In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

"A letter from Lingnan!" Upon hearing this, Zhao Zexuan suddenly stood up, realized something, and gave Su Li a brief explanation before striding outside.

Su Li knew that all the male members of the Zhao family had been exiled to Lingnan by the imperial court, so she could understand Zhao Zexuan's anxiety. Now she was also very curious about what had happened.

In the main hall of the front courtyard, Zhao Zexuan was also inquiring about the specific situation. He took the envelope handed to him by the soldier and carefully read it. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Now, crises are lurking everywhere. It is truly a case of internal and external troubles."

Upon hearing the news, Old Madam Zhao and the others rushed over and asked anxiously, "What happened? Has something happened to your father and the others?"

Amidst anxious inquiries, Zhao Zexuan looked up and saw his mother and several sisters-in-law with worried expressions. If they hadn't been supporting each other, they probably would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

Being separated by distance, my biggest worry is hearing news from my family far away, fearing that something unexpected might have happened.

Seeing the worried expressions on his mother's and sisters-in-law's faces, Zhao Zexuan quickly explained, "Mother, sisters-in-law, don't worry, nothing has happened."

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Zhao said anxiously, "How can I not be anxious? Some time ago, we said we received a message from your father and the others, and we also sent a message asking them to come and meet us. But so much time has passed, and we haven't heard a word. Could it be that something happened to them on the way?"

Hearing this, and seeing the equally worried expressions on his sisters-in-law's faces, Zhao Zexuan explained, "Father and my eldest brother haven't set off yet; they're still in Lingnan."

"They haven't set off. What's going on? Is someone stopping them? But isn't the imperial court collapsing now?" Old Madam Zhao asked anxiously.

Zhao Zexuan was afraid that his mother would get anxious and upset, so he quickly helped her to sit down and explained, "Father and my eldest brother are fine, they're just held up by some things."

Something's holding you back? What could be more important than a family reunion? Old Madam Zhao and her sister-in-law couldn't help but ask.

Knowing that his mother and sisters-in-law wouldn't be at ease if he didn't explain things clearly today, Zhao Zexuan handed them the letter in his hand and said, "The situation in Lingnan is currently unstable. Enemy forces are taking advantage of the situation to invade. Father and my eldest brother have decided to stay there."

After reading the letter and hearing Zhao Zexuan's explanation, Old Madam Zhao and Zhao's sister-in-law understood what had happened. At this moment, their faces were pale, and they didn't know what to say.

Although she understood her husband and sons' choices, Madam Zhao still couldn't help but be angry. She said, "Compared to us family members, they care more about the common people. Have they forgotten what those people did when the Zhao family was in trouble?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zexuan sighed and looked at his sisters-in-law who were also worried, saying, "Mother and my sisters-in-law know the character of Father and my elder brother. Asking them to give up the territory and people they have been protecting is more painful than killing them. No matter what happened in the past, Father and my elder brother's faith has never changed."

"Moreover, if we were to be invaded by foreign enemies, our situation would be even worse. Putting aside other factors, I do support my father and elder brother's decision."

Zhao Zexuan's words successfully silenced his mother and several sisters-in-law. In fact, they knew what was going on, but they just couldn't accept it for the time being.

After a long silence, the group finally accepted the fact. Now, thinking about the situation described in the letter, they became anxious and asked, "Your father and your eldest brother are in a difficult situation right now. Is there anything we can do to help them?"

Zhao Zexuan had been pondering this since he received the letter, and when he heard his mother's question, he said, "What they lack most right now is food and supplies. That's not difficult to gather, but how to send them there still needs to be carefully considered."

"Mother and sisters-in-law don't need to worry too much. Trust Father and eldest brother."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao sighed and said, "I do believe in their abilities, but I worry about their health. I wonder what kind of life they've been living all these years."

……

In Lingnan, the Zhao family members, whom Old Madam Zhao and others had been talking about, were sitting in their tent. None of them looked well, especially the man at the head of the group, who was coughing and looked extremely pale.

Sitting at the lower end, Zhao Dalang and the others couldn't help but say with concern, "Father, why don't we take you to meet up with Fifth Brother? Fifth Brother has settled down in a place called Lingcheng with his people, and it's still relatively peaceful there."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhao, who was at the head of the table, waved his hand and said, "No, now that foreign enemies are invading, it is a critical moment. How can I leave so easily? How can a general desert his post?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dalang and the others hurriedly explained, "Father, how can this be the same? Your body simply cannot withstand such torment. This is not desertion."

Old Master Zhao disagreed with this statement, so he deliberately ignored it and instead brought up another matter.

"I wonder what the situation is like on Lao Wu's side. I wonder if he can manage to gather some grain to send over. If no grain is sent, then the situation will probably be very difficult."

Realizing that his father had abruptly changed the subject, Zhao Dalang and the others exchanged helpless glances and then continued the conversation, saying, "We can't rely solely on Fifth Brother. We need to think of other ways. Third Brother, you should lead the soldiers out tomorrow to explore the surrounding area and see if you can gather some provisions. We can't let the soldiers go hungry."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhao nodded in agreement.

Over the next few days, Zhao Zexuan was extremely busy. Su Li already knew the contents of the letter from Lingnan, so she knew exactly what Zhao Zexuan had been up to.

Su Li shared the same idea as Zhao Zexuan, so when Zhao Zexuan asked her to allocate a batch of grain, she readily agreed and gave Zhao Zexuan a contract for requisitioning the grain.

It is worth noting that Su Li is not someone who makes contributions without expecting anything in return; everything she is doing now is for herself and for her three children.

Su Li always kept in mind the most classic saying from later generations: "If men can be relied on, pigs can fly."

People's hearts are fickle, especially men's hearts. Although Zhao Zexuan seems to treat her and the three children very well now, who knows when he might change? It would be foolish not to leave yourself a way out.

Su Li knew very well that a truly harmonious marital relationship requires both partners to be equal and support each other. If one party is weak and the other is strong, the relationship will be difficult to maintain, and even if it is maintained, the weaker party will suffer a lot of grievances in the relationship.