Feng Xiao was right. The southern border battlefield was indeed the key to this life - and - death game.
This battle had long transcended a simple territorial dispute and evolved into a life - or - death struggle that would determine the fate of the Great Sheng Dynasty.
However, the current situation was truly worrying. The prefect of Lingxi County was Kang Chuanyi, the elder brother of Empress Dowager Kang. The supervisor of the Feng Family Army was Marquis Xuanping, Kang Wende. And in the court, Empress Dowager Kang herself was in charge...
These elaborate arrangements were like an airtight net, firmly trapping the Feng and Xiao families.
How could it be easy to win this battle?
That was why Feng Xiao had advised her in his letter to withdraw.
His meaning was clear enough. They would take care of finding out the whereabouts of Xiao Jingnan. Why should she, a frail woman, take risks? It would be better for her to stay safe and wait for a turn of events.
...
Li Wanming took out a fire starter. With a soft click, the dancing flame illuminated her cold and beautiful eyes. The letter paper gradually curled and turned black in the fire, and finally turned into ashes, floating away with the wind.
What Feng Xiao didn't know was that Empress Dowager Kang had already set her eyes on the Li family. If Princess Chengping hadn't arrived in time when she went to the palace to express her gratitude that day, she might have "disappeared" even earlier than Xiao Jingnan...
Even if she chose to "stay safe" this time and returned to her natal family, the Li family couldn't protect her either. Instead, it might even be implicated by her and end up being ransacked and exiled.
So, now she was in the same situation as them - there was no turning back.
...
At the roadside tea stall, Li Wanming quickly swallowed a few mouthfuls of the hard bun. She carefully folded the map and stuffed it back into her bosom.
After leaving the capital, she, Chuntao, and Gao Yong had changed horses, traveled light, and concealed their tracks. Along the way, they hadn't been noticed by the people of the empress dowager and Marquis Xuanping.
The three of them traveled quickly on their light - packed journey. In just three days, they had reached Yeyang from the capital.
However, since that letter, there had been no more news from Feng Xiao. This meant that the news about Xiao Jingnan had been cut off...
Li Wanming became even more anxious and could only urge her horse forward constantly.
The three of them were dusty and traveled day and night. In just seven or eight days, they had reached the north of Tangli Town.
Under the overlapping mountains, the small town with black - tiled and black - eaved houses was filled with curling smoke. The clear stream was like green jade, reflecting the sky and clouds.
It had been five years since she last visited this place.
Li Wanming felt rather complicated.
She had fantasized about returning to Min many times, but she never thought that she would return to her childhood hometown at such a critical moment of life and death.
Min was a land of many mountains and rivers. Streams about ten feet wide were densely distributed in Tangli Town like a spider's web, looking like a huge shimmering silk satin.
The clear stream was a beautiful green color. Black - awning boats were swaying under the stone bridge. The boatwoman, wearing a bamboo hat, was bargaining with the vegetable - buying woman in the soft Min dialect: "Three copper coins for a basket of clams. It's worth more than the ten - copper - coin brown rice from the north!"
A burst of burnt fragrance wafted from the east end of the town. An old woman wearing a silver necklace was guarding a clay stove, turning over the light cakes.
The cakes were sprinkled with sesame seeds on the surface and filled with red - fermented pork with alternating layers of fat and lean. When baked by the charcoal fire, the oil seeped into the crust, making the soldiers who had just finished training look sideways frequently.
Tangli was the largest military town in Min. One - third of the troops in Tanzhou Prefecture were stationed here.
The soldiers trained when they were busy and farmed when they were idle. Most of their families were settled in the town.
Armored soldiers walked side by side with fishermen dragging fishing nets, chatting and laughing. The old soldiers guarding the city squatted at the wall root, drinking brown crushed rock tea from clay bowls... This blend of military and civilian life was the most unique scenery in Tangli.
"Miss, hurry up and eat. It's still hot!"
Chuntao bought three roasted rice cakes and handed them to Li Wanming and Gao Yong. She herself couldn't wait to take a bite.
The red - fermented pork was juicy and fragrant. Chuntao closed her eyes contentedly: "Mmm... Granny Tian's cakes are still so delicious! I haven't had them for five years. I've missed them so much!"
Li Wanming slowly finished the cake, wiped her hands, and whispered: "Chuntao, go and see if the Yang's Leather Goods Store at the entrance of Goldfish Alley is still there?" After finishing the cake, Li Wanming gave the order softly.
Their former residence in Tangli was still there, but Li Wanming didn't plan to go back.
Firstly, the people living around their former residence were all military officers and soldiers, and everyone knew each other well. If she suddenly showed up, it would be too conspicuous. Secondly, Xiao Jingnan was currently missing and his life or death was unknown. She was in no mood to rest.
So, the three of them decided to buy some necessary supplies and then enter the mountain at night.
Tangli Town was not big. Most of the leather goods stores were run by hunters themselves, and they also sold some items necessary for entering the mountain.
Ropes, oilcloth, flint, snake medicine, anti - miasma tea, and rattan - grass straw sandals specially for mountain paths... The small leather goods store was filled to the brim.
Chuntao was picking and choosing in the store, complaining all the time, which made the young shop assistant unhappy.
"Hey, why is this little girl so wordy? Which of my goods isn't the best? How come it becomes 'junk' in your mouth? I've been running this leather goods store here for a lifetime, and I've never seen..."
"For a lifetime? You're not even fully grown up, and you're talking about a lifetime?!" Chuntao rolled her eyes and replied in fluent Min dialect, "When I bought snake skins from your father back then, you were still wearing open - crotch pants!"
"You... You..." The young shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, scratching his head and asking tentatively, "An old customer?"
Chuntao replied impatiently with a grunt, and her tone became even more like that of an old - timer: "Don't try to fool me, you little rascal. Hurry up and get all the things I want ready... They all have to be of the best quality, you hear me!"
By the time all their equipment was ready, it was already past noon.
The three of them all changed into indigo short jackets, with their coarse - cloth leggings neatly tied. Taking advantage of the remaining sunlight, they slipped into the vast forest.
Because they were in a hurry, they didn't take the small paths often used by hunters but decided to cross over along the mountain foot.
At first, Gao Yong, relying on his strength and experience in walking on mountain paths, took the lead.
But soon he realized something was wrong.
Li Wanming and Chuntao were like two mountain monkeys, leaping and running nimbly through the dense forest.
He always found himself left behind for no apparent reason...
The forests in Min were different from those in the north. They were humid and foggy. Even at noon, there was a hazy mist, and the vegetation was extremely lush. The broad - leaved phoenix - tail ferns were as tall as a horse's back...
As a result, Li Wanming and Chuntao often turned up from some hidden grassy areas. In the blink of an eye, only their dark - blue jackets could be seen flickering among the vines.
"Huff... Huff..." Gao Yong leaned against the slippery tree trunk, gasping for breath.
Gao Yong was breathing heavily as he leaned against the tree trunk.
Only then did he realize that he had underestimated the forests in Min.
The decaying leaves here were very thick, and it was impossible to tell the depth on the surface. If you weren't careful and stepped on it, your leg would sink into the wet mud. The branches growing horizontally in the dark were as dense as a spider's web, always hooking the corner of your clothes unexpectedly. And those kudzu vines that grew quickly in the wind looked like fresh and tender green branches, but when you pulled them, they were tougher than ropes, tripping this seven - foot - tall man several times.