The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Chapter 177 Borrowing People

That is absolutely impossible.

Is he some kind of noble person?

He killed his clansman out of jealousy, so how could he possibly sacrifice himself for the family?

The reason why Uncle Lin felt threatened was simply because his future still needed his family to worry about, and his old mother still needed their care.

But regardless of whether he was involved with his family or not, his future was ruined, and his family couldn't save him.

As for his elderly mother... I'll say it again, he has no conscience.

Uncle Lin had no idea that the jackal he was protecting was even stronger than the strong liquor he had drunk the day before, and he immediately decided to bite back.

He feigned grievance and said, "Seventh Uncle! But you clearly said you would protect me!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? If I had known you were this kind of person, why would I have helped you in every way?!"

Zheng Xun watched them fight like dogs, shook his head, and turned back upstairs.

Needless to say, the fate of the two members of the Lin family was sealed off. On Zheng Xun's orders, the yamen runners took them away that afternoon for questioning.

The appointed time arrived, and Zheng Jiu and Le Zhenghong returned.

Aside from Yue Zhenghong, Zheng Jiu, and Zheng Shi, who already knew about the funeral, Zheng Xun did not invite anyone else.

A light rain fell on the day of the funeral, and the chill seeped into the skin, enveloping everyone in a lingering cold.

Dig a hole, bury the person, fill the hole, and then that person disappears from the world completely.

Zheng Xun stood before the blank stele and suddenly knelt down and kowtowed.

Le Zhenghong wasn't stupid, and he naturally noticed her unusual attitude.

To put it bluntly, Zheng Xun had never been this respectful, not even when facing the emperor.

After Zheng Xun stood up, he finally asked the question that had been bothering him: "Princess, who is this...?"

Zheng Xun did not answer.

The cold wind was howling, and the leaves on the trees had already fallen off. The person's expression was as indifferent as a distant mountain, and standing in this season always seemed somewhat lonely.

After a long silence, she finally spoke: "She is a very important person."

Le Zhenghong's heart skipped a beat: "Is he the princess's benefactor?"

"Do not."

"Is he my benefactor?"

“Not entirely,” Zheng Xun turned to look at him. “Her name is Qu Jiang. You should remember her. You should all remember her.”

Le Zhenghong knew that Zheng Xun wasn't one to keep things mysterious, so there must be something going on if she was being vague.

He dared not ask any more questions, and so the group fell silent again.

After Qu Jiang's funeral, Zheng Xun set off again, while Le Zhenghong escorted the Lin family uncle and nephew back to Beijing.

This delay put them under pressure, so Zheng Xun and the others minimized their rest time, and she finally arrived in Wuzhou within the allotted time.

Before even stepping into Wuzhou City, Zheng Xun met the person he was supposed to see at a tea stall outside the city.

She tightened the reins, and the horse slowed down more and more until it finally stopped in front of the boy sitting by the roadside.

Zheng Xun smiled and looked at the other person: "Xu Zhen."

Xu Zhen stood up and gave a deep bow: "Miss Xun."

Zheng Xun dismounted: "Why are you waiting here?"

"When the appointed time came and the young lady did not arrive, Jingzhi knew that she was delayed by something and was inevitably worried. He always thought that if the young lady had come and he had seen that she was well, he would be at ease."

Zheng Xun smiled and nodded: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Has it delayed Jingzhi's important business?"

"No, but I'm leaving tomorrow."

Zheng Xun expressed his understanding: "We can't delay your departure for your new post."

She remounted her horse, and Xu Zhen placed a few copper coins on the stall, led his own horse, and rode alongside Zheng Xun.

“Suzhou is bitterly cold, and Shao’an Prefecture is even worse. There is a shortage of food and water there, and the people are all fierce and prone to fighting. Have you thought about how to get started?”

"Water storage, fertile land, laws."

He didn't say much, but Zheng Xun knew that just doing these three things was already extremely difficult.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. He had neither people nor resources, so how easy was it for him to pry open a breach in Shao'an Prefecture?

But judging from his calm demeanor, he must already have a plan.

Zheng Xun took out a few sheets of paper from his pocket: "Coincidentally, these are the methods for fertilizing the land. However, these methods are suitable for the land around the capital. They may need to be modified for Shao'an Prefecture."

Xu Zhen reached out and took the few thin sheets of paper: "Did you specifically arrange to meet me here to deliver this to me?"

His expression was moved, as if he was somewhat surprised by her thoughtfulness.

“That’s not the most important thing,” she said, handing her three plain-colored sachets. “I’m a fortune teller. My friend is going on a long journey with an uncertain future, so of course I have to prepare a few sachets for you. Take them out when you encounter difficulties, and you should find the answers you need inside.”

[Perfect, perfect! I'm a qualified fortune teller now, and I'm getting more and more impressive.]

Xu Zhen couldn't help but chuckle: "Thank you for your concern, young lady."

Zheng Xun didn't really have anything in particular she wanted to say, but seeing his gentle demeanor, she couldn't help but add a few more words: "When you get there, don't easily trust others. Although the people there are fiercely fighting each other, there are also many intricate relationships behind the scenes. How many people did you bring with you?"

As she spoke, Xu Zhen listened respectfully: "Six in the open, twenty in the hidden."

Zheng Xun frowned: "Not enough."

"Alright, then I'll send a message to my grandfather later and ask him to send a few more people over."

“There’s no time,” Zheng Xun pondered for a moment. “Here’s what we’ll do: you come with me to Cangjian Manor now, and I’ll ask Manor Master Shen to lend you a few men to hold out for a while.”

Xu Zhen was neither confident nor arrogant, so after listening carefully to Zheng Xun's suggestion, he agreed without hesitation: "Okay."

Zheng Xun was surprised: "I thought you would put on a brave face."

"Since the diviner has spoken, wouldn't I be incredibly ungrateful to ignore him?"

Zheng Xun looked at Zheng Jiu and Zheng Shi: "Let's go."

Hidden Sword Manor is only half a day's distance from Wuzhou City. They are all martial artists, except for Xu Zhen, who is a bit weak. Zheng Xun thought he was too slow, so he simply had Zheng Jiu take him.

Zheng Jiu's way of leading people is not very gentle.

So Xu Zhen was practically carried up the mountain.

There are many small animals on the mountain. Several monkeys by the roadside, who are not afraid of people, saw Xu Zhen's appearance and started laughing loudly, and kept imitating him.

Xu Zhen: ...

Very well, he's no different from a monkey now.

He thought for a moment, waved to the monkeys, and then imitated them.

This time the monkeys were anxious, but Zheng Xun and his group outnumbered them, so they dared not go forward easily and could only stay in place and stare blankly.

Zheng Jiu: "Lord Xu, can you please behave yourself? I'm already tired from carrying you, but if you keep moving around, I'll get even more tired."

Xu Zhen smiled sheepishly and finally quieted down.

Zheng Xun: ...

Does he even remember that he was a handsome man? What happened to his baggage? What happened to his image?

Did he think about his face when he made those weird movements?

Zheng Xun had already seen Hidden Sword Manor in the sky, but this time, being there in person was a completely different experience.

In winter, the area around Hidden Sword Manor becomes desolate. The magnificent manor resembles a giant beast perched on the mountain ridge, silent and majestic.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Hidden Sword Manor, Zheng Jiu hurriedly put Xu Zhen down, rubbing his arm with a pained expression.

Zheng Shi asked seriously, "Princess, how do we get in?"

Zheng Xun: "Wait."

After tidying his wind-blown hair, Xu Zhen asked with a conflicted expression, "Princess..."

"explain."

Are you really acquainted with Master Shen?

Zheng Xun replied truthfully, "We're not familiar with each other."

Xu Zhen: ?

Since they weren't familiar with each other, where did she get the confidence to go in?

Zheng Xun glanced at the appearance of the mountain-guarding disciple and walked straight up to him.

"Erdan! I'm your great-aunt!"

Zheng Xun's words effectively kept everyone rooted to the spot.

The disciple guarding the mountain, who was being stared at by her, stammered, "Great-Great-Grandma?"

Zheng Xun: "Hey!"

Disciple guarding the mountain: Who called you?!

He asked suspiciously, "What nonsense are you talking about? I have no idea I have any great-great-aunts?"

Zheng Xun's face darkened: "You brat, you have no manners at all! Have you forgotten? You used to hold me when I was little!"

The disciple guarding the mountain collapsed in disbelief, saying, "Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"

Zheng Xun paced back and forth, hands behind his back: "Is your father Zhang Dashan? Is your mother Wang Xiaohua? Is your nickname Zhang Erdan? Is the uncle of your great-uncle's aunt's son's wife's second great-uncle's second grandson's uncle named Li Ye? His dog is called Laifu, the one who chased you and pushed you into the river when you were little?"

"and many more!"

Zhang Erdan started counting on his fingers to figure out who his uncle's aunt's son's wife was...

But he couldn't figure it out after going around in circles for a long time. Another gatekeeper couldn't stand it anymore and went over to help him sort it out: "Are you stupid? Just push them over one by one, won't that work?"

The two studied the matter carefully, and Zheng Xun led Xu Zhen and the others into the manor in a conspicuous manner.

Xu Zhen: ...

"Are we just going to come in like this?"

"Just tell me, did they come in or not?"

"But what if we bump into someone else?"

Xu Zhen's jinx was quite effective; no sooner had he finished speaking than a person walked into their line of sight.

Upon seeing the other person, Zheng Xun smiled kindly and greeted him warmly, "Young Master Jing!"

Young Master Jing: ?

He looked at them over and over several times, but still couldn't remember who they were.

Fearing he might have forgotten, he tentatively asked, "Who are you...?"

"Please trouble Young Master Jing to tell Master Shen that Yuan Jia has come to visit."

Upon hearing the name "Yuan Jia," the astute Young Master Jing immediately recognized her identity. He bowed, led them to the main hall of the highest rank, and sent someone to inform Shen Canglan.

He didn't doubt Zheng Xun's identity. After all, Shen Canglan had met Princess Yuanjia, and once they met, the truth about her identity would be immediately clear.

Xu Zhen: "Miss, shouldn't you conceal your identity?"

Zheng Xun: "I am upright and honorable, why should I hide anything? Besides, why should she bother with things that can be solved with her status and power?"

"But just now outside..."

"Oh, it's that picture of Erdan looking so dazed, it's kind of funny."

Xu Zhen: ...

Alright, it's a good thing that the princess is lively.

Upon hearing this, Young Master Jing: ...

Isn't this legendary princess a little too narrow-minded?