On the road of fleeing famine, Jiang Tangtang was like a human pendant to Lu Shiyan, going wherever Lu Shiyan went.
So when he said he wanted to leave the valley with Lu Shiyan, no one in the Lu family found it strange. Only Lu Chenyan's eyes reddened as if he was reluctant to part with him.
But apart from secretly tearing up while holding the wolf cub, the little guy didn't say a word of reluctance, nor did he cry like other children.
Jiang Tangtang's heart melted completely. She squatted down beside him and said, "When Mommy is done with her errands and comes back, I'll make you some soft pastries, okay?"
Lu Chenyan remained silent, and Jiang Tangtang continued, "Mother is reluctant to part with you, but there is something very important that Mother must go on. Can you give Mother a hug?"
Lu Chenyan then released the wolf cub and hugged Jiang Tangtang's neck.
Jiang Tangtang gently patted his back and hung the wooden tag that Lu Shiyan had given her on her body. "Be good and wait for Mommy to come back, okay?"
Lu Chenyan choked up and asked, "When are you coming back?"
"I'll be there as soon as I'm done, okay?" Jiang Tangtang patted his head and told him not to take off the wooden plaque she had just given him.
Although she had no concrete evidence, based on the incident where the wooden plaque mysteriously burned during their last encounter, she could roughly guess what was going on. She suspected that Lu Shiyan had added something to the plaque. This simple wooden plaque truly did have a protective effect.
After calming the little one down, Jiang Tangtang called over the Jiang and Lu families, explained the situation in the valley to them, and then left the valley with Lu Shiyan.
Upon entering the cave again, Jiang Tangtang picked out a garment that closely resembled her own body shape from among the pile of Western Rong soldiers' uniforms and put it on.
When she casually put her own clothes into her spatial storage, she also put the remaining clothes of the Western Rong soldiers into it.
Jiang Tangtang turned around and hugged Lu Shiyan's arm, saying, "Let's go, husband."
Lu Shiyan removed her hand from his arm and said, "From now on, when we're out in public, you're my younger brother. You can't be like this, pulling and tugging at each other."
“Isn’t he your brother once we’re outside? We’re still in the cave, and there are no outsiders around, so why can’t we be all lovey-dovey?” Jiang Tangtang hugged his arm again.
Lu Shiyan had no choice but to let her take his arm.
Once they were out of the cave, Jiang Tangtang was quite sensible; without Lu Shiyan saying anything more, she consciously let go of him.
But Lu Shiyan stopped her.
Jiang Tangtang raised an eyebrow. "What? Brother, aren't you going to avoid suspicion anymore?"
She made a perfectly normal statement sound like something immoral and against all moral principles. Lu Shiyan's ears turned red. "Your hair."
Jiang Tangtang then realized that she had only changed her clothes, not her hairstyle.
Jiang Tangtang said pitifully, "But I don't know how to style a man's hair. Brother, can you help me?"
Lu Shiyan: "..."
He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. He simply styled Jiang Tangtang's hair into a man's bun.
Jiang Tangtang touched her hair and praised without reservation, "Brother combed it so well, brother is amazing."
"Stop calling me that." Lu Shiyan finally couldn't take it anymore and said, "From now on, when we're alone, you should call me husband!"
He felt that if he let her continue calling him that, he would never be able to face his older and younger brothers the same way again.
“Alright, my husband.” Jiang Tangtang readily agreed and looked at him with a smile, then said, “When no one is around, do I still have to follow all the rules you set?”
Lu Shiyan said helplessly, "You can do whatever you want when no one's around."
"My husband is so good." Jiang Tangtang hugged him tightly and said coquettishly, "Husband, carry me on your back."
Lu Shiyan coldly said, "Go by yourself." Seeing Jiang Tangtang pout, he added, "If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, then you shouldn't go. I'll burn all the grain and fodder."
Jiang Tangtang immediately stood up straight and muttered, "Cold-blooded and heartless!"
"Let's go!" Lu Shiyan ignored her grumbling and slowed down his pace so that he wouldn't fall behind.
When Lu Shiyan went to the cave to retrieve his clothes, he had already sent out the fifty-odd people he had previously selected.
Therefore, all he needs to do now is take Jiang Tangtang to meet up with those people.
As the two hurried toward the agreed-upon location, a group of soldiers disguised as refugees were talking in a dilapidated temple.
"Brother Yang, can we really believe that pretty boy? With just a few of us, do you really think we can burn the grain supplies of those Western Rong traitors?" A square-faced young man asked the burly man beside him in a low voice.
"What pretty boy? He's a captain," Yang Jingzhong reprimanded.
The square-faced young man said, "None of them have been appointed by the imperial court."
"We are all people abandoned by the court. What do we need the court's appointment for? That damned court may not want Puzhou, but we cannot. Our parents, wives, and children are all here. If we back down, they will all die." Yang Jingzhong gripped his broadsword tightly, his eyes filled with determination.
The square-faced young man still hesitated, "But we only have so few people... how can we fight against their large army?"
"Don't forget what happened when the captain led his men to rob those traitors of their provisions. He could do it with a group of refugees, so why can't we?"
"Xu Kun, if you're scared, go back. Don't affect the morale of the brothers." As Yang Jingzhong spoke, he couldn't help but glance in the direction of Li Shi.
Xu Kun said, "I'm not afraid! I'm just worried."
“Who isn’t worried? If you are, keep it to yourself and don’t say it out loud, it will affect morale.” Yang Jingzhong said, “Alright, take this opportunity to rest for a while and recharge your energy.”
Xu Kun stopped talking and closed his eyes to rest.
After an unknown amount of time, the sentry suddenly exclaimed with delight, "The captain is back!"
Jiang Tangtang had already taken out the clothes from her spatial storage outside the dilapidated temple.
Lu Shiyan carried two large bundles of clothes inside, while Jiang Tangtang followed behind carrying a small amount of clothes.
Seeing everyone coming to greet him, Lu Shiyan glanced at Li Shi and the others, then said indifferently, "This is my younger brother, he came along to help."
Jiang Tangtang was wearing a soldier's uniform that was much larger than hers, so it was hard to see any feminine characteristics in her.
However, her appearance was truly outstanding, and she even had a feminine look. Those who didn't know Jiang Tangtang couldn't help but have some doubts.
But then she thought again, given Lu Shiyan's outstanding appearance, it wasn't so strange that he had a younger brother who was just as good-looking.
Besides, going to the enemy camp to burn supplies is a life-or-death situation; no one would take their own wife or concubine there.
With this in mind, the soldiers dispelled their doubts and began rummaging through their clothes to change their attire.
Since they were all men, no one was being particular, and they just started taking off their clothes.
Lu Shiyan stepped to block Jiang Tangtang behind him, saying, "Go prepare some food, and we'll all eat and travel through the night."
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