"He won't let her die, and perhaps he never expected mother to die either. It's rather amusing."
"Mumu..."
"It's just grudges from the previous generation."
Song Qingchao also fell silent.
She knew that Mumu was exceptionally intelligent, but she hadn't expected him to see through things so clearly, even guessing that her father was still alive.
If she hadn't been reborn, she would never have believed what Mumu was saying now.
She lowered her eyelashes, looking at her hand being held, "Mine will be kept in the space. Where is your yang charm?"
"It's hidden." Song Qingmu blinked at her with rare cunning. "No one will find it."
"Where did you hide it?"
"It's in the hands of Empress Dowager Xiaoxian."
Song Qingchao almost tripped over an iron chain after hearing this.
Her arm was grabbed by Song Qingmu, and she narrowly avoided falling. He frowned, "Eldest Sister, slow down."
Song Qingchao looked at her brother with a strange expression.
How could Mumu say such treasonous words so seriously?
He hid things in his own mother's tomb...
After a long moment, she finally spoke, "How did you put it in there?"
Song Qingmu's smile stiffened. "Don't you remember being beaten when the Empress Dowager was being buried as a child?"
Song Qingchao: ...
Alright, she had truly forgotten.
"Then how do you plan to retrieve it?"
"Digging up the grave."
Song Qingchao almost fell again.
This brother of hers truly gave her unexpected surprises.
"That's a royal tomb."
If Song Qingchao hadn't seen that he was still ill, she would have definitely beaten the person in front of her again.
It was indeed well hidden; no one would have thought to hide something directly in someone else's ancestral grave.
Song Qingmu slowly turned his head and said seriously, "Then tomb raiding."
"Who will go?"
"You."
Song Qingchao: ???
She regretted it. Why didn't they remain enemies?
What a good brother she had.
She rubbed her hair. "There's no rush for this. The most important thing for us now is to survive. Only by surviving can we plan for the future."
"Eldest Sister mentioned sending people to investigate earlier. How will that be done?"
Song Qingchao looked at him, then smiled slyly.
She had originally planned to involve Mumu with the Nightingales. Now that he had offered himself, how could she let him go?
"I'll tell you in detail when we rest later."
When the sun was high in the sky.
Everyone was listless, their legs feeling as if they were filled with lead.
Fortunately, the resting place had a large patch of woods, allowing them to lean on.
After Song Qingchao settled Song Qingmu, she took a bowl to collect food, which turned out to be two bowls of clear white congee and two miscellaneous vegetable buns.
The guards had not distributed any more water along the way. This group of people, besides half a bag of water, only had this congee to obtain moisture.
They scrambled to eat, fearing they would run out.
She tucked the buns into her clothes, holding the congee with both hands, and turned to leave when she was bumped by someone.
Half of it was spilled directly.
Song Qingchao was not flustered, as she had a large vat of water in her space that could be heated for drinking.
Eager to return to let Mumu study, she turned to leave without a word, but was stopped again.
Song Qingchao then looked up to see who it was.
A tall figure blocked the sun, and a wooden face wore a black forehead band.
It was the man who had been monitoring her.
Song Qingchao instantly became vigilant and took a step back.
She hadn't noticed it before, but up close, she realized how tall and strong this person was.
In her current state, she might not be able to defeat him.
Even if she could fight, she didn't want to waste her precious energy on such a matter.
The man didn't speak, only extending the bowl in his hand.
He gestured to exchange it for the half-bowl she had spilled.
Song Qingchao smiled gently and refused, then walked around the man.
Surprisingly, the man didn't stop her further.
Song Qingchao dared not exchange with him; she had to ensure all food was in her possession before eating it.
Not to mention her own health, Mumu couldn't withstand being poisoned again.
"Why did Eldest Sister take so long?"
After handing the congee to Song Qingmu, Song Qingchao also sat down. She was tired too.
"Just a small matter, don't mind it."
Song Qingmu looked curiously at the bowl of congee and small dishes, raising his head in confusion.
Song Qingchao took out the vegetable buns and stuffed them into his hand, "Eat quickly."
She had given the stall owner a silver ingot, so moving the entire stall into her space was not excessive...
It was also normal to bring private goods into plain congee.
She had paid money for it!
Seeing that Song Qingmu wasn't moving, she urged him, "It won't be good if others see it, eat quickly."
The two immediately lowered their heads and ate carefully.
Although they ate quickly, they still maintained their elegance. Their innate upbringing ensured they did not forget their demeanor even in such a situation.
After finishing, Song Qingchao took out the water pouch and handed it to Song Qingmu.
Song Qingmu shook the water pouch. "Eldest Sister, did you perhaps move the well into your space?"
Song Qingchao rolled her eyes at him.
This child was becoming more glib.
At first, speaking more was unnatural, stammering.
Now, he spoke more and more fluently.
"You wanted to know how I sent people to investigate, didn't you?" Song Qingchao smiled eerily and took out a book with a red cover from her space, handing it to Song Qingmu.
This book was modified by her.
When she was looking at books in the library back then, she was overwhelmed. She couldn't recognize a single character among so many.
Later, after flipping through a few somewhat yellowed books, she realized that characters would change over time.
When she learned simplified characters, she also marveled at the inventor's great wisdom for a long time.
This textbook she had carefully selected, "The Red Book," not only had the original simplified Chinese explanations but also her translations of traditional Chinese characters.
Song Qingmu tilted his head, looking at the book. A crack appeared on his icy face, and his thin lips uttered the name of the book, "GRE Vocabulary?"
Song Qingchao nodded with satisfaction. "Learn this first."
She patted her legs, looking at her worn-out shoes, and searched her space for related books again.
"Why should I learn this?"
Song Qingchao slapped her forehead. "I forgot to tell you, I have an intelligence network called Nightingales, managed by Azhu now. I can communicate with her through my space."
"Li Yanzhu?" Song Qingmu blurted out after a moment.
"Yes, that's right. At this stage, we still need to rely on her influence. I want to hand over the Nightingales to you once you've learned."
Song Qingmu put down the book. "Will she help us? That person is her father."
Song Qingchao smiled awkwardly. "I'll tell her. Don't worry, I won't let her bear the crime of patricide."
Seeing Song Qingmu still staring at her, she shrugged helplessly.
Truly, a married brother is like spilled water.
"I'll explain it clearly to her. I'm not using her, don't worry."
"That's not what I meant," Song Qingmu lowered his head. "I'm afraid you'll be sad. What if she..."
Song Qingchao patted his head. "Silly boy, that's for later. We need to focus on the present."