Jiang Huaifu was slightly taken aback, raised his head, and fixed his deep, pool-like eyes on the figure in front of him.

"What important matter?"

Shen Jiadai hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up.

"Miss Song's father...had dealings with officials in Xizhou, and colluded with several prefects from Tongzhou and Bianzhou in the Central Plains to illegally trade government salt, receiving bribes of no less than hundreds of thousands of taels of silver..."

Jiang Huaifu's pupils constricted. "Bribery? Isn't her father imprisoned in Xinzhou? How did you know about this?"

“Cousin, I’m telling the truth. This information was intercepted from spies in the royal palace, but… I couldn’t stop it. I’m sure Uncle already knows. If he reports it to the Emperor of the Central Plains, Miss Song’s entire family will be punished even more severely. And then…”

Jiang Huaifu remained silent, staring intently at Shen Jiadai. After a long while, he finally asked, "Is there a single lie in what you said?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiadai looked somewhat disappointed. She was not particularly liked by Jiang Huaifu, but no matter what, she came from a prestigious family, so how could she make baseless accusations?

“Cousin, I risked my life to come here to find you. Don’t wrong me. Besides, what use would it be if I made this up? If I were thinking of harming Miss Song, or if I was acting on my aunt’s orders, I shouldn’t have told you. I should have let their family face disaster instead of coming here to warn you!”

Seeing that Shen Jiadai was emotional, Jiang Huaifu did not continue talking to her. Instead, he had his men prepare another room for her and asked her to rest next door.

Feeling somewhat stifled, Shen Jiadai turned around and left the room.

The soldiers guarding outside saw Shen Jiadai leave in a very unpleasant manner, so they cautiously pushed open the door, thinking of seeing what was going on inside.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Jiang Huaifu remained silent for a while, then suddenly raised his head and asked, "Is there a river to cross tonight?"

"Your Highness, not yet. Jiang Chun and the others are just about to go!"

"No need, I will go there myself tonight."

The soldier was somewhat surprised. "Your Highness, you should avoid going there. Even if you have a deep friendship with Miss Song, that's still a place for prisoners from the Central Plains. Your Highness should be mindful of your status. We've helped her quite a bit, both openly and secretly!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaifu's face instantly darkened, frightening the soldiers into immediately shutting up.

"It seems you're going to be the one to make decisions for me."

"No...this subordinate dares not!"

"Then hurry up and get ready!"

The soldier nodded, and just as he was about to turn and leave, he turned back and asked, "Your Highness, should we still bring the emergency supplies you asked us to prepare?"

"Why would I save it for you if I didn't bring it?"

"Uh...yes, I understand."

The soldier then closed the door and hurriedly went down to prepare.

......

Zhang Xiu'e carefully collected all the oiled paper umbrellas she had made and placed them in one spot, waiting for the merchant across the street to come and collect them.

The night was deep and the dew was heavy. Apart from the children who were sleeping soundly, the adults were too excited to sleep. After all, this was their first time making money in Xinzhou.

With this opportunity, perhaps we won't have to suffer from hunger and cold anymore...

“I counted them, there are sixty-two in total. According to the agreed wages, they should give us one hundred and twenty-four copper coins. These should be used to buy some rice and eggs, right?” Zhang Xiu’e asked.

While folding clothes for the children, Li Qiang's wife replied, "We can't just buy food; we also need necessities. The children's clothes haven't been washed in a long time. We need wooden basins and brand-new bowls and chopsticks. We've been using Master Song's hand-me-downs, but we don't have enough and have to take turns eating. It's better to buy some. Besides, these bowls and chopsticks aren't worth much..."

Zhang Xiu'e nodded repeatedly, "Okay, that's right. Everyone, please tell me what you need to buy. I'll write it down on paper and give it to the merchant later."

Song He'er looked at the dark river surface and saw that there was no light or shadow, so she knew that Jiang Huaifu's men had not arrived yet.

It's strange, though. They've always arrived at this time in the past few days, and they're always very punctual. Why are they nowhere to be seen so late today?

Zhang Xiue stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her.

"He'er, what are you thinking about? Your mother is almost fully recovered and will eat a lot tonight. Why don't you stay and keep her company? It's getting chilly tonight, so don't catch a cold. You can leave the delivery to Li Qiang and your third uncle!"

Normally, Song He'er would have agreed, but today she felt something was off and wanted to go and see for herself.

"I can't sleep. I'm young and just want to get out and about more. Why don't you let me come along? Uncle San and Uncle Qiang are moving goods, and I'll help them out!"

Zhang Xiue was a little confused. "You child, it's quite cold outside, why are you going with them?"

Chun Di smiled and pleaded on her behalf, "Just let her come along. This child is smart and hasn't caused us any trouble along the way. On the contrary, she has helped us a lot. Since we can't sleep anyway, let her go."

"I was just worried she'd get cold."

"What's there to be cold about? Young man, you've got plenty of energy!"

Zhang Xiue was somewhat helpless for a moment, and could only nod in agreement, "Alright, then go with me. Come back as soon as you've delivered the goods, and don't linger too long."

Song He'er smiled happily and said, "Don't worry, Third Aunt!"

Zhang Xiue smiled but didn't say anything. She continued to help Song Xiaoyu organize the oil-paper umbrellas under her hands. Finally, she tied the umbrellas up with hemp rope and put them aside to wait.

After another half a day, there was finally some movement on the surface of the Su River.

The ship today was larger than the previous two, and the lights on it were much brighter, unlike the ship that ordinary soldiers usually rode on.

"Third Uncle, Uncle Qiang, you take your time carrying your things. I'll go take a look first!" Song He'er said and ran towards the riverbank.

"Slow down!"

Song He'er didn't care what the people behind her were saying and quickly ran towards the light.

As the light grew clearer, Song He'er gradually made out the imposing figure standing on the deck, dressed in a dark robe, with a pair of deep, far-reaching eyes as bright as jewels.

Song He'er held her breath, turned around and looked at Song Xiaoyu and Li Qiang who were rushing over. Seeing that they were still some distance away, she ran to the place closest to the boat.

Why are you here?

........

Hey everyone, I'll only be able to post solo updates for a while now~ My throat's been sore~ Also, I want to remind everyone across the country to drink plenty of water, avoid gatherings, and stay healthy~ We'll be saying goodbye to masks soon~~