"No, if it were the imperial court conscripting soldiers, there would be no need to hide it! They ordered the people not to make a fuss, hoping to buy some time to catch the enemy off guard. It's obvious that it's not a battle against the Ji army."
Zhou Chen gasped, "If it's not targeting the Ji Army, then it must be targeting the Zhuang Army, and the only force the court has capable of attacking the Zhuang Army is the Hulin Army in the Northeast!"
"The conscription order for this time..."
Zhou Chen suddenly realized, but didn't want to continue, because the commander of the Tiger Forest Army had always been Zhou Lin, his own brother.
The person who made the whole Northeast so lifeless was actually his own brother!
Although Zhou Lin had wronged Zhou Chen, Zhou Chen still refused to believe that Zhou Lin was such a cruel person.
Su Jin said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, the able-bodied men have already gathered near Lishui, and the Tiger Forest Army will be mobilized soon!"
Zhou Chen fell silent.
Su Jin didn't say much, and simply said, "Let's rest. After tonight, we need to head straight to the Tiger Forest Army's camp!"
Meeting Zhou Lin was Su Jin's main purpose for this trip.
——
Qilin Pass.
"Father, Mother, please don't sell my sister, please!"
Shen Qianxue returned from the military camp and walked alone on the street. Suddenly, he heard a little boy's pleading voice and looked in the direction of the sound.
Through a window, Shen Qianxue saw a five or six-year-old boy grabbing his mother's clothes and pleading desperately.
The mother hugged her child tightly, crying, "My child, we have no money left. If we don't sell your sister, what will you do?"
"I don't want money, I want my sister!" the boy cried.
This scene was heartbreaking.
Shen Qianxue silently walked to the window and knocked. Her father, alert, rushed over to check and saw a silver ingot on the windowsill, but there was no one on the street.
The man was overjoyed. With this ingot of silver, he could endure another year, and his daughter would no longer have to be sold.
Shen Qianxue had already turned into an even darker alley when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. The scene just now looked so familiar!
Looking at the family of three through the window...
Shen Qianxue took a deep breath; he remembered.
In Liuli Village, he also watched through the window as the boy rushed to Su's parents, showing concern for them.
But Su Jinxia has no older or younger brothers, so how come there's an extra child who also calls Su's father and mother "father" and "mother"?
How strange!
At the time, Shen Qianxue was so busy dealing with Yang Jiaoruo and Su Jinxia's affairs that she overlooked this point.
Shen Qianxue blinked, and a flash of inspiration crossed her mind.
When Zhuang Jun's five hundred soldiers appeared at Qilin Pass, they were easily captured by the Ji Army. This was hardly the work of Su Jin.
It's possible that Su Jinxia didn't even come back at that time!
What was she doing staying in Liuli Mountain? Why did it take her almost twice the distance to arrive? Where did she go and what did she do?
Zhuang Jun is facing a predicament. What is Su Jin's plan?
A series of questions urgently need answers.
Shen Qianxue immediately went back and instructed the Phoenix Pavilion disciples to investigate when Su Jinxia left Liuli Mountain, which places she passed through, who else was traveling with her, and what the identity of the man who appeared at Su Jinxia's house was.
——
Keli City, the garrison of the Tiger Forest Army on the northeastern border.
As night falls, darkness gradually envelops the city.
The north wind was howling, and people hurried home, pulling their cotton-padded coats tighter around their necks.
From the Third Prince's residence, faint sounds of string and bamboo instruments drifted out, melodious and poignant, quite out of place in this quiet and chilly winter day.
"Come, Third Prince, drink!"
Jiang Long, the younger brother of the Empress Dowager, was in his thirties and had a smug look on his face. He had a beautiful woman in his left arm and a woman in his right arm, and two more were lying on the table at his feet.
Jiang Long looked at Zhou Lin, who sat in the seat of honor with a sullen face, like a lump of iron, and was very disappointed. He shouted at him to drink, and generously gave away one of the beauties in his arms.
"Go, have a drink with the Third Prince."
If Zhou Lin hadn't been sitting in the main seat and Jiang Long in the guest seat, one would have thought that Jiang Long was the master of this vast city lord's mansion, the renowned Third Prince!
Zhou Lin, the third prince, is Zhou Chen's older brother. He was granted the title of prince when he got married a few years ago.
The beautiful woman, delicate and frail, climbed to Zhou Lin's side, her eyes alluring. She raised her slender, white hand to take a wine cup and held it to Zhou Lin's lips. "Your Highness, have a drink. Are you worried that the Princess Consort won't allow you to do anything reckless? Don't worry, it's just drinking. I won't do anything else."
The Third Princess and the Third Prince met on the battlefield and were deeply in love. The Third Prince's reputation for being afraid of his wife was known throughout the city.
Zhou Lin stared at the unsightly scene on Jiang Long's side, feeling disgusted. He pushed away the beauty and wine, stood up, and said, "I'm tired. Uncle, please make yourself at home."
Zhou Lin was raised by the Empress Dowager, so he respectfully addressed Jiang Long as his uncle.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Lin strode out of the main hall.
After he left, Jiang Long snorted disdainfully, "Just a dog, what's there to be so proud of!"
After Zhou Lin left, he did not rest. On the contrary, he was wide awake and walked around the mansion with a heavy heart.
A short while later, the princess arrived in haste with her servants.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin quickly went to greet him, "It's late and cold at night, why are you out here?"
Princess Consort Wang Shuyi was tall but extremely thin, with a slightly pale complexion.
As a princess, she was not particularly beautiful, nor did she seem to possess much good fortune, but Zhou Lin looked at her with deep affection and tenderness.
Wang Shuyi smiled and said, "Since you know it's late and cold at night, you should go back early so I don't have to worry."
Zhou Lin quickly looked apologetic, "It's my fault, let's go back now."
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