Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 1099 - 464: Northwest 2

An Zhichen smiled slightly; he had already reached adulthood, and his appearance had set, surely it wouldn’t change much. After five years without seeing each other, at most he would appear more mature: "Zichang, there’s a vacancy in the Northwest, and the Marquis thinks the position suits me well." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yueyao immediately understood that this meant an external appointment. The environment in the Northwest was rather harsh, but Yueyao found the notion of a two-grade promotion somewhat unreliable: "Could there be something going on?"

An Zhichen thought Yueyao would say something against it, but unexpectedly, her thoughts were not aligned with his worries and he said, "Don’t worry, I am capable of handling it." In the military camp, soldiers revered the strong; he had enough confidence to control his subordinates, so a two-grade promotion posed no burden to him.

Seeing An Zhichen’s confident demeanor, Yueyao refrained from asking further. Affairs in the military camp were outside her expertise, and she wouldn’t understand even if she asked: "In any event, you should only go after the New Year!" Yueyao had mentally prepared for this, so An Zhichen’s mention of the matter now did not surprise her. She just thought, with more than half a month left before the New Year, she felt somewhat reluctant.

An Zhichen shook his head and said, "Even if I have to leave, it will be in March next year, there is still plenty of time! Zichang, with four children to handle alone, I’m worried you might not manage." If the children were around three to four years old, he would definitely take his wife and children to the Northwest, but the problem was that the oldest, Kexin, was only two, and the other three were just a few months old, too young to withstand such a long journey.

Yueyao smiled: "Don’t worry, I can take care of them. When the children are older, I’ll bring them to see you." There were indeed many children, but with wet nurses and nannies, she wouldn’t be too overworked.

Looking at the children, An Zhichen shook his head and said, "The environment in the Northwest is not as good as in the Capital City. You should stay in the Capital City with the kids and wait for my return!"

Yueyao didn’t argue with An Zhichen on this matter. The children were still young, and there would be no point in arguing. Instead, Yueyao was worried about something else: "Heyue, the Barbarian Tribes have been recuperating over the past few decades and have regained their strength. Within five years, the flames of war will reignite." It wasn’t that the flames might reignite, but rather that a war would certainly break out after five years.

An Zhichen was somewhat surprised, not about Yueyao’s mention of the Barbarian Tribes waging war, as this was within his expectations. The Barbarian Tribes were once strong and, taking advantage of internal chaos in the Yuan Dynasty, nearly reached the Capital City. Later, when Emperor Yingzong ascended, he dedicated himself to governance and in ten years defeated the Barbarian Tribes without them being able to retaliate. Emperor Yingzong annexed fertile territories into Yuan lands, leaving the barren lands to the Tribes, yet still demanded they tribute large numbers of livestock annually, a heavy burden for them. This policy delayed their recovery, but the current Emperor’s leniency, relieving them of burdensome tributes, allowed their recuperation. Being a militant group, they wouldn’t remain idle after regaining strength; war was just a matter of time: "How do you know it won’t be more than five years?" Even the Marquis couldn’t determine it, such matters weren’t trivial.

Yueyao, in a prophetic manner, said, "If I say within five years, then it won’t exceed five years. Once you get to the Northwest, prepare well." Yueyao remembered the Barbarian Tribes’ past rebellion caught the Northwest Army off guard, resulting in heavy casualties. Although the Tribes were brave, their numbers were few, while the Great Yuan Dynasty had a strong military; even if the Northwest Army was caught off guard, they could resolve it quickly. However, several princes vied for control over the Northwest Army with open and covert machinations, employing vicious means incessantly. Originally, it should’ve taken just three to five months to quell the Tribes, yet it dragged on for over three years, with more than 200,000 deaths, nearly depleting the national treasury, a true ordeal for the nation. Yueyao had overheard the Great Grandmaster mention this occasionally, hence her familiarity.

Yueyao, reflecting on this, felt a chill and relayed her concerns to An Zhichen.

An Zhichen was taken aback, lowering his voice: "With the Crown Prince around, even if a few princes seek power, they shouldn’t fight so fiercely."

In Yueyao’s memory, the Crown Prince passed away that year, yet he was still in good health, making Yueyao doubt her memory or wonder if history had changed. After pondering, Yueyao still said, "I heard from Mingzhu that the Crown Prince is unwell, who knows what will happen in three to four years." This was a relatively euphemistic way of putting it.

The Crown Prince had been unwell for the past two years, particularly worsening this year, making Yueyao’s words more plausible. An Zhichen, after some thought, said, "Hmm, I’ll discuss this with the Marquis."

Yueyao appeared troubled: "Don’t mention this to the Marquis yet, wait until things are settled." Currently, it’s just a proposal from Luo Shao, not officially confirmed.

An Zhichen smiled: "Alright, we’ll talk about it next year."

On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, Ma Peng arrived in the Capital City.

Yueyao was surprised upon hearing Ma Peng’s return to the Capital City: "Wasn’t it supposed to be around the 27th or 28th? Why four or five days early?"

The messenger old nanny replied: "Replying to cousin-in-law, our Old Master traveled day and night, thus arriving in the Capital City five days early."

Yueyao muttered, "My cousin can handle it, but did he consider if the two kids could handle it?" This father didn’t show any tenderness for the children.

The messenger old nanny smiled and said: "Rest assured, cousin-in-law, the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master are just a bit fatigued, but otherwise fine."

The Ma Family sent this nanny to invite Yueyao to a gathering tomorrow.

Yueyao still found Ma Peng’s actions reckless; as a father, he was too irresponsible. But it was inappropriate to say more in front of the old nanny: "Tell my cousin and cousin-in-law I’ll bring the children over tomorrow."

The old nanny respectfully exited, having gotten the answer she wanted.

Xi Yu found the old nanny’s deference puzzling: "Madam, this nanny seems odd." Her respectful demeanor made it seem as though Madame was her master.

Yueyao paid the nanny’s demeanor no mind, turning instead to nurse the crying third child again. Watching her youngest son enthusiastically feed, Yueyao mused to herself: "Your sister was much sturdier at three months than you, yet wasn’t this voracious." When Yueyao fed Kexin, her milk supply was abundant, but when feeding An Ning, it was just enough.

Nanny Hao chuckled beside her: "Boys eat more than girls, and as they grow, they eat even more." As the saying goes, young men can eat you out of house and home.

Yueyao laughed: "A hearty appetite is a blessing." When kids eat well, they grow well.