The Jinyang army quietly changed formation, while the Dragon Shadow Guards slowly peeled away from the group, disappearing without a trace.
But the common people noticed nothing unusual, all of them panting as they hurried along the mountain path.
The road was incredibly tough to travel—rugged and uneven, and so narrow in some places that even a cart couldn’t pass without being lifted and carried.
Fortunately, they were nearing their destination. Their food supplies were almost gone, making it easier to haul or push whatever they had.
Dong Si frowned slightly. He had noticed the army’s shift in formation, but catching sight of Shuangjiang ahead steadied his nerves.
Hua Ruo also sensed something was off, but she said nothing, only quietly heightened her alertness, ready to act at any moment.
Yet, oddly enough, nothing happened as they left the area of Xiaoqi Mountain—everything remained calm and uneventful.
Confused, she couldn’t help but edge closer to Mu Ning. "Lady Mu?"
Mu Ning knew what she wanted to ask and smiled faintly. "It’s fine now."
By the time Jiang Jin reached the dock at Ze’a Prefecture, Xia Chanyi was just about to follow her daily routine of going to argue with the local aristocratic families and practice her verbal skills.
To be honest, yesterday she had brainstormed with a few sharp-tongued subordinates, coming up with a new approach to picking a fight.
She had realized that picking a quarrel was a technical craft—and for her, it was quite challenging.
Sheng He had also arrived at the dock early as usual, ready to intercept her. For the past few days, this had become routine, and he’d gotten used to it.
Just as the two of them squared off to go through the motions, they spotted a small boat approaching on the sea nearby.
Xia Chanyi froze for a moment, then quickly reacted, a joyful expression spreading across her face as she turned and ran toward the dock.
Sheng He hesitated, then saw Xia Chanyi suddenly sprint away. He snapped out of his daze, hope flashing in his eyes, and strode after her in big steps.
It wasn’t until Jiang Jin’s boat docked that Sheng He’s heart finally settled. He was almost in tears, as if he had just seen his own ancestor: "Princess, oh Princess, wuwu—you’re finally back?"
Jiang Jin: "..."
She glanced at Xia Chanyi. "What’s going on?"
Xia Chanyi suppressed a smile. "Probably got sand in his eyes."
Sheng He choked on his words, his face turning sour. "Princess, please give us an explanation. Where, where exactly did you go?"
"And also..." He looked at the boat Jiang Jin had sailed back. "Didn’t you take a big ship out to sea? Why are you returning on a small boat? Where’s our big ship and crew?"
Jiang Jin corrected him: "First, the ship I sailed out was my own. Second, you people were dishonest—the vessel you gave me was so shabby that it fell apart as soon as I hit the sea, leaving me adrift for over half a month.
"Fortunately, I ran into a kind soul who rescued me, or I wouldn’t have survived. You lot in Ze’a Prefecture owe me an explanation for this."
"Impossible!" Sheng He was stunned. "Our ship was in perfect condition—how could it have fallen apart?"
Jiang Jin snorted coldly. "Why not? A sea breeze blew through, and the ship cracked and split apart with a loud pop. Terrifying, really."
Sheng He was incredulous: "Impossible. Princess, don’t joke like that."
Jiang Jin gave him a serious look. "Do I look like I’m joking? Your ship was truly unreliable. You’ll need to compensate me with a ship of equal size."
Sheng He didn’t know what to say. And even more absurdly, the Jinyang soldiers on the boat kept carrying things ashore.
"What are those?" he couldn’t help asking.
Jiang Jin sighed helplessly: "When the ship fell apart, we had no choice but to fish in the sea for food and, well, accidentally caught a bit too much."
Sheng He: "..." Could she at least come up with a believable excuse?
As Jiang Jin turned to leave, he chased after her: "Princess, why have you only brought back this many people? Where are our people?"
Jiang Jin waved dismissively: "They fell into the sea and all drowned. Anyway, I won’t argue with you. I’m busy now—I’ll send someone later to discuss compensation."
She hurried away from the dock, followed by Xia Chanyi.
Sheng He tried to follow, but two Dragon Shadow Guards blocked him. He bristled: "What do you mean by this? This is Ze’a Prefecture’s dock!"
One Dragon Shadow Guard nodded agreeably, "Yes, yes, it’s your dock. But don’t take this path."
Sheng He was nearly spitting blood: "There’s only one path here. Where else am I supposed to walk?"
The guard gave a shrug, as if agreeing he was right, but absolutely wouldn’t budge.
"My liege, are we heading straight back to Gefeng?" Xia Chanyi asked.
Jiang Jin nodded: "Yes. Come with me. We don’t need to leave too many people here."
Xia Chanyi was delighted: "Understood!"
In no time, Jiang Jin, Xia Chanyi, and others mounted horses and galloped away from the dock.
The Dragon Shadow Guard blocking Sheng He gave him an apologetic smile: "Sorry for the offense. Farewell."
They then hurried off, mounted their horses, and followed the Jinyang army.
Sheng He was stunned. Watching the group disappear in a cloud of dust, he gritted his teeth, mounted his own horse, and galloped toward Dongcheng County. He felt something was about to happen.
In the second hamlet of Heshui Village, Ma Feng held his household registration document. He couldn’t read a single character on it, but he couldn’t help gently caressing it, as if it were a precious treasure.
His wife, holding her registration too, spoke in a trembling, aged voice: "This, this is our new registration? We, we’re now citizens of Liuxiang County, Fengzhou?"
She still couldn’t quite believe everything that had happened. After getting off the boat, they had trekked through the mountains for two more days to reach this place.
Once they passed Shanguan County, the roads became different—white and gray, paved with something called cement, very smooth, making the carts so much easier to pull.
Then they were led to Heshui Village. The village was enormous—they had never seen such a big village, with block after block of brand-new brick and tile houses!
After endless registration procedures and a flurry of activity, they were assigned to this small courtyard.
Ma Feng murmured: "Yes, we, we’re now in Liuxiang County, Fengzhou, living in such a fine house."
He looked at his two little grandsons running excitedly around the yard, barely able to contain his joy.
"Dad, this house is amazing! Especially the kang—they said if we light a fire under it, it’ll heat up. This winter, even without thick clothes, we won’t freeze to death!" his younger son Ma Lin said eagerly.
His young daughter Ma Huan stroked the glass window, breathing on it over and over, watching the mist form: "They call this glass? It’s see-through! From now on, we can mend clothes indoors and still have plenty of light."
His eldest son and daughter-in-law came out from the house, barely containing their excitement: "Dad, Mom, now that it’s getting cold, we need to go up the mountain quickly and gather some firewood."
They had never dreamed they would live in such a fine house or be able to cut firewood from the nearby mountains for free.
In the past, when they rented land from the aristocratic families, all the mountains near the village also belonged to those families. Every year, to gather firewood, they had to notify the head of the household and pay a fee.
The old woman recalled this too, her eyes reddening: "Yes, we need to stock up on firewood. The officials said the north is cold, and this year will be even colder.
"We’ve come across a good master. We haven’t even started working yet, and we’re already given such nice houses..."
She couldn’t help crying as she spoke, her long-hanging heart finally settling at rest.
For those who moved into the village, unless there were special circumstances, they would henceforth be responsible for farming the land.
The houses allocated to them were rent-free, though it was stated that, depending on the size of the house, the rent would be deducted from their future wages after a year of work.
Although their family was relatively well-off compared to ordinary villagers, they still could not afford to rent a house outright if they had to do so from the start, especially with winter approaching, when they would need to purchase a great deal of household necessities.
The authorities had considered every aspect for them, and many families without means could even run up accounts with the local government, which would later be deducted from their wages.
