Chapter 201
Xiao Hei returned empty-handed, having gained no information about Sang Yu'er.
The background of the person he investigated was basically the same as what Hu San had said. He would get up early every morning to practice, help the Tianshan Sect with some minor chores, and in the evenings he would help his fellow disciples patrol the town. When it was almost time, he would go to rest.
He lived this way day after day for more than half a month. Until two days ago, after hearing the news that Ren Le would soon be coming to Youzhou, he sent a letter to Gu Zhong.
The other party instructed him not to worry about Sang Yuer for now, but to come back and take care of Fan Xiaoxiao and her family. So Xiao Hei readily returned to the Fan family.
"That's how it is, Lady Xiao. It seems that Renle is already on her way to Youzhou."
Fan Xiaoxiao was so shocked that she almost dropped her chopsticks. She hadn't expected Ren Le to arrive so quickly.
"But the princess's residence isn't finished yet!?"
Xiao Hei shoveled a couple of mouthfuls of rice into his bowl, his cheeks twitching slightly: "It hasn't been built yet, but Ren Le seems to have said he's going to live at the Tianshan Sect."
"Huh!? Staying at the Tianshan Sect!?"
Fan Xiaoxiao was so shocked that she stood up. Although she was almost used to the plot breaking down, it was inappropriate for Ren Le to stay at the Tianshan Sect instead of going to Youzhou.
"Don't worry, the Celestial Venerable hasn't agreed to this."
Xiao Hei waved his hand repeatedly at Fan Xiaoxiao. Although he hadn't learned anything about Sang Yuer these past few days while following her, he had thoroughly investigated Ren Le's upcoming arrival.
"However, I reckon her arrival is a done deal. Tonight I'll rush to Youzhou to check on their situation. If she really is coming, we should make some preparations in advance."
Xiao Hei quickly ate all the fried rice from his bowl, let out a burp, and then stood up.
"Alright! We've eaten, and I'll set off now. Since the old man is here, I can say that I've given my report to the master."
"Huh? You're leaving again?"
Xiao Bao stood up and followed Xiao Hei for a few steps.
However, the little guy vaguely knew that Xiao Hei was going to take care of important business, so he only followed Xiao Hei for a couple of steps before turning around and sitting down again.
Then the little guy sighed like a little adult: "Sigh, Brother Xiao Hei has come back twice, but Brother Gu hasn't come back even once... I miss him so much, Auntie, do you miss him?"
Tuanzi's thinking is difficult for ordinary people to follow. Just a moment ago she was talking about Xiao Hei leaving, but the next sentence immediately shifted to Gu Zhongtai.
"Forehead……"
His question came so suddenly that Fan Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless.
The adults, who had already finished eating, took it as just a child's joke and didn't take it to heart.
Fan Xiaoxiao noticed that Xiao Hei, who was leading the horse, seemed to have stopped for quite a while, as if he was listening to her and Xiao Bao's conversation.
Fan Xiaoxiao felt a twitch at the corner of her mouth. Then, as if she had thought of something, she coughed and placed her hands on Xiaobao's shoulders, drawing out the sound.
"Xiaobao, you miss your brother because you've been too free lately! Tomorrow, Auntie will take you to town to buy vegetable seeds. Once we get busy, you'll naturally stop missing your brother."
After saying that, Fan Xiaoxiao noticed out of the corner of her eye that Xiao Hei seemed to pause for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped down.
However, Fan Xiaoxiao did not expect that Tuanzi's next words would turn the tide: "Auntie, it seems that you also want to take care of Brother Gu!"
Fan Xiaoxiao felt herself stumble, and Xiao Hei seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted. A big smile spread across his face, and he turned around and shouted to Xiao Bao, "Xiao Bao! I'm going to run errands! I'll buy you candy when I get back! Hahahaha!"
"no……"
Watching Xiao Hei's retreating figure disappear into the distance, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a surge of tears welling up in her eyes. That wasn't what she meant...
"Um, Auntie, what's wrong?"
The culprit, Xiao Bao, was still unaware of what he had done. He stared at his aunt with curiosity, not understanding what it meant by stretching his hand far away in the direction where his brother Xiao Hei had left.
Fan Xiaoxiao sighed, on the verge of tears, "N-nothing..."
"Xiao girl, Renle... isn't that the princess who almost ambushed you and the old man in Yongzhou City last time?"
After watching everyone play around for a while, Master Lu suddenly asked about Renle.
Fan Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, it's her. Last time I almost got trampled to death by this woman on horseback. Luckily, General Yu saved me, otherwise, tsk tsk, I wouldn't be here talking to you all like this."
"Sister, do you still remember what General Yu looked like?"
Madam Fan had not heard Fan Xiaoxiao mention this matter before. When she heard that Fan Xiaoxiao had almost been trampled to death by Renle, Madam Fan's hands tightened involuntarily. After a moment of silence, she asked about General Yu's appearance.
Fan Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, a beat slow to react to the question, and then thought back to realize that she hadn't really seen the person's face clearly.
"I don't remember his face very clearly, but he was a bit more muscular than Gu Zhongtai..."
Her description was vague, and everyone could only roughly guess what she looked like.
Madam Fan sighed slightly. She had planned to thank this person properly if she had the chance in the future, but it seemed that she would have to wait and see if such an opportunity would come.
"Let's not talk about that for now, sister. We need to stock up on some more food! Now that Renle is here, we don't know what kind of trouble this woman will cause in Youzhou. We don't have farmland, so if we save up more, we'll be better prepared to deal with any bad situations next year."
The idea was immediately agreed upon by everyone; they already had a cellar, all that was left was to fill it up.
When Xiao Hei came, he brought Fan Xiaoxiao a lot of spices. Apart from the ones reserved for seeds, Fan Xiaoxiao stored them in the cellar to use next spring. What they lack now is staple food and meat.
The next day, Xiao Hei returned.
He confirmed that Renle would be arriving soon. With time running out, Fan Xiaoxiao decided to call on everyone to work together. Granny Wang and Fan herself, the Ghost Doctor, went up the mountain to pick chestnuts and herbs.
She and Uncle Wang then went to Tianshan Town to purchase some common livestock. Doing both at the same time would be faster.
Another thing is the method of drawing hot springs, which was taught to Master Lu and Little Black.
Once everything was arranged, the Fan family immediately began working diligently and in a great deal of effort.
With the combined efforts of all three parties, everything progressed rapidly. Fan Xiaoxiao and Uncle Wang even actually built a pond in the yard, diverting water from the mountain stream and then draining it out through a culvert.
When they had almost finished everything, the snow fell silently from the sky, and news of Bai Xiang's death instantly swept across the Zhou Dynasty.
Meanwhile, Renle entered Youzhou.
(End of this chapter)
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