"Has the princess decided to go back tomorrow?" Zhao Xian asked.

"I must go back. Although Prefect Jin has reported the matter of Yuanxi to the court, the court is not clear about the specific details. Only after I return will the Emperor and the civil and military officials know the details of the matter."

Furthermore, the court should not assume that it can rest easy after suppressing the rebellion in Yuanxi. In the vast northwest frontier, many unsafe factors remain, and the court must pay sufficient attention to these regions.

Li Xue's words reminded Zhao Xian of Li Guang's analysis of the territory of the Great Northern Dynasty two days ago. They must have exchanged ideas, otherwise Li Xue would not have such profound insights into the vast northwestern frontier.

After returning to the inn, Li Xue instructed her guards to pack their belongings in preparation for returning to the capital the next day. She then went to the farm to bid farewell to Li Gao.

As the weather gets warmer day by day, there is more and more work to be done in the fields. Of the 5,000 mu of fertile land that the imperial court bestowed upon Shuixian Village last time, 4,000 mu have already been rented out, and 1,000 mu have not yet been rented out. The main reason is that 200 mu of this 1,000 mu of fertile land is water.

Since the water surface cannot produce grain, some large households are unwilling to rent it, and the village head is worried about not being able to rent this piece of land.

Li Guang wanted to rent this land because he would need a lot of land to grow new varieties of crops in the future.

In addition, he knew that some crops could be grown on water, and these two hundred acres of water would become his future testing ground.

At this moment, Li Guang was inspecting the water surface and liked it more and more. He planned to discuss with Zhao Xian about renting the land.

When they returned to the farm, they found Li Xue playing with the animals, and it seemed she had been playing for a while.

"Sister, when did you arrive? Have you been waiting long?" Li Guang asked.

"It's been almost half an hour. I'm preparing to return to the capital tomorrow, so I've come to say goodbye."

"Oh, sister, you're going back?" Li Guang seemed a little reluctant.

"I've been away from Beijing for too long this time, and I must get back as soon as possible. I've carefully considered your analysis, and it's indeed the case."

"This situation in Yuanxi is not an isolated case. There are still some areas in the Great Northern Dynasty that the court is unable to effectively control. There are similar problems to varying degrees in these areas, and the court must pay attention to this," Li Xue said.

Li Guang nodded and said:

"In the northern frontier of the Great Northern Dynasty, there are some regions, such as Louye and Lanwei, which were small desert kingdoms hundreds of years ago. They were later conquered by the previous dynasty and are now part of the territory of the Great Northern Dynasty."

These two regions are different from Yuanxi; they are true deserts. Unlike Yuanxi, which has jade mines, these areas are too poor. If they had mineral resources, the people there might have rebelled long ago.

The events that happened in Yuanxi may have spread. If they knew that Yuanxi had more than 20 million taels of silver, they would definitely try to get their hands on it, as it would provide the foundation for establishing a nation.

The entire imperial court must transport this silver away as quickly as possible, and troops must be dispatched to protect it; otherwise, it will be difficult to safely transport it back to the capital.

“What you said makes some sense. The people sent by the imperial court to Yuanxi should have set off by now. Their main task should be to transport 20 million taels of silver back to the capital,” Li Xue said.

"That would be ideal, but there must be an army to escort them to ensure everything goes smoothly."

"This shouldn't be a problem. The court has so many civil and military officials; they will definitely consider these issues. We don't need to worry about it at all."

After returning from the farm, Li Xue began to worry about the safety of the 20 million taels of silver. Li Guang's analysis made a lot of sense. With so much silver being transported to the capital, it would definitely attract the attention of some forces. If the security was not strong enough, it would be easy for problems to arise.

The troops dispatched from the capital to Yuanxi should have already departed. Even if I were to rush back to the capital now, it would take me more than twenty days, which is simply too late.

Am I worrying too much? Don't you think the court has considered the things I've thought of? When did I become so indecisive?

Although that's what she thought, Li Xue always had something on her mind. Early the next morning, she said goodbye to Zhao Xian and instructed Wang Xing and Lü Liang to pay attention to the surrounding situation at all times and protect the safety of the Registrar.

Two hours later, Li Xue and her party arrived at Qing'an Prefecture and asked Prefect Shen to prepare three fast horses for her. She planned to ride back to the capital with two guards so that they could return to the city within seven or eight days.

Prefect Shen immediately complied. After lunch, Li Xue and two guards rode off at full speed, while the remaining two guards drove the carriage back.

The journey, which would normally take more than twenty days, was completed in just seven or eight days by Li Xue.

Upon returning home, Li Xue immediately went to see the Fourth Prince to pay her respects.

When the Fourth Prince saw Li Xue, he was very excited, but when he saw how dark and thin she looked, he immediately felt sorry for her.

Li Xue knew that she had been traveling too fast these past few days, not eating or sleeping well, and spending most of her time on horseback under the scorching sun. It was impossible for her to still be fair-skinned.

The Fourth Prince was a little puzzled as to why Li Xue had rushed back in such a hurry. Was there something important?

"Father, when did the people sent by the court to Yuanxi depart?" Li Xue asked.

"We set off twenty days ago, and we estimate we'll reach Yuanxi in about ten more days."

"Who was sent, and how many people went?" Li Xue pressed.

"The eldest prince, Li Hui, volunteered to go to Yuanxi to handle related matters, and was escorted by Wan Jinda, the commander of the garrison in the capital."

Wan Jinda, the commander of the garrison in the capital, is resourceful and skilled in both literature and military affairs. The court's decision to send him as an escort is probably the best choice, and Li Xue breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xue'er, why did you rush back just to ask about these things?" the Fourth Prince asked, puzzled.

"I was just asking casually. I mainly missed my father. After returning to Narcissus Village from Yuanxi, I personally made some tea for him to taste."

"Ah, Xue'er can make tea now! Quickly, bring it here for me to taste," the Fourth Prince said excitedly.

"Tea leaves are fragile and inconvenient to carry on horseback, so they're all on the carriage. Father may not be able to taste Xue'er's new tea for a few days."

Although the Fourth Prince was a little disappointed, he was still very happy.

"Then I'll wait a few days. As the saying goes, 'Good tea is worth the wait,' and new tea will be even more fragrant if it's left to sit for a few more days."

Li Xue didn't know if new tea would smell better after a few days, but that wasn't important anymore. She suddenly remembered something and asked:

"How many soldiers did General Wan bring with him when he escorted the Crown Prince to Yuanxi this time?"

"There are nearly three hundred people. Although the amount of money is huge, most of it is gold and silver notes. There are only two million taels of silver. This number of people is enough to escort it."

Upon hearing this, Li Xue frowned slightly. So many people escorting the shipment seemed like a lot, but if they were used to deal with a certain force in the desert, it might be a bit too much.

"What's wrong, Xue'er? Is there something amiss?" the Fourth Prince asked.