Lin Zhao and Magpie took a few men to get green tiles.

Qin Zheng, carrying a quilt, followed but found it inconvenient, so she went back to the small courtyard where she and the Crown Prince were temporarily staying.

Aunt Lu had just finished breakfast and hadn’t gone to the fields yet. Seeing Qin Zheng, she immediately asked, “Madam, have you eaten?”

In wealthy households, women are often referred to as “Madam,” while common folks prefer “Madam.”

Those unfamiliar with Qin Zheng in the mountain stronghold would respectfully call her “Madam Cheng,” but Aunt Lu, who was familiar with her, found it more intimate to call her “Madam.”

“I’ve already eaten, Auntie doesn’t need to worry about me,” Qin Zheng said as she entered the house and placed the quilt on the bed.

She then went to the window to look for the pigeon with its leg tied up, but found that it was gone.

She wondered if the Crown Prince had let the pigeon go.

Seeing her looking out the window, Aunt Lu said, “Madam, are you looking for that pigeon? This morning, I saw it leaving a lot of droppings on the windowsill, so I put it in a cage used for chickens. It’s placed by the wall in the courtyard!”

Qin Zheng had only been concerned with tying up the pigeon earlier, forgetting about this matter.

She blushed and smiled, “Thank you, Auntie, you’re so considerate.”

“What’s there to thank for, it’s nothing!” Aunt Lu, not seeing the Crown Prince, asked, “Didn’t your husband come back with you?”

Qin Zheng, fearing rain later, moved the pigeon cage under the eaves and replied, “He went to the western stronghold with the brothers from the eastern stronghold.”

She then tossed a few pieces of vegetable leaves into the cage beside her, and the two wild mountain rabbits there reacted calmly, immediately eating when food was available.

Aunt Lu sighed, “Your husband came back only at the fourth watch last night, didn’t even have a sip of water and went straight to the stronghold leader’s place. He hasn’t closed his eyes all night, just hoping there won’t be any more trouble in the western stronghold.”

Qin Zheng was surprised to hear that the Crown Prince went to Lin Yao’s place last night at the fourth watch?

She had thought he had at least slept for an hour or two.

Recalling how he looked this morning, there was actually a hint of fatigue in his expression, wasn’t there?

With the situation being so urgent now, he couldn’t solely rely on the Lu family.

He had to have his own power.

His mind must be constantly on alert. He usually appeared too indifferent.

If he hadn’t told her those things this morning, Qin Zheng wouldn’t even know he had quietly planned so much.

The more Qin Zheng thought about it, the more complicated her mood became, mixed with a hint of inexplicable heartache.

The Crown Prince followed Wang Biao and a group of people through the dense forest in the back mountains.

Suddenly, he felt his earlobes heating up and discreetly pinched them.

One of the men from the eastern stronghold behind him noticed this odd movement and asked, “What’s wrong, Advisor?”

The Crown Prince lowered his hand and simply said, “Nothing.”

Along the way, they saw many broken branches, and Wang Biao spotted traces of someone slipping on a moss-covered rock ahead, with blood along the edge.

The bloodstains and marks were fresh, indicating that someone had been injured here not long ago.

Wang Biao cursed, “That scoundrel Wu Xiao must have fled from the back mountain trail!”

The Crown Prince glanced at the traces on the stone and asked, “How many people can the back mountain trail accommodate side by side?”

Wang Biao replied, “Even one person walking is precarious! The bottom of the back mountain is also a tens of meters high cliff, not a solid rock, but the rocks on that cliff are as loose as flour.

Even if you use eagle claws, you can’t hold onto them.

A few years ago, the stronghold also built a plank road there, but when wooden stakes were driven in, the rocks on the cliff peeled off layer by layer like bamboo shoots when force was applied, and many brothers died from falling.”

The Crown Prince, deep in thought, ordered the two men from the eastern stronghold behind him, “Search nearby for bamboo forests, cut a few bundles of thin bamboo, and sharpen the ends of the cuts.”

Wang Biao, puzzled, asked, “What’s this for?”

The Crown Prince replied, “Making bamboo spears.”

When they reached the top of the back mountain, they finally got a clear view of the area below the cliff.

Near the cliff, due to sparse soil, only a few low shrubs grew sparsely.

Below the cliff was a raging river, with the sound of waves crashing against the shore echoing across dozens of meters, still piercing the eardrums.

On the protruding sandstone under the cliff, one could faintly see wooden beams deeply embedded in the rock layers, with one protruding every yard, and ropes tied to the top beam, made of rotting wood and extremely fragile due to weathering.

Wang Biao pointed to the ropes, saying, “My mother said that before the dam over there was fixed, the brothers in the stronghold used these ropes to climb up and down the mountain. But it was troublesome.

Every time someone went down the mountain, the brothers on the mountain had to pull up the ropes.

Otherwise, people from other strongholds could climb up and attack.

At first, the ropes were only tied to the top beam, but when too many people climbed, the ropes couldn’t bear the weight and broke.

Dozens of brothers fell and died or were injured.

Later, the old stronghold leader ordered the making of one-yard-long sections of rope, which were tied to the beams in sections to solve the problem of too many people not being able to climb the ropes.

But a more troublesome thing happened.

When the entire rope wasn’t being used, it could be pulled up all at once.

But when it was divided into sections, it couldn’t be pulled up anymore.

Once, when people climbed up the rope and attacked, more than half of the people in the stronghold were killed or injured…

Since then, the old stronghold leader cut off the ropes, and this path has not been used.”

As Wang Biao spoke, his face also showed some sadness.

The Crown Prince noticed marks of eagle claws on the wooden beams.

While the sandstone was loose, the wooden beams embedded in the rock layers were sturdy.

It seemed that Wu Xiao had fixed the eagle claws on the wooden beams last night and slowly descended by grabbing the ropes and stepping on the wooden beams below the cliff.

If he wanted to return, he only needed to throw the hook-clawed rope up to catch the wooden beams, then he could slowly climb up.

If he still had the ropes, he might turn this place into a shortcut up the mountain again.

With these thoughts in mind, the Crown Prince’s eyes turned cold.

The two men sent by the Crown Prince to cut bamboo returned at this moment, carrying a bundle of bamboo on their shoulders. “Advisor, we’ve cut the bamboo!”

The Crown Prince gestured vaguely towards the edge of the cliff and said to Wang Biao, “Build a bamboo wall here, densely fix the bamboo spears in the gaps of the wall, with their tips pointing towards the bottom of the cliff. Also, assign someone to guard this area.”

Wang Biao finally had a flash of insight and instantly understood the Crown Prince’s intention.

“You’re afraid Wu Xiao and his men will attack the stronghold from here?”

The Crown Prince nodded, his gaze deep. “This path has always been a hidden danger. If someone attacks Qiyun Stronghold recklessly, with those wooden beams on the cliff, there are ways to climb up.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Biao also realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately said, “Rest assured, Advisor. I will personally lead men to build a bamboo spear wall here today!”

The Crown Prince glanced at the exhausted men from the eastern stronghold and spoke in a low tone, “We also need to be vigilant against the Second master.”

These people hadn’t slept all night, and Wang Biao was also a bit tired.

He asked, “Is the Advisor worried that He Laozei will say one thing and do another?”

The Crown Prince replied, “The brothers from the eastern stronghold stayed up all night last night, and they will definitely not be able to endure tonight.

If there is any action from the western stronghold tonight, the eastern stronghold may not be able to respond in time.

Leave a few people here to build the bamboo spear wall, and the rest go back to rest.

Be on high alert for the western stronghold tonight.”

Seeing that he had considered everything, Wang Biao sincerely agreed, “We’ll follow Advisor’s orders!”

---

As they returned, the sky was already drizzling, but dark clouds were rolling in, indicating an impending storm.

None of them had brought umbrellas.

As they emerged from the dense forest of the back mountain, they could see several thatched cottages situated halfway up the mountain.

Most of these mud-walled houses with green-tiled roofs were built on the flat ground at the bottom of the sinkhole and had been constructed decades ago.

These cottages were temporary structures built by people who had come up the mountain and had nowhere else to live.

Not far away came the loud voice of a woman, “Hurry up! Throw the thatched grass up, it’s going to rain heavily soon!”

The Crown Prince fixed his gaze and saw Lin Zhao standing on the roof of one of the thatched cottages, while several men were throwing bundles of thatched grass up to her using ropes.

And on the side of the cottage, he caught sight of a familiar figure – Qin Zheng, dressed in a dark blue long dress, seemed to be directing a few men to dig trenches.

Wang Biao was already accustomed to such renovations on the roofs and shouted loudly, “Miss, helping the people in the stronghold to build roofs again, huh!”

Because of his loud voice, Qin Zheng, who had been watching the men digging drainage ditches, also looked over in their direction.

Seeing the Crown Prince, she surreptitiously took two steps aside, as if to prove that the drainage ditch she was digging had nothing to do with her.

The Crown Prince clearly saw her little movement, and a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes.

He didn’t know she was so afraid of him?

But her guilty look was quite interesting to watch.

Lin Zhao also noticed them and asked in confusion, “Weren’t you going to the western stronghold? How come you came down from the back mountain?”

Wang Biao still had some brains and didn’t mention the back mountain trail incident in public.

He just said, “Wu Xiao ran away, and He Laozei said he would personally cut off the head of someone surnamed Wu before coming to apologize to the stronghold leader.

When I came back, I took the Advisor around the stronghold to familiarize ourselves with the terrain.”

He saw the deep ditch dug by several men and asked, “Why are you digging drainage ditches at this time?”

The man wielding the hoe replied, “The drainage ditch outside Aunt Kang’s house hasn’t been cleared for many years and is almost filled.

When it rains, the water accumulates, and the base of the outer wall has been soaked and eroded by rainwater, causing a lot of soil to wash away.

If this continues, the wall might collapse. Miss instructed a few of us to dig this drainage ditch deeper so that the water won’t reach the base of the wall.”

Wang Biao saw that indeed, the base of the mud-wall had been eroded by rainwater over the years, and part of the wall had sunk.

He was quite surprised and praised Lin Zhao unexpectedly, “I didn’t expect our Miss to understand all this!”

Everyone was looking at Lin Zhao, but the Crown Prince’s gaze fell quietly on Qin Zheng.

Qin Zheng pretended not to notice and avoided his gaze, looking elsewhere as if admiring the misty mountains in the distance.

Lin Zhao naturally wouldn’t sell Qin Zheng out.

She stood on the roof, hands on hips, and said to Wang Biao, “It’s not like you repair roofs for the stronghold every rainy season. Naturally, you wouldn’t understand!”

Wang Biao didn’t expect that his praise would be rebuffed by this lady.

Thinking that doing some manual labor might make her feel better, he asked, “Miss, do you need any more help here?”