When the team was entering the city gate, they encountered inspection. Before Zhou Jiaojiao had time to take out her identity token, she was recognized by a city gate guard leading the team.
"Are you Zhou Jiaojiao? Brother Chu's wife?"
Zhou Jiaojiao nodded, "Master Jun, do you know me?"
"Hey, why are you calling me 'General'? My name is Gu Meng, and I'm a good friend of Brother Chu." The young man smiled, revealing his white teeth. "I've seen your portrait, your sister-in-law, so I recognized you."
"Come with me quickly. Brother Chu has asked me to prepare a house a long time ago. You can live there when you arrive. But Brother Chu is very busy now. He is completing a mission and cannot come back in a short time. If you need anything, just ask me for help." Gu Meng said in a kind voice.
Zhou Jiaojiao suddenly thought of something and asked, "Are you the good friend in the Youzhou Army that my husband mentioned, the one who helped him hide the banknotes?"
"Yes." Gu Meng scratched his head embarrassedly, "Hehe, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sister-in-law."
"So it's you. I'm really sorry to bother you."
"No trouble."
As they were talking, they had already entered Youzhou City. The situation in the city was obviously much better. Zhou Jiaojiao found that the people were living and working in peace and contentment, and the shops were open as usual. The people looked much better than in other prefectures they had visited along the way.
Youzhou was not affected by the disaster, and the government was well managed, so it is not surprising that this happened.
"Sister-in-law, this alley is your house. It's not big, just a courtyard. But the three courtyards next to it are all yours. Brother Chu said that his two brothers are here too, so each family has their own house."
Zhou Jiaojiao got out of the carriage and Chu Xiaomei took care of the children.
The eldest and second brothers Chu, mother Chu, and father Chu came over and got to know Gu Meng.
Gu Meng patted his chest and said, "I am currently in charge of guarding the city gate. Uncle, aunt, big brother, and second brother, if you are in trouble, just come to me."
"Young man, thank you so much for troubling you. After we clean up the house, please come to our house for lunch."
"Hey, auntie, no problem. My home is here too. When you come back, you can come over. But I have to continue my patrol now."
Although Gu Meng left, he was not actually going on patrol, but to find General Xie.
The prince and his entourage did not want to reveal their identities at this time, so they followed them into the courtyard. The three courtyards were not big, but they were connected, which was quite convenient.
"This yard is too small. Wait until I reward you with a bigger house." The prince walked in and said with his hands behind his back.
Zhou Jiaojiao was a little amused. "Your Highness, I won't be polite then. General Xie still owes me salary and rewards."
"I thought you would refuse." The prince laughed.
"How could that be? I earned this through my own hard work, why shouldn't I want it?" Zhou Jiaojiao asked with a smile.
The prince laughed heartily, feeling more relaxed than ever. "Miss Zhou is right."
In less than half an hour.
General Xie, dressed in chain mail, arrived, accompanied by a large group. Upon reaching the door, he saw the Crown Prince, dressed simply. He immediately knelt and greeted him respectfully, "I greet Your Highness. I'm sorry to have been frightened on the way here."
The prince's aura changed instantly, taking on an air of inaccessibility that only those in higher positions possessed. He stepped forward, reached out and helped General Xie up, "General Xie, please get up quickly. Your safety is also a credit to me."
"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. This is what an old minister should do." General Xie burst into tears as he and the prince expressed their heartfelt feelings to each other.
The scene was very touching at one point.
There were people outside watching the gossip, and when they saw this, they all retreated.
Just then.
A soldier ran over from the street outside and quickly knelt down in front of General Xie and the prince.
"What's the matter?" General Xie asked after calming down.
The soldier whispered, "General, news has come from the capital that the emperor has passed away and the ninth prince has ascended the throne... Weddings and celebrations are suspended across the country for three months..."
The Crown Prince and General Xie's expressions changed drastically at the same time.
There was no time to talk nonsense at this moment, and he immediately returned to the general's mansion to plan his affairs.
The prince left in a hurry. General Xie met Zhou Jiaojiao briefly and said, "I'll come back to you when I'm done. Thank you for the armor and salt."
"General, just go and do your business. I will wait here."
"Okay, okay." General Xie turned around and left happily, taking the prince's men with him.
Zhou Jiaojiao frowned slightly. She didn't expect that a prince had already ascended the throne. However, he probably wouldn't be able to sit on the throne steadily, as the other princes would definitely make trouble.
"Jiaojiao, Mr. Zhou is actually the Crown Prince?"
Mother Chu waited until the Crown Prince and General Xie left before she dared to come out. Her face was full of amazement. She had never expected that she would actually meet such a great man.
"Mom, that's right. I didn't tell you in order to protect His Highness." Zhou Jiaojiao explained.
"It's better not to tell. If you tell me, I will definitely be worried, and it might show on my face. The pursuit along the way was terrible enough." Chu Mu was still frightened. "Now it's good. I can tell everyone that I not only killed chickens and ducks, but also killed people. Who would dare to get along with us?"
"Hahaha, mother, don't worry. I went out and asked around. The people living around here are all families of military generals. The men in their families have killed people. It's nothing." Second Brother Chu came over. He was not afraid but proud.
Mother Chu waved her hands helplessly, "Okay, then I should be happy."
"Let's clean up the house first."
It only took an hour to pack up the house, and the luggage was loaded onto the carriage. The space could be used freely outside, but not in the city. It was enough for very few people to know that there was a space and they could use it freely. If more people knew about it, it would easily cause trouble.
Finished cleaning the house.
The family invited Gu Meng to have dinner together.
Chu's mother asked him about the situation in Youzhou City.
Gu Meng said, "Aunt, it's totally fine for you to do business. Although there are rumors that a new emperor has ascended the throne, we are far away, so a small shop with a household registration is not a problem."
"As for what kind of store you want to open, it depends on what skills you have." Gu Meng couldn't help with this.
Zhou Jiaojiao knew that her parents just wanted to find something to do, otherwise they would probably want to go to the countryside in Youzhou to farm.
Speaking of farming.
After Zhou Jiaojiao and Gu Meng left, she said to Chu's mother, "Mom, do you want to farm or do business?"
"What do you mean by farming?" Chu's mother and father obviously prefer farming.
The next morning, Zhou Jiaojiao took Chu's mother and father back to the countryside. She asked someone from the land agency to help her look for land in the countryside. Father Chu knew how to look at land. After running around for a few days, he finally decided to buy a hundred acres of land near the river, less than twenty miles from Youzhou City.
Zhou Jiaojiao is not short of money now, so she directly finds someone in the village to pay for the repair of the house.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
