After arranging things for Fang Peiyun, Jiang Hua returned to her study. Only after Songzi told her that Bai Heng had arrived did she move to the main hall.

I haven't seen Bai Heng for a month, and when I see him again, he seems to have lost some weight.

"It's been a long time, have you been very busy?"

"Just got back from the capital."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two got down to business.

"We have found the eldest prince of our Great Sheng Kingdom," Bai Heng suddenly said.

Jiang Hua paused, holding her teacup, and waited quietly for Bai Heng's next words.

"Zhou Yingxuan is the eldest prince who was lost among the common people."

I was a little surprised, but everything seemed to be as expected. The male protagonist's identity in the story was naturally not simple.

"so?"

“Jiang Xingzhou’s return to the capital was partly to escort the eldest prince, who had been lost and found, back to the capital,” Bai Heng continued.

"I heard that Zhou Yingxuan asked the Emperor to grant him a marriage proposal and take you as his concubine in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, saying that he would not betray the promise he made to protect you back then."

"Are you sure you're not getting revenge on me?" Jiang Hua blurted out in response.

"And then what?"

"The Emperor has betrothed him to An Xinya, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo's family."

"The Duke of Anguo's Mansion?" Jiang Hua felt the name sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before. It seemed like that damn system had mentioned it by accident.

"When will A-Zhou be back?" Jiang Hua asked casually.

She didn't take Zhou Yingxuan's marriage proposal to heart; her next target was Zhou Yingxuan anyway.

Lin Shuyan must be so lonely underground. She has to see this through to the end and keep calling him "Brother Xuan" until they're reunited.

"If you can't get away, are you going to the capital to find him?"

"Take Ayi with you?"

Bai Heng nodded: "Someone has spread rumors that the late Empress's child is still alive, right here in our Qing Shi Town."

"What Zhou Yingxuan said?"

Jiang Hua recalled that when the dog system returned to Lin Shuyan's body, it must have told Lin Shuyan about the plot of the book.

Zhou Yingxuan's sudden trip to the border battlefield was probably because Lin Shuyan told him everything the system and she had told him, including A Yi's identity.

"Yes, you know?" Bai Heng looked at Jiang Hua with some surprise, as if she knew everything.

"Just a guess."

"Well, you guessed right. But there's one thing you didn't guess: Zhou Yingxuan is preparing to go to Qing Shi Town, and Lin Shuyan is..."

Bai Heng stopped there, then took out a token from his person, on which was engraved the character "Jiang".

"This is?"

"The one you asked me to investigate last time was a bit tricky, so I talked to Jiang Xingzhou about it."

Jiang Hua nodded, signaling Bai Heng to continue.

“You are the daughter of the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. Back then, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family married the Duke of Anguo’s mansion. At that time, the Duke of Anguo was just an insignificant minor official in the court.”

"The reason he was able to become a Duke was simply because the Emperor gave him this honorary title out of consideration for the Jiang family's status as founding heroes."

"The year Miss Jiang was pregnant with you, your maternal grandfather's family was attacked by the enemy in a major battle on the border, and not a single member of the Jiang family army survived."

"You were born amidst this terrible news. On the same day, the Duke of Anguo brought his concubine from the Yingchun Pavilion in the capital into the house. The concubine was already about to give birth."

"So the child in that concubine's belly back then was An Xinya?"

Considering what Bai Heng had said earlier, Jiang Hua slowly put down her teacup. There was something strange about the fact that no one from the Jiang family had survived.

"It's not that no one has suspected this matter, but due to the great upheaval in the capital back then, this matter could only be hastily concluded," Bai Heng said glossed over.

When will we set off for the capital?

He thought that by killing Lin Shuyan, he had already completed half of his revenge for the original owner, but he didn't expect that it was only the beginning.

They were all princes or dukes, none of them had simple identities, yet they all wanted to kill her. She was truly cannon fodder to the very end.

"Three days later." Bai Heng estimated the time; he also needed to hand over the reins to the new magistrate in Qing Shi Town.

"So you're not coming back anymore?"

When Bai Heng told me that a new county magistrate had arrived, I thought he was just temporarily leaving for the capital.

"Huahua doesn't want me to leave?" Bai Heng's eyes crinkled with a smile.

"If the new magistrate is as good-looking as you, then you might as well leave."

The smile on Bai Heng's face vanished instantly...

“Huahua”.

Before leaving, Bai Heng suddenly called out.

"Before you were born, your mother and my mother had already arranged a marriage for us."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hua paused, unsure of what to say. However, before she could speak, Bai Heng boarded the carriage and left.

“This man is not bad, you can consider him.” Qingyue sat on the wall, rubbing her chin and nodding with satisfaction.

"Sister, don't you think so?"

Qingling stared blankly at Jiang Hua, somewhat dazed, until Qingyue called out twice before she came to her senses.

Jiang Hua noticed Qing Ling's strange behavior during this time, but she didn't dwell on it too much. She focused on arranging her work first and then taking A Yi to the capital.

Jiang Hua was unsure if she would be able to return before the Lunar New Year, so she immediately summoned Granny Luo.

"Miss, please take Shuanghua with you; this girl is more clever," Granny Luo suggested, bowing slightly.

"I was thinking the same thing, but once Shuanghua leaves, we won't have enough manpower at the barbecue stall."

"Tomorrow, go to the slave market and buy five more clever maids. After training them, put two at the barbecue stall and one at the snail rice noodle stall. Take the rest back to your residence," Jiang Hua instructed after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, young lady."

After instructing Granny Luo, Jiang Hua went to find Village Chief Lu and gave him the wages for the workers in the cactus field for the next few months.

"Miss Jiang, when will you be back?"

Looking at the heavy pile of broken silver on the table, Village Chief Lu hurriedly asked, "This means she won't be back for a year or two. The lives of the villagers in Shili Village have visibly improved, entirely thanks to Jiang Hua. He can't bear to see her leave."

"I don't know yet. If things can be resolved quickly, I should be able to come back before the New Year."

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back," Village Chief Lu thought to himself with a sigh of relief.

...

In Qingshi Town, Jiang Hua went to Shifang Academy the next day to bring Jiang Jingyi back.

"Stepmother, what happened at home?"

Jiang Jingyi had just heard that she and Dean Li had asked for leave, a full six months' leave, and then he thought of Jiang Xingzhou who had gone to the border battlefield, and his heart immediately became uneasy.

"Is it Dad...?" Jiang Jingyi had already silently prepared himself for the worst, and his eyes filled with tears as he looked at Jiang Hua.

"what's on your mind?"

"Your father asked Bai Heng to take you to the capital; he's waiting for you there."