Chapter 564 The Expedition
Song Chunxue asked curiously, "Senior brother, do you know what this is? If you want it..."
"No, these are things Xiaobai gave you. If she hears you're going to give them to me, she'll be angry." The Taoist priest quickly interrupted her. "Put them away quickly; they're all good things."
The Taoist priest gave her a wink, "She won't give it to me even if I want it. You must keep it safe and never let anyone else know."
It sounded like a very precious item, and Song Chunxue put it into her Qiankun bag.
She held Xiaobai in her arms, got up, and followed her senior brother out of the side courtyard.
"Senior brother, now that Xiaobai is here, you must have gone back to your hometown. How is the Zhang family doing now?"
Master Zhang smiled faintly, "That mansion has changed hands now. It was implicated in a major case in the court. All the men in the family were exiled to Lingnan, the concubines were dismissed, and the wife and children found a small courtyard in the countryside to live in. At least they are still alive, but they will have to live a hard life now, relying on a few acres of fertile land to support themselves."
He looked up at the azure sky. "But two of my cousins were beheaded. That's the best outcome."
If he hadn't gone back that time, the entire Zhang family, numbering several hundred, might have been executed.
He had saved so many refugees, how could he bear to see so many young children of his own people suffer such an undeserved disaster?
He gave away all his wealth, but at least he managed to save those children.
Song Chunxue nodded and asked no more questions.
Song Chunxue was called to the kitchen to make noodles for her uncle. There was chicken soup simmering in the pot, but it was lacking in flavor, so Song Chunxue made a cold dish with wild vegetables from the mountain.
Xiao Bai stayed with her the whole time. When she was cooking, Xiao Bai would squat at her feet, like a clingy cat, or a sensible child.
Once the noodles were ready, Changyun delivered them to his uncle's room. When he returned, he brought two peach wood tokens for the two of them to take with them when they went on their long journey.
"This is a protective amulet blessed by my master. He doesn't like to see people anymore; he doesn't like to talk and prefers to interact with livestock. He can understand things without you saying a word." The Taoist priest handed her the amulet. "Have you thought it through before coming to war with me? No regrets?"
"Why go back on your word? It's a good opportunity to broaden my horizons. I'm willing to try anything I've never done before," Song Chunxue said calmly. "Anyway, I'm not afraid of death, so what else is there to fear?"
The Taoist priest nodded, "Alright, we'll depart in five days, and the return date is uncertain."
Why not?
The Taoist priest was gnawing on a chicken neck with relish. "Xie Zheng said he was afraid you wouldn't be able to hold on."
"..." Song Chunxue raised an eyebrow; her senior brother's expression looked rather irritating.
She asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time, "Why did you also take him as your junior brother?"
"Because he is very perceptive, I wanted to recruit him when I first met him seven or eight years ago, but he was unwilling at the time. Now that he is willing, of course I want to strengthen our sect and firmly unite like-minded people for my own use."
That would be best.
Five days later, Song Chunxue and the Taoist priest arrived at the city gate in a carriage, where the three brothers came to see them off.
To Song Chunxue's surprise, her second son prepared a lot of things for her, almost all of them for self-defense.
Sheepskin gloves, armor, wrist guards, sheepskin knee pads, and scarves.
To her dismay, she quickly clutched her bundle, only to discover that she thought she saw a menstrual pad!
Brat, who asked him to prepare this kind of thing? She can prepare it herself!
The second brother, dressed in black, had developed a habit of wearing leather after three years in the army, and casually handed her a small dagger.
"Isn't it a surprise? You didn't get to go to the battlefield, but I, your mother, took your place. Don't you feel bad about that?" Song Chunxue looked at her second son. "Your marriage will be arranged when I come back. If you two are truly in love, we can't lose face. We'll all go and present your betrothal gifts."
The second son kept his head down and didn't look into her eyes. "This is a talisman I got from the temple. Mother, please don't be reckless. If you can't win, just run away. You're a woman, there's no shame in deserting."
"..." Why does that sound so infuriating?
The third child and the fourth child standing to the side also stretched out their hands, revealing small red cloth bags in their palms.
"Mom, the three of us have all prayed for protection and safety. We never dreamed that one day we, as your sons, would be sending you to the battlefield. Before, I didn't think much of it, but this morning when the third child cried, I realized how terrifying your idea was." The fourth child rambled on, urging her to back out, "Why don't we not go, Mom? You've made so many of us worry."
"That's right, Mom, maybe we shouldn't go."
Sanwa choked up as he spoke, lowering his head and biting his lip hard to stop himself from crying, afraid that everyone would laugh at him.
"Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Even my second brother was terrified when he went there. Mother is not cut out for fighting."
Sanwa clung tightly to Song Chunxue's arm. His deep red official robes made his skin appear very fair, and his eyes were red-rimmed, making him look quite pitiful.
He had the appearance of a proper civil official, and was the most handsome and scholarly of the three. His fingers were also slender and soft, unlike in his previous life when he farmed and herded sheep, his knuckles were thick and stiff, and his palms could not be fully opened.
Seeing Sanwa looking so spirited in this lifetime, she would be willing to fight on the battlefield for a month, or even a lifetime.
"Why are you crying? You're three grown men, why are you acting like girls? Don't you trust the Taoist priest? He'll definitely be safe with me. Just keep the baby in your belly and live your lives. I'm cunning; I won't fight head-on. If I can't beat him, I'll run away."
The second son pursed his lips tightly and said, "Mother, how about I go with you?"
"Stop joking. This job is great for you. Besides, your skills are not as good as mine. If you go, you'll only make me worry. Let's not go." Song Chunxue pressed his shoulder. "You all go back. With so many protective amulets, I'll definitely come back and make you some jiaotuan (a type of porridge)."
Song Chunxue climbed into the carriage. "If you keep doing this, I won't let you know I'm going out next time."
The Taoist priest patted his chest and assured the three Jiang brothers, "I will definitely bring your mother back safely. Go back now."
The carriage gradually drove away, while the children remained standing in the same spot.
The third child hugged the fourth child's shoulder and cried, and nothing could comfort him.
Inside the carriage, Song Chunxue felt uneasy.
"Next time I'll try to leave quietly. A mother can't stand seeing her child cry."
The Taoist priest sat outside acting as a driver. “If you can’t even let go of your child like this, how will you travel the world in the future? I reckon you’ll want to go home in less than a month.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Song Chunxue said, leaning against the car wall, wiping away her tears as she looked up. Her voice was normal. “The first time is always a bit emotional, but you won’t feel sad once you get used to it.”
"By the way, why didn't Lord Xie come today? He should have been waiting here long ago. He was already up when I left."
"I guess they didn't want to come. They're getting old and don't like seeing people off." Song Chunxue closed her eyes. "I'll take a nap, then I'll catch the train."
Unexpectedly, there were two carriages a hundred or two meters behind theirs, with Xie Zheng and the guard general in one of them.
Five days later, they arrived at a military camp near Liangzhou.
After getting off the carriage, Song Chunxue realized why the Taoist priest hadn't brought her here secretly on his sword.
"Master, you've finally arrived!"
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