Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Everything was originally under their control, but how did the grain get to Jialing Pass? What were the identities of the women who entered the city today? How did Princess Wenfu arrive at Jialing Pass from the capital in just two days? All of this was beyond the Ding'an Prince's calculations.

“Your Highness, I think the strange thing about this matter lies with Princess Wenfu. Never before in history has such an absurd thing happened. A woman is being sent to transport grain supplies while the army is at the front. There is something wrong with this matter. Why don’t we start with her and find out the whole story?”

Mr. Hua stroked his beard and pondered for a while before offering his suggestion to Zhou Ji.

“I’ve thought of what you said, sir, but Princess Wenfu has already entered the city. There aren’t many of our men left who can move freely in the city. If we try to capture the princess now, Zhao Bei and his men will probably notice as soon as we make a move. This situation is not good for us.” Prince Ding’an stroked the jade thumb ring in his hand, which his father had left him. Its warm touch could extinguish the fire of anger in his heart.

“Your Highness, it is impossible for Princess Wenfu to have arrived here from the capital in two days. Therefore, either Princess Wenfu in the city or the one escorting the grain on the road must be an imposter.”

Mr. Hua's words were like a torch, illuminating the somewhat dark and uncertain path for Prince Ding'an. He stared intently at Mr. Hua, waiting for him to continue.

"Regardless of which is true and which is false, one thing remains unchanged: her background. Why doesn't Your Highness invite Princess Wenfu's parents to the front lines? When that time comes, Princess Wenfu will surely know what to do."

"Very well, we will do as you say, sir." Prince Ding'an clapped his hands excitedly.

"I underestimated Princess Wenfu before; now I see she's quite something. But what we can think of, she must have already thought of as well. Her parents must have many protectors around them now; bringing her here quietly won't be easy!"

"It is somewhat difficult, but besides her parents, she has other relatives. Can she protect everyone like an iron barrel?"

Mr. Hua stroked his goatee, looked at the majestic city wall in the distance, and continued.

"I've researched Princess Wenfu's background before. The Zhang family was originally an ordinary family. They got involved with the traitor Shen through business. Later, by chance, they met Grand Tutor Li and went to the Russian border with his delegation. There, because they could speak Russian, they made a small contribution in the negotiations. Upon their return, the Emperor exceptionally bestowed upon them the title of Lady of the Township. Finally, they were granted the title of Princess by the late Emperor for protecting the young emperor on his way to the capital. From the Zhang family's history of rise to power, I think luck played a major role. But..."

At this point, Mr. Hua's heart suddenly stirred; he thought of a possibility.

"Your Highness, do you think the young emperor also saw that this Lady Wenfu was a person with great fortune, so he sent her to Jialing Pass, hoping that her own good fortune could protect Jialing Pass from harm."

Mr. Hua's words made Zhou Ji fall into deep thought. He paced back and forth, pondering this seemingly absurd but very likely true speculation.

After a long while, he slowly nodded and said...

“Princess Wenfu’s luck is indeed unheard of, and your explanation just now seems to make sense. Otherwise, why would so many military generals and ministers in the capital send a woman to Jialing Pass? Hmph, I really don’t believe that her good luck can withstand my 100,000 troops.”

That very night, dozens of shadowy figures left the camp where the Prince of Ding'an was stationed and rode northwards overnight.

Meanwhile, in Zhangjia Village, a thousand miles away, Madam Liu frowned as she looked at the continuous rainy days outside. Since her daughter went to the capital, they had lost contact. The last news she received was when the county magistrate and his entourage came to congratulate her daughter on being bestowed the title of Princess Wenfu Zhenguo by the Emperor. But what caught her attention was the latter half of the sentence: her daughter was to escort grain to Jialing Pass, which was besieged by rebel kings.

"Why did you send our daughter to do this?" Liu asked Zhang Youtie.

"His Majesty has encountered this predicament upon arriving in the capital, and he has very few trustworthy and capable people around him. The Jialing Pass is currently besieged and in need of food aid. However, the various regional princes are restless, and the garrison in the capital cannot be mobilized. Seeing His Majesty in such a predicament, our daughter certainly won't stand idly by; she might very well have taken this on her own initiative. Moreover, she possesses that precious treasure..."

At first, Grand Tutor Li didn't explicitly tell them Shen Luo's identity, but they could guess the general idea from a series of recent events. Only after Shen Luo officially ascended the throne did Changyun tell the couple the whole story.

They themselves never imagined that their family would unknowingly become involved in the emperor's important matter of choosing an heir.

"Will the Emperor send people to protect her?" Lady Liu asked again, a question she had asked countless times. Sometimes it was Zhang Youtie, sometimes her younger sister, sometimes her sister-in-law, and everyone would answer her with absolute certainty.

"Yes, don't worry, the Emperor will definitely send people to protect Xiaxia."

Hearing this answer, she could only feel a little relieved for a short time, but afterwards she couldn't help but ask again.

Looking at the rain outside, Zhang Youtie sighed, pulled Liu into his arms, and gently stroked her back, trying to comfort her in this way. He was worried too, but it seemed that all they could do now was worry; there was nothing else they could do.

"Sir, Captain Ding requests your presence." Uncle Ma said to Zhang Youtie, holding up a leather umbrella. Raindrops dripping from the umbrella flowed like tiny threads onto the blue bricks under the eaves.

"Don't think too much about it. You've forgotten what the monk predicted for our daughter. She will definitely return safely. If you're free, go talk to your sister-in-law and the other two. It's good to chat about everyday things."

"Don't worry about me, go and see what's wrong with Captain Ding." Liu pushed Zhang Youtie, wanting her to go out quickly.

Since Xia Yu came to Beijing, Captain Ding and his team have been staying at the Zhang family's residence. Zhang Youtie then had everyone from the Zhang family's old house move in. At first, Old Master Zhang and Madam Liu were quite reluctant, after all, this son had moved out, and it wouldn't look right for them to live there, and people would talk about their other sons.

In fact, he was completely overthinking it. Who in Ming'an County would dare to say a bad word about the Zhang family now? The third son is a viscount, the fourth son is a sixth-rank official of the imperial court, and the granddaughter is Princess Wenfu Dingguo. Such a family configuration would be impressive even in the capital. Old Master Zhang is now the true patriarch of the Zhang family.