Wang Yanzhou replied, "Qinghe and I discussed it and decided to leave Chenxin here. Firstly, Shuyi and her daughter are here, and secondly, it will allow him to keep an eye on the court's movements."
Tang Chen asked: "When do we set off?"
Wang Yanzhou said with a tired look on his face: "As soon as possible. This time when you go back, you must be obedient and don't run around anymore."
Tang Chen assured him seriously, "I know my limits. If I rush back in the next two days, I should be able to arrive around the same time as Nianqing and the others."
Wang Yanzhou said, "The two of them can run much faster than a carriage. But I'm the only one who can mobilize the guards in the valley. I just hope the county governor won't do anything rash at this time."
Tang Chen was shocked. She had always thought that although Qingliang Valley was a fiefdom like Qinghe County, Wang Yanzhou was probably more powerful, so there was no such thing as a county governor. "County governor? There is a county governor in Qingliang Valley?"
Wang Yanzhou explained: "This is natural, but they have always been active on the periphery, so you rarely see them."
Tang Chen said that the county governor and the palace had no regular contact, and there had been no disputes or conflicts between the two sides. At this special time, there was no need to worry too much: "When the country is in danger, even the most powerful officials will know the importance of it. Don't worry too much."
After Wang Yanzhou helped Tang Chen wipe his face and wash his feet, he sat down next to Tang Chen and said, "There is something I want to discuss with you."
"Go ahead and talk. I'm listening."
Wang Yanzhou said somewhat unconfidently: "...South Vietnam is coming with such force, I want to entrust Qingliang Valley to you."
When Tang Chen heard this, his first reaction was to refuse: "...I don't agree."
Wang Yanzhou smiled helplessly. It was expected and normal. "Oh, I knew it."
Tang Chen hugged Wang Yanzhou tightly, buried his head in his arms, and pinched his back with his hands, not knowing whether to strangle him to death or strangle him to death: "I am not you. I can't guard such a huge Qingliang Valley. Whatever you want to do, just do it. I just want you to come back safely."
Wang Yanzhou chuckled softly. Tang Chen actually underestimated her own abilities sometimes. When she reached a point of no return, perhaps she would be able to truly unleash her full potential. She wasn't stupid; she just kept thinking about having a way out.
"Okay, clean up, go to sleep."
Tang Chen stood up and looked at Wang Yanzhou, as if he had something else to say: "I..."
"What's wrong?"
"Never mind. It's nothing."
After Wang Nianqing and Li Xinzhai rushed back to Qingliang Valley, they headed straight for Zhong Qin's study. As soon as they entered, they saw several unfamiliar faces inside. They could listen to Zhong Qin's introductions later; for now, they had to help Zhong Qin share the burden.
When Zhong Qin saw the two of them, her eyes suddenly turned red: "Finally, someone is back. Look at my eyes. I can finally sleep a little longer tonight."
Wang Nianqing patted his shoulder apologetically and asked, "Thank you for your hard work. How is it going?"
The stranger in the room, dressed in official uniform, spoke first: "It's still under control."
"Who is this?"
Time was running out, so Zhong Qin simply introduced: "Qingliang County Magistrate, Sima Hang."
Upon hearing this, Wang Nianqing and Li Xinzhai both bowed and greeted him, "Your Excellency."
Sima Hang nodded slightly and asked, "When will the prince be back?"
Wang Nianqing replied: "Within half a month at the latest."
Sima Hang's expression grew serious again when he heard this. "I don't have many men available, and not many who can really fight. Although Nanyue is still stationed in the southern border, it's been a bit of a struggle for half a month."
Everyone had guessed this question. Originally, because Qingliang Valley had its own guards, Emperor Gan Zhao did not send many people over. The main reason was that he was afraid that Wang Yanzhou and the officials would unite and rebel.
As long as Wang Yanzhou can return, this problem can be easily solved: "What is the situation in South Vietnam?"
"These are the military reports sent back by the spies. You can all take a look at them." As she spoke, Zhong Qin divided the thick stack of letters on the desk into two parts and handed them to Wang Nianqing and the others.
Ten days after Wang Nianqing and Tang Chen returned to the valley, Wang Yanzhou and Tang Chen finally arrived outside. The car had been traveling so fast that Tang Chen was terribly carsick. So Wang Yanzhou had someone slow down a bit, and they arrived a day later than planned.
Before the carriage reached the valley entrance, Tang Chen suddenly pulled down the curtain and said, "Stop!"
Wang Yanzhou asked with concern: "What's wrong? Are you carsick again?"
Tang Chen shook his head and said seriously, "No. Give the order, everyone disperse, don't rush into the valley, retreat to the woods first."
After retreating into the woods, Wang Yanzhou finally realized that there were not only many fresh footprints in the woods, but also that the vendors in the valley were a little strange.
"When did you find out?"
Tang Chen smiled and said, "Intuition, a woman's intuition. Actually, the key point is that there are no such stalls at the entrance of the valley. If there were, I wouldn't know it!"
Wang Yanzhou said, "I'm going to check the situation. Please stay here and don't wander around."
Seeing this, Tang Chen reached out to stop him and said, "Let me go. I look like a better person."
Under normal circumstances, women are more likely to let people down, so it would be more appropriate to give her this kind of intelligence-gathering information at this moment. Besides, although she is a princess, not many people actually know that she is a princess.
Wang Yanzhou hesitated for a moment, then slowly retreated back into the carriage: "...Then be careful."
Tang Chen said confidently: "Don't worry, we have Lianqiao."
Wang Yanzhou, however, still had a gloomy face, and said with an expression that seemed ready to respond at any time: "You said the same thing last time."
"Alright, alright, I'm going with the treasure Xihe gave me."
After Tang Chen took off his coat and threw it to Wang Yanzhou, he took a half-new coarse cloth garment from Lian Qiao and covered himself with it. Then the two of them held their hair with headscarves and walked slowly to the valley entrance hand in hand.
After observing the surroundings for a while, Tang Chen walked over to the tofu stall and began to exchange secret codes in a mysterious tone: "Ahem, ahem, odd numbers change, but even numbers remain the same."
The tofu stall owner looked at her blankly for a moment, then without saying a word, weighed out eight ounces of tofu for her before saying, "...the symbol depends on the quadrant."
Tang Chen saw that the secret code was matched right away. While bargaining with the stall owner, he quietly asked, "He's one of us. What's going on? Where did this vendor come from?"
The stall owner whispered, "Most of them are our own people, but the South Vietnamese have already ambushed them nearby, so be careful."
Tang Chen understood and said, "Oh, I see. I thought everyone was pretending to be from South Vietnam."
After chatting with the stall owner for a while, Tang Chen and Lian Qiao bought some fruits and vegetables before going back into the woods. After changing his clothes, Tang Chen ordered the carriage to enter the valley with great fanfare.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
