Going into the mountains is a must, He Jiuniang often says. Once their reaction abilities have fully developed, she will take them to the wilderness for training.

During this period, we have already gone up the mountain to conduct research, and even set up ambushes and traps in the mountains, just waiting for these people to improve their abilities so that we can put them into practice.

Yes, that's right. He Jiuniang wants to cultivate them in every aspect and turn them all into her capable assistants.

Upon arriving at the military camp, he realized just how incompetent the army the Crown Prince had given Lu Baichuan was. It wasn't very strong, had no background, and was basically a discarded pawn kicked out by the other generals.

After being abandoned, they became somewhat self-destructive. Before Lu Baichuan took over, they spent their days just loafing around here, hardly exercising at all. In their own words, they were just waiting to die.

They were truly waiting to die, because soldiers abandoned like this were usually sent out to scout when there was danger, and if there was real danger, those who went to scout were almost never to return.

But Lu Baichuan's arrival gave them hope. After a month of serious training, they met He Jiuniang, and the long-extinguished flame of hope suddenly reignited. They were full of enthusiasm during this period of training.

He Jiuniang planned to train them into a strong team, who, apart from the emperor and the crown prince, would only obey the orders of the couple. With such capable assistants, there would be no need to borrow people from Mingze whenever something happened.

Therefore, she paid special attention to the training of these soldiers.

The soldiers, knowing they were needed, were naturally filled with enthusiasm.

They went their separate ways.

However, they were still somewhat afraid when they heard that they were going into the mountains. But when Li Dazhuang said that if they didn't train properly, they would be thrown into the mountains full of traps, they were instantly motivated. Especially the soldier who had just said that he could slack off, he ran faster than anyone else.

At this time, Gou'er was still studying at the Imperial Academy, so He Jiuniang returned to the General's Mansion first. Although she had been well taken care of during her days in the military camp, with someone preparing bath water for her almost every night, the military camp was still a military camp after all. The conditions were simple, and it was full of men, which made things a bit inconvenient. The first thing He Jiuniang did when she got home was to take a good bath and relax completely.

While taking a bath, she didn't sit idle. A maid stood outside the screen and told He Jiuniang everything that had happened in the past few days.

When He Jiuniang heard about the incident at the Imperial Academy, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and her face was full of pride. As expected of her son, he was decisive and ruthless, and he never hesitated to take action when necessary. He was truly amazing!

As for the old emperor's abdication, it was something she had anticipated. She had guessed it was going to happen when the old emperor relinquished power to the crown prince before the new year, but she didn't expect the old emperor to act so quickly.

Of course, she would not forget the old emperor's public defense of Gou'er in court. She was already planning to prepare some health-preserving pills for the old emperor when she had time. Although she could not guarantee that he would live for hundreds or thousands of years, it would certainly prolong his life and make him live more comfortably than his peers.

He Jiuniang still held the same view: no matter what wrong things the old emperor had done in the past, he had been absolutely good to her family, so she should still be grateful. She wouldn't dislike the old emperor for any reason.

To be selfish, those things didn't really have much to do with her.

After taking a bath and eating something, He Jiuniang went out to pick up her son from school. Unlike her usual low-key demeanor, she specially took a carriage that represented the status of the General's Mansion.

Because we arrived right on time, just as the Imperial College was letting out for the day, a group of students rushed out like children having a blast.

He Jiu Niang spotted the shortest dog in the crowd at a glance. The little guy was small and short, but he ran just as fast as the others. He even grabbed the young prince with one hand and ran out with a snarl.

He Jiuniang found it amusing, and her image of her son as a studious person instantly crumbled.

"Mother!"

Afraid that Gou'er wouldn't see her and would get on the palace carriage, He Jiu Niang got off the carriage and waited. Gou'er was about to get on the palace carriage when he saw the most beautiful person in the crowd. Apart from his mother, no one else was as dazzling!

With a powerful roar from the dog, everyone else turned to look, their eyes filled with amazement.

What a beautiful woman! But she's actually the mother of that local tyrant?

Yes, in just a few days, these people gave the dog a nickname: Local Tyrant.

However, this was only said in private, since they had such powerful backers, and their families had repeatedly told them not to offend them.

Just then, they watched as the local bully skipped and hopped towards the beautiful woman, grabbed her leg, rubbed against her, and exclaimed with delight, "Mother, you've finally come to see me! Are you done with your work?"

He Jiuniang picked up the child, kissed him on the cheek, and smiled, "Not yet, we have to go back tomorrow. I took some time to come back today to see you and your father. Did you have a good time in the palace these past few days?"

Gou'er nodded vigorously: "I'm so happy! Grandpa Emperor, Grandma Consort, Grandma Empress Dowager, Uncle Crown Prince, Aunt Crown Princess, and Brother Prince are all very good to me!"

He went through the list of people one by one; they were all people he had met and interacted with in the past few days.

The young prince was overjoyed to hear his name mentioned, and stood to the side smiling shyly.

He Jiuniang kissed her son on the cheek again and said she would take them both out for a delicious meal.

As the people around watched, they suddenly became envious. They had grown up and studied for so many years, but their own mothers had never come to pick them up at the academy gate; it was always the servants from their families who came.

They wouldn't even come to greet me, let alone give me a kiss in public.

Although He Jiuniang's behavior was considered disgraceful by the scholars, it did not diminish their envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Envious of the local tyrant for having such a beautiful mother, jealous of the local tyrant being kissed in the street by such a beautiful mother, and resentful that their own mothers don't come to pick them up!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and then he lashed out at the servants who came to fetch them.

servants: ...

He Jiuniang told the people from the palace to go back and report, and then took Gou'er and the young prince directly to a restaurant for a meal. This time they went to another restaurant, which she had heard was very popular.

While relaxing with her child, she also wanted to do some market research. Having been in Beijing for so long, her business should have caught up by now. How could Beijing be without her businesses?

He Jiuniang took good care of both children, but the way He Jiuniang and Gou'er got along still made the young prince extremely envious.

Because Gou'er told He Jiuniang about hitting someone at the academy, He Jiuniang not only didn't blame him, but also praised Gou'er for being great.

However, it didn't blindly praise it, but rather explained that hitting someone is permissible under certain circumstances, but not in other situations.

The young prince listened from the side and felt he had learned a lot. Suddenly he understood why Gou'er was so outstanding at such a young age.

He looked down at himself. He was four years older than Gou'er. Was it too late for him to start working hard now?