CHAPTER 289: CHAPTER 286: ENCOUNTERING EARLY

Granny Feng was not surprised by what Lishu said. Originally, they had Lishu investigate the whereabouts of the Liao spies, and they knew that relying solely on Lishu would be impossible to capture them, so they had brought additional personnel hiding in the city beforehand.

Of course, there was no need for Lishu to be aware of all this.

Lishu said, "The Liao people are hiding in a manor outside the city. I’ve sketched a simple map."

Lishu took the map from her sleeve and handed it to Granny Feng: "Cai Rong’s intention is to eliminate the Liao people after the matter is done, so additional personnel have been deployed inside and out."

Granny Feng held the map in her hand; with this map, they could bring people to the door.

Lishu worriedly said, "Now that the Commandery Princess has been punished... there aren’t many people around her to use, are there? Can you capture those people?"

Granny Feng looked at Lishu’s appearance and softly reassured her: "At this critical juncture, even if we are short on manpower, we must try. Only by reclaiming the territory can the Commandery Princess have peace of mind."

A wave of disgust rose in Lishu’s heart. Why hadn’t she noticed before, when they mentioned territory, they said "reclaim."

Princess Jiahui wanted to hold the territory in her hand, not drive out the remnants of the former dynasty to end the war completely, allowing the people to live in peace.

Lishu said, "There’s no time to lose. If we delay, Cai Rong might kill the people."

This was precisely the reason that Granny Feng no longer said anything to Lishu, turning and hurriedly walking out.

Watching Granny Feng’s retreating figure, Lishu’s eyebrows finally relaxed. She had completed her task, as if clearing away the fog, finally seeing the ray of light she longed for.

She no longer needed to return to Cai Rong Mansion; she could go with Yu Niang and the others to Zhenzhou to help, doing what they could do while waiting for the war to end soon.

...

Granny Feng went all the way to a house in the city, where people had already infiltrated Yingzhou beforehand.

Entering, Granny Feng instructed, "The Liao spies are at the manor; you go and capture them, remember to keep them alive. Once it’s done, meet directly thirty miles outside the city."

Several people responded, with the leader accepting the map from Granny Feng’s hand, and moments later, they took their leave.

Granny Feng waited for a while before quietly leaving the yard as well, heading straight out of the city, where someone was waiting for her report.

Half an hour later, Granny Feng found an inn thirty miles outside the city, knocked on the door, and found the person she wanted to meet.

"Steward Ji," Granny Feng said, "I got the news from the informant and have instructed people to go to the manor to capture them. Once they have the people, they will come here; what to do next is entirely up to your instructions."

Steward Ji nodded.

Granny Feng said, "Thanks to your prior arrangements, bringing first-rate talents. Now Yingzhou is in chaos; they went just in time to catch the Cai Family off guard, and surely they can bring the people here."

"Good," Steward Ji said, "Once we have evidence, I can go see Cai Rong."

Granny Feng was delighted and spoke more: "No worry that Cai Rong won’t comply, otherwise we’ll hand over the evidence to the court."

Granny Feng had just finished speaking when she saw Steward Ji frown. Steward Ji stepped back two steps away from the door, but it was too late; the door opened, and Chang Yue flashed in, reaching out to grab Steward Ji.

In addition to the people Chang Yue brought, the two Deputy Generals and the County Magistrate stood at the door. The conversation inside the room, which they had heard quite clearly, exposed their intent unmistakably.

Chang Yue swiftly took the person down, then reported to Xie Liangchen outside: "The person has been captured; that woman called him Steward Ji."

Steward Ji.

Surname Ji.

A face that Xie Liangchen was all too familiar with emerged before her eyes.

Perhaps this lifetime she would soon meet, the man who in her past life harmed her brother.

With Steward Ji and Granny Feng captured, those who went to the manor cannot escape.

Xie Liangchen looked at Chang Yue: "Princess Jiahui has such arrangements, to benefit from the war in the eight states, find out their identities as soon as possible, lest they sabotage the war efforts, which would be advantageous for the Master and the situation."

Chang Yue nodded.

Xie Liangchen continued, "Extract a confession, try to send it along with the disturbances caused by Cai Rong and the war report to the Capital City, and escort the culprits to the Capital City as soon as possible."

This arranged matters in Yingzhou well; next, they had to return to Zhenzhou.

By the time Xie Liangchen and others left the inn, it was already late, having run about all day. The situation of the war in Zhenzhou was still uncertain.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and got off to a good start.

Just not knowing what the situation was on Song Xian’s side, once he was on the battlefield, all his thoughts would be focused on the war, whether he would be like in the past life, sparing no effort to win.

"Let’s go!" Xie Liangchen mounted her horse, eager to go back to see the current situation in Zhenzhou.

...

In the Chen Family Village.

Old Mrs. Song and Old Mrs. Chen sat together on the kang. After leaving the Song Family, Old Mrs. Song had been sent to the Chen Family Village by people arranged by Song Qizheng.

Although there had been prior arrangements, it had been quite a commotion, and Old Mrs. Song’s complexion was somewhat pale.

"Thankfully, I’ve been moving around often recently," Old Mrs. Song said, "otherwise, I might have already lost strength."

Old Mrs. Chen said, "When the war is over, you should come to the village often; I’ll show you around, and it won’t feel lonely."

Old Mrs. Song nodded, looking towards the housekeeper by her side.

The housekeeper said, "No news has been sent back yet."

Old Mrs. Chen comforted, "Don’t worry, everything will go smoothly."

Old Mrs. Song sighed: "He’s turned the family into such a state, if he can’t lead the troops to defeat Cai Rong, he shouldn’t come back; he should take responsibility by ending his life!"

Old Mrs. Chen quickly said, "You mustn’t say that; the National Guardian General has made so many contributions."

"That’s true," Old Mrs. Song seriously said, "but because of the matters of the Song Family, misfortune has been brought upon, not knowing how many people will be implicated. I just fear if the fighting drags on, Cai Rong may come to the village in desperation."

Cai Rong came from Yingzhou; the troops he brought need provisions, which might be taken locally.

Old Mrs. Chen lowered her voice: "You don’t need to fear that; even if they come to the village to seize, they won’t get much. We have a charitable granary; the grain and medicinal materials have been moved there, and they won’t find it immediately."

Old Mrs. Song looked surprised.

Old Mrs. Chen nodded: "It was all Miss Chen’s idea. She also said, if the war in the North doesn’t stop, the supply line may be cut off. If it takes one or two days to resolve, General Song might find a way, but if it takes too long, there could be big trouble. Although Zhenzhou might not have much surplus, if we give it our all, we can still help a bit."

Old Mrs. Song’s eyes warmed upon hearing these words, and after a moment, she grasped Old Mrs. Chen’s hand: "Miss Chen... is a good child, sometimes I even want to snatch that child away from you, and bring her back to our family."