Seeing his sister's dismissive attitude, Xiao Jingyun recounted what Chen Xiaobei had just said.
Upon hearing his narration, Princess Zhaoning was also filled with surprise.
"Chen Xiaobei is just a villager, why does he have such insights?"
Xiao Jingyun smiled faintly, "Perhaps he is a true master."
"It's getting late, Imperial Brother should rest early." With that, Princess Zhaoning curtsied and left.
By then, Xiao Jingyun had already developed a desire to nurture talent, even planning to bring Chen Xiaobei back to the capital after this matter was resolved.
Princess Zhaoning returned to her room, appearing somewhat restless.
At this moment, the maid, Hu Die, approached, "Your Highness, among the guards brought by Hu Fan today, there are people from our side."
Princess Zhaoning's brow furrowed, "How can you be sure?"
"I saw a mark left by someone. I searched nearby and found this."
As she spoke, Hu Die produced a seemingly ordinary twig.
Such a twig, only thumb-length, if discarded on the roadside, no one would give it a second glance.
In other words, only after seeing the mark would one notice the special nature of this twig.
Carefully unwrapping the twig, it contained only one sentence, "The third watch tonight."
After reading it, Princess Zhaoning pondered for a moment, "It must be Tian Wen's people." Sudan Novels.
"Go tonight and see what they intend to do."
Hu Die curtsied and left. At this moment, the Lotus Cult Leader entered with a smile.
Princess Zhaoning quickly rose and paid her respects, "Greetings, Master."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded, gesturing for Princess Zhaoning to sit.
"I saw Chen Xiaobei went tonight, what did you all discuss?"
Princess Zhaoning did not conceal anything, recounting Chen Xiaobei's words one by one.
Finally, she concluded, "I think Imperial Brother is right. When it's freezing cold and the grain supplies are burned, with scarce food and clothing on the mountain, they will naturally descend and surrender."
Hearing this, the Lotus Cult Leader's brow furrowed.
"Your Highness, you are correct, they will surrender. But have you considered, who will get the credit for this?"
Unexpectedly, this question also stumped Princess Zhaoning. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively said, "The idea came from Chen Xiaobei, so he deserves the greatest merit."
"And whoever goes up the mountain will also receive great merit."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded, then stared intently at Princess Zhaoning, "And have you considered, what do all these matters have to do with you?"
"This..." Princess Zhaoning was stunned, "This indeed has nothing to do with me."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded, slowly stood up, and said with a solemn expression, "Then when we return to the capital, if the Emperor asks what Your Highness did in Qingniu County, how will you respond?"
The question left Princess Zhaoning speechless. After a long while, her expression gradually turned solemn.
"My teacher's guidance is timely. If I achieve nothing, I will surely be reprimanded by my father upon my return."
Speaking of this, she suddenly lifted her robes, knelt on one knee, and bowed to the Lotus Cult Leader, "I implore my Master to guide me."
The Lotus Cult Leader smiled slightly, stepped forward, and helped Princess Zhaoning up, "This matter is quite simple. Tomorrow I will lead people to Qingniu County, first capture that damned Zhu Yan, and we will take Qingniu County."
Upon hearing this, Princess Zhaoning was stunned and waved her hands repeatedly, "Master, this is absolutely not permissible. This will disrupt the plans of Imperial Brother and Chen Xiaobei."
The Lotus Cult Leader's face darkened, "Must everything be at his whim? Then why are you asking me?"
This sentence again silenced Princess Zhaoning. Finally, she slowly said.
"Jing Feng will obey Master's arrangements."
Only then did the Lotus Cult Leader show a hint of a smile, "Rest assured, all the credit will be yours. He, Xiao Jingyun, will have nothing."
Princess Zhaoning dared not say another word and said with trepidation, "Master, please be patient. I still have an informant in the city, I will contact him immediately."
The Lotus Cult Leader nodded, "In two more days, the reinforcements from the two routes will arrive. I hope that by then, you can openly receive them in Qingniu County, instead of cowering in this broken stronghold."
As they were speaking, a faint sound of footsteps was heard from outside, and Hu Die returned.
Seeing the Lotus Cult Leader present, Hu Die respectfully saluted, "Greetings, Cult Leader."
Princess Zhaoning did not shy away, "Hu Die, did you see the person?"
Hu Die nodded and took out a letter from her embrace, "It's from Guard Tian. Guard Tian said he remains in Qingniu County, awaiting cooperation with our actions."
Princess Zhaoning took the letter and read it, then looked at her Master, the Lotus Cult Leader.
Her gaze asked if the Lotus Cult Leader wanted to see the letter.
The Lotus Cult Leader waved her hand, "Since there is a foothold in the city, this matter becomes even simpler."
With that, she left without looking back.
Seeing her depart, Princess Zhaoning sat down wearily, remaining there for a long time, unwilling to move.
The next morning, the young maid rushed into Princess Zhaoning's room.
"Your Highness, the Lotus Cult Leader is gone, along with Chu Han and others, about a dozen people."
Princess Zhaoning nodded, "Alright, I told them to go. Do not make a fuss about this matter."
The young maid nodded and wisely withdrew.
The nearby maid, Hu Die, said cautiously, "Your Highness, shall we inform the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince has repeatedly forbidden anyone from descending the mountain."
Princess Zhaoning waved her hand and sighed, "Alright, I will handle this matter myself."
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei in his room was not happy. Chen Dachun's land, he had planted over twenty mu of vegetables. So many days had passed, if he didn't water them, they would be ruined. But if he went to water them, he worried about being discovered by Zhu Meng's soldiers.
Cui Hongyu, seeing his dejected expression, asked about the reason. Then she took his hand and said softly, "Husband, it's better not to go. Even if the vegetables are ruined, we can just pay a bit of rent."
"But if something were to happen, wouldn't we be losing more than we gain?"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei sighed, "Alas, I finally wanted to do something big, but who knew we'd encounter this. Tell me, who did we offend?"
Cui Hongyu knew Chen Xiaobei was anxious and comforted him softly again, "Husband, don't worry. We have food and drink here, which is quite good. Anyway, most villagers are idle at home during winter."
"Yes, they are idle at home in winter, but we can't just be idle here. We have to find something for them to do."
Cui Hongyu also looked helpless, "But what can be done here? Apart from chopping firewood on the mountain, nothing else can be done."
Chen Xiaobei, however, waved his hand, "Later I will go down the mountain to Xiaojia Town to find Feng Xiaoyue and see what we can do on the mountain."
He then muttered to himself with a sigh, "We can't always be idle. Otherwise, one becomes useless."