Chapter 381 - 381: It’s Not Like I Can’t Afford To Lose It
Rong Yan had just personally led a team of soldiers to surround the Xiongnu people who were sneaking around nearby. He was forced back to rest by Xiao Ran’s military order, but he was not sleepy.
Even though he knew that it was fine for Xiaoxiao to stay in the border city, he still felt uneasy. If he did not find something for himself to do, he could not help but let his imagination run wild.
Moreover, the Xiongnu was dilly-dallying. They had clearly surrendered and asked for peace, but they insisted on delaying the peace talks. They even sent people to probe. Clearly, they had ill intentions.
Rong Yan knew that under such circumstances, Great Xia could not reveal any flaws.
Xiaoxiao didn’t send over too much self-heating food, and they were not as calm as they appeared in front of the Xiongnu people. The harsh weather and the rapid consumption of supplies made the soldiers show signs of fatigue. These were facts that could not be discovered by the Xiongnu people, not to mention that they were still in the Xiongnu territory.
They pretended to be strong, which was why the Xiongnu people retreated in the face of difficulties. Hence, Rong Yan checked around with the Clairvoyant that Xiaoxiao had developed every day. He would not let go of anyone who discovered their whereabouts.
After putting down the Azure Frost Sword, the exhaustion that he had forcefully suppressed overwhelmed him. Rong Yan turned his neck and wanted to reach for the jade pendant by the pillow, but just as he moved, he saw blood on his fingertips. He retracted his hand and started to take off his coat.
Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. No, she covered her red face and realized that a strong upper body had appeared in the room in the blink of an eye.
Xiaoxiao’s heart ached when she saw the injuries on his body disappear.
She knew that Rong Yan did not care about his reputation, but to become a commander who could lead the soldiers, he had to risk his life at all times.
How cruel was war? It had never shown mercy to anyone. The people who died were lamentable, but how could those who survive relax and be content?
While she was sighing in the space, Rong Yan had already washed himself and changed into home clothes. This time, Xiao Ran was really angry. She issued an order that he was not allowed to leave the room. He had to sleep for 10 hours before the guard guarding the door was allowed to open the door.
These personal guards were all Xiao Ran’s trusted aides. They could be said to be obedient to Xiao Ran’s orders. For example, when they heard the sound of water stop outside, they specially reminded him, “Third Prince, are you going to start sleeping? Well time it when you start sleeping.
Rong Yan frowned. “Does that not count?”
The guard did not hesitate. “It doesn’t count. The general said that you have to
lie down.”
Rong Yan was speechless for a while, but he still walked to the bed obediently and said in a muffled voice, “Got it.”
He knew that Aunt Xiao was doing this for his own good. Forget it. Even if he couldn’t sleep, he would lie down for a while. At most, he would recall the art of war in his mind.
The door creaked open. The guards widened their eyes and confirmed Rong Yan’s posture before nodding and leaving. Rong Yan was so angry that he laughed. As expected of Aunt Xiao’s soldiers!
Xiaoxiao saw him lying on the bed in anger and amusement. He did not touch the bedding, but only held the jade pendant by the pillow in his hand and caressed it.
Perhaps because his body was indeed tired, he slowly felt his eyelids become heavier. After closing them, his breathing calmed down.
Xiaoxiao looked at the jade pendant in his hand that he had never let go. She supported her chin and slowed him down before covering him with the blanket.
Rong Yan slept soundly. Firstly, there was someone he trusted guarding outside the door, and it had been rare for him to have peace recently. Secondly, he had indeed accumulated a lot of tension and fatigue.
He kept feeling that he had slept for a long time, but the personal guard outside did not wake him up. The sky was still normal. He thought that it was impossible for him to sleep for a day and night, so he put this matter aside and went to read the military book.
With his sharp hearing, he could clearly hear the conversation outside. “Your Highness is awake so soon? But the general said to let him sleep for 10 hours. Why don’t we knock him out?”
The other man said, “Can you beat him?”
There was a short silence outside. Rong Yan snorted, and his arrogant look made Xiaoxiao like him very much.
However, no matter how much she liked it, she could not value her lover over her parents. Hence, she went to her parents’ place and tried her best to let more people get enough sleep.
The increase in the amount of food had to be controlled. Otherwise, it would attract too much attention. After finishing these things, Xiaoxiao felt that she had nothing to do, so she crouched behind her mother and listened to the military’s defense arrangements. After knowing that they were going to find Xiongnu’s iron mine, her eyes rolled and she quickly arrived at the advance army.
If the Xiongnu people could send people to spy on Great Xia’s military camp, why couldn’t Great Xia send people to the Xiongnu territory?
Xiongnu also knew that the Xiongnu could show off his provocation in front of a large country like Great Xia because they had iron ore and iron refining techniques. Hence, they naturally had to guard the location of the iron ore strictly. However, this defense really made it convenient for Xiaoxiao to find loopholes.
The space said pitifully: [Master, iron ore doesn’t belong to the ingredients. I can’t help.]
Xiaoxiao waved her hand. [Don’t panic. I won’t let you find the mine either.
Help me find the ingredients.]
What ingredient? The space was stunned for a moment. Then, it heard its increasingly intelligent master say: [Look at where a large number of ■■ingredients” suddenly gathered. Hmm, in your eyes, humans are also ingredients, right?]
The space: […] I can’t refute it. Since it’s Master’s request and it follows the rules, let’s do it!
Thanks to the Xiongnu people, Xiaoxiao only needed to find where the crowd was gathered to investigate the locations one by one. She would be much faster than the soldiers when she found the iron mine.
After getting some grassland wolves from the space, Xiaoxiao looked at these silly wolves staggering because they were not used to the sudden climate change. She pursed her lips: [Baby, Range Control.]
When the soldiers who were scouting the way discovered the wolf tracks, their first reaction was that the heavens had sent food again. They calculated carefully. As long as the number of wolves they encountered was not that exaggerated, it should be because humans ate wolves.
Of course, Xiaoxiao would not make the choice of having more wolves than people. Hence, after counting the footprints, the soldiers followed happily. Be it the Xiongnu people or the Great Xia soldiers, no one expected the well-hidden iron mine to be exposed because of a group of wolves. However, compared to Xiongnu’s depression and anger, the soldiers of Great Xia were so excited that they were about to fly when they returned to the city.
Xiao Ran and Rong Yan, who had just been released, looked at each other and smiled. “Let’s proceed to the next step.”
Chernan heard the news that the iron mine had been robbed at mealtime. The dried bun in his mouth was instantly stuck in his throat. He couldn’t spit it out or swallow it. What made him even angrier was that the Third Prince, who was also in the room, slammed the table. “Look! You caused this by dragging it out, didn’t you?”
“You even said that you would wait for Great Xia to retreat. Take a good look at yourself. Who is in trouble now and who wants to retreat?” Chernan’s facial features were about to scrunch up. He pounded his chest a few times before forcefully swallowing the steamed bun.
The Third Prince had something to say again. “You’re still in the mood to eat? Chernan wasn’t in the mood to eat, but he was in the mood to kill the Third Prince.
“Why are you panicking? They’re just snatching some ores.. It’s not like we can’t afford to lose them!”