructor Chen should be going to see the Crown Prince and my father."

"Yes, we should ask Marquis Xue and the Crown Prince about military deployment." Du Jingyuan exchanged glances with her. "I think the answer you're looking for might be in that village."

Xue Chenyu smiled and said, "I think so too, so we need to act quickly. If we can find all the missing people, I will definitely thank you very much, A Yuan."

Du Jingyuan snorted, "We're still talking about this between us."

After saying that, he pursed his lips and chuckled, "I heard that you are also going to pay for Miss Chu to open a shop, and give her all the revenue to use for the daily expenses of the orphanage."

"Then the money I invested, is it..."

"You're stupid. If we give her the shop, we can do business with her."

Du Jingyuan: You are the stupid one.

Xue Chenyu snorted in disdain. "This place is rich in lychees. The caravan route didn't reach here before. If we expand the route next year, are you worried that you won't be able to double your money?"

Hearing this, Du Jingyuan covered her mouth with her hands and laughed secretly. That was a lot of small change.

They had just finished talking and their mouths were dry, so they quickly drank some tea to moisten their throats.

Yumei's voice came from the door, "Miss, Marquis Xue and Junior Master-Uncle are looking for you. They have something important to discuss with you."

Xue Chenyu stood up and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

Now Yumei no longer hides her relationship with Situ Zhen, and there is no need to do so.

"Then I'll go eat something first, and then go see Lao Liu." Du Jingyuan also stood up.

The two separated.

After leaving Du Jingyuan's room, Xue Chenyu asked Yuzhu to go back and take care of Qiuhua and Dongyue first.

Although Qiuhua woke up, he was injured after all, and it would take a hundred days to recover from his broken bones.

Dongyue hasn't woken up yet and doesn't know what the situation is.

Xia He just came back and also needs to rest.

So I can only ask Yuzhu to go over and take better care of it.

Now that the bandits broke into the county government office, everyone admired Xue Chenyu even more. In addition, with the successful suppression of the bandits, Haicheng County is now praising the achievements of Prince Cheng and Marquis Xue.

Naturally, no one would be so foolish as to cause trouble anymore.

Therefore, the county government took the opportunity to recruit a lot of people, and the arrangements for distributing porridge became more orderly. Xue Chenyu no longer had to participate in everything personally, which made her feel a little more relaxed.

……

County government study.

"Prince, Father, Instructor Chen."

Xue Chenyu came in and greeted everyone one by one.

Fang Rui and Yumei were both at the door.

In other words, there were only four of them in the room at this time.

"The fish are here." Marquis Xue looked at his daughter proudly, his eyes overflowing with joy.

Situ Zhen's gaze lingered on her face for only a moment, then he raised his hand and said, "Ms. Xue, please sit down."

Chen Mingxuan also nodded to her.

After Xue Chenyu sat down, Situ Zhen explained the purpose of inviting her over.

"Instructor Chen found clues about the Haicheng County Magistrate in that mountain village, as well as some traces of grain transport. Miss Du should have told you everything."

Xue Chenyu: "Well, A Yuan told me roughly."

But judging from A Yuan's expression, he didn't seem to know about the matter concerning the Haicheng County Magistrate.

It seems that Chen Mingxuan had investigated a lot of things without her knowing.

However, those were official business, so it was understandable that he did not explain them in detail to A Yuan.

"Miss Xue has a group of people and food under her command that we haven't found recently. We haven't heard from Haicheng County Magistrate He Yuanju yet either. We've been trying our best to recover them."

"Marquis Xue and I interrogated the bandits in the prison. Most of them were just thugs following orders. Not many of them knew the inside story. Only Pei Erhu confessed something..."

"The night before they left the mountain, someone sent a letter to Feijian, their stronghold, saying that the county magistrate had disappeared and that there was a large amount of grain in the county government office. At that time, their stronghold had run out of food, so Pei Dahu took this desperate move."

"Based on various clues, the missing Haicheng County Magistrate, as well as the people under your command and the food, are likely in that small village called Miaoshan Village. So, the next step is to go look for them."

This coincides with what Xue Chenyu guessed.

Before, they had always wondered whether the nearby bandits had joined forces with someone to kidnap Xue Chenyu's men and their food.

However, a farce in which bandits broke into the city and attacked the county government office proved that there was no food at all in the Black Tiger Village and the Black Bear Village.

If they had such a large amount of food, they could have safely survived this famine year. There would have been no need for dozens of people to take the risk of going down the mountain to break into the county government office.

They were defending the mountain stronghold, which had its own natural barrier, but if they entered the city, they would be putting their lives in the hands of others.

But who could push them out as shields?

Or, could it be that someone knew early on about the court's determination to suppress the bandits and arranged all this in advance?

Before her father showed up, she wasn't even sure that Situ Zhen and her father were coming south to suppress the bandits. Who could be so well-informed?

Not only did that person know about it in advance, he also bribed the people at the Haicheng County branch of Datong Trading Company. He first took away the food, then tricked Dongyue and the others into coming, kidnapping and imprisoning them, and then pushed this generation of bandits out to die.

What a big chess game!

It was as if an invisible hand was constantly fiddling with the chessboard.

Every step they take is calculated by others.

Xue Chenyu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Only then did she realize that Situ Zhen and her father had called her over specifically not just to tell her that they were looking for someone.

"Father?" Xue Chenyu subconsciously looked at Xue Hou.

When Marquis Xue saw that her expression was briefly shocked and then calmed down, he knew that she understood.

"Yu'er, since there are no outsiders here, Father won't hide it from you. His Majesty chose Instructor Chen and me to transport grain south, and the purpose is not just to transport grain. I didn't tell you before, firstly because I was afraid you would worry, and secondly because this matter is confidential."

Marquis Xue was afraid she would get angry, so he chose his words carefully. "But you're in this situation now. If I don't explain it to you, I'm afraid you'll be in even greater danger."

"Dad, I'm not angry. This is your official duty." Xue Chenyu said helplessly, "It's only right that you didn't tell your family. You don't have to be so cautious."

Marquis Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then couldn't help but look at Situ Zhen.

If the prince could get along with Yu'er, he would probably be treated like him.

No, that’s getting off topic.

Marquis Xue said solemnly, "This time we are ordered to go south. Suppressing the bandits is just a side job, to conceal our tracks. More importantly, we are looking for an army hiding in Lingnan and annihilating it."

Situ Zhen also said, "This prince went south to act according to his own convenience. He was in charge of the disaster relief work just to cover up his tracks."

Seeing that both of them had said so, Chen Mingxuan no longer hesitated, "My duty is to assist the Crown Prince and Marquis Xue."

"I see." Xue Chenyu revealed an expression of sudden enlightenment at the right moment. "Then, what do you need me to do?"

Yu'er, stop acting, it doesn't look like it.

Marquis Xue held his forehead with his hand.

She looked as if she had guessed it.

Xue Chenyu met her father's eyes: I really don't know!

She doesn't have the ability to predict the future!