If Song Chuyi’s memory wasn’t mistaken, in her previous life at this time, a Tatar rebellion had erupted in Tongzhou. Several hundred Tatar rebel soldiers had streamed through Zijing Pass into Tongzhou, burning, killing, and looting—committing every evil imaginable. The men of Yongshun and Songzhuang had been nearly wiped out, while the elderly, weak, women, and children had all hidden in the ancestral hall to escape disaster.

She hadn’t expected that just leaving the house for a trip would lead her to encounter such a major incident. Song Chuyi smiled bitterly with a sense of helplessness.

After all, this wasn’t something that could be resolved by clever words within the inner quarters. She glanced at the pitch-black sky outside the carriage and suddenly felt she was still very small and powerless.

Ye Jingchuan kept his head lowered for the full time it takes to drink a cup of tea before finally sighing.

This Sixth Miss from the Earl of Changning’s estate truly seemed to be no ordinary person. A young girl’s instincts were actually this sharp—it was truly astonishing.

He turned to look at his subordinate soldiers and waved his hand to give orders. “Take fifty men to search the estate for suspicious people! Leave another hundred and fifty to surround the estate’s exits!”

The urgent priority was still to clear out the estate and have a place to stay.

Song Chuyi couldn’t help but nod. Through the carriage curtain, she instructed Qin Chuan, “Uncle Qin, you take Uncle Zhang with the roster of tenant farmers and hired workers, and check them one by one. You must make sure everyone matches the roster.”

She still had Hong Yu, Qing Tao, and others by her side, and many of the estate’s tenant farmers had brought their families with them. Safety was of paramount importance.

Qin Chuan nodded and immediately led Uncle Zhang with the roster to search the estate together with the soldiers.

“I wonder what Elder Brother plans to do next?” After a moment of silence, Song Chuyi suddenly spoke. “In my view, this matter is of great importance and should be reported to the court as soon as possible.”

Tongzhou’s warehouses stored at least enough grain to feed the capital for one or two years. If anything went wrong, no one could bear the responsibility.

In her previous life, the matter in Tongzhou had been suppressed by Xing Fu from the Directorate of Ceremonial and had not been reported. It wasn’t until later when the warehouses were burned and Yongshun and Songzhuang were breached that the matter became widely known.

This incident had shocked the court and the public. The Ministry of War had swiftly taken countermeasures, deploying the Three Great Camps to put out the fires, but it had already been too late. Although they had annihilated those seven or eight hundred Tatar rebel soldiers, they had let the ringleaders slip away.

Only at this moment did Ye Jingchuan truly believe that Song Chuyi was indeed clever to such a degree—she had actually guessed the crux of the matter.

By this time, the estate had been thoroughly searched. Uncle Zhang and Qin Chuan had carefully cross-checked the roster with the soldiers and had indeed caught two people of unknown identity.

And those two people couldn’t even speak Chinese—one look made it clear they were not citizens of the Great Zhou.

Song Chuyi’s guess was confirmed, and tremendous waves surged in her heart. At this point, returning to the capital was clearly not a suitable choice. Who knows—they might be attacked by those Tatar rebel soldiers halfway there.

She picked up her veiled hat and put it on, then descended from the carriage with Qing Tao’s support.

Then she finally saw Ye Jingchuan. This was the first time in both her past and present lives. In her previous life, she had been confined to the inner quarters. Ye Jingchuan had gone to Fujian when he was fourteen years old, and later had finally grown into a brilliant military strategist of his generation.

Ye Jingchuan looked somewhat similar to his legitimate elder brother Ye Jingkuan—lean, with handsome features, sword-like brows and eagle eyes, possessing the most fashionable appearance of a handsome man in the Great Zhou Dynasty. At this moment, he was also looking toward Song Chuyi, his eyes carrying some inquiry, but more of it was shock.

So this Sixth Miss was at most only seven or eight years old, and her height at most only reached a few inches above his waist.

As he stood there dazed, Song Chuyi had already walked to stand before him.

“That Elder Brother led people here in advance indicates you already knew about the situation here.” Song Chuyi looked up at him. “But from the current circumstances, it seems things have escaped Elder Brother’s control.”

Yes, he had chased people all the way here, but those people were extremely cunning, scattering and fleeing in all directions, breaking into small groups, while his men couldn’t easily split up to pursue them.

Ye Jingchuan felt somewhat irritated. He naturally also knew what the consequences would be if this matter became a big incident.

And it was precisely for this reason that the matter couldn’t be allowed to become a big incident. The implications were simply too widespread. Zijing Pass Commander Yuan Hong would bear the brunt of the disaster first—and Yuan Hong happened to be his maternal uncle.

“Tongzhou is a strategic military location, and moreover it has the largest granary under heaven. Once it falls, the consequences would be unthinkable!” Song Chuyi emphasized her tone. After all, this youth before her had not yet undergone the baptism of war. His estimation of matters was far from as precise and rational as it would be in the future. She steadied herself and stated decisively, “Today’s matter with Instructor Li’s family is only the beginning. This matter must be reported to the court immediately, without a moment’s delay!”

At this time, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar beside Ye Jingchuan finally nodded and took up Song Chuyi’s words. “Hundred Households Commander, this young lady speaks with great reason. This matter should be reported immediately!”

Ye Jingchuan looked toward Song Chuyi, his brows tightly furrowed, as if he was still hesitating.

Song Chuyi couldn’t help but shake her head with a bitter smile and sighed as she looked at him. “There’s another matter that cannot be taken lightly. I heard the Crown Prince is currently inspecting the hunting grounds in the outskirts of the capital. If this gang of people roams to that location—”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present felt their hearts skip a beat.

Ye Jingchuan finally made up his mind. He immediately turned to instruct his left and right subordinates, “Lead thirty soldiers and immediately enter the capital to report truthfully to my father!”

Song Chuyi also turned to look at Qin Chuan. “Uncle Qin, I must trouble you to go to the capital together with them and report this matter to Grandfather! This matter cannot be delayed. With Elder Brother here, my safety is not a problem.”

Qin Chuan had already heard how serious the matter was. Although he was still worried about Song Chuyi’s safety, he knew the situation was urgent and only he could handle it, so he gritted his teeth and nodded.

Ye Jingchuan watched the people depart into the distance, then turned to look at Song Chuyi for a long while before clasping his hands in salute. “Many thanks to Sixth Miss for your words that awakened me. Otherwise I would have made a grave error.”

Song Chuyi shook her head. The scholar beside Ye Jingchuan was clearly either his father’s man or his retainer, and obviously someone with a clear head. Even if she hadn’t reminded him, this person would have thought of it sooner or later.

It was just that she had fought for a little more time for the common people of Tongzhou and for herself.

Sure enough, almost as soon as she finished speaking, that scholar suggested with a grave expression that Ye Jingchuan go find the Tongzhou Prefect. “The four granaries of the center, south, east, and west are of paramount importance. If something goes wrong, it will be utterly uncontrollable. You must discuss with the Prefect and have the four county magistrates each lead people to maintain strict vigilance and guard to the death! Deploy additional personnel to patrol within Tongzhou’s borders. Any suspicious people discovered should be executed without exception!”

This matter absolutely required Ye Jingchuan to personally go discuss it with the Prefect. Ye Jingchuan nodded, left Song Chuyi with a hundred men, and led his own people to discuss matters with the Prefect.

Uncle Zhang was frightened pale, large beads of sweat dripping down along his forehead and armpits.

It was still Nanny Xu who was much more composed. She personally came forward to support Song Chuyi. “No matter what, since the estate has been thoroughly searched, it’s safer to go inside first.”

Only then did Uncle Zhang react. Wiping away his sweat and not caring about anything else, he immediately had people unload the carriage and lead the horses away to be fed.

Qin Chuan left all seventeen guards he had brought behind, and at this moment they all closely followed behind Song Chuyi.