Chapter 164: What Secret Mission?

That morning, the Cheng family was eating breakfast.

Yu'an absent-mindedly stuffed a small meatball into his mouth, chewing listlessly.

The little one scrunched up his small face, looking utterly melancholy, and let out a milky sigh.

"Sigh—"

Not being able to go find Daddy and Fairy Sister had made even his favorite fried meatballs taste bland.

Tian Qin, watching from the side, found it rather amusing and shook her head, teasing the little one in an indulgent tone.

"Careful you'll wrinkle into a little old man."

Saying so, she peeled a boiled egg and placed it in the little one's bowl.

"The food's getting cold, eat up."

Yu'an's eyes suddenly went wide.

A little old man?

That won't do!

Although he wanted to grow up quickly, he didn't need it quite that fast.

The little one hurriedly patted his cheeks, then with his short, chubby fingers, smoothed out the space between his brows bit by bit, terrified of growing wrinkles.

If his mother hadn't held him back, Small Dumpling might well have run back to the room to look in the mirror, tousle his hair, and check whether he'd grown any white strands.

"Really none?"

"Really none."

Only after receiving his mother's repeated assurance did the little one finally heave a sigh of relief, pick up his bowl, and continue eating with great gusto.

This whole childish little routine successfully amused the Ancestors at the table.

Suddenly, Cheng Feng hurried in.

"Old Madam, something seems to have happened!"

The Cheng family members set down their bowls and chopsticks one after another.

"What happened?"

Cheng Feng's expression was grave.

"We just saw from the mountain that a great many refugees are heading this way—visually, several hundred of them."

Cheng Qiuluo frowned and asked.

"Heading toward us?"

Cheng Qiuruo nodded slowly.

"In the eyes of the world, Beihuang City is a place where criminals are imprisoned, full of the most vicious and desperate sorts. They wouldn't dare enter the city, so they can only come into the mountains."

Cheng Old Madam considered for a moment, then in a low voice issued her orders one by one.

"Cheng Feng, take two men, disguise yourselves, and go sound out those common folk."

"Yes!"

Cheng Feng accepted the order and strode quickly out.

Afterward, Cheng Old Madam looked toward her daughters-in-law, her grandsons' wives, and her granddaughters.

"You few, hurry and take stock of the household's valuables, and pack them up first."

Meng Shi's face showed worry.

"Pomo, are we moving? Where to?"

Cheng Old Madam gave a faint smile, did not answer her, and only said one sentence.

"Go pack first."

"Yes."

The women rose with heavy hearts and walked out of the main hall.

"Chengxuan."

Cheng Chengxuan stood up, bowing his head slightly.

"Grandmother."

Cheng Old Madam's expression was stern, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"These next few days you must be ready at all times, prepared to depart at any moment."

Hearing this, Cheng Chengxuan's expression sharpened, and his fists clenched abruptly.

That day, at last, was about to come.

"Rest assured, Grandmother, this Grandson understands."

"Me! Me! What about me!"

Having watched his great-grandmother assign tasks to everyone one by one, little Yu'an could hardly contain himself and shot his hand high in the air, his grape-like big eyes sparkling, his fair, tender little face tilted up, gazing expectantly at his great-grandmother.

The little one pattered over to his great-grandmother's knees, rested his small hands on Cheng Old Madam's knees, and in a soft, sticky voice spoke up, volunteering himself.

"Great-grandmother, what mission does Yu'an have?"

Cheng Old Madam smiled, reached out and pinched the baby fat on the little one's cheek, her face full of indulgence.

"Yu'an wants to help too?"

"Mm-hmm!"

The little one grinned, nodding his head rapidly.

Cheng Old Madam pretended to ponder, pausing thoughtfully.

"Then how about this—Great-grandmother will give Yu'an a secret mission."

A secret mission?

It's two characters longer than before, it sounds so impressive!

The little one was so excited her little face turned red, gazing eagerly at her great-grandmother, stamping her feet in excitement, unable to even speak properly.

"Shu Mo? It's Shu Mo?"

"Don't rush."

Cheng Old Madam soothingly rubbed the little one's plump forehead, about to speak.

"Great-grandmother, wait a moment."

Yu'an pattered to the door of the main room, her big eyes swivelling around, peering about, finding no one, then mysteriously closed the door.

Returning to her great-grandmother's side, the little one stood on tiptoe and leaned her ear over.

"Great-grandmother, let's whisper."

Cheng Old Madam pressed her lips together, barely holding back a laugh.

"Alright, we'll whisper, so no one else can hear."

The little one grinned, her brows and eyes curving as she nodded.

"Mm!"

Cheng Old Madam leaned to the little one's ear and whispered a couple of lines.

"Understood?"

The more the little one listened, the brighter her big eyes grew. She immediately patted her little chest and declared with high fighting spirit.

"Leave it to Yu'an!"

"Mission guaranteed!"

"No no no, it should be…"

Saying so, the little one earnestly tried to straighten her little face into a solemn look, and with her right hand in a fist and left hand open, clumsily performed a cupped-fist salute.

"Yes, sir!"

Which made Cheng Old Madam snort with laughter.

……

At night, Cheng Feng and the others, dressed in coarse, tattered clothes, walked wearily into the courtyard.

"Old Madam, I've made inquiries. Among these refugees, some fled from disaster, some came to avoid the authorities' press-ganging. They heard that the situation around Beihuang City was still fairly decent, not severely affected, so they all headed this way."

Cheng Qiuyun frowned.

"Press-ganging? Could it be that there's going to be a war?"

Speaking of this, Cheng Feng's expression changed, and he ground his teeth in anger.

"The Shunhe Emperor has decreed that several more Daoist temples be built, as well as a travelling palace!"

"For every household in the areas where the temples are to be built, two able-bodied men must be provided. If there aren't enough men, silver and grain may be substituted."

"The common folk can't bear it, so they can only flee in the night."

"Bang!"

Cheng Qiuluo slammed her fist heavily on the table.

"Foolish ruler!"

"At a time like this, he's still draining the people's wealth and exhausting their labour?!"

Though the rest of the Cheng Family didn't curse aloud like her, their faces were also dark with rage, forcibly suppressing their fury.

"Pomo (Grandmother)?"

"What should we do next?"

Cheng Old Madam's expression was grave, and she said in a low voice.

"Wait."

Soon.

……

Day after day passed, and because of the Shunhe Emperor's one hare-brained scheme after another, Da Yin finally fell into chaos.

The two princes raised troops in Rebellion.

But what no one expected was that the first to raise troops was actually Prince Jing.

"I thought the first to lose patience would be the ambitious Prince Kang."

Chu Yuan first shook his head, then crossed his legs, picked up a teacup, and took a sip.

He glanced at a certain person standing by the window.

"But honestly, your senior brother is quite something."

Hearing this, Cheng Chengxuan put away the letter in his hand.

"Although Prince Jing is inwardly unwilling to submit to the Shunhe Emperor, he places immense importance on the great enterprise of the Shen Imperial Dynasty, so naturally he cannot sit by and watch the Shunhe Emperor ruin the foundations left by his ancestors."

"Moreover, Prince Jing himself deeply believes in the doctrines of spirits, gods, and karmic cause and effect, so senior brother linked the snow disaster with the National Preceptor's incitement of the Shunhe Emperor to recklessly build Daoist temples, draining the people's wealth and exhausting their labour, arousing the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people."

Chu Yuan nodded.

"So, his reason for raising troops is to rid the emperor of evil ministers?"

Seeing Cheng Chengxuan nod, Chu Yuan suddenly thought of something and let out a cold snort of laughter.

"Hah!"

"It's merely to gloss over his own ambition, to find a high-sounding pretext!"

Then, his eyes darted, and he let out a mischievous laugh.

"At this moment, the Shunhe Emperor's face must be very ugly."