Chapter 50: The Prince Cooks

When Gu Xiyue said these words today, she was mentally prepared.

Either the prefect doesn't believe her, thinks she's talking nonsense, and has her tied up, or he believes her and becomes one of her own.

Regardless of whether the prefect believed it or not, Gu Xiyue felt that he would not break up with her. On the one hand, it was because Ganzhou was now in trouble both internally and externally, and on the other hand, they still depended on her for salt.

That's why Gu Xiyue was confident in saying it.

The main hall was unusually quiet. Gu Xiyue lowered his head, waiting for the prefect's reaction.

The moment she lowered her head, she saw Xiao Heng's footsteps moving towards her, passing her and stopping in front of the prefect.

Xiao Heng took out a jade pendant from his arms and handed it to the prefect.

Lord Yan took it and looked at it carefully, his eyes wide open and his face full of surprise.

Madam Yan, who was standing beside him, looked at Xiao Heng carefully, nodded, and said, "It's him, it's definitely him."

Mrs. Yan's parents' home is in the capital. Three years ago, when she went home to visit her parents, she went to the palace with her mother and met the prince. Although he was wearing palace clothes at that time, which was very different from the common people he wears now, his appearance had hardly changed. It was just that after experiencing all these things, his face was much calmer.

After receiving the madam's confirmation, the prefect's pupils instantly dilated and his hands were shaking with excitement.

Gu Xiyue knew that they were confirming Xiao Heng's identity, so she lowered her head and waited for them to speak, but she heard a thud. She looked up suddenly and found that the prefect had dragged his wife to her knees on the ground.

"Your Highness, I was blind and short-sighted. I hope Your Highness will atone for my sins."

Although his voice was filled with guilt, it was also filled with excitement.

Gu Xiyue was a little confused for a moment.

Xiao Heng behind her reached out and helped her up, then went to help the prefect and his wife up.

"Master Yan, I am no longer the crown prince, but the newly appointed virtuous king by His Majesty. Master Yan, there is no need to be so polite."

He helped the two of them up, his voice gentle and without any airs.

The prefect's eyes instantly reddened. "Last year, when I went to the capital to report on my work, I heard many ministers praise the current crown prince for his virtue and contributions to the country. The people on the streets and alleys talked about you with praise. I don't know why, but this year the trend has changed. A few months ago, I received the news that the crown prince had been deposed. When I heard the reason for the dethronement, I was so upset that I couldn't sleep for several days. What's wrong with the emperor? Sigh!"

A question and a long sigh, filled with so many emotions.

From what Gu Xiyue said just now, the court clearly wanted to let the prince fend for himself here and had no intention of letting anyone survive. Thanks to his adopted daughter, if she hadn't been smart, I'm afraid now...

I was just feeling emotional when I heard the virtuous king say, "It's all in the past. Xiyue was right just now. Since the court has abandoned Ganzhou, then we will work hard to develop Ganzhou. Now we no longer belong to the court. No matter what we do, it has nothing to do with the court. Therefore, the court's abandonment of Ganzhou is also a good thing."

Lord Yan nodded repeatedly, "Your Highness is right. Now I am not anxious at all. With Your Highness here, I have a backbone. What else do I have to fear?"

The prefect was so excited that he continued, "After this incident, I will follow your lead from now on. From now on, all of us in Ganzhou will obey your orders. Whatever you say, we will do."

Gu Xiyue's eyelids twitched.

This adoptive father completely threw her aside and just followed Xiao Heng's lead, which really made her laugh and cry.

"Master Yan, my thoughts are the same as yours, and many of them are even yours."

Xiao Heng said this with a smile, then reached out and pulled Gu Xiyue over.

"Since Lord Yan has adopted the princess as his adopted daughter, we are all family from now on. There is no need for those false formalities. In the future, don't call them prince or princess, so as not to scare the people."

How could the prefect dare to call himself Gu Xiyue's adoptive father? He looked at Gu Xiyue with a complicated expression, then turned back to look at his wife, wondering what was going on.

Hesitantly, he turned his gaze to Gu Xiyue again, wanting to ask Xiao Heng something, but hesitated.

Xiao Heng smiled and said, "Master Yan, if you have anything to say, just say it."

When the prefect saw this, he simply reached out and led Xiao Heng to the side, away from Gu Xiyue. In order to prevent them from following him, he looked back twice and gestured to his wife twice.

Seeing his wife go over to talk to Gu Xiyue, he turned back with relief and whispered, "Is Madam Gu really your wife? The Crown Princess who was married in the capital?"

After hearing this, Xiao Heng took a while to digest it. How to answer this question? If you ask whether it was a formal marriage, it was indeed not a formal marriage, but it was a formal marriage.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he said with a smile: "It is indeed the wife I married back from the capital..."

Seeing Xiao Heng said this with a smile, the prefect, as someone who had experienced this, nodded quickly, "I understand, I understand. It's a bit uncomfortable at first, right? My adopted daughter is more capable than most men. Your Highness will need time to adapt."

After saying this, he was also filled with emotion.

He didn't expect that the adopted daughter he accidentally adopted turned out to be the former Crown Princess. The key point is that this Crown Princess is very different from ordinary women. She is brave and resourceful, and is even more powerful than many men.

Now with the help of the prince and the ideas of his adopted daughter, the worries in his heart have long disappeared, and now he feels relaxed and comfortable.

I thought that the internal and external troubles would cause the entire Ganzhou to fall, but now it is a completely unexpected situation. Although I haven't started to act yet, I am not panicked at all after knowing what to do in the future.

Now I still have the mood to tease my adopted daughter.

After listening to this, Xiao Heng nodded with a mixture of laughter and tears, indicating that he agreed with what the prefect said.

"She's fine. I've completely adapted to the situation. Lord Yan, you don't know that in the Southern Wilderness, she is the backbone of everyone. On weekdays, she is fighting in the front, while I stay at home, either helping her cook or doing other things."

Lord Yan's expression instantly turned strange, and he stared at Xiao Heng in disbelief.

A prince cooks for a woman at home!

Instead, women are fighting outside.

He is still the backbone of everyone.

He is the man behind his adopted daughter?

Is there something wrong with his ears?

The prefect took a deep breath and thought of Gu Xiyue's eloquent speech and how she came to Ganzhou alone to discuss cooperation with him.

He had to believe what Xiao Heng said.

It's just... outrageous.

While the two of them were talking, Mrs. Yan and Gu Xiyue were not idle either.

Mrs. Yan was as worried as Lord Yan. She pulled the man aside and asked him carefully for a long time. Finally, she saw that Gu Xiyue responded to all the questions calmly and laughed as he spoke.

The atmosphere between the two women was completely different from that between the men. The men on the other side spoke in low voices and cautiously, while they spoke in cheerful voices and laughed heartily.

At the end of the story, Madam Yan pulled her arm and laughed so hard that she couldn't stop. The frightened man looked back frequently and finally walked over.

After some inquiries, Mrs. Yan was completely reassured about Gu Xiyue and completely believed what she said. Knowing that she was so popular in the Southern Wilderness, she was happy for her from the bottom of her heart.

"Wang...Xiyue!" The prefect originally wanted to call her Princess, but later changed it to the previous title. As the virtuous king said just now, they are all family members. He can't just deny her as his adopted daughter just because Gu Xiyue is the Princess. He should continue to call her as before.

When I think about how the future will be different from the past, and that Ganzhou will be a new Ganzhou, and if the right measures are taken, it will be like an independent small country, I feel very confused.

I was originally abandoned, but now I feel like I have established my own business.

"You can enter and exit the Southern Wasteland freely from now on. I will issue the order shortly."

The prefect looked at Gu Xiyue with a smile, as if he could see what was on her mind, and told her what she wanted.

Gu Xiyue hurriedly bowed and thanked him, then shook his head and said, "Foster father, can you hold off on issuing this order and leave it in my hands first? When the time is right, I will tell the folks in the Southern Wilderness."

The prefect nodded. "As you wish, I will no longer be involved in matters concerning the Southern Wilderness. You will have the final say. As for the sea salt, you may do as you please. Our cooperation will continue. From now on, you will provide Ganzhou with 200,000 kilograms of salt each month. For the rest, if you can find other sales channels, you can do so without going through me. Also, if you wish to do business in Ganzhou, I will issue you a business license shortly. As long as it's for the good of Ganzhou, you can go ahead and do it."

"As for defending against foreign enemies and governing Ganzhou..." The prefect glanced at Xiao Heng.

Xiao Heng nodded and took over the conversation, saying, "The governance of Ganzhou and the defense against foreign enemies are the responsibility of Lord Yan and me."

Everyone is happy.

Even Wei Lin and Mei Xiang, who had been standing behind the chairs, couldn't stop laughing.

After Xiao Heng finished speaking, he glanced at Gu Xiyue. Gu Xiyue understood and took advantage of the prefect's good mood to quickly say, "Foster father, we came to see you this time and brought you a good thing."

"What is it?" The prefect was in a good mood and had no intention of shirking his responsibility.

Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng smiled at each other and said to Wei Lin, "Go to the room and get it."

The prefect put his hands behind his back and smiled. Seeing that Gu Xiyue asked Wei Lin to go to the room to get something again, he thought it was the same as last time, some kind of plan or something.

Wei Lin came over quickly, this time with a cloth bag in his hand, which was bulging. Before he got close, a strange salty and fishy smell wafted over.

The prefect and Madam Yan subconsciously covered their noses.

Seeing that Wei Lin was about to come closer, the prefect quickly said, "Xiyue, isn't this the gift you want to give me?"

Gu Xiyue nodded.

"Yes, it's food!"

Looking at the two people's reactions, she wanted to laugh. When they first started drying sea fish, many people in the Southern Wilderness were like this. They couldn't stand the smell, but after tasting it, they changed their minds about it.

After a few times, everyone accepted the taste.

Now seeing that the expressions of her adoptive father and mother were exactly the same as those of the folks in the Southern Wilderness before, she felt happy.

The two maids and servants behind also felt uncomfortable with the smell, but because of their status, they did not dare to cover their mouths and noses and could only endure it.

Gu Xiyue didn't let Wei Lin in, but let him stand at the door. Then she smiled and said, "For lunch today, let my husband cook a dish for my adoptive father and mother."

After saying this, Lord Yan and Madam Yan were stunned.

When they saw Xiao Heng nodding obediently, they didn't know what to say for a moment.

…

The prince actually listened to his wife and cooked for them!

At the same time, the two also realized that Gu Xiyue meant for Xiao Heng to cook with the stinky thing in Wei Lin's hand!

...Can I not eat it?