Chapter 1703: End of the War

Chapter 1703: Chapter 1703: End of the War

Elder Ji sincerely thanked the Xie Family couple once more, knowing that this matter was not suitable for much discussion, and then asked, "Where’s Zhuzhu? I brought some small gifts for her. Let her come out and see if she likes them?"

When Father and Mother Xie talked about their little granddaughter they were delighted and had the nanny bring Little Zhuzhu over.

"Grandfather~ Grandmother~" Little Zhuzhu looked sixty percent like Ji Zhenniang, and so she was very pretty. However, her temperament was not like Ji Zhenniang’s at all. She was very well-mannered, and at a young age already had an air of elegance about her. She happily greeted her grandparents.

Seeing a guest with gray hair in the room, she withdrew her hand from the servant leading her, half-crouched, and saluted, "I greet you~"

"No need for formalities, no need for formalities." Elder Ji saw the little girl crouching unsteadily, fearing she might fall, and quickly went up to pick her up.

Little Zhuzhu didn’t remember Elder Ji. Suddenly being held, she was very scared, her eyes reddened but she didn’t cry. Instead, she looked at her own grandmother for rescue.

Old Lady Xie’s heart softened under her granddaughter’s gaze, her voice softened several degrees as she smiled and said, "Zhuzhu, don’t be afraid. This is your great-grandfather from your mother’s side, he’s family."

Great-grandfather?

Little Zhuzhu was a bit confused, unable to make sense of this relationship.

Father Xie pointed to himself and said, "Just like I’m Zhuzhu’s grandfather, holding you is your mother’s grandfather."

Though a bit roundabout, Little Zhuzhu understood. She gave Elder Ji a sweet smile and obediently said, "I’ve met... mother’s grandfather~"

Ugh, "great-grandfather" was too hard to say, Zhuzhu couldn’t say it.

Elder Ji was beside himself with joy, "Our Zhuzhu is really good."

Because Zhuzhu was a girl, Elder Ji hadn’t paid much attention to her before, only wishing Ji Zhenniang would quickly give birth to a son to avoid being dismissed by the Xie Family.

Now, seeing Zhuzhu, he couldn’t help but admire the Xie Family—they really knew how to raise children. This child was raised very well, understanding rules, not afraid of strangers, and not panicking in situations.

However, right after he praised her, he saw Little Zhuzhu starting to cry, "Why is Zhuzhu crying? Is it because great-grandfather looks too scary?"

Little Zhuzhu shook her head, wiped her eyes with her small hands, and laid her head on Elder Ji’s shoulder, saying, "Mother~ Father~"

It was because she heard the adults mention her mother and was reminded of her parents.

Upon hearing Little Zhuzhu’s suppressed sobs, Elder Ji felt heartbroken and comforted, "Zhuzhu, don’t cry. Your father and mother are doing well. They’ve won a battle in the Northwest. Once they drive away all the Rong bandits, they’ll be back soon to accompany Zhuzhu."

"Really?" Little Zhuzhu didn’t understand what fighting a battle meant, but she hoped her father and mother would come back soon. She hadn’t seen them for so long and couldn’t remember what they looked like, fearing she might forget them.

Old Lady Xie felt utterly distressed, joined in, "It’s true, we’re not deceiving our Zhuzhu. The whole Prefecture knows that Zhuzhu’s parents are coming back."

Upon hearing this, Little Zhuzhu finally smiled through tears, "Zhuzhu won’t cry~ I’ll smile~ waiting for daddy and mommy to come home~"

Daddy said to smile; crying children aren’t good.

"That’s right, our Zhuzhu is so good." Old Lady Xie praised while holding Zhuzhu in her arms, but she was internally worried about Xie Cheng and Ji Zhenniang.

Even though good news came from the Northwest, she heard the Rong people were attacking Long’an Prefecture again. If Long’an Prefecture couldn’t hold out, and with the frightening poisonous insect disease, Xie Cheng and Zhenniang...

Old Lady Xie’s eyes reddened, but she didn’t dare to cry, only suppressing her inner discomfort to coax Zhuzhu.

While Old Lady Xie was coaxing Zhuzhu, Elder Ji mentioned that he intended to visit the Gu Family to deliver congratulatory gifts and discuss forming a team to send supplies to Xie Cheng, Company Commander Qin, and the others in the Northwest.

Elder Ji said, "The battles have been won, but the Northwest is barren. When the Rong people ravaged it, they disrupted the spring planting. Medicinal herbs and grains must be running short. Though the court will send grains, with so many soldiers in the Northwest and these being life-saving supplies, sending more is always good."

He continued, "Before I came, I already had Old San and Old Si prepare supplies; they are almost ready. If the Xie family wants to help, providing grain would be best. Your family has a lot of land, and the Northwest desperately needs grain."

After listening, Father Xie was very moved but said, "The Xie Family has few people left; we can’t send many suitable people to the Northwest. I fear we might burden you."

Elder Ji smiled, "The Ji Family has plenty of Protectors, and the Gu Family is not short of people either. Company Commander Qin’s brother-in-law, the Luo family, also runs an escort agency. The Xie family doesn’t need to send people, just the life-saving grain."

Elder Ji was good with words, knowing that the best contribution the Xie Family could make was grain, so he emphasized the importance of grain.

Father Xie agreed, and after discussing for a while, they set the arrangements.

Elder Ji looked at Old Lady Xie holding Little Zhuzhu and said, "Previously, Zhenniang didn’t understand things because the nanny and maid at home instigated trouble. They have already been dealt with. I personally selected a group of people. In time, I’ll bring them for you to see. If you feel they are suitable, let them accompany to the Northwest to serve."

Elder Ji was very sincere, and Old Lady Xie nodded with a smile, "Alright, I’ll take a look at them."

With Elder Ji’s apology and the adorable Little Zhuzhu present, the rift between the two families was mended.

Elder Ji only stayed at the Xie Family for a day. The next afternoon, he set off for Da Feng Village in Tianfu County.

Before going, he sent a message first, so Gu Jin’an allowed them to enter the village.

The village entrance was bustling, full of people delivering gifts to the Gu Family, seeking medicine, trying to curry favor, creating a lively scene, yet the Gu Family received none.

Although Xiao Yu and San Lang made great contributions and were rewarded and honored by the Emperor, bringing much fame to the Gu Family, apart from being happy, the Gu Family was more worried.

Due to this, Mrs. Cui cried several times at home, fearing the city would be breached, the two children would catch the poisonous insect disease, or that if Xiao Yu was pregnant at the time, Northwest chaos might cause her to lose the child or that she might not get pregnant at all.

In short, the worry was overwhelming.

"Mom, don’t cry. Second Sister hates it when people cry. If you keep crying like this, I’ll write to Second Sister. Once she finds out, she’ll worry about you and won’t be able to focus on treating the insects and fighting the Rong bandits," Brother Cheng said while handing Mrs. Cui a handkerchief to wipe her tears, trying to scare her.

Mrs. Cui glared at him, "You little rascal, always trying to scare your mother. I’ll tell you, you’re not allowed to write to your Second Sister about these things, or I’ll spank you."

Brother Cheng: "Hehe, mom, I’ve recently learned new tricks. Even big brother can’t catch me now, and you’re so weak, you still want to hit me?"

"You’re just being cheeky, come over here and see if I can hit you?" Mrs. Cui said angrily, raising her hand to smack him.

But Brother Cheng ran away quickly, and in a flash, he was out in the yard, turned his body, and climbed up the wall, sitting on the wall looking at Mrs. Cui, "Ha, you can’t hit me."

Mrs. Cui was so dizzy with anger. How had this child become so mischievous? He used to be so well-behaved.

"Come down, or I’ll tell your big brother to punish you!" Mrs. Cui threatened.

Brother Cheng was always afraid of Good Brother An. Usually, as soon as he heard this, he would obediently admit his mistake and beg for mercy, but not recently. "Mom, you’re such a grown-up, why are you still tattling to big brother?"

Big Brother said, as long as it keeps mom from overthinking and crying all the time, he could be as mischievous as he wanted, and he wouldn’t hold it against him.

Having heard this, Brother Cheng naturally felt confident.

However, while deliberately angering Mrs. Cui, he was also very worried about Second Sister.

What if Second Sister died in the Northwest? Or worse...

Brother Cheng thought of many tragic ends for his Second Sister, scaring himself to tears.

But his tears were for nothing, as despite the ongoing war in the Northwest, Gu Jinli was doing relatively well, and the battle at Long’an Prefecture had reached a point where the Rong people couldn’t sustain it any longer.

...

"Over a thousand warriors have died from rotworm disease again today... General, we really can’t go on like this. If we drag it out any longer, our warriors will all die!" The Da Rong Witch Doctor said with a trembling voice.

It was too tragic. Every day they watched the warriors die miserable deaths from the destructive rotworms. They couldn’t bear it anymore.

"Shut up!" The General in charge of the Insect Disease Camp kicked the witch doctor, exclaiming angrily, "As a witch doctor, to speak such words shows a lack of trust in the Heavenly Khan and disrespect to the Witch God!"

This witch doctor was not the first to say such words. Usually, those who did were taken out and executed, but now witch doctors were scarce and couldn’t be executed, only reprimanded.

"Keep thinking of a solution. If there isn’t enough Divine Medicine... burn it all, just do not let the rotworm disease continue to spread in the camp," the General stated.

But it was of no use!

They already burnt the infected warriors several times, but the despicable peasants of Great Chu were cunning. Just when they cleared out the patients from the camp, they would throw poisonous insects into the camp, causing the warriors untold suffering.