The Youngest Daughter, Chang Le

Chapter 52

Seeing that she didn't speak, Zhu Changwang asked softly, "Does little Changle think father should intervene?"

"I'm not an official, so I don't know what officials should do. How could I tell father whether to intervene or not? In any case, father is a good official, and knowing that is enough for me." Zhu Changle leaned close to her big brother and whispered, "A good official makes sure everyone has food to eat."

Zhu Changwang smiled and ruffled her hair. It wasn't profound reasoning, but it was practical. Indeed, a good official should ensure the people are well-fed. If everyone had enough to eat, how could such marginalized areas exist?

The sound of hooves approached from afar. Just from the noise, it was clear there was more than one horse. Zhu Changwang shook his head and chuckled, "The ones you raise are quite like you."

"Of course, the ones I raise should be like me." Zhu Changle glanced back and whispered in his ear: "In the future, I'll raise Little An'an, and he'll be like me too, hmph!"

Zhu Changwang mimicked her look around and whispered back, "Right, you raise him. His parents won't be able to keep up with you anyway."

The siblings gave each other a light high-five, and Zhu Changle ran off laughing towards Little Tail. Zhu Changwang watched her joyful figure disappear and smiled. Changle's personality was truly wonderful.

Not far away, Qiuli also smiled as he tapped his approaching horse. He understood now that Zhu Changwang deserved much of the credit for raising a daughter like Zhu Changle in the Zhu family.

The group didn't linger in this place. They hitched up the carriage and continued forward. Apart from the sound of wheels rolling on the ground and horse hooves, this area was as silent as if no living person existed. As they went further, Zhu Changle looked back. Winter always made it easy to think of unpleasant things, like the child with severely swollen feet, or the old man who had cut off his own path to survival.

Dingding looked back with her, "Do you think this place is always like the gates of hell? We came from the official road, which means this is the necessary path between two places!"

Zhu Changwang lifted the curtain to reply, "Carriages can only use the official road, but commoners have small paths they can take. If merchant caravans pass through here, they would likely hire escort agencies for protection. Cats have cat ways, mice have mouse ways. There are some people they dare not touch, and some they don't bother with. Today's situation must be different. Trip wires and chevaux de frise are things used on battlefields. Such a lowly place shouldn't know about these things."

Dingding nodded, "Someone must have taught them in advance."

"The trip wires and chevaux de frise are new," Lan Ping's words confirmed this point, and everything became clear.

"Trip wires in front, arrow rain behind. They thought it through pretty well," Zhu Changle sneered. If their skills had been even slightly inferior, it would have been impossible for everyone to escape unscathed today. No, without Qiuli, they would have had to fight a deadly battle and might not have been able to protect everyone.

Speaking of which, Zhu Changle remembered she needed to thank Qiuli. She rode over to him and cupped her hands in gratitude, "Friends should help each other in times of need. I'll help you in the future too."

Before Qiuli could think of how to respond, Dingding was already laughing so hard he nearly fell off his horse. "Qiuli, I advise you to quickly sever ties with her, otherwise you'll find yourself inexplicably involved in all sorts of strange affairs in the future."

Zhu Changle's lips drooped as she tattled, "Little Bottle Cap, Dingding is bullying me!"

Lan Ping immediately reached back to draw her sword. Dingding hurriedly rode to the front, not forgetting to shout back, "Lan Ping, are you raising a daughter?"

"I want to."

Zhu Changle made a face, then tried to recall where she had left off earlier. She continued, "In the future, if there's anything good to eat or fun to do, I'll definitely count you in. Oh right, we also helped build a village for some people. We all have houses there, which we built ourselves. We even got allocated some land. I'll take you there to play sometime."

Lan Ping looked at the person speaking so enthusiastically, thinking of the place they had named New Village.

Remembering that she hadn't been there for two years, Zhu Changle asked Lan Ping, "How did the vegetables in my field turn out later? Was there a harvest?"

"You'll have to ask me about that. Lan Ping has either been practicing martial arts or helping her father manage affairs these past two years. She hasn't been there once," Dingding rode back. "I had the village chief distribute what we planted, and the land has been entrusted to the village chief to cultivate these past two years."

Zhu Changle frowned slightly, "You haven't been back at all since then, have you?"

"Of course we have. I was also worried they might be bullied. We need to look after our houses too. Don't worry, we've been taking turns visiting."

"That's more like it."

"Changle, you have land?" Zhu Maonian lifted the curtain and asked curiously. Lady Zhang beside him also peeked out, equally intrigued.

"Yes, I'm a landowner!" This was Zhu Changle's pride and joy. She moved closer to explain to her parents how she got the land. "It was a few years ago. I encountered a severe flash flood and discovered a village of nearly 300 people trapped inside. I couldn't just let them die, so I led them out. Then I borrowed a tiny bit of father's influence."

Watching his youngest daughter indicate "a tiny bit" with her pinky, Zhu Maonian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What did you do?"

"So many people had nothing. We couldn't let them become wanderers, right? So a few of my friends and I found a decent place and got the government to approve them building a village and settling down." Zhu Changle avoided looking at her father, feeling guilty. "We just used a tiny bit of... unconventional methods."

"Such as?"

"Fists." Zhu Changle waved her fists in demonstration.

"Hmm?"

"...And father's name."

"Hmm?"

Zhu Changle cast a pleading look at her mother. She had come expecting praise, how did it turn out like this?

Lady Zhang covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Mother also wants to know what you did."

Seeing her mother still smiling, Zhu Changle immediately felt more confident. She laid out her cards, "I was traveling a lot those years, and father gave me quite a few travel permits. The permits all had father's seal on them. And I'm surnamed Zhu. Even though they couldn't be sure of my relationship with the Zhu family because of that, they didn't dare offend me. Anyway, it didn't harm anyone's interests, it was just a matter of convenience. So they opened all doors for us."

Zhu Maonian asked further, "So they're settled there now?"

"Yes, the last time I went there, they had already reclaimed quite a bit of wasteland. But Grandpa Village Chief said the land still needed nurturing, so life was still quite difficult. We send some food there regularly, but not much."

"Why not send more? You're not short of money."

The light was dim, and Zhu Changle lowered her head to try to see her father's expression. "Father, you're testing me, aren't you? If I dared to do something thinking I was doing good but actually making people dependent, Master would spank me until my bottom blossomed!"

Zhu Maonian nodded, "So they're self-sufficient now?"

"Of course. We just provide some relief during the difficult winter and early spring seasons."

Zhu Maonian smiled, "Where is this place? If there's a chance, could you take father to see it?"

"It's in Yan Dao, over a thousand li from Yunbei. It's quite far, Yunbei is too remote." Zhu Changle smiled, her eyes sparkling even in the night. "I named the village 'New Village', for a brand new start. Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"It does. Our Changle has grown into a capable adult."

"Well, I am the daughter of the great Official Zhu. If I weren't capable, wouldn't I be bringing shame to father?"

Lady Zhang covered her mouth, smiling without showing her teeth. "How did you two start praising each other? I'm getting embarrassed just listening."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Maonian laughed heartily, a rare occurrence. Zhu Changle's joyful laughter joined in, and the others couldn't help but smile along. The last trace of gloom hanging over the group dissipated completely.

They had arrived at Yunbei.

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