It's all that scoundrel Liu An's fault! If he hadn't been spouting nonsense, how could His Majesty have even considered such a wicked scheme!

Even if trade routes are established, His Majesty will not hand them over to others.

If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had to take on such a strenuous and pointless task.

"I am deeply moved by your sincere heart, Anqing!"

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation!"

This statement is absolutely sincere.

He was truly afraid. The person in front of him was unfathomable, yet he had been constantly suppressing him. If this continued, it was uncertain whether the An family could be saved.

Ji Xuan was moved. He pursed his lips and said in a clear voice, "It is not appropriate to do this now. I will make other arrangements for my senior brother after this matter has passed."

Upon hearing this, Liu An immediately cupped his hands in greeting, "Congratulations, Chief Secretary An!"

An Congfeng is already a minister; if he were to advance further, then…

These words almost brought tears to An Ge Lao's eyes.

Even knowing that it's a slap followed by a sweet treat, I'm still very excited.

At his age, even with his high position and great power, he is already past his prime, and everything in the An family will eventually have to be handed over to his eldest son.

All of this, if it can give my son the opportunity to go further, is worthwhile.

"This old minister thanks Your Majesty for your mercy!"

The An family is saved!

Ji Xuan's words soothed An Ge Lao's originally grief-stricken heart, and even Liu An, who looked ugly no matter how you looked at him, became slightly more pleasing to the eye.

After discussing these topics that could easily lead to conflict, both sides were willing to ease tensions, and the atmosphere between the ruler and his minister became harmonious.

Compared to opening up trade routes to the west, Jiang Nuan valued overseas trade more.

Although the risks overseas are greater, the potential rewards are also enormous. Unfortunately, Da Zhou's shipbuilding technology is not mature enough.

After shaking off these nonsensical thoughts, Jiang Nuan focused on writing the business plan. Having never written one before, she could only follow the format of a project application.

Having little experience, I was having a headache and racked my brains to write down everything I could think of.

He locked himself in his room for a full day and night before finally venturing out.

"Mother, you're finally out!" Xie was extremely anxious. "Uncle Liu told us not to disturb you. You must be starving. There's chicken soup being kept warm in the kitchen. I'll go get it."

"Hungry?" Jiang Nuan coughed twice. "No, don't bother, I'm not hungry."

Because her appetite was growing, she had stored up a lot of food in her space, so she would never go hungry.

But I definitely can't tell anyone about these things.

Don't think that charlatans drink dew and eat flower petals; in fact, she's a complete glutton.

She's just good at hiding it; her family only thinks she has a slightly bigger appetite, but actually...

"Mother," Xie asked, her voice filled with worry, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, don't overthink it," Jiang Nuan's face flushed slightly. "I'm preoccupied with something, so I don't want to eat."

"Alright then!" Madam Xie stopped trying to persuade her and decided to ask Doctor Gu to come and help take her pulse.

Jiang Nuan, unaware of her thoughts, asked instead, "Has His Majesty already left?"

"They left yesterday and should be in the capital by now. Oh, right, Grand Secretary An is also returning to the capital and will leave tomorrow."

Where is Liu An?

"He's keeping an eye on the rice harvest, the storage of the rice at home, and the crop rotation for the next season."

"Not returning to Beijing?"

“I didn’t hear him say anything,” Madam Xie frowned. “Mother, is Uncle Liu also going back to the capital?”

"Since there's no action, it shouldn't happen for the time being," Jiang Nuan frowned, thinking this. "Could His Majesty have appointed Grand Secretary An to oversee the passage?"

Sending Grand Secretary An to the west to repair the trade route feels like bullying an old man!

"Is Mother referring to the trade routes to the Western Regions?"

"right!"

“I don’t know about this daughter-in-law, but,” Xie Shi said in a low voice after glancing around quickly, “after His Majesty left, Uncle Liu was beaten with a sack over his head, and his face is still bruised.”

Jiang Nuan: ...

"Dark Three, come out!"

“It was Elder An who ordered this,” An San said, rubbing his nose. “It was not appropriate for me to intervene.”

"What did he do now?"

There was no need to hide this matter, so An San answered directly, "His Majesty was interested in building a trade route to the west. Grand Secretary An initially disagreed, but later compromised."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan understood what was going on after a moment's thought.

Liu An is a truly competent lackey; it's just a matter of whether he can withstand the retaliation from Grand Secretary An.

"Have Steward Cao be ready to take over the household affairs at any time. Liu An shouldn't be staying for long."

"Why?"

"A belated revenge!"

Liu An has been giving Grand Secretary An a lot of trouble lately. The fact that Grand Secretary An could arrange for people to put sacks on people shows that he has reached his limit.

It's difficult to make a move here, so they'll definitely try to get the person to the capital.

Thinking of this, Jiang Nuan sighed inwardly: No zuo no die!

Why not just stay out of trouble and protect yourself? Why get involved and make things difficult for yourself?

Upon hearing this, Xie immediately understood, and hesitated, "Mother, they get along very well, they even play chess together, how could this be..."

"This is a matter of shrewdness, and also a means of self-preservation."

Jiang Nuan liked Xie Shi, her daughter-in-law, even more than her sons, and she would hide almost everything from her.

Next, he recounted in detail what had happened in the capital.

She felt that living like this was exhausting, always wearing a mask, and not daring to show even the hatred of someone who killed her father. In fact, it was completely unnecessary.

They're all colleagues; everyone knows each other.

Even if you smile like a flower, people will still be wary and will still resort to underhanded tactics if they want to!

Upon hearing this, Madam Xie's eyes widened in disbelief. "They can still calmly drink tea and play chess despite having so many grudges. They're truly amazing!"

Even buckets can't hold as much water as they can!

"The one who's best at pretending is Ji Xuan," Jiang Nuan thought to herself. "He looks like a gentleman, but he's actually shameless, ruthless, and cunning."

"You'll get used to it. It's just socializing. Don't take it seriously."

"Um."

Xie's expression was indescribable.

She knew that if she couldn't take human relationships seriously, then she didn't know what else she could take seriously.

However, he kept these words to himself and didn't say them aloud.

Jiang Nuan patted her head reassuringly, then turned to look at An San, "Are there any guards on standby in the manor?"

"Yes, His Majesty specially left these before he left. Does Madam need them?"

“Hmm,” Jiang Nuan handed the box to An San, “have them send the things to the capital.”

"Has Madam finished getting ready?"

There was an undisguised surprise in his voice.

Although An San had broken away from the secret guards, he had not completely severed ties. Without violating his master's interests, the secret guards would still not hide information from him.

The same applies to trade routes in the Western Regions.

Based on past experience, this kind of thing, which cannot be taken lightly, requires at least ten days to half a month of hard work.

"Hmm," Jiang Nuan rubbed her forehead, "It took a lot of time to get it done."

The formation was at a crucial moment, about to succeed, but it was suddenly stalled by this, which is incredibly frustrating!

She knew it was impossible to prepare everything in a short time and there was no need to rush, but it was still uncomfortable to have it weighing on her mind, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else.