Lu Yuyan and Ruoling insisted on going to Jiangnan with them, and the Duke of Zhenguo and Lu Yucheng were very reluctant to part with them, but they respected their wishes.
On the seventh day of the sixth lunar month, the four entered the palace to bid farewell to the Empress Dowager and Zhu Dan.
On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, just as summer was beginning, Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu, along with the remaining Feng Yan, Jiang Chuan, and others, officially headed to their fiefdom.
Zhu Dan stood atop the high city wall, watching the group of people and several carriages gradually move away from Shengjing, slowly shrinking until they became a dot, until they could no longer be seen.
The desolation between his brows was so deep it was impossible to dispel; beneath his slightly furrowed brows, his eyes had long lost their former brilliance, as if this group of people had taken away not only themselves, but also his soul.
Zuo Xiu and Zhang Zhongwei stood behind him, silently watching the group walk away into the distance.
Zhang Zhongwei lowered his head and wiped away his tears. He had watched the emperor grow up. What a bright and handsome man he was, so full of youthful vigor and always able to win the praise of the ministers when he spoke.
Now, he is truly all alone.
...
Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu's group traveled at a leisurely pace, seemingly on a sightseeing trip, but in reality, they had covered all of Huainan and Jiangnan.
After all, it was the fiefdom of Prince An, so it was best to have a good understanding of the local situation. Of course, they did not disturb the local officials along the way and assumed that Prince An had gone directly to the Prince An's residence in Fengming Prefecture.
The prefect of Fengming Prefecture craned his neck to look out from the city gate every day, fearing that if he failed to receive Prince An in time, he would be accused of disrespecting the royal family.
Thus, by the time they arrived in Jiangnan, the Mid-Autumn Festival had already passed.
The prefect of Fengming Prefecture finally received news in the past few days that His Highness Prince An, along with his wife, Marquis Yongyi, and Princess Ruoling, were about to arrive. The arrival of so many important figures in Fengming Prefecture at once kept the prefect and all the local officials extremely busy.
The prefect of Fengming Prefecture led a group of officials to the city gate early in the morning to welcome them. When he saw several carriages approaching from afar, he hurriedly straightened his clothes and said, "They're here! They're here! Quickly, line up and beat the drums!"
Feng Yan rode his horse alongside Lu Xiaoyun's carriage and said, "Master, the Prefect and all the local officials have come out to greet us."
Lu Xiaoyun frowned slightly, lifted the curtain and looked out, and saw that there was a lot of gongs and drums, and many people were gathered around.
The carriage stopped, and Lu Xiaoyun got off.
The common people and local officials knelt down to greet them: "Welcome Your Highness Prince An, Princess An, Princess Ruoling, and your son-in-law."
Lu Xiaoyun raised her hand: "Everyone, please get up." She looked at the prefect.
The prefect hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness Prince An, you must be tired from your journey. I have prepared a banquet at your residence to respectfully invite the Prince, the Princess, and the Prince Consort."
Lu Xiaoyun glanced at him indifferently and said, "Distribute all the food to the people in the city." After saying that, she turned and got into the carriage without saying anything more.
The carriage then clattered and headed towards the Prince An's residence.
The prefect was completely bewildered and looked at his clerk beside him: "What, what's going on? How did you handle this? Why is the prince dissatisfied?"
The advisor is extremely wronged. The Second Prince and the Third Prince had also visited Fengming Prefecture before, and they were very satisfied with his arrangements. So why is it different when it comes to His Highness Prince An?
The prefect was at a loss: "Then what should I do now? Go to Prince An's residence, or return to the prefect's office?"
A middle-aged official standing nearby chuckled softly, then turned and walked back with his colleagues. He figured that the prefect of Fengming Prefecture would soon be replaced, as he could tell that His Highness Prince An disliked such superficial things.
He was a military man by birth, a prince who got things done, and could not be compared to the rebellious second and third princes.
Upon arriving at the Prince An's residence in Fengming Prefecture, Zhu Yu's first act was to marry Li Feng to Jiang Chuan.
There's no other reason than that this girl is always talking to him like a little megaphone, never stopping, and she always likes to stick to him.
This happened several times; he and Lu Xiaoyun were doing their business when she interrupted them.
He suspected that if this happened a few more times, it would definitely traumatize his little brother.
A month later, just after the Double Ninth Festival in September, Zhu Yu and Ruoling, who were sitting in the front yard eating melon seeds, heard a loud bang coming from the backyard of the Prince An's mansion, followed by thick smoke rising into the air.
Zhu Yu and Ruoling exchanged a glance, rubbed their temples, and silently got up and walked towards the backyard.
Upon arriving at the backyard, as expected, they saw Feng Yan and Jiang Chuan, each carrying a man who had been blown black from an explosion, leaping down from a tree.
Zhu Yu put his hands on his hips, pointed at the two "black men," and roared, "You two better shut up for a minute! If you keep bombing like this, you'll blow the entire Prince An's Mansion to smithereens!"
Lu Xiaoyun and Lu Yuyan both exhaled a puff of black smoke and lay down on the ground, failing again.
Lu Xiaoyun scratched her head with her black hands: "Why not? Isn't gunpowder just made from these few materials mixed according to a formula?"
A puff of black smoke came out of Lu Yuyan's nostrils, and he spread his hands: "I don't know either. It's just charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter, right? But I really don't know the proportions. This stuff can't be off by even a little bit. A slight difference in dosage can lead to a huge decrease in power."
"Oh no, what should I do?"
Lu Xiaoyun let out a heavy sigh of black smoke, and the two of them automatically ignored the murderous glares from Zhu Yu and Ruoling, their wives: "Shall we continue?"
"Fine, let's continue. I refuse to believe we can't figure it out."
The two patted their bottoms and stood up.
However, at that moment, Zhu Yu suddenly felt everything go black and he fell straight to the ground.
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