Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"Uncle, why do you say that? My father was worried that it would be inconvenient for you to travel, so he specially asked me to bring this."

Those who followed Zhou Ji stood behind him and couldn't see what was in the box, but they could guess from the conversation that it must be something good.

Zhou Xian's words were sincere, but Zhou Ji still felt they were an insult. In anger, he casually tossed the box back.

"Uncle Wang, you..." Zhou Xian caught the box, somewhat annoyed by the other party's lack of appreciation. Although he called him Uncle Wang, there was really no affection between the two.

Zhou Ji ignored the displeasure on his face, turned his horse around, lashed the horse's rump with the whip, and then the horse neighed and galloped away like an arrow. Only Zhou Xian remained standing there, his face dark. Seeing the prince leave, the others spurred their horses to follow, except for one person.

He rode up to Zhou Xian, dismounted, and respectfully bowed.

"Young master, my lord has been traveling for days and his temper is inevitably a bit irritable. Please don't take offense."

Seeing his respectful attitude, Zhou Xian's anger eased slightly. Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew that if his father knew he couldn't even handle something as simple as delivering silver, he would definitely question his abilities. Now, someone had appeared, offering him a way out and relieving his worries.

"You're too kind, sir. I understand that Uncle Wang is in a bad mood, but what about this box?"

"Young master, just hand the box to me, and I will give it to His Highness at the appropriate time."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, brave warrior!" With that, Zhou Xian ordered the people around him to hand over the box.

After receiving the box, the man bowed very respectfully to him, and then rode off to catch up with his companion.

Because Zhou Ji was angry, he rode his horse at full speed for a hundred miles before gradually slowing down and finally stopping on a small path with dense forests on both sides.

The others followed suit, dismounting and finding suitable spots around Zhou Ji to sit and rest. Although they were in dire straits, they still protected Zhou Ji in the center. Seeing their actions, Zhou Ji felt a little touched.

"Your Highness, have some water!" The adjutant beside him opened the water bag and handed it to Zhou Ji, who was in a daze.

Zhou Ji glanced at him, took the water bag, gulped down several large mouthfuls, then returned the water bag, patted the grass beside him, and gestured for the deputy general to sit down.

"Tell me, what should we do next?"

When the lieutenant heard Zhou Ji ask him this, he was overjoyed! Did this mean that the prince would be giving him an important position in the future?

So he thought about it carefully for a while before answering.

“Your Highness, I believe we should return to your fiefdom. You have managed it for many years, and the city walls are very strong. Even if the imperial court wanted to attack us, it wouldn't be easy to take it down. What we need now is time to recuperate. In our current state, no force would dare to lend us a helping hand. Because to do so would be tantamount to openly opposing the imperial court.”

"So, returning to the Southern Province is the best option for us, isn't it?" Zhou Ji asked quietly after hearing the deputy general's words. He felt that something was wrong with what had happened recently. He clearly had a sure chance of victory, so why did he suddenly suffer such a crushing defeat? He couldn't figure this out.

Zhou Ji knew he was now a major problem, capable of spreading fire wherever he went. But he wanted the fire to burn even brighter, ideally with flames everywhere, so the court wouldn't have time to deal with him. However, he hadn't expected the usually reckless Prince of Huainan to refuse him entry into his territory. This thwarted his plan to start fires everywhere.

Zhou Jicai sat on the grass until sunset before finally getting up. He had made up his mind—to return to Nan Province. He didn't want that brat's jinx to come true, and he'd end up having his hideout stolen after wandering around outside. That would be a huge loss.

Since they had decided to return to their hometown, Zhou Ji immediately made some arrangements. The plan was for them to travel separately, otherwise, the large group of more than two hundred people traveling together would easily attract attention.

Zhou Ji selected a dozen or so skilled martial artists to follow him, leaving the rest to form their own groups. Finally, he generously gave each of them a hundred-tael silver note for their food and expenses on the journey. He wanted everyone to know that even in his current impoverished state, a meager allowance from his own pocket would be enough for their needs.

Having dealt with everything, Prince Ding'an led his men away first, while the rest went their separate ways. How many would ultimately return safely to the Southern Province was up to them; after all, too many unexpected events could occur along the way, and he felt he had been far too good to his men.

Actually, the lieutenant had quietly reminded Zhou Ji that this was too much, and he was afraid they would take the silver notes and run away. But Zhou Ji didn't think so. He felt he still had a chance. These men had followed him for many years, and each of them had great ambitions. They wouldn't abandon their bright futures for a mere hundred taels of silver. To be honest, in his eyes, a hundred taels was really nothing; it couldn't even buy a jade bracelet on his concubine's wrist.

After Prince Ding'an had ridden away for about half an hour, the others also left the grove in batches. In the end, only six people remained; they were brothers who had been in the same tent when they were in the army.

They exchanged a glance and then spurred their horses back the way they had come.