Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 488 The Five Towns are in panic, the withdrawal from the alliance begins, and Tan Rou is satisfied.

Inviting a god is easy, but sending him away is difficult.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yang and Yang Fa's expressions instantly turned extremely grim.

These seven words from Qin Feng perfectly encapsulate the biggest pain point for both Jinshan and Beishuo towns today.

Two years ago, in the 134th year of the Mo'ao calendar, the Chuishan split occurred in May. The Great Xia emerged as the ultimate winner, and with the power of the four towns, it forcefully facilitated the alliance of the nine towns. On the third day of the sixth month of the same year, the alliance was officially finalized in the town of Chuishan.

The five most important points of the alliance are: sharing the same leader, sharing the same banners, having strong leaders and armies, jointly defending against foreign vassals, and swearing an eternal oath.

The reason why the Five Towns agreed to sign the alliance was twofold: first, they were wary of the power of the Great Xia Dynasty at that time; second, the terms of the alliance were not excessive and were even beneficial to the Five Towns in the long run.

But looking back now, it's all a trap!

For example, the first article, "Jointly Respect the Alliance Leader," contains the sentence, "In matters concerning foreign territories, all eight towns must obey the Alliance Leader's orders." This seems reasonable, but it doesn't specify the concrete standards for matters concerning foreign territories. In the past two years, the Great Xia has frequently used this as an excuse to interfere in the affairs of the five towns.

For example, the third point is to strengthen people and the army. In order to enhance the overall strength of the nine towns, the Great Xia proposed two specific measures. The first is resource sharing. All high-level hunting teams holding alliance tokens can freely enter and exit the resource areas of each town. The second is that the Great Xia will open Wanbao Branch Buildings in all towns and share the high-quality cultivation resources produced by the Great Xia with the people of the Southern Foothills.

These two points should be fine in theory, but the mistake was that there was no clear limit on the number of high-level hunting teams in each town.

In the first month, Da Xia did not go too far, issuing only 900 Alliance Hunting Orders in total, with 100 distributed to each of the nine towns. This meant that each town had only 100 high-level hunting teams, who could freely gather, hunt, and explore without geographical restrictions.

However, in the second month, Da Xia suddenly put forward two clear standards for the alliance's high-level hunting teams in the name of the alliance leader: first, the number of people must be more than 20, and second, the members' cultivation level must be at least the Cold Resistance level.

These two standards are not excessive, and they do increase output and reduce casualties. Moreover, all five towns can basically meet them. Although I had some reservations, I eventually accepted them.

But little did they expect that setting standards was just the first move by the Great Xia Dynasty.

In the third month, their counter-strategy came into play.

The Great Xia suddenly began issuing a large number of Alliance Hunting Orders, and at the same time announced that any hunting team that meets these two criteria can apply freely.

Of course, there couldn't be only 100 high-level hunting teams in each town. The previous 100 hunting orders per town were already insufficient to meet the demand. So as soon as the Great Xia announced this news, the high-level hunting teams under the five towns immediately began to be reorganized in large numbers according to the standards and then apply for alliance hunting orders.

It's not surprising that this phenomenon has occurred.

The daily hunting, gathering, and even exploration profits of a team that holds an Alliance Hunting Order and can freely enter and exit all resource areas in the southern foothills are worlds apart from those of a team that can only operate in a fixed area.

The initial 100 Alliance Hunting Orders were snapped up in every town. The first batch to receive them were mostly people with connections and strong hunting teams. Those who didn't get any were already feeling resentful.

Therefore, when the news spread that the Great Xia Dynasty was going to issue more Alliance Hunting Orders, one can imagine the feelings of the people below.

The leaders of each town had already sensed something was wrong by this time. It had been more than four years since the Great Xia had moved eastward, and especially after the opening of Hongmen Port, each town had a pretty good understanding of the Great Xia's strength.

They all knew that if there were no limit to the number of Alliance Hunting Orders, the five towns would inevitably suffer a great loss in the end. Therefore, the five towns united to oppose it, demanding that the number of Alliance Hunting Orders be limited and that all subsequent increases be distributed equally.

The trap has appeared!
"It was clearly stated when the alliance was signed that opening up the southern foothills resource area was to strengthen the people and the army and enhance the overall strength of the nine towns. Now the alliance leader is issuing more hunting orders to achieve this goal. The standards for applying for hunting orders are the same for all nine towns, including Great Xia. What's wrong with that? Are you saying that Great Xia is too strong, so we have to accommodate you?"

"I'm making this clear: either we don't issue any more hunting orders and maintain the status quo, or we lift all restrictions. The choice is yours!"

These were Xia Chuan's original words at the time, and these words spread throughout the entire southern foothills region in less than three days.

The five towns were instantly in an uproar, and the crowd was indignant. Faced with the overwhelming public opinion, how could the lords and leaders of the five towns still dare to continue to oppose?
Thus began the unlimited issuance of Alliance Hunting Orders.

From that moment on, the nightmare for the five towns truly began.

At the end of the year before last alone, the total number of hunting orders issued by the Alliance increased to 3000. The three northern towns plus Yangqu and Longgu each had just over 200; the three towns of Chuishan, Jiangxia, and Muyin each had more than 300; and the remaining more than 1000 hunting orders were all in the hands of the Great Xia.

As of this month, the total number of Alliance Hunting Orders has exceeded 6000, with the Great Xia family accounting for more than half. Combined with the latest information from the Five Towns, the three towns of Muyin have long been secretly incorporated into the Great Xia. Thus, including the Hunting Orders of these three families, it means that the Great Xia's forces holding Hunting Orders actually account for more than two-thirds of the total.

The hunting order was merely a means to an end; the key was that the teams holding the hunting order could freely enter and exit all resource areas under the jurisdiction of each town to collect and hunt. As a result, a large number of cold beasts, spiritual plants, and all kinds of precious resources flowed into the Great Xia through this method.

The Five Towns certainly benefited as well, but how could their three hundred-plus high-level squads compare to the Great Xia?
Thanks to these ever-increasing hunting orders, new products of the Great Xia Dynasty have emerged one after another in the past two years. New types of cultivation resources have been put on the shelves of Wanbaolou one after another, and the development speed can be described as rapid as a thousand miles a day.

Although the Five Towns have made progress, they are still not comparable to the Great Xia.

As for the Wanbao branch, the five town lords originally thought that once their own town opened a Wanbao branch, they could directly buy cultivation resources from the Great Xia, saving them the trouble of going to Hongmen City. This would reduce the transportation costs for the merchant guild and prevent the outflow of population.

However, the Wanbao branches in each town only did business with individual customers.

In other words, the Chamber of Commerce will continue to operate in Hongmen City, while the Wanbao branch in the town will only accept individuals, and slightly more valuable cultivation resources will still be supplied in limited quantities.

The most insidious thing is that the Great Xia set the prices of supplies at the Wanbaolou headquarters in Hongmen City to be 20% cheaper than those in other towns.

So, the five towns failed to achieve either their goal of reducing costs or minimizing population loss.

On the contrary, in the past two years, the Great Xia Dynasty has been using the Wanbao branch building to infiltrate and even subvert the five towns, which has caused the five towns great trouble.

Of course, they also took many countermeasures, but in the end, without exception, they all failed under the terrifying financial and material resources of the Great Xia.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to halt the Wanbao branch again.

Sure enough, the Great Xia Dynasty complied with the demands of the five lords and directly shut down the Wanbaolou stores in five towns.

But the result was the same as when the Alliance Hunting Order was issued. The people of the Five Towns were in an uproar. Some went to Hongmen City to settle down, while others simply switched to the Great Xia. The leaders of the Five Towns panicked when they saw this.

Therefore, Wanbao Branch, which had only been closed for ten days, reopened at the request of the five town lords.

The two clauses of the alliance agreement alone—the shared commitment to the alliance leader and the requirement for strong leaders and armies—have already caused the Five Garrisons so much trouble. In addition, there are dozens of other detailed clauses in the original alliance agreement.

With the Great Xia taking advantage of the alliance to launch increasingly aggressive offensives, the situation of the Five Towns over the past two years can be easily imagined.

However, the most toxic clauses in the original alliance agreement were the second clause, "Sharing the same banners and sailing together," and the fourth clause, "Jointly defending against foreign vassals."

These two clauses are carried out in tandem. The second clause stipulates that each town will contribute its own troops to form an allied force. The fourth clause stipulates that the Beishuo Dongchuan area and the Yinhe Valley area of ​​Jinshan will be designated as areas jointly governed by the alliance and will be garrisoned by the allied forces. This is because these two areas are the entrances and exits for the Chencang and Caiqiu vassals to the southern foothills.

When the Allied forces first started two years ago, they only had 30,000 troops in total. The Great Xia contributed one-third, or 10,000; the three northern towns each contributed more than 3,000 people, totaling 10,000; and the remaining 10,000 were contributed by the five towns, each contributing 2,000.

With this organizational structure, although the soldiers of the Great Xia army made up the majority of the allied forces, it was not enough to form an overwhelming advantage, so the Five Garrisons did not take it seriously.

But things changed starting last April!
The reason still lies with Cai Qiu and Chen Cang. After learning about the Nine Garrisons Alliance, the two vassal states each sent fifteen Xianyang-level warriors south last April. Their intentions are self-evident.

The problem is that Dongchuan and Yinhe Valley are already areas jointly governed by the alliance. So many Xianyang-level beings came in a big way, and the allied forces on both sides noticed it immediately.

The reason why the Nine Towns formed an alliance was to resist the invasion of foreign vassals. How could they possibly allow so many Xianyang-level beings from the two vassal states to enter?
Xiang Fuhai, the Grand Commander of the Allied Forces in Jinyang City, and Mu Longhe, the Grand Commander of the Allied Forces in Dongchuan City, each led 15,000 Allied troops to directly block the arrival of the two vassal states.

The two sides immediately engaged in combat. Although both vassal states sent 15 experts of the Manifestation Yang level, they were no match for an ordinary 15,000-strong army of the Cold Resistance level. Moreover, the Great Xia had equipped the allied forces with two powerful weapons: the Divine Crossbow and the Golden Body Pill.

The battles in the two regions were strikingly similar, both resulting in the loss of at least five Xianyang-level warriors from the two vassal states, with casualties of around 20%.

In fact, if Yang Zun and Shangguan Yang hadn't received the news and gone to persuade both sides to stop fighting, there's a high probability that someone from either of the two vassal states would have lost their life.

Although the two sides stopped fighting at that time, they had completely formed a grudge.

The two powerful officials, all of whom were arrogant and looked down on the people of the Nine Towns of the Southern Foothills, were unwilling to let the matter rest after suffering such a great loss. Yang Zun and Shangguan Yang came all the way here not to help but to persuade for peace, which violated the treaty signed in the first place. Not to mention the subsequent reaction of the Great Xia.

To be honest, after rescuing the two powerful vassals, Yang Zun and Shangguan Yang were quite uneasy for a while. After all, they had broken the contract first, and they were worried that Xia Hong would use this as an excuse to cause trouble.

After waiting for two or three days without any action from Da Xia, the two assumed that Xia Hong was afraid of Chen Cang and Cai Qiu, and gradually their anxiety subsided.

But as the story spread rapidly throughout the southern foothills and continued to escalate, the situation completely changed.

Regardless of what the leaders of Beishuo and Jinshan thought about their actions that violated the alliance's principles, the general public almost unanimously condemned them, accusing the town lords of siding with outsiders.

Public opinion and the methods of the Great Xia followed closely behind!

Xia Chuan did not pursue the matter of the two vassal states at the Xianyang level. Instead, in the name of the alliance leader Xia Hong, he summoned the lords of the five towns in Chuishan Town. Using the war as a reason, he proposed that the vassal states were powerful and the alliance must expand its army. He also proposed to continue to increase troops in Dongchuan and Jinyang to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The five towns were naturally unwilling, especially after a year of discovering that many of the soldiers they sent to the Allied forces with the winter-resistant quality had been turned against them by the Great Xia and had begun to take their families away from the towns. They dared not send any more people.

Even if they were unwilling, they couldn't resist the fact that the timing of the Great Xia's proposal to reinforce troops was just right. Yang Zun and Shangguan Yang both had something to hide, and with the public resentment boiling over, neither of them dared to refuse. Jinyang belonged to Jinshan Town, and Dongchuan belonged to Beishuo Town. They had no connection with Wuchuan, Yangqu, and Longgu, so the three towns naturally had no need to object.

Therefore, when faced with Xia Chuan's request for reinforcements, the five families' final attitude was very clear: they did not object, but it was impossible and they could not send any more men.

Unexpectedly, Xia Chuan did not continue to argue with them, saying that since the five towns could not send any more men, the reinforcements would be sent by the four towns of Da Xia, Jiangxia, Muyin, and Chuishan.

In June of the same year, the Great Xia Dynasty reinforced its troops by two thousand, which did not matter to the Five Garrisons;
In August, the Great Xia reinforced its troops by two thousand, but the Five Garrisons remained unaffected.
In October, the Great Xia Dynasty sent an additional 5,000 troops. The lords of the five towns began to sense that something was amiss, but they did not call for a halt.
In December, the Great Xia reinforced its troops by another 3,000, bringing the total strength of the allied forces in the two regions to 42000, of which the Great Xia had already occupied nearly 30000. The lords of the five towns suddenly realized that the Great Xia was using the pretext of expanding its allied forces to usurp their territory. The five families immediately joined forces in a panic, trying to stop the Great Xia's reinforcement.

However, by the time they realized it, it was already too late!
Last December, Xia Chuan pretended to agree to their request, but since the beginning of this year, Da Xia has been continuously sending troops to both places through the Alliance Hunting Order.

Those high-level hunting teams, carrying alliance tokens, first entered Beishuo and Jinshan towns under the guise of hunting, and then entered Dongchuan City and Jinyang Village. They transformed into soldiers, and in just half a year, the total strength of Jinyang and Dongchuan almost exceeded 50,000.

This August, Da Xia went even further.

Yuwen Tao, the military commissioner, led an army of 10,000 from Chuishan Town and marched directly north, passing through Yangqulong Valley and Jinshan. He left 5,000 troops behind and continued north with another 5,000 troops, passing through Wuchuan Town, and finally arrived at Dongchuan City in Beishuo.

Throughout the entire march, Yuwen Tao acted arrogantly and without any restraint. He didn't consult with the lords of the five towns at all, and didn't even avoid the direction of the towns. Most ruthlessly, when the army was about to reach Jinshan Town, Xiang Fuhai, the Grand Commander of Jinyang City, sent 10,000 troops south to meet them; and when they finally reached the border of Beishuo Town, Mu Longhe, the Grand Commander of Dongchuan City, also sent 10,000 troops to meet them.

At this point, even the lords of the five towns dared not get angry.

Seeing Xia Jun's arrogant and ostentatious behavior, they finally realized that the number of Xia troops stationed in Jinyang and Dongchuan had reached over 60,000. They felt nothing but fear and panic.

Yangqu and Longgu are relatively safe, as the Xia army is still far away. Wuchuan is also slightly better off, as it is sandwiched between Beishuo and Jinshan, but it is not directly facing the Xia army. Only Beishuo and Jinshan are currently in a state of unease, as the 30,000 Xia troops in their respective territories keep them in a state of constant anxiety, fearing that the Xia army might suddenly rise up and endanger the towns.

Although these 60,000-plus Xia troops were not invited into the homes of Beishuo and Jinshan towns, it was still a result of their carelessness and indulgence.

The saying goes, "It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away." Da Xia is clearly trying to usurp the throne.

Even if the five towns were to unite and withdraw from the alliance at this point, what difference would it make?

Putting aside whether the Five Towns can retreat or not, if they do retreat, they will most likely have to completely break with the Great Xia. It is no exaggeration to say that with the current strength of the Five Towns, even if they were combined, they would not be able to deal with this army of 60,000!

The one they are facing now is not the Great Awakening Temple of five years ago. Back then, the Zhenyu Army was the main force in the war that the Great Awakening Temple started. But now, all 60,000 soldiers of the Great Xia are genuine Cold Resistance level cultivators!
Of course, not all 60,000 were Xia soldiers. A total of 14000 of them were from the five towns. The problem is that these people had been with Xia soldiers for more than two years. Judging from the infiltration and defection efforts of Wanbao Branch in the towns over the past two years, it is hard to say how many of these 14000 people are still loyal to them.

To make a bold prediction, even if half of the 7000-plus people weren't turned, wouldn't the Great Xia be wary of them? The allied forces numbered 60,000, divided into twelve battalions. These 7000 people had already been scattered and disorganized. If something serious happened, the Xia army would definitely target them first. Therefore, these people couldn't play any crucial role at all.

…………

Let's return to the main hall of Wuchuan Town.

Qin Feng's mind was filled with thoughts. Thinking about the current decline of the five towns, the gloating on his face had long since disappeared.

Wuchuan is sandwiched between Jinshan and Beishuo towns. If the two towns really disappear, Wuchuan's fate will certainly not be good either. How long can he gloat?
It's not just Beishuo and Jinshan that want to reverse their current decline.

The problem is, without dealing with those 60,000 Xia soldiers, everything else is meaningless.

Thinking of this, Qin Feng looked behind Shangguan Yang and Yang Fa.

Behind each of the two men sat five people, all shrouded in black robes and with their heads bowed. Although their faces were obscured, Qin Feng knew their backgrounds perfectly well.

"It's no use. If the regional military governors could send a large army south to provide support, it wouldn't have dragged on until now. The Great Xia has already established its capital in the southern foothills..."

"Brother Qin!"

Just as Qin Feng was filled with despair and couldn't help but lament the situation on the southern slope, Yang Fa, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

"Could you please dismiss your attendants, Brother Qin?"

Upon hearing Yang Fa's request, Qin Feng frowned, turned his head to look at the numerous maids on both sides of the hall and the dozens of subordinates at the door. A hint of displeasure flashed across his face, but then he seemed to remember something and coughed lightly.

The numerous high-ranking officials and maids from Wuchuan immediately withdrew from the hall.

"Brother Yang, in the past two years, Wuchuan has indeed been infiltrated by the Great Xia quite a bit, but it shouldn't have come to this extent. Just say what's on your mind!"

If even the people around you are turned against you, what would happen?

Although Yang Fa's actions were based on the principle of caution, Qin Feng was still somewhat uncomfortable, and his tone inevitably became much more subdued.

"Better safe than sorry, Brother Qin!"

Yang Fa apologized to Qin Feng first, then took a slight breath and turned to look at the five men in black robes behind him.

"Brother Qin, how have you been?"

Among the five black-robed men behind him who had their heads bowed, the leader suddenly spoke a sentence and then stood up.

Upon hearing the voice, Qin Feng was initially taken aback, but then realized something and stared intently at the person.

The man raised his head and slowly opened the black hood covering his head, revealing a middle-aged face that bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Yang Fa, but was slightly younger.

The man had two sharp, sword-like eyebrows that slanted into his temples, a fierce face, and a piercing gaze. His entire face exuded an air of dominance and ferocity, and his gaze even carried a sense of intimidation.

"Yang..."

After watching for a while, Qin Feng seemed to realize something, and his face showed surprise. He stood up abruptly from his chair, but before he could utter a single word, he was interrupted by the other party waving his hand.

"Brother Qin, the 60,000 Xia troops are nothing to fear. Rest assured! I have a way to make Xia Hong obediently withdraw these 60,000 troops. You only need to answer whether you are willing to withdraw from the Nine Towns Alliance along with our two towns?"

Qin Feng's expression showed some interest, but he was still struggling internally, clenching his fists tightly under his sleeves, unable to speak.

The man in black robes below, seeing this, revealed a hint of disdain in his eyes, and then continued, "Brother Qin, my third brother has already told me Xia Hong's strength in detail. In just four years, no matter how talented he is, he can't possibly be my match. Moreover, I didn't just bring..."

"I have no doubt about Brother Yang's abilities!"

Qin Feng interrupted the man in black robes below, paused, and then continued, "I just want to know, Brother Yang just said that you have a way to make Xia Hong obediently withdraw his 60,000 troops. What exactly is this method? And what are the chances of success?"

The man in black robes below frowned slightly, clearly disliking being interrupted, but upon hearing Qin Feng's question, he patiently answered, "Xia Hong and Li Xuanling only have one son and one daughter, Brother Qin, you know that, right?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng immediately guessed what Bei Shuo was going to do. He first showed a look of shock, then lowered his head and thought for a moment before his eyes lit up instantly.

You know what, using this method to force Xia Hong to withdraw his troops is actually quite possible!

The only problem is, how do we catch them?

"I know about Xia Hong's son and daughter, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng, but it's rumored that they rarely leave Xia City. Brother Yang, are you confident?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Yang has already made arrangements. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have the results by the end of this month at the latest!"

Today is December 20th, will the results be available by the end of this month?
Seeing the confident look on Yang Zun's face below, and realizing that Bei Shuo had started making preparations long ago, Qin Feng immediately perked up, his expression brightening as he slightly clasped his hands and said, "In that case, Wu Chuan will naturally follow Brother Yang's lead!"

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zun's face immediately broke into a smile.

"Without further ado, let's draft the letter of withdrawal from the alliance today!"

………………

December 25th, the twelfth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, at night
"Eat slowly, all of you. You're acting like you've been released from prison. Nobody's going to take it from you, so what's the rush?"

In a mansion located slightly outward from the inner city, during mealtime, the hostess, Tan Rou, sat at the round table in the main hall, holding her two-year-old daughter, Han Yu. Looking at her two sons, Han Ming and Han Rui, who were wolfing down their food opposite her, she couldn't help but mutter a curse.

Although she was scolding him, as a mother, she couldn't hide the satisfied smile in her eyes when she saw her son eating heartily.

Hanming is a little over nine years old and Hanrui is a little over eight years old. The two sons are not very old, but they are already quite tall and strong. The black summer clothes that were made for the two brothers at the beginning of the year seem to have shrunk again.

Just in time, the end of the year is approaching and the Cold Festival is just around the corner. She had already ordered new clothes for the three siblings from the ready-made clothing shops directly under the Craftsmen Department.

Recalling four years ago, when her husband Han Feng brought the family to Daxia, she actually threw a tantrum on the way and wanted to go back to Gutan Village. Tan Rou felt an indescribable sense of absurdity and lingering fear.

She had endless silks and satins to wear, an abundance of fruits and meats to eat, plus soft couches, incense burners, fine salt, and fine wine... It's no exaggeration to say that if she hadn't come to the Great Xia Dynasty, she really couldn't have imagined that people could live such a rich and wonderful life.

To give you the simplest example, she never imagined in her life that she could break through to the Cold Resistance level before the age of thirty. In Gutang Village, a Cold Resistance level expert of her age could even be considered a genius.

Especially at the beginning of this year, her husband Han Feng, who had been staying in Jinshan Town, made some great contribution and was granted the title of Ninth-Rank Xuanling Viscount. Tan Rou's status also rose accordingly, and she was granted a Ninth-Rank Imperial Robe. She was even given two maids and five attendants at home.

The house they live in now is not the one Han Yue gave them, but a new house built by Han Feng's husband after he was granted a title. He spent a lot of money to buy land in the expanded inner city and built a new house for the Han family.

Because her husband, Han Feng, was stationed in Jinshan Town and rarely returned, Tan Rou handled the entire process of purchasing land and building the mansion by herself. Thinking of the 15 contribution points spent on purchasing land in the inner city, Tan Rou couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

According to the regulations of the Great Xia Dynasty, a ninth-rank viscount can build a 200-square-meter mansion in the city and be accompanied by two maids and five attendants. These are just qualifications; the Ministry of Logistics will not give them to you for free.

Land, houses, including maids and servants, all cost money.

The first two are fine, but the maids and attendants are not something that can be solved with a one-time payment. The Great Xia Dynasty does not currently have the concept of slavery. The Ministry of Supply has introduced a new regulation on indenture this year, but the price of a normal indenture is astonishingly high, often exceeding one million contribution points, which is equivalent to tens of thousands of taels of silver. Moreover, no normal family would sell themselves for no reason. Therefore, these maids and attendants are all paid a fixed monthly salary.

"Now that you've been granted the title of a ninth-rank viscount, there should be corresponding etiquette and rules. Money that needs to be spent must be spent. Don't try to save money for me. Your husband is quite capable; supporting the four of you shouldn't be a problem!"

Thinking of what her husband said in the letter, Tan Rou's face was full of smiles, and she felt extremely satisfied with her current life.

The only downside right now is that my husband can only come home twice a year.

"The year is coming to an end, and the Cold Festival is just around the corner. He should be coming back soon!"

The thought of seeing her husband soon instantly dispelled Tan Rou's melancholy. Seeing that her two sons had finished eating, she smiled and asked, "Your aunt sent a message today, saying that the Second Prince will be going to the Tiger Breeding Forest in a couple of days and wants you to go with him."

Upon hearing this, the Han brothers, Han Ming and Han Rui, immediately looked up, their faces filled with surprise and delight.

(End of this chapter)