Chapter 54: The First Prince

"So many watermelons!"

Cheng Jiuling stared, utterly dumbfounded.

She had been helping water the ginseng seedlings, and in the time it took to squat and stand back up, the watermelons had ripened!

And they grew so big, and there were so… so many!

Hearing her voice, the other three could no longer be bothered with whether the durian tasted good and hurried outside to the courtyard.

In the melon field, rows upon rows of lush green watermelons with dark stripes filled the view.

Each one was as wide as the mouth of the wooden bucket they used to draw water.

"Wow!"

Yu'an ran over joyfully, stretched out her hand to measure one, then clapped her little hands and hopped excitedly a few times, her small face flushed with excitement.

"So big!"

"It's half as big as Yu'an!"

These childish words brought the others back to their senses, and they all laughed and shook their heads.

Though Cheng Old Madam had long been mentally prepared, she was genuinely startled by the scene before her eyes.

Steadying herself slightly, she raised a hand and called out to the group.

"Quick, gather these melons. We mustn't let anyone discover them."

Cheng Feng and the others heard and sprang into action at once.

Half an hour later, Cheng Feng said excitedly.

"Old Madam, all the watermelons have been gathered—there are a full hundred and twenty!"

"Good, good, good."

Cheng Old Madam was overcome with excitement.

After all, they had only planted a hundred watermelon seeds in total.

Which meant some vines had grown more than one watermelon.

What about the grain, then?

Would the yield be several times that of an ordinary grain field as well?

At the mere thought of this possibility, the hand Cheng Old Madam gripped her cane with trembled slightly.

No other reason—she was simply overcome with excitement!

An Luo's phone also popped up a notification.

Buzz!

Detected Zaituan's first successful harvest of crops. Reward:

One hundred Reputation Points, one hundred points, one plot of Advanced Black Soil, and ten thousand catties of corn seeds.

Buzz!

New long-term mission issued: Please assist Zaituan in successfully harvesting one hundred thousand catties of grain. Rewards will be determined based on mission completion. No penalty for failure.

Buzz!

Current points are sufficient. The system will now automatically begin upgrading. Estimated upgrade time: twenty-four hours. The Space-Time Gate has been closed, and the special transmission channel is cooling down.

The moment the Reputation Points came in, An Luo bought the Illusory Realm.

Placing it on the three plots of Black Soil drew another round of amazed exclamations from the Cheng Family.

After all the watermelons had been properly stored, night had fully fallen.

Cheng Old Madam felt the sweaters and scarves knitted by Wang Shi and her daughter, savored the warmth passing into her hands, nodded in satisfaction, and a flicker of deep thought crossed her eyes.

"You have done very well."

After a moment's thought, she raised her eyes to look at her little granddaughter.

"Luoluo, tomorrow you and Cheng Feng and the others take the sweaters and a few watermelons to the City Lord's Manor. Tell them I have important matters to discuss with them."

"Yes, Grandmother."

……

Late at night, several hundred li away, in a small grove a few dozen li from the Capital.

Cheng Qiuyun and Cheng Chengxuan, the sister and brother, stared at the campfire in silence.

Ever since Cheng Qiuyun had heard there was not the slightest news of her father, second uncle, or elder brother, her heart had been heavy.

Suddenly, Cheng Chengxuan whipped his head toward the rear-side, swiftly kicked up sand with his foot to smother the fire, and said in a low voice.

"There's fighting over there!"

All of them wore solemn expressions, tightened their grips on their weapons, and watched that direction warily.

"Cheng Yao, stay here and watch the horse. We'll go over there and take a look."

After giving the order in a hushed voice, Cheng Chengxuan lightened his footsteps and breathing and led the way toward that direction.

Cheng Qiuyun followed behind with Cheng Sen and Cheng Xin.

A hundred meters away, on the Small path on the other side of Mi Lin, a group of black-clad men was attacking a Horse Carriage.

The soldiers shielded the Horse Carriage in their midst.

Though the black-clad men were few in number, their martial skills were formidable and their strikes vicious. Over a hundred soldiers were actually being driven back step by step by a dozen or so black-clad men, and it looked as though they could barely hold on.

A glance at the emblem on the Horse Carriage made Cheng Chengxuan's brows knit slightly.

"They're from the Zhou Family. At this time, in this place—could it be Zhou Old General?"

Sure enough, the next moment, an aged voice came from inside the Horse Carriage.

"Who sent you?!"

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, the sister and brother exchanged a glance.

Just as expected!

The black-clad man closed in on the horse carriage step by step, his voice cold and sinister, his tone fierce and murderous.

"Naturally, the one who wants your life!"

Before the words had even faded, over a dozen black-clad men leaped up with all their might, brandishing their weapons and charging at the horse carriage in unison.

Zhou Old General took in the soldiers' corpses scattered all around, as well as the guards still fighting off the assassins around the horse carriage. His heart sank, and gripping his long spear tightly, he rose and leapt down from the horse carriage.

Zhou Old General was advanced in years, and with his body already ailing, it was not long before his strength ran short.

The black-clad man seized the chance and lunged forward with his sword to stab.

At the critical moment, four masked figures appeared and blocked them.

These four were none other than Cheng Chengxuan and Cheng Qiuyun's group of four, their faces covered.

The four quickly dealt with the black-clad men.

Zhou Old General stepped forward, cupped his hands, and offered his thanks.

"Many thanks to the four young heroes for saving my life. If it's not too much trouble, please leave your names. This old man will certainly repay you in the future."

Cheng Chengxuan lowered his voice and said,

"We merely drew our swords to right an injustice we happened upon. There's no need for this lord to take such a small matter to heart."

Hearing this, Zhou Old General narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering for a moment on the woman among the four, a flicker of deep thought crossing his eyes.

That voice seemed somewhat familiar?

Suddenly, a loud shout came from afar.

"Imperial Prince, there's movement ahead!"

Hearing this, Cheng Chengxuan and the others turned swiftly, channeled their Lightness Skill, and vanished into the thicket after a few leaps.

Soon, the clatter of hooves and a jumble of footsteps came.

The man at the head was a fellow who looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, clad in silver Armor. Seeing the soldiers' corpses littering the ground, he let out an angry roar.

"Who is committing violence here?!"

He looked closely, immediately leapt down from his Horse, and strode quickly toward the horse carriage.

"Zhou Old General?"

Recognizing the newcomer's face, Zhou Old General was visibly astonished.

"Eldest Prince, why are you here?"

The Eldest Prince waved his hand, ordering his guards to clear the battlefield, before speaking.

"The Grand Sacrifice Ceremony is imminent. Father Emperor has summoned me back to the Capital."

Having said that, he paused, his icy gaze sweeping over the black-clad men on the ground.

"I wonder who could be so audacious as to dare attempt an assassination outside the Capital!"

Then he looked at Zhou Old General with concern.

"Is Zhou Old General injured?"

"Many thanks for the Eldest Prince's concern, this Old Minister is unharmed."

A Zhou Family guard at the side replied,

"Fortunately, those four young heroes appeared in the nick of time, or the Marshal would have been in grave danger!"

"Cough!"

Zhou Old General coughed heavily, casting a displeased glance at the guard.

"Wandering knights?"

The Eldest Prince lowered his eyes in thought, his expression unreadable.

"What a coincidence."

Zhou Old General put on an air of indifference and let out a hearty laugh.

"They seemed to be a few young people wandering the jianghu. They must have simply been passing by, saw so many people bullying an old fogey like me, got fired up, and decided to right an injustice on the road."

The Eldest Prince nodded at his words and did not pursue the matter further.

"Imperial Prince!"

One of the Eldest Prince's guards ran over, several blades still in his hands.

"Imperial Prince, look! These blades and swords all bear the crest of the Eldest Prince's Residence!"

"What?!"