The sun was setting, and darkness gradually descended.
The next post station was quite far, and they likely wouldn't reach it before nightfall. At the front of the convoy, General Xu raised his hand, and the herald's resounding voice immediately echoed through the valley: "Halt! Set up camp—"
The soldiers were quickly divided into three groups: one to pitch tents, another to gather firewood, and the third to guard the princesses' carriages, casually leaning on their long spears, their eyes fixed on the large pot being set up nearby.
The generals had horses, the princesses had carriages, but the soldiers relied solely on their own two legs.
After a long and tiring journey, they were all famished.
Just as the water in the pot began to boil and the prospect of food was in sight, suddenly, large stones rained down from above.
With a loud crash, their pot was overturned...
Was it people?
The soldiers raised their spears, cursing, only to discover archers lying in ambush on the hillside, releasing a volley of arrows...
Rocks and arrows flew together, filling the valley with screams and bloodshed.
The army under the Marquis of Xuanping was known for being lazy and undisciplined. Now, suddenly ambushed, they immediately fell into disarray.
Many soldiers had already begun to lie down and play dead...
Although they outnumbered their attackers, they were too cowardly.
The secret guards sent by the Mansion of Prince Shun were astounded. No wonder the Longshun Emperor wanted peace talks; such an army would only bring shame on the battlefield.
However, this wasn't their concern.
Their mission was to abduct the two princesses and take them to Jiangnan.
After successfully capturing Princess Yuzheng and Princess Yuluo, the soldiers who had been playing dead quickly got up, brandishing their spears in a show of giving chase, but not actually pursuing.
At the same time, they secretly breathed sighs of relief.
They had survived!
But the next moment, arrows once again flew as thick as rain.
Soldiers: !
General Xu: !
Another attack?
In truth, Yan Qinghe hadn't brought many men, but each was worth ten ordinary soldiers. They removed their camouflage suits, which were now hindering them, and unsheathed their long swords, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Yan Ba, who could alter his voice, stood on high ground and shouted down, "Those who don't want to die, scram within ten counts."
Before coming, His Highness had instructed that although the Marquis of Xuanping was their enemy, his soldiers were still citizens of Li Country. If they could be persuaded to retreat with words, there was no need to eliminate them.
In the future, after turning them, they could be trained to guard the borders.
The words carried on the wind to every corner of the valley, leaving the soldiers in a dilemma.
Desertion had severe consequences, but staying to fight would likely result in immediate death.
Most of their army's officers were from the extended family of the Marquis of Xuanping. They excelled in drinking, gambling, and womanizing, and even if they had some real skills, these had been depleted by their debauchery.
What was worse was that their bad habits had trickled down.
The soldiers hadn't learned much in terms of real combat skills, but they had quickly picked up the vices.
Watching Yan Qinghe and his men with their swords flashing like the wind, the morale of the guard army was already crumbling.
Yan Qinghe wiped the blood from the back of his hand, growing more ferocious as the battle raged on.
Gradually, he keenly noticed that many soldiers had begun to play dead again. He whistled.
Signaling his secret guards to avoid stepping on them if possible.
To prevent them from getting up again, creating a situation where killing them would be problematic, but letting them go would also be an issue.
Yan Qinghe led his subordinates, focusing on finishing off the last small group of officers who stubbornly resisted.
They were either nephews or adopted sons of the Marquis of Xuanping. Fearing accountability from the Emperor and the Marquis, they could only fight desperately, hoping at least to be severely wounded to avoid some responsibility.
They fought until their blades were bent and the smell of blood drifted on the evening breeze. In the valley, apart from Yan Qinghe and his men, no one was left standing.
Under the bright moonlight, Yan Qinghe and his team borrowed the horses of the guard army. Moving as swiftly as ghosts, they quickly caught up with the fleeing soldiers in carriages.
With a swift stroke of their blades, blood splattered, and the soldiers fell from the carriage boards to the ground. The startled horses continued to gallop wildly.
With a gesture from Yan Qinghe, the secret guards immediately understood. They abandoned their horses and leapt onto the carriages, grabbing the reins and slowly bringing the horses under control.
Once the carriages had stopped, Yan Qinghe called out, "Check the silver."
After a rustling sound of boxes being opened, Yan Wu nodded at him.
A rough estimate showed it was enough!
"First, transport the silver to the graveyard you dug earlier. Bury it, mark the spot, and leave men nearby to guard it, awaiting His Highness's further orders."
After the loss of the silver, checkpoints along the way would certainly be strengthened in the coming days.
Therefore, Li Shuchen's order was to hide the silver first.
News of the lost silver was transmitted to the capital overnight, causing an uproar in the court.
In Qinghuan Court.
Qi Huan smiled gently, pleased to hear that Shu had succeeded. She couldn't help but be happy for him.
Rather than sending this silver to the enemy country, it was better to use it as military pay, allowing their own country's soldiers to be well-fed and clothed for the battlefield!
"Host, good deed +1......"
"Stop! I clearly sent out three hundred camouflage suits, why did I only get 1 point?"
"Host, my voice is so melodious, why are you so agitated? Can you let this system finish speaking?"
"Fine, please use your melodious voice to give me a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, I can become even more agitated!"
She had spent quite a few points to repurchase the camouflage suits. If she only got one point, she would cry!
Hearing her thoughts, the system paused what it was about to say and instead asked, "If it were only one point, would the host regret it?"
In the afternoon sunlight, the young girl leaned on the windowsill desk and gently shook her head. "I would be sad, but I wouldn't regret it."
"If it can help Shu, I'm willing to spend even more points."
"However, helping Shu should start at least at a hundred points, please remember that."
The system was just feeling touched when it suddenly heard her add this, causing it to fall silent. After a long while, it finally said, "Rest assured, host, heaven never fails those who do good. Blessings will come, sooner or later."
"Please make it sooner, thank you!"
"...This good deed, plus ten thousand points!"
"Wow! So many?" Qi Huan's almond eyes widened in pleasant surprise, her gaze dazzling.
The system replied, "The host lives in Li Country, so this system has no choice but to follow the host in Li Country. Therefore, this system judges good and evil deeds from the perspective of Li Country's overall interests."
"The host helped Li Shuchen intercept the silver for peace talks, which greatly benefits Li Country, hence the ten thousand point increase."
"...If the host thinks it's too much, this system doesn't mind sharing the burden!"
Qi Huan chuckled and clicked her tongue, "You really do want points 366 days out of 365 days a year. By the way, how many points do I have now?"
"In response to the host, currently 70,000 even."
"Oh." She had repurchased quite a few seeds and greenhouse films earlier, spending quite a few points.
With Shu not by her side to act as a point-farming tool, she was almost running a deficit just based on the good deeds she had left behind in Mo County.
Qi Huan's gaze drifted to Tao Su at the courtyard entrance, who was pouting and arguing with Zhu Yan, a hint of envy in her eyes.
She also wanted to see Shu every day.
So, after putting away the milk powder in the warehouse through the underground passage from Mingyu Tea House that afternoon, she stood at the fork in the path and asked Xiu Yuan, "Can I go to the Duke of An Manor to see Shu?"
