Before they parted ways, Li Hua secretly replaced Zhong Lizhen without telling Gan Qiongying, and Gan Qiongying did not completely tell Li Hua everything about herself. In fact, looking back now, the reason they went astray was because at that time, the trust between them was not enough for them to entrust everything to each other.

But time will prove everything and allow everything to settle down.

Gan Qiongying now only needs to rest and prepare for childbirth to deliver the two little ones in her belly.

Thinking of the two little ones, Gan Qiongying touched her belly through her clothes again, wondering whether they were two girls or two boys.

Gan Lin nodded, not interfering in the matter between Gan Qiongying and Li Hua, after all, he didn't understand love at all...

He simply said, "I hope you have a boy and a girl... preferably twins, so you can have both a son and a daughter."

Gan Qiongying gently patted her belly, saying without looking up, "Then I'd be so happy I'd jump right onto the roof. There's no such thing as a free lunch..."

It was still snowing outside.

Gan Qiongying looked out the window. The sky was dark, and light snow was falling on the windowsill, rustling and scratching at the window paper. The small room was warm and peaceful, which at least temporarily soothed Gan Qiongying's worried heart.

Gan Qiongying's main concern was that she feared the love words on the page wouldn't be enough to win over her Lihua.

Now those sweet words are crossing mountains and rivers, rushing towards Li Hua.

Ying Jiu's speed is indeed faster than that of ordinary people. Not only is his lightness skill excellent, but his horsemanship is also first-class. Moreover, he changes horses every time he arrives at a place, and he basically never stops.

They would only stay at an inn when they couldn't hold on any longer at night, and then set off again early the next morning.

Ying Jiu dared not delay the task entrusted to him so solemnly by his master.

Instead of heading directly to Yindu from the northwest, he detoured to a small town in the south, changed his appearance, and then headed towards Yindu.

Therefore, no matter how fast he traveled, it would be a month and a half before he arrived in Yindu.

It was April in the human world, a time of fluctuating temperatures, with the weather still chilly after a brief warm spell.

Ying Jiu first secretly went to the princess's residence, then to the prince consort's residence, and even searched all the prince consort's properties in Nan Zhao Yindu that he knew of, but still could not find any trace of the prince consort.

They also delivered a letter from the Grand Princess of Huian, and after inquiring, they learned that the hostage from Jinchuan had been released back to his country by Nanzhao a month earlier.

Nanzhao promised that Jinchuan would no longer need to pay tribute, and Jinchuan had already mobilized its troops a month earlier to assist Nanzhao in suppressing the Jingxi King's attempt to rebel.

The hostage prince of Jinchuan is no longer the hostage prince of Jinchuan, but the crown prince of Jinchuan.

Princess Huian said that within a month of the Jinchuan hostage returning to the capital of Jinchuan, he not only led his troops to suppress Jingxi, but also began to purge his opponents in the court, and even killed two brothers who tried to harm him.

Nowadays, no one in or outside the Jinchuan court dares to utter a word about the Jinchuan Crown Prince's controversial status as a hostage.

Instead, they were loudly proclaiming that for the sake of Jinchuan's stability, he had endured humiliation and hardship, lying low in Nanzhao for many years, and that he had turned the tide in Zhao, freeing the people of Jinchuan from the oppression of other countries without bloodshed.

Jinchuan will finally be able to stand on equal footing with Nanzhao, and will soon represent Jinchuan to sign a 30-year peace and open trade agreement in Nanzhao.

Ying Jiu thought he had to send a letter to Jinchuan, which would take at least a month to arrive.

It now seems that all we need to do is wait a little while at the residence of the Grand Princess of Huian, waiting for the Crown Prince of Jinchuan to sign the peace agreement between the two countries, and then we can hand the letter to the prince consort at that time.

The day the Crown Prince of Jinchuan arrived in Nanzhao on April 13th, at a time when willows sprouted and all things revived, was ordered by the Emperor of Jinchuan to lead an envoy.

Xiaoman (Grain Buds)

Springtime is the best time of the year, far surpassing the misty willows that fill the capital.

Jinchuan was forced to pay tribute to Nanzhao every year after its defeat in the war. For many years, the officials in Nanzhao were incompetent and powerless, and the country was corrupt. Even the strong army on the border was now divided and each went its own way because the emperor in the court was still a young child, and the commanders and generals had never even seen the new emperor, let alone knew how long he would live.

The Empress Dowager was still desperately searching for the Photographer King, while the Kou clan was locked in a fierce struggle with other clans. Everyone wanted to break off a branch from the Kou clan, and the court was now relying on the Grand Princess Huian to lead the imperial clan in suppression.

If Jinchuan were to raise an army at this time, Nanzhao would be easily destroyed. However, Jinchuan only wanted to open a trade market to recall the hostages and sign a 30-year friendship agreement between the two countries.

No officials in Nanzhao stood up to oppose it, and the signing of this agreement was presided over by the royal family led by the Grand Princess Huian.

The signing of the agreement went incredibly smoothly. Princess Hui'an received a letter from Gan Qiongying, who was in the know about everything.

Seeing the current Crown Prince of Jinchuan in the Imperial Palace, the same lowly merchant prince consort who was looked down upon by everyone, filled her with mixed emotions.

During this period, she was able to stabilize the situation in the court; she was able to make the clans, who were like mad dogs, driven by profit and completely disregarding the lives of the people, direct their anger at the other side instead of the court; she managed to put a young prince of the royal family on the throne, temporarily saving the crumbling country; and she couldn't help but receive the secret assistance of the former consort, now the Crown Prince of Jinchuan.

Princess Hui'an was wearing a heavy formal dress today, and even with two people helping her walk, she still had some difficulty.

After the contract was signed, people from both countries chatted amicably with great anticipation. Princess Hui'an walked to the side of the seemingly dignified and aloof Crown Prince of Jinchuan. Words were not appropriate to express her gratitude.

She simply reached out and patted Prince Jinchuan on the shoulder, intending to say a few words of personal consideration as an elder, but Princess Huian's hand missed its mark.

Li Hua gracefully turned to the side, dodging the palm of the Grand Princess Huian.

He gave Princess Hui'an a cold look, then walked around her elaborate, floor-length gown and headed towards the door.

Princess Hui'an paused for a moment, then turned to look at Li Hua's departing figure. His back was like a pine tree, his aura like a mountain range, steady and profound.

Princess Hui'an took a special look at Li Hua's legs and found that his steps were no different from those of ordinary people. In fact, he walked more uprightly than ordinary people, with each step being the same distance. His manners were impeccable, and he was absolutely worthy of his status as the Crown Prince of Jinchuan.

As soon as the Crown Prince of Jinchuan made his move, the Jinchuan envoys all took their leave amicably. Logically, a banquet was to be held in the palace that night to entertain these Jinchuan envoys and the Crown Prince of Jinchuan.

However, Li Hua and his entourage left the palace and returned directly to the post station, without attending the banquet.

After returning to the inn, he went straight to his study and wrote until midnight. It was only when Tianjiao realized how late it was, that Li Hua still showed no signs of resting, that she finally urged him to get some rest.

Li Hua pinched his forehead and finally put down his pen. For the past few days, he had been as busy as someone else for several days in a row.

Inside and outside the court, in diplomatic relations between two countries, and even within the family...

He was busy every day like a spinning top that never stopped, but Li Hua thought it was good that way; he didn't need to stop.

Sweet Corner whispered her dissuasion twice before Li Hua finally got up from the table to wash up.

At this moment, Ying Jiu, who had been lying on the roof for a long time, finally quietly moved a tile off the roof of the inn and looked down.