Before their mother could react, their father, who was nearby, heard it, grabbed a whip, and started hitting them.

"You wretch! What nonsense are you spouting? If you want pork stewed with rattan cane, just say so! I have plenty!"

In an instant, the yard was filled with chaos, chickens and dogs scattered, and cries shook the heavens.

Tianci was initially somewhat resentful that his father was treating the children who had bullied him to candied hawthorns, but after hearing the crying from outside the courtyard, he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Dad, you're so cunning."

He learned the word "scheming" from Xiao Qingyin.

Bai Yanzhang smiled and accepted his son's admiring gaze with equanimity.

"Father, this isn't called being cunning; it's called repaying evil with kindness."

Tianci silently made a note of it.

Originally, repaying evil with good meant using seemingly virtuous deeds to retaliate against a major enemy.

I understand.

Having a father is quite good; a mother wouldn't teach him these things.

His eyes crinkled into crescent moons as he smiled.

"Thank you, Dad."

Fearing that Bai Yanzhang might misunderstand, she added, "Although you are very good to me, I will not abandon my mother and go back to the Bai family with you."

Bai Yanzhang: "..."

Both mother and daughter thought he wanted to take the child away.

"Do whatever you want," he smiled slightly, "Father won't make things difficult for you."

"So, will you still only come to class on your days off from now on?"

"No, I'll come every day from now on."

If he doesn't come frequently, how can he possibly win over Qin Wenjun to marry him?

Unaware of his true thoughts, Tianci was very pleased with the answer.

The more times his father comes, the more he can learn.

From now on, I can protect my mother on my own.

For a moment, the two exuded a harmonious atmosphere of fatherly love and filial piety.

Meanwhile, the Marquis of Yong'an, a thousand miles away, had a completely different feeling.

The news of Yi Shuihan's usurpation of the throne, the date of his wedding, an invitation to return to Da Xi, and cured meat made by Xiao Qingyin were all delivered to him at the same time.

He was so angry his ears were practically smoking.

"You unfilial son! Nandan was just getting things sorted out, and he's already set up an even bigger mess, trying to drag me back to be a laborer. I'd rather die in Nandan than go back to the capital!"

Princess Zhaoyang patted his back.

"Didn't you just say a few days ago that Nandan looks the same all year round, it's too monotonous, and you wanted to go back to the capital to see snow?"

"At that time, I didn't know he had stolen the throne!"

"The Marquis of Yong'an said angrily."

Even a fool could tell that when he returned to the capital, his rebellious son would assign him a mountain of work and treat him like a workhorse.

He's so old, he should have retired long ago and been enjoying his grandchildren. That unfilial son is still tormenting him like this. Even his enemies aren't as ruthless as him.

No wonder people say that daughters come to repay kindness and sons come to seek revenge.

Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "Then we can stay here. Anyway, the marriage is being arranged by the people in the manor, so it doesn't matter whether we are here or not. However, I still have some things I want to give to Qingyin, so I need to ask someone to send them back."

Upon hearing her words, Marquis Yong'an immediately fell silent.

Qingqing has raised her rebellious son to this age with great difficulty, so she definitely wants to see him get married and drink the "bride tea".

Moreover, the women who usually accompany her for tea and flower viewing are all in the capital, and she misses them quite a bit.

He didn't care about his rebellious son, but he was determined to fulfill Qingqing's wish.

He sighed, "I've been away from the capital for so long, it's time to go back and visit. If I don't go back soon, my pigs will be eaten clean by that unfilial son."

Princess Zhaoyang smiled secretly.

Even if this person has amnesia, they will still be stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.

"The Lunar New Year is just a few days away. Let's set off after the New Year."

"Okay, I'll arrange what I'm doing first."

He was only acting monarch, and now that he's leaving, they need to find someone else to replace him.

Since Yan Yufei had been assisting him in handling government affairs, this person was naturally the only suitable candidate.

Yan Yufei was somewhat apprehensive when he received the assignment.

"I am still too inexperienced to be competent for this task."

Marquis Yong'an waved his hand: "If you don't understand anything, just send a message by carrier pigeon to ask the rebel, no, I mean the new emperor. He will help you."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Yan Yufei stopped refusing.

"Your subject is determined to do his utmost to govern Nandan."

The Marquis of Yong'an then handed over the administrative affairs to him.

As for education, he entrusted it to the great Confucian scholar Guan Yongde.

He originally intended to give it to Ouyang Xiuqi, but the other party insisted on returning to the capital with him to attend Yi Shuihan's wedding.

Upon hearing this, Marquis Yong'an couldn't help but ask, "Are you returning to the capital with me or with someone else?"

Ouyang Xiuqi then told the truth.

"With my wife."

His wife was naturally Ji Yunhua.

Ji Yunhua has already opened Baibaozhai stores all over Nandan, and all the branches are operating well. She has long wanted to find Xiao Qingyin.

Upon receiving news of her marriage, I naturally had to go back.

Guan Hongdou also wanted to go to the capital to find Xiao Qingyin and continue to learn from her to improve her medical skills.

Unfortunately, medical school affairs are numerous, and I cannot leave for the time being.

She could only entrust the congratulatory gift she had prepared to Princess Zhaoyang, asking her to deliver it to Xiao Qingyin.

While her family and friends were busy in Nandan preparing for their trip north after the New Year, Xiao Qingyin discussed the New Year's Eve banquet with Yi Shuihan.

After Yi Shuihan declared herself Empress, she kept everything simple.

He dismissed all the palace servants, so of course he didn't want to hold a palace banquet.

"Isn't the imperial chef still here?"

Xiao Qingyin asked.

"Yes, yes, but the palace banquet was too extravagant and wasteful. It would be better to save that money for disaster relief. The northern herders have suffered a severe disaster this winter and need a sum of money allocated to them."

Xiao Qingyin agreed with his approach, but—

"You've been making too many personnel changes lately, making everyone feel insecure. If you even cancel the most important palace banquet of the year, it might cause even greater unrest."

Yi Shuihan didn't care much about this.

"If they can't even handle this much pressure, they should just resign and go home to take care of their children."

Xiao Qingyin: "..."

Do you think those civil officials are your soldiers, whom you can train however you want?

They weren't as obedient as soldiers.

She advised, "If you think the old palace banquets were too extravagant and wasteful, why not just make some reforms?"

Yi Shuihan raised an eyebrow: "How to innovate?"

Xiao Qingyin thought for a moment and replied, "Let's have a buffet. Everyone can help themselves to whatever they want and as much as they want."

This saves the trouble of serving dozens of dishes to each person, as preparing just the dishes would require a lot of manpower.

Not to mention that some people only take one bite and then leave.

A buffet can be roughly estimated based on the number of people, their composition, and their dietary preferences. Even if there are leftovers, they can be left for others to eat.

After listening to the explanation, Yi Shuihan smiled and said, "Okay, then let's have a buffet. Just order some cold dishes, hot dishes, desserts, and drinks."

Xiao Qingyin: "..."

I'm afraid the court officials will say he's stingy in private.

However, nowadays, the wealthy families in the capital are very wasteful, so it would be good to take advantage of the palace banquet to promote a spirit of diligence and frugality.

Then they discussed more details.

At this moment, she was unaware that many princes, ministers, and their families, after receiving invitations to the palace banquet, were all plotting how to dress their most outstanding daughters beautifully to leave a good impression on Yi Shuihan.