Qu Feiqing sighed and pulled the boy to her side, whispering words of comfort, "Cong'er, Xiao Zichen is quite skilled. The most important thing on this trip is to bring Princess Mingzhu back to the capital and prevent her from having any opportunity to be with Xiao Zichen."
Once you return to Beijing, I will arrange your wedding as soon as possible.
As for Xiao Zichen, don't confront him directly; leave everything to your mother to handle."
Upon hearing the word "marriage," the young man's handsome face suddenly flushed slightly. Glancing at the portrait beside him, he paused, blushing slightly, and asked, "Mother, does Father know that Xiao Zichen is still alive?"
For the past seventeen years, whether inside or outside the Prince's Mansion, everyone has always called him the Second Young Master, while the title of the Eldest Young Master Xiao has been held by a dead man.
Now that the dead man has come back to life, when his father returns, won't he have nothing left?
"We probably don't know right now." Qu Feiqing shook her head. "However, Xiao Jinhan has transformed into the General of Zhennan, and he has the support of the Prince Gong's Mansion. If he really marries Princess Mingzhu, when he returns to the capital, there will be no place for us, mother and daughter, in the Zhanwang Mansion. Do you understand?"
"If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?" Xiao Baocong said with a displeased expression.
"Since Mother had the ability to switch him with another woman and send him away, why didn't she resolve the matter eighteen years ago? Instead, she left it until now. Isn't this like raising a tiger to cause trouble?"
"Is Cong'er blaming her mother?" Qu Feiqing was speechless, her heart aching. "Do you think I don't want Xiao Zichen to die? I want Xiao Zichen to die more than anyone else in the world! But how quick is death? Why should he die so easily and quickly!"
Do you know how much grievance I suffered and how much heartache I swallowed when I followed that vile woman Yu Heng?
I was just unlucky. I couldn't be like Yu Heng and be born into a powerful and wealthy family. If I wanted to have a good future, I could only follow behind her, like a servant, groveling and bowing, letting her order me around. I was not even as good as a dog.
The pain I suffered at Yu Heng's hands is etched in my heart, every single detail. If I cannot find some retribution in her son, I will never have peace of mind, nor will I sleep a wink day or night!
Looking at the woman's suddenly reddened eyes, Xiao Baocong panicked. "Mother, I'm sorry, it was my fault. I said the wrong thing. Please don't be sad. I'll prepare a horse and go to Qingshui County right now. I will definitely bring Princess Mingzhu back, okay?"
"My dear Cong'er..." Qu Feiqing wiped her eyes.
"This journey is long and arduous, so take several skilled men with you. The Emperor's birthday is coming soon, and it's your father's turn to return to the capital to report on his duties this year. Before he returns, you must keep Princess Mingzhu's heart firmly in your grasp and there can be no mishaps, understand?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Baocong immediately wilted like a frostbitten eggplant. "Mother, as you know, although we have been betrothed since childhood, Qingcheng has always treated me with indifference. Not to mention having her heart firmly tied to mine, it is still unknown whether she even has half of me in her heart."
"What a foolish son of mine!" Qu Feiqing chuckled, beckoning to the young man and whispering in his ear, "If necessary, we must resort to drastic measures. The fastest way to win her heart is..."
The sound eventually faded to a buzzing like a mosquito or fly.
The boy blushed instantly, his face turning bright red. "Mother! How can this be? This won't do! A young lady's reputation is of utmost importance, and besides, if I really, really..."
He opened and closed his lips for a long time, but he couldn't say the rest of the words. "If I really do as my mother says, then Qingcheng will definitely hate me to the core, and Prince Yan and Princess Yan will probably tear me to pieces."
"They dare?!" Qu Feiqing sneered. "Both are royal residences, but the Prince of Yan is just lucky to have been born into the same mother's womb as the Emperor. He is blessed by his ancestors. But your father's throne was earned bit by bit with sweat and blood. They definitely wouldn't dare to touch you."
To put it another way, the Prince of Yan and his wife only have Princess Mingzhu as their daughter. If you marry her, their only options are to marry her to you or have her become a nun.
Now, the key is my Cong'er. If you continue to be timid and hesitant, our good days as mother and son may be coming to an end!
Xiao Baocong pursed his lips for a long time, the blush on his face gradually fading, and finally he cupped his hands and nodded, "Your son understands."
Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.
Just as the backyard of the War King's Mansion was gradually returning to silence, at the end of Shanghe Village, sweet potato vines were being distributed in a lively manner.
The sweet potato vines from the eighteen towns in Qingshui County have been distributed in two batches, one today and one tomorrow, according to the agreement between Su Hua and Magistrate Qin. As for the sweet potato vines from Shanghe Village, they will be taken directly from the sweet potato field in the backyard of the Su family's old house. The Su brothers originally cultivated an acre of mountain land to grow sweet potatoes, and now the sweet potato field is growing very lushly, which is more than enough to distribute to the villagers.
The villagers of Shanghe Village decide how much or how much to plant, but nowadays, anything produced by the Su family is considered a treasure by the villagers without a second thought, and each villager took two baskets of sweet potato vines back with them.
After the sweet potato planting was completed, Su Hua discussed digging a well with the old village chief.
The villagers of Shanghe Village rely on the river for water, and for drinking water, they mostly share a well in the center of the village. Of course, the Su family is an exception. Because they live at the end of the village and are backed by Fuhu Mountain, Old Man Su had a well dug when he was alive. When he built a new house, he dug another deep well in the backyard.
As the weather gets hotter day by day, the village's drinking water well has receded by two well rings.
Just in case, Su Hua plans to dig four more deep wells in the village, with the Su family providing the money and the villagers providing the labor.
The old village chief accepted the money, carried the sweet potato vines, and walked home with mixed feelings of joy and worry. This year should have been the most joyous year for Shanghe Village, but this day it hadn't rained at all, making everyone anxious. Every time he looked at the sun in the sky and the green and yellow rice in the fields, his heart was hanging in the air.
Just as I reached the front door of my house, before even entering the yard, a chorus of roosters crowing rang out.
The old village chief's heart skipped a beat. He rushed into the backyard, and only after seeing the figure in the chicken coop did he breathe a sigh of relief. "Old woman, why are you killing chickens when it's not a holiday?"
“I’m also reluctant to part with it. We’ve been feeding this black-haired chicken for three months, and it hasn’t even started laying eggs yet.” The village elder’s wife stroked the chicken’s feathers and sighed. “But Princess Mingzhu complained that our food was bad. She threw a tantrum after eating it twice.”
The old village chief put down the sweet potato basket, craned his neck to look ahead, and whispered, "Then you absolutely cannot kill them. Not only can you not kill the chickens, but you must also quickly put away all the fish and meat in the kitchen, as well as the beef and mutton that Hua'er brought. Starting from tonight's dinner, the dishes must be changed back to what they were like before Hua'er put away the vegetables, understand?"
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