Chapter 22: The Storm Rises, the Storm Settles (2/10)
The Seventh Prince disappeared, his life or death unknown.
The court's army marched south, accompanied by three princes, clearly with the intention of initiating a massacre in Jiangnan.
This time, there was no need for the Yuan Family to spread any news; the villagers along the Qingyuan River had already begun to leave their homes voluntarily, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
A large number of residents moved away from the Qingyuan River; under these circumstances, the Yuan Family's departure did not stand out at all.
However, compared to other people's frantic escape, the Yuan Family's evacuation was much more orderly.
In the dense forest within the mountains, the Yuan Family's refuge cabins had long been constructed.
Not only were there refuge cabins, but newly cultivated wasteland had also been planted with vegetables.
In addition, the Yuan Family fenced off a large area in the forest for raising chickens.
No one knew how long this chaos would last, so everything had to be planned for the long term. Yuan Yindi's arrangements were made with the prospect of several years, even over a decade of war in mind.
By that time, even if there were corpses all over outside the mountain, the Yuan Family could still live a good life in the mountains.
The refugee site Yuan Yindi chose was not far from a stream.
The water source problem was thus resolved.
Moreover, he arranged for a second emergency refuge location, in case the first one was discovered.
...
When everyone from the Yuan Family escaped into the mountains and hid, outside, just as Yuan Yindi had predicted, conflict arose.
Although Great Yin did not fall apart directly, the Jiangnan region was filled with smoke and flames everywhere.
The Beili Kingdom seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch a frenzied attack on Great Yin, causing its army to suffer continuous setbacks.
Meanwhile, when the Beili army reached the outskirts of Yinjing City, the Great Yin army launched a surprise strike.
In a single night, Beili's elite 300,000-strong force suffered heavy losses.
The Great Yin troops advanced in full force, the situation reversed, and in only a month, they drove the Beili army out of Great Yin's territory, reclaiming all lost land.
With external troubles gone, the rebellion in Jiangnan was quickly quelled as well.
In half a year, Great Yin experienced a phoenix-like rebirth, arising from the ashes.
And the one who caused all this was none other than the Eighth Prince of the current dynasty!
However, the Eighth Prince who had saved Great Yin accidentally fell into the river and disappeared after the victory on the Qingyuan River.
The court dispatched a large number of men to comb the banks of the Qingyuan River, yet they didn't find a single clue.
The Emperor eventually had to announce the Eighth Prince's death and posthumously promote him to Crown Prince, giving him a burial with the honors of a Crown Prince.
Yes, a tomb with no body!
With external threats resolved and internal strife cleared, Great Yin was revitalized.
At this time, it was already the dead of winter, with heavy snow falling.
The Yuan Family, who hid in the mountains, received the first-hand news from Yuan Zhaodi who had gone out to gather information, but they decided not to immediately return to Linhe Village; instead, they planned to spend the winter in the mountains before venturing out.
Although many families in Linhe Village had already chosen to return home for the winter.
It wasn't that the people of the Yuan Family were unwilling to return to Linhe Village, but although the turmoil in Jiangnan was pacified, the missing Eighth Prince was neither seen alive nor found dead.
Even if the emperor had announced his death, who knew if someone was still searching in the dark?
If someone indeed lurked in the shadows, they might accidentally get caught up in their affairs.
For safety's sake, it was better to keep lying low in the mountains.
Besides, in these harsh winter days, isn't hibernating the same everywhere?