Chapter 651 Jiang Huijun and Qin Tao's family in Jinzhou
Andong, the rear courtyard of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion in Jinzhou Prefecture.
Jiang Huijun waved to the maid who was massaging her legs, and the maid obediently stopped, bowed, and withdrew.
Jiang Huijun, who was leaning against the low couch, sighed as she looked at the old woman who was pouring her tea.
"Your Highness, why do you sigh?"
The old woman handed the perfectly warm teacup to Jiang Huijun. After watching Jiang Huijun accept it gracefully, the old woman washed her hands again before sitting down on the other side of the low couch.
The old woman said, "Is the Dowager Consort perhaps thinking about the King of the East Sea?"
So what if Li Shiyue becomes the King of the East Sea?
"Don't they still respect our Great Long as their master?"
Without stopping, he picked up a jar of walnuts and began peeling walnuts for Jiang Huijun.
Upon hearing what the old woman said, Jiang Huijun put down her teacup and finally sighed again.
"Sigh, you don't understand."
After saying this, Jiang Huijun did not explain anything to the old woman.
But Jiang Huijun was thinking to herself—although Li Shiyue still respected Dalong as her master and only acted as a "vassal king," Andong was really too close to Donghai Kingdom!
Furthermore, Li Shiyue started her career in Jian'an, Andong!
Back then, it was she, the Princess Consort of Zhenbei, who "forced" him to go to Jian'an!
In Jiang Huijun's view, who knows if Li Shiyue, who now holds great power and is the ruler of the Donghai Kingdom, has any intention of starting a war against Andong.
After all, judging from the news coming from outside, Li Shiyue is not just a brave and skilled general;
She also possesses extraordinary abilities and unparalleled power, capable of destroying the world!
The former Japan has become the present-day East Sea Kingdom!
With Japan's example as a precedent, how could Jiang Huijun not be afraid?
Before the old woman could finish shelling all the walnuts in the jar, a voice came from outside the door announcing the arrival of someone.
The new Prince of Zhenbei, Liu Yan, the eldest son of Jiang Huijun and the late Liu Tan, has arrived.
"Mother!"
Liu Yan bowed to Jiang Huijun, and Jiang Huijun quickly called him over to sit down.
Thus, Liu Yan sat down in the spot where the old woman had originally sat.
"Mother, news has come from Jian'an!"
At Liu Yan's signal, the attendant who had come with him quickly stepped forward and handed a folded letter to the old woman standing next to Jiang Huijun.
After going through the process once, Jiang Huijun finally took the folded paper from the old woman and unfolded it.
A quick glance at the message revealed that it could be summarized in a single sentence: a merchant ship returning from the Eastern Sea Kingdom brought back news that Li Shiyue had dispatched troops south to Annam.
Jiang Huijun had lived in Antong for a long time and was therefore unfamiliar with Annam.
So, after putting down the letter, she looked up at Liu Yan opposite her and asked, "Does Your Highness know what good things Annam has?"
"Does Mother also believe that the King of Donghai wouldn't send troops to Annam without a reason?"
Liu Yan looked excited. He didn't give Jiang Huijun a chance to answer and immediately said a series of words: "When I was young, I met the King of the East Sea a few times. Now that I think about it, this woman is resolute and a person who plans before acting."
Since she was able to remain in hiding in Japan for ten years before bringing about a change, she must have set her sights on a certain place when she sent troops to Annam.
I... I haven't read many books, and all I know is that it's a hot, humid, and rainy place, a small country that submits to Da Long.
I wonder what the King of the East Sea has his eye on?
That's why they wanted to conquer this place.
Yes, both Jiang Huijun and Liu Yan believed that Li Shiyue's dispatch of troops to Annam was because he had his eye on this land.
Otherwise, why send troops?
These soldiers are all funded with real money. If there were no benefits, why would anyone send troops to such a distant place?
Jiang Huijun and Liu Yan wanted to know another reason why Li Shiyue valued Annam: it was because of the fear in their hearts!
What were the mother and son afraid of?
That's because they're afraid that one day Li Shiyue will want to be more than just the King of the East Sea!
Will she send troops to land at Jian'an and march back to Jinzhou?
Even though Jiang's army was always in Liu Yan's hands, he was still afraid!
"Your Highness, this matter is important. Please send someone to invite Mr. Zhou (Zhou Yiran) over."
While Jiang Huijun and Liu Yan were worrying about Li Shiyue's intention to send troops to Annam in the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, in a small courtyard in the courtyard behind the mansion, Li Chunli was washing clothes by the well with her armbands tied.
Qin Tao married Chen Hengrong, who was quite wealthy, and she did indeed give birth to a son for him. However, this childbirth nearly cost Qin Tao her life!
After giving birth to her son, Qin Tao was bedridden for about half a year before she was able to get out of bed.
Therefore, Qin Tao, the youngest son, could no longer be cared for by her and was instead looked after by the wet nurse hired by the Chen family.
It's unclear whether Chen Hengrong was content with having a son or because Qin Tao had been ill for too long;
Even though Qin Tao gave birth to the son that Chen Hengrong longed for, a son who could carry on the family line, she never received a single benefit from Chen Hengrong in the Chen family mansion.
Even after she had been eating ginseng soup for half a year, the Chen family's butler stopped giving Qin Tao her share of ginseng soup without even saying a word!
Qin Tao, wearing a cloak, wanted to find Chen Hengrong to complain, but she couldn't even see him.
It was only at this moment that Qin Tao became afraid.
No matter how much she humbled herself and cried, Chen Hengrong never saw her again.
Furthermore, Chen Hengrong had Qin Tao's courtyard sealed off, allowing only the maids to open the door to get food each day.
Qin Tao, whose body had already been damaged by childbirth, became even more helpless under the fear.
By the time Qin Tao had spent a considerable amount of her savings to finally send a distress message to Li Shigui outside, she was already terminally ill.
But what can Li Shigui, a young man who lives off Chen Hengrong and has not achieved any official rank over the years, possibly do?
After Li Shigui humbly begged Chen Hengrong for a long time, he only managed to enter Chen's residence and see Qin Tao for the last time as she lay dying.
The mother and son exchanged only a few words before Qin Tao fell silent.
Qin Tao... is dead.
How could Qin Tao, who was dead, send money to Li Chunli?
Without money, Li Chunli had to take care of herself, Mao'er, and Fu Ge'er all by herself.
Fu Ge'er was, after all, a young man. When he reached a certain age, he entered the school of the Prince's Mansion and would be able to inherit a decent share of the family property in the future, so that he could at least support himself.
But Cat, this frail and sickly girl, even though she was already over twenty years old, had no one to worry about her marriage.
It wasn't until Mao'er was almost twenty-five that Jiang Huijun remembered him. Jiang Huijun actually arranged for Mao'er to marry a widowed clerk from the royal court who was over forty years old!
As for Li Shigui?
He did stick close to Chen Hengrong, married the daughter of a small merchant, opened a bookstore, and lived a reasonably decent life in the prefectural city.
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