Chapter 894 - 894: A Bit of Recent News
Chapter 894: Chapter 894: A Bit of Recent News
“Remember, the prefect’s face seemed extraordinarily surprised at that moment.”
Qi Yuanzheng immediately nodded.
“Not only that, when we broke through numerous enemy camps to enter the city, anyone would likely know we had a purpose in coming, yet they didn’t ask a single question. Isn’t that too strange?” Zhang Peng added.
Liu Sisi nodded solemnly, “There must be a demon behind the abnormal! Brother Zhang, later you go arrange the night guards for tonight, and by all means, we cannot allow the bad guys to find an opening. After all, a starving person is capable of anything.”
Especially the attitude of the deputy general, although he looked upset at the beginning, he did not say anything. But once he saw the conduct of the prefect toward himself, his expression immediately changed.
These deputy generals are exceptionally good at guessing the intentions of their superiors; the prefect must really have some thoughts in mind.
“Alright! I will go arrange that now.” Zhang Peng said as he stood up.
As soon as Qi Yuanzheng saw this, he quickly got to his feet and, finding a pretext, said, “Princess, please wait a moment, your subordinate will bring you a bowl of coarse grain porridge.”
“No need, I will get it myself.”
Liu Sisi also stood up, picked a random bowl, and walked out.
There were just a little over a hundred people, and at the moment, the queue for porridge was almost gone.
But there wasn’t much coarse grain porridge left in the big pot either.
Liu Sisi brought her bowl over as well, “Give me a serving too.”
The person serving the porridge didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly scooped a large spoonful from the bottom and poured it into Liu Sisi’s bowl.
Liu Sisi said nothing, stepped aside, drank directly from the bowl’s rim, mimicking everyone else, and took big gulps of the porridge. The coarse grain porridge was obviously made with a mix of black beans, mung beans, sorghum, and millet, producing this nearly transparent plain rice porridge that you could almost see your reflection in. When eating, you didn’t need to speak; you could just drink from the edge of the bowl and finish it in one gulp.
Zhang Peng and Qi Yuanzheng were no exception, each picking up their bowls and swiftly drinking down the half bowl of porridge in a few swallows.
After finishing a bowl of porridge and burping with satisfaction, she stood up, scooped some water to wash the bowl, and then returned to the room.
The once embittered people were now appeased.
This was a princess, after all, having the same porridge as them, which made those who had been noisy flush with embarrassment.
“Princess, the young Taoist pays his respects.”
Just as Liu Sisi was about to enter the inner room, the young Taoist followed her again.
Liu Sisi felt a surge of brightness before her eyes; was he about to tell her a little secret?
She quickly invited the young Taoist, “Taoist Yuan Jue, have you had dinner? Please come in and talk.”
“I have already eaten, so I shall not disturb the princess’s rest.”
The young Taoist Yuan Jue stepped into the room.
“Taoist Yuan Jue, counting back, you are junior to my little one, but how has my little one been recently?”
Though she had a thousand questions to ask, Liu Sisi still forcibly controlled the pounding of her heart and asked the simplest one.
“Princess, you needn’t worry about Junior Brother Three; he is quite fortunate.”
Yuan Jue gave a respectful bow to Liu Sisi, “Junior Brother Three is clever and talented. From the moment he entered the mountain gate, he has gained Master’s favor. Not only is he taught by Master by his side day and night, but he has also arranged for two martial uncles with great knowledge to instruct Junior Brother Three. Junior Brother Three learned of your difficulties upon this trip and specifically pleaded with Yuan Jue to bring something for the princess.”
While speaking, the young Taoist turned and took something out of his arms and handed it directly to Liu Sisi.
Liu Sisi’s hands were trembling as she took the item and couldn’t even utter a word of thanks. How could she stay calm when the cherished item had fallen from her body?
Looking at the object in front of her, which was clearly a cloth package, she then forcibly suppressed her excitement and opened it.
Inside the cloth package was a jade pendant carved with a phoenix. This jade pendant, appearing to be a plain piece of warm jade, suddenly warmed Liu Sisi’s heart and the tears on her face began to fall uncontrollably.
Where was the decisiveness and bravery she had just a moment ago when scolding those burly men?
“Xiao Xiao, my Xiao Xiao… woo woo…”
She cried and sobbed like a child.
The young Taoist was not good at comforting people. Seeing Liu Sisi break into tears so suddenly, he didn’t even know where to put his hands and feet and hastily tried to comfort her in a fluster.
“Princess, please don’t cry… Don’t be like this… If Third Junior Brother sees you like this, who knows how upset he’d be…”
“Pfft!— Cough cough…”
His words made Liu Sisi burst into laughter through her tears: “If Xiao Xiao really saw me now, he would surely say, ‘You’re so stupid to still cry at this age, dumb to the core!’ Wouldn’t that be just like him?”
The words were actually what Xiao Xiao used to say to Niuniu, but they suddenly popped into Liu Sisi’s mind at that moment, making her laugh despite herself.
The young Taoist chuckled twice and scratched his head: “Although Third Junior Brother’s words can be quite harsh, he has a very good heart. All the martial brothers on the mountain hold him in high esteem.”
As soon as they talked about this, Liu Sisi remembered another question: “Do you still live in North City? Why couldn’t I find you there when I went looking last time?”
The young Taoist looked at Liu Sisi with some surprise: “Does the Princess not know? The Qingfeng Temple in the capital city is merely a temporary resting place for our Master. Our Sect naturally has its own mountain Gate. Master and Martial Uncle usually stay within the mountain Gate unless there is a mission from the mountain Gate…”
The young Taoist wanted to say more but suddenly stopped, annoyed, he smacked his forehead: “Disaster! Master said that these matters should not be disclosed to outsiders, otherwise not only would our Sect suffer, but even those who learn the truth could be implicated! I…”
“Young Taoist, don’t worry about it. Take what you just said, your Master told you not to tell outsiders, but my home’s Xiao Xiao is your Third Junior Brother, how can he be called an outsider? Taoist Yuan Jue, am I right?”
This skewed logic left Yuan Jue in quite a quandary, and he hesitated for a long while before leaving.
However, no matter how much Liu Sisi asked afterward, she couldn’t get a single word about his Master or Xiao Xiao from him.
The flying snow outside was still falling. Apart from a few separated rooms, the rest was a line of common sleeping areas where the trusted soldiers laid in their clothes on the common sleeping area, holding their weapons as they slept.
Liu Sisi was too troubled to sleep, but she forcibly closed her eyes, pondering the events of the past day or two and unknowingly fell asleep amidst her restlessness.
Meanwhile.
The City Lord’s Mansion was brightly lit. Dong Yuan was pacing anxiously in the room, clearly waiting for something.
Not long after, the Deputy General returned.
“To report to Prefecture Governor, after investigation, we have confirmed that they are indeed Marquis Yongping’s trusted soldiers.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
“Without a doubt!”
“Good, you may leave.”
Watching the Deputy General leave the City Lord’s Mansion, a cold and sinister expression slowly surfaced on Dong Yuan’s face.
With an especially ferocious look, he sneered: “Yongping… Humph! Di Yelei…”