The cannon fodder character in the Dream of the Red Chamber's story of a substitute bride tries to rewrite her life 10...

After Mingrui was promoted to a noble title, the Feng'en Fuguo Duke's Mansion became highly sought after, and the couple received invitations to banquets every day.

Mingrui snorted coldly: "It's true what they say: when you're poor, no one cares even in the bustling city; when you're rich, distant relatives come calling even in the deep mountains. People in this world are always more likely to add flowers to brocade than to offer charcoal in the snow."

Uncle Fu, from now on, you can handle these kinds of posts as you see fit. Just refuse them if you can, citing my poor health and need for rest and recuperation.

Uncle Fu took out a card from the middle: "This one is probably hard to refuse. The Fourth Prince's mansion has a new little prince, born to his concubine, Lady Li."

Jia Hui reached out and took the invitation from Uncle Fu: "We really have to go, Uncle Fu. Please prepare a few batches of the soap we make."

The freshly ripened cantaloupes, apples, grapes, and watermelons from the estate were picked, and the best ones were packed into two baskets each and sent to the Fourth Prince's residence.

I'll pack two sets of the newly made glass bowls and glasses. My wine is ready to drink now, so I'll pack two jars of it, and add a few more jars of fruit wine to make a total of six jars.

Uncle Fu is in charge of making some preparations. It's my first time visiting the Prince's Mansion, and I have no experience, so I need my sister-in-law to tell me what I need to pay attention to.

"Yan, go to the Prince's residence and tell my sister-in-law to send a nanny over to teach me manners."

Mingrui looked helpless: "It's just going to a wedding banquet. Although the Fourth Prince seems a bit serious, his wife is quite easy to get along with. You don't need to be so nervous."

"Just prepare a few simple gifts. Although our family's rank isn't high, we're still members of the imperial family. We're not aiming for promotion or wealth, so there's no need to be so polite with those princes."

Jia Hui lowered her voice: "That's the future Empress. If you don't take advantage of this now to curry favor with her, it will be too late once the Fourth Prince ascends to the throne."

You should also take it easy. Our family only does business with the Ninth and Tenth Princes; don't get involved in anything else. Those two simpletons followed the Eighth Prince, and they both ended up in pretty bad shape.

Mingrui frowned: "I didn't expect the final winner to be the Fourth Prince. No wonder you accepted the Fourth Princess's invitation and took it so seriously."

But that's not right. The current heir apparent is the crown prince, so shouldn't the crown prince be the one to succeed to the throne in the future?

The Emperor's doting affection for the Crown Prince is obvious to everyone, so why did the Fourth Prince end up with him? Could it be... something happened to the Crown Prince?

Jia Hui was about to praise his analysis, but when she heard his last guess, she couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: "So what if he is the crown prince? Whether he is granted the title or deposed is all up to the emperor's word."

Think about it, how many crown princes have successfully ascended the throne throughout history?

The emperor spoiled the crown prince too much. He had so many sons, and he was more concerned about the inequality than the lack of sons. He gave all his love to the crown prince, which spoiled him rotten.

Then it also puts the crown prince on the opposite side of everyone, and most importantly, our emperor lives too long. Have you ever seen a crown prince who has been in power for forty years?

When the emperor grows old and the crown prince is in his prime, will the crown prince not have any ambition for the position? How can one tolerate another snoring beside one's own bed?

Given the Emperor's autocratic temperament, how could he tolerate the Crown Prince coveting his position while he was still alive?

The crown prince had nowhere to go and nowhere to retreat. What could he do?

Mingrui nodded: "That makes sense. You said the Ninth and Tenth Princes are following the Eighth Prince? I know that the two of them are indeed quite close to the Eighth Prince."

But the Eighth Prince is now just a follower of the Prince Zhi. I never expected him to have such lofty ambitions.

My cousin often praises him for being courteous and respectful to scholars, but I've met him a few times and think he's a hypocrite.

The Fourth Prince was the type to say whatever he wanted, while he always smiled at everyone and every word he uttered was true.

When you talk to him, you have to be careful not to fall into a trap at any time. Only my idiot cousin would think he is courteous and respectful.

I've taken this to heart; my cousin's wife is usually very good to us. But the Zhen family's affairs are too complicated, so I can only hint at it indirectly.

No one knows what Mingrui said to Nersu, but when Nersu went to the Fourth Prince's residence for the full moon celebration, he was much colder when he saw the Eighth Prince again.

His relationship with the Ninth and Tenth Princes remained the same. Although the Ninth and Tenth Princes had a good relationship with the Eighth Prince, it was only a good relationship.

The two of them would go around drinking with people, and even the Fourth Prince was forced to drink quite a bit by them.

The only person they dared not give a drink to was Mingrui. If he were even slightly unwell, the two of them would be crying and clinging to his legs. He was their god of wealth; they couldn't afford to have any mishaps.

The Fourth Prince's wife was a very gentle woman. She did not have outstanding beauty, but her gentle and quiet temperament was elegant in its own way.

She was poised and elegant, with a gentle and modest manner, perfectly embodying the upbringing of a noblewoman.

Looking at the other princes' primary consorts, I must say, Emperor Kangxi was quite good at choosing primary consorts for his sons. She had a face that looked like it was a sign of peace and prosperity for the country, and she looked very fortunate.

The Crown Prince's position is now secure, and the princes have not yet reached the point where they are fighting each other and becoming irreconcilable enemies.

The atmosphere at the banquet was quite harmonious. Although the main character today was the second prince of the Fourth Prince's mansion, almost no one would deliberately bring up that illegitimate son to upset the Fourth Prince's wife, except for the Eighth Prince's wife who liked to show off her presence.

If the Fourth Prince's wife gives the impression of a clear spring, gentle and quiet, then the Eighth Prince's wife is a raging fire.

Her beauty was dazzling and flamboyant; every smile and frown was like a peony in full bloom, and every gesture exuded an air of superiority and disdain for all others.

When he looked at Jia Hui, he smiled, but the contempt in his eyes was undisguised, and his words were full of barbs.

"Speaking of which, Second Sister-in-law and the Duchess of Fuguo are related by marriage. Your Lady Jia is a sister of the Duchess of Fuguo. You should visit each other more often."

Zhenjia, who had been smiling, immediately looked dejected upon hearing the Eighth Prince's wife's words.

"I've heard that the Eighth Prince's wife and the Princess Guo Luoluo from the Tenth Prince's household are cousins. They must be very close and visit each other often, right?"

The Eighth Prince's wife's expression changed: "You..."

Zhen Jia remained completely unfazed. Others might fear her, but she was not. The Eighth Prince was merely a Beile, while her master was a hereditary Prince of the Second Rank.

She wasn't afraid of the Eighth Prince's wife criticizing her family; her grandmother was the Emperor's wet nurse, and her father was the Emperor's study companion.

The Eighth Prince's wife was merely the daughter of a concubine born into the Prince An's household. Her biological father, Ming Shang, was sentenced to death, and in terms of social standing, she was even inferior to herself.

With such a background, I don't know what she has to be proud of, and she even dares to look down on her Huihui.

Hmph, she'll go home and complain to her master. From now on, she must sever all ties with the Eighth Prince's family. Two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. If the Eighth Prince's wife is like this, then the Eighth Prince won't be much better.

Jia Hui wasn't the type to go back on her word. She glanced at Yun Que standing behind her, and Yun Que nodded slightly.

When the full moon banquet ended and everyone was leaving, since the Eighth Prince's residence was right next to the Fourth Prince's residence, the Eighth Prince's wife had drunk some wine and felt a little dizzy, so she decided not to take the sedan chair and instead walked back.

As soon as she stepped out the door, her legs gave way and she fell flat on her face. Zhen Jiashi grabbed Jia Hui's hand and laughed heartily.

After being helped up by her maid, the Eighth Princess Consort was almost driven mad with anger. She glared fiercely at the smiling Zhen Jia Shi and slapped the maid who was helping her across the face.

"Are you a dead man? You can't even support me, your wife. What good are you?"

The maid covered her face, lowered her head to hide the resentment in her eyes, and when the Eighth Prince came over, she revealed her reddened face.

The Eighth Prince, who was always kind to women and concerned about his reputation, quickly advised his wife, "Wife, if you want to punish someone, do it back home."

The Eighth Prince's wife had only taken two steps when she stumbled and almost fell. The Eighth Prince quickly steadied her, saying, "Princess, be careful."

The Eighth Prince's wife was in so much pain that tears were about to fall. When the Eighth Prince saw her appearance, he knew that she must have sprained her ankle.

He picked her up horizontally, apologized to the Fourth Prince and his wife, and strode back to the neighboring mansion.

After returning home, Zhen Jia complained to Nersu for most of the day.

Nersu was so sleepy from drinking that he could barely keep his eyes open, but he didn't dare to provoke the shrew in his house, so he could only force his eyes open and listen to her complaints.

She almost hated the Eighth Prince to death. He couldn't even manage his wife. How could he possibly accomplish anything great? She was determined to sever all ties with him from now on.

The Eighth Prince was also quite helpless: "The Duchess of Fuguo has absolutely no connection with us, so why are you targeting her?"

Since Mingrui recovered from her illness, the Duke of Fuguo's mansion and Prince Keqin have treated her like a goddess.

Who doesn't know that Nersu and Zhenjia are protective of their own? Back when the Jia sisters were married off in place of each other, the couple went around complaining to the old wives of the imperial family that the Jia family was bullying honest children who had no parents to protect them, and in the end, they all ran to the Empress Dowager's palace.

Nersu was a prince with an iron-capped hat, Zhenjia's grandmother was the emperor's wet nurse, and her father was the emperor's study companion.

The Zhen family's power in Jiangnan is not to be underestimated. Even if we can't befriend them, there's no need for us to make enemies with them, is there?"

The Eighth Prince's wife was so angry that her chest ached: "So you mean it's my fault? Why didn't you say anything when Zhenjia made fun of me?"

"I just can't stand that vixen from the Jia family. Ever since the ninth and tenth princes started doing business with her, do they even respect you, their eighth brother?"

The Eighth Prince sighed: "I know that my wife is doing this for my own good. It is my incompetence that has caused her to suffer so much."

No matter how much grievance the Eighth Prince's wife felt, she swallowed it all when she heard what the Eighth Prince said. She wiped away her tears and put on a smile.

"It is my blessing to marry you, sir. I don't feel wronged. As long as I can be with you, I can endure any hardship."

Inside, the Eighth Prince and his wife were locked in a tender moment, while outside, Mo Xiang stood with her head bowed. Several maids looked at her with sympathy, while also thankful that they weren't the ones who had gone to the Fourth Prince's residence that day. Given the Eighth Prince's wife's temper, Mo Xiang was likely to suffer a great deal this time.

After the Eighth Prince had appeased his wife, he came out of the room and saw Mo Xiang with half her face swollen. He pretended to be impatient and scolded her.

"Go downstairs and apply medicine to your face. Standing here like a wooden statue is annoying to look at."

The Eighth Prince's wife was in a good mood at the moment and was too lazy to quarrel with the Eighth Prince over a maid.

Mo Xiang bowed and hurriedly retreated. Once outside the courtyard, the Eighth Prince slowed his pace: "Stop hiding, come out!"

Mo Xiang slowly stepped forward: "Eighth Master, this servant has caused you trouble today. Please punish me!"

The Eighth Prince pulled a box of ointment from his pocket: "Go back and apply this ointment. I'll arrange for you to move to the front courtyard as soon as possible. I promised Hongyu I would take good care of you..."

After the Eighth Prince left, Mo Xiang coldly watched his departing figure. After a long while, she took the ointment and returned to her own courtyard with a blank expression.

She was like a sister to her best friend Hongyu, and Consort Liang chose her to be the trial marriage maid of the Eighth Prince.

After the Eighth Prince got married, she also became his princess. Even though she was timid and didn't fight for anything, she still couldn't escape being killed by the Eighth Prince's wife.

She hated the Eighth Prince's wife, and even more so the Eighth Prince himself. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet he knew Hongyu was pregnant, but he turned a blind eye to the Eighth Prince's wife's abuse of her.

She recalled Hongyu's dying words, holding her hand and telling her to live well and not to seek revenge for her.

Mo Xiang couldn't help but feel sad. The reason she endured the Eighth Prince's constant beatings and scoldings and continued to serve her was to make it easier to administer the drugs.

Since the Eighth Prince's wife harmed Hongyu and the child in her womb, she should never have another child.

Mo Xiang knew about the Eighth Prince's ambitions. Since his wife couldn't have children, he would definitely find another woman to bear them. Given the Eighth Prince's temperament, it was highly unlikely that she would allow another woman to have children.

You should know that she couldn't stand the Duke of Fu's wife because both of their names contained the character "Hui," and she would constantly harass and belittle her.

By making them turn against each other, she could be considered to have avenged Hongyu.

When Mingrui learned that the Eighth Prince's wife had bullied Jia Hui, he was so angry that he couldn't sleep all night. The next day, he made arrangements to return to the estate in Xiaotangshan.

"My rank is still too low. I need to keep working hard," he muttered to himself as he pulled the Shennong System in the carriage.

This time we're going to go big; we're not only going to develop high-yield potatoes, but also increase the yields of wheat and rice.

He learned from Jia Hui that the Ninth Prince was able to compete with the Fourth Prince in the later stages because the Ninth Prince contributed both money and effort. He decided to strike first and steer the Ninth Prince's money bag to the Fourth Prince's side.

Jia Hui munched on the milk cake candy made by Yun Que, watching Ming Rui write a business plan, eager to get revenge for her. She couldn't help but sigh, "It feels so good to win without lifting a finger."

The two of them stayed on the estate for two years, during which time they returned to the capital only a handful of times. While improving the glass, the craftsman, with Jia Hui's "guidance," accidentally mixed cement.

Jia Hui had craftsmen process a lot of cement, using the pretext of conducting experiments, to build a cement road from the farm to the official road.

The test results shocked everyone. No one expected that the cement, which was soft and crumbling when it was first laid and left a dent when stepped on, would become harder than stone slabs after drying overnight.

Even walking barefoot on it won't hurt your feet. When the carriage is running on the road, no matter how fast it is, you won't feel any bumps.

The key is that the raw materials for this stuff are limestone and clay, which are mixed in a certain proportion, calcined, ground, and a small amount of gypsum is added to make it.

It's ridiculously cheap, and the calcination process, which requires temperatures of over a thousand degrees, is not difficult either.

Blast furnace ironmaking technology was already quite mature as early as the Han Dynasty. Now, by modifying the blast furnace, it can be used directly.

After personally inspecting the road, Emperor Kangxi ordered the Fourth Prince, along with the Ninth and Tenth Princes, to build a cement factory and plan the construction of the first cement official road in the Qing Dynasty.

This road runs from the capital to Zhili, and it was built on the existing official road. Jia Hui suggested to the Ninth Prince that once cement production increased, the road could be constructed in sections.

A merit monument could also be set up in each state and county, and the names of the local wealthy merchants and gentry who funded the construction of roads and bridges could be engraved on the monument, especially the amount of silver they donated.

Furthermore, the emperor could select the individuals who donated the most silver nationwide and bestow upon them a plaque inscribed with "Family of Accumulated Virtue."

The state treasury didn't even need to provide the funds; wealthy merchants and gentry vied to contribute their money.

Building roads and bridges is a great act of merit. For wealthy merchants and gentry, even a single hair could be enough for ordinary people to spend for several years.

The money saved can be used to pay the laborers some wages and provide them with a few full meals.

The Ninth Prince flicked his fan with a flourish: "You've rambled on for so long, but the most important thing is the last sentence, isn't it?"

You're just worried that those who work on the road construction won't have enough to eat or won't get paid!

I must say, your method, though a bit underhanded, is definitely effective.

"Father Emperor is currently worried about the lack of money in the national treasury; he'll definitely like your idea."

While road construction was in full swing across the country, Jia Hui and Mingrui quietly pulled off another big operation.

Potatoes with a yield of up to 40 shi per mu, and wheat and rice with a yield of 10 shi per mu after improvement.

Although it sounds unbelievable, it is all true.

Emperor Kangxi never expected that Mingrui and Jia Hui, this young couple, would have such great abilities.

Their contributions were so great that he now didn't know how to reward them.

Just then, the Crown Prince spoke up: "Your subject believes that no amount of gold and silver can compare to raising the title of Duke of the State."

This would also prevent the Duchess of Fuguo from being looked down upon at banquets due to her lower social status.

The Crown Prince's words were like a blatant slap in the face to the Eighth Prince.

Many people still remember how the Eighth Prince's wife deliberately made things difficult for the wife of the Duke of Fuguo when the Second Prince of the Fourth Prince celebrated his one-month birthday.

After that incident, the Duke of Fuguo moved back to his estate in Xiaotangshan with his wife and almost never returned to the capital.

Emperor Kangxi was naturally aware of this matter, and he already had a poor impression of the Eighth Prince's wife. After this incident, his dissatisfaction with her only intensified.

The fact that the Crown Prince is bringing this up now is less about targeting the Eighth Prince and his wife.

It's more accurate to say he's targeting the First Prince's faction, since the Eighth Prince is currently still Prince Zhi's lackey.

Emperor Kangxi directly conferred the title of Prince Rui upon Mingrui, and promoted Nersu to Prince Keqin.

To be honest, Emperor Kangxi considered first bestowing the title of Prince of the Second Rank upon Mingrui, and then bestowing the title of Prince of the First Rank upon the new emperor upon his ascension to the throne, in order to avoid a situation where there were no more titles to bestow.

But after careful consideration, he decided to directly bestow the title of Prince upon Mingrui. The couple's contributions were too great; it would be inappropriate not to grant them the title.

In addition, he was a member of the imperial family and was humble and low-key. Even though he was granted the title of prince, he did not give it to outsiders.

Mingrui was a prince, so Jia Hui became his princess. On the night Mingrui was conferred the title of prince, the two consummated their marriage and officially became husband and wife.

Mingrui's long-awaited wish finally came true. Because of his health, they hadn't consummated their marriage before, but now they were finally husband and wife.