Speaking of people in Qingliang Valley who were familiar with the Huangfu family, she was the only one. "Someone familiar? Uncle Bin met Huijue in Qingliang Valley, right?"
Huangfu Bin nodded and said, "Yes, I have met her. Qingliang Valley treats her with courtesy, and the relationship between the princess and her seems to be very good."
Huangfu Ning immediately continued, "If I remember correctly, Qingliang Valley not only produces jade, but also a lot of medicinal herbs. I just don't know if they have the ginseng we need."
Prajna interjected at the right moment, "Let me say this: if you have enough money, the fastest and safest way is to go to the black market. From what I've heard, if you buy large quantities of medicinal herbs, the black market seems to offer discounts. Medicinal herbs seem to be the only items that offer discounts on the black market; grain and other items, on the other hand, get more expensive the more you buy."
"I'll go back and think about this later and give you an answer by dinner." If they really needed to find a solution on the black market, Shi Zairong would have to go back and sort out how much money the army had left. In this regard, Han Jincheng was truly a complete helper. He was the ruler of a country, after all, yet he couldn't even decide on something like allocating military pay to the frontline soldiers. He was hesitant to even make a symbolic offer. If it weren't for the Shi family's wealth and the support of Qingliang Valley, he would have seriously considered rebelling.
Upon hearing this, the three members of the Huangfu family immediately bowed and said, "Then we'll have to trouble the Grand Tutor to take care of it."
Shi Zairong nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Huangfu Ning and said, "Uncle Ning, can I have a word with you for a moment?"
Huangfu Ning smiled and said, "Of course, please come inside. Ah Bin, come sit here with me. They need a good and patient referee."
After arriving at the inner room, Shi Zairong didn't say anything to prepare the situation. He just asked, "Uncle Ning, if I lose my position as Grand Tutor, will the Huangfu family still accept me?"
"You want to hear the truth?" Huangfu Ning thought for a moment and said, "The truth is, without this Grand Tutor, there will be more voices of opposition in the family. As for whether it can be accepted in the future, it depends on the old patriarch's consideration."
Shi Zairong then asked, "Is the Huangfu family secretly in contact with the Nanyue royal family now?"
Huangfu Ning couldn't help but chuckle at this, saying, "A century-old family needs to keep pace with the times in order to survive. There's nothing we can do about it. In fact, at the beginning, if our young emperor hadn't been so ambitious and lacked strategy and intelligence, many in the clan would have hoped that Huijue could marry someone from the royal family."
Shi Zairong said with a bitter face, "Alas, if that's the case, isn't my situation rather tragic?"
Huangfu Ning consoled her, "Don't worry. After all, you call me uncle, so I'll naturally stand by you. Besides, you and Huijue are in love, so I'm very supportive of this marriage. Besides, there are many people of Huijue's generation, including Huimin. If he's interested, we have no objection to him choosing a woman from the royal family."
Huangfu Ning had already said so much to comfort him, and if Shi Zairong continued to nag, it would be inappropriate: "Uncle Ning, I'm going to tell you the truth. I've been targeted by the Xiahou family, and now the Xiahou family and Han Chongguang have stood on a united front. Regardless of whether we win or lose this battle, I can't return to the court. Our emperor, it's good enough that he can protect himself, and I don't want to embarrass him."
Hearing what he said, Huangfu Ning also felt the anxiety and uneasiness in Shi Zairong's heart. He couldn't help with the affairs in the court, but he could still help save his life: "Wait for me."
After a while, when Huangfu Ning came back, he mysteriously put a small porcelain bottle into Shi Zairong's hand and asked, "...What is this?"
Huangfu Ning introduced: "Turtle Breath Pills, commonly known as fake death pills, I think you might be able to use them."
After Shi Zairong accepted the medicine, he raised an idea: "I'm worried that after I take this, someone will check and see that I have no breath, and then give me two more stab wounds."
"If it's from Tianshu Tower, it's not impossible. You'd better take care of yourself. If it's useless, return the medicine to me." As he spoke, Huangfu Ning was not polite at all and was about to snatch the medicine from Shi Zairong's arms.
Shi Zairong quickly took a few steps back, protecting his chest and saying, "You are my elder. I have already given you the things, and I have accepted them. There is absolutely no reason for me to ask for them back. Thank you, Uncle Ning!"
...After returning to the study, Shi Zairong took out the memorial that he had been hiding on his body with a sense of relief and threw it to Lin Feng.
After Lin Feng finished reading, his expression became even more serious. "Han Chongguang really is willing to sacrifice anything to achieve his goal. Is he really willing to let this entire army be buried with you?"
Shi Zairong sneered and said, "These people are expendable to Han Chongguang. If they're gone, the worst that can happen is they can just retreat. He'll naturally have people ready to protect his achievements. I'm just worried that they'll turn these people into undead, heartless people."
Lin Feng said that they couldn't interfere with the affairs of Nanyue Kingdom from a thousand miles away, but they could still make a greater effort on the things that were within their reach. "If they really are going to make such a big move, then it's best to catch the spy planted around you as soon as possible. Apart from anything else, I personally feel that you are not worthy enough to have so many people buried with you."
Shi Zairong understood this principle, but the spy leaders were so well hidden that finding them was no easy task. The army had so many people, and if they were to publicly summon them one by one for questioning, it would inevitably cause unrest in the army. "I understand that, but after searching over and over again, the only people we find are minor figures."
After thinking for a moment, Lin Feng suggested, "How about I help you observe them one by one? Not many people here know my true identity. I can disguise myself as a soldier, which will make it easier for me to infiltrate the enemy."
Shi Zairong squinted his eyes and looked at Lin Feng for a while, then nodded: "That sounds like a solution."
The next day, Shi Zairong found a set of soldier's clothes for Lin Feng to change into. After comparing his new identity with him, Lin Feng swaggered with the tea tray, threw away the veil he had to wear when going out, put on the human skin mask kindly provided by Ou Yezi, and left.
However, the Huangfu family had sharp noses and amazing observation skills. On his way to the kitchen, Lin Feng happened to run into Huangfu Ning who was out for a stroll. He was just about to go through the formalities and say hello before leaving, but before he even got close to him, Huangfu Ning smelled the familiar herbal scent on him: "Hey, what's going on today? Why are you dressed like this?"
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