Chapter 12

Fu'er seemed to understand when her cousin reminded her, yet she also seemed not to.

In short, now is not her chance to climb into bed.

She had to appease Ning Shiyu and make him willingly want her.

Fu'er felt that this was a bit too difficult, but she didn't have a better solution, so she decided to follow her cousin's method for the time being.

Today, her brother and sister-in-law went back to her parents' home, and guests came to visit. Fu'er was in the kitchen helping her mother prepare vegetables.

Seeing that Fu'er was distracted, Wen looked suspicious and asked, "What did your sister Cui Cui just say to you?"

"But I've found you a good family."

"You'll be sixteen this August, and it'll be time to settle your marriage."

Fu'er knew what her mother was going to say next, so she made up an excuse and left the kitchen.

Not long after, You Cuicui's parents and their family arrived.

Ms. Wen prepared a large table of delicious dishes to entertain them.

Fu'er's parents were from out of town; in the past, the family only ran a tofu business in town.

Later, Fu'er's uncle gained a foothold in Lingyang.

So they brought Fu'er's family out as well.

Fu'er was only two or three years old then, and in the blink of an eye she has grown into a young lady.

Over the years, her family has received a lot of care from her uncle.

Luo Xunchun took out his best wine, which he usually couldn't bear to drink, to treat his brother-in-law.

You Cuicui was pregnant and was very picky about food in her own home.

She kept saying how delicious the food her aunt had made was.

Man'er was holding Le Ge'er in her arms, and her complexion had improved a lot.

He became much more optimistic and took the initiative to remind his cousin of some precautions.

While serving food to her brother and sister-in-law, Ms. Wen chatted about her two grandsons.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard in the courtyard.

Then they heard the voices of Xu Yuan's parents coming from outside.

"My dear in-laws, we've come to see my grandson."

Upon hearing this, Man'er dropped the bamboo chopsticks in her hand and immediately picked up Le Ge'er and went to her room.

Even if Luo Xunchun had grievances against this family, he wouldn't do something like kicking them out before the first month of the lunar calendar.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that Xu Yuan and his parents had arrived.

Wen, however, was not so patient. She didn't even bother to consider Mingming's feelings and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Madam Xu's attitude softened considerably, and she said frankly, "In-laws, besides wanting to see Le'er today, we also have something to discuss with you."

Madam Wen flatly refused, saying, "Le'er is asleep. Besides, there's nothing for our two families to discuss right now."

"You should leave now."

Since Old Madam Ouyang intervened and resolved Xu Yuan's harassment, the Xu family had no choice but to give up.

But the two elders still cared deeply for Le Ge'er and had not truly given up on him.

Although they won't come to blatantly rob anymore, they still come to check on things every few days.

Seeing that Le Ge'er was looking more and more like Xu Yuan, not to mention the two elders of the Xu family, even Xu Yuan himself couldn't help but want to acknowledge him as his father again.

Yet they dared not forget the warning from the county magistrate.

Seeing that everyone in the room was looking at him coldly, Xu Yuan continued, "Mother-in-law, please calm down. I've come here today because I want to reconcile with Man'er."

Xu Yuan thought that once he explained his purpose, the Luo family would change their attitude towards him.

Unexpectedly, before the Wen couple could express their opinion, Fu'er immediately said, "My sister will never return to your Xu family."

"Don't think I don't know what bad ideas you're up to."

Seeing that Fu'er had interfered again, Xu Yuan was furious. "Fu'er, you can't make decisions for your sister. Today I want to see Man'er."

“I have divorced Xin Shi. Man’er has returned to our Xu family and will still be my legal wife.”

"We have no worries about food and drink."

“Our Xu family’s assets will all belong to me, Le’er, in the future.”

"If you don't believe me, you can come home with me and see for yourself."

The Xu family was indeed well-off, owning several grain and oil shops in Lingyang.

In the past, when Madam Wen and Luo Xunchun agreed to this marriage, it was because they valued the Xu family's wealth.

However, they overlooked Xu Yuan's character, which caused their daughter to suffer a lot of injustice.

This time, the couple will not easily trust Xu Yuan again.

Just then, Man'er came out of the side room.

She firmly stated, "Xu Yuan, I do not wish to marry you."

"I will not go back to the Xu family with you. Le'er's household registration is already under my father's name."

"His surname is now Luo."

After saying that, he took out Luo Xunchun's household registration book.

Turn it over to show everyone.

The Xu family turned pale and stared wide-eyed in shock at the timid and indecisive Man'er, who would pull such a stunt.

He had no choice but to leave in a fit of anger.

This surprised not only the Xu family, but also Wen Shi and Luo Xunchun.

Then there was Wen's brother, who asked with a delighted expression, "Man'er, your move was brilliant; even your uncle admires it."

"This also cut off any future entanglements with the Xu family."

"Who was the expert who gave you this idea?"

Man'er remained silent, only giving a mysterious smile.

Fu'er chuckled and said, "Uncle, I'm the expert you were talking about. You didn't expect that, did you? I'm not even as good as you."

“Don’t call him Gaoming, call him Fu’er.”

Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they saw her silly expression.

Fu'er knew that Xu Yuan's family wouldn't truly let the matter rest with Le Ge.

Last time when I went to the county government office with Uncle Hong to pay taxes, I overheard the yamen runners who were registering households talking to someone.

Inspired by this, I came up with the idea of ​​using this method.

*

After the tenth day, the King of Qin finally received news from the court that his elder brother's health was deteriorating, and he was deeply saddened.

"Yu'er, take a look too. You've been thinking of your imperial uncle, and you've been waiting for this letter for a long time."

He then handed the letter in his hand to Ning Shiyu.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, a spies from the capital sent a letter saying that Emperor Yuanhe had fainted in his own palace.

The hearts of King Qin and Ning Shiyu were never at peace.

To the people of Western Chu, Emperor Yuanhe was not a qualified ruler.

He was incompetent and dissolute, and his excessive pampering of his empress in his youth led to the current situation where the empress's relatives interfered in politics and the court was in decline.

But for Ning Shiyu and the Prince of Qin, Emperor Yuanhe treated them well; he was their blood relative.

Several years ago, the King of Qin was suppressed by Prime Minister Cui, who took away his military power over the Northwest Army.

They imprisoned his family in their fiefdom of Yunzhou.

Emperor Yuanhe secretly wrote to Ning Shiyu, sending her to assist the Prince of Qin.

With the support of his imperial uncle, Ning Shiyu was able to act more freely.

The Northwest Army was originally commanded by Ning Shiyu's father, but after his father's death, it was taken over by the King of Qin.

With the King of Qin's military power seized, Prime Minister Cui took the opportunity to hand it over to his eldest son-in-law, Wei Shao.

Many generals in the Northwest Army were dissatisfied.

The Turkic army attacked, resulting in a major defeat in the northwest.

They lost two cities in quick succession.

Ning Shiyu secretly maneuvered and plotted with important generals in the army, strongly demanding that the Prince of Qin lead the Northwest Army on the expedition.

They also secretly executed the generals planted by the Cui family in the army.

Faced with the imminent loss of the Northwest, Prime Minister Cui had no choice but to compromise.

The plan was to wait until the lost territories in the northwest were recovered, and then imprison the King of Qin again.

Ning Shiyu had anticipated that Cui Mingxiu would pull this stunt.

On the one hand, they intensified the fervor among the military generals who demanded that the King of Qin return to the Northwest Army.

On the one hand, he reminded his uncle to take precautions early, in case the imperial edict did not specify where he would go after the war.

Therefore, the King of Qin must declare that regardless of the outcome of this war, he must return to his post in the northwest after the war.

If the court does not agree, the King of Qin will refuse to go to war.

Once the Northwest falls, the Turkic forces can easily advance into the heart of the Central Plains of Western Chu.

Chang'an is in grave danger.

King Qin had spent many years training in the army alongside Ning Shiyu's father, gaining extensive experience in leading troops and being familiar with the situation in the Turkic war.

At this critical moment, Prime Minister Cui dared not seize the country's territory as he plotted to seize power.

Are there any suitable candidates around?

Even knowing the King of Qin's intentions, Cui Mingxiu had no choice but to compromise once again and agree to the King of Qin's conditions.

King Qin lived up to expectations, and in just half a year, he reclaimed two cities, drove the Turkic troops out of the Western Chu territory, and weakened their forces.

They also ceded a grassland pastoral capital to Western Chu.

This brought great benefits to the Western Chu, which was already short of warhorses.

This led to the subsequent outcome where, after the battle, the King of Qin was able to return to the northwest and take over the northwestern troops.

As a result, the Northwest Army also became a hidden danger for the Cui family, causing trouble for the King of Qin every few days.

They wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of the King of Qin.

"Yu'er, if your imperial uncle really has an accident, I'm afraid our plan won't be able to be implemented in time."

After burning the letter in his hand, Ning Shiyu looked solemn, but he was thinking about something else.

“Uncle, what I’m worried about is that the Cui family will use your health as an excuse to summon you back to take care of him.”

“A few days ago, the Empress summoned several of my cousins ​​back to Chang’an.”

Upon hearing this, the King of Qin agreed.

He had always had a deep affection for his elder brother, the emperor.

Given Prime Minister Cui's cunning, this was indeed the easiest way to imprison him.

The King of Qin slammed the teacup he was holding onto the desk.

"Yu'er, you guessed right. With that thief's methods, I'm afraid he'll use this trick to trap me."

"If I go to Chang'an, it will be like tying my hands and feet."

The King of Qin's unease grew stronger.

Ning Shiyu comforted him, saying, "Uncle, don't worry, things have taken a turn for the better."

The King of Qin was excited, knowing that his nephew would always give him unexpected surprises.

"Yu'er, tell me quickly, what's the chance?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Seeing that the King of Qin did not quite understand, he added, "I have already placed reliable spies around the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince has harbored deep resentment towards the Cui family over the years."

"We can write to him in advance."

"Not only does he know the true condition of the Emperor's uncle's health, but he can also help us deal with Prime Minister Cui."

The King of Qin frowned slightly; he felt that trying to win over the Crown Prince was somewhat risky.

"Yu'er, this move is extremely risky unless you are absolutely certain of success."

After all, the Crown Prince has half the blood of the Cui family, and in terms of interests, he is an enemy of them.

Moreover, he rarely contacted the Crown Prince, and their relationship was quite distant.

Ning Shiyu's lips curled into a confident smile. "Uncle, rest assured, leave this matter to me."

On the tenth day, Fu'er returned to the Ning residence, bringing food made by her mother for Granny Yu and Xiang'er.

There were coarse grain cakes and pastries, as well as sausages that they, as outsiders, loved to eat.

Like Ning Shiyu, Granny Yu was used to bland food and couldn't handle overly spicy food.

So Wen made her her favorite spring pancakes and her own homemade Tusu wine.

After giving Fu'er a bulging purse, Granny Yu accepted the things that Madam Wen had prepared for her, saying, "My dear older sister is so thoughtful."

The household accountants wouldn't start work until the fifteenth of the first lunar month, so when Fu'er came, she was just following orders from Granny Yu.

"Young master has not been at home for the past two days. Go and change his bedding."

Having received the New Year's money prepared by Granny Yu, Fu'er walked briskly, "Yes, this servant will go right away."

She put her bundle in her room and headed towards Wenxuan Pavilion.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xiao Ju darted out from the flowerbed and jumped into Fu'er's arms.

It meowed a few times.

He looked extremely aggrieved.

This little orange kitten isn't like its mother before; it's not very clingy to Fu'er.

Having won the master's favor, one can do whatever one wants in the Ning residence.

No one dared to provoke it; judging from its current appearance, it must have suffered some injustice outside the mansion.

Fu'er stroked its head. "Who would dare bully you?"

"I'm going to settle accounts with them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a tabby cat swaggered in from the gate.

When Little Orange saw it appear, it pulled its head back and buried itself in Fu'er's arms.

Fu'er murmured, "Oh, so it was you who bullied Xiao Ju."

"Where did this stray cat come from? How dare it run wild in our Ning residence?"

Suddenly, a soft voice came from the courtyard gate, "Little sister Fu'er, it's not a stray cat, it's mine."

As soon as Fu'er looked up, she saw Yun You moving gracefully with her lotus-like steps, her waist as slender as a willow.

He came up to her.