Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I didn’t stop until we reached the open fields.

“You’re still young,” I said. “Don’t let these trivial matters upset you so much. It’s rare to visit the borderlands; you should take the time to appreciate the scenery.”

For years, I had put my heart and soul into improving the fertile lands of Sanyuan.

It was currently the autumn harvest. The fields stretched out in a continuous expanse, and as the wind swept through the waves of wheat, it created a dreamlike, ethereal beauty.

Cui Tao stared blankly into the distance.

I explained to her that Sanyuan Yi possessed rich, fertile soil. The land within the city walls was perfect for farming, while the lush grass and water outside the walls were ideal for grazing horses.

Furthermore, it sat right against the border of the Huirong, the dynasty’s mortal enemy.

About three hundred li from Sanyuan Yi, there was a small town called Mei City.

It was a stone fortress built by our dynasty’s very first Heqin Princess.

Since then, three more Heqin Princesses had lived there.

Every descendant of the Feng Clan dreamed of the day they would lead an army to crush the Huirong.

If war were to break out, we would be on the absolute front line.

Cui Tao suddenly had an epiphany. She turned her head to look at me. “So, when Your Highness said you were happy… this is what you meant…”

“Yes,” I replied.

When I first learned we were being transferred to Sanyuan, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep all night.

“I just didn’t expect my husband to feel so wronged by it.”

Cui Tao’s face instantly crumpled into a pout.

After traveling for half a day, Cui Tao and I sat by the edge of a field to water the horses and rest.

Just as I opened my waterskin to take a drink, a sudden hot breeze swept past.

It brushed against the golden wheat fields and carried with it the sound of children singing.

They were too far away for me to hear clearly.

But a moment later, a woman’s voice nearby began to chant along.

“Autumn winds rise, the granaries are full; the Huirong horses gallop, treading through the dust.

Father swings his sickle without rest, but the enemy soldiers are already at the old wicker gate.

The children hide in the haystacks, watching as the grain is snatched away.

Frost covers the road, snow blankets the house; no wood for the hearth, no food in the pot…”

This song was about the raids the Huirong conducted every year after the autumn harvest.

In Sanyuan, there was no fallow land, yet the farmers still starved to death.

I listened quietly, feeling my blood gradually begin to boil.

I turned my head and saw that Cui Tao was in tears.

Snapping back to reality, I gestured toward a woman singing on a ridge not far away.

“That is a daughter of the Fanyang Lu Clan, the wife of the Pingyuan Governor. Her name is Lu Qiuping.”

Cui Tao’s entire body jolted in shock.

Lu Qiuping had already spotted me.

She took off her bamboo hat and greeted me cheerfully.

“Is that Shisan Niang?”

I smiled and replied, “It’s me!”

In truth, the Governor’s Wife wasn’t as unattainable as Xie Canghuai imagined.

I owned a restaurant in the city that served capital-style cuisine, and Lu Qiuping was a frequent patron, visiting to soothe her homesickness.

I hadn’t expected to run into her here today.

However, she didn’t know I was the wife of the County Magistrate.

I reminded Cui Tao not to let anything slip.

“Madam Lu is of noble character and detests those who curry favor with the powerful. I don’t want her to misunderstand my husband.”

Cui Tao was so annoyed by my defense of him that her tears dried up instantly.