Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 1099 - 1098: Unexpected

By now, Liu Sisi had already passed through numerous checkpoints and was advancing towards Wuci Sea City.

Traveling through wind and meals in the open, across mountainous terrain and pitted saline-alkali land, sparse weeds stood erect, moving northwards through the desert, encountering nothing but desolate sand dunes along the way.

Human presence was extremely scarce, often going ten miles without seeing a soul.

If you delve deeper, there are no traces of life to be seen at all.

Liu Sisi and her companions journeyed for nearly one month before they finally arrived near Wuci Sea City.

By now, it had been over half a year since Wuci Sea City had fallen, and after changing hands several times between Xixia Country and Tartar Country, it had become a coveted prize, fought over voraciously.

Thus, this once bustling Wuci Sea City turned desolate, but after some time, it began to show signs of new life.

At the moment, guarding the city was a prominent general from Xixia Country, Gao Yi, holding the city gate.

However, for Liu Sisi and her company, this entirely unfamiliar city felt strangely discordant, and the dry air made their already weary pilgrimage even more difficult.

Seeing Wuci Sea City within reach, the group stopped in their tracks.

After several confrontations with sand bandits, Liu Sisi and her group faced serious losses of men and horses. Later, disguising themselves as a merchant caravan, they finally made it to this place.

Marquis Yongwu looked at the tall city towers ahead and spurred his horse forward, coming to the side of Liu Sisi’s carriage.

"Princess, what should we do now?"

Liu Sisi was presently suffering in discomfort; long journeys were feared for the risk of falling ill, and sure enough, she had been sick since shortly after they set out. Hearing him, she slowly opened her eyes, momentarily bewildered.

After a while, she propped herself up and pulled aside the carriage curtain, looking towards the city.

"This city has already fallen, and according to what she said, Ye Lei disappeared suddenly. We must enter the city to possibly find a breakthrough and locate Ye Lei. With so many people, entering the city makes us too conspicuous. It would be better if we disperse and search around. Old Master Marquis, what do you think of this plan?"

"The plan is good. Being strangers in a strange land, this is the only way to divert their attention."

Marquis Yongwu nodded, seeming hesitant to speak further: "However, Princess, the leaders of this city might have already been informed of our arrival. Therefore..."

"It doesn’t matter, they probably know our origins as well. Since that is the case, let me meet this city’s commanding officer."

Liu Sisi had an air of resignation about her.

Marquis Yongwu opened his mouth as if to dissuade her, but in the end, he held back: "Alright, let’s do as you wish, Princess."

From the moment he decided to accompany Princess Ruyu to Xixia Country, he had already resigned himself to fate!

After some discussion, it was decided that Marquis Yongwu would enter the city with Liu Sisi, while Chou Chou and Gao Qi would split off, each leading a group of horsemen in opposite directions.

Initially, Liu Sisi had no intention of confronting Commander Gao Yi, so aside from Marquis Yongwu, the only other person she took into the city was Ms. Gao, who had been by her side all along. Marquis Yongwu drove the carriage, slowly bringing the pair into Wuci Sea City.

Contrary to Liu Sisi’s expectations, there were no obstacles as she had anticipated.

The streets were desolate, and the few passersby were in a hurry. With no choice, Liu Sisi found a vacant spot to settle down and pitched a tent to temporarily reside in.

What Wuci Sea City had in abundance after the warfare was empty land.

"How odd..."

Marquis Yongwu leaned against the tent entrance, watching the soldiers patrol past now and then, his face a mask of indecision.

"The defender of Xixia Country, Gao Yi, is no pushover—he has managed to recapture Wuci Sea City from the ethnic groups three times, which shows he has real skill. There’s no way he doesn’t know our identities. Why..."

"The reason is very simple. Either he simply doesn’t take us seriously, or he doesn’t intend to stop us at all," Liu Sisi, who had been resting with her eyes closed inside, suddenly said.

Marquis Yongwu was startled, "Your Highness, what do you mean by that?"

Liu Sisi sat up straight: "It’s quite simple. If he knows we are coming and doesn’t take us seriously, it’s understandable because our numbers are small and pose no threat to him, so naturally he doesn’t care. As for him not intending to stop us... perhaps he also wants us to go look for the person. Therefore, he might deliberately adopt an indifferent approach—who knows!"

These words immediately silenced Marquis Yongwu.

The three people in the center of the scene said nothing until the night slowly fell.

When they came to the North Desert, everyone hurried on their way, carrying few items. Even when entering Wuci Sea City, they brought only some dried meat with them.

Liu Sisi had been feeling unwell, suffering from a persistent mild fever, and now, having eaten too much dried meat, she was extremely thirsty. Unable to bear it, she got up in search of water to drink, only to find that Marquis Yongwu was still awake.

"Old Master Marquis?"

She slowly approached, and it was then that she saw the territory map of Wuci Sea City spread out in front of Marquis Yongwu.

"Oh, Your Highness, why haven’t you gone to sleep?"

Startled by Liu Sisi’s call, Marquis Yongwu snapped back from his thoughts and stood up, urging Liu Sisi to rest.

"I’ve already had a nap and woke up feeling thirsty. I came to look for water. Are you looking at this map? Is this an old one?"

After several years of turmoil, many places on this map had changed names. The defenses outlined were nothing more than a formality.

"Yes, this is the map I, the minor official, received from Princess Lin before leaving the Capital of Xia. At present, it’s just for reference. I’m trying to see if I can discern anything from it."

Liu Sisi: "..."

It turned out to be given by her own mom, and she didn’t even know about it.

"Half a year has gone by since the incident; there’s no rush at this very moment. You should rest earlier, Old Master Marquis. Right now, everyone is relying on you. You must not wear yourself out."

Liu Sisi was already feeling uncomfortable, and even speaking seemed difficult.

She was genuinely worried that if even Marquis Yongwu fell, there would be no one left in charge. After all, Marquis Yongwu was getting on in years.

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I the minor official understand perfectly well. You should rest first, I’ll be fine soon," he replied.

Waiting until Liu Sisi lay down again, Marquis Yongwu silently closed the map.

According to what Princess Lin initially said, the only possible place for Marquis Yongping’s mysterious disappearance was to the north of Wuci Sea City, near the main battlefield where they fought the ethnic groups!

Tomorrow he might as well make a personal journey there to see if there’s anything to be discovered.

In fact, he didn’t harbor much hope for the journey on the morrow! After the Marquis Yongping disappeared initially, many of his subordinates and the enemy horsemen had searched meticulously numerous times to no avail.

So now, half a year later, they were going to look for clues again; it was probably just seeking psychological comfort!

Hopefully, they might find some incidental clues!

Marquis Yongwu furrowed his brows, rubbed his temples, and then, dragging his weary body, managed to fall into a reluctant sleep.