The northern border didn't even have a prefectural capital, only county towns and small towns. By noon, the group had arrived at Yong'an Town, where the general's mansion had once been located.

Driving two carriages, the group entered the city using forged identity information. Shen Xingmian endured the cold and sat on the edge of the carriage to observe the situation along the way.

This place was noticeably quieter than any of the towns they had passed through before; there were hardly any restaurants or shops along the roadside.

As I walked along, I only saw one small cloth shop and two small grain shops, both with their doors closed. I didn't know if they were afraid of the cold or if they had already gone out of business.

There was a steamed bun shop with only a steamer basket outside the door, inside which was a frozen steamed bun. If it weren't for the smoke coming out of the chimney sticking out of the window, she probably would have thought the shop had closed down.

"It really is desolate..." Shen Xingmian said, then put her icy fingers to her lips and breathed out two puffs of warm air.

"Winter in the North is like this; it gets more lively in the spring," Shen Yunqi explained to her from the other side.

“There are people here who ice fish, but very few people go because it’s too cold. Some people have frozen to death. If Mianmian wants to go, your uncle can take you.”

Shen Xingmian's eyes lit up. "That's right, there's a big river here too. We can break the ice and fish. And the fish are really big in winter; one fish is enough for the whole family."

She nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, once everything is arranged, Uncle will take us there, don't forget!"

"How could I forget? Mianmian really doesn't trust your uncle."

"No, no, I'm just so excited! Ice fishing sounds so interesting, I really want to go!"

"Alright, alright, stop talking, or you'll catch a chill," Shen Yunqi quickly reminded him.

He could only swallow a couple of bites of this strong north wind and his stomach would ache for half a day; he couldn't bear to see his precious niece suffer.

Before long, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the General's Mansion. Looking at the seal on it, Shen Yunqi felt very annoyed.

That treacherous emperor not only confiscated their homes in the capital, but also went after those in the north, even sending a messenger with urgent news over 800 li. He's really something.

"Father, we've arrived."

Huh?

He went straight home. Is he that brave?

Although Shen Xingmian would fully support such a thing, she did not expect that her maternal grandfather and uncle would not even think of covering it up.

"Don't be so surprised. Your grandfather still has a lot of confidence in his old subordinates. As long as he appears, those people will never betray him," Shen Yunqi said with a smile.

Shen Xingmian nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

Soldiers of this era, or rather, soldiers of all eras, are mostly trustworthy and worthy of respect.

"Then we need to move somewhere else first, to avoid attracting attention or something?"

"No need. Let's just go home openly and honestly. As for the emperor, no matter how many assassins he sends, we'll fight him to the bitter end."

"These mountains are high and the roads are long; I want to see how capable he is of proving that 'all land under heaven belongs to the king.'"

Wow, Grandpa is so awesome!

Shen Xingmian couldn't help but want to start clapping.

After the general's mansion was sealed off, it looked even more desolate. There were still traces of people walking on the street, but the snow at the gate was completely smooth.

Shen Yunqi stepped forward, tore off the seal, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into his pocket, saying with disgust, "You unlucky thing, I'll burn you in a bit."

After saying that, he pushed the door open and had everyone pull the carriage inside.

The women also got off the carriages. Looking at the ordinary general's mansion, their hearts, which had been wandering for more than a month, finally found a home, and they were all a little excited.

After the carriages were pulled into the courtyard, Shen Xingmian went to help her cousin close the gate. Not surprisingly, she saw a figure watching them from the opposite street corner.

As soon as they were discovered, they ran away.

Shen Zheng also saw the man and said to Shen Xingmian indifferently, "He's a petty scoundrel, don't bother with him. If he dares to come and see me, I'll break his legs."

"Brother is so domineering and mighty!" Shen Xingmian praised him generously.

Once inside the courtyard, Shen Xingmian took the two horses, who had been chilled, back into his spatial storage and even created a patch of tender grass for them to eat to their hearts' content.

It appears this place has also been searched; the door was open, and there was nothing left inside. Most outrageously, even the bed and cabinets in the backyard room had been taken away.

"These people are like locusts swarming across the land. Why don't they take the roof tiles with them? Really!" Shen Xingmian said with disgust.

However, with her here, it won't be long before this place becomes even more beautiful than before.

After all, my grandfather was reluctant to buy anything nice. If he had any money, he would immediately send it to the army. He would never be willing to use it to decorate the general's mansion.

So, it seems that the reason those people moved the bed and the cabinet was probably because there wasn't anything valuable here.

Hahaha.

Shen Xingmian quickly went to see her grandfather and saw that he showed no sign of distress, so she knew that the loss here was really not that great.

Even if it's similar to the General's Mansion in the capital, the things she collected in the capital are enough to make up for it.

"Now that we've decided to move back here, let's get started and tidy it up properly."

Shen Xingmian really wanted to build a house like those in modern rural Northeast China, with interconnected rooms, so that they could install heating and use a single stove to heat the whole family.

However, those rooms are usually not very soundproof, which is not very friendly to some people in the family.

Besides, it's freezing cold right now, so we can't build houses. We'll have to leave it like this for now. As for heating, if all else fails, we'll build heated brick beds in each room. Burning firewood will keep it warm enough.

Fortunately, the north has many barren mountains, so there's plenty of firewood.

If things were like they are today, with land cleared and farmed everywhere, it would be troublesome if there were nowhere to find firewood.

Modern beds are not very convenient to use, but luckily we had several beds stored in the palace, made of various woods such as Phoebe zhennan, sandalwood, mahogany, and rosewood.

Although she didn't quite understand the value of these things, she figured that since they were meant for the concubines in the harem, their value must have been quite high.

As for the eldest princess's bed, Shen Xingmian disliked it so much that he confiscated it...

She now feels a little regretful; what did those things she did through the mattress and sheets have to do with the bed...?

If you really think about it more deeply, the beds used by the imperial concubines probably weren't exactly clean either...

That's absolutely terrible.

Stop thinking!

Shen Xingmian almost screamed inwardly. Why did she have to associate that scene with anything? Oh no, she could already picture it in her mind…

It's simply impossible to shake off.

Ahhh, help!

No, she has to disinfect these beds properly. First, wipe them with clean water, then wipe them with alcohol!

If conditions allowed, she would have even put them all in the yard and sunbathed them for forty-nine days!

But I can't, I need these tonight, boohoo.

She could only desperately suppress the urge to complain, letting those disgusting thoughts rot in her mind so they wouldn't poison others anymore!