In the blink of an eye, another tall figure had sat down on the steps in that spot.

He held a large stone basin in his arms, and in front of the basin stood a small, fair-skinned girl.

Leng Xuepiao really was petite — if she hadn’t said so herself, people would have taken her for only sixteen or seventeen.

Add to that how rarely she went outdoors — for her, the war amounted to little more than frequently changing which place she did her work in.

Never going outside, her skin was better than other women’s, fair and smooth.

At forty years of age — no, that was just everyone teasing her for being far too withdrawn for her age.

Now, the two of them, one tall and one short, sat and stood at nearly the same height — one working while seated, the other standing and directing.

“Left hand controls the speed, right hand applies the force.”

“What are you doing? You’ve stirred the herbs right out of the bowl!”

“You must control the speed, or it’ll all go to waste.”

“Look, you dropped another bunch, how can you be so clumsy? Waste any more and you’ll be the one sent out to gather herbs.”

“Do you know how hard our brothers work to gather medicine? You can’t be wasting it like this.”

“……”

Standing there, Leng Xuepiao had more and more to say.

Around the courtyard, people were busy at their various tasks elsewhere.

They kept glancing up, kept turning around, kept rubbing their eyes, genuinely wanting to ask — what’s happened to Xuepiao today?

Could it be they were looking at a fake Xuepiao?

Yu Jingfeng had ground away the whole morning without spilling much of the herbs at all.

Now, for whatever reason, he kept making mistake after mistake.

“Sorry! Miss Leng, I didn’t mean to.”

“Sorry, sorry!”

“It won’t happen again!”

“Sorry! I’ll be careful, I promise!”

Having slipped up again and again, all he could do was apologize and be more careful.

Today the weather was very cold — less than a month left until New Year, and even in the south the weather had turned bitterly cold.

Cold as it was, Yu Jingfeng still worked up a full sweat from the grinding.

By the time Feng Jiu’er and the others came out from their meal, Yu Jingfeng was still working hard, while their normally quiet Miss Xuepiao kept chattering on.

It felt as though Miss Xuepiao was trying to say all the words she hadn’t spoken in twenty years, all at once.

Perhaps out of a guilty conscience, Lord Yu was being especially well-behaved today.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing and went back to the main hall with the others.

Out of the corner of her eye, Leng Xuepiao noticed the group passing by, glanced back at them, then turned her head again, her gaze settling back on Yu Jingfeng.

“Don’t let me catch you wasting anything again, or I’ll punish you by skipping your dinner tonight!”

“Got it.” Yu Jingfeng looked up and gave a somewhat strained smile.

They were finally about to get busy — please, hurry and take this girl away. With her around, why did he feel so uneasy?

Yu Jingfeng sighed inwardly, but kept his expression free of any displeasure.

He would not forget: Miss Leng couldn’t be frightened, her nerve was far too thin.

“Behave yourself!” Leng Xuepiao dropped that last line and turned to leave.

Watching her small figure, Yu Jingfeng suddenly wondered — had he been fooled?

A small frame didn’t necessarily mean a timid heart.

Lord Yu would never admit that he’d very nearly suffocated the poor girl that night — he could only insist it was Leng Xuepiao who had too little courage and too weak a constitution.

Keep grinding, then — fail to finish and there’d be no dinner. The pressure was immense!

In the main hall, everyone had gathered, and all had eaten their fill.

…

“Can we say for certain what herbs we’re still missing?” Feng Jiu’er asked the moment she sat down.

“Mm.” Xiao Yingtao nodded. “…only three kinds left, I’ve already sent someone to notify Yang Sheng to come back. Let’s wait a little, perhaps…”

Before Xiao Yingtao could finish, someone came hurrying in from outside, travel-worn.

Everyone here was working hard for the sake of the soldiers, and Yang Sheng was deeply grateful for it.

He didn’t count himself among them, but there were still nearly sixty thousand lives waiting on the people here to save them.

“Jiu’er.” Yang Sheng strode in, and upon seeing everyone, a faint smile rose to his face.

“Yang Sheng, what’s the situation?” Xiao Yingtao stood and pulled over a chair, placing it beside herself and Feng Jiu’er.

Looking at Yang Sheng, weathered by travel, it was clear he hadn’t eaten or slept well these past days.

“Thank you.” Yang Sheng gave Xiao Yingtao a smile and sat down.

Feng Jiu’er poured a cup of tea and handed it to him.

“Drink first, then talk.”

Yang Sheng took the tea offered to him and nodded.

He lifted the cup and drank it down in a few gulps.

“Jiu’er, the herbs you’d ordered us to look for — we’ve found them all.”

“According to the message Xiao Yingtao sent out today, of the three herbs still needed, our brothers know the location of two, and people have already gone out to search.”

“They’re quite sure those are there, and the odds of retrieving them are good. It’s just…”

“Is there one even you all can’t find?” Xiao Yingtao asked, a little anxious.

“One of our brothers said it can be found in Huangsong Village.” Yang Sheng turned to meet Xiao Yingtao’s gaze.

“Huangsong Village? Where Chen Hong is currently stationed?” Xiao Yingtao frowned.

“Yes.” Yang Sheng nodded. “They said this herb grows in the two hills behind the estate of Squire Lei Xiao.”

“This herb is quite rare — as far as we know, this is the only place in the whole of Lì City where it’s been found.”

“They say Squire Lei Xiao brought it back from elsewhere. Knowing this herb sells for a high price, even though it’s difficult to cultivate, he’s kept growing it.”

“If it’s dried herb, we might be able to find some at the nearby pharmacies, though not much.”

“But Jiu’er wants fresh herb — that would probably have to come from Huangsong Village itself.”

Everyone understood Yang Sheng’s concerns.

Right now, breaking into Huangsong Village wouldn’t be easy at all.

The far bank of that great river was heavily fortified — not even a boat could get near. How could it possibly be that simple?

“So then, we’ll have to take Huangsong Village first before we’ll have enough herbs to begin the work in earnest.” Xiao Yingtao counted on her fingers, looking a little regretful.

Dealing with Chen Hong alone would take only part of their forces — she’d hoped to spend this time properly developing the antidote with everyone.

She hadn’t expected the most critical herb to end up in Chen Hong’s hands.

“Jiu’er.” Xiao Yingtao suddenly thought of something.

She leaned forward, past Yang Sheng, looking at Feng Jiu’er.

“Do you think Chen Hong might know we badly need this herb, and destroy it?”

“Chen Hong is a ruthless, cold-hearted person — to her we’re nothing but rebel soldiers. If she knew what the herb was for, it’s entirely possible.” Yang Sheng nodded in agreement.

“No.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “If she knew, she’d use it against us instead.”

“Since we can’t handle both at once, we’ll have to focus on Chen Hong first.”

“Xiao Yingtao, you stay here with everyone to keep working — at the very least have all the herbs we’ll need ready by the time we get back.”

“Yes.” Xiao Yingtao nodded, accepting the order.

“Yang Sheng, leave enough of our brothers behind to search for the herb, and bring the rest to advance with us.” Feng Jiu’er continued.

“Once we’re in the village, we’ll deal with Chen Hong — you’re in charge of leading the search for the herb.”

“Nearly sixty thousand of our brothers’ lives are in your hands. All of you must be even more careful.”