Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Not long after Princess Wenfu set off from the capital, spies from various factions sent out information through various means. Meanwhile, the fake grain transport team disappeared when it entered a canyon more than two hundred miles from the capital.

Meanwhile, among the rebel forces north of Jialing Pass, General Meng, upon receiving news from Prince Ding'an, dismissively told his soldiers...

"That brat emperor actually sent a princess to transport grain to Jialing Pass. How ridiculous! Brothers, the prince has instructed us to be careful. He wants this princess alive, so don't be too rough and hurt her."

"Haha, I think our prince has taken pity on a beautiful woman!" the people below joked loudly upon hearing the prince's order.

"These noble ladies in the capital are all well-fed and delicate, just like the women in our household. Don't take what I just said lightly, and be careful with your men." General Meng gave another warning, afraid that everyone would get carried away and start killing indiscriminately, and then he wouldn't be able to explain it to the prince.

"General, rest assured, I will make all the arrangements for my men perfectly clear. However, when will the grain transport team arrive? Our supplies are running low; if they don't come soon, we'll have to go out and loot," another man said.

"Let's wait a bit. I estimate it will take another ten days or so to get here. If all else fails, we can borrow some from the nearby villages, but remember, we can't kill anyone," General Meng said, stroking his stubble.

"Don't worry, General, the brothers are very disciplined and never take lives."

"Yes, you all know what I mean. Once the prince's matter is settled, his wife and children will surely be granted titles and honors, bringing glory to the family."

"Yes, we swear to serve the Prince and follow the General to the death."

On the official road a hundred miles away, the sky suddenly darkened, several muffled claps of thunder boomed in the air, and a torrential downpour began in an instant. Xia Yu wiped the rain from her face and looked at the vast expanse of white in the distance. They had not brought any rain gear in their luggage, and now they were in the middle of nowhere, with not a single thatched hut in sight.

"Miss, the rain is too heavy. Why don't we take shelter under those trees up ahead for a while and wait for the rain to subside before continuing?"

Xia Yu glanced at the several large trees with extremely broad canopies that Da Niu was pointing to and shook her head, rejecting her suggestion.

"No, it's too dangerous to take shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm. You could easily get struck by lightning."

Xia Yu's words made the person next to her who overheard them turn pale. Being struck by lightning? What terrible things must they have done? Oh well, getting soaked in the rain is better than being struck by lightning. How embarrassing would it be if word got out?

"Let's walk a little further ahead, maybe we'll find a village," Xia Yu said, pointing ahead.

"drive……"

"drive……"

Visibility was poor in the rain, and with the sky darkening, the official road began to slippery. Xia Yu and his group had originally planned to reach their destination for the night, but given the current situation, that seemed impossible. They needed to find a place to stay as soon as possible.

After walking for another fifteen minutes in the rain, we finally saw the shadowy outline of a house ahead.

"Miss, there's a village ahead!" Nineteen pointed ahead, overjoyed.

"Let's go over there." Xia Yu waved his hand, and everyone turned their horses around and galloped towards the village.

In just a few breaths, Xia Yu and the others approached the village. Once they got closer, they could see clearly that it was a very small village, with only about thirty or forty households.

Strangely, every household was very quiet, and although it was already getting dark, no one had lit a lamp.

"Miss, it seems like no one lives in this village! Is it an abandoned village?" Nineteen said, looking at the village that was completely dark.

"As long as there's a house we can take shelter from the rain, it doesn't matter if it's abandoned." As they spoke, the group had already entered the village. Xia Yu wasn't in the mood to look for a house anymore. Right now, she just wanted to take off her clothes and warm herself by the fire. Otherwise, not only would she feel uncomfortable being all wet, but she might also get sick.

"Nineteen, go knock on the door and see if anyone's home," Xia Yu said, pointing to the house closest to her.

Nineteen nimbly dismounted, strode to the outside of the fence of that house, and called out twice into the yard.

"Is anyone home? Is anyone home? We're just passing by and would like to ask to take shelter from the rain."

As soon as he finished speaking, an oil lamp suddenly lit up in the room.

The door to the main room, which didn't look very sturdy, creaked open, and an old man with a hunched back, wearing a straw raincoat and carrying a lamp, came out.

As Xia Yu dismounted, the people following behind her also dismounted and gathered around her, protecting her in a defensive posture.

As the hunched-over person approached, everyone could finally see her face in the light of the oil lamp. She was an elderly woman over sixty years old, with her gray hair peeking out from under her straw hat.

"Grandma, we were passing by when it suddenly started raining heavily, and our clothes got all wet. We'd like to ask if we can stay at your house for the night."

The old woman moved the oil lamp forward, letting the dim light shine on Nineteen's round face. Once she could see Nineteen's appearance clearly, the old woman visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He then looked at Xia Yu and her group standing behind him and asked...

"Are you all women?"

"Yes, we're all women. Don't worry, Grandma, we're all good people." Nineteen's round eyes crinkled with laughter, making her look incredibly cute.

Upon hearing that they were all women, the old woman lowered her guard and opened the wooden door, which only reached waist height of an adult.

"Come inside quickly, it's windy and rainy outside."

"Thank you, Grandma." Nineteen went in first, walking in front. The others protected Xia Yu as they walked behind, and three people stayed behind to watch over the horses outside their yard.

Only after confirming there was no danger inside the house would they lead the horses into the yard. However, the family didn't seem wealthy, and it was unclear whether they had a livestock shed.

After looking around the house, they found no one else inside. Da Niu sent a few people out to call everyone back in, while the rest of the people checked the yard to make sure there was no danger.

"Grandma, are you all alone at home?" Xia Yu asked the old woman while shaking the water out of her hair.

"Yes, it's just me. My son and daughter-in-law have both fled to escape the war. Miss, please have a seat. I'll go to the kitchen to boil some hot water to warm you up."

The old woman recognized Xia Yu and the others immediately. Seeing that only Xia Yu was sitting while everyone else was standing, she knew she was the highest-ranking person in the group.

“Mother-in-law, you don’t need to bother. Let them do the boiling water. We just want to change our clothes first. Could you help us find a place to change?”

"Oh, oh, look at this old woman. This way, misses. This is my son and daughter-in-law's room. They're not here now, so it's quite clean. Ladies, please change your clothes here."

"Oh, thank you very much, Mother-in-law."

Nineteen and Da Niu helped Xia Yu into the house to change clothes. They checked inside to make sure no one was there before coming out and standing guard at the door.