Chapter 10

During my mourning period, my mother began guiding me in my daily life. True to her background, she was a seasoned expert. Her words often hit the nail on the head, directly addressing the key points. Even my naive and superficial ideas were gradually brought into a deeper and more practical perspective.

During that time, my brother also accompanied me to study. My mother seemed a little hesitant at first, but later she acquiesced for some reason.

Over the past two years, my mother taught us politics, geography, the court, the battlefield, famous families, and the common people.

I admire my mother more and more. As expected, the eldest daughter of a famous family is definitely not incompetent.

The past two years have passed in a flash, and a lot of things have happened during this period. Although my mother is in mourning at home, she is well aware of what is happening in the court.

Moreover, whenever there was something important that required her mother's participation, the princess would go to the mansion to discuss it with her mother in private.

By the way, the princess got married in the past two years, and now the eldest daughter is about to pass away.

The Third Princess was already 21 years old. While some women of that age were unmarried, few were unengaged. The Queen was so anxious that she kept calling her "stubborn." This was what the Crown Princess teased us with when she arrived.

I estimate that once our mourning period is over, the imperial edict may enter our home.

Unfortunately, or rather too coincidentally, it was almost the beginning of winter here, and before the mourning period was completely over, a major event happened in the court.

The enemy invaded the northern border, raiding and looting surrounding villages at night. It is said that they destroyed several villages. They also lost a team of soldiers patrolling the border.

In recent decades, the country has enjoyed good weather and people have lived and worked in peace and contentment, so it is inevitable that people tend to prioritize culture over military affairs.

When word reached the imperial court, the entire court was in shock. The emperor's aunt, not caring that her mother was still in mourning, summoned her to the court. The ministers had varying opinions, but everyone agreed that a fight back was necessary. The Xia Kingdom was incredibly righteous.

Everyone argued over who should lead the troops to support, and finally decided that General Zhou, the General of Cavalry, would lead the troops. The Vice Minister of War was asked to check with my mother about the supplies and was determined to ensure the logistical support for the soldiers.

The Ministry of Revenue had money, so my mother accepted the order with confidence.

The special thing is that the third princess also insisted on following him to the battlefield, which made the queen shed tears for a while in the harem. However, the emperor's aunt praised her very much, saying that the woman was not afraid of hardships!

After the matter was settled, Mother was specially summoned to leave her mourning period, and our family home also reopened. However, since it was still a while away, we still avoided outside gatherings and kept our interactions with the outside world to a minimum.

Of course, when fighting on the border, no one would be so tactless as to hold a grand banquet.

My brother came to me and said, "Lanlan, I want to go to the border and see the battlefield." I was very surprised: "Why?"

My brother lowered his head and said, "Since I've been reborn, I want to do as much as I can. I may not be able to do much, but since I've learned some medicine, I can still participate in the rescue. Plus, I have some basic knowledge of modern first aid."

I looked at my brother and asked, "What can I do for you?" I always support my brother.

"If I tell Mom directly that I'm going to the border, Mom and Dad will definitely disagree. Being a man is still a lot of inconveniences." My brother looked embarrassed. "Maybe I need you to help me cover up the lie. I plan to say I'm going on a trip. When I get there, I'll tell Mom and Dad the truth."

"In fact, if you tell the Emperor's Aunt directly that you want to follow the Third Princess to the border, the Emperor's Aunt might agree directly. There's nothing we can do even if Mother has objections." I said seriously.

"I don't want Aunt Emperor to put pressure on Mother. I don't think it's good." The brother pinched his ear.

I thought about it and said to my brother, "Then I'll go talk to Mother. But you have to think about the consequences. If you don't go to the battlefield and stay in the rear, your safety should be guaranteed. But if word gets back, there might be rumors that you've run off with the Third Princess, and then your marriage to her will be a done deal."

"I can't care about that anymore." said the brother helplessly.

I thought about it for a while, and then after dinner I went to see my mother. She was very confused: "Why did you come to see me so late?"

I sat across from my mother, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "Mom, I feel like I've reached a bottleneck in my studies recently. I want to go out and study. After all, reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles."

"After all, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles," the mother murmured. "That's a good saying! Did you say that, or did you read it somewhere?"

I was also helpless, "Mom, please don't talk nonsense, I want to go out and study!"

"You're only fifteen, aren't you a little young?" the mother said worriedly. "Your father probably won't agree."

"You'll be sixteen by the New Year, not young anymore. Besides, don't you have guards following you?" I couldn't help but retort. You know, here, you can get married at seventeen or eighteen.

The mother thought about it and agreed, "Then take two more. Things are not peaceful lately." The mother also felt that older girls should go out and see more and learn about the outside world.

I was clingy and my mother was puzzled. "I agreed to everything, why don't you leave?"

I swallowed and spoke carefully, "I want to take my brother with me."

My mother stood up in a flash, and I jumped back in shock. She pointed at me with a trembling finger, furious, "Are you still breastfeeding? You need your brother to accompany you wherever you go. You're always clinging to him, ah!"

I trembled and said, "I think my brother is also bored at home. His peers are all married, and we can't play together. He must want to go out and see the world."

The mother sat down angrily, "Did your brother want to go out on his own?"

I chuckled and walked over to give my mother a shoulder pat. "Hey, mother, you're very perceptive. I wanted to go out anyway. Brother, I'm bored too."

Mother pondered for a moment. "Your brother is a man of great ambition. It's a pity he was born a boy. Bring more people with you and keep me informed."

I nodded immediately. "Don't worry, mother. I will definitely protect my brother! I'll trouble you with father's affairs. Hehe."

My mother pointed to the door. I rubbed my hands, laughed, walked out backwards, turned around and ran away, leaving my mother sitting alone for a long time.

The next morning, I went to tell my brother the news before breakfast. He smiled and touched my head, which made me protest, "I'm already old, don't touch my head anymore."

My brother just glanced at me and asked the servants to prepare breakfast.

After the meal, my brother sighed, "I'm so lucky to have such a family."

I nodded, and my brother stood up and said, "Let's pack our bags. The team has been leaving for a few days. Let's get ready and leave as soon as possible."

I stood up as well. "Okay. Brother, do we need to plan a route? Or should we just go after the Third Princess?"

"I'll think about it," my brother replied. I nodded and took Zhixia and the others back.

It took two days to prepare everything, mainly for my father, who would prepare this and send that. It's true that a mother worries about her child even when he's far away.

Before leaving, we had a meal with Mom and Dad. Dad was a little choked up, so we tried to comfort him. My brother and I looked at each other, feeling a little guilty. After all, the place we were going was much more dangerous than what we had told our family.

Mother called us into the study. "I don't know what you two are planning. You've both been very opinionated since childhood, and I won't stop you. But you must ensure your own safety. You must always carry the family jade pendant with you. You both know this. No matter where you go, you can always withdraw banknotes at our Jin Man Tang Bank. You both know our family business, and you can do whatever you want. If you have any news, please report it back to me at any time."

I nodded, and my brother replied, "Don't worry, Mother. I know my limits. It's a good opportunity for us to secretly visit our family business."

The mother looked at the brother seriously and said, "Well, I'm very relieved. Keep an eye on your sister and don't let her get into trouble." The brother nodded, "Okay."

I pointed at myself, a questioning expression on my face. Such an injustice. There was nowhere to appeal.

The next morning, at first light, we set off. Besides my brother's and my carriage, there were ten more carts of luggage following behind. Yes, that's right, ten! This was the result of my repeated requests to travel light, all weighed down by my father's love. Besides the guards, maids, and servants, we also had a doctor, an embroiderer, a cook, and so on—everything else was included.

With this group, we couldn't get anywhere fast, so my brother and I were forced to slow down our journey.

Normally, I was used to staying in the same car with my brother. After almost two days of driving, we finally arrived at the nearby city. I got out of the car and reached out to help my brother, who patted my hand. Yes, for convenience, my brother was now dressed like a woman.

Sitting in the inn, while waiting for my meal, I couldn't help but complain, "This terrible traffic makes my butt hurt. When I come back, I must build a road. If you want to get rich, build roads first. It really is a wise saying."

Zhixia and the others have become accustomed to not understanding what I say. They feel that the eldest lady and the eldest master have their own unique language of communication.

My brother nodded in agreement, "That's right. Money is not a problem, but what are we going to use to repair it?" Look, we are very rich now.

"How is asphalt made?" I scratched my head.

"You're asking me? I don't understand it either. Give it to the Ministry of Industry and let them experiment." My brother is very experienced in coming up with ideas.

"The current technology is probably not good enough. However, cement may be easier to make. I'll write back and give you some suggestions. However, the money in the national treasury may be mainly used to supply the military recently." I thought about it and pouted.

"We still have to make money." My brother agreed.

After the food came, we had a big meal and then went back to our room to rest. I asked my brother if he wanted to go out for a walk, but he refused. I guess we were both very tired.

We started on our journey again early in the morning.

During this time, we hurriedly rested at each stop and didn't have time to truly experience the local customs and people. After about twenty days, we caught up with the grain transport team and learned that the three princesses and their companions were riding fast horses to the border.

Indeed, with transportation so underdeveloped these days and the battlefield changing so rapidly, we had to act quickly. So we didn't delay and continued on our way.

To save time, we didn't stay in any town except when we needed to buy supplies, and we rested at the post station. Every time we did, we sighed that we needed money.

Just in case, my brother and I discussed it for a long time and decided to have someone secretly prepare some saltpeter and sulfur. But if we can use it, we still have to keep it, as hot weapons are still too lethal.

He also sent a message in advance to ask the shop owner on the other side of the border to prepare more fireworks and firecrackers.