Princess Zhaoning actually called Liu Rumei "sister," which greatly surprised Zhou Quan.
From this sentence, he understood that his little plan had likely fallen through. Relying on Princess Zhaoning to intervene was probably out of the question.
With this thought, he could only bow to Princess Zhaoning and turn to leave.
Walking on the streets of Xiao Family Town, Zhou Quan felt a sense of helplessness.
Just as he was walking aimlessly, Chunhua suddenly hurried to catch up.
"Captain Zhou, Captain Zhou."
Turning to see it was Chunhua, Zhou Quan was slightly surprised and stopped.
"Miss Chunhua, is there anything else?"
Chunhua caught up and lowered her voice, "Brother Zhou, His Highness the Princess is a bit willful, please don't take it to heart."
Hearing this, Zhou Quan smiled and shook his head, "I know, it's alright, I'll think of another way."
"Although Her Highness the Princess said she wouldn't help, she still sent me to hear you talk about how dangerous the border truly is?"
Zhou Quan nodded slightly, "Tens of thousands of troops from the Great Tu Kingdom are pouring in from the northwest."
"It's the same route they took with the Great Lin Kingdom a while ago. The city walls of the prefectures and counties along the way haven't even been repaired yet."
Hearing this, Chunhua nodded, "I understand. I'll report back to His Highness the Princess truthfully."
"Oh, and there's one more thing I want to remind you. If you really want to ask Miss Liu to come out of seclusion, you might as well try Magistrate Hu of Qingniu County. Miss Liu has been in Qingniu County for many years and is said to have a good relationship with Magistrate Hu." Sudang Novel Network
Zhou Quan listened and cupped his fist at Chunhua, his face full of gratitude, "Thank you, Miss Chunhua, I'll try again."
Chunhua turned back to the inn. Seeing her return, Princess Zhaoning looked worried, "Did you tell him everything?"
"Her Highness the Princess has explained everything to him and told him to find Hu Fan."
Princess Zhaoning nodded slightly, "Alright, go and pack up. We also need to return to Centipede Ridge and prepare for departure. Oh, and tell Feng Xiaoyue that he will help me watch this shop for now, and the rest can be discussed when I return."
In the blink of an eye, it was dark. Chen Xiaobei's courtyard was still lively, with many villagers coming to eat. Even Liu Rumei and Fang Jun had come.
Of course, Chen Xiaobei had invited Fang Jun and Liu Rumei.
He had even specially set a table in the room for the two of them to eat with.
Chen Xiaobei briefly told Fang Jun about Zhou Quan's visit that day.
Fang Jun shook his head and said indignantly, "Brother Xiaobei, if you ask me, we shouldn't get involved. Think about how Lord Liu was treated back then. Now the Crown Prince has the nerve to say such things."
"Brother Xiaobei, you're not going to ask me to persuade Sister Liu to go to war, are you?"
Frankly, Fang Jun's attitude was within Chen Xiaobei's expectations.
Chen Xiaobei nodded, looked at Liu Rumei, then at Fang Jun, "Don't you think so? If I wanted to persuade Rumei to go to the front lines, I would have told Zhou Quan today."
After speaking, he turned to Liu Rumei, "I am worried about Zhou Quan. He will never give up. I'm afraid he will come again. Do you have any good ideas to refuse Zhou Quan without hurting our feelings?"
Liu Rumei, however, seemed very calm, "There's no hurting feelings or not. In short, I'm not going."
Fang Jun suddenly slammed the table, "Miss Liu, you can't say that. After all, he represents the Crown Prince. I have an idea, you can pretend to be sick."
"Illness is a common human affliction. They can't carry you away, can they?"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but laugh. He had to admit that this bookworm was sometimes quite useful. How had he not thought of this idea himself?
He thought about how he had read many history books in his previous life. There were many instances of people feigning illness, the most famous being the Sima clan. They feigned illness to the extreme and finally dealt with Cao Shuang.
Although Liu Rumei didn't want to seize power, feigning illness was a method that could be used.
With this thought, Chen Xiaobei turned to Liu Rumei and said, "Rumei, I think this is indeed a good idea."
Liu Rumei was already laughing so hard she could barely close her mouth, "What Fang Jun said is indeed a good idea. Zhou Quan is very anxious. I guess he might come again recently. Let's try this method!"
"Yes, yes, Miss Liu, prepare yourself tonight. It's best to act as pitiful as possible, so pitiful that Zhou Quan wouldn't bear to speak when he sees you!"
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "I'll have Da Yong tell everyone later. We'll put the matter of the villagers going to school on hold for now!"
Everything went as expected. The next morning, as Chen Xiaobei and the others were eating breakfast in the courtyard, a village guard rushed over, "Village Chief Xiaobei, someone from the county yamen just delivered a message. Magistrate Hu will be coming over."
"He said he's coming to deliver a congratulatory gift to Xiaowen!" Chen Xiaobei was slightly amused. He had specifically spoken to Hu Fan a few days ago, and Hu Fan had said he would come another day. He hadn't expected it to be today. Coming so early clearly meant it wasn't just about delivering a gift. It seemed Zhou Quan had found a good persuasive speaker.
With this thought, he smiled and said to Liu Rumei, "You should go back and prepare early. I'll handle the initial greetings later, and then I'll take Hu Fan to see you."
Liu Rumei agreed, put down her chopsticks, and left with Xiao Qing. At this time, Chen Xiaobei also started to get busy, instructing everyone to finish their meal quickly and clean up the place, as Hu Fan would be coming here later.
They waited at the village entrance for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. In the distance, they saw more than a dozen horses, followed by a carriage. The person at the front was Hu Fan himself.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei at the village entrance, Hu Fan waved to him from afar. After they met, Chen Xiaobei remained very polite and respectfully bowed to Hu Fan, "Greetings, Magistrate Hu. I hope you will forgive my lack of preparedness for your esteemed visit."
Hu Fan smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, Brother Xiaobei, there's no need for such formality between us."
"After receiving the decree from His Highness the Crown Prince, I've wanted to come and deliver a congratulatory gift to Chen Xiaowen, but I've been busy with official duties and was delayed until today."
Chen Xiaobei quickly cupped his fist again, "Magistrate Hu, it's truly unfortunate. Xiaowen has taken people to Jizhou and probably won't be back for a few days."
"Oh, no matter, no matter. Then please have Brother Xiaobei deliver it." Hu Fan appeared very open-minded.
Chen Xiaobei stepped aside and invited Hu Fan into the village, "Then I'll summon the villagers in a while and ask Magistrate Hu to give them a few words."
Hu Fan intended to decline, as this was not his main purpose for coming, but on second thought, this was ultimately a matter arranged by the Crown Prince, and he could not be too perfunctory. Even if he was in a hurry, he couldn't rush this moment.
Hu Fan smiled and nodded, "Alright. I must handle the matters His Highness the Crown Prince has assigned me to perfection."
This suited Chen Xiaobei perfectly. He immediately instructed the village guards to gather the villagers at the big locust tree.