Emperor Yong'an has indeed been suffering from a poor appetite lately, and his ministers are urging him to establish a crown prince every day. Currently, the Tianlong Kingdom only has three princes.

The eldest prince, Gu Lingyun, is the daughter of the empress. He is 16 years old now, but he only knows how to eat, drink and have fun all day long, and his studies are not improving at all.

Every time Emperor Yong'an asked him about his studies, he could only recite the first two sentences and then had no idea what came next, nor did he know what he was learning every day.

He always admits his mistake after being scolded, but he makes the same mistake again next time.

The Second Prince, Gu Lingchen, is the son of Consort Hui. He is 13 years old now and has been frail and sickly for many years.

He knew early on that this body was not suited to inherit the throne, so he didn't nurture it much and rarely interfered with its studies, only spoiling it more in general.

Another one is the Third Prince Gu Lingxuan, born to Consort Liu. He is only 7 years old now, and nothing can be seen yet. How can he be made the Crown Prince?

The Tianlong Kingdom has always chosen its emperor based on merit, not seniority. But thinking about his sons gave him a headache; none of them were capable of handling things.

Although he had heard that the Second Prince was much better, he knew nothing about the Second Prince's studies or abilities.

The only prince whom they had wholeheartedly nurtured turned out to be like that.

Who should be chosen as the crown prince? He simply couldn't decide, which caused him great distress.

Just as he was getting agitated, a particularly delicious aroma wafted in from the doorway.

Immediately afterwards, someone announced that the Second Prince had brought food to His Majesty.

Quickly send this message in, from the Yong'an Emperor's Way.

The Second Prince, Gu Lingchen, personally carried in the fragrant bowl of rice noodles.

After handing the rice noodles to Eunuch Luo, who was standing to the side, and bowing respectfully, Eunuch Luo then used a silver needle to test for poison.

After confirming that there were no problems, Gu Lingchen said.

"Father, I recently discovered a new dish called Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles. I found it to be very delicious. I heard that you have a poor appetite, so I brought you some rice noodles to try."

"My son is so kind, then I will try it." Emperor Yong'an thought to himself that it must be delicious if it smells so good.

At this moment, Grandpa Luo had already placed the rice noodles into the small bowl.

Emperor Yong'an first took a small bite and found the taste quite good, so he took a big bite.

No wonder it smelled so good; it really did taste great. Emperor Yong'an, who hadn't eaten well for several days, finished the whole bowl of rice noodles.

If he weren't afraid of tarnishing the emperor's image, he would have liked to drink a few sips of the soup.

After Emperor Yong'an finished eating, Gu Lingchen handed a small dish of pickled vegetables to Eunuch Luo.

Emperor Yong'an found the kimchi to be sweet and sour with a hint of spiciness, and quite refreshing.

"Where did you get all this, my son? Do you have any more?" Emperor Yong'an asked, still somewhat unsatisfied.

It was brought to me by the girl I met in Wutong Town, whom I told you about last time.

Your Majesty, I still have a few packets left. If you like them, I can give you the rest.

"But could you please grant me permission to leave the palace one more time, Father?" Gu Lingchen asked.

"Isn't your health better? Why are you going out again?" Emperor Yong'an asked, puzzled.

"Although I have recovered, my friend said that she has met Physician Jiang and heard that he has superb medical skills and can also make some medicines to strengthen the body."

"Your Majesty, I wish to bring some back to you to help strengthen your health. I know that all the officials in the court want you to establish a crown prince."

"But Father, you are in your prime, only your health has been a little unwell in the last two years, and that's when they started to plot against you."

"If Father Emperor is in good health, they will certainly not dare to mention the matter of establishing a crown prince again."

"Your subject is a prince and should not presume to discuss the matter of establishing an heir, but Your subject is truly concerned about Your Majesty's health. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing Gu Lingchen's words, Emperor Yong'an's tightly furrowed brows relaxed completely.

"My son is very much to my liking, I grant your request. Oh, and bring me the rest of your rice noodles and kimchi too!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will immediately send someone to deliver it to you." Gu Lingchen bowed and withdrew.

Liu Sisi was unaware that her rice noodles and kimchi had become part of the imperial cuisine.

Some concubines even went to great lengths to please Emperor Yong'an every day just to get a bowl of rice noodles.

If anyone could receive a packet of rice noodles as a gift from the emperor, that concubine would undoubtedly be the most favored at that moment.

With the emperor's approval, Gu Lingchen immediately set off for Wutong Town, eager to see that bright and beautiful girl.

It was already harvest season, but Liu Dashi had no time to harvest his 30 mu of land.

Zhou Lizheng also knew that Liu Dashi's family didn't have time to pack up, and it wouldn't be worthwhile to close the shop.

He then asked Liu Dashi how he wanted to acquire it, as Liu Dashi was already troubled by this matter.

"Uncle Zhou, how about this: you help me find some people to collect them, and I'll pay them 50 coins a day. Is that alright?"

"Okay, Uncle will arrange it for you." This year, thanks to Liu Dashi's help, Zhou Lizheng's family is doing much better than before.

When the villagers heard that there was 50 wen of wages, they were all willing to come, and in just a few days, Liu Dashi's 30 mu of land were all harvested.

When Zhou Lizheng was selling grain, he also helped Liu Sisi's family sell theirs. Liu Sisi's family sold 27 taels of silver.

In the past, the whole family would have jumped for joy, but things are different now. Liu Dashi paid Zhou Lizheng and the villagers their wages and then calmly put the money away.

Liu Sisi has been quite free lately; with Liu Sheng and the others managing the shop, she doesn't need to do anything.

Liu Sisi increased their running fee by one coin, and the group of boys rushed to do whatever she did, afraid that she would get tired.

Liu Sheng even considered selling himself into slavery to Liu Sisi's family.

Liu Sisi disagreed. She said to Liu Sheng, "Those who sell themselves into slavery are those who have no other choice. Now that you can earn money, you can also be free."

When I get older and have saved up enough money, I'll find a girl to treat well and have my own little family.

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