Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 308 - 224: The Market_2

Chapter 308: Chapter 224: The Market_2

Xu Yuan noticed her subtle movement and also looked up, but he didn’t see anything. He asked softly,

"What are you looking at?"

Li Qingyan replied softly,

"Flying Scouts."

"Flying Scouts?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Li Qingyan explained patiently,

"Even though the front has been pushed back to the Dali Mountain area, the war continues. Naturally, we need to thoroughly inspect the surrounding environment before opening the city gate."

While speaking, Li Qingyan’s gaze suddenly fell towards the direction of the city wall, and she frowned,

"The Prince? What is he doing there?"

Xu Yuan turned his eyes reflexively, but regrettably, due to the blizzard, his line of sight could not make out the distance.

"........"

Li Zhaoyuan, dressed in brocade robes, had unknowingly come alone to the foot of the city wall.

He stared at the marks on the wall left by the siege machines, speechless for a long time.

After a while,

He sighed softly and slowly took out a flask of warm wine, silently pouring it onto the ground below Northern Border City......

Just as he was preparing to return to the convoy, he saw three people trudging through the snow toward him.

As they approached, a smiling Li Junqing asked,

"Is the Prince conducting a memorial for the sacrificed soldiers?"

Li Zhaoyuan’s expression was flat,

"Not just for the soldiers, but also for the myriad commoners of the Northern Frontier."

"To conduct a memorial with a flask of the finest wine, the Prince is considerate," Li Junqing cupped his hands in salute.

Whether the Third Prince was sarcastic or sincere, Li Zhaoyuan replied indifferently,

"With my current abilities, this is all I can do."

Li Junqing narrowed his eyes with a smile, choosing not to respond.

Li Qingyan also remained silent.

Xu Yuan, looking at the marks on the city wall and the flickering bloodlust in his eyes, suddenly said out of nowhere,

"After this journey is over, let’s erect a monument for them."

"....."

Li Zhaoyuan nodded in agreement, "When I return to the capital, I will personally submit a request to the Emperor, asking him to inscribe the monument for these soldiers."

Xu Yuan shook his head,

"There are too many; the Emperor won’t be able to write them all."

A moment of silence.

The other three present understood what Xu Yuan meant by erecting a monument.

Li Qingyan stared at Xu Yuan’s figure, staying quiet.

Both princes appeared slightly surprised.

But to Xu Yuan, this was not unexpected.

After every battle, inscriptions and monuments were common, and even a previous emperor had gone to the battlefield to collect the remains of fallen soldiers.

However, that was to commemorate a collective.

Inscribing each individual’s name was somewhat progressive for the feudal era.

After a moment of thought, both princes saw the advantage in it.

Li Junqing stroked his chin,

"The Prince Consort’s suggestion is feasible. With such honor, the soldiers will not lose heart and will be further encouraged to fight bravely."

Li Zhaoyuan pondered for a while before saying,

"Regarding the erection of the monument, we must give it careful thought. Only those who have achieved meritorious service should be inscribed on the monument, to be remembered for eternity."

After a brief detachment, Xu Yuan said leisurely,

"Your Highness, I mean everyone."

"Everyone?" Li Zhaoyuan murmured.

Xu Yuan looked at him calmly,

"Anyone who has bled for protecting the Northern Border, regardless of whether they are military or civilian.

"Those who have given their lives for the Northern Border deserve to leave some mark of their existence in this world."

After his words, a hush fell.

Li Qingyan’s beautiful eyes turned complex as she gently pursed her lips.....

...

...

...

A quarter of an hour later, the city gate opened.

The heavy gates slowly rose, and the dead silence at the gate gave way to noise, with the loud rumbling of hooves outside the gate stirring up a majestic mist of snow.

The next moment, a gale blew up from the formation atop the city wall, dispersing the rising snow mist instantly.

Due to the Northern Frontier’s warfare, Northern Border City had been put under strict military control.

The inspection of goods and individuals passing through was extremely stringent, but the soldiers at the gate, dressed in their winter military attire, were well-practiced in the procedures. Soon, the city gate, like the maw of a giant beast, had begun to efficiently ingest and regurgitate supplies for the city.

Since Xu Yuan and his companions were here secretly, without revealing their identities, they too had to queue up to enter the city.

With military Demonic Beast-drawn carriages being given priority to enter the city, Xu Yuan’s civilian merchant convoy could only line up behind them.

As they waited listlessly, Xu Yuan pulled open the carriage curtains to look outside and, to his surprise, saw many ordinary carriages hauling goods.

Falling silent for a moment, Xu Yuan felt somewhat dumbfounded.

The heavy snow had blocked the roads, and in light of the resource scarcity, except for the grain prices strictly controlled by The Imperial Court which still held steady, the prices of other consumables were skyrocketing. Yet, these people dared to risk their lives to sell their goods.

My mentor did not deceive me.

Grant a merchant a three hundred percent profit and he’ll sell even the rope used to hang himself.

He closed the curtains, sat back down, and waited quietly as the carriage slowly moved forward with the convoy.

After two quarters of an hour,

"Knock, knock, knock—"

There was a series of knocks outside, followed by an impatient voice:

"The person in charge, come down with the goods for inspection quickly, don’t dawdle, there are others waiting behind you."

Xu Yuan glanced at Li Qingyan beside him.

Li Qingyan didn’t speak, she just calmly pulled back the curtains slightly.

Xu Yuan could now see the person outside clearly.

This was a middle-aged veteran soldier nearing forty, clad in the armor of a Commander.

But when he caught sight of Li Qingyan’s appearance, his pupils contracted sharply, his legs trembled, and he instinctively wanted to kneel, but as he bent halfway down and noticed the murderous intent in Li Qingyan’s eyes, he restrained himself and continued in the same tone:

"Ah, it’s Old Wang, braving the heavy snow to do business here, let’s have a drink next time."

While speaking,

The Commander waved off the soldiers who were ready to inspect the convoy:

"Alright, he’s an acquaintance, let them through."

With that, Xu Yuan and his companions’ convoy entered the city directly.

The streets inside Northern Border City were somewhat desolate; the constant wars left not many civilians in this grand city, and almost everyone on the streets was a soldier wearing formal armor, among which many were from large Xia Groups employed by The Imperial Court for war.

The carriage rocked and rolled along the city roads,

Xu Yuan asked in a low voice about what had just transpired:

"Princess, was that your soldier just now?"

Li Qingyan nodded nonchalantly:

"Yes."

Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows, inquiring:

"Didn’t they say that many places in Northern Border City have been infiltrated by Sects and families?"

Li Qingyan glanced at him with a hint of helplessness and said:

"The city gate is a bottom line that can’t be handed to those parasites. Besides, when I was in Barbarian Chapter Province before, I had already informed my deputy commander to replace the city guards with tight-lipped loyalists for these few days."

Xu Yuan understood and asked:

"So where do we go now? Straight back to the military camp?"

Li Qingyan pulled back the curtain, looked toward the east of the city, and said:

"Not just yet, we need to be cautious in all our actions. First, we’ll head to the market, where your father has arranged for the Black Scale Guards to meet us. They will directly purchase these ’goods’ of ours, and then they will secretly transport them to the Northern Frontier frontline."

Upon hearing this, an imposing silhouette unexpectedly emerged in Xu Yuan’s mind.

After a moment of silence, he immediately dismissed the thought from his mind.

It can’t be.

Handing over the goods shouldn’t involve such high-profile figures personally intervening.

On their way, the convoy did not exactly have a clear path.

Even under military management, conflicts often arose among the different factions of the Northern Border Army due to their numerous strongholds.

Under the pressure of war, friction could easily lead to fighting and brawling.

Traveling from the south of the city to the east, Xu Yuan witnessed two street brawls.

One was between the Feathered Forest Army and a Sect’s Border Army; the other was between the Black Scale Army and a group from a Xia Group.

Seventeen or eighteen Seventh and Eighth Grade Cultivators were fighting in a frenzy, with one of them, a Seventh Grade Cultivator, even smashing into a nearby shop after being thrown through the air.

However, they all still maintained restraint, not forming battle Formations or using lethal weapons.

Xu Yuan’s eyes twitched at these sights.

Come on, at least show some respect to the Armor you are wearing when you’re patrolling the streets.

Li Qingyan appeared to be quite accustomed to this:

"Many have their brothers-in-arms who perished due to other factions’ failure to provide aid, and with such deep-seated grievances, such events are not uncommon in Northern Border City."

Xu Yuan said nothing, feeling somewhat scornful inside.

To be able to suppress the Barbarian Tribes with such a degree of infighting, it can only be said that Dayan truly excels in martial virtues.

And after a few moments of silence, the convoy slowly entered the bustling eastern market of Northern Border City.

It was very noisy, with endless haggling and arguing over prices.

These were tough merchants who risked their lives traveling north through the snow to sell their goods; naturally, they would not back down on prices easily.

Amidst this clamor, Xu Yuan and his companions quickly arrived at a relatively quiet and shaded area.

As soon as the convoy stopped, Xu Yuan suddenly felt the soft couch beside him sink slightly.

Instantly,

a familiar scent of toxic roses slowly began to permeate inside the carriage......