After discussing with the old village chief, Tian Mingwu's matters were almost ready.
Tian An asked Jingyu to leave all the remaining food in their hands to the old village chief and others, and gave him some silver, asking him to arrange someone to take Ye Qing and others to buy enough food for the winter.
Qin Wen, who was standing by, saw this and interrupted, “Miss, when we went to buy a carriage a few days ago, we heard that the price of food nearby had tripled, and it was not certain that we could still buy it.
There are quite a few villagers in Yaowang Valley, so it might be difficult to buy enough food for the winter. It would be better to bring it from the farms in the capital."
Qin Wen was a military advisor. If the situation wasn't truly difficult, he wouldn't have said that. Tian An hurriedly asked, "Do you know why? Logically speaking, the new grain has just been harvested. Even if it's winter and the price has risen, we shouldn't be unable to buy it!"
Qin Wen sighed, "It's said that another place has been hit by a disaster. The local government received an order to collect a lot of grain for disaster relief. The grain shop owners are afraid that it will affect them, so they have started to limit the purchase of grain."
Hearing this, the others fell silent. After a while, Tian Mingwu said, "Let's get ready and set off! The emperor must be in urgent need of people now."
"Then I'll go and urge them," Qin Wen said, then immediately turned around and walked out of the yard quickly.
At this point, Tian An could only go back to his room to write a letter, asking Zhuifeng and Zhuyue to send the letter back to the capital first, and asking Zhuangzi to prepare the food and send it over as soon as possible.
Just as she had sent Zhuifeng and Zhuyue away, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar piece of old, whitish blue coarse cloth sticking out at the gate of the courtyard.
There were not many people in the valley who left an impression on her, and after a little thought she figured out who the owner of the piece of clothing was.
Deng Xue followed Tian An's gaze and also noticed something unusual. She was about to go over and arrest the man, but was stopped by Tian An.
"Hurry up and go inside to see if you've left anything behind. We'll have to leave in two quarters of an hour at most."
Upon hearing this, Deng Xue turned and went into the house.
Tian An glanced at the courtyard gate and was about to turn around and go into the house when the person at the door could no longer stand.
Ye Zi made up her mind and immediately stepped into the yard, calling out, "Madam, please stay."
Tian An curled his lips, then put away his expression and turned to look at her, "Miss Ye Zi, is there anything else?"
Ye Zi lowered her head and hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind and said, "Madam, I, I, can I go with you?"
"Go with us? Does your grandfather agree?" Tian An asked instead of answering.
Ye Zi blushed, "I, I haven't told Grandpa yet."
Tian An looked at her blushing face and couldn't help teasing her, "Then why did you follow us? Your family is here!"
"I, I want to be a maid for Madam." Ye Zi raised her head and looked at Tian An.
Tian An raised his eyebrows and looked at her, "Oh? Really? Being my maid means you will be a slave. Do you know what slavery is?"
"This..." Ye Zi looked confused. She really didn't know what slavery was, but from Tian An's tone, she guessed that it was not a good thing.
Just as she was hesitating, another person came in from outside.
He glanced at Ye Zi who was at a loss, then knelt on one knee in front of Tian An, "Madam, please forgive me. Don't listen to her nonsense. I will take her away right away."
"Wait." Tian An suddenly became curious and waved his finger back and forth between the two of them. "So, what's going on between you two?"
He then looked at the secret guard kneeling on the ground and said, "I remember your name is Chi Xiao! Would you like to explain?"
Seeing Chi Xiao being questioned, Ye Zi, who had just been embarrassed and shy, became bolder this time, "Madam, don't blame him. It's, it's Ye Zi who loves him. I want to, I want to..."
Before she could finish her words, Tian An teased her, "So you don't want to be my maid, but you want a chance to stay with your lover?"
Chi Xiao was shocked and immediately pulled Ye Zi to his knees. "Madam, Ye Zi was ignorant and offended you. It was my fault for not keeping an eye on her. I am willing to accept the punishment."
Tian An ignored Chi Xiao and continued looking at Ye Zi.
Ye Zi knew she was wrong at this point. She shouldn't have lied to the Madam anyway. She lowered her head in guilt and didn't dare look at Tian An. "Madam, I'm sorry."
Tian An just said: "That's it."
Then he looked at Chi Xiao again, "What about you? What is your attitude towards Miss Ye Zi?"
Hearing this, Ye Zi looked at Chi Xiao nervously. Although she had expressed her love to Chi Xiao before and could feel that he had her in his heart, he had never said it to her in person.
Chi Xiao's expression was full of struggle and pain. After a long while, he could only say one sentence: "Madam, I am a secret guard and cannot get married. I cannot harm Miss Ye."
"Secret guards can't get married?" Tian An didn't know there was such a saying.
Chi Xiao explained, "Madam, as a secret guard, not only can you not get married, you can't have a family. Otherwise, you will have a weak spot and be easily manipulated by the enemy during the mission, or even betray your master."
Tian An was silent. What Chi Xiao said was indeed a problem. However, it is said that it is better to demolish ten temples than to break up a marriage. The secret guards are also human beings!
"Then, if one day Miss Ye and I are captured at the same time, and you can only save one, who will you choose to save?" Tian An stared into Chi Xiao's eyes.
However, Chi Xiao didn't even look at Ye Zi, and almost the next second he answered firmly: "Save my lady, Chi Xiao will never betray my master.
Tian An nodded, then looked at Ye Zi again, "Miss Ye Zi, you heard what Chi Xiao just said. Do you still like him?"
After hearing Chi Xiao's words, Ye Zi's face was hurt, but she nodded firmly, "It is his duty to save Madam. I don't blame him. Madam is a good person. I would be willing to sacrifice my life for Madam's."
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