The fact that my fourth brother has survived so safely for so many years is definitely because the Ning family showed him mercy.

Perhaps it was because his mother-in-law treated her well that she spared his life!

"Sister-in-law, life in the countryside is not easy."

Ning Yan said helplessly, "What can I do? I can't just abandon the child."

In her heart, she thought: with servants and money, she could live comfortably anywhere.

Since no one else could hear what was on his mind, little Chu Lin was moved by his mother and said, "Mom, you are so good to me."

Old Madam Chu and the Crown Prince's wife were also deeply moved. Ning Shi was truly a rare good woman in this world. The Fourth Prince was blind!

Chu Laosan and Chu Laoer looked at Chu Jingxuan with disdain. This guy doesn't know how lucky he is. He'll regret it later!

Zhang Qing was quick to act. The reason why the exiled criminals were sent to Yuanshan Village was because Yuanshan Village was now almost deserted.

What was once a large village now has fewer than twenty households. All the other residents have moved away, either to the county or to stay with relatives. After all, the northern region is truly not a suitable place to live.

The house was quickly bought, right next to the village chief's house. It was a large six-room brick house, left by the village chief's younger brother's family. They had no money and no means of moving away.

Ning Yan paid someone to clean the house and spent three days arranging it before deciding to move in.

Before moving, I called everyone over.

Distribute silver.

In ancient times, banknotes were not universally accepted.

For example, the things the original owner had and the things she stole from the Chen family could be used in the capital and surrounding areas, or in prosperous cities.

However, in remote cities, some large-denomination banknotes are useless.

In the Eastern Ling Kingdom, large-denomination banknotes were equivalent to modern bankbooks, and they had passwords.

If you lose your passbook, you can report it lost and get your money back using your password, or get a new passbook. You can also catch the person who tries to withdraw money using someone else's passbook on the spot.

For small amounts, since they can be used like cash and don't require a password, there's no problem with that.

But she didn't have any small denomination banknotes left.

Only silver can be found.

Honestly, the impact of having such a large sum of silver placed in front of them was immense; Yu Zhu and the others' eyes lit up.

"I can't return to the capital for the time being, but I'll give you the money I promised you now."

You can deposit the silver in a money shop and withdraw it when you return to the capital, or you can take the silver back to the capital and live your own lives.

Zhang Qing was the first to speak up, "Master, we won't leave. We want to stay with you forever."

Following the general can earn military merits, and military merits are for money. But now they can earn money directly, and their master is so generous. With these five hundred taels, they will have confidence in everything they do in the future. So why should they go back?

Granny Zhang also shook her head and refused: "We won't leave, absolutely not. We still have to serve our master."

Ning Yan was very satisfied with these people's attitude. She didn't want to change anyone, since she was used to these people. "It's better if you don't leave. From now on, your monthly allowance will be doubled, and you will receive an extra tael of silver per month for cold-weather protection if you stay in the North."

They didn't understand anything about cold resistance or anything like that. All they knew was that for every extra month they stayed in the North, they could earn an extra tael of silver. With their monthly allowance doubled, they were essentially earning three months' worth of silver for just one month of work. It was absolutely wonderful!

The twenty-odd people cheered, and everyone's face was full of smiles.

"Come on, count the silver. It took us almost three months to travel to the north, so the monthly allowance will be calculated based on this. Yu Zhu, you help distribute the silver. I'll give you half a day to save the silver and buy daily necessities. Tomorrow, four people will stay to guard this house, and the rest of you will come with me to Yuanshan Village."

"Yes, Master."

With over five hundred taels of silver in hand, Yu Zhu and the others went to deposit the money, leaving four guards to watch over the house while the rest drove the carriage to Yuanshan Village.

Ning Yan moved into the village and on the first day, she brought Chu Lin to her yard.

The room was heated by a kang (a heated brick bed), and it was burning with the finest silver charcoal. It was so warm that people had to take off their outer robes as soon as they entered the room.

After Chu Lin got onto the kang (heated brick bed), he took off all the outer layers of clothing.

"Mother, Father and my eldest brother have all gone to the military camp. Will they be alright?"

Ning Yan: "There is no war in the North now, so there will definitely be no trouble."

In the previous life, all the Chu family members who had safely traveled to the north returned safely to the capital, so naturally they were unharmed.

A maid came in, carrying a plate of roasted nuts and a plate of frozen pears, and placed them on a small table on the kang (heated brick bed).

"It's still better here at Mother's. The house is big and bright. Grandmother doesn't even burn firewood in her room."

"Didn't your mother give your grandmother some money? Didn't she buy firewood?"

"The villagers don't dare to sell us too much firewood. After all, it's too cold outside, and there's still thick snow on the mountain, so firewood is hard to come by."

"Lin'er, is there anything your grandmother needs?"

Chu Lin thought for a moment and said, "Let's buy some pears for Grandmother too. She's not used to sleeping on a heated kang and has been feeling a bit feverish these past few days."

Ning Yan immediately summoned Yu Zhu and asked him to send someone to buy charcoal and pears.

The charcoal she used was acquired during the raid on the Duke's mansion. Such high-quality charcoal was not available in the north, so she still had to buy it for them on the spot.

"Yes, Master."

After he left, Ning Yan began teaching the little guy to read and recognize characters.

At noon, Ning Yan had the meat sliced ​​thinly, prepared the seasonings herself, and made a hot pot. The mother and son set up a table, while the guards went back to their rooms to eat.

After the servants withdrew, Ning Yan took out the chili oil again and added a spoonful to her sesame paste bowl. Chu Lin looked at it curiously and insisted on having some too. As a result, he was overwhelmed by the spiciness after just one bite!

But it smells so good.

The little boy slurped his food with relish, free from all the rules and restrictions, without the nagging of servants telling him what he couldn't eat or what he couldn't eat, and with his mother teaching him to read and write.

Chu Lin felt that life in the North didn't seem too bad.

Ning Yan also felt that she could endure staying in the North for two or three years.

However, she was unaware of the enormous impact her theft of all the government funds from the national treasury had.

The Crown Prince's extensive search of the capital, especially given the major incident of the theft of the national treasury, quickly became common knowledge.

The crown prince's confidants took over the war against Xiwan, but the original garrison had all disappeared.

The 100,000-strong army led by his confidant was no match for the soldiers of Xiwan, and suffered repeated defeats on the western front.

The general sent an urgent message to the court, requesting grain, silver, and manpower, but what could the old emperor provide?

We can't afford it!

So, the great general fled with his troops!

Yes, they ran away.

However, he was killed halfway through his escape, and his remaining 70,000 soldiers were persuaded to surrender and joined the Chu family army!

They are the Chu family army, who rule the mountains!

Then Chu Haoxuan led his 120,000 troops to set up an ambush, annihilating 60,000 troops from Xiwan and capturing more than 20% of them. These 20,000 Xiwan soldiers also became part of Chu's army.

The Western Wan army suffered a crushing defeat, and the Chu family army split into two routes. One route, led by General Tie, a trusted subordinate of Chu Haoxuan, repelled the Western Wan army and recaptured the lost cities. The other route, personally led by Chu Haoxuan, marched directly back to the capital! (End of Chapter)