Chapter 22: A Casual Spy Miss

The route to the county town had been explained to Tian Mi by Uncle Cui last night. It was actually quite easy to navigate. She just had to follow the widest road, and when she reached the intersection of two similarly wide roads, she should take the left path, which would lead directly to the county town.

Heh heh heh! Roads in this era are just that simple—no need for GPS.

But don’t underestimate this place. This isn’t a small county town. While the land routes are a bit inconvenient, the water routes are well-developed. The county has a large dock, and many merchant ships travel through here, making it one of the more prosperous cities in the territory of the Prince of Yu.

As Tian Mi walked along, she noticed how eerily quiet the roads were. Normally, after the autumn harvest, it would be the busiest time of the year, but this year, everything was strangely silent.

Tian Mi figured that, despite how remote the place was, it would be too conspicuous to ride a horse on the main roads. It could easily attract trouble. Given the silence now, however, it wouldn’t hurt to ride after all.

But horses were a strategic commodity now—if anyone saw one, it would be seized. She decided against it. Better to walk and get some exercise!

After some inner conflict, she decided to appreciate the scenery of this era, walking for most of the day through a desolate landscape.

Tian Mi knew that many people had fled to the mountains. The Prince of Yu was sure to engage in battle soon. He had been exploiting the people in his territory for the past two years, and it would be strange if anyone wasn’t considering a rebellion.

Hmm! Rebelling against him might lead to promotions and wealth. I’m such a clever girl, too bad I’m wearing this fat woman’s body and, to top it off, I’m pregnant. If it weren’t for that, I’d probably be able to make a name for myself.

Tian Mi always thought that wars in ancient times involved leading an army of tens of thousands, charging straight to the enemy’s city gates, and then fighting all the way in—simple, quick, and heroic.

But today, she would get a real understanding of how ancient wars were fought.

As she continued walking, a man’s head suddenly appeared from the grass ahead. He looked like he was in his thirties, average in appearance, but he greeted her with a friendly smile and asked, “Miss, are you heading to the county town?”

Tian Mi looked around; she was the only one on the road. The man was speaking directly to her.

No good intentions here—he’s either a crook or a bandit. No wonder my grandmother warned me not to talk to strangers. Are there really so many fraudsters in this era?

Tian Mi replied coldly, “What’s it to you?”

The man didn’t back down in the slightest and continued, “Miss, I have a package of herbs. Could you take it to the county and deliver it to the An Tang? I’ll give you two taels of silver. If they ask you to take something for me, you can bring it back, and I’ll wait here for you. I’ll give you another two taels of silver.”

Ordinary people would probably help and deliver the package since it’s a simple task.

But Tian Mi wasn’t an ordinary person. She had watched spy thrillers, so she knew there was something fishy about this. What was it? Anyone who’d seen those movies would be able to guess—he was likely a messenger, transmitting information.

She hadn’t expected that even in this era, they played such games.

Tian Mi stretched out her hand and said, “Five taels!”

The man was taken aback. That was bold! He gritted his teeth.

“Five taels it is, but you must guarantee it gets there. The gate guards are checking, and these are valuable herbs. They must not be damaged.”

He didn’t even try to negotiate the price; this information must be really valuable! The gate guards were probably people from the Prince of Yu’s faction. If they didn’t want to be caught by his men, then who were they working for? Hehe, the answer was obvious. She had to cover her own back.

Tian Mi slapped her chest and said, “Give it to me! No problem! Brother, let me tell you something. The people hiding up in the mountains aren’t necessarily bandits. A lot of them were forced up there by the soldiers. They just went to hide, and once the Prince of Yu is finished, they’ll come back down.”

Zuo Zhengfeng was stunned. Was he being too obvious, or were rural folks just this sharp these days?

He was really out of options. Now, any man who went outside would be caught, and most of the older men were hiding. The only person still walking around was this fat girl. She could earn money by just delivering something—any normal person wouldn’t refuse, especially when she’d get paid for it. There was practically no risk involved.

If anything went wrong, it would be her fault, not his.

But what was her meaning? Was she implying he’d been exposed? That couldn’t be. Rural folk didn’t think like that.

He cleared his throat and said, “Miss, these are valuable herbs! Take them. Here’s your silver. Make sure you keep what he asks you to bring back safe. When you return, I’ll give you another five taels. This is a lot of money. You can buy a lot with it. Remember, it’s for Mr. Feng from the An Tang.”

People often thought they could deceive plump individuals—how naive!

Fine! As long as you remember one thing: the people living in the mountains aren’t necessarily bandits. Miss, I’ll just be your spy for a while!

Tian Mi took the herbs and the five taels of silver, sniffing the herbs and weighing them in her hand. Were they trying to fool a child? Was this package of herbs really worth five taels of silver?

She weighed the silver in her hand. Making money was this easy! Look at that—no stealing or robbing, and she made five taels. Hehehe!

She continued on her way to the county town. To avoid causing trouble, she put the herbs into her space and only carried her empty bag. Gradually, more people appeared on the road, but most of them were soldiers—some hauling grain, some catching people—everything was in chaos.

But no one paid her any mind. See? Even a fat person has their advantages.

By midday, Tian Mi arrived at the county town. The city gate was bustling. The soldiers had brought in many villagers to repair the city gate, which looked like it was being reinforced and expanded. There were many officials and soldiers coming in and out of the gate, and the soldiers guarding the gate were fully armed.

Qinghe County! Once a wealthy county, now the front line for blocking the northern army.

Hehehe! How naive she had been. If she were an ordinary person bringing that much silver to buy something, it’d be a miracle if she could get anything. In a second, they’d just rob her.

When she entered the county town, two soldiers stopped her and snarled, “Where are you from? What are you doing in the city?”

Tian Mi replied, “Two big brothers, I’m a refugee, separated from my family. I’m just here to buy something to eat.”

The two soldiers didn’t seem very convinced. A fat person like her was a refugee? Tian Mi quickly pulled out her household register and showed it to them, saying, “Look, big brothers, I got separated from my father and the people in the town.”

The soldiers glanced at it and handed it back, saying, “You can enter, but pay ten copper coins!”

What the heck! Why didn’t they just rob her?

Tian Mi silently pulled out ten copper coins from her bag, looking pitiful as she handed them over to the soldiers.

Then they insisted on checking her bag. After looking inside, they found only a few copper coins and the household register, and then they let her through.

Such shameless landowners, ridiculous!

The county town was filled with shops, grand and luxurious, but many of the shops were closed. Even the few that had their doors open had few customers—there wasn’t a single person in the dumpling shop.

Don’t underestimate these small shops—they were often run by locals who knew everything going on.

A bored shopkeeper in one such shop looked up and saw a big customer enter. Tian Mi walked in and ordered, “Boss, I’ll have a bowl of dumplings.”

The old man immediately sprang to life. “Ah!”

Before long, the old man brought over a bowl of dumplings, steaming hot and fragrant, which made Tian Mi’s appetite soar.

After taking a bite, Tian Mi exclaimed, “Wow! It’s so delicious! Old man, your dumplings are so fragrant, why aren’t there more people in your shop?”

Ah, mentioning this made the old man nearly tear up. Watching over an empty shop was lonelier than being a widower.

“Ah!” The old man looked Tian Mi over carefully before saying, “Miss, you’re from out of town, aren’t you? I’ve been running this dumpling shop for eighteen years, with old techniques. So many people in Qinghe have grown up eating my dumplings… Ah! Never mind, no point in bringing it up. This shop is about to close anyway.”

He then told Tian Mi, “The outside is chaotic right now. You’d better not run around.”

But after glancing at Tian Mi again, he thought she seemed safe enough.

“Old man, do you know where the He’an Hall is?”

The old man pointed out the door, down the street, “Go down this street, pass two intersections, and the second house on the left is it.”

Tian Mi thanked him, “Thank you, old man! By the way, where is the blacksmith shop around here?”

The old man gave her a glance, “The blacksmith shop? It’s useless now. It’s closed. The government has conscripted all the blacksmiths in the city.”

“Oh!” Tian Mi continued eating her dumplings and asked, “Do you know where they’ve taken them?”

The old man replied, “I don’t know exactly, but many of them are in the military camp over in the eastern part of the city. Ah, the world is in turmoil.”

The King of Yu is going to die and wants to drag all the people in his domain down with him! After finishing her meal, Tian Mi paid with copper coins and left for He’an Hall.