Chapter 193: We've Met Before

Hensheng spoke with such conviction that Jiang Sijin, who was already overly sensitive to everything about the Jiang Dynasty, believed him even more upon hearing this.

Even if there are doubts in one's heart, it's just due to one's personality and excessive caution.

"Alright, I'll just have to endure it for a few more days," Jiang Sijin said, thinking she was being very magnanimous.

Hensheng breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't understand why Su Zhenzhen asked him to take Jiang Sijin away, he was happy to do it, since it was such a small favor.

Moreover, after the two of them had done such intimate things, he was going on a long trip the next day. He felt somewhat guilty and wanted to make up for Su Zhenzhen in other ways, so he naturally did whatever she asked.

Hensheng brought five thousand people with him on this westward journey, half soldiers and half civilians.

They first cleaned up the western part of the county, and then moved some of the people from the south over.

The young dragon has already shown its claws and teeth; even the slowest of the other beasts will react.

To prevent a counterattack from the capital, Hensheng must resolve his worries about the rear as quickly as possible.

Huzhou was the first to be affected, but the situation in Huzhou was complex, and its manpower and resources were currently limited, so it could not carry out operations on multiple fronts.

If we can build up Xijun and improve people's livelihoods, we can get Xijun and Bianzhou to join forces and surround Huzhou.

At that time, Huzhou would have to make a choice: either submit to the border prefecture or submit to the capital.

If it's the former, then it comes without any effort.

If it's the latter, then we'll start the battle directly, splitting our forces into two groups to surround the capital.

If war breaks out in Huzhou, people will be filled with panic. To avoid being affected by the war, many people will flee to other places. Their first destination will be to cross mountains and valleys to reach the border prefectures.

In this way, Bianzhou absorbed the population of Huzhou, and in a way, the population of Bianzhou increased while the population of Huzhou decreased, so Bianzhou also benefited.

After traveling west for another five days, Hensheng and his party finally arrived at the city of Xijun.

Jiang Sijin was going crazy from the carriage ride and immediately jumped down to find Hensheng.

"Where is that treasure? When do we go and retrieve it?"

Hensheng pulled out a drawing from his pocket. The drawing was yellowed and wrinkled, and it looked quite old.

Jiang Sijin immediately snatched it away, afraid of damaging the blueprints, and let go of it at the first moment.

"What is this?" Jiang Sijin looked at it from left to right, but couldn't figure it out. "Is this a painting or calligraphy?"

Hensheng shook his head. "I don't know. Hu Wen obtained it from the governor of Xijun in his early years. He said it was related to the secret treasure of the Jiang Dynasty."

Jiang Sijin rolled her eyes. "So you didn't understand either."

Hensheng felt somewhat ashamed. "I don't know which master left these blueprints behind. I haven't been able to decipher their secrets for a while."

Jiang Sijin revealed an expression that said, "I knew it," with a hint of pride in her eyes. "I knew you were nothing special."

Hensheng flattered her, "I have things to do right now, so why don't you help me with the research for a while, Aunt?"

Jiang Sijin had the same idea. "You go ahead with your work, I'll take a look first."

As for Jiang Sijin, she always felt that she could also inherit the throne of the Jiang Dynasty, but the traditional preference for sons over daughters had been deeply ingrained in the marrow of society. Now that Hensheng said that he had not deciphered the secrets of the blueprint, she was afraid that she was being too confident and would end up contradicting herself.

After seeing Jiang Sijin off, Hensheng got busy with important matters, but before that, he sent a letter to Su Zhenzhen.

The letter didn't contain much sentimentality; it simply conveyed a sense of longing to the beloved far away.

When Su Zhenzhen received this letter, half a month had passed since Hensheng left.

She also spent the last two weeks doing nothing.

With nothing happening in Yangcheng, Hu Wen is still quite useful.

With Chunzhi overseeing everything, Su Zhenzhen had nothing to worry about.

Su Zhenzhen wanted to wait for the matter to come to her, but she didn't know when this play would end.

What else the person behind the scenes has prepared for themselves remains unknown.

Just when Su Zhenzhen was feeling that her days were too leisurely, trouble came knocking on her door.

The east gate of Yangcheng was closed, and even entering or leaving the west gate required checking household registration; only people from the territory of Hensheng were allowed to enter.

Today, someone delivered a visiting card at the East Gate, specifically requesting to see Su Zhenzhen.

Upon hearing the news, Su Zhenzhen was completely bewildered. Was it really to see her? Not Hu Wen or Hen Sheng?

After confirming the visiting card several times, I confirmed that it indeed bore the name Su Zhenzhen.

The soldiers guarding the city first went to Hu Wen, who then went to Chunzhi. Finally, Chunzhi personally invited Su Zhenzhen to the city tower.

Below the city stood a man and a horse. The man was probably in his early twenties, dressed in fine clothes, exuding the air of a dashing young master from a noble family.

Su Zhenzhen was certain she didn't know this person, and her questions were very direct.

"I heard you were looking for me?"

Sitting on his horse, Jiang Jingyan cupped his hands in greeting towards the distance, saying, "Miss Su, how have you been?"

Su Zhenzhen was completely confused. "What's your name? Where have we met before? What do you need me for?"

The reply from the other side was equally straightforward: "Jiang Jingyan, Beijing, to catch up."

Is your surname Jiang?

Chunzhi's expression changed. There are many people with the surname Jiang in the Jiang Dynasty, and not all of them are royalty, but at this critical juncture, it is inevitable that people will have some doubts.

Su Zhenzhen fell into deep self-doubt. Had something wrong with her brain? Why did she have no recollection of this person at all?

I've seen them in the capital, but the problem is I haven't seen many living people there myself.

"Miss Su, I'd like to catch up with you. May I, an old friend, be allowed into the city?"

Jiang Jingyan had considered other ways to enter Yangcheng, but Yangcheng was now like an iron barrel, strictly checking household registration and travel permits, and even if he spent money, he couldn't buy them from the surrounding villages.

Chunzhi nudged Su Zhenzhen with her elbow, "Whether he's a human or a ghost, let him in first. Once he's on our turf, he'll have to think twice before trying to cause trouble."

That makes sense. It's easy to get in but hard to get out. Let's invite them in first.

The drawbridge was lowered, the city gate opened, and Jiang Jingyan rode his horse into the city.

Su Zhenzhen also came down from the city wall at this time.

Since the street wasn't a place to talk, Su Zhenzhen simply took her people to another courtyard.

Chunzhi waved her hand towards the shadows, "Keep an eye on this person."

A shadow appeared silently and then disappeared silently.

After entering the city, Jiang Jingyan stopped riding a horse and instead led it alongside Su Zhenzhen.

There was no awkwardness between the two; they seemed like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.

Su Zhenzhen was too lazy to find a topic to talk about, and she didn't speak until they arrived at the villa.

"Leave the horse at the gatehouse; the servants will take good care of it."

Jiang Jingyan readily agreed.

Su Zhenzhen acted as if she were at home, leading Jiang Jingyan into the front hall.

"Please sit wherever you like."

After both parties had found their seats, Su Zhenzhen spoke.

"Tell me, what do you want to reminisce about? Besides, I don't remember ever seeing you before."

Jiang Jingyan smiled slightly, but unfortunately, his appearance was average, which made it difficult for Su Zhenzhen, who had seen enough of stunningly handsome men, to focus her attention on him.

“Miss Su, we met in Chang Yuan’s cellar last early spring, when the weather was still chilly.”