"Women's Army." The Imperial Noble Consort couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the news in the tabloid, tossing away a few melon seed shells with her delicate hand. "They're certainly causing trouble in Anzhou Prefecture. What did His Majesty say?"
The serving maid quickly spoke up, "His Majesty seemed quite displeased, but he still commended General Chen."
Commendation.
The Imperial Noble Consort laughed, "Our Emperor rewards those he dislikes the most, but those who receive his rewards don't get away with it."
These words were too blunt, and the palace maid who served her closely widened her eyes. "Your Highness, please be careful what you say."
"What's there to be afraid of?" The Imperial Noble Consort sneered. "What do I have to be afraid of? I've long since given up on living."
Upon hearing this, the palace maid showed a hint of pity on her face. "Your Highness, even for the sake of the young master, you should try to be more understanding."
The Imperial Noble Consort chuckled softly upon hearing this, "I've never really understood my brother. He never treats me like a sister."
The last sentence was spoken in a very low voice, so much so that even the palace servants attending to him could not hear what he said.
However, soon after, an imperial edict was issued from the Chuxiu Palace, where the Imperial Noble Consort resided, to commend the women's army of Anzhou Prefecture, especially praising Chen Shu and adding several items to the dowry of the eldest daughter of the Anzhou Prefect.
This made Madam Xie very happy, sweeping away the gloom of the past.
Previously, the eldest son had taken Chen Shu away from the capital. Although the emperor did not blame him, the fourth prince's unexplained death later made Madam Xie very worried.
After all, all land under heaven belongs to the emperor. If the emperor in the capital were to become angry, the Chen family might be implicated.
For a long time afterward, Madam Xie was somewhat worried.
It wasn't until the Imperial Noble Consort added to the dowry that the Prefectural Government was truly honored. Madam Xie personally went to the Women's Army to reward them. When she happened to meet Gu An'an, although there was a fleeting displeasure on her face, she quickly put on a smile again.
Today's Gu An'an is no longer just the owner of a small snack shop. Gu's business is very large, and even if she wanted to deal with Gu An'an, she would have to think twice.
"What a coincidence, I never expected to run into Mrs. Gu."
Gu An'an smiled broadly, "I've come to see how Zhu'er is doing with her training."
This child is unusually concerned about the Women's Army. Whenever she comes home, she talks about military training. Gu An'an is not familiar with these things, but she doesn't want to have nothing to say to Jiang Mingzhu, so she comes over whenever she has free time.
She was a major sponsor of the Women's Army, so there was no obstacle to her coming here.
Instead, Madam Xie was restrained, told, "This is a military camp, and you can't just come and go as you please."
This made Madam Xie lose face, and the maid beside her immediately spoke up, "Don't you know who our Madam is!"
The female soldier didn't even glance at her. "No matter who it is, it's not allowed."
The old woman's face changed drastically. "Then, how could she be allowed to?"
"Madam Gu has always supported the establishment of our Women's Army, which is common knowledge in Anzhou Prefecture, so of course it's acceptable. May I ask, Madam, do you support us?"
This question made Madam Xie lose face.
Gu An'an found it strange; she hadn't heard of anyone being stationed here to prevent people from entering when she came before.
Seeing that Madam Xie was reluctantly agreeing to give ten thousand taels of silver, and the female soldier's face was full of smiles, Gu An'an would truly be blind if she still couldn't see through it.
"It was Chen Shu who said it. It was just a small reward from the palace, but her mother wanted the whole world to know. She guessed that Madam Xie would definitely come to the military camp, so she specially arranged for someone to do so."
They sent someone to extort their own mother?
Gu An'an didn't know how to respond to this wicked idea. She handed over the pastries she had made and watched Jiang Mingzhu eat them heartily. The little lady she used to be was nowhere to be seen. Gu An'an handed her a handkerchief and asked, "Zhu'er, do you like your life now?"
"certainly."
Although it was tiring and tough, she liked it.
She's grown quite a bit taller, so when a tall girl says this, she shouldn't have a very firm expression or very bright eyes.
Gu An'an was relieved. "I'm glad you like it."
Jiang Mingzhu smiled and wiped her mouth. "I like it very much. I wish it could always be like this."
The young girl's expectation for the future is nothing more than maintaining the status quo. But this is just a beautiful dream of a young girl, so fragile that it cannot withstand the storms of time.
Who could have imagined that an assassination attempt would occur at the New Year's Eve palace banquet, nearly killing the Longqing Emperor? Had it not been for the Imperial Noble Consort's selfless rescue, this emperor who had once conquered the world on the battlefield might have passed away.
What was even more unexpected was that the Imperial Noble Consort who risked her life to save the child was pregnant again, and after the child was successfully saved, the imperial physician diagnosed it as a prince.
Emperor Longqing was overjoyed and wanted to appoint the unborn child of the Imperial Noble Consort as Crown Prince.
This threw the imperial court into chaos!
Although the Crown Prince failed to save the Emperor during the palace banquet assassination attempt, he should not be stripped of his position as heir apparent.
There was much discussion in the court. After the Imperial Noble Consort awoke, court officials made bold remonstrances every day, but in the end, they were all demoted and dismissed by Emperor Longqing.
This situation continued from the third day of the Lunar New Year until the end of the month.
The capital was abuzz with discussion, and rumors were circulating in other prefectures as well.
The entire Daye Dynasty seemed to be on the verge of a major upheaval.
Amidst this tension, Gu An'an further expanded her business, extending her doll business to Xiyong.
Businessmen always prioritize profit.
Doing business with Xiyong is not a private transaction; it complies with the relevant terms of trade between the two countries.
However, since it was her first time dealing with Xiyong, Gu An'an went there in person.
When he left and returned, the once turbulent Great Ye Dynasty had completely torn off its mask of peace.
First, the fifth prince, the crown prince's own brother, rebelled and left the capital. Then, the nephew whom Emperor Longqing had previously appointed also raised the pretext of "purging the emperor's inner circle" and was determined to kill the "femme fatale" around the emperor, directly blaming the emperor's incompetence on the imperial concubine Lin.
The Great Ye Dynasty had only been established for a short time, and there was a popular legend that General Han, who had fought alongside Emperor Longqing to establish the empire, had died at the hands of Emperor Longqing.
The uprising of the two royal sons led to the emergence of many people claiming to be "General Han's son," "General Han's grandson," or even "General Han's granddaughter's husband," and for a time, the Great Ye Dynasty was no longer peaceful.
"Why bother reading books? If things continue like this, I'm afraid this year's exams will have to be canceled."
After arriving in Anzhou Prefecture, Sun Hanzhou opened a small academy to teach and guide students.
The situation has become increasingly tense recently, and the students at the academy have lost interest in studying. Taking advantage of Sun Hanzhou's absence, they started discussing the current affairs and found Jiang Mingyi, who was engrossed in his studies, displeasing to them.
"Brother Jiang, you study so hard, I wonder which dynasty you will serve in the future."
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