CHAPTER 263: CHAPTER 260: CAN’T CONTROL

A few crape myrtles swayed gently in the wind; there was no one in the courtyard.

Xie Liangchen then remembered she should ask Chang Yue where Song Xian was, and whether she needed to go to him.

Song Xian returned to Zhenzhou, likely to go to the government office. Yesterday, she had seen County Magistrate Qu, his eyes were red, with a smell of oil lamps, clearly staying up late. Mentioning Song Xian, County Magistrate Qu would shed tears of pain, hoping for Song Xian’s early return.

Zhenzhou has too many affairs that need Song Xian’s decision.

Currently, the places with the most spinning wheels in the north are Zhenzhou and Zhaozhou. People from surrounding states and counties are all pouring in, which is a good thing, but to prevent spies from the Liao people, the government office is also incredibly busy.

No matter what, Zhenzhou cannot have any mistakes; County Magistrate Qu knows this well. General Song treats Zhenzhou as his Central Army Tent, and he must responsibly fulfill his duty as the戟 Guard.

Fortunately, the people of Zhenzhou are busy earning Silver Coin and have no time for conflict or disputes; not a single person comes to the government office to file complaints, otherwise, County Magistrate Qu would find splitting himself in half not enough.

Now that Song Xian has returned, County Magistrate Qu must exhaust all his resources to keep Song Xian in the government office for several days and nights, without allowing any external borrowing.

Xie Liangchen hadn’t yet spoken when she heard an urgent voice from outside saying, "Sister, Sister, come quickly, our medicinal herbs have grown new seedlings."

Hearing this hoarse voice, one knew it was several young lads from nearby villages, with voices at the cusp of change, sounding worst.

Xie Liangchen quickly walked out and saw a shadow rushing toward her from the doorway.

The young lad was full of smiles: "It’s the herbs you asked us to test plant earlier, Sister, hurry and come with me to see." As he spoke, he reached out to grab Xie Liangchen’s arm.

Xie Liangchen was pondering which herb it was and didn’t notice the surrounding situation. By the time she snapped back, the young lad’s hand was already blocked by someone.

Before her was a person who had appeared at some point. He stood tall with a straight posture; even with relaxed brows, he carried an air of authority. The gaze falling on her made her feel an illusion.

Like new snow meeting the morning sun, instantly melting away.

The young lad’s eyes widened, and finally, came to his senses: "Song... Song General."

Without waiting for Song Xian to speak, the young lad quickly said, "Sister has something to do, I will come back later then."

Xie Liangchen nodded, and he slipped away.

Xie Liangchen saluted Song Xian: "Just heard from Chang Yue that the General has returned to Zhenzhou."

Song Xian lowered his head to look at her brows. Compared to the last time they parted, she had grown taller yet still so thin, perhaps due to the change to summer clothes, she seemed to have thinned considerably.

Song Xian said: "Rushing into the city, I haven’t had a sip of water yet."

Xie Liangchen turned around: "Grandpa, please go to the East Room!"

Song Xian didn’t stand on ceremony and stepped into the East Room, feeling that even the Chunhe Hall in the palace couldn’t compare with the East Room in Old Mrs. Chen’s courtyard.

Chang An, seeing Grandpa getting what he wanted, reached out and tugged at his brother Chang Yue, and both backed up a few steps.

Song Xian lifted his gaze to look around. The East Room had changed somewhat since he left, with new chairs added, books on the shelves, and a thick pile of Xuan paper and account books.

Song Xian searched everywhere, finally finding his small stool in a corner with no light.

When Xie Liangchen entered, she saw Song Xian carefully brushing off a layer of dust on the small stool.

Earlier, she had thought of asking Fourth Uncle to reinforce the small stool. Who knew it would be so busy lately; the stool placed in the corner got kicked there by her and never taken out.

Seeing Song Xian treating the small stool this way, Xie Liangchen felt inexplicable guilt, as if she had wronged the stool.

Xie Liangchen hurriedly said: "Grandpa, please sit on the chair, Fourth Uncle just finished making it."

"I’ll sit on my small stool," Song Xian said, "so it’s convenient to speak with you."

Xie Liangchen glanced at Song Xian’s legs, thinking they might be aggrieved again.

Setting the tea aside, both sat down, Song Xian on the stool, making him appear much shorter.

The advantage was, she no longer needed to look up at him.

Song Xian said: "Was the person who came from the nearby village?"

Xie Liangchen answered: "It’s from Beishan Village."

Song Xian said without expression: "Just to see herbs, anyone can pull?"

Xie Liangchen was surprised, recalling the young lad pulling her earlier, couldn’t help but chuckle: "Probably out of excitement, didn’t notice, they’re just children..."

Song Xian said: "Taller than you."

If Xie Liangchen remembered correctly, those kids were at most twelve or thirteen years old, previously seen thin and small.

Perhaps having eaten well over the past six months, they suddenly grew taller, each surpassing her height.

Xie Liangchen said: "While they’ve grown in size, their minds haven’t."

Song Xian took a sip of tea, the fragrance comforting, still the same flavor.

Xie Liangchen watched Song Xian’s lips slightly curl.

With the person she longed for before her eyes, Song Xian only wanted to quietly gaze, even without saying anything, it was good.

Xie Liangchen kept waiting for Song Xian to speak, realizing after a while the unusualness, she lifted her head, colliding with Song Xian’s watery gaze, was about to look away.

Song Xian asked: "Did you receive my letter?"

Xie Liangchen unconsciously coughed, clearing her throat: "Received it."

"I thought you’d reply," Song Xian said, "On the way back, I saw crape myrtles blooming by the roadside; I feared it was late. Seeing the crape myrtles by your window, I felt relieved."

Xie Liangchen was about to respond, for Song Xian traveled from south to north, naturally blossoms bloomed early in the south.

Song Xian said: "Did you not shade them?"

Xie Liangchen felt her cheeks warm, thinking the General learned to say such things after visiting the Capital City. Or perhaps drunk on summer breeze, not sober.

Xie Liangchen nodded: "Yes, I negotiated with them to bloom later, lest Grandpa return and feel disappointed not seeing them."

Song Xian’s eyes held deeper amusement.

Afraid of upsetting her with too many words, Song Xian didn’t press further and said: "I brought Cui He back."

It took all that effort in the Capital City to persuade the Emperor to finally agree.

Xie Liangchen still felt surprised: "Cui He came back to Zhenzhou with Grandpa?"

Song Xian nodded: "The court no longer intervenes in Cui He’s matters, leaving them all to me."

The Emperor making such a decision meant...

Xie Liangchen said: "Is the court planning to deploy troops to the eight states this year?" If Cui He’s talents are harnessed well, he could serve as a scout, helping Song Xian gather intelligence in the eight states.

Song Xian surely used this reason to persuade the Emperor; the Emperor’s approval indicated permission for Song Xian to start preparations against remnants of the previous dynasty.

Song Xian looked at Xie Liangchen, his clear eyes reflecting her silhouette, at this moment he wanted to tell her exactly what he said before the Emperor.

Perhaps after being apart for so long, he could hardly restrain the musings within his heart.