CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 271 TURNAROUND

The room fell into a silence.

After a while, Old Mrs. Chen turned to Xie Liangchen and said, "Before you were sent back to Zhenzhou, I also received a letter."

Xie Liangchen replied, "You mentioned it before, it was just to let people know I was safe and sound."

Old Mrs. Chen nodded.

Xie Liangchen said, "That should have been sent by the Li couple." Mentioning the Li couple and Yuezhou, it was as if a string in Xie Liangchen’s mind was being plucked.

Old Mrs. Chen continued, "During the Yuezhou epidemic, could there still be people who survived? They knew you returned to Chen Family Village and noticed some movements, so they came to deliver a letter."

"Why did they deliver the message to Mr. Xu instead of to the village... maybe because there are too many eyes in the village..."

Old Mrs. Chen couldn’t finish her sentence, even with so many eyes in the village, they could have managed to come, as long as they handed the message to her it would be fine.

Xie Liangchen said, "There are people of Chang Yue guarding outside the village. If he entered, Chang Yue would have noticed. Perhaps the messenger didn’t want us to discover him."

Old Mrs. Chen frowned, "If they want to help, why be so secretive?"

Xie Liangchen said, "If they genuinely want to help, maybe it’s because they don’t want us to know their identity, or they fear bringing disaster."

"It could be that we bring disaster to him, or he brings disaster to us."

They might fear being retaliated against by the Liao for reporting, or the messenger has their own reasons for not wanting the people of Chen Family Village to know it’s him.

Xie Liangchen looked at Chen Yongsheng, "Uncle, choose a few people from the village, avoid the crowd, and investigate the refugees for that person’s clues. We must find that person by any means."

Chen Yongsheng agreed.

Xie Liangchen said, "If the Liao people act against Chen Family Village, if they’re truly concerned about us, they wouldn’t have gone far. Investigate carefully, and you might find some traces."

Chen Yongsheng nodded, "Our people often travel with merchant caravans. Even if they intend to gather information, they won’t be easily detected. The village will also arrange more villagers for patrols."

Establishing the hostel back then was partly for this reason. If Xie Liangchen wanted to find the whereabouts of his father and mother, he needed Chen Family Village to reach further.

Xie Liangchen said to Old Mrs. Chen, "Grandmother, do you remember the Geng Family?"

Old Mrs. Chen said, "The Geng couple were good people. It seems Geng’s family had some relatives. When the Geng family passed away, they didn’t come. Now, they know how to take advantage of this."

The Liao could find Geng family’s relatives to inquire, showing they put considerable thought into it.

Chen Yongsheng asked, "Will Liangchen’s identity be discovered? Should we consider other methods?"

Old Mrs. Chen sighed, "There’s no such thing as an impenetrable wall. They’ve already investigated Chen Family Village, how can we hide it?"

Chen Yongsheng’s brow furrowed deeper.

Old Mrs. Chen said, "Stop thinking about things that can’t be changed. If we can defend, we will. If not, just continue forward. The Eight States are being reclaimed. The situation changes constantly. A year ago, we couldn’t have guessed we’d be in this predicament now."

"It’s just an identity. If the Liao could really attack Zhenzhou, they wouldn’t be so stealthy. Even if they have that ability, we have hands and feet to resist."

Chen Yongsheng felt much more assured after hearing this.

Old Mrs. Chen said, "Go on, just carry on with what you need to do."

Chen Yongsheng left, and Xie Liangchen escorted Mr. Xu back to the courtyard. As he turned to head back, Chen Zigeng came forward with a lantern.

"Sister." Chen Zigeng tugged at Xie Liangchen’s sleeve.

Chen Zigeng, after the new year, had grown another year older, and gotten significantly taller. He was learning more and more from Mr. Dongli and getting cleverer.

"Sister," Chen Zigeng said, "perhaps Aunt and Uncle were targeted by the Liao and went into hiding. If the person warning us didn’t appear because they’re afraid of implicating Chen Family Village, then could it be Aunt and Uncle, right?"

Xie Liangchen said, "It’s just speculation."

Feeling hope well up in his heart, Chen Zigeng said, "Sister, don’t worry, we’ll definitely find Aunt and Uncle."

Xie Liangchen reached out to hold Chen Zigeng’s hand. In the previous life, Brother had led people to search far and wide like this: "Brother is right, we’ll definitely find them."

The sister and brother walked back into the courtyard, and Xie Liangchen glanced up at the bright moon above.

The moon was large and round.

In a daze, a scene flashed through her mind—a scene of her covering her mouth, crouched in a corner, peeking through a crack at two figures in black moving through the courtyard.

At that time, the Yuezhou epidemic had just started, throwing the village into chaos.

"This epidemic isn’t right."

Xie Liangchen heard her foster father’s voice by her ear.

"We should send it to Sui Ning."

The voice faded, and Xie Liangchen regained her clarity.

It was no wonder she felt the two people in the woods today seemed familiar; their build and attire were strikingly similar to those who appeared in Yuezhou.

Xie Liangchen felt a sudden headache, as if a heavy stone deep in her mind was being pried loose bit by bit.

...

Dai State.

Old General Zhang led his men through the mountains and forests, with the sound of officers and soldiers pursuing them from behind.

Daqi planned to attack the Eight States, and the Imperial Family of the previous dynasty was recruiting troops all over the Eight States, seizing grain supplies for military resources.

"I don’t know where they got the information, they found out we were hiding here."

Old General Zhang listened to the hoarse voice beside him.

It had been half a month since they had been chased from Lanzhou to Dai State. The troops behind them were like a shadow, clinging to them relentlessly.

"Perhaps we should just rebel like this!" the person beside him continued, "The battle is about to start, and we could pave the way for Daqi’s troops."

It was heard that the one leading the troops to the Eight States was Song Qizheng’s first son, Song Xian. As for what kind of person Song Xian was, no one knew, only that he had made the Liao tremble in fear while stationed at the Northern Border.

They had originally wanted to see what kind of person was leading the troops, hoping to assist once the war broke out. But unfortunately, they would not wait until that time.

This life might soon end here.

After scheming for so many years, they had gathered some personnel and weapons in Dai State, hoping there would be a day for a fervent battle. They thought the opportunity had come with Daqi’s troops at the border, but alas, they were just one step short.

Old General Zhang stopped and looked at the people around him. Beyond this mountain was a village, and the villagers there were willing to rise with them. Did they really need to flee there?

Just as Old General Zhang thought of this, he suddenly frowned, "I’m afraid there’s no time."

Steps surrounded them from all directions. They were being encircled, and with significant numbers. Given their current situation with only a dozen or so people, escape seemed unlikely.

Old General Zhang took a long breath, drawing his longsword from his waist. The people around him crowded together, their faces filled with a grim determination.

"Let’s fight them!"

With those words, dozens of figures appeared in the woods, charging towards them.

"Capture Zhang traitor, and the court will reward a hundred gold coins."