Lin Chenghe waited for Xiaozhu to arrive with the lychees, then found an excuse to leave in a hurry. Before leaving, he whispered, "Mom, take your time to enjoy the flowers. I'll go back to take care of my official business."

Yun Wanshu was stunned. Cheng'er must not like this girl, otherwise why would he be in such a hurry to leave?

"Okay, then go get busy."

"Um."

The girls looked at his receding figure, feeling somewhat empty in their hearts. Song Ning looked at her elder sister who was sitting there, and asked tentatively, "Sister, did you know Lord Lin before?"

Song Yuan clenched her hands nervously, the corners of her mouth curled slightly: "We met once, and you saved me."

"Rescuing you, when did it happen?"

“…”

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Song Ning didn't feel uneasy. He always felt that something was out of control. No, it was impossible. What else could his elder sister be besides being a nerd?

Your Excellency will definitely not be interested in such a boring person.

*

Xiaoliangshan

Jiang Sheng led his men up the mountain and searched for half a day before finding the place. Looking at the simple mine cave, he walked in.

Swish, the tinder was lit, and the mine became brighter.

Yang Er whispered, "Sir, our people found out that this place used to be a mine. After the iron ore was mined out, it was gradually abandoned."

"But there was an unexpected incident during that earthquake. Someone discovered another mine just one meter below the pit. It was filled with refined iron ore. If we could get it..."

Even though he didn't say the rest, Jiang Sheng understood what he meant.

If the iron ore is mined privately and the imperial court finds out, the entire family will be exterminated. But since the Jiang family has decided to rebel, they have no choice but to do it.

In the previous life, the Jiang family was loyal, but in the end they were wiped out. Even if there are risks in this life, we must be prepared in advance.

【Food, weapons, men, gold and silver are all essential. Once a war begins, the costs will be enormous.】

Jiang Sheng walked to the end little by little, looked at the gap in the stone wall, picked up the scattered stones on the ground, squeezed them and found that they did contain a lot of iron.

Yang Er suddenly remembered something and continued, "Sir, there's one more thing. The person you sent out to investigate earlier wrote back, saying that there's a kind of black soil in Tango that can burn."

"...What, burning black soil?"

"Yes, they say that the villagers there never freeze to death in the cold winter. They go to the mountains to dig up black soil and make something like charcoal to burn."

A light bulb went off in Jiang Sheng's head. He seemed to have heard this description somewhere. It was a very important thing that could be used instead of charcoal.

That's strange, which book did I read it in?

Seeing him standing there in deep thought, Yang Er lowered his head and said nothing, fearing to interrupt his thoughts.

"Forget it, let's continue watching. When we have time, we can go there and see what that burning black soil is."

"Yes, sir."

The two of them came out after a long time. Jiang Sheng made a note of it in a booklet and would discuss it with his brother later to see how to deal with it better.

The Northern Wilderness must be controlled quietly and bit by bit in the hands of the Jiang family to ensure that the news does not leak out. Once they become stronger, it will not matter even if the court finds out.

"Let's go. We can go down the mountain now. We'll go to the next location tomorrow and spread the news so that more refugees can be brought to the Northern Wasteland to work and farm."

"Yes, sir."

The two returned to the backyard of the Lin Mansion and packed their things in advance, preparing to leave Qiandeng Town early the next morning after they had said goodbye.

*

It was getting dark.

Yun Wanshu and her son sat at the table to eat. Looking at her silent son, she said helplessly, "Cheng'er, do you have a girl you like today? If so, please ask the matchmaker to come and propose marriage."

A white figure suddenly appeared in Lin Chenghe's mind, clutching his sleeve tightly, and his heart moved slightly.

"...I think Song Yuan, the eldest daughter of the Song family, is pretty good."

"Oh, Song Ning is good. Wait, who were you talking about?"

Yun Wanshu thought she had misheard. Wasn't Song Yuan a concubine's daughter? Why did her son say she was a legitimate daughter? Did they know each other before?

Lin Chenghe nodded and briefly recounted what happened that night. He said seriously, "Mother, I asked someone to investigate. The Song family favors concubines over wives, even though Song Yuan is the legitimate daughter."

"But, Master Song has never allowed her to go out. The bad guys appeared under the lights that night, and it has something to do with Song Ning..."

Yun Wanshu understood what he said and frowned.

"Cheng'er, since Song Yuan is the legitimate daughter, I have always said openly and secretly that Song Ning is the legitimate daughter, and that girl has never refuted a word. Isn't this just treating her like a monkey?"

"Well, mother can learn more about it. If there are no major problems, then Song Yuan will be the one. I've heard that she's well-read and talented, so you won't have to worry too much about the rear house if she's left to her."

Lin Chenghe didn't know why he subconsciously chose her. It didn't matter. He wasn't that averse to that girl anyway, so she was the one.

The way the others looked at him disgusted him.

Yun Wanshu looked at her son. No one knows a son better than his mother. She naturally saw that her son seemed to have a good impression of Song Yuan. That was fine. All she wanted in this life was her son's happiness.

"Okay, then mother, please ask around. If the girl is really suitable, then find a matchmaker and arrange it as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected events."

Lin Chenghe hummed, his face still expressionless, and very cold and distant.

Seeing her son like this, Yun Wanshu sighed in her heart. Her son didn't look like he was looking for a girl, but more like he was going to become a monk. Alas, it was obviously not like this before.

The mother and son had their meal in a deserted atmosphere, without any hint of homely atmosphere.

"Cheng'er, after you get married, have a child as soon as possible. A child makes the family lively. Look at us mother and son having dinner. It's so lonely here."

Lin Chenghe paused for a long time before nodding.

"Okay, I understand."

After finishing his meal, Lin Chenghe returned to his room, reading a book, while Xiaozhu waited on him.

"Sir, the concierge said that Doctor Yang went to Xiaoliangshan today and was buying some dry food. He might leave town in the next two days."

"...Leaving? I'm afraid it's too late to hold a farewell banquet."

Xiao Zhu nodded and said, "Doctor Yang seems quite anxious. He was supposed to stay here for quite some time and would probably leave early tomorrow morning. Otherwise, we should see him off."

"Miss Song will treat you to lunch tomorrow at noon. This way it won't delay anything."

Lin Chenghe's eyes flickered, and he slowly put down the book in his hand: "Okay, call me early tomorrow morning. I want to see Doctor Yang off, and then go to Qianweiju at noon."

"Okay, sir, you can sleep peacefully. Xiaozhu will be watching over you."

"Um"

That night Lin Chenghe had a strange dream. He grabbed the girl in white in the dream and did all kinds of wanton things to her. The sound of the woman sobbing softly seemed to still echo in his ears.

He sat up straight, lifted the quilt and saw that his face had turned dark. He... actually had desires for a girl. It was really disgraceful.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the images in my mind, but the more I tried to forget, the clearer the images in the dream became in my mind.