Coming from a humble background, she was short-sighted and, even if she had some shrewdness, couldn't think too deeply about things. She was only focused on escaping her current miserable life, forgetting the potential consequences of her actions.
Fortunately, Chen Yunshuang reminded her, and she immediately changed her mind. However, she still wanted to leave Songlin Village. She didn't want to live in such an isolated place with her daughter for the rest of her life. She had to at least return to Fengcheng.
"Sister, please help me. Jin Jie'er is the only daughter of the Prince. You don't want to see her suffer all the hardships of life, do you? Could you please plead with the Prince to buy us a house in Fengcheng and hire two guards to protect us?" Fang Ziyue's eyes were filled with tears, and she was almost kneeling in front of her.
"Aunt Chen, please, please grant our request. We just don't want to live a hard life. Please help me and my mother." Jin Jie'er's full name is Liu Jinling. She was clever from a young age, knew how to please people, and was good at reading people's expressions.
Chen Yunshuang had no prejudice against her. Although the child was cunning, she had never done anything to harm anyone in the manor and was kind-hearted. Besides, she was indeed the prince's last daughter, and it was not easy for a girl to arouse suspicion. Sending her out to live a better life was not a bad idea.
"Get up, Sister Jin. If you want to leave the mountain, you must promise your aunt that you will not listen to other people's rumors, and you will not be misled by others. You can only live a peaceful life, otherwise you will not have a good end. Soon someone will come to take your life. Do you understand?"
“Auntie, I know everything. I just want to live well. That’s what I thought back when I was in the Prince’s Mansion. Don’t worry, I will definitely behave myself and keep an eye on my mother so that she won’t make any mistakes.” Jin Jie’er was very precocious and had not been spoiled by Fang Ziyue. She swore to the heavens to put Chen Yunshuang’s mind at ease.
"Okay, I've always known you're a good kid. I know what to do. You can all leave now. I want to be alone." Chen Yunshuang waved to dismiss the group and sat there in a daze.
Having been away for almost a year, Ye Moxun and Song Tantan naturally couldn't leave so soon. Besides, they still had a lot of goods to produce. Although the paper mill had a lot of paper in stock, it still wasn't enough, because they didn't know how long it would be before they returned.
Cement was even more difficult to handle, because the cement makers kept asking, "This cement is very heavy, how are you going to carry it? I heard that just getting there is difficult enough to get it to the road. If we make so much, we can't transport it out. If we leave it for too long, it will spoil, oxidize, and become wasteful."
Words like "deterioration," "oxidation," and "volatile" were all used by Ye Moxun before, and the villagers learned them and used them from time to time. Although they didn't understand what they meant, they thought they sounded sophisticated and learned, so even if they didn't understand the meaning of the words, it didn't stop them from showing off.
“It won’t evaporate, so I put it in the basement… no, I put it in the cellar. My cellar is different from yours. The cellars you dug can’t keep things fresh, but mine can.” Ye Moxun hinted with his eyes.
The group of men took a moment to process this, then nodded, seemingly understanding. "Ah Xun, have you researched something that can keep things fresh? When did you research it? Can you tell us?"
"No." I can't tell you everything. You're not my sons. Even between father and son, there are secrets we can't tell each other.
If he said no, no one dared to ask. If they did, Ah Xun would get angry, and if he got angry, he would sprinkle poison powder, and then they would be the ones who suffered.
"Don't worry about the cement not being able to be transported out or sold for money. I won't let you suffer any losses. Once the cement is almost finished, I'll settle the accounts with you. I also have grain and salt at home, so you can come and pick them up then." Ye Moxun was afraid that they wouldn't be motivated to work, so he gave them a verbal promise.
"Really? You still have salt at home? Then why did you say you were out last time?" An honest man asked the question that everyone wanted to ask but dared not.
Ye Moxun smiled slightly, glanced at the man, and then looked away. "I'm keeping it for myself, but my uncle and I are leaving soon, so I'll just take it out and exchange it for work with you."
Time flies, and before they knew it, Song Tantan, Ye Moxun and the others had been back for a month and a half. They had stocked up on most of the goods they needed, and with the weather getting colder and snow expected to start soon, they had no choice but to prepare to leave.
If they don't leave the mountains this winter, the heavy snow will block the mountains, and they'll have to wait until next spring. They can wait, but Liu Chengyu can't, and neither can Xifeng.
The group that came out of the mountains this time was large, with fifteen young men and women, four from the Zhang family, six from Liu Chengyu's side, and four from Song Tantan's side, just one short of thirty people.
"Stay close, don't wander off and stray from the group. There are many wild beasts in the forest, so we must not let our guard down," Zhong Qingyi shouted loudly to remind them.
He and Song Zhuiyan led the way, followed by Zhao Zhongnian, then Liu Chengyu and one of his guards. Two other guards brought up the rear, with Song Tantan and Ye Moxun in front of them, and a young girl and child who were relatively weak in martial arts in the middle.
These girls were only twelve or thirteen years old, still children. The boys were older and quite capable. Of the fifteen young men of marriageable age, eleven were boys and only four were girls, making it a case of male dominance over female.
"I think I heard wolves howling. Could there be a pack of wolves?" One of Liu Chengyu's guards was on edge, gripping his knife tightly. He took a dozen steps and then drew it out and brandished it twice, as if that could dispel the fear in his heart.
"Wang Wen, be more composed. If the young master sees you, he'll scold you again." Look at him now, he doesn't look like a bodyguard at all, he looks like a country bumpkin who has never seen anything like this before.
"I... I really heard the wolf howl, Ming-ge, didn't you hear it?" Wang Wen looked around in a panic. He was usually a very calm person, but for some reason, the sound of a wolf howl made him feel uneasy. He didn't want to appear so cowardly, but he couldn't control himself.
In fact, Wang Wen and Chen Ming refused to be at the very back from the beginning. Their duty was to protect Liu Chengyu's safety, so how could they be too far away from him?
But Zhong Qingyi was adamant and showed no mercy. She coldly warned Liu Chengyu, "If you are not willing to prioritize everyone's safety and only selfishly care about your own, then don't come with us. Find your own way out, and don't expect us to help you if something happens."
At that time, Wang Wen, Chen Ming, and Chen Sheng, the three guards, all wanted to try to persuade Zhong Qingyi, but Liu Chengyu stopped them.
"We will follow Young Master Zhong's arrangements. No need to say more, step down." His voice was not loud, but it brooked no argument.
The three guards dared not disobey and had no choice but to cooperate with grim faces. What could they do?
If they could really get out on their own, they would have left the mountains long ago. Why would they have stayed in Songlin Village for almost a year?
Circumstances dictated their actions, forcing them to compromise. However, they remembered this debt and waited for Xifeng to settle it.
Well, when they arrived at Xifeng, they couldn't do anything to Zhong Qingyi and the others. They could only wait until the prince stabilized the situation and ascended the throne before settling scores. At that time, they would make these people suffer and know how noble the young master's status was. How could they force the young master to compromise?
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