In the freezing depths of winter, Lin Wanwan, after inspecting the mountain base, was still enthusiastic about leading young Qingyu and others to the mountaintop flatland to crack ice and fish.

In the Great Tang, there are plenty of ventures you can embark on, just like how Xiao Chong is busy day in and day out, never finishing his tasks.

But Lin Wanwan came to the Great Tang to create a Peach Blossom Spring, to enjoy life. She was not keen on serving the court daily.

Just developing her own power already drained quite a bit of her energy. She preferred not to worry about other matters.

Today was a rare occasion to visit the mountains, so she decided to bring the children along for some fun and relaxation.

During the reigns of Li Shimin and Li Zhi in the Great Tang, they could basically attack anyone they wanted. Their surrounding neighbors were easily overwhelmed, and they could play with the world without even upgrading their arsenal.

The Great Tang was in a phase where they could deploy troops as they pleased. Although historical records show a low victory rate, victory is something to be viewed holistically since the Great Tang was exceedingly strong, and a few defeats were inconsequential, not undermining the nation’s foundation.

However, the attacked neighboring countries were quite unfortunate, having to mobilize national forces each time to counter the Great Tang’s attacks.

For instance, Li Shimin waged war against Goguryeo three times, the third time reaching their homeland, yet failed to conquer it due to various reasons and eventually failed.

But can these campaigns be considered complete failures? Not necessarily.

The war against Goguryeo did not cripple the Great Tang, but conversely, it greatly drained Goguryeo’s national strength, leaving them utterly exhausted.

Later, when Li Zhi deployed troops again, he naturally took over, incorporating the entire peninsula as Great Tang territory.

It’s akin to a billionaire competing with a middle-class businessman. Losing billions wouldn’t harm the billionaire’s core, but the middle class might collapse if they lose even tens of millions and be absorbed.

Bigger size, just wearing them down can lead to their demise.

Therefore, Lin Wanwan was completely indifferent to increasing weapons in the Great Tang’s arsenal.

Whether they had them or not, the Great Tang was currently the number one in the world. She wasn’t interested in these embellishing matters. Making one wrong move might cost her freedom; why bother?

The entire Tang dynasty can be classified as a warm period, with Mao County’s winter average temperature a few degrees higher than in later centuries.

Thus, at the mountain’s base, the freezing phenomenon wasn’t severe, and snow rarely occurred.

But in the mountains, that’s different, considerably colder than the flatland.

Lin Wanwan wanted to play the crack ice fishing game commonly seen in the North’s winter, and only the natural small lake on the mountaintop flatland was promising.

Actually, Lin Wanwan wasn’t very interested in freshwater fish, only willing to eat them when cooked into heavy-flavor dishes like sauerkraut fish and water-boiled fish.

But this did not dampen her excitement in netting and catching fish!

Especially when seeing large fish swimming under the ice, her enthusiasm peaked!

Lin Wanwan was reluctant to catch the massive fish, considering they had survived so long; it wasn’t easy. But those medium-sized were just right.

The mother and daughter, plus Liu Rushi and several others skilled, spent a good part of the day here, collecting a big basket of assorted-sized fish!

Tonight, Lin Wanwan could host a roast fish banquet again and invite the whole clan for a lively time.

Lin Wanwan was fond of hosting banquets in Mao County; any trivial matter could be a reason for her to host a celebration.

Initially, the Lin Clan Leader would attempt to stop Lin Wanwan, but as everyone’s life improved, Lin Wanwan’s senior brother constantly sent her treasures in shiploads, so the Lin Clan Leader didn’t stop her anymore, letting her enjoy.

Anyway, when Lin Wanwan invited clan members, it was essentially a way to win goodwill, with no significant downside.

The Lin Clan now thrived by relying on Lin Wanwan, and when they eventually grew and expanded, they would branch out, remain distinct, preserving the legacy.

In fact, besides the Lin Clan members, she also welcomed outsiders to partake in the various banquets she held. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Whether from Lu Family Manor, Dafeng Village, or other villagers, families lacking oil and water who wanted a meal, Lin Wanwan didn’t mind at all.

Tang aristocratic women always had the habit of setting up tents to serve porridge during winter or disaster years. It’s akin to modern wealthy families having staff setting up charity funds for philanthropy.

Lin Wanwan disliked setting up porridge tents; it was too regal and detached.

What she enjoyed was hosting bustling banquets, mostly all-sheep feasts, followed by fish feasts, where everyone sang and danced, mingling without distinction while eating and playing.

Clan members came empty-handed to eat, while outsiders grabbed a handful of vegetables or took a few potatoes as a courtesy, and they could come to eat.

That evening, as everyone was happily eating around the seaside bonfire, Lin Wanwan was called away by Baye Feng from the mountains.

"What happened, is there something urgent?" Lin Wanwan led Baye Feng away from the workshop square, heading toward the mansion.

"Hmm, this afternoon we captured a group of people." Baye Feng crossed his arms, holding his Tang Blade, and said expressionlessly.

Looking at his calm demeanor, you could hardly tell the seriousness of the matter, but since he chose to come down the mountain when night was about to fall to discuss this, it surely wasn’t a minor issue.

"What’s up with the people you captured, anything special about them?" Lin Wanwan, in Mao County, had a fearless temperament, just casually asking.

Baye Feng calmly replied, "The leader, we found the appointment letter of the Imperial Censor on him."

"Cough cough cough!" Lin Wanwan was choked by her saliva, "Who did you say you captured?"

"Imperial Censor." Baye Feng calmly repeated.

Lin Wanwan stopped and looked at Baye Feng. On his handsome, stern face, besides the sharpness of a young lad from the martial world, there was nothing else to be seen!

This man was even bolder than his boss, Lin Wanwan!

Captured an Imperial Censor and stayed this calm!

Don’t you know you’ve caused big trouble!

Lin Wanwan rubbed her forehead, "All of a sudden, why are you in conflict with official people?"

"They trespassed the base." Baye Feng said concisely, "Is capturing them very consequential? If not, we could kill them and throw them into the sea."

"..." Lin Wanwan was speechless, "Thanks, but I’m not prepared for a rebellion."

After hearing too much boasting from the Lin Family Manor’s youths, now Baye Feng had been misled too, always wanting to throw people into the sea.

Baye Feng asked with no shame, "Then what to do?"

Lin Wanwan didn’t immediately reply but first asked, "Our base’s perimeter is full of trees (modern ones bought and transplanted, injected with nutrients for three months), plus Xiao Mingfu has arranged stones and trees in formations. Why were they easily able to intrude?"

Lin Wanwan couldn’t understand; she herself, equipped with maps and informed of all various life and death paths, sometimes got lost entering the base, trapped among stone piles and woods. How could outsiders intrude so effortlessly?

Baye Feng was silent for a while and said, "Perhaps the leader named Ma Zhou is rather clever."

"What, Ma Zhou?!" Lin Wanwan was shocked.