Jiang Jin turned to look at Zhou Sui, seeing him absorbed in the “miracle” of the telescope, no longer offering ordinary names.
She could only bear it silently: “…Why call it Far-Sight? Why not just call it Good-Scope?”
Yun Chengxuan gave her a look that said, “You’re out of your depth here”: “Auntie, this telescope can see far, so Far is the key point.”
Jiang Jin: “…” She actually found it quite reasonable and had no rebuttal.
As they were talking, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.
“My lord, General—why have you two come here?” Xie Nanxiao rode toward them on horseback, but his gaze was fixed on the telescope Zhou Sui wore.
Jiang Jin smiled and said, “Just out for a look. Are you in charge of this area?”
Xie Nanxiao withdrew his gaze: “There’s still a little grain needed from a few villages here.”
Jiang Jin praised him: “You’ve done well. How many households and people are there here? How much farmland?”
Xie Nanxiao pointed into the distance: “The terrain here is flat and good for farming. The farmland across the villages adds up to several thousand acres. But this year’s drought, and the population… a lot of land has gone to waste.”
He spoke with deep regret: “The total population of these villages is less than two thousand people. They told me these used to be big villages—one village alone had two thousand people. Several villages together had over ten thousand. What a pity.”
Jiang Jin comforted him: “No rush. By next year, all this land can be plowed and planted again, and the population will grow.”
Speaking of which, Gofeng had seen over a dozen newborns this year. That might not sound like much, but it was just the beginning—after all, she had only occupied Gofeng for a year.
Xie Nanxiao now had absolute faith in Jiang Jin: “Yes, it will definitely increase.”
Jiang Jin smiled: “Hurry and collect the grain. If Qu Zhao’s army sends cavalry as the vanguard, they could arrive soon.”
Xie Nanxiao straightened up: “Understood. Aside from the soldiers on patrol, I’ve put everyone else to work harvesting. We’ll be done in less than an hour.”
Jiang Jin nodded: “Transport the people and grain from here back to Chunrong. They need manpower for construction there, and Qiu Liao will arrange everything.”
Xie Nanxiao quickly nodded in agreement.
“Ah, my Far-Sight is so amazing—it sees so far!” Yun Chengxuan sneakily pulled out his Far-Sight and feigned a gasp of wonder.
Xie Nanxiao had been curious about the strange device Zhou Sui wore earlier, but he didn’t dare ask questions or touch the General’s belongings.
Now seeing Yun Chengxuan also had a similarly odd item, he asked in amazement: “What is that thing?”
Yun Chengxuan was slightly smug, chin held high: “This is a Far-Sight that Auntie gave me. It can see very far.”
Xie Nanxiao was baffled: “Far-Sight? It can see far? Can I have a look?”
At this moment, Yun Chengxuan felt eager to share and showed great generosity: “Here, put this on and you’ll see far.”
Jiang Jin shrugged and rode her horse leisurely through the fields, inspecting the farmland.
Zhou Sui found a nearby hillside, climbed it, and put on his telescope to survey the surroundings.
“Wow, wow, it really sees far! Yun, what is this? How is it so amazing!” Xie Nanxiao exclaimed repeatedly while wearing the Far-Sight.
It was truly astonishing—he could see the sweat beads on a soldier’s face two miles away, every drop crystal clear.
Yun Chengxuan chuckled and took the Far-Sight off his face: “Amazing, right? Auntie gave it to me. Auntie loves me best.”
Xie Nanxiao was extremely reluctant to part with the telescope and fiercely jealous. He felt he was sorely lacking an auntie himself, boohoo.
He touched the Far-Sight, unwilling to let go, and tempted: “Do you like candy? I’ll buy you a jar of candy—how about that?”
Yun Chengxuan immediately grew wary, looking at him: “Auntie said, sudden kindness hides ill intent.”
Xie Nanxiao: “…Come on, we’re brothers. I’m not asking for much—just want to borrow it for a day. One day. I’ll throw in two jars of candy.”
Yun Chengxuan hugged the Far-Sight to his chest: “Auntie was right—there really is no such thing as love without reason.”
Xie Nanxiao: “…”
Really, what exactly had the lord been teaching him?
Back in the day, Yun Chengxuan was so innocent and adorable. Now, sigh…
Yun Chengxuan couldn’t help boasting again: “You know, you can see clearly at night too. The Far-Sight sees so far…”
“What? You can see at night too?” Xie Nanxiao exclaimed.
Elsewhere, Li Mai led a squad of Jinyang soldiers on patrol near Gofeng. Lately, they had to be especially careful—Qu Zhao’s army might pass by Gofeng at any time, or even lay siege to it.
Suddenly, his eyes sharpened: “Who’s there? Come out!”
The soldiers drew their blades in a flash, staring warily at a patch of withered grass a few zhang away.
When the grass fell silent, Li Mai shouted sternly: “I see you! If you don’t come out, we’ll shoot!”
The archers were ready, bows drawn and aimed at the withered grass.
The grass rustled, and a woman with a dirt-smeared face cowered out: “I, I’m a refugee fleeing disaster. Please don’t kill me.”
Li Mai looked at her clothes—though tattered and filthy, they were clearly made of silk.
The woman seemed to realize her attire was inappropriate and explained softly: “We really are refugees. My family were minor merchants with a small fortune, but we ran into bandits on the road…”
She glanced at Li Mai, who showed no reaction, and then at their uniforms: “Are you the Gofeng patrol?”
Li Mai narrowed his eyes slightly: “Are you heading to Gofeng?”
The woman nodded: “Yes. I heard Gofeng is a city governed by Han people, so I wanted to go there.”
Li Mai frowned, looking toward the withered grass behind her: “Is someone else in there?”
Knowing there was no escape, the woman answered honestly: “Yes. One of us was injured. Do you have a physician?”
Liu Mi never expected to see Consort Wei and the Tenth Princess Jiang Li in the refugee camp.
Wei Qingran also hadn’t anticipated meeting an acquaintance: “You—you are Liu Cairen?”
Liu Mi nodded: “Yes.”
Wei Qingran spoke, tears already falling: “Do you have a physician? Young Master Meng is injured. He started running a fever last night and hasn’t stopped, and the wound…”
Fortunately, Meng Chong carried some medicine on him. But he had been unconscious the whole time.
She didn’t understand medicine and had merely sprinkled all the powder she found on him onto the wound. The bleeding had stopped, but the fever started last night.
Liu Mi nodded: “I am a physician.”
She looked at Li Mai and the others: “Carry him into the tent.”
Wei Qingran then remembered—she had asked the soldiers to take them to a physician, and they had brought her to Liu Mi. So Liu Cairen was a doctor.
With no time for reminiscing, Liu Mi entered the tent to treat Meng Chong’s wound.
More than an hour later, she came out.
Wei Qingran quickly stood up: “How is he?”
