Chapter 11: Oh No, the Enemy Troops Are Coming

During these past four days, An Xiyan had stored everything she could from the house into her space. They were just waiting for Meng Guangping to sell the house deed so they could immediately set out for the capital.

Just then, Meng Guangping appeared in front of An Xiyan, beads of sweat on his forehead, his face pale and expression anxious.
“Miss, something’s wrong—the enemy troops are about to attack.”

“What?” An Xiyan’s face darkened in alarm. “Uncle Meng, where did you get this information?”

Meng Guangping no longer concealed anything and explained,
“Miss, this message was sent by the master and madam. Madam said that the people of Dongyang Kingdom are already attacking Qiming Kingdom’s borders.”

“And our town is the closest to the border. Within three days at most, they will definitely reach here.”

“That’s why the master and madam urged me to hurry and bring you and the young master to the capital—any delay could bring danger.”

An Xiyan nodded slightly, her delicate brows furrowed as she rubbed her forehead.

She quickly turned to Tangyuan behind her and instructed,
“Sister, go tell your mother and Qingzhu immediately. Then pack your things, prepare some dry food and water—we’re leaving at once.”

“Yes, Miss.” Tangyuan responded quickly, then darted out of the room at lightning speed.

“Big sister, I miss Mommy and Daddy,” An Xixuan pouted, looking up at An Xiyan.

In his little heart, as long as he was with his sister, he wasn’t afraid of anything. Enemy troops? He didn’t even really care.

But… he really missed his parents.
Even though his father often complained about him clinging to his mother, and his mother liked to control what he ate, he still missed them dearly.

(An Xiyan: Little brother, it’s not that you’re not afraid of the enemy—it’s just that you don’t really have a concept of what enemy troops are.)

After all, An Xixuan was still very young. Being suddenly separated from his parents was hard for him. If An Xiyan weren’t with him, he probably would’ve already cried.

An Xiyan let out a sigh. What’s there to miss about those irresponsible parents? As far as she was concerned, she certainly didn’t.

But seeing her little brother looking so pitiful, she couldn’t bear it. She could only comfort him gently,
“Little brother, Mommy and Daddy have their own things to do. Isn’t it nice having your big sister with you?”

An Xixuan nodded his little head and said in his soft child’s voice,
“Of course it’s good having you with me, big sister. But you have to promise me—you can’t suddenly disappear like Mommy and Daddy did.”

Then, with a nervous look on his face…

An Xixuan looked nervously at An Xiyan, afraid she would say something he didn’t want to hear.

An Xiyan smiled, reached out to ruffle An Xixuan’s little head, and said in an extremely gentle voice,
“Don’t worry, little brother. Your sister will never abandon you. I’ll stay by your side as you grow up.”

With that reassurance, An Xixuan’s fair little face lit up with a big smile. He gazed at An Xiyan with complete trust and reliance.

He looked absolutely adorable, and An Xiyan couldn’t resist reaching out her “chicken claws” and giving him a few affectionate rubs.

She finally gave in to the temptation and pinched his chubby little cheeks—such a satisfying, squishy feel.

After thoroughly enjoying herself, she finally said,
“Now, just stay close to your sister and be a good boy. No being rebellious, no tantrums—got it?”

An Xiyan smiled sweetly at An Xixuan, but that look had the vibe of the Big Bad Wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood—no matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem very pure.

An Xixuan quickly nodded.
“Yes, big sister, I’ll definitely listen to you!”
As long as she didn’t leave him, he was willing to do whatever she asked.

Satisfied, An Xiyan gently patted his small shoulder and declared with bold enthusiasm,
“Little brother, follow me from now on. I promise I’ll make sure you live the good life—delicious food, the best of everything!”

An Xixuan nodded furiously, his big eyes narrowing into happy crescents, clearly overjoyed.

But after a moment, his expression scrunched up, and he frowned in mild disgust.
“Big sister, I like delicious food, but not spicy food. I can’t eat spicy things.”

“Mommy said I’m still too young, and my stomach isn’t very strong. This face is only suited for eating soft food, not spicy stuff. So sister, don’t make me eat spicy food in the future, okay?”

Soft food…?
An Xiyan’s mouth twitched involuntarily. She had to hand it to her loose-lipped mother—she really dared to say anything.

Thankfully, her little brother was too young to understand what “eating soft food” really implied. Otherwise, he might’ve gone off tearing down the roof.

An Xixuan looked pitifully at An Xiyan, pursing his lips.
“Sister, did I make things difficult for you?”

Why else would her expression look so stiff and unnatural?

An Xiyan laughed awkwardly, forcing a smile,
“Little brother, if you don’t want spicy food, you don’t have to eat it. And also, kids aren’t only good for eating soft food…”

“…You can try eating hard food instead.”

“Okay, Sister. Got it,” replied little An Xixuan, completely unaware of the sarcastic undertone in his sister’s words.
To him, whatever his sister said was right.
In short—just listening to her would never go wrong.

An Xiyan fell into a moment of thought, then turned to Meng Guangping and asked,
“Uncle Meng, did you manage to sell the house deed?”

Meng Guangping nodded.
“Yes, Miss. I’ve already sold it. Our town is quite remote, so the three-courtyard house only fetched 1,200 taels of silver.”

As he finished speaking, Meng Guangping respectfully took out a stack of silver notes from his chest and handed them to An Xiyan with both hands.

She accepted them casually and glanced over the notes. Each note had a face value of 100 taels.
To be honest, this was her first time seeing silver notes.

Her parents had only left her and her little brother gold and silver—there wasn’t a single silver note among them.

But she preferred gold and silver anyway. It felt more secure to hold solid metal in your hands.
Silver notes, these thin little slips of paper, just didn’t give her peace of mind.

What if one day the dynasty changed, or someone refused to accept them, or they traveled to another country? Then the silver notes would be nothing more than worthless paper.

After some thought, she said,
“Uncle Meng, from now on, please try to exchange silver notes into gold or silver. I really don’t like using silver notes.”

Meng Guangping paused, then smiled.
As expected of the lady raised by Madam. The madam also disliked silver notes—now it made sense that the young miss felt the same.

He quickly said,
“Miss, I was careless this time. Because of the enemy troops, I didn’t dare waste too much time and just took the silver notes and rushed back. I’ll remember this—next time, no notes. Only gold and silver.”

An Xiyan nodded and gave Meng Guangping an approving look.
Now that’s teachable material.

Then a thought struck her. She lifted her chin slightly and raised an eyebrow,
“Uncle Meng, the enemy troops are nearly here—why would the local brokers still be in the mood to buy up property?”

Meng Guangping’s face darkened, and he frowned. A trace of anger crept into his voice as he replied,
“Miss, that’s because… they don’t know about the invasion.”

“Oh? And why is that?” An Xiyan asked, curious, her mind already spinning with possibilities.

She analyzed,
“Property brokers usually have very wide information networks. If even they don’t know, then there must be something hidden behind this.”

In ancient times, brokers were like modern-day reporters. They had channels for gathering intel, and any major news would usually reach them first.