Chapter 166 If my family betrays me, my crime will be compounded!

Shen Yuanjing's eyes flickered, but he didn't reply.

Shen Lanxi lowered her voice: "If they betrayed me, because they are my family, therefore... their crime is compounded! Understand?"

Shen Yuanjing felt a chill and immediately nodded.

"I know, big sister, I definitely won't!"

Shen Lanxi raised the corners of her mouth: "I remember that Second Uncle is off work the day after tomorrow?"

Shen Yuanjing nodded, his eyes filled with doubt.

Shen Lanxi: "Our family has finally established itself in Dongchuan, it's time to consider the continuation of our clan!"

Shen Yuanjing paused for a moment, his eyes flickered, and he said, "I'll go tell my second uncle in a bit!"

Shen Lanxi nodded in satisfaction: "Good brother, go and get busy!"

Shen Yuanjing hadn't had time to think about anything else. After leaving the room, he stood there in a daze for a while.

When he was in the capital, he was engaged to a young lady from a Hanlin family. They grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. If it weren't for the theft of the Wei family army's supplies, they would have gotten married next year.

He still remembered the scene of the steward of the Hanlin family bringing the letter of annulment to his home. He had kept the letter with him all this time, but he didn't know when it disappeared. Perhaps it was when he encountered fleeing refugees, or perhaps it was when he encountered pirates!

Even though only a few months had passed, he felt as if everything that had happened in the capital before was something that had happened in a previous life.

There are so many things I can't remember.

~

A heavy snowfall halted the Eastern Liao King's pursuit of the throne and froze most of the Great Zhou's land.

In places where riots broke out, the riots ceased; in places where peace talks were being held, the peace talks were suspended; and in places where troops were raised, they returned to their posts.

They did only one thing: clear the snow, stockpile food, and buy coal!

Shen Lanxi's jurisdiction was so impassable that people couldn't get in or out. Fortunately, Shen Lanxi was prepared and transported the grain and charcoal into Baihe County by the cartload.

Controlled by Wei Dongzhu and others, no one except those responsible for transporting the goods knew that a large quantity of grain and charcoal had been delivered!

Shen Lanxi was drawing the military fortress when Wei Dongzhu came in. He was carrying a ceramic jar, and seeing a teapot on the charcoal stove, he took a few tea leaves from the jar and put them in.

"Have some hot tea!"

A cup of hot tea was placed in front of Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi put down the ruler and looked up: "Have everything been stored away?"

Wei Dongzhu: "Everything has been stored in the warehouse. The warehouse will be personally guarded by my men!"

Shen Lanxi stood up and moved her wrists a couple of times.

"This snow came just in time!"

Wei Dongzhu raised an eyebrow. Right now, in the entire Great Zhou, perhaps only Shen Lanxi would think that this snow was timely.

"How's the recruit training going?"

Wei Dongzhu: "Give me another month, and I guarantee I'll train them to be ready to charge into battle and kill the enemy!"

Shen Lanxi: "You're amazing!"

Wei Dongzhu took off his mask, revealing a face that was red from the cold.

Even with a mask to shield them from the wind and snow, they couldn't stop the biting cold.

Shen Lanxi sat down on a small stool and threw a sweet potato into the charcoal stove.

Wei Dongzhu: "You can't roast sweet potatoes over an open flame, or they'll burn out in no time." He used tongs to take the sweet potatoes out, picked out a few pieces of charcoal, and waited until the flames on the charcoal died down before putting the sweet potatoes back on.

"You're a good eater!" Shen Lanxi can roast sweet potatoes, but she doesn't have the patience to pick out the charcoal pieces one by one.

Wei Dongzhu chuckled: "I grew up in the Northwest, and this is how they roast sweet potatoes in winter there!"

Shen Lanxi didn't want to talk about the Northwest, but unexpectedly, Wei Dongzhu brought it up on his own initiative.

"My name is Wei Dongzhu, not Hu Zhu!"

Shen Lanxi's eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't expose it.

"Using an alias is safe when you're out and about!"

Wei Dongzhu, however, had already made up his mind to reveal his true identity.

"It's the Wei family army."

Shen Lanxi deliberately feigned surprise and looked at him twice: "What is your relationship with the Wei family army?"

Wei Dongzhu straightened his chest and said, word by word, "My father is Wei Qianfan, and my name is Wei Dongzhu. I am a young general in the Wei family army!"

Shen Lanxi: "Is that Wei Dongzhu, whose silver-wood sword flashes like lightning and whose movements are like swimming dragons?"

If anyone else had said this, Wei Dongzhu would have given a wry smile, lamenting that there was no longer any General Yinmu Cang. But coming from Shen Lanxi, it had a strange quality to it!

“Yes, I am Wei Dongzhu!” After saying that, Wei Dongzhu looked at Shen Lanxi’s reaction seriously.

However, he was disappointed. He did not see any shock or surprise on Shen Lanxi's face.

Aside from a moment of surprise at first, she remained calm throughout.

"Are you here for revenge?" Shen Lanxi asked casually.

Wei Dongzhu was afraid she would misunderstand, so he quickly explained, "No, I know that the theft of the grain and salary has nothing to do with your family!"

Shen Lanxi: "That's hard to say. What if it's our family? If we hide our family away, we can become the richest family in the Great Zhou Dynasty once the storm passes!"

Wei Dongzhu chuckled rather unkindly, then quickly became serious and said, "I believe you. I did follow you at first out of revenge, but after I discovered that you were not the same as the rumors suggested, I became certain that the Shen family did not steal the grain and provisions!"

Shen Lanxi: "You could have kept it a secret all along, why are you saying it now?"

Wei Dongzhu thought to himself: I don't want to hide it from you anymore.

“I don’t think living under an assumed name is a solution. Apart from peeling off a layer of skin, my face hasn’t changed much. Sooner or later, someone will recognize me. Rather than having someone expose me, I’d rather be honest!”

Shen Lanxi picked up the teacup and took a small sip. It was pre-Qingming Longjing tea, a fine tea!

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you to silence you?"

Wei Dongzhu said confidently, "I think it's more worthwhile to be one of your top generals than to silence you!"

Shen Lanxi: "Do you want to find the real culprit in the theft case?"

Wei Dongzhu: "I dream about it!"

Shen Lanxi glanced at the mask in his hand: "From now on, when you go out, don't take off the mask on your face!"

Wei Dongzhu understood what she meant.

"One day, I will personally kill those people!"

Since Shen Lanxi made him wear a mask, he could only pretend to be Hu Zhu for the time being.

Although I felt a little regretful, I felt much more relaxed than before.

Wei Dongzhu began to teach military strategy, and anyone who had Wei Dongzhu's permission could listen!

After clearing the snow from the main road, the garrison soldiers began their pre-arranged lessons.

In the morning, we spend half an hour learning characters, followed by practice. At noon, we have lunch and a half-hour rest, then half an hour learning simple wound bandaging, followed by more practice. There is one sparring session in between, and then it continues until evening.

The process was repeated on the second day.

No longer needing to worry about food and clothing, and still able to study, everyone cherished this opportunity. No one caused trouble, not even over trivial matters.

Especially after Shen Lanxi's inspection, it was the quietest time in the garrison!

To put it bluntly, even local thugs and hooligans have to behave themselves when they come to the garrison.

They whipped the corpses and subjected them to slow slicing; those thorny heads hadn't even had a chance to stand up before they shrank back into their necks!