Chapter 220 Warming Hands

"Prince, Princess." Xifeng strode over, stepping on the hay and making it crackle.

They had been away from Hezhou for more than ten days. At first, Xifeng was not used to this new name, but now it is very easy to call.

Xie Tingzhou nodded, "Sit down."

Xifeng took off his knife and put it aside, and sat down by the fire. "I didn't find anything unusual along the way. The people who stayed in Hezhou also caught up. The governor of Hezhou didn't make things difficult for the Lu family."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "They regard the Lu family as their own money bag. Who would make things difficult for their own money bag?"

"But he also ordered the city to be closed. People entering and leaving Hezhou must register or provide a pass. Now refugees are not allowed to enter and leave Hezhou." Xifeng said.

The more refugees there are, the more likely it is to cause chaos, and the higher the chance of fighting and stealing, and riots may occur if you are not careful.

In previous years, the refugees that the government let in were all provided relief by the Lu family. The prefect was naturally willing to take advantage of this in order to achieve political achievements. However, the situation this year is different from previous years. If it can be lifted, it will be lifted. The best policy is to avoid chaos. The prefect of Hezhou is probably also in a state of panic.

Xie Tingzhou's eyes were slightly lowered, half of the firelight was hidden. He said, "Expand the scouts' reconnaissance range by another ten miles."

Xi Feng didn't understand for a moment, but still said, "Yes."

Shen Yu turned her head to look at Xie Tingzhou, "The governor of Hezhou released us because he didn't want to cause trouble. With his temper, he will definitely write to Shengjing to sever his relationship."

"More than that." Xie Tingzhou fiddled with the fire carelessly, "He is afraid that people from all over the country will go to attack, so he may have spread the news of our leaving Hezhou to divert the battle line away from Hezhou."

Xi Feng understood, nodded and said, "I will arrange it later."

People with deep thoughts are good at seeing through people's hearts, and people who have experienced calculations are also more skilled in calculations. Xie Tingzhou has both of these. His mind is more meticulous than ordinary people, and it is difficult for them to keep up with his pace.

Only the prince's wife, the two seem to be able to see through each other's thoughts with just one look.

Xi Feng thought, and his eyes fell on Shen Yu, until he noticed an unfriendly look and quickly lowered his head.

Xie Tingzhou's possessiveness was extraordinary and growing day by day, especially after he came out of the ancestral hall that night.

He circled Shen Yu into his territory, and any sight should stop outside his territory.

Xifeng was terrified, and just at that moment, he seemed to be bitten by a cheetah by the back of the neck.

Xie Tingzhou retracted his gaze and changed the subject, "Where is Changliu? Hasn't he come back yet?"

Changliu and several brothers from Qingyunwei went into the city to inquire about the news. The closer it was to winter, the earlier it would get dark. Now it was dark, but he hadn't come back yet, so he was afraid that he would encounter some trouble in the city.

Xifeng said: "Don't worry, Your Highness, he probably forgot the time because he was too playful."

"Send someone to pick him up." Xie Tingzhou said.

Xifeng called someone over and gave a few instructions.

After listening to this, Xie Tingzhou's eyes slanted, and he saw Shen Yu stretching her hands to the fire to keep warm. He reached out and held her hands in his palms, "Why are your hands so cold?"

"It's cold." Shen Yu said gloomily.

Xi Feng didn't dare to look up, and it would be better to cover her ears.

"Is it this cold in previous years?" Xie Tingzhou gently stroked her, pressing her coldest fingertips with the warmest part of his palm.

His hands were not very hot, only his palms were warm.

Xie Tingzhou saw her frowning and asked: "Why are you frowning? Do you think my hands are not warm enough?"

"No." Shen Yu shook her head, thought for a while and said: "It's cold, and many people will starve to death and freeze to death again."

Xie Tingzhou didn't respond, his expression was still calm, but there was already a cloud of worry in his eyes.

Xie Tingzhou: "Xi Feng."

Xi Feng was originally preparing to sneak away, and got up halfway, still in a half-squatting position, but was called back.

"Tomorrow morning, send someone to the city to buy a hot water bottle." Xie Tingzhou said.

Xifeng responded quickly and was about to leave when he heard a burst of laughter. It was Changliu who came back.

Changliu rode over and called the two of them happily, "Prince, Princess."

Xie Tingzhou didn't look at him and asked, "What did you find out?"

"Yes, there is something." Changliu said, "Now everyone in the city knows that Shengjing has issued a manifesto. I listened to it in the teahouse for a long time. The common people are not bad. They don't lean towards Shengjing. Many people even praised our Princess."

"What did they praise?" Xie Tingzhou became interested.

Chang Liu opened up the conversation, "They said that our Crown Prince's Consort was as brave as any man, that she could fight foreign enemies on the battlefield, that she was the first female military officer in the Great Zhou, that she was not only suppressing bandits, but also protecting the emperor."

"What else?"

"Nothing else." Chang Liu blinked and said, "Then the people in the teahouse started arguing. The people on the other side said that they were not protecting the emperor at all, but that they fled the capital because they failed to usurp the throne. I was so angry that I wanted to beat them up, but I was worried about exposing my whereabouts, so I had to wait for them to leave and then put a sack on them and beat them up in the alley."

Thank you Tingzhou said, "You are quite clever."

Changliu heard the implication and lowered his head and said, "Well, not very clever either."

Xie Tingzhou looked at Changliu leisurely, "I asked you to get the news, and you went to listen to all this noise?"

Changliu waved his hands hurriedly, "No, no, there are other things. It is said that people from all over the country have begun to gather, especially the mountain bandits, who are now recruiting people and say they want to unite to attack us."

Changliu snorted unhappily and said angrily, "I think they themselves are the ones who should be attacked."

"That's why they want to attack us." Shen Yu said without a smile, "Once they succeed, they can turn from bandits to righteous troops, and perhaps they can be formally incorporated into the army and clear their name."

Chang Liu said "Oh" for a long time, "They have a good idea, we won't give them such an opportunity."

Xie Tingzhou looked indifferent, but his heart was not as relaxed as it seemed, "Have you reported it?"

Chang Liu blinked, "It's done."

"Then kneel down for an hour."

Chang Liu didn't know why, but he still knelt down slowly, looking up and asked, "Why, why?"

Xie Tingzhou ignored him and took Shen Yu to stand up.

Chang Liu took a few steps on his knees, and his robe rubbed against the ground, "Prince's Concubine..."

Shen Yu turned her head halfway, but was pushed back by Xie Tingzhou.

He turned around and said, "Do you think the Crown Prince's wife is soft-hearted and easy to manipulate? It's useless to beg her. Kneel down and kneel for an hour before getting up."

"No." Changliu shrank his neck, "I brought something back for the Crown Prince's wife, but I haven't given it to her yet."

Xie Tingzhou asked, "What is it?"

Changliu took out an oil-paper bag from his arms and said innocently, "It's pineapple cake. Didn't you say that the Crown Prince's wife likes it?"

He patted the oil-paper and said thankfully, "Fortunately it's not crushed."

Xie Tingzhou paused, then raised his chin, "Bring it here."

Changliu knelt and walked forward. Xie Tingzhou frowned, "Broken leg? Don't you know to stand up and give it?"

"Oh, okay." Changliu quickly got up, walked over and handed the oil-paper bag to the Crown Prince, lowered his head and stared at the ground without daring to speak.

The feet in sight disappeared, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

Changliu raised his head, and there was no trace of the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince's wife, so he turned his head to look at Xifeng.

"What does His Highness mean? Should I continue kneeling or not? And why did you punish me to kneel?"

Xifeng knocked on his head, "I asked you to get information, not to go out and play. The prince was worried that something might happen to you, so he asked me to send someone to pick you up. But you went to the city to fight."

Changliu pursed his lips, "Our prince's wife is the best in the world, I can't stand them saying bad things about her."

"No need to kneel." Xifeng said, "His Highness asked you to stand up and send her off, which means you don't have to kneel. Fortunately, you are smart and know that coaxing the prince's wife is coaxing His Highness."

"Not at all." Changliu said dissatisfiedly, "I really remembered to buy pineapple cakes for the prince's wife, and I didn't know that the prince would punish me to kneel."