Xiao Baocong dusted off his sleeves and chuckled softly, "Mother, don't worry, your son is tough. This damn broom and dog-beating stick won't break at all."
"You!!!" The woman was so angry at his indifferent attitude that she was speechless with rage. "If you weren't my son, I wouldn't care about you."
Your father will be back next month for the Emperor's birthday. If you don't hurry up and win over Princess Mingzhu, what will you do then?
Are my son and I really going to become the laughingstock of the entire capital?
Seeing her anger, Xiao Baocong's nonchalant smile vanished. "Mother, rest assured, Qingcheng will never be with Xiao Zichen."
As for the method your mother suggested, I regret that I cannot comply.
My son is deeply in love with her and wants to grow old with her. He is determined to marry her honestly and fairly, cherish her, and never harm her.
Qu Feiqing felt a pang of sadness in her heart upon hearing this.
The son she raised with her own hands was willing to put aside his mother's future for a woman.
But the other party was the only daughter of the Prince of Yan's mansion, and she still had to earn a living on her own. She could only suppress the bitterness in her heart and ask, "Tell me, why is it absolutely impossible for Princess Mingzhu to be with Xiao Zichen?"
The young man smiled and said softly, "Because of Princess Le'an, Su Hua."
"The Princess of Le'an County?" Qu Feiqing was taken aback. "You mean that commoner princess, Su Hua, who presented sweet potatoes and proposed the South-to-North Water Diversion Project?"
Two months ago, Su Hua's name had already spread throughout the capital. At that time, there were various rumors. Now, there's this South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and their Zhanwang Mansion has also donated a sum of money to it, so they are naturally familiar with it.
But what does this have to do with Xiao Zichen and Princess Mingzhu not being able to be together?
Xiao Baocong raised his eyes, taking in her expression, and chuckled softly, "Xiao Zichen's relationship with Princess Le'an is extraordinary. As long as Su Hua is here, there is absolutely no possibility for Xiao Zichen and Qingcheng."
"Xiao Zichen's favorite person is this commoner county princess?!" Qu Feiqing exclaimed softly.
On second thought, I couldn't help but understand.
Yes, Xiao Zichen was taken to Shanghe Village in Qingshui County by Xiao Zhong, and this local magistrate happened to be from Shanghe Village. It's not surprising that they developed feelings for each other and secretly pledged their lives to one another.
However, this commoner county princess, though of humble origin, possessed remarkable abilities and had repeatedly rendered meritorious service to the imperial court and the nation.
If Xiao Zhong's plan had succeeded, it would have been even better if Xiao Zichen had been able to marry a butcher's wife who was considered unlucky in marriage.
But in the end, no matter how meritorious a commoner county princess may be, she can never compare to the royal bloodline of the powerful and noble. In terms of marriage, Yu Heng's son is still far inferior to her son.
As her thoughts raced, Qu Feiqing felt a little relieved and said thoughtfully, "Let's put aside Xiao Zichen and Su Hua for now. While the rumors haven't completely died down, you and Princess Mingzhu's marriage needs to be settled as soon as possible. If we delay, there might be more complications."
Xiao Baocong smiled slightly, "Mother, rest assured, your son understands."
Prince Gong's Mansion, Lishui Residence.
An elderly man with white hair and simple clothes sat under a large pear tree, his hearty laughter echoing throughout the courtyard. "This rascal has good taste! This little girl not only has a very clever mind, but she is also pure and kind-hearted. She would be a perfect granddaughter-in-law for me!"
"Yes, Your Highness is right." Wu Yang grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth. "The South-to-North Water Diversion Project benefits millions of people in the world. Such a wonderful method is far beyond the reach of the young masters and ladies of the capital. Princess Le'an and the young master are a match made in heaven!"
Yu Xiao laughed so hard his white beard trembled, and waved his hand, "I'm in a good mood today, go and call the kitchen to cut meat and wash vegetables, I want to have a good hot pot to celebrate!"
Now we're just waiting for the Emperor's birthday celebration to pass so we can get the Soul-Severing Flower and then we can hold the wedding. Our Prince Gong's Mansion hasn't had a happy occasion in years, so this time we must make it a grand affair! Hahahaha…”
However, after the laughter stopped for a long time, the person next to him did not move.
She glanced at him with displeasure. "What's wrong? Did you go swatting mosquitoes in your ear?"
"Your Highness, my ears aren't quite up to that level yet," Wu Yang said, keeping his eyes down. "However, it's Your Highness's turn to eat clear broth hot pot today, not spicy broth."
Yu Xiao's lips visibly drooped. "You old bastard, who's your master, me or that brat?!"
Wu Yang touched his nose. "So, Your Highness, would you like to eat the clear broth hot pot or not?"
Yu Xiaohu's eyes widened. "Nonsense! Of course it's...eating!"
He softened his tone halfway through his sentence. Clear broth hot pot can't compare to spicy broth hot pot, but it's still hot pot after all, and the taste is much better than the dishes in the kitchen. He really hoped that the little girl could come to Beijing soon, and then ask her to develop a broth that is neither too spicy nor too bland.
She's so smart, there's nothing she can do!
At this moment, Su Hua had no idea that her fame had spread throughout the capital overnight with the news of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, nor did she know that many people were eagerly awaiting her arrival in the capital.
Qin Fang acted swiftly and decisively. As soon as the news of his donation for disaster relief and the erection of a monument spread, a number of wealthy households in the prefecture responded one after another. Within three days, they raised more than one million yuan in donations, as well as sweet potatoes and rice from more than a dozen granaries. The sweet potatoes were donated by Su Hua, while most of the rice was donated by the people of Qingshui County.
After the great disaster, the people of Qingshui County wanted to thank Su Hua, but no matter what they offered, the Su family refused to accept it. After some discussion, they decided to donate all the taxes that should have been paid but were exempted, based on their own harvest, to the disaster victims.
Despite the severe disaster that struck Tangshan Prefecture, the people worked together to quickly resolve the issues of food and shelter for the victims, and Tangshan Prefecture gradually recovered. The imperial court's disaster relief funds also arrived.
Along with the invitations, there were also invitations to the Su family to attend the Emperor's birthday celebration.
"What the heck?!" Su Bai and her family stared wide-eyed at the gold-embossed invitation. "The Emperor is inviting our whole family to his birthday banquet? Could it be that the person who wrote the invitation made a mistake?!"
The others didn't say anything, but their eyes conveyed the same meaning.
Hua'er is a county princess personally bestowed by the emperor, so it's understandable that she was invited to the Emperor's birthday celebration. But inviting her whole family is rather strange. They are just peasants; they probably wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they went to the palace.
Su Dahu pondered for a while, "The invitations in the palace are written by the emperor's eunuchs, and they are checked several times after they are written, so there is no way that the invitations are written wrong."
The invitation to our whole family to a banquet is probably because of Hua'er's suggestion regarding the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly felt a bit clearer-headed. Yes, they had also heard about the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. They had been amazed for a long time that Hua'er had done such a big thing without making a sound. It seemed reasonable that the emperor had invited their family for this.
But after all, he was the emperor, controlling the life and death of everyone in the world. Just thinking about it still made me feel inexplicably terrified.
"Since it's the Emperor's invitation, we should definitely go for the Emperor's birthday celebration."
Seeing everyone's anxious expressions, Su Hua smiled and said, "Besides, Zichen said that our emperor is a rare wise ruler who cares about the people and is kind and benevolent. Anyway, we were planning to go to the capital anyway, so we'll just treat it as a banquet at the palace and have a meal. We don't need to worry about anything else!"
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