The winter in Zhangqing Mountain is cold and dry, but the work does not stop. In the early morning, the usual sounds of clappers and shouts of men, women, old and young can be heard from the mountain village.

The sound continued for a long time. When Lei Zhonglian and others came back sweating profusely, Liu'er was already impatient to wait.

"What took you so long?" she asked, bringing out the food that was still hot on the stove.

"They said it's like this in winter because farm work is not busy, so they practice more," said Lei Zhonglian.

Liu Er curled her lips again.

"What's there to practice? It's just waving a spear and poking around stupidly," she said.

Of course, she also went to see the lively ones, but she felt that the excitement was not interesting and boring, so she didn't go.

"They are not as good as you, Uncle Lei, in shooting. Tell Uncle Xia that you teach them." She said generously.

Lei Zhonglian smiled.

"It's true that each of them is not as good a gun as I am, but some of them are better than me," he said.

Liu'er didn't understand nor did she care. She served them the meal and then held the hand warmer to keep warm.

"Miss, are you going up the mountain?" Lei Zhonglian asked.

Liuer nodded.

"I'll be back soon," she said.

Every day, Miss Jun had the same schedule as Lei Zhonglian and others. When they went to train soldiers, she would go up the mountain to practice archery with Zhao Hanqing, and then take Zhao Hanqing to identify herbs.

A scent spread through the woods.

"Okay, okay, it's ready to eat." Miss Jun said, covering the burning branches in front of her with stones and soil.

Zhao Hanqing squatted on a stone nearby and watched Miss Jun dig out two rhizomes wrapped in dead leaves.

"Is this really edible?" she asked curiously.

Miss Jun used her hands to peel off the skin of a root, breathing in the cool air.

"You'll know if you try it," she said, handing the root of the wood stem to Zhao Hanqing.

Zhao Hanqing took it doubtfully.

She no longer wore a face mask when she was with Miss Jun. She sniffed it first, then took a cautious bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"It tastes good, right?" Miss Jun said with a raised eyebrow.

Zhao Hanqing had already started eating in big mouthfuls, nodding vaguely twice, and quickly finished a piece.

"I never knew that this inconspicuous grass actually grew such delicious roots." She said excitedly.

"I didn't know that either." Miss Jun said with a smile.

Zhao Hanqing's expression darkened slightly.

"Did he teach you?" she asked, with a hint of jealousy in her eyes.

He was naturally referring to Zhao Zhiyi.

"To be exact, he didn't teach me that." Miss Jun laughed, "That's because there was nothing to eat, so he dug it out to satisfy his hunger. He didn't dig it out specifically for me to play with or to satisfy my hunger."

To satisfy hunger...

Isn't his life easy? Zhao Hanqing remained silent.

Miss Jun broke off half of the stem in her hand and handed it to her, and Zhao Hanqing took it and ate it without hesitation.

"And he is very stingy." Miss Jun laughed again.

Stingy?

In the story told by Uncle Yang and the others, the man was like a god, but gods are not stingy.

Zhao Hanqing looked at Miss Jun.

Miss Jun pointed to the rhizome in her hand.

"I only ate half of it at that time." She said, curling her lips, "Your father wouldn't let me eat more."

"Is it because eating too much is bad for you?" Zhao Hanqing asked after a moment of hesitation.

Miss Jun snorted.

"What? He said he wanted to eat enough. He is the most important. It's okay for me to be hungry." she said.

How could you say that? Aren't adults supposed to give in to children?

He is...really...interesting.

Zhao Hanqing couldn't help laughing.

"You're still laughing." Miss Jun reached out and pinched Zhao Hanqing's nose.

The dust on her hands left a mark, and Miss Jun laughed.

Zhao Hanqing wiped the ashes on his hands, then immediately picked up a handful of ashes from the ground and smeared them on Miss Jun's face.

The clear laughter of girls suddenly rang out in the forest. Yang Jing, who came over, looked at the two girls laughing and playing together, and couldn't help laughing too.

"Miss Jun," he called, "a letter from the city."

As the situation became increasingly bad these days, all businesses were closed, including Deshengchang. They had sufficient rice and grain stored for the winter, so Miss Jun asked them not to come again and sent messages via pigeon.

She was surprisingly familiar with the carrier pigeons Xia Yong and the others, so Miss Jun simply let them receive the message and did not require the guards such as Lei Zhonglian.

Miss Jun stopped laughing, not caring about the black smear on her face. She walked over and took the small scroll. After reading a few words, her expression became serious.

"The situation is already so bad." She whispered, exhaled and raised her head again, "Uncle Yang, please make arrangements. I need to go into the city."

…

A gust of cold wind blew, and the dead leaves on the ground flew everywhere, swirling in front of the city gate.

"I haven't been here for over a month. How come the city has become like this?" a man said in surprise, staring at the closed city gate.

"Hasn't the Jin army arrived here yet? Why does it look like an empty city?" Lei Zhonglian also said.

Thinking back to when they came here for vaccination, it was bustling and crowded with people coming and going. The difference is really huge compared to today.

"The situation is really bad." Miss Jun said while riding on her horse, looking at the soldiers standing guard at the city gate, "Knock on the door."

Miss Jun's name was very useful. When the name was heard, the city gate was immediately opened. Prefect Zhou, who had entered the city and heard the news, also rushed over.

"My dear Miss Jun, why haven't you left yet?" He said in surprise, looking uneasy, "It's already so late, why are you still here with us?"

Miss Jun comforted him and asked about the current war situation.

The government will never tell the people the true situation of the war, and Miss Jun is no exception. They will not even tell her.

If she raised her arms and shouted to everyone to run, Qingyuan Prefecture would be in chaos.

Prefect Zhou laughed.

"Of course, no problem." He said, "Miss Jun can rest assured that Duke Cheng is here."

They didn't talk much about other things, and Miss Jun didn't ask many questions.

"Yes, there's no problem with Duke Cheng here." She nodded.

"With Duke Cheng here, there will be no problem."

When we arrived at Deshengchang, the shopkeeper said the same thing, but his expression was gloomy.

"But the biggest question now is whether Duke Cheng can be here."

At the same time, he took out a more detailed letter that he was about to send.

Some of these letters came from Fang Jinxiu in the capital, and some from Fang Chengyu in Yangcheng. After reading these letters, Miss Jun understood everything that had happened in the capital, as well as the disputes in the court.

"Duke Cheng will not leave." Miss Jun said, "If he leaves, it means he has fallen into the Jin people's trap. Some people in the court are frightened and confused, but Duke Cheng will not be confused."

Having said this, he was silent for a moment.

I’m afraid that the people in the court are not confused by fear, but are pretending to be confused on purpose.

As for Zhu Zan, this time he was really caught between wolves in front and tigers behind, making it more difficult than his previous attempts to enter Beijing.

"Tell all the Deshengchang in the north to help as much as possible if they meet the prince of Chengguo." she said.

So, is this an order? Help as much as possible, this phrase is also very familiar, it is exactly what Master Fang ordered to Deshengchang in various places.

This means that the Prince of Chengguo enjoys the same treatment as Miss Jun.

The shopkeeper of Deshengchang was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered Master Fang's instructions.

"Ms. Jun's words are my words. You should do whatever she says."

This sentence would always be written on the first page of every correspondence, and it had almost become Deshengchang’s creed.

"Yes." The shopkeeper bowed and replied.

Because she had to go back overnight, Miss Jun did not stay any longer.

"The north is too chaotic and unsafe right now. Please ask the prefect to send soldiers to escort us." The shopkeeper looked at the men standing in the yard.

Except for Lei Zhonglian and two or three others, the rest were villagers with rustic clothes and dull expressions.

Why don't you bring your guards with you? They are unreliable.

"No, they are enough." said Miss Jun.

The shopkeeper had no choice but to bow and agree, and prepared a few bags of rice for them, loaded them on horseback, and watched them leave.

…

As dusk fell on the mountain road, not even a ghost could be seen. Miss Jun felt heavy-hearted when she thought of the deserted, dilapidated and desolate villages she had passed by along the way.

The prosperity and stability that had taken ten years to build up was destroyed in a single day, and it would take many more years to recover.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard. Miss Jun sat up straight on her horse, and Yang Jing, who was walking in front, also stretched out his hand.

The marching team suddenly stopped.

"Ha! I actually met a fat sheep!"

A strange cry came from the side of the road, and at the same time seven or eight men jumped out of the woods, holding knives and axes in their hands, with ferocious and excited expressions.

As expected, there are many bandits in troubled times. Miss Jun sighed as she looked at these people.

"Kill them," she said.