Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 169 Winter passes and spring comes

"General Xu is a man of great righteousness. The people living in the northern border areas live the most stable lives, and I am the only one who can cooperate with him to protect the north." Seeing her in deep thought, Chu Xingchen couldn't help but explain.

"Okay, I understand." Since we are people with a common goal, it is reasonable and moral to protect each other.

"Those old thieves always go there late at night, using aliases and disguises. They are very cautious. If we hadn't planned to gather information when we built it and left microphones in every room, we would have let them get away with it."

"Although my people didn't hear it clearly, they were able to piece together the general idea by connecting some of the intermittent words."

Hearing her say this, Chu Xingchen also straightened his expression, "Go on."

Xin Baoer nodded, put down the warm tea in her hand, and said, "The three of them are birds of a feather. They have set their sights on the food and grass of the North this year."

Chu Xingchen was also shocked when he heard this. Although the old emperor had been incompetent for so many years, he had never slacked off in matters concerning the border.

General Xu loved his people like his own children and rarely fought over fertile land or forcefully conscripted soldiers. As a result, although the north was poor and General Xu was poor, he attached great importance to the food and military pay issued by the court every year.

"In previous years, the three parties have all looked down on this amount of supplies. After all, their extortion and levying of taxes over the years have been almost openly exposed. Unless the old emperor speaks, everyone tacitly turns a blind eye. After all, the imperial court is really poor." Chu Xingchen said solemnly.

"This year, the other three places have all come to the capital. General Xu must have received the imperial edict, but he has not arrived. I think the old emperor has developed a dislike for General Xu, and those people have noticed it."

"Although flies are small, they are still meat. They are used to being greedy. I'm afraid they have had this idea for a long time. It was okay before because the old emperor suppressed him, but now I think the old emperor has loosened his grip." Xin Baoer made a reasonable analysis based on the news sent back.

"I've asked Yifan to arrange the spring planting. The North has already reduced some of its food rations due to the reserve grain. If this batch of military pay is lost, I'm afraid that the military and civilian morale, which has been so hard to stabilize, will be shaken again." Chu Xingchen got a headache when he thought about this.

The two chatted for a while, but could not think of any good solution for the time being. After all, the whole country was short of food. If anyone still had surplus food, it would probably be the old aristocratic families. However, those families had too deep a foundation, and the relationship between them was complicated. One move could affect the whole body. Without absolute strength to hit the target with one strike, no one dared to attack them easily.

Time flies, the years pass by, winter goes and spring comes, and all things revive.

"Although the weather has warmed up, the late spring cold is the most likely to make you sick. Girl, you are weak to begin with, so don't always seek coolness."

When Lancao came in with a bowl of soup, she saw Xin Baoer sitting by the window looking into the distance. The window was slightly open and a cool breeze blew in. She couldn't help but nag a few words.

"I'm not that weak." Xin Baoer replied with a smile and took the bowl of soup obediently.

"You've been sick twice since the beginning of spring, and you still say you're not weak. I think Second Master should move in to look after you."

Chu Xingchen has been too busy recently and stays in the study until very late every day. He even has to sneak out once or twice from time to time. In order not to disturb Xin Baoer's rest, he consciously moved back to the study. As a result, she caught a cold just two days after moving out.

Xin Baoer felt guilty whenever she mentioned this, as if Chu Xingchen was gone. She couldn't even sleep well, and she felt short of breath when she talked about it.

"It's already April, and Ayu has been gone for almost two months, why hasn't he come back yet?"

Xin Baoer drank her soup slowly, muttering to herself with some worry.

"Maybe he's already on the way. It's inconvenient to send letters through the post station these days. Besides, even if there are letters in our place, they can't be sent in," Lancao consoled.

"You reminded me. I'll go find the Second Master." He put down the half-drunk soup and ran away in a hurry.

Lancao: I see you just don’t want to finish the soup.

Chu Xingchen's study.

"What kind of soup did Lancao make for you that scared you to come here?" Chu Xingchen put down the brush in his hand and smiled gently.

"Nonsense, I have something serious to talk to you about." Xin Baoer didn't feel guilty at all.

"Oh, what's the matter?"

Chu Xingchen also became interested after hearing this. You know, as long as the little girl is not lazy, most of the things she says are worth implementing.

"How do you usually pass on information?" Xin Baoer did not rush to state her purpose, but asked back.

"Heqilou has its own line, Anzhuang." Chu Xingchen answered without hesitation.

"What's the range?" Xin Baoer asked again.

"There are cases in major cities and towns along major transportation routes. However, in recent years, the population in many towns has been decreasing. In some places with serious disasters, nine out of ten houses are empty, and many contact points have been withdrawn." Chu Xingchen added.

"Are there any secret dealers within the four countries?" Xin Baoer continued to ask, without any shyness at all.

"No, but with the Heqi Tower here, the dignitaries of the four countries all give us face." Chu Xingchen continued to answer.

Xin Baoer nodded and understood.

Heqilou has the Crocodile Island behind it and has a lot of good stuff under its control. Many powerful people cannot get the good stuff, so there is at least a 70% chance of success if they ask them for help. Therefore, even if they do not have the strength to compete with the aristocratic families, their network of relationships is very wide.

As the saying goes, "Don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face", using a tiger's skin as a banner is nothing more than this.

"I want to use the secret equipment of Heqi Tower to deliver a message. Will it be troublesome?" Xin Baoer asked thoughtfully.

"I can open a special route for you. It will be safer this way." Chu Xingchen thought for a while and replied.

"This is all we can do for now. We have to wait until they have gained a firm foothold and are able to send back messages before we can activate them. Maybe there will be a surprise by then."

Xin Baoer suddenly changed her previous worry and said playfully.

"Are you so confident in them?" Chu Xingchen looked at her shining eyes, as if she had great confidence in those people. He couldn't help feeling a little jealous, and said in a sour tone.

Xin Baoer smiled brightly, "Not really, I just don't have any obsessions. If they can do it, then that's great. If they can't, then they can still come back alive, which is also a credit. After all, their courage is commendable."

She took the man's arm, shook it gently, and said in a coquettish tone, "It's been so long, you should know me. I'm lazy and stay-at-home, and I do things on a whim. When I first came here, I was full of energy and a lot of thoughts were spinning in my head, so I arranged them one by one. In fact, I haven't thought about the follow-up."

"You!" Chu Xingchen tapped Xin Baoer's forehead and said with a smile.

"You are the master, you just need to grasp the direction of things. The details of the operation process are all figured out by the people below. Otherwise, why would you support them with money? In comparison, you have done too much. If they succeed, the person they should thank the most is you."

"I came through here inexplicably and managed to save my life. If I can do something for the people here, it won't be in vain." Xin Baoer muttered softly. She didn't dare let Chu Xingchen hear it clearly.

Sure enough, Chu Xingchen straightened the little girl's face, facing him, and asked curiously, "What are you mumbling about?"

Xin Baoer quickly shook her head and said, "Nothing!" Then she changed the subject, "What have you been busy with recently?"

Chu Xingchen stood up and walked back to the desk, took a dozen notes and handed them to Xin Baoer, saying, "Read for yourself."

Xin Baoer took it, glanced at it, and put it back without interest. It was covered with densely packed words, which hurt her eyes.

I really don’t know what those who deliver the message are thinking. Why do they have to write so small? Is it possible that if the words are written small, others won’t be able to see them?

Secret Guard: I don’t want to either. It’s too hard to write.

Pigeon: My legs are thin, won’t it be tiring to carry such a heavy note?

"Aren't you a big fan of reading? Why do you lose your patience after a few notes?" Chu Xingchen frowned slightly, his tone unconsciously filled with worry.

Since she was little, this little girl has wanted to go into the library every day. Every time she was called away by the maid in the middle of reading, she looked reluctant.

He still remembered that the little girl had few expressions since she was young. She was well-behaved and timid all day long, but she was a different person when reading. She showed joy, sadness, anger... all kinds of expressions vividly.

"Ayu has been gone for a long time?" Xin Baoer replied with a sigh.