Chapter 431: Grandmother, Let Me Take You to Luocheng
Upon hearing this, Ye Lü perked up again, hastily putting down the cake in his hand and nodding repeatedly.
“I’ve already made the preparations. Right now, I have several trade caravans under my command. With that in mind, I’ll have A Zan send word so they can pick up the goods at the border.”
Having said that, Ye Lü, who was usually not very serious, put down his teacup, straightened his expression, and looked at Yu Luo solemnly.
“This time, the incident in Fengcheng has spread throughout the martial world and the Eastern Feng Kingdom. Xiao Luo, won’t the people of Fengcheng put the blame on Luocheng after this disaster?”
Yu Luo’s smile gradually faded upon hearing this.
Although she and Ye Lü were not quite at the level of life-and-death comrades, he was still a righteous man, even as a prince. At the very least, Yu Luo felt that he truly cared about her.
“Whether they blame us or not is Fengcheng’s concern. Luocheng is still a fledgling city. We don’t have Fengcheng’s foundation, its influence, or its reach across the continent. We can only take things one step at a time. We can’t bow and scrape just because we fear Fengcheng’s revenge, can we?”
Ye Lü understood the logic behind her words. Still, facing such a powerful enemy as Fengcheng, he—an imperial prince without much authority—was powerless to help.
Noting the lingering concern in Ye Lü’s eyes, Yu Luo smiled reassuringly.
“You don’t have to worry too much about us. Even if Fengcheng hadn’t suffered this catastrophe, do you think they wouldn’t have come after us sooner or later? And even without Fengcheng, Luocheng would never lack enemies. We’ve long been prepared for this.”
“Sigh, I know my question was unnecessary,” Ye Lü admitted. “As your friend, I may not be able to help you much, but if you ever need me, Xiao Luo, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Yu Luo had no intention of dragging Ye Lü into this mess. However, to ease his worries, she nodded politely.
Ye Lü stayed at the City Lord’s Mansion until the afternoon before leaving, even having lunch there.
When news of this reached Chi Jinchen, his face remained unreadable. However, his subordinate Xuan Qi was visibly agitated.
“Master, I think that Ye Lü is up to no good. He’s so thick-skinned! It’s just a business partnership with Miss Yu—does he really need to discuss business for half a day?”
“If that’s the case, then we should do business with Xiao Luo as well.”
Chi Jinchen’s words left Xuan Qi wide-eyed.
“Master, now’s a critical time! Why bother doing business? You already have so many enterprises. If you start another one, we’ll need to deploy even more people. We’ve already stationed so many troops in Luocheng!”
“It’s fine. Business doesn’t require that many men.”
“But Master, Luocheng is in dire straits right now. It’s only a matter of time before Fengcheng retaliates. If we continue doing business with them, it might jeopardize your grand plans!”
Seeing Xuan Qi’s nervous expression, Chi Jinchen cast him a sidelong glance. His gaze, as calm as ever, sent an inexplicable chill through Xuan Qi.
“Then stop worrying so much. Xiao Luo is a decisive woman. Even Ye Lü won’t easily sway her.”
Xuan Qi: …
Who was he even worrying about? Why did his master seem so unconcerned?
At Shishan, after the other exiled families moved away, the area became even more desolate.
Before the snowfall, Chang Huilan had enjoyed the peace and even felt lucky that those people had left their cultivated land behind. But now that the snow had covered vast fields, the true hardships of winter had begun. She regretted not listening to her youngest son and moving into Luocheng for shelter.
Cough cough cough!
No one wanted to go outside in such cold weather. Madam Chen lay in bed, wrapped in thick blankets, while the fire in the cave burned non-stop.
Despite the warmth, she still shivered with cold. Whenever she managed to fall asleep, her coughing would start again, waking her up.
She clutched her chest in pain, struggling to catch her breath.
The wooden bed she lay on had been taken from Yu Luo’s old mountain cave residence. Since no one lived there anymore, Madam Chen had moved everything to Shishan.
When Yu Zhengqing returned with dozens of subordinates, she thought she could regain her former comfort and status—even if they couldn’t leave this land just yet.
But then she suddenly fell ill.
“Grandmother, drink some hot water. It’ll soothe your throat.”
Yu Mei Yao quickly rose and poured a cup of hot water from a clay kettle, carefully offering it to Madam Chen.
Madam Chen didn’t even glance at her, hastily taking the cup and gulping the water down. The warmth eased her discomfort slightly.
“Has Zhengqing not returned yet? I’m already like this, and that unfilial child is still searching for that wretched woman? As for that Lan woman, I bet she took the chance to escape. She probably couldn’t bear to live a hard life and found herself a new benefactor. And your father—does he not realize we still have a whole family to take care of? If something happens to him in this bitter cold, how are we supposed to survive?”
Despite just coughing herself awake, Madam Chen still had the energy to berate others, especially her son’s concubine.
Yu Mei Yao clenched her fists inside her padded sleeves, suppressing the seething hatred in her heart.
Despite her resentment, she couldn’t let it show. She was only a concubine’s daughter—if Yu Jia truly fell into ruin, she would be the first to be sacrificed.
“Grandmother, second brother is home. His martial skills are more than enough to protect us.”
“Hmph! That boy is useless. He knew where we were the whole time and still let us suffer under that wretched girl’s hand for so long. Now look at me—this illness has left me with lasting damage. It’s impossible to find proper doctors or medicine in this wasteland, and the herbs from Luocheng are all fake! I’ve been taking them for days with no improvement. That wretched Ye Jia Mei must have taught her doctors to be just as deceitful as she is! If only we could return to the capital. Back then, the imperial physicians would visit us personally! But now… sigh.”
Yu Xiao Xuan, who had just trudged in with a bundle of firewood, froze upon hearing Madam Chen’s complaints.
He threw the dry logs next to the fire and walked straight to her.
“Grandmother, if you think the medicine is useless, let me take you to Luocheng and see a doctor personally.”
The moment she heard the word “Luocheng,” Madam Chen recoiled in fear, shaking her head frantically.
(End of Chapter 431)
