Chapter 69

Qin Zheng hesitated as she held the letter.

Sneaking a peek at someone else’s correspondence was unethical, but this was a matter of great importance…

After a moment’s pause, she said to Song Heqing, “Is there a way to open the envelope without damaging the sealing wax?”

Song Heqing knew she was concerned that if they intercepted the letter but it turned out to be useless, it might cause animosity if the Lu family discovered it later.

He promptly found someone to open the letter.

Spies often had to resort to such methods to gather information without arousing suspicion.

They had mastered the skill of opening envelopes without damaging the sealing wax.

When the letter from the Lu family’s eldest daughter was retrieved and presented to Qin Zheng, she couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

In the past, the crown prince had a notorious reputation.

She, working as a supervisor at the city gate during the day and getting herself covered in dirt, knew that in this era, even the most fallen noble families wouldn’t let their womenfolk appear in public.

The eldest daughter of the Lu family probably thought that after following Chu Chengji into exile, Qin Zheng had been enduring hardships all this time.

Her heart must have been more than just anxious.

It must be said that Miss Lu wrote the family letter very skillfully.

She started by tearfully expressing her longing for her parents after leaving her hometown, and if the Lu family’s main branch were to read this, the beginning alone would soften their hearts.

Then, she listed one by one the outrageous things the crown prince had done in the past, indicating her fear all along the way.

Considering the Lu family’s main branch must have heard about the crown prince’s reputation, seeing this would only make them feel more sorry for their daughter.

Finally, she wrote about Qingzhou City, where she witnessed the legitimate crown princess, Qin Zheng, working alongside laborers to build the city wall.

With the previous groundwork about the crown prince’s misdeeds and now pointing out this example of Qin Zheng’s behavior, she once again expressed her fear and unwillingness to marry.

If the Lu family’s main branch had any conscience left, they wouldn’t push their daughter into the fire pit again.

Qin Zheng realized for the first time the benefits of Chu Chengji’s previously notorious reputation.

Those who rebelled against the current regime would naturally have various forces vying to offer concubines.

After Chu Chengji took down both Qingzhou and Xuzhou, Qin Zheng didn’t know the situation in Xuzhou yet, but apart from the sudden visit of the Lu family’s eldest daughter, no one dared to offer women to him.

After all, Chu Chengji’s reputation was well known.

At this time, offering women to him would be akin to selling daughters.

Whether one could achieve wealth and status through this was uncertain, but one would definitely be looked down upon.

Qin Zheng looked at the letter again, especially the part that said, “The crown princess wears coarse clothes and works alongside refugees, her clothes covered in dirt, her face pale. If father were to give his daughter to the crown prince, how could she bear it?” This passage was truly amusing.

She put the letter back into the envelope and handed it to Song Heqing. “Seal it and send it to Yingzhou.”

As soon as the Lu family’s eldest daughter arrived, she knew what plans the Lu family of Yingzhou had in mind. Now, she didn’t even need Chu Chengji to personally refuse them.

She had already discussed these matters with Chu Chengji before, even when she misunderstood him for sewing clothes.

Qin Zheng didn’t think Chu Chengji would compromise and accept the Lu family’s help to marry their eldest daughter.

Just as Chu Chengji had once told her, she must have looked down on him so much to think he would resort to such methods to strengthen his power.

Song Heqing didn’t know what was written in the letter.

Seeing Qin Zheng instructing him to send the letter out again, he hesitated slightly. “Madam, the maids who came with the eldest daughter of the Lu family from Yingzhou are still inquiring about what you usually do in Qingzhou.”

Qin Zheng just shook her head with a wry smile. “Let them be.”

After seeing that Qin Zheng seemed to completely disregard the threat posed by the Lu family’s arrival, Song Heqing, after his initial worry, felt a sudden surge of respect.

Indeed, she was the daughter of the Duke of Qin. With such broad-mindedness, how could she only focus on domestic struggles?

Feeling inadequate in comparison, Song Heqing bowed and retreated.

As Qin Zheng saw him looking at her with what seemed like excitement and deep emotion, she couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

What’s going on with Sir Song again?

In the separate residence, after the nanny told Lu Jinxin about Qin Zheng’s actions in Qingzhou these days, Lu Jinxin, who had finally managed to stop her tears, burst into tears again.

With a trembling voice, she asked, “She has to go to the city tower during battles? And when there’s no fighting, she’s either repairing the city walls or working in the fields?”

Her face was so pale that the nanny couldn’t bear to see it.

She comforted her, “In Qingzhou City, whether officials or common people, they all respect the crown princess. Let me tell you, this crown princess is quite capable. Look at how she’s building up her reputation like this.”

Lu Jinxin looked at her hands, which she had meticulously maintained with various expensive ointments, and said tearfully, “I don’t want to repair city walls or work in the fields…”

The nanny persuaded her, “If the Qin family falls, without family support, the crown princess won’t have a foothold by the prince’s side.

She has no choice but to use these methods to gain popularity.

As the eldest daughter of the main branch of the Lu family, with the support of a hundred-year-old prestigious family like the Lu family, why do you need to resort to such things?”

As long as she didn’t mention the crown prince, Lu Jinxin was fine.

But as soon as the crown prince was mentioned, she remembered his absurd actions, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

The crown princess, once so beautiful like a goddess, now had to repair walls and work in the fields for self-preservation.

If she were to incur the crown prince’s displeasure in the future, what would she do?

The more Lu Jinxin thought about it, the more bleak her future seemed.

With tears in her eyes, she walked to the desk, dipped her brush in ink, and continued to write to her parents, pouring out her grievances.

Her grandfather wanted to marry her off, but her father had always doted on her.

He would definitely find a way to save her!

Song Heqing had been keeping an eye on the separate residence, reporting every move Lu Jinxin made to Qin Zheng.

When Qin Zheng heard that Lu Jinxin had tearfully written another letter to the Lu family in Yingzhou, fearing that something significant might be revealed if the letter were sent out, the spies naturally intercepted it.

They would let Qin Zheng read it before making a decision.

Glancing at the letter, Qin Zheng found it even more heart-wrenching and heartbreaking than the previous one. Perhaps due to preconceived notions and the fact that no high-ranking official or noblewoman would ever mingle with craftsmen to build city defenses, everything Qin Zheng had done in Lu Jinxin’s eyes was tinged with a layer of bitterness.

Seeing how frightened the girl was, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.

She had the letter sent to Yingzhou, thinking that when Lu Jinxin first arrived in Qingzhou, she had been too busy pushing forward with construction projects and hadn’t had time to entertain the girl, so it would be good to find her a playmate.

Just then, Lin Zhaoye came to her enthusiastically. “Sister Zheng, my women’s army now has more than five hundred members!”

With the situation in Qingzhou requiring all of Qin Zheng’s attention to focus on city defense, she hadn’t heard about what was happening in Liangyan Mountain.

Hearing Lin Zhao talk about the formation of the women’s army, she couldn’t help but feel happy. “There will be more and more people in the future.”

Thinking about the military pay and uniforms that had been troubling Lin Yao day and night, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but ask, “How do you distribute your military pay and uniforms?”

Although Lin Zhao’s face lost some of its joy, his eyes remained as determined as ever. “There’s no military pay, and no uniforms. They’re all just some peasant women from near Liangyan Mountain and the refugees who poured into Qingzhou City.

The men can join the army, but those women who have wandered all the way here, homeless and without land to cultivate, I’ve taken them in and let them join the women’s army.@@novelbin@@

Now, they only get porridge for their daily rations. Besides farming, they also practice martial arts with me.”

The influx of refugees into Qingzhou City was arranged by Song Heqing.

Qin Zheng had been too busy before to ask, thinking that Song Heqing, with his years of experience in office, would have better ideas on how to handle these matters.

Now, hearing Lin Zhaoye talk about it, she said, “I’ll ask Sir Song about the registration and settlement of refugees later.”

Lin Zhaoye could only accommodate a small number of people.

If all the refugees were to be settled down, the government would have to step in.

Men who joined the military would receive military pay even if they didn’t fight, but once these women were settled, whether they were farming,

raising silkworms,

or doing embroidery,

they wouldn’t need a single penny from the government to support themselves. Naturally, Qin Zheng wanted to settle all the refugees.

In modern economics, it is often said that “population drives economic development.” If a state’s population flourishes, it can’t be a bad thing.

However, in the initial stage, the government would definitely have to distribute food to help the refugees get through this difficult time.

Qin Zheng said to Lin Zhaoye, “Later, take my token to Liangyan Mountain and bring back a few bags of official rations.

With more people being accommodated, even if it’s just one person, one bowl of porridge, it’s hard to provide for the village.”

A tinge of embarrassment appeared on Lin Zhaoye’s honey-colored face.

Qin Zheng knew she was always strong-willed and didn’t want to cause trouble for herself. “After discussing with Sir Song, the government will definitely distribute porridge.”

There was enough grain in the Qingzhou granary, and this year’s fields had already been cultivated.

Even some wasteland had been reclaimed.

When autumn came, the granary would be full again.

With that burden lifted from her mind, Lin Zhao smiled, revealing white teeth. “Thank you, Sister Zheng! When you have time, you can come with me to see the women’s army!”

Qin Zheng sighed lightly. “I won’t be able to go in the short term. The court’s fifty thousand troops are already on their way south. We need to strengthen the city walls of Qingzhou.”

Lin Zhaoye volunteered to be a laborer. “I came to see you specifically today. Let’s go to the city gate together!”

The construction of the city defenses was mainly slow due to the enormity of the project.

Qin Zheng mainly provided technical guidance to the craftsmen.

In order to complete the work before the imperial army arrived in Qingzhou, not only were the civilians in the city making bricks and laying stones, but also the soldiers in the camp were summoned to help by Qin Zheng.

She went there every day to supervise, to prevent any cutting of corners by the workers for the sake of completing the project sooner.

Also, she wanted to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians working on the city defenses.

When they saw a princess like her eating dust with them every day, their morale naturally rose.

If Lin Zhao followed, she wouldn’t be of much help, so Qin Zheng entrusted her with more important tasks. “His Highness’s cousin has arrived in Qingzhou, but she’s a bit timid. I’m too busy here to take care of her. Since you’re familiar with Qingzhou, take her around.”

Lin Zhao immediately promised, patting his chest. “Leave it to me.”

Qin Zheng trusted Lin Zhao, so she continued to oversee the construction at the city wall, and also called for Song Heqing to come over, preparing to discuss the matter of resettling the refugees.

Lin Zhao went to the separate residence to find Lu Jinxin.

She mentioned Qin Zheng’s name and showed her token, so the people in the separate residence naturally didn’t dare to stop her.

Lu Jinxin originally intended to stay in the separate residence and not go anywhere.

But when she heard it was someone sent by Qin Zheng, she reluctantly changed into a set of outdoor clothes and, accompanied by seven or eight maidservants, and more than ten attendants, she followed Lin Zhao out of the house.

Because she had cried so hard yesterday, Lu Jinxin’s eyes were swollen today, and no amount of powder could cover it up.

The luxurious carriage drew attention as it moved along the street, with more than twenty attendants in tow.

Wherever they went, people automatically made way for them, and the bustling atmosphere of the past was nowhere to be found.

Lin Zhao rode her horse beside the carriage, feeling extremely bored.

How could she enjoy the lively scenes on the street with these wealthy young ladies around?

But the imposing presence of these attendants was clearly for Lu Jinxin’s safety, so Lin Zhao couldn’t say much.

They walked together for two streets, but it felt more like being on display than actually strolling around.

Feeling frustrated, Lin Zhao suggested, “Miss Lu, would you like to go hunting?”

Before Lu Jinxin could respond, the nanny sitting with her in the carriage rejected the idea, “My young lady’s outfit today is not suitable for archery.”

Lin Zhao meant well, but the nanny’s words were a thinly veiled criticism.

Lin Zhaoye chose not to argue and pondered where she could take Lu Jinxin to make her feel entertained.

After a moment, she had an idea and asked Lu Jinxin, “I’ve trained a women’s army. Would you like to see them?”

Lu Jinxin had never heard of a women’s army before and was curious.

She nodded.

When the group arrived at the foot of Liangyan Mountain, Lin Zhao gathered the peasant women who were farming in the fields and arranged a mock battle for Lu Jinxin to watch on an open space.

The women’s army wore various clothes, and most of them didn’t have proper weapons; they used wooden sticks instead. Nevertheless, they practiced in an orderly manner, and there was a unique spirit about them that was different from any other women Lu Jinxin had encountered in the past.

The nanny muttered disdainfully from the side, “This is not proper.”

Lu Jinxin remained silent, but deep down, she thought they were quite impressive.

After the drill, Lin Zhao strode over to Lu Jinxin and asked, “What do you think?”

Lu Jinxin looked at her bold and unrestrained smile and was momentarily stunned.

As a noble young lady, she wasn’t allowed to smile like that.

Her mother and nanny wouldn’t allow it, saying it was uncouth and lacked refinement.

But she thought Lin Zhaoye’s smile was quite attractive, so she nodded vigorously and said, “You did really well.”

Lin Zhao had faced Lin Yao’s skepticism every day since she formed the women’s army.

Hearing praise now made her feel relieved.

She said, “Even the Princess Consort used to train with us!”

The smile on Lu Jinxin’s face faded when she heard that Qin Zheng also trained with them.

She asked nervously, “The… the Princess Consort also trains?”

Lin Zhaoye nodded.

Seeing Lu Jinxin’s uneasy expression, she thought she might not consider Qin Zheng formidable enough.

So, she immediately began to extol Qin Zheng’s deeds in the mountain stronghold, “The Princess Consort even helped us make bricks and tiles. Do you know how to prepare clay? You have to pick out the gravel, pour water, and then tread on it barefoot…”

When they returned, Lu Jinxin’s face was pale again.

It was said that she cried and wrote a letter to Ying Prefecture that night.

Later, when Lin Zhao went to report to Qin Zheng what she had done with Lu Jinxin that day, she learned that Lu Jinxin had cried upon returning.

Qin Zheng was also puzzled.

She hadn’t expected this outcome; she had thought that Lin Zhaoye’s cheerful disposition would make Lu Jinxin happy.

With things turning out like this, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but feel both amused and frustrated.

She had to temporarily put aside the idea of letting someone entertain Lu Jinxin.

Two days later, in the middle of the night, Chu Chengji learned that the Lu family had sent their eldest daughter to Qing Prefecture without notifying him.

He immediately rushed back from Xuzhou.

Qin Zheng occupied the large bed alone, sprawled out as she pleased.

With the weather getting warmer, she liked to kick the blanket off in her sleep.

When Chu Chengji entered the room, he saw that Qin Zheng had already moved to the middle of the bed.

Half of the embroidered phoenix and dragon blanket was dragged to the foot of the bed, while the other half served as a pillow under her head.

The real pillow was held in her arms like a treasure.

Chu Chengji approached the bed and looked at her for a while, gently touching her soft and delicate cheek with the back of his hand.

Qin Zheng had been too tired these days and was sleeping soundly, without any reaction.

Chu Chengji glanced at the other pillow on the bed.

After removing the obsidian wrist guard from his own arm, he carefully lifted Qin Zheng and placed her on the bed.

As he picked up the blanket to cover her, he gazed at her lovely sleeping face and stole a kiss from the corner of her lips.

Looking at her slender chin, he furrowed his brow.

She had lost weight again.

Afraid of waking Qin Zheng, Chu Chengji didn’t bathe in the clean room connected to the main house.

Instead, he went to the side room to bathe. After changing into a Confucian robe, he took the opportunity to ask the old servant about what had happened in the household these days.

The old servant recounted everything in detail.

When Chu Chengji heard that Qin Zheng had shown no unusual behavior after Lu Jinxin’s arrival in Qing Prefecture, and even went so far as to find her a companion, sending her gifts every few days and seemingly wanting to become good friends with her, his thin lips tightened.