"You seem troubled. Why are you looking so down?" After dinner, Song Tantan and Ye Moxun walked behind the group, and the former nudged him with her elbow.

"No, I was just thinking about whether I should disguise myself," Ye Moxun said in a low voice.

Song Tantan tilted her head and looked at him for a long time, then seemed to understand something. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You don't want Liu Chengyu to see your real face, but if you disguise yourself, the villagers won't recognize you either. If you're discovered and exposed, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?"

"I've thought of that too, so I've decided to deal with the disguise later." Ye Moxun seemed relieved, his face no longer tense.

Song Tantan lowered her head and began to think. She suddenly had a plan, but she didn't want to tell anyone for the time being.

When they stopped for the night, Zhong Qingyi and Ye Moxun had a private chat, mainly because the latter had something to say to the former.

“You think Liu Chengyu’s identity is complicated and we should be careful when dealing with him,” Zhong Qingyi understood his meaning. “A-Xun is right. It would be fine if we didn’t know his identity, but he is the eldest son of the Prince Xian. If nothing unexpected happens, the world will likely belong to the Prince Xian in the future.”

The wise king has always been popular with the people and has a good reputation among them. Back when there was a flood in Jiangnan, it was so difficult that the wise king was almost assassinated by people sent by other forces. But he still did not abandon the people and did his best to save the grain in the granaries to help the people.

Although he was forced to leave Jiangnan later, he quickly regained control after recovering some of his strength. He settled the refugees, allowed the people to resume farming, and developed agriculture. Under his rule, the people of Jiangnan lived quite well, much better than other places.

The most important point is that the wise king treats the people well and puts them first in everything. This is rare and something that leaders of other forces cannot do.

Ye Moxun recently received news that the northern Hu and Qiang tribes had started causing trouble again, and neither the Crown Prince nor the Duke of Zhenguo had taken any action; only the Prince Xian had sent troops to suppress them.

The wise king is in a bad situation. He is surrounded by enemies, and he has to resist external enemies while also guarding against attacks from his own people. Liu Chengyu would better go back to help his father as soon as possible, otherwise he may not be able to hold on.

From any perspective, it would be more beneficial for the people and the Great Jin Dynasty for the wise king to ascend the throne. The crown prince is weak and arrogant, mediocre in ability, and unfit for the great responsibility.

The Duke of Zhenguo is nothing but a traitor. If the world is like this, then so be it if you rebel. But you don't care about the people, you only care about your own interests. You are no different from Duke. Although you are a little smarter than Duke, such a cruel and insidious person is not worthy of being called a king.

After nearly a month of travel, the four of them were only half a day away from Songlin Village. This time the journey went smoothly; they did not encounter any large beasts and hunted quite a few small prey along the way.

Just like now, Song Tantan and Ye Moxun were chasing a small wild boar. For some reason, they hadn't caught any wild boars along the way, but today they encountered a small one, weighing less than fifty pounds.

When they reached a thicket of thorns, Song Tantan was about to strike with a wooden stick when she suddenly heard the sound of an arrow being shot behind her. She immediately rolled to the side to dodge.

Then they heard the little wild boar squeal; it had been shot in the belly with an arrow but had not died immediately.

"Who, who shot that?" Song Tantan jumped up from the ground in anger, put her hands on her hips and shouted.

Originally, she planned to knock him unconscious first, then carry him back to kill and eat him. If he was still alive, she could use his blood, which was quite delicious. But then, a sly surprise appeared out of nowhere.

A moment later, two people emerged from behind the bushes, followed by two more. They were all young men, the one in front being the youngest and most handsome. Although he was dressed in coarse cloth, he could not hide his inherent elegance and nobility.

Song Tantan's eyes flashed, and she quickly guessed the identity of this person. Who else could it be but Liu Chengyu? She knew everyone in Songlin Village, but these four were strangers. She hadn't seen anyone since she came in. These four couldn't have come in on their own, could they?

Sure enough, upon seeing them, Zhong Qingyi stepped forward and cupped her hands in greeting. "So it's Young Master Liu. Are you out hunting?" It's half a day's journey from here to Songlin Village, so even if you're hunting, it's quite a distance.

Liu Chengyu seemed a little embarrassed, giving an awkward yet polite smile. "The women in my family said they didn't have any oil to cook with, so we came out to try our luck and see if we could hunt a wild boar. But we didn't see a single wild boar along the way, and before we knew it, we'd wandered further and further away."

Then we ran into this little wild boar, and the four of us chased after it. We never imagined you'd see the little creature too.

His idea was either to split it in half, or he could pay them to buy the other half.

"Fine, since you've chased us all this way, you can have it. We don't need this little bit of meat." Song Tantan waved her hand. She wanted to capture them alive; she didn't care if they were shot to death.

There are still plenty of prey in the space; she really doesn't lack anything.

Liu Chengyu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "You must be Miss Song's niece, Song Tantan. I am Liu Chengyu, and I have long admired your name."

He then introduced himself to Ye Moxun, his attitude unusually enthusiastic, which aroused suspicion.

"Originally, I wanted to buy a pig from Miss Song to render oil, but you're not home, so..." Neither Zhu Xiu nor Village Chief Lin could decide to sell him a pig, so he had to come looking for a wild boar.

"Don't other people in the village also raise pigs?" Song Zhuiyan replied expressionlessly.

"I asked other people, and the villagers said they weren't selling, and it wasn't time to slaughter the pigs yet, so we could only wait." The main reason was that the villagers felt that having money was useless, as there was nowhere to buy things; Songlin Village was entirely self-sufficient.

There's been a surplus of grain in the last two years, but meat is still in short supply. Wild boars aren't easy to hunt, so it's better to raise your own pigs. Once they're fattened up, you can slaughter them, and the lard rendered from the pork belly is enough for your family to eat for a year. Why would you sell them?

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