020

Yu Baizhou raised his hand to stop the procession, and the refugees immediately scattered and fled.

Looking at the somewhat familiar person huddled under a tree in tattered clothes not far away, he frowned and stepped forward.

"Young Master Ji, what are you doing here?"

The boy shuddered, then curled himself up into a ball, closed his eyes, and ignored the person in front of him.

"General, should we inform the Ji family?" A guard stepped forward to ask, as this was undoubtedly the best decision at the moment.

How could the pampered and beloved young master have drifted away from the Ji family mansion and become like this? You should know that the Ji family mansion is at least a half-day's journey away by horseback.

Yu Baizhou half-squatted in front of him, offering only two choices: "Since I saved you, I can't just ignore it. I'll give you two choices: if you answer, I'll send someone to Guangping County to settle you down. If you don't answer, I'll send someone to take you back to the Ji residence."

A few moments of silence followed.

Yu Baizhou stood up. "Someone come here!"

"etc……"

The boy behind him stood up, leaning against a tree. Perhaps because he hadn't spoken for too long, his voice was hoarse. "Take me to Guangping County."

His eyes lowered, his gaze dimming. "Could you please ask the general not to tell my father and mother..."

"Just pretend I'm dead..."

Yu Baizhou stared at him with a stern face for a long moment before calling out to the people behind him, "Mu Yuan, Qin Jiu!"

"exist!"

Yu Baizhou tossed the bag in his hand to them, saying, "Give him a little tidying up and send him to the strategist."

"Do either of you have any objections to accompanying the strategist?"

Um?

Mu Yuan and Qin Jiu exchanged a glance, both instinctively looking at their general's expression.

"The strategist specifically requested the two of you. Since there are no objections, it's decided then." Yu Baizhou didn't want to look at the two of them looking foolish. "Alright, get on with your work."

………

"What's your name?"

Song Ling sat at the desk, writing a prescription as she asked questions, without looking up at the thin boy in front of her.

The boy moved his lips, but couldn't say anything, and his head drooped down.

He remained silent for a long time before Song Ling finally looked up and put down her brush. "Why did you go to the isolation area for infected people?"

"Do you know that the treatment for the epidemic is still being improved, and a slight mistake could cost you your life?"

The boy finally raised his head, but his dark eyes were shrouded in a heavy shadow, and his voice was low and hoarse, "So what if I die? Why should you care about me?"

"Ha, is he an idiot?" Chu Zhaoyan rolled her eyes as she sat to the side. "So many people would beg for a chance to live, but you, at such a young age, are already thinking about dying."

"Ji Jingsi," Song Ling suddenly called his name, causing Ji Jingsi to look at her.

“I can hide your whereabouts from the Ji family,” Song Ling sighed inwardly as she stood up, “or I can let you live or die as you wish.”

That's a rather heartless statement.

As expected, Ji Jingsi thought with a cold sneer. It was still the same. This was his fate.

“But,” Song Ling suddenly changed the subject, picking up a piece of paper and handing it to him, “General Yu saved you. Your medical treatment, clothes, and food for the past two days have all come from me.”

"How can there be so much?" Ji Jingsi stared at the thin piece of paper in his hand as if he wanted to burn a hole through it. "Are you trying to scam me?!"

Ji Jingsi has been a noble young master for fifteen years, and even if he were to be extravagant in spending these two days, it would be impossible for him to spend more than a hundred taels of silver.

“Heh,” Song Ling smiled slightly, “In times like these, it is a year of famine and disease. So it is normal for food and clothing to be more expensive. Young Master Ji is used to a life of luxury, so he probably doesn’t know much about these things.”

"Now, do you want to send a message to the Ji family to redeem you... or do you want to pay your debts with labor?"

“Oh right,” Song Ling clapped her hands as if suddenly realizing something, “Young Master was unwilling to mention the Ji family earlier… then, he can work for me to pay off his debt.”

"You..." Ji Jingsi was already weak, and now he was so angry that he kept coughing and couldn't even stand up straight.

Song Ling stepped forward, grabbed his wrist to take his pulse, frowned for a moment and then relaxed, "It's just a rich man's disease that I've developed over the years, don't pretend to be sick to fool me."

"Otherwise, I will send a letter to Lord Ji immediately."

"Who...who tricked you!" Ji Jingsi stood up, his face tense, gripping the doorframe. "I'm perfectly fine!"

“That’s excellent,” Song Ling said, handing a prescription to Mu Yuan, who was standing at the door. “Give this prescription to Deputy General Shi and have him personally deliver it to Doctor Shi of Anji Ward.”

"Shi Yu is here?" Chu Zhaoyan frowned and stood up. "You saw him?"

"Don't cause trouble," Song Ling said, handing him a slip of paper. "I have something else for you to do; I don't trust anyone else to do it."

Chu Zhaoyan opened the note and read it carefully before smiling. "This is what I should be doing. I'm embarrassed to say what kind of work you've been assigning me these past two days..."

Here we go again. Song Ling stepped out of the door and called to the other soldier who was outside, "Qin Jiu, prepare the horse."

“You,” Song Ling turned to look at Ji Jingsi, “come along.”

Ji Jingsi was seething with anger; this woman was really asking for an exorbitant price. But he was still too young, and at most he could only think about finishing his work and leaving as soon as possible. He couldn't compare to Song Ling's cunning.

When the carriage finally arrived at a somewhat deserted farm, he was led to stand in front of several acres of barren land, and was momentarily confused.

"Cough cough cough..." Ji Jingsi suddenly realized something and looked at her in shock, "You asked me to come and farm?"

“You’re really clever,” Song Ling said, pointing to a piece of land in front of her. “As long as you grow something on this two-acre plot, this debt will be wiped clean, and you’ll be free to come and go as you please.”

"Really?" Ji Jingsi looked up, his face full of doubt. The gloom dissipated, and the puppy's eyes were full of the clarity of his age.

But Song Ling was no fool; she couldn't be soft-hearted. She forced a smile and said, "Of course."

After saying that, Qin Jiu brought over a large wooden box from behind. When he opened it, he saw that there were two compartments inside. One compartment contained several bags of grain seeds, and the other compartment contained various agricultural books that he had collected from who-knows-where.

“If it’s not enough, have someone tell me,” Song Ling smiled slightly, clearly having come prepared. “Qin Jiu will stay and assist you.”

"Young Master Ji, I await your good news."

The carriage sped away, kicking up dust that was quite choking, and Ji Jingsi started coughing incessantly again.

But Qin Jiu, who was standing tall and strong beside him, did not react at all. Seeing how weak Ji Jingsi was, he couldn't help but glance at him a few times out of curiosity.

But Ji Jingsi only saw it as mockery, which made him even more resentful. He said to himself with a self-deprecating laugh, "Laugh if you want to."

Qin Jiu was puzzled, so he simply picked him up like a chick and threw him back into the field, then took a hoe and threw a rake in front of him.

What are you doing?

"Plowing the land," Qin Jiu thought, wondering if this man was an idiot. "The strategist wants you to grow grain, so shouldn't you plow and loosen the soil first?"

He looked at Ji Jingsi suspiciously, his eyes filled with surprise and shock that "you don't even know how to farm."

Ji Jingsi gritted his teeth. In the past, people would talk about things behind his back, but this was the first time he had been looked down upon to his face like this.

"Let's plant it!"

Unfortunately, this pampered young master, who had been pampered for over a decade, was already drenched in sweat and collapsed on the ground from exhaustion after less than 15 minutes, no longer caring about his demeanor.

Qin Jiu remained silent, his legs moving swiftly as he began to plow the field. Having done farm work since childhood, this was far easier than the general's training. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could return to the strategist's side.

Ji Jingsi, his face covered in dust, stared blankly and helplessly at the setting sun on the horizon, and suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a bottomless trap.

One day later

"Seventeen, your letter," Chu Zhaoyan said casually as she walked up to him. "Who is in such a hurry, sending three pigeons in a row?"

Song Ling opened it and glanced at it, "Seven full."

He was simply asking if he could come see her.

"Please write a message for me, telling them to stay quietly in the county and take good care of the child."

"A child?" Chu Zhaoyan's eyes widened immediately. "When did you have a child?"

"That bastard! I'm going to find him!"

"Sit down!" Song Ling grabbed his pink sleeve and pulled him back to his seat. "It's not my child, so don't worry about it. Just reply as soon as possible."

"Also, how's the matter I asked you to handle?"

"Heh, don't you even know who I am?" Chu Zhaoyan glanced at her. "Don't worry at all. When it comes to intelligence, I'm number one. No one in Huailai dares to say they're second."

Song Ling shivered. "...That's good."

"Hey," Chu Zhaoyan said awkwardly, "don't eat too many of the meatballs I brought you."

"Although you feel much better on the surface after taking the medicine, it's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. It's just draining your energy. You'll suffer when you stop taking it."

"Understood," Song Ling's eyes flickered slightly, "Once this matter is resolved, I will take a break for a while."

"By the way, what about those people locked up in the front yard?" Chu Zhaoyan's expression was unusually serious. "And those women in the prefect's backyard have been restless these past few days. Once the epidemic is over, you'll have to give them an explanation."

“I know what you’re trying to do, but you’re moving too fast. You always overdo it.”

Song Ling's expression froze. "How could I not know?"

"But if we miss this opportunity, it will be much more difficult to find another chance."

Her right hand, clenched into a fist behind her back, said, "Let's take it one step at a time; there's always a way to break this deadlock."

"Forget it, I'm not going to bother with you anymore." Chu Zhaoyan waved her hand and got up to deliver the letter. "I don't understand these things. Just have your own plan in mind."

But the truth is, even Song Ling herself wasn't sure. People's hearts are hard to fathom, and some things require taking a gamble. A slight miscalculation could lead to total defeat.

In the game of chess, everyone is like an ant.

The player who wields the pieces should not be on the board in the first place.

***

The room remained silent for a quarter of an hour.

During these days, Song Ling was busy studying the prescription for the epidemic with Shi Yu, while Yu Baizhou led troops at the border to resist several probing attacks by the Southern Barbarians.

Even though it's only been a few days, we seem to have grown quite distant.

"Seventeen, there is another secret letter."

When Chu Zhaoyan came in, she couldn't help but glance at Yu Baizhou several times. Before he could look back, she rolled her eyes and left.

Yu Baizhou arrived in a hurry, and it was also the first time he had seen this person. Although they had only met once, he felt that Chu Zhaoyan's clothes and behavior were very strange. "He is..."

Before she could even ask, Song Ling frowned as she opened the note.

Something extremely important must have happened, otherwise someone as calm as her wouldn't have changed her expression so quickly.

"what happened?"

Song Ling handed him the note, which contained only one line of text.

Her voice was somewhat heavy, yet also carried a sense of expected relief, as if everything had already settled down.

"The Prince of Qi of Yangzhou issued a letter proclaiming himself Emperor Zhao and declared himself Emperor."

"Chaos is coming..."