A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Just as the matter of Zhao Daxuan's bestowal of titles and rewards in the capital was being settled, thousands of miles away in the northern region...

A carriage, escorted by two squads of city guards, set off from Zhenbei City toward Heishan Pass.

The carriage was simple and not luxurious, but the seats and backrests inside were exceptionally comfortable.

Zhao Daxuan had these items stuffed with cotton using brocade and fixed to the carriage.

Furthermore, the backrest has a slight curve, thicker at the bottom and narrower at the top, closely following the curve of the back, making it infinitely more comfortable than the original hard wooden board.

Inside the carriage sat four stunningly beautiful women, one of whom possessed an exceptional air of elegance. Even in simple, plain clothes, her extraordinary and refined demeanor was undeniable.

These four people were Zhao Daxuan's confidantes, Shen Qingci and Li Shishi.

Since Zhao Daxuan went north to ambush the Tartar army and capture the Black Mountain Pass, ten days have passed without seeing him again.

Zhao Daxuan delivered the news of the victory by fast horse, and Yue Zhenyuan naturally sent someone to inform Shen Qingci and the other women.

After learning of Zhao Daxuan's great victory, Shen Qingci and the other women waited for a few days before they couldn't resist heading north to find Zhao Daxuan.

At the same time, he also wanted to go north to see the situation and see if there was anything else he could do to help Zhao Daxuan.

On the one hand, they couldn't bear to see Zhao Daxuan running around all day, and they hadn't seen him for more than ten days. On the other hand, each of the women had their own strengths and believed that going to the Black Mountain Pass would not disturb Zhao Daxuan.

Therefore, after discussing it, the group decided to set off for Black Mountain Pass to find Zhao Daxuan.

When Yue Zhenyuan learned that the women were going to Black Mountain Pass, he still felt uneasy and sent two squads of his personal guards to escort them.

Shen Qingci and the other girls did not refuse, and with the mindset of sightseeing along the way, they took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery of the northern border.

"Sister Qingci, I never imagined that the Youyun Northern Court would be so much more desolate than the Great Xia Kingdom!"

Li Weiwei leaned on the carriage window, resting her chin on her hand, looking at the bumpy official road ahead, where there were hardly any people around.

Occasionally, there would be a village with only a few people, and when they saw this group, they would not dare to approach from a distance.

Shen Qingci and the others knew that this territory had just been reclaimed and there were still many unstable factors, so they did not go forward to talk.

Shen Qingci opened her eyes, which had been closed for rest, revealing a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes.

"As far as I know, after the Northern Court of Youyun was occupied by the Tartars, and after ten years of persecution, the Han people here are now almost completely destitute."

"What a pity that such fertile land has been used as pasture by the Tartars. If it had been cleared and turned into farmland, I wonder how many more people it could have fed!"

Li Weiwei and the others recalled the endless grasslands along the way. Ten years ago, these grasslands were planted with wheat and rice, which are the most nutritious crops.

Although rice is grown in the north only twice a year at most, the rice grains produced are exceptionally fragrant.

With a soft sigh, Li Shishi nodded in agreement.

"It is indeed a pity, but fortunately, my husband has now reclaimed this piece of land in Youyun Beiting, and more importantly, he has occupied the Black Mountain Pass, which can be considered as guarding the gate of the Great Xia."

"This land will surely be redeveloped into fertile fields in the future, after all, more than 30,000 refugees were relocated from Zhenbei and Chengbei this time."

Shen Qingci smiled slightly, "That's right, my husband turned the tide in one fell swoop, not only preserving the country but also protecting the future of the refugees."

"I wonder how my husband is doing at Black Mountain Pass? So many days have passed and we haven't received a single letter, forcing us to make the trip to find him ourselves."

Li Weiwei wrinkled her cute little nose. "My husband is so annoying. When we get to Black Mountain Pass, I'll teach him a lesson."

After saying that, Li Weiwei waved her little hand fiercely, making an expression that said she would definitely make Zhao Daxuan pay when they got to the Black Mountain Pass.

Li Shishi looked at her sister, who spoke with such conviction, and was both amused and exasperated. "Then when you see your husband, don't be the first to rush into his arms. Remember to give him a taste of his own medicine first."

Li Weiwei blushed slightly as her older sister teased her, unsure whether to agree or disagree.

Just then, the captain of the city guards outside the carriage came to the carriage, bowed and spoke.

"Ladies, it's getting late. Let's set up camp here for now and continue our journey at daybreak tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Li Weiwei's eyes lit up, she stuck out her cute tongue, and said sweetly, "Yay! We can rest now, I'll go down and take a look."

With that, he dashed off the carriage.

Shen Qingci and the others smiled and shook their heads, then followed Li Weiwei off the carriage.

As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw a stream about five or six meters wide with crystal-clear water flowing gently past their carriage.

Hundreds of meters away was a range of mountains, but strangely, the mountains were not lush and green, but rather sparsely wooded.

After getting off the carriage, Lin Zhiqing frowned slightly and couldn't help but stare at the mountains for a long time.

It wasn't until Li Weiwei came over and invited her to look around that she snapped out of her daze and followed closely behind.

"What a tranquil place."

The group stretched as they listened to the sound of the stream beside them.

After a whole day of bumpy rides in the carriage, despite the soft cushions specially made by Zhao Daxuan, my back still ached.

Seeing Li Weiwei and the others get off the carriage, Chunmei and Xiahe, who had been following the carriage, ran over and skillfully started a fire to cook a meal, while Sixi also helped out.

While Chunmei and the others were cooking, Shen Qingci led the girls on a casual stroll around the neighborhood, enjoying the scenery.

Lin Zhiqing followed behind the group, but instead of appreciating the scenery along the way as usual, she would occasionally turn back to look at the mountains.

A moment later, under the puzzled gazes of Shen Qingci and the others, Lin Zhiqing walked alone to the stream, squatted down by the water, and stared at the mud and sand at the bottom for a long time.

After a long while, she actually stretched out her fair hands and plunged them into the icy cold stream. Enduring the chill, she scooped up a handful of fine sand that had been washed clean by the stream.

Then she stretched out her slender fingers and fiddled with the fine sand in her palm.

Among the fine sand that had been stirred, tiny specks of gold could be faintly seen, reflecting a barely perceptible golden light under the sunlight.

Seeing Lin Zhiqing's unusual behavior, Shen Qingci and the others frowned and came to her side.

"Zhiqing, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing Shen Qingci's question, Lin Zhiqing looked up at the three people in front of her. Her usually reserved eyes were now sparkling with excitement.

Taking a few deep breaths to suppress his surging emotions, he said, "I'm not sure yet, let's wait and see."

Having said that, she stood up, shook her hands, lifted her skirt, and ran towards the barren mountains in front of her.

Arriving at the foot of a steep mountain wall, Lin Zhiqing walked a few steps along the wall. Suddenly, her heart stirred, and her fingertips traced the exposed rock strata.

The mountain wall is bluish-black in color and dense in texture. When struck forcefully, it produces a deep and resonant sound, clearly not an ordinary rock.

The people following behind her were completely bewildered, not understanding what this meant. Only she herself knew that this was a sign that a mineral vein was about to be revealed.