Chapter 625: Chapter 397: Lord Nong Zheng Arrives
When the two finally emerged from the stone forest, four days had already passed.
The squad leader waiting outside hurriedly ran over as soon as he saw them.
"Chiliarch Wei and Miss Jiang, you’ve finally come out. The general sent word yesterday that Nong Zhengbo has arrived. He asked you to go home first when you come out."
"What? Mom and Dad got here so quickly?"
Xiaomi was surprised and pulled Wei Ziang along to run.
The horses they rode earlier were still nearby, pampered with good food and care, and they even seemed to have put on a bit of weight.
They mounted the horses and galloped all the way back to Lishi City, taking merely half the original one-hour journey.
Except when necessary, it was generally prohibited to ride horses within the city, so the two had to dismount and walk.
Fortunately, with Wei Ziang’s Identity Token, they didn’t have to queue for inspection and could enter the city directly, saving quite a bit of time.
As the two led their horses through the city street at a fast pace, Xiaomi realized she still hadn’t figured out where her family’s house was as mentioned by the squad leader.
"Brother, is what the squad leader said about the courtyard General Song wanted to give me earlier?"
"It should be there, as Mom and Dad came over, others would surely come too. With so many people, one small courtyard wouldn’t be enough."
"Then do you know where this courtyard is?"
Back then, General Song mentioned it briefly, and they hurried out of the city, not having had the chance to look.
Wei Ziang nodded and led Xiaomi to make a turn at the crossroad ahead, entering a quieter alley.
A quarter of an hour later, both stood in front of a boldly lavish mansion.
Upon seeing the plaque on the gate, Xiaomi couldn’t help but twitch her mouth.
"Isn’t this an exaggeration?"
Nong Zhengbo Manor.
Were they afraid others wouldn’t know her father had come to Lishi City?
Their courtyard in Xiangmu Village still bore the name ’Jiang House’ to date.
Wei Ziang chuckled helplessly, "The general might have been too excited. I’ll ask him later to change the plaque."
If spies from Beyond Borders saw this, it wouldn’t be good at all.
Just as they were talking, a group of soldiers carried something over, accompanied by a familiar face.
"Hurry up, it’s been an hour already. The plaque needs to be replaced quickly, or someone might actually see it."
Hearing this, Xiaomi and Wei Ziang stared blankly.
"General."
The voice belonged to none other than Song Wu.
Upon hearing Wei Ziang’s voice, Song Wu was elated.
"Great, you’re finally back. Nothing happened, right? You two just rushed in without a word. You scared me to death."
Wei Ziang pretended not to hear the reprimand, puzzled by the soldiers carrying a new plaque – ’Jiang Manor’.
"What’s going on, General?"
Pointing at the two plaques, Wei Ziang could tell from the general’s earlier words that outsiders mustn’t know of this matter. Yet, why was there a plaque saying ’Nong Zhengbo Manor’?
General Song looked a bit embarrassed.
A person nearby couldn’t help but say, "The general wanted to show off a bit but feared public knowledge, so he hung it for just an hour. Now that an hour’s passed, we’re here to change it."
Wei Ziang and Xiaomi were baffled. Could you do that?
General Song glared at the person who spoke, "You talk too much, now get on with the task."
The person seemed to be a trusted aide to General Song, unfazed by his reaction, shrugged helplessly, then continued his task.
General Song seemed a tad embarrassed, cleared his throat twice, and changed the subject, "Xiao Wei, Miss Jiang, why did you go to the stone forest again and take so long to return?"
The two exchanged glances. What they did there obviously couldn’t be discussed here.
"General, I’d like to see my parents first; I’ll tell you about the stone forest later."
Such blunt refusal left General Song momentarily flabbergasted, but realizing the underlying implication of those words, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Alright, no rush. Go home first. Nong Zhengbo and company entered the city late last night. I told them you were safe and that they could relax. They’re likely still resting now."
Right then, the door opened from inside, a person in armor stepped out.
The attire didn’t quite resemble those of border guards?
"General Song, here... Oh? Fourth Miss, you’re back? The Lord and Madam were just worrying about you."
Saying that, he cupped his hands respectfully to Xiaomi.
Xiaomi pointed at her nose blankly, "Fourth Miss? Me?"
Wei Ziang was also momentarily taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh, "Xiaomi shifted from third to fourth, huh."
Xiaomi hadn’t quite caught up with the situation, while General Song introduced, "Commander Yang, this is Nong Zhengbo’s adopted son, Wei Ziang. The siblings have just returned."
Commander Yang hastily cupped his hands again to Wei Ziang, who returned the gesture, then pulled Xiaomi into the house.
"We’ll go ahead first."
Having not seen his family for four years, Wei Ziang was naturally eager to go home.
Xiaomi belatedly realized this person must have escorted her parents to Lishi City.
Judging by the armor, more splendid and dashing than General Song’s, and his title, this person was most likely one of the Capital City’s elite guards or something similar.
As for the title ’Fourth Miss,’ Xiaomi used to be third, but with Wei Ziang’s arrival, both she and Xiaowei moved down a rank.
That wasn’t surprising.
Upon entering the gate, they saw several soldiers in the courtyard, each standing with an impressive posture.
"Where did they come from? It’s too quick to travel from the Capital City to Xiangmu Village then escort Mom and Dad to Lishi City, right?"
Xiaomi was shocked, calculating the time in her mind: she had spent two days traveling to Lishi City, a day in the stone forest, slept for three, and another ten days traveling.
Ten full days, if not traveling like her directly on horseback without rest, ten days would be the fastest possible by carriage from Xiangmu Village.
This meant as she left, her parents immediately set out; otherwise, they wouldn’t reach so quickly.
Unless these people had always been near Xiangmu Village, they couldn’t have escorted her parents in such a timely manner.
But for now, they didn’t have time to dwell on this, because as Xiaomi spoke, they had already reached the inner courtyard, seeing Jiang Hu and Second Mom sighing in the garden.
"Dad! Mom!"
Xiaomi ran over excitedly as though she had been away for four years instead.
In contrast, Wei Ziang slowed his pace, even appearing a bit timid nearing home.
At the sound, the couple looked over simultaneously.
"Xiaomi, Ziang, heavens, you’re finally back."
Second Mom dashed over to catch the rushing Xiaomi, checking her thoroughly, then hurried to Wei Ziang’s side.
"Taller, thinner, darker, not as good-looking as before."
Second Mom held Wei Ziang’s hand, inspecting him up and down.
"Were you hurt? They said you were stuck in the mountains for half a month. Why didn’t you rest before running off again? Was it Xiaomi causing trouble again..."