However, having seen the girl with his own eyes this time, she appeared to be a common farm girl of mediocre talent on the surface.
She possessed no cultivation, no spiritual energy, and nothing extraordinary. Instead, she was merely a child missing her grandmother.
At most, she was slightly cleverer than ordinary girls, understanding how to appeal to him this way.
Presumably, if Xue Zhen did not respond, she would continue to "impress" him in the same manner.
But in the following days, Xue Zhen was mistaken. Not even a single leaf conveyed any further message.
Menghua City.
Meng Jiuer was digging the soil in the back garden of Baihua Pavilion. These withered leaves were from flowers planted by the former owner years ago.
After several years of drought, there was no sign of life left.
She might as well loosen the soil and plant vegetables.
Zhao Kun leaned against the arched gate, holding his Tang saber, watching A Jiu's tedious and boring actions.
A Jiu also felt it was unnecessary for Tuoba Yan to assign Zhao Kun to protect her: "Zhao Kun, you might as well go help your general. Meng Hua City is currently surrounded by Qi soldiers, and war could break out at any moment."
Zhao Kun finally realized he had been noticed. He straightened up and said, "The General ordered me to guard this courtyard."
"There's nothing much to guard here, and it's the Gao family's backyard," A Jiu said, her hands not stopping their work.
Generally, high walls and wide courtyards described the secondary residences of official families. The outer walls were much higher than the inner courtyard walls.
Moreover, they were often adorned with many sharp weapons.
Initially, it was to prevent maids and servants from the mansion from escaping. Later, it was to guard against thieves. Then, the walls were raised further to prevent concubines who were not favored by their husbands from secretly meeting their lovers.
After all, concubines and servants in wealthy and powerful families were no different from each other. Once they entered this compound, leaving was absolutely impossible.
Those who appeared in public were usually the primary wives.
"No, Miss Jiu, I must obey the General's orders," Zhao Kun said sternly.
"Then go to the front line and see how the battle is going. I want to know," A Jiu had plenty of ways to get him to leave.
This was an instruction from Tuoba Yan: if A Jiu wanted anything, Zhao Kun had to run errands.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned and left.
A Jiu, not afraid of getting dirty, sat on the loosened soil, took out her water skin, took a sip, and then watered the ground.
A gust of wind blew, and A Jiu pulled at the wool cloak around her neck, which she had also found in the former mistress's wardrobe.
A Jiu suddenly smiled.
But she still continued to plant seeds at her own pace.
Soon, Zhao Kun returned: "Miss Jiu, the Qi soldiers have not moved, and the General has been observing."
A Jiu did not look up: "Given this situation, it seems King Qi Ming is using the old tactic of King Nan Ming, intending to trap all our forces within the city. That way, a large portion of us will starve before the battle even begins."
Zhao Kun had only one command: follow Tuoba Yan's arrangements and never think about the situation.
If Tuoba Yan told him to lead people to kill, he would kill. He didn't need to think about anything else.
"Then what should we do?" Zhao Kun knew that General Tuoba, like himself, had a shallow understanding of survival. After all, they needed energy, not the kind of sustenance like food and water that sustained human life. Naturally, they wouldn't consider such a stratagem.
A Jiu remained silent, turned, and went into the pavilion. She soon emerged:
"Zhao Kun, take people to transport the food from my room and distribute it to the soldiers."
A Jiu's voice was neither high nor low, and she walked out again to squat by the place where she had been planting vegetables.
Zhao Kun, not understanding, entered the house and was stunned.
Mountains of fruits and vegetables, red and green, and a large pile of grains, with many items he had never seen before.
Although they needed energy, there were thousands of soldiers in the army who needed food.
He looked back incredulously through the vermilion gate at Miss Jiu squatting in the courtyard, and an indescribable emotion spread through his programming.
"Yes, Miss Jiu," Zhao Kun quickly returned, going out to find people. Those provisions would require at least ten horse-drawn cargo carts.
After Zhao Kun and his men had been busy transporting for three hours, it was completely dark.
A Jiu had also harvested her crops and stored them in her system grid.
She turned and went back into the house to get a water skin, pouring water into a wooden basin to wash up, and then went to the kitchen to cook something to eat.
But today, A Jiu didn't rush to cook. Wiping her hands, she said:
"You don't need to hide anymore. I've seen my grandmother's ability to move a hundred feet in a single step. Fortunately, I have good eyesight and can see even at night."
As soon as she spoke, the gauze curtain in A Jiu's inner chamber moved.
Xue Zhen suddenly appeared behind her, his eyes devoid of their usual calm, replaced by intense shock as he looked at her back.
Who was she, exactly?