Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

Seeing her sister hide the truth, Xia Zhiqing didn't ask further.

But based on what Xia Zhining said, Xia Zhiqing began to discuss the issue of leaving.

However, when it really came to leaving, Xia Zhiqing suddenly felt a strange sensation, a reluctance to leave.

If there were other relatives alive, she definitely wouldn't have this emotion and would leave immediately.

But her parents were no longer alive. They had no blood relatives left, drifting in this world like a leaf on water. Although her father had many friends and students they could turn to for support,

she wasn't very familiar with those friends and students of her father.

Therefore, having adapted to life in Pingting County and living reasonably well without worries of food and drink, and with someone fulfilling the things she wanted to do, Xia Zhiqing didn't feel that going to an unfamiliar place would be great.

As for the issue of freedom, Chen Mo did not greatly restrict her freedom, allowing her to move freely around the city; she simply hadn't gone out to wander around.

Thinking carefully, Xia Zhiqing surprisingly found herself feeling that Chen Mo was not bad to her.

The only thing that made her uneasy was the hatred between her sister and Chen Mo, and the relationship among the three of them.

Of course, precisely because of this relationship, she gave her purity to him and became entangled with him twice, making her develop a "dependency" on Chen Mo.

But she herself was not yet aware of this feeling.

However, if she didn't leave, Xia Zhiqing couldn't find a reason to convince herself, and how would that make the other side feel...

"I've already had that with you, and now you're not leaving when I ask you to, are you cheap?"

"Or do you like being what I did to you?"

After the pleasure of intimacy, Xia Zhiqing's thoughts became richer.

In the end, Xia Zhiqing used the reason that it was already late today to tell Xia Zhining they would leave tomorrow. The latter nodded after a moment of silence.

The next day, they began to pack their things.

Among the items they needed to bring, Xia Zhiqing had more: a guzheng, a pipa, and some books, while Xia Zhining had fewer things, just some clothes, a sword, and a few military books.

All these things could have been packed in one morning, but the two deliberately took all day but still hadn't finished packing.

So they agreed to definitely leave the next day.

Soon, the next day arrived, and their belongings were packed, but neither showed intent to depart.

Xia Zhiqing said, "Zhining, we need a carriage. Although there aren't many things, the guzheng and pipa take up space. Without a carriage, carrying them by ourselves would be too troublesome.

Also, we need to inform Guard Liu and the others."

"I... I think so too." Xia Zhining nodded, then said, "I... I'll go ask that bastard for a carriage."

Xia Zhining didn't see Chen Mo, but Chen Mo, through Sun Meng, replied to her message. Considering their relationship, he granted her a carriage and some food for the road.

Xia Zhining knew he was deliberately avoiding seeing her, but listening to Sun Meng's relayed words made her increasingly regretful.

The carriage was granted in the morning, but Xia Zhining didn't return to the room until the afternoon, so another day passed, and they decided to leave the next day.

Additionally, Xia Zhiqing said, "Guard Liu is willing to leave with us; the other guards have chosen to stay in Pingting County."

The weather didn't cooperate, and on July 25th, it began to rain heavily.

The two women, for this reason, did not leave again.

But both women breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.

On July 26th, the rain didn't stop.

On July 27th, the rain stopped, but Xia Zhining said the roads were muddy, and they should wait two more days for the sun to shine before leaving. Xia Zhiqing agreed.

As of now, the two had not seen Chen Mo again.

The weather cleared up as hoped for two days.

But then, coincidentally,

Xia Zhining told her sister that the horse had diarrhea and was weak, and unless they changed the horse, they had to wait for the horse to recover before leaving.

Both tacitly agreed to wait for the horse to get better before leaving.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen.

A cook asked another cook, "Strange, where are the crotons I left here?"

The other cook replied, "I haven't touched it, but last night when I was resting, I saw Miss Xia came by."

"..."

This delay extended to the last day of July.

Tomorrow the troops are set to march out, so today the atmosphere in the city became somewhat tense.

Chen Mo instructed Geng Songfu to stay behind in Pingting County, leaving Lu Yuan, Su Wen, and Zhang River to assist.

It's worth mentioning that Wei Qing and Lin Shengcai returned to Gaozhou Wutai County to report the situation to Li Yunzhang.

Additionally, Yuan Youchun symbolically allocated Chen Mo three hundred stones of grain.

It must be noted that a ten thousand-man army consumes two hundred stones of grain per day. (According to Taibai Yinjing's records: "A military force of twelve thousand five hundred people consumes two liters of rice per day per person, which amounts to six dou per month, seven stones and two dou per year, resulting in two hundred and fifty stones of rice for one army per day.")

Considering Chen Mo's two thousand troops, these three hundred stones of grain should last for half a month.

However, when Chen Mo inspected the grain, he discovered that the three hundred stones were mixed with a lot of sand and dirt, with less than a hundred stones of actual grain.

This amount of grain is only enough for five days.

It would take the army two to three days just to reach Quanyang County, and the duration of siege is unknown, and they might need to capture other counties later, which is all unpredictable.

So Yuan Youchun's hundred stones of grain were purely to brush off as beggars.

However, the grain officer sent by Yuan Youchun claimed ignorance.

Chen Mo quickly sent a fast horse to report this to Yuan Youchun, but the other side refused to admit it and even said Chen Mo was framing him. If there was sand, it must have been Chen Mo who mixed it in himself.

Realizing they were playing mind games, Chen Mo let the grain officer, caught red-handed, go back.

That very night, the grain officer died suddenly.

...

In the room,

the sisters exchanged glances for a long time, and eventually, Xia Zhining spoke first, "Sister, that bastard is marching south for war tomorrow. In these chaotic times, going to Jiangnan might not be so easy. In my opinion, it's better to wait... until the war is over to leave.

Hasn't that bastard also said that we could leave after autumn?"

Xia Zhining thought her sister would disagree and was already thinking of countless arguments in her head, but Xia Zhiqing agreed without much hesitation: "Alright then, amidst chaos, it's indeed not suitable to travel."

The dim lamp light reflected on the pearl necklace around Xia Zhining's neck, highlighting her fair skin.

She clenched her fists and then relaxed, repeating this several times. Xia Zhining gathered her courage, pursed her lips, and said softly, "Sister, I've thought it through carefully. I... I want to go to the battlefield.

Sister, rest assured, I... I won't participate in killing, just going to take a look. After all, no matter how much you read, it does not compare to seeing it with your own eyes, and you know my aspirations..."