To prevent anyone from being drugged from being missed, she even followed the grain thieves to check along the way for anyone who had been left behind.
These are human lives at stake; if they really freeze to death, she will feel very bad.
She tiptoed along, and actually spotted a few people. After she recovered, one of them pulled her aside and whispered his report:
"Goddess, the general had made arrangements to guard against a surprise attack by the Northern Di people during the New Year. However, their sleeping potion was too potent. Before we could even give a warning, we all collapsed."
Shen Xingmian then realized that her grandfather had arranged for people to pretend to be drowsy in order to lure them in and trap them.
As it turned out, the drug was too potent; all the people he had arranged were silently incapacitated, without him even having time to notify those inside.
Shen Xingmian gently patted the man's shoulder, her tone reassuring: "I'll catch up with them in a bit. Once we're all gone, you should quickly take your men to check if any of the soldiers I've left behind are still there. If they faint outside in this weather, they'll freeze to death."
The man nodded immediately and assured her, "Your Grace, rest assured, I will go and check as soon as the person leaves."
"Okay, sure."
After Shen Xingmian finished speaking, she quietly followed the route those people had taken.
She hadn't specifically looked at the surrounding environment of the military camp, assuming that if the Northern Di people wanted to plunder, they should have gone to villages or towns first, since those places only had villagers and were very poorly defended.
I never imagined they would dare to be so audacious as to raid a military camp.
That's unbelievable.
That's true. With such a powerful drug, it's no wonder people can't contain their excitement and want to pull off a big heist.
If the dosage hadn't been limited, they probably would have drugged and killed all the northern border guards, then seized the camp for themselves.
They're really bold.
Since they're so bold, then I might as well go all out too, haha.
The people came out one after another, each carrying two sacks, and they were all quite strong.
They didn't come by car; they all rode horses. They must have been cavalrymen with excellent riding skills. If they weren't carrying a lot of weight, even if the soldiers from Lin Yue spotted them and tried to chase them on horseback, they probably wouldn't have been able to catch up.
Fortunately, Shen Xingmian didn't ride a horse, but a tiger.
Xue Tuan was dragged out of the space in the middle of the night. The cold wind startled her, and she almost let out a howl, but Shen Xingmian held her in her arms and shut her mouth.
Its big, round eyes looked at Shen Xingmian, as if it didn't understand what this human wanted it to do.
Shen Xingmian pointed to the horse team whose figures had not yet disappeared in the distance and whispered, "Follow them, don't be discovered, there will be a reward when you come back."
Xue Tuan is quite intelligent now. Upon hearing the word "reward," the tiger immediately perked up, shook its head, lay down, and turned to signal Shen Xingmian to come up quickly.
Shen Xingmian had barely grabbed on when Xue Tuan excitedly took off running. It was fast, but light enough to be almost silent.
If it finds that the chase is getting too close, it will stop on its own, wait a while, and then continue chasing.
They ran and stopped for nearly an hour, passing the river where they were breaking ice and climbing over a small hill before finally stopping on the other side.
Shen Xingmian sent Xuetuan back to her space, threw two still-warm roast chickens into its food bowl, and then sneaked over.
She wanted to try and hear some useful information; she had gone to great lengths to come here, and she couldn't just leave with some food.
She watched as the two leaders directed the group to carry the sacks in one direction, guessing that it must be the granary.
The two men walked in one direction, presumably to report the situation.
She quietly followed them, crouched outside the tent, and pressed her ear close to listen to what they had to say.
Feeling that he couldn't hear clearly through the barrier, he used his fire-based abilities to burn a hole in the tent, enough to see inside, before extinguishing the fire.
"Your Highness, we have tried the sleeping potion, and it works very well. Everyone who smells it collapses immediately. We also brought back more than a dozen bags of grain that we have never seen before. We would like to trouble you to take a look at them in person."
Shen Xingmian thought they were going to the granary, which was convenient for her as she wouldn't have to look for the way. But then the man pulled out an ear of corn from his pocket...
Damn, he's quite clever.
The man presented the corncobs, which had been stored in the granary for a long time and were frozen solid, devoid of any aroma. The person at the head of the table said with disdain:
"What is this? It looks disgusting. Is that old man Shen Zhiheng unable to support those soldiers? If he really can't, then I, Your Highness, can help him support them, hahahaha."
After he finished speaking, a "thump" was heard from inside, presumably because someone had casually tossed the corn onto the ground.
"Have you figured out Shen Zhiheng's situation? The reason I sent you here wasn't just for the drug test. Finding out if Shen Zhiheng is in the Northern Territory is related to Father Emperor's next decision, and this is what you brought back?"
Shen Xingmian was furious. "Damn it, you're the old geezer! You look disgusting, you're gritty!"
Let you be so arrogant, I'll skin you bald in no time and starve you all to death!
Shen Xingmian knew that not all the people below deserved to die, but she was so angry that she couldn't think straight, and she felt like her head was on fire.
To dare speak of his maternal grandfather like that shows a complete lack of respect for the enemy general, and he didn't offer a single word of comfort to his men who had been working all night.
If someone like that were to become emperor in the future, wouldn't the Northern Di be completely wiped out by him?
Shen Xingmian was born in a great country with fifty-six ethnic groups, and he did not reject the people of these other countries like the real people of Linyue.
On the contrary, she felt that the best outcome would be complete unification—a unified language, a unified currency—so that ordinary people could live a prosperous life as soon as possible and no longer have to experience war.
She had only seen a few fragments of war online, and she was already so saddened that she wanted to cry. She couldn't even imagine how difficult it must be for those who were going through it.
One of the most memorable things for her was a three-year-old brother who was homeless and wandering with his one-year-old sister.
A reporter once asked a child from a war-torn country what he wanted to be when he grew up. The child replied, "I was born here, so there's no way I can grow up."
She still remembers the soul-stirring shock of that moment, and whenever she thinks of that child, she can't help but shed tears.
That kind of pain is truly contagious.
She knows that having too much empathy isn't a good thing, so she tries her best to avoid it and not let herself see too much of the dark side of the world.
They would only feel powerless, unable to solve any problems.
But now, she has the ability to solve the problem!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
