Chapter 180

Chapter 180

The night finally passed without further disaster.

After the previous night’s counterattack, the enemy outside the city seemed to fall silent as well.

Then the third day arrived.

The Xiao Family members were sighing over bowls of watery congee thin enough to reflect their faces when Jin Bao suddenly lifted her head.

“Uncle, Uncle Long Xia is here with his men. We’re saved!”

After using too much Mental Power during the previous battle, Jin Bao had fallen asleep for an entire day and night.

She had frightened Xiao Lan half to death.

Only after she woke and explained the reason did Xiao Lan finally relax. For the past two days, he had fed Jin Bao the best food the Xiao Family possessed, hoping to restore her strength.

When she suddenly made that announcement, Xiao Lan dropped his chopsticks.

“Quickly! To the walls!”

Xiao Lan had consumed nothing but rice broth for two days, and his legs felt as limp as noodles. Even so, he staggered outside at once.

He was not alone. Every member of the Xiao Family rushed out behind him.

This was the first time since the Xiao Family founded Baishui Town that its descendants had ever experienced true hunger.

Jin Bao walked at the back of the crowd, holding Suisui’s hand.

With Jin Bao beside the child, Suisui’s mother felt that her daughter was even safer than when she watched the girl herself.

Besides, Suisui was close to the Star Maiden, and the Star Maiden had come to Baishui Town ahead of the army specifically for her.

One could say that Suisui was the Xiao Family’s lucky star.

As long as they let Suisui continue playing with the Star Maiden, the Xiao Family was sure to prosper.

Xiao Lan had already discussed the matter with the others in private. Once this crisis was over, they intended to send Suisui to serve as Jin Bao’s study companion.

However, they would still need to ask Xiao Che for his approval.

When the Xiao Family reached the walls, they saw a vast mass of armored soldiers on the far side of the moat.

The troops filled the entire street and stretched beyond sight.

At their head rode a man with a grim, murderous expression. He galloped forward, and enemies fell wherever he passed.

Xiao Lan did not recognize Long Xia.

“Uncle Long Xia! Uncle Long Xia brought everyone to save us!”

At some point, Jin Bao had climbed onto a merlon atop the wall. She even turned with a grin and waved to Suisui below.

Xiao Lan’s heart nearly stopped. When had the child climbed up there?

The moat below was four yards deep. If she fell in, they would not be able to recover so much as a strand of her hair.

Xiao Lan instinctively held his hands on either side of Jin Bao, terrified that the little ancestor might topple headfirst over the edge.

Jin Bao showed no fear of heights. She stood there with her hands on her hips, watching Long Xia cut down enemies in majestic fashion and clapping from time to time.

When the enemy finally raised a white flag and surrendered, the battle brought about by the surprise attack came to an end.

However, Baishui Town would probably need a year or two to recover its former prosperity.

Rebuilding after such a disaster would not be easy for the common people.

Once Jin Bao saw that everything had been settled, she jumped down from the merlon and took Suisui’s hand, pulling her toward the stairs.

“Suisui, let’s go welcome Uncle Long Xia inside.”

“Okay, Little Auntie. Slow down! Suisui can’t keep up.”

The two little girls skipped toward the gates.

With a wave of Jin Bao’s hand, the vines parted to either side, revealing the charred gates behind them.

Xiao Lan personally helped the guards open the gates and welcome Long Xia into the city.

The moment Long Xia saw Jin Bao, he bowed in salute. “This subordinate greets the Princess.”

“Uncle Long Xia, get up. You looked so cool just now!”

Long Xia scratched his head. Cool? What did that mean?

Jin Bao did not care whether he understood. She launched into an excited torrent, telling him everything she had just seen.

Long Xia began to understand what she meant by cool.

The usually aloof Long Xia could not help feeling pleased with himself for leaving such a good impression on the Princess.

With Baishui Town’s crisis resolved, Long Xia prepared to return with Jin Bao and the army.

However, Xiao Che had also entrusted him with a letter for Xiao Lan.

“Family Head Xiao, this is a letter our General asked me to deliver to you.”

Xiao Lan opened it at once.

After quickly reading through it, he slowly let out a breath.

Xiao Che was asking whether Xiao Lan would permit soldiers from Jintang Valley to be stationed in Baishui Town to prevent another surprise attack by Prince Cheng.

Baishui Town was also an important barrier protecting the Northern Frontier. It guarded against enemies advancing by water, which effectively made it the region’s back entrance.

After a moment of thought, Xiao Lan agreed.

He understood that once Xiao Che’s men were stationed here, Baishui Town might no longer be controlled solely by the Xiao Family. At the very least, the Xiao Family would no longer dominate the town, and they would have to surrender at least half their interests.

But there was no other choice.

The Xiao Family had suffered devastating losses while resisting the attack. The remaining household guards could not withstand a second assault.

Trading half their interests for generations of peace was still a worthwhile bargain.

“Commander Long, I accept General Xiao’s proposal.”

Long Xia nodded. He immediately appointed a deputy general and left two thousand men behind to defend Baishui Town.

Jin Bao was reluctant to part from Suisui.

“Suisui, once my daddy conquers the entire Northern Frontier, I’ll take you to Jintang Valley to play. Wait for me to come get you, okay?”

Suisui nodded her little head just as reluctantly. The two girls parted with tears brimming in their eyes.

After Jin Bao left, Suisui buried herself in her mother’s arms and cried bitterly.

Over the following month, Xiao Che led his army in capturing more than a dozen county seats in succession.

Every county surrounding Jintang Valley fell under his rule.

They were now only a hundred li from Bei’an City, but Xiao Che’s army had been fighting continuously for two months and was exhausted.

More importantly, Bei’an City had a garrison of fifty thousand troops. Even after incorporating surrendered soldiers, Xiao Che commanded only fifty thousand himself.
Both sides might have fifty thousand men, but one army had fought for more than two months while the other had spent every day resting and preserving its strength. Xiao Che’s force was in no condition to fight them.

Therefore, after capturing more than a dozen county seats, Xiao Che marched his army back to Jintang Valley to recuperate.

It was already September.

The weather in the Northern Frontier had begun to turn cold.

Even Jin Bao had put on her fur-lined padded jacket.

But what delighted Jin Bao most after September arrived was that she finally saw the mother she had missed day and night.

They had been separated for several months, and Jin Bao had grown like a bamboo shoot in the spring breeze.

All her clothes from the previous year now left her wrists and ankles exposed.

Old Madam Xiao and Nanny Chen had not left Black Pine Valley.

It was too cold outside, while the valley remained warm as spring throughout the year, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Old Madam Xiao said that she was old, feared the cold, and did not want the trouble of traveling back and forth. She would remain in the valley for her retirement.

Pei Wanqing had asked Nanny Chen to stay behind and care for Old Madam Xiao.

Lu Shuangshuang came out of the valley with Pei Wanqing.

She brought several female healers with her. The women had already possessed a basic understanding of medicine and pharmacology, and under Lu Shuangshuang’s guidance, they had continued to improve.

By now, they were capable of treating patients themselves.

As soon as Lu Shuangshuang left the valley, she threw herself into work at the camp for wounded soldiers.

As the weather grew colder, Jintang Valley welcomed its first bumper harvest.

The valley residents had cultivated every last patch of available ground. Wherever staple crops could not grow, they planted vegetables such as bok choy and radishes.

With Jin Bao’s miraculous gift supporting them, one hundred percent of the seeds survived.

They had even been improved into superior varieties.

While Jintang Valley celebrated its bumper harvest, Black Pine Valley had already brought in its second crop.

Xiao Jingmo purchased all the surplus potatoes in the valley at a price of two wen per jin.

Output from the gold mine had increased dramatically during this period.

Jintang Valley now received several thousand taels of gold every month.

As a result, Xiao Jingmo had enough money to pay the residents and convert all their old points into currency.

Once the valley residents had money in their hands, their hearts finally settled.

They lived without war, with money to spare, grain stored at home, solid roofs over their heads, and warmth throughout the year. No one in Black Pine Valley ever wanted to leave.

The increase in gold mine output was entirely due to the plan Xiao Che had proposed earlier.

Most of the miners had now found partners. With their wages, they purchased homes in Jintang Valley, settled down, and began raising families.

After several months of construction, Jintang Valley had grown to an impressive scale.

Three streets had already been completed.

Hundreds of homes stood finished in the residential districts.

Xiao Che permitted buyers to purchase these homes on credit and repay the cost monthly or annually, with extremely low interest.

Many miners and refugees emptied their savings to buy houses.

They discovered that the homes in Jintang Valley were exceptionally sturdy. No matter how thick the snow became, it seemed incapable of crushing them.

The houses also remained warm in winter, cool in summer, and remarkably comfortable.

While Jintang Valley basked in the joy of its harvest, the first heavy snow of the year arrived.

It also brought visitors from the Zhou Family and Lushan Qi Family, two of the Eight Great Families of the Northern Frontier.

Zhou Sheng had made no further moves after returning from the Xiao Family.

Now that the Northern Frontier was about to enter the depths of winter, he instead asked Xiao Lan to act as an intermediary and arrange a visit to Jintang Valley.

He was accompanied by Qi Teng, the newly appointed head of Qi Family Fort.

Qi Teng was an illegitimate son from the main branch of the Lushan Qi Family. However, both older brothers above him had met with misfortune one after the other, creating an opportunity for him.

He reached a private agreement with Zhou Wanting.

If Zhou Wanting supported his bid to become Family Head, he would split the Lushan Qi Family’s property equally with her.

With the Zhou Family behind her, Zhou Wanting did not fear that the Lushan Qi Family would renege after she took half its wealth.

She could not divorce Qi Sihai, but what he had done was utterly revolting. He had forced her to catch him in bed with another woman, and the affair had even led to a death.

Zhou Wanting personally sent Qi Sihai on his way with a bowl of poisoned medicine.

With her birth family supporting her, she overcame every objection and installed her husband’s younger brother, Qi Teng, as the new Family Head.

The first thing Qi Teng did after taking power was follow Zhou Wanting’s advice and visit Jintang Valley.

Half of the Eight Great Families of the Northern Frontier were now on friendly terms with Jintang Valley.

Only four remained.

However, the Murong Family’s whereabouts were currently unknown, while the Yunzhou Wang Family remained neutral. Governor Wang, who commanded five thousand elite soldiers, had yet to choose a side.

On the surface, he still served the imperial court. He appeared content to watch the tigers fight from across the mountain.

Whichever side ultimately won, Xiao Che or Prince Cheng, would receive his allegiance.

But the Wang Family had been entrenched in the Northern Frontier for many years.

If Governor Wang refused to choose a side now, he would inevitably face a reckoning later.

Either that, or he would have to surrender his position. Any governor who remained in one region for too many years might eventually develop ambitions of his own.

Everyone said the Wang Family possessed five thousand elite troops, but no one knew whether it had secretly raised a private army as well.

Xiao Che received the heads of the Zhou Family and Lushan Qi Family in the inner city.

From the moment the two Family Heads entered Jintang Valley, its massive gates left them shaken.

They had never seen gates so thick and heavy. They appeared to have been assembled from whole blocks of stone, impervious to fire and water and capable of easily withstanding an assault by tens of thousands.

The sights within the valley left them even more dumbfounded.

Only after their carriage stopped at the entrance to the inner city did they finally recover their voices.

“What are these structures made from? Why have I never seen this material before?”

“And that road we just traveled over. The carriage did not jolt even once.”

Zhou Sheng and Qi Teng’s hearts churned with emotion.

Only after Xiao Che welcomed them into the great hall did the two men gradually calm down.