Liu Rumei continued, "Also, please tell the Crown Prince that Zhu Meng knows our Great Cang Kingdom too well. If he is not eliminated, he will surely be a future scourge."
Zhou Quan thanked her again and turned to leave. Liu Rumei called him back, "If you go to Xiangguo Temple, please say hello to my father for me."
Zhou Quan's expression gradually turned solemn. He nodded lightly and turned to leave, wiping away a tear as he did.
After Zhou Quan left, Liu Rumei's expression was also very somber. After a long while, she slightly shifted her body and shook her head.
Chen Xiaobei saw this and stepped forward, gently comforting her, "It's alright, Rumei. You've done your best. Go back and rest."
Liu Rumei shook her head. "My heart is in turmoil. Although I resent the Emperor for the unfair treatment of my family, I also pity the people of our Great Cang Kingdom. If the Great Tu Kingdom besieges Wanniang City, it might be too late for us to save them."
Hearing this, a phrase came to Chen Xiaobei's mind: returning kindness with grievances.
Yes, with Liu Rumei's current actions, she was truly embodying those words.
"Rumei, your intentions are clear. What happens next is not something we can decide."
The more Chen Xiaobei tried to comfort her, the more unresponsive Liu Rumei seemed. She just nodded, "Brother Xiaobei, I know what you mean. I want to be alone."
Fine, Chen Xiaobei said no more and could only watch Liu Rumei leave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Liu Rumei walked out of the courtyard, Xiao Qing rushed over.
Upon seeing Liu Rumei, Xiao Qing said with a tense expression, "Miss, young master has sent a message from Wanniang City."
Liu Rumei's expression tightened upon hearing this. She quickly stepped forward, took the letter, and after reading it, her expression became even more solemn. She sat down by the roadside, unable to move.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei quickly caught up, took the letter from Xiao Qing, and glanced at it. The letter reiterated the current situation and ended with a hopeful plea, "Little sister, a subject should share the ruler's worries."
"With the enemy at our gates, personal grudges can be set aside to save the people from suffering."
No wonder Liu Rumei was silent; it was a plea from her elder brother.
In this society, the saying "eldest brother is like a father" still held true. For her eldest brother to say such a thing, it was the reason for Liu Rumei's distress.
However, considering that Liu Rumei had already drawn the Four Spirits Eight Trigram Formation for Zhou Quan, and Zhou Quan would undoubtedly rush to the front lines, even if Liu Rumei went, she might only be able to help set up the formation.
Chen Xiaobei tentatively voiced his thoughts. Liu Rumei listened and nodded slightly.
"Yes, Brother Xiaobei, even if I go, I probably won't be of much help!"
"But if I don't go, I will feel very uneasy."
Chen Xiaobei came forward and sat beside Liu Rumei, gently patting her shoulder. "Alright, we've done all we can. Let's wait a couple of days and see what progress is made on the front lines."
Just then, a commotion was heard from the village entrance, followed by a loud shout.
"Xiaowen is back! Captain Xiaowen is back!"
It turned out that Chen Xiaowen had returned with people after delivering cabbage to Jizhou.
Chen Xiaobei was also very excited and quickly led people to the village entrance.
At the village entrance, he saw more than a dozen villagers surrounding Chen Xiaowen and his companions, asking questions and chatting animatedly.
Chen Xiaowen looked up and saw Chen Xiaobei arriving, then quickly parted the crowd and went to meet him.
"Brother Xiaobei, we're back."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "It's good that you're back. You must not have eaten yet. I'll have your sister-in-law prepare a meal."
As Chen Xiaobei turned to leave, Chen Xiaowen grabbed him, his face etched with worry. Sudian Novel Network.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei knew Chen Xiaowen had something difficult to say. He walked forward, pulling Chen Xiaowen away from the crowd, and asked once they were a distance away, "Xiaowen, what's really going on?"
Chen Xiaowen sighed. "Brother Xiaobei, everything was going smoothly. After delivering it to Jizhou, we were about to leave when the person in charge of acceptance at the military camp suddenly told me not to send any more, as the army was about to march."
After speaking, he took out two silver ingots from his sleeve. "This is all they gave us."
"We still have a lot in our fields. I'm afraid this route won't be viable anymore."
Seeing Chen Xiaowen's dejected expression, Chen Xiaobei's heart tightened. If even the warehouse guards were marching, it meant the situation in Wanniang City was truly not optimistic.
"Xiaowen, did you hear anything in Jizhou City on your way back?"
"Oh, I was just about to tell you about this. We heard from the innkeeper that the Great Tu Kingdom was launching a large-scale invasion, and a battle had begun in Wanniang City. The Jizhou army also had to march to Wanniang City."
So that was it. This meant the situation was indeed grim, with even Jizhou's forces being mobilized to reinforce Wanniang City.
"Brother Xiaobei, do you think the Great Tu Kingdom will really reach our Qingniu County?" Chen Xiaowen asked, looking apprehensive.
Chen Xiaobei smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Let's go eat."
At this moment, a villager spotted Chen Xiaowen and shouted from afar, "Xiaowen, you've made it big! Even the Crown Prince knows you're getting married and sent you a congratulatory gift!"
Chen Xiaowen was taken aback and looked at Chen Xiaobei in surprise.
Chen Xiaobei nodded slightly. "Yes, you were away at the time. Magistrate Hu personally delivered the gift. Two large boxes full."
Chen Xiaowen waved his fist excitedly. Suddenly, he bolted home. Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but laugh, after all, he was still a young man.
The return of Chen Xiaowen and his companions brought a slight sense of joy to Hetou Village.
However, Chen Xiaobei did not feel much celebratory cheer. He had thought that by selling to the military provisions, most of his cabbage would be consumed. But now, it seemed that hope was dashed, with tens of thousands of cabbages still waiting to be sold.
He still had to find a way to diversify. Just going to Qingniu County was not enough. Next, he would try Qingzhou and Shuzhou.
With this in mind, Chen Xiaobei turned to discuss with Liu Rumei, as she was more familiar with the surrounding area.
Upon seeing Liu Rumei, Chen Xiaobei sighed. "Rumei, it seems the situation is indeed not very optimistic. Xiaowen said that Tian Wenhao has canceled his cabbage order because their army is about to march."
Liu Rumei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "What do you plan to do next? You still have a lot of cabbage in the fields, right?"
"Yes, there are still dozens of acres of cabbage. I was thinking of sending people to investigate in nearby Shuzhou and Qingzhou."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei's face showed a hint of relief.
"You don't need to send anyone. A few days ago, I sent Liu Ce and Liu Tie to investigate the sales channels for charcoal. If they can deliver charcoal, they can also bring your cabbage along."