"Write while you’re still fired up," Bai Shan suggested, "that way it will be more heartfelt. Once the trade route is open, you can send it out."

Bai Erlang also offered a suggestion, "Just cry, write as pitifully as you can. Imagine you’re alone in the Western Regions, you meet a relative and want happily to acknowledge the kinship, but instead he plots against you in various ways. Isn’t that incredibly pitiful?"

Liu Huan nodded, "But..."

"There’s no ’but’. Just write it like that. What’s the big deal about Anxi being far from the capital and high above us? Don’t they still rely on funding from the Ministry of Revenue?"

Liu Huan replied weakly, "But I’m not alone..."

However, no one listened, including Yin Huo, who said, "Moderate exaggeration is okay, but too much is no good."

With the help of the five people, Liu Huan immediately wrote a family letter that could make the reader tear up and the listener cry. He then put it away, planning to send it back with a merchant once the trade route opened.

The next day, Zhou Man, the leader of the delegation, happily went with them to set up a street stall. General Guo, who was handling military affairs in the Protectorate, couldn’t speak for a long time upon hearing this.

The confidant who came to report hesitated but still said, "General, I heard they brought ten beauties today, telling everyone these beauties were gifts from you to Lord Zhou, so..."

General Guo lifted his eyelid to glance at him and asked, "Did Liu Gongzi accept the things we sent him?"

"No, everything was returned. Our people left the goods and walked away, but their guards would return the items afterward."

General Guo sneered, "Just like his grandfather, always acting. Is there anyone who doesn’t desire fine food and clothes and prefers a life of poverty?"

The confidant silently bowed his head, and General Guo said, "Go, continue sending things, change the style each time. I refuse to believe he doesn’t have a secret favorite."

He just wanted Liu Hui to see that his grandson was not a good person either.

"By the way, isn’t Zhou Man’s group a delegation? As officials, how can they constantly do private work? Send someone to inquire about the situation." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The confidant replied immediately, "Subordinate had someone ask before. Lord Zhuang from the delegation has been holding documents in the government office awaiting approval. They are scheduled to stay in Xizhou for two months..."

The confidant measured his words, observing General Guo’s expression, "But the office is busy, and currently can’t attend to these matters, so the documents are just pressed down for now. He has been almost daily sitting in the office waiting. Do you want to prioritize their documents?"

It was essentially asking General Guo if he wanted them to be let go.

General Guo rubbed his forehead and asked, "Where do they want to go with the documents?"

"Not yet decided, but lately Assistant General Nie with them has been inquiring about Danshi Village."

General Guo frowned and thought for quite a while, "This village does seem familiar. Isn’t it closer to Tingzhou?"

"Yes, I’ve checked, three years ago rumors spread in the capital about how Hou Ji tried to poison Prince with a poisonous stone from the Western Regions. That stone fell from the sky, and the people in Danshi Village were responsible for grinding toxic stones at the time, and the item fell near Danshi Village, so..."

General Guo couldn’t help but become more serious, furrowing his brow, "Three years have passed, Hou Ji has turned to ashes, why are they still searching this village? Is it because of Prince’s side?"

The confidant also suspected this, yet dared not speak.

General Guo hesitated, then said after a while, "Forget it, have them stop, approve the documents."

He heard that ever since Prince had a son, his status in court stabilized a lot, and the emperor seldom scolds him. Lately, he’s been able to handle a lot of state affairs.

So in the future, this world may indeed be ruled by Prince.

Zhou Man’s group is considered Prince’s people, opposing them hard would be disadvantageous, the most important thing now is the matter of obtaining a title.

Thinking of this, General Guo suppressed his anger and dismissed the confidant.

Although the person exited, he couldn’t calm his mind for a long time. He couldn’t help but wonder, did Zhou Man come to the Western Regions this time really just for the antidote formula, or was it for Prince?

The more he thought, the more General Guo leaned towards the latter. He’s been here for several years without hearing of any cowpox method from the Western Regions. After receiving inquiries from the capital, he investigated thoroughly but no one had heard of it either.

So were they really not concerned with the cowpox?

But what matter could attract a physician to come thousands of miles to the Western Regions?

Could it be there’s more to Prince’s poisoning back then? Or is she wanting to do something with the toxic stone?

General Guo considered too many possibilities and couldn’t focus on work.

After being given the cold shoulder for four days, Mr. Zhuang finally got the documents allowing them to stay in Xizhou and travel within Anxi. He smiled slightly, stood up, bowed, and left.

In truth, those four days weren’t bad at all. There was tea and snacks to enjoy every day, and he could sit in a small room observing how the Protectorate operated.

Mr. Zhuang took the documents with his hands behind his back and headed back. Passing through the street, he saw his three disciples selling things vigorously.

He slightly shook his head and said to the guards, "Tell them to conserve their energy. If we don’t sell everything here, we can go somewhere else."

Since they can roam freely within the Anxi range.

Upon returning and hearing about it, Manbao said to Mr. Zhuang, "Sir, will you come along with us?"

Mr. Zhuang raised his eyebrows, "Why, don’t you want me to come?"

Manbao gave him a flattering smile, "It’s just that I’m worried you’ll get tired. We’re not going far, just circling around Anxi to gather information. Perhaps we can even separate to gather information faster."

Mr. Zhuang pondered, "That’s actually a viable method, and how many people are you planning to take?"

His gaze slipped over Yin Huo, Liu Huan, and others.

Manbao turned to Yin Huo and said, "You better not go. We need to see some people first."

She explained, "The toxic stone used to poison Prince fell from the sky back then, affecting a village. I gave them some antidote back then, but didn’t know its effectiveness, so I want to revisit for a check-up. That place is dangerous. You’re weak, better not go."

She then said to Bai Erlang and Liu Huan, "You guys shouldn’t go either."

Bai Erlang dumbfoundedly asked, "Then what should we do?"

"Just stay in town selling things, see what good specialties Xizhou has, and help me inquire about cowpox," Manbao said, "The toxic stone is still highly toxic, even unseen, it has an impact. So now conditions are uncertain, don’t take risks lightly."

Bai Erlang responded, "Then you shouldn’t go either. If you want information, why not ask someone to speak directly?"

Manbao said, "Good idea, that’s why we decided to first gather information about the place and the people."

Yin Huo: "...so you mean you don’t know where the people or place are yet?"

"Don’t know. Isn’t Assistant General Nie supposed to gather the information?"

With this, not only Mr. Zhuang, but even the little partners found the two somewhat unreliable.