BXBX NOVEL Chapter 344 - 344 Preparing
After half an hour, a tall and energetic middle-aged man strode in. Li Yu took a closer look and felt that he looked a little like General Shen Yu of Tongzhou. She wondered if he was also from the Shen family. The Shen family comprised generals, and the emperor isn’t wary of the Shen family. He seems to be really broad-minded.
Chu Feng pointed at Li Yu and said to General Shen, “General Shen, this is
Madam Li, the Madam Protector conferred by His Majesty.”
General Shen looked at Li Yu and recalled that his brother had mentioned this Madam Li to him. He praised her for her martial arts and simplicity. She was good-looking and a good person. Seeing her today, she was indeed good-looking.
General Shen cupped his fists and bowed to Li Yu. “I’m Shen Shuo. I’ve heard a
lot about Madam.”
Li Yu bowed to him. “General Shen, greetings.”
“Greetings, Madam Li.” Shen Shuo cupped his fists.
After they greeted each other, Shen Shuo stopped being polite and went straight to the point. He asked Chu Feng, “Shopkeeper Chu, what urgent matter is it?”
Chu Feng looked at Li Yu. Li Yu handed the waist token and booklet to Shen Shuo. “General Shen, take a look at these things?”
Shen Shuo took the waist tag and booklet with both hands and frowned at it. “This waist tag is the waist tag of the Qi Dynasty Eagle Guards. This is even made of sandalwood. Only a high-level person can hold it. This booklet.” Shen Shuo flipped it open and stood up in shock. “Madam Li, where did this come from? Is it reliable?”
“I snatched it…” Li Yu told him about meeting Qi soldiers while hunting.
When Shen Shuo heard this, he was first terrified, but then he rejoiced. If these two Qi soldiers had not been discovered by Madam Li, he would have become Great Yong’s eternal sinner and brought shame to the Shen family when the Qi soldiers attacked Yunzhou.
Shen Shuo bowed gratefully to Li Yu. “Madam Li, you’re indeed the Madam Protector personally conferred by His Majesty. The situation is urgent, so I’ll take away this booklet and waist token. Please keep all of this a secret.”
Li Yu and Chu Feng replied at the same time, “General Shen, don’t worry. It won’t be leaked!”
“Madam Li, Shopkeeper Chu, I’ll take my leave.” Shen Shuo cupped his fists at the two of them and left in a hurry.
Li Yu understood that Shen Shuo had gone back to make arrangements. Thinking that Shen Shuo had to keep the matter under tight secrecy, she stood up and said to Chu Feng, “Shopkeeper Chu, sorry to disturb you. I’ll go back too.”
Chu Feng smiled and sent Li Yu out. When he returned to the study, Yun Yi flashed out and Chu Feng said to him, “Yun Yi, go and ask why there’s no news from Great Qi. Send everyone out to investigate the city. Capture anyone with suspicious identities. Move quickly.”
Yun Yi turned around and left without a word. Chu Feng began to write a secret missive to report Li Yu’s discovery. He even sent secret letters to the shopkeepers of banks everywhere. An hour later, many messenger pigeons flew out of an inconspicuous house outside the city.
Yangyang woke up early in the morning. Ah Wei brought him and Seven Pounds to the backyard to practice. The two of them looked at Ah Wei’s clumsy appearance and couldn’t stop laughing. Ah Wei smiled awkwardly with a red face. “Young Master, when I practice, my hands and feet seem to be covered in glue. Madam, Brother Ruyi, Brother Ji Xiang, and the others all said that I’m not suitable for martial arts.”
Yangyang and Seven Pounds looked at him with pity and nodded seriously. “Uncle Wei, you’re indeed not suitable.”
Ah Wei looked at the two of them and did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Young Master, Seven Pounds. I can’t practice martial arts, but I grow crops. Even Madam and Master said that I manage the farm well. Madam said that everyone has his area of expertise. My forte is growing crops.”
Yangyang smiled proudly when he heard that. “My mother is good at many things. She knows how to farm, kung fu, cook, and even make clothes for me and Father. I like my mother the most.” Seven Pounds and Ah Wei looked at him and smiled and nodded.
Li Yu sat in the carriage with Gu Yu. She felt that this battle between Great
Yong and Great Qi was inevitable. She regretted not paying attention to Great Qi’s national strength and the emperor’s ability in the past. Thinking about how Zhou Jia was now an official and couldn’t irresponsibly find a place to hide with the family, it seemed that she could only think of a way to deal with the unknown crisis.
When the three of them returned to the manor, Li Yu said to Ruyi, “Ruyi, bring all the food in the manor back to the city first. Set aside 80 to 90 people’s rations for a year and hide them in the cellar under the stove in the kitchen. Also, send Xiaoyu and the two children back to the city to stay. It’s best if you buy a house not far from the government office. If a fight really breaks out, bring them all back to the city. Also, after you return to the city, find a few trustworthy blacksmiths to forge a few more crossbows and weapons. Prepare as many arrows as possible. Store more rapeseed oil and strong wine at home. Do it immediately.”
Ruyi nodded and was about to leave. “Ruyi.” Li Yu stopped him again. Ruyi looked at Li Yu and saw that she was frowning and waited quietly for her instructions. Li Yu thought for a moment and said, “Go buy some saltpeter and sulfur and get Old Madam Liu to collect the grass and tree branches and not throw them away.”
Ruyi nodded solemnly and turned to go to the storeroom. Li Yu’s heart felt a little heavy when she saw Ruyi leave. She hoped that she didn’t need the things she had prepared. She looked up and saw that she had already arrived at Xiaoyu’s door. Xiaoyu looked at her and smiled. “You’re back! You didn’t even rest when you returned and rushed into the city with Ruyi. Did something happen?
“Xiaoyu, it’s not a big deal.” Li Yu looked at her and smiled. “Xiaoyu, bring the two children back to the city to live first.”
Xiaoyu glanced at Li Yu and held her hand worriedly. “Madam, it’ll be fine! Right?”
Li Yu smiled at her. “Maybe I’m thinking too much. You have to believe me that it’ll be fine.”
Xiaoyu looked at Li Yu’s smile and felt at ease. “Yes! I’ll pack my things now.”
Li Yu came out of Xiao Yu’s place and went to the classroom. Mr. Lu happened to be standing in the courtyard. Li Yu walked over and said to him with a smile, “Mr. Lu, the autumn harvest is over. We plan to return to the city. Please pack your luggage. We’ll return to the city after noon.”
“Yes, Madam.” Mr. Lu smiled and cupped his hands. “I also think you and Sir should be returning to the city. I’ll pack my things now.”
Li Yu looked at Yangyang, who was sitting in the front row of the classroom and listening attentively to Mr. Liu’s lecture. She smiled and turned around to go to Zhou Jia’s study to search the bookshelf. She found a dossier that recorded Great Qi’s geographical environment. From the records on it, Great Qi had a very cold climate, was prone to drought and lacked water. There were few crop varieties that could be planted. Be it the yield of the crops or the living environment, they were not as good and comfortable as Great Yong. The emperor of Great Qi was ambitious and had always been eyeing Great Yong covetously. If he had not suffered a heavy blow from the drought a few years ago, the two countries might have fought while the old emperor was still alive. Now that things had looked up a little, Great Qi began to stir again..