Liu Erleng's smile widened, and he said with immense pride, "She's A-Zheng's wife, but A-Zheng from our village became a great general, so she's now a general's wife!"
"The General? The General's wife?" The Seventh Prince was even more surprised. He looked back at the mule cart carrying Jiang Qinyu and asked, "Is that the young lady in the back?"
Who is this general? Could it be Lu Yanzheng, the newly appointed Grand General Protector of the Nation by the Emperor?
Liu Erleng nodded happily, "It's her. A-Zheng's wife is amazing. Not only did she set up a work point system for our village, but she also led us into the mountains to find food and water..."
He recounted everything Jiang Qinyu had led them through, and also mentioned some of Lu Yanzheng's past deeds.
Once the Seventh Prince confirmed that the "A-Zheng" he was referring to was Lu Yanzheng, he couldn't help but become curious about the General Protector of the Nation whom his father had casually appointed.
As the emperor's most favored son, he naturally knew how Lu Yanzheng earned the title of Protector General of the Nation.
That's why the Seventh Prince admired Lu Yanzheng even more.
The fact that he was able to quickly recapture the border city after Marshal Qin's death and its fall, and then lead the border army to continue resisting the invasion of Dayuan and Xiqiang, shows that this person was no ordinary individual.
With the imperial treasury empty and unable to allocate provisions and pay to the border troops, coupled with Prime Minister Su's interference, Lu Yanzheng's life is definitely not going to be easy.
Yet, this man's wife is also incredibly intelligent and resilient. Not only did she help the people of Dingshui Village survive, but she is now also bringing benefits to the entire Yongshan County.
"...Ah Zheng and his wife are both excellent. Even the county magistrate looks at us differently. Today, while others are subject to grain purchase restrictions, our village is not!" Liu Erleng became more and more proud as he spoke, and secretly glanced at the expressions of the Seventh Prince and his servant.
He said these things on purpose, so that these two strangers would think twice before doing anything harmful.
Before noon, Village Chief Li and the others returned to Dingshui Village.
However, when they arrived at the village entrance, Liu Erleng said to the Seventh Prince with a grin, "Young Master, please follow me."
The seventh prince nodded and started to walk into the village.
Liu Erleng quickly stopped him, "Young master's residence is not in the village."
"Not in the village? Then..." The Seventh Prince paused, looking at him with confusion.
Liu Erleng said without the slightest guilt, "We can't accommodate everyone in our village, so please stay by our irrigation canal for a few days. But don't worry, we have everything there, it won't affect anything."
Seventh Prince: "..."
Ping An was displeased. "Aren't you going too far? We gave so much silver, and you're making my young master sleep on the ground?"
“We never said we wanted you to stay in the village!” Liu Erleng said matter-of-factly. “Besides, you haven’t paid your deposit of one hundred taels yet!”
The Seventh Prince looked at Liu Erleng with a complicated expression, then at Village Chief Li and the others. He realized that no one else was surprised by this, and he understood the reason almost instantly.
"Alright, Ping An, we'll just stay outside," the Seventh Prince said helplessly.
Thinking about it carefully, he did seem rather unsafe, which explains why the people of Dingshui Village were wary of him.
Seeing that he was so sensible, Liu Erleng's attitude towards him improved. After the Seventh Prince handed the hundred taels of silver notes to Village Chief Li, he took the initiative to say to Village Chief Li, "Village Chief, should we prepare some food and pots and pans for them?"
Ping An listened and muttered angrily, "At least he still has some conscience."
Seeing that the Seventh Prince accepted their conditions so easily, Jiang Qinyu couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Is this person really not here to harm them?"
Unfortunately, it was getting too hot to bear, so Jiang Qinyu didn't bother thinking about it anymore and quickly went home.
Liu Erleng quickly led them to a thatched shed by the dam.
"You're just going to let us stay here?" Ping An frowned, wiping his sweat while fanning the Seventh Prince with his hand.
Liu Erleng looked at him innocently and said, "Isn't this what you asked for? Look, there's water in the ditch outside, isn't there? And there's an earthen stove in this thatched hut. Someone will bring you food and vegetables later. You'll have food and drink, and you can even sleep here. What's wrong with that?"
Ping An was taken aback by what he heard, and after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a rebuttal.
The Seventh Prince was both amused and exasperated by these words. He said to Liu Erleng, "This place is very nice. Thank you, Brother Liu."
Liu Erleng was very satisfied with his attitude, so he said a few more words, "I'm not saying this to be honest, but in this day and age, it's really not easy to have a place like this to live."
Everything else is fine, but water is scarce. Wherever there is water, it is almost always crowded with people.
Didn't the people from Xiahe Village try to come to their village before? So they strengthened their defenses and prevented others from getting close to the village.
Places like the dammed ditch are usually guarded; otherwise, there wouldn't be a thatched hut there.
"Oh right, there's one more thing. We'll have someone come to keep watch tonight, so don't take up all the thatched huts. Leave them a place to lie down." Remembering this, Liu Erleng added.
Ping An almost jumped up in anger upon hearing this, "You..."
"We understand, Brother Liu, don't worry." The Seventh Prince interrupted him directly and said politely to Liu Erleng.
Ping An was furious, but his master didn't care at all and even said such things. He couldn't refuse his master's request, so he could only glare at Liu Erleng with dissatisfaction.
Liu Erleng ignored him and went back after giving his instructions.
Looking at the thatched hut that could only accommodate three or four people, the seventh prince felt both helpless and somewhat excited.
This was his first time living in such a place, and he truly experienced the life of an ordinary person.
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