Emerging from the underground warehouse, Shen Xingmian noticed the sound of flowing water nearby, only then remembering that this place was originally a hot spring resort.
She initially wanted to come here to soak in the hot springs.
Although I shower every day, I never feel completely clean. As a northerner, if I don't scrub off my grime for a while, I start to feel a bit dirty...
But when she thought about how many girls had been buried nearby, she couldn't bring herself to wash the water, feeling as if the water contained the blood and tears of young girls.
Looking towards the back mountain, Shen Xingmian silently promised that when she returned, she would definitely deal with the treacherous minister's family and give these girls justice.
Since it was quite far away, the two stopped searching around. After all, those people were very good at putting on a show, and apart from the underground warehouse, there probably wasn't much usable stuff outside.
She couldn't very well rob a few servants' rooms of everything; that would be too low-class. Shen Xingmian would never do something so unprofitable.
Unable to take a bath, Shen Xingmian left with her grandfather with a slight sense of regret.
Even after riding a horse for quite a distance, she still felt a slight sense of loss, after all, it had been a long time since she had had the opportunity to enjoy a comfortable hot bath.
Water is precious in the apocalypse, and it's nothing to her, but people outside would fight tooth and nail for it.
In a situation where many people don't even have access to clean water, she simply couldn't bring herself to take a bath using supernatural water.
I only come here occasionally, and I already feel somewhat guilty about it.
Other resources are fine, probably because I've seen the slogan "save water" every day since I was a child, and my teachers often emphasized it, so this concept has been ingrained in my bones.
Even though she acquired water-based superpowers in the apocalypse, she was reluctant to use them recklessly, which is why she stored so much superpowered water in her space.
Thinking about it, it's a waste. I saved up so much, but I can't even bear to spend it on a bath.
But when she thought about how that water had helped her family in this life, she felt relieved.
If you had given up and squandered everything back then, you'd probably be regretting it now.
Humans are truly contradictory creatures.
When Shen Xingmian was practicing her wood-type abilities, she had spurred the growth of a grapevine. Now that no one was around and she wasn't afraid of being discovered, she openly took out a bunch of grapes and handed them to Shen Zhiheng.
"Here, Grandpa, try the grapes I grew using my superpower. I haven't eaten them yet, but they must be incredibly sweet."
Shen Xingmian's tone carried a hint of pride.
Without any hesitation, Shen Zhiheng took the fruit, plucked one off, and popped it into his mouth. The moment he bit into it, the sweet flavor burst in his mouth, juicy and incredibly sweet.
He couldn't help but nod repeatedly, praising, "As expected of the fruit that Mianmian brought out, the taste is something that even the people in the palace have probably never tasted before."
Shen Xingmian became even more smug upon hearing this: "Of course! I guarantee that you won't find grapes this delicious in either Linyue or Nanyuan!"
If I have any, I'll bring some back and make them taste even better.
In short, Grandpa is going to be very lucky with food from now on!
Shen Zhiheng was amused and laughed out loud: "My precious granddaughter is such a lucky star. With you, she not only has delicious fruit, but also so many weapons. I never dared to dream of such a wonderful thing."
"Be even bolder, Grandpa, because your precious granddaughter will definitely give you more surprises in the future. You can look forward to it!"
Her tone was more mischievous than it had been in either of her lives.
A good family atmosphere is indeed very healing; an unhappy childhood in a past life seems to truly be a thing of the past.
Those bitter memories are so far, far away from her now, so far that they're almost forgotten if she doesn't consciously try to recall them.
With so many loving family members, the holes in her heart that had been eroded by the cold wind have all healed.
She has grown into a magnanimous adult who no longer dwells on unpleasant memories of the past, but instead spends her time looking forward to and creating for the future.
"By the way, Grandfather, may I call him the eldest grandson of the Emperor? If I'm going to take him with me in the future, I need some way to address him without revealing his identity."
Shen Zhiheng, with grapes still in his mouth, nodded upon hearing this, swallowed the grapes, and replied, "We should change the way we address him. We'll discuss it with His Highness tomorrow. That child has a hard life."
You may not remember, but the Crown Princess really liked your mother. She even brought the young prince to visit our house once, but later, fearing that it would arouse jealousy, she rarely visited.
"Don't let your mother's current composure fool you; she's still deeply resentful about the deaths of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. She's overjoyed to have you bring the young prince back."
Shen Xingmian thought back and realized that she hadn't noticed anything unusual about her mother at all. She had hidden it too well.
If her grandfather hadn't told her all this, she would have thought that her mother and that young prince didn't know each other at all.
It seems that my mother is quite a talented "actor".
Later, whenever Shen Xingmian saw the two of them in the same space, she would secretly observe them and discover that her mother treated this child very differently.
To say we're particularly close is absolutely not true.
But she secretly took good care of him, and occasionally even asked her father to do things for her, though she never made any special effort to get close to him.
She didn't quite understand this behavior, only thinking that her mother was considering the young prince's status. It was only much later that she realized her mother had such a complicated thought process.
"Looks like I've stumbled upon the perfect solution and won over my mother's heart, hehe."
Shen Xingmian smiled smugly, her eyes and brows radiating an undeniable liveliness and charm that melted the heart of the old general.
The two rode too far, and when they were almost close to the exile caravan, Shen Xingmian's buttocks and thighs were aching. So they put down their horses, used their healing abilities to recover, and slowly walked back.
It took Shen Xingmian two hours to make the round trip. Once she found her spot, she lay down and fell asleep immediately.
Just before going to sleep, I was still half asleep, thinking that my cousin's skills were really good; this straw mat was much more comfortable than the ground.
Finally, I can get a good night's sleep.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yanyue was awakened by Shen Zhiheng, who had returned to the donkey cart.
Although he knew the two had left, he didn't expect it to take so long, so long that when he was woken up, it felt like he had woken up naturally and he wasn't sleepy at all.
Shen Zhiheng had slept a lot during the day, and now he was whispering to Xiao Yanyue.
He had always known Xiao Yanyue's intelligence, so he had never really treated him like a child. So he leaned close to his ear and told him about his plan to escape after recovering from his injuries.
Xiao Yanyue was shocked. He had guessed that the Shen family would make a move, but he thought it would happen after they arrived in the Northern Territory. He didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
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