"You're really something! I didn't expect you to change so much. You've truly become a little rich woman." Gu Nanjiao was quite envious. Since getting married, she hadn't had a chance to travel around before she became pregnant, and now she has a child. She's stuck wherever she wants to go.

Huang Qingqing smiled knowingly, stacked the account books in her hands together, and called out to Bai Su, "After you tidy up here, I'm going shopping with Jiaojiao."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get everything tidy." Bai Su patted her chest to assure her, and as Huang Qingqing turned around, she didn't forget to throw her a sweet kiss.

Huang Qingqing shuddered and pulled Gu Nanjiao away quickly, saying, "This is getting more and more cheesy. I don't know where they learned it from!"

The two shopped around for a long time, buying a lot of things. Gu Nanjiao even went to the market herself to buy some vegetables because she wanted to eat hot pot.

It's terribly cold in winter, but a piping hot pot meal will warm you up from head to toe.

After returning home, Gu Nanjiao personally cooked the meal, with Cui'er and Guo'er assisting her.

Lu Yanzhao looked at the table full of dishes. Apart from the hot pot, the rest were dishes he had never seen before. He pointed to one of the dark-colored dishes and asked, "What is this?"

"This is preserved egg!" Gu Nanjiao picked up a piece with her chopsticks and put it into Lu Yanzhao's bowl. "There's also preserved egg and lean pork congee. You can try it later!"

Lu Yanzhao looked at her suspiciously. Many times he felt that Gu Nanjiao was a magical person. Putting aside her background, where did she get so many strange things from?

From designing clothing and food to expanding and strengthening the business, to the powerful firearms and farm tools, everything was unheard of.

Lu Yanzhao considered himself very smart, but he asked himself honestly, after studying for more than ten years, even if he was a rare genius, could he do what Gu Nanjiao did?

He always felt that Gu Nanjiao seemed to have suddenly become a different person. When did that happen? Yes, after that failed suicide attempt, she seemed to have become someone from another world, a world he didn't understand. So, he still had to keep trying.

After the New Year, the emperor suddenly vomited blood, and his condition worsened.

The capital was in a state of panic. Gu Nanjiao was worried, so after changing into the robes of a princess protecting the country, she asked to enter the palace.

Upon arriving outside the palace, they were stopped by the Empress Dowager: "The Emperor is seriously ill and refuses to see anyone."

Left with no other choice, the Empress Dowager had to take Gu Nanjiao back to the palace for a chat.

After several rounds of subtle probing, the Empress Dowager replied with a grim face: "The Emperor's food was poisoned, but fortunately it was discovered in time and he is now out of danger."

The Empress Dowager didn't go into further details, but it was the Emperor's men who discovered that the Crown Prince had secretly poisoned the food, and that Prince Cheng had secretly sent someone to replace it.

The emperor was filled with mixed feelings. Both of his sons had such long reach, but he preferred Prince Cheng. Although Prince Cheng had also planted spies, which made the emperor wary, the emperor didn't take his little schemes to heart, considering his filial piety and that he hadn't been as obsessed as the crown prince.

However, it was somewhat congested.

Just then, a snow disaster struck the north, and King Cheng volunteered to go north to provide disaster relief. The emperor readily agreed.

With King Cheng away from the capital, Chu Luoxun was in his element and no longer bothered to conceal his underhanded actions.

On this day, he encountered Lu Yanzhao on a narrow road. Chu Luoxun blocked his way: "Lu Yanzhao, I, the Crown Prince, am giving you one last chance to choose again!"

"I eat the king's food, and I am loyal to the king. In this life, I am only loyal to Your Majesty." Lu Yanzhao said lightly, while Chu Luoxun felt a breath stuck in his chest, wishing he could tear the person in front of him to pieces.

Chu Luoxun glanced at Lu Yanzhao with a gloomy look in his eyes, then left with a dark face.

Since his father wanted to feign illness to test him, he decided to make him genuinely ill. Fortunately, the poison he found was colorless and odorless, and he bribed the palace eunuchs, chefs, and even the imperial physicians.

Once his father is gone, he will rightfully ascend the throne and become the legitimate emperor. At that time, he can make Lu Yanzhao die or live as he pleases.

However, he couldn't swallow his anger. Chu Luoxun's eyes turned cold, and he smiled sinisterly: "Lu Wanning, I almost forgot about you."

After returning to his residence, Chu Luoxun immediately ordered someone to go to Nanshan Temple to bring Lu Wanning back.

What he didn't know was that Lu Yanzhao was one step ahead of him, sending a letter to the secret guards in advance, saying that two new nieces had been added to the household, and that Lu Wanning must come to the capital.

When Zhu Xiaomei heard that her sister-in-law had given birth to two little nieces, she was overjoyed and rushed to the capital with the secret guards without stopping.

Chu Luoxun's men arrived empty-handed, which enraged him so much that he smashed all the glass vases in the room and vowed to tear Lu Yanzhao to pieces.

Lu Yanzhao will be the biggest obstacle on his road to success. Since he can't have him, he'll destroy him.

…

Upon hearing that Lu Xiaomei had returned, Lu's mother and Gu Nanjiao handed the child over to the wet nurse and rushed outside.

Looking at the dark-skinned, thin girl in front of her, Gu Nanjiao didn't recognize her at first. After a long pause, she excitedly exclaimed, "Little Sister Lu!"

"Sister-in-law—" Lu Xiaomei hugged Gu Nanjiao and burst into tears, "Sister-in-law, I've missed you so much! When are you going to cook me some meat?"

Mother Lu wiped away tears with heartache: "My little sister has become so thin. She wants meat as soon as she comes back. It seems that she hasn't even had a bite of meat during her years at Nanshan Temple."

"Mom, although I've lost weight, I've grown taller and stronger." Lu Xiaomei patted her mother's shoulder. The little girl, who was almost twelve years old, was already slightly taller than her mother.

"So dark and skinny, like a tomboy," Lu's mother joked. Lu's younger sister suddenly asked, "Where are my two little nieces?"

"Inside!"

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Xiaomei had vanished. When she saw her two soft and adorable nieces, Lu Xiaomei grinned from ear to ear: "So cute, like two glutinous rice balls."

Lu Xiaomei hugged this one and that one, unable to put them down.

Gu Nanjiao went into the kitchen. She was in a good mood today and wanted to cook a big, sumptuous meal for Lu Xiaomei herself.

Especially meat, you must cook more of it.

After Lu Yanzhao returned, Lu Xiaomei quickly showed him the kung fu she had learned at Nanshan Temple, and the two of them practiced their moves in the courtyard.

As soon as she heard that dinner was served, Lu Xiaomei quickly slipped away: "Big brother, I'll spar with you again tomorrow. I want to eat more meat today."

At the dinner table, Lu Xiaomei's bowls were piled up like a small hill. She ate them all without hesitation, her mouth greasy with oil.

“I haven’t eaten meat for two years, you have no idea how much I’ve been craving it. Once I secretly went down the mountain and caught a pheasant and roasted it, and my master punished me by making me kneel in front of the Buddha and copy the scriptures 100 times.”

"And another thing, my master is a nun who never loves or severs ties with men. She always has a gloomy face and teaches us to cut off all feelings and love, and not to trust the foul mouths of men in the world."

As Lu Xiaomei ate, she chattered on about the interesting things that happened on the mountain. The whole family listened attentively, and no one interrupted her.