"After that, let Cheng Meng lead people to guard the Heavenly Prison. Your primary task is still to train those two hundred elite soldiers, so that everyone can have an easier time."

The Crown Prince continued, "This is exactly what Lu Baichuan meant."

Although his wife could do a good job on her own, that wasn't the kind of life she wanted, otherwise she wouldn't have refused the crown prince's appointment.

His wife has been working tirelessly lately, just to help him lighten his burden.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The Crown Prince nodded and said, "Your wife has been a great help this time. When she returns, I will reward her handsomely!"

Lu Baichuan thanked him again, and the Crown Prince continued, "When I ascend the throne, the Eastern Court will also send people over. We must prepare well and not let anyone look down on us."

In about two months, the auspicious day chosen by the Ministry of Rites for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne will arrive. The whole country will be filled with celebration, and the other three countries will send people to offer their congratulations.

Whether it's genuine or not, people will come. When people from all four countries gather together, the atmosphere will inevitably be tense.

In the past, Bei Yan would have been somewhat insecure, but this time was different. He had Lu Baichuan and his wife under his command, as well as many capable subordinates. He had also captured a lot of spies recently, so he was much more confident and naturally didn't need to worry about being suppressed by the other party.

Dongting, on the other hand, which has been consistently unsuccessful, should be the one suffering the most.

Then we can negotiate terms directly with the Eastern Court; otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate to keep supporting that Third Prince for nothing.

Thinking of this, the crown prince felt much better.

"yes."

Lu Baichuan had a meal with the Crown Prince in the palace before returning home. After handing things over at the prison, he could go to the military camp to find his wife.

Meanwhile, He Jiuniang had just made a decision: she planned to take the initiative.

"Find a few people to spread the word that the Duke of Mu's mansion is shameless and wants to claim kinship with me in order to rescue their daughter who has made a mistake, saying that I am their daughter who has been gone for more than ten years."

This matter will be known to everyone sooner or later. Her initiative to spread the word will have a better effect than Zhuo Wei's, and it will also be more beneficial to her.

Soon, the news spread throughout the capital that the Duke of Mu's mansion wanted to take advantage of the Lu family.

By the time the news reached Zhuo Wei's ears, it was too late to turn back.

"This is outrageous! What do you mean by taking advantage of the Lu family? He's just a country bumpkin who thinks he's something special!"

Zhuo Wei slammed his hand hard on the table. He was no longer aware of the pain in his hand; he was mainly angry.

"My lord, please calm down! This must have been the idea of ​​that scheming little bastard. He just wants to embarrass our Duke Mu's mansion! My lord, please think of something to do!"

These past few days, Madam Yan has been preoccupied with her daughter's affairs, seeking help everywhere and even trying to visit her daughter in prison, but to no avail. Either people refused to help, or they simply didn't have the ability. In any case, despite sending out many gifts over the past few days, she hasn't even seen her daughter's face.

"What else can we do? Since she is so ungrateful, let the news spread that she is indeed my daughter, Zhuo Wei, but refuses to acknowledge her as my daughter. This is a great act of filial impiety!"

In this world, being unfilial is a serious crime, and it can easily ruin one's reputation.

If He Jiuniang wanted to continue living in the capital, she wouldn't dare to bear the reputation of being unfilial, otherwise the civil and military officials could impeach Lu Baichuan to death.

"As expected of the master, he is indeed very intelligent!"

Madam Yan smiled and flattered him, also thinking his idea was good. Since He Jiuniang didn't want them to be happy, then they didn't need to show any mercy.

For a time, the matter between the Lu family and the Duke of Mu's mansion caused quite a stir in the capital.

However, the person involved was not affected. Lu Baichuan went back to the military camp, and He Jiuniang did not return to the mansion immediately. Instead, she talked to Lu Baichuan in the military camp about the content of her training during this period and how to train next.

Lu Baichuan listened to the opinions, put forward his own ideas, and finally improved the plan, making it perfect.

He Jiuniang then took the two children and left the military camp, first sending the young prince back to the palace.

Since He Jiuniang went to the military camp, the Crown Princess had not seen her for a long time. Now that she saw her, she had so much to say to her that she didn't even think about her own son.

Seeing that his mother was ignoring him, the young prince wasn't in a hurry. He pulled Gou'er aside to discuss a point of knowledge he had just learned the night before. He had his own opinion, and Gou'er had his own opinion as well. For a while, the two little guys were arguing fiercely.

After discussing other topics for a while, the conversation shifted to the recent gossip in the capital. The Crown Princess suddenly remembered the matter related to He Jiu Niang and said, "You've been away from the city these past few days, but the talk of the town has been revolving around you. I even heard recently that you are the long-lost daughter of the Duke of Mu. That's quite a shock."

"Has this matter reached Her Majesty's ears?"

He Jiuniang feigned surprise, but in reality, she had already anticipated it, as this was part of her plan.

"It's not just that, the whole court is buzzing with the news, they're even saying you're unfilial and unwilling to acknowledge your ancestors, it's utterly absurd!"

The Crown Princess looked indignant, wondering why Jiu Niang was speaking out against it, feeling that the Duke of Mu's mansion was utterly shameless.

"It's okay, let them say what they want, it won't affect me anyway."

He Jiuniang seemed completely unconcerned, which made the Crown Princess anxious for her.

"This kind of thing may seem absurd, but it can actually hurt you a lot. They'll label you as unfilial and make you unable to hold your head up in front of others, and that's a real problem!"

The Crown Princess only said these things because she considered her a good friend. He Jiu Niang knew her intentions and took the initiative to explain, "There's no evidence at all, yet they say I'm his daughter who's been missing for many years. Isn't that ridiculous? Besides, there are so many children in the Duke's mansion, how come I'm the only one who went missing? Isn't there a hidden story behind this? And would they dare to make that story public?"

As He Jiuniang spoke, she gave the Crown Princess a knowing look, leaving the Crown Princess completely bewildered.

Could it be that He Jiuniang really has some connection with the Duke of Mu's mansion?

She was very curious, but there were some things she couldn't say. After all, He Jiuniang was an orphan with a sensitive identity, and she was worried about bringing up her painful past.

However, none of her worries mattered to He Jiuniang. Guessing her concerns, He Jiuniang proactively said, "Don't worry, I'm not someone who's easily manipulated. They're just deliberately trying to annoy me to rescue Zhuo Jiayu. You probably don't know, but Zhuo Jiayu has her eye on my man; those longing looks in her eyes, tsk tsk~"

"What?"

The Crown Princess's eyes widened. She hadn't even digested one piece of gossip yet, and now another one was coming!

A woman's intuition is the most accurate. The Crown Princess didn't need to ask much to know, especially since He Jiu Niang never harbored hostility towards any woman.