After reading Lu Ziyan's letter, Tan Yunniang's eyes turned red. Lu Zifeng saw his mother's red eyes and hurriedly coaxed her.
"Mother, the second son is doing well in southern Xinjiang. Didn't he write a letter home to let us know he's safe? Also, that kid has made great contributions. Maybe when he comes back, he can get a fifth-rank official position like me!"
Lu Zifeng's words made Tan Yunniang laugh and said angrily.
"Mother, I don't ask you brothers to have any official positions. As long as you brothers are safe and sound, I will be very happy. In my eyes, your safety is more important than anything else."
Lu Zifeng also understood Tan Yunniang's motherly heart and laughed.
"Don't worry, mother. I taught the second son martial arts. Although he's not as good as me, it's still easy for him to protect himself on the battlefield."
Situ Yao was also quietly comforting her mother-in-law. In fact, when she agreed to the marriage proposed by her father, Situ Yao had already prepared herself to face a rural mother-in-law in the future.
Over the years, she had heard that many mothers-in-law in rural areas took pleasure in torturing their daughters-in-law, but what she had not expected was that her own mother-in-law was really nice and could even read and write. After getting married, she had intentionally or unintentionally found out that her mother-in-law came from a farming and reading family. Although she lived in the countryside, her father had once been a juren, so her mother-in-law was still knowledgeable.
In a blink of an eye, ten days passed, and news came from Zhuangzi that the peppers had been dried and the seeds had been selected. All the seeds were stored in the warehouse and prepared to continue planting peppers next year.
Nowadays, Prince Situ Jin's hot pot restaurants have opened in all major cities in Dayu Dynasty, including many in small counties close to the capital. In total, there are more than 50 restaurants of all sizes.
This year alone brought in tens of thousands of taels of silver for Lu Zifeng, not to mention the Crown Prince. With this income, Lu Zifeng asked Lei Ting to set up more Lu's trading companies across the country, trying to ensure that every provincial capital had Lu's business.
In the blink of an eye, it was May of the following year. Lu Zifeng was on duty in the palace when he saw his Yulin soldiers running towards him breathlessly.
"Sir, hurry up, Brother Lu Chun is here. He said the princess is about to give birth and asked you to return to the Duke's Mansion as soon as possible."
Lu Zifeng was shocked when he heard this and quickly stood up and said to the soldier.
"Please ask for leave for me. I'll go back home now." After saying that, he ran out of the palace gate.
When Lu Zifeng rode a fast horse back to the mansion, the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion had already become quiet. When Lu Zifeng ran all the way to his yard, he happened to see his mother and grandmother sitting in the yard. He did not see Situ Yao, so he knew that Situ Yao had entered the delivery room. However, after listening, he did not hear any sound coming from the delivery room.
Tan Yunniang smiled when she saw Lu Zifeng coming back.
"Don't worry, Yao'er is fine. She's in the delivery room now. The midwife has already gone in."
Having experienced this once before, Lu Zifeng was worried, but he did not sit still like last time. Instead, he sat quietly aside.
As soon as he sat down, he heard footsteps. Lu Zifeng looked and found that it was Lu Zimo coming, so he smiled.
"Why are you out? Are you not reading in the study anymore?"
Lu Zimo smiled.
"You can't just read all the time! Just come out for a walk. I just found out my sister-in-law is about to give birth, so I came to check on her."
Lu Zifeng nodded. Last autumn, his father, Lu Mingyuan, and his third brother, Lu Zimo, had taken the provincial examination together. His father had passed, but Lu Zimo hadn't. This was perfectly normal, Lu Zifeng thought. Although his father hadn't been a scholar for long, he had a wealth of life experience. When he wrote, he incorporated what he'd seen and heard in the real world, which was why he had easily passed. Furthermore, in the recent spring examination, he'd placed seventeenth in the second class, which was quite impressive. He was currently serving as magistrate in a small county under Bingzhou Prefecture.
Although Lu Zimo was a little depressed after the provincial examination, he maintained a good attitude and was full of energy again in just a few days.
"Sit down."
Situ Yao gave birth very quickly and gave birth to a son an hour later. This was also Lu Zifeng's second son.
Lu Zifeng had just taken his youngest son from his mother's arms when his eldest son Lu Yunhui came running over crying. Lu Yunhui was only one year and five months old now, and could walk, run, and speak some simple words.
"Daddy, hold me."
Lu Zifeng found it very funny that this little kid was already learning to be jealous. He handed his little son to Lu Zimo.
"You are his third uncle, hug him!"
Then he bent down, picked up Lu Yunhui, and pinched his little nose.
"You little brat, are you jealous of your brother?"
As soon as Lu Yunhui was picked up by Lu Zifeng, he immediately started smiling.
Lu Zimo held his eldest brother's youngest son stiffly and said with a bitter face.
"Brother, what should I do? I don't dare to move. Please take the child away quickly! I'm afraid he will fall."
Before Lu Zifeng could say anything, Xu, who came out of the delivery room, laughed and walked forward to take the child.
"You're already so old, it's time for you to learn how to hold a baby. You'll have to hold a baby when you become a father."
After hearing what his grandmother said, Lu Zimo blushed and scratched his head embarrassedly.
"Grandma, it's still too early for me to become a father."
When Xu heard this, she became unhappy and said angrily.
"Nonsense! You're already fifteen this year. In the next two or three years, you'll be married. Once you're married, how far away will it be for you to become a father?"
As she spoke, Xu seemed to be losing interest.
"Well, your father, who is already over 30 years old, actually passed the imperial examination and became a county magistrate in our hometown. This Yan'er did the same. He came back from southern Xinjiang and went straight to Bingzhou Prefecture to live with your father instead of going home. Our family has added a new member now, but there are fewer and fewer people at home."
Seeing his grandmother's lonely look, Lu Zifeng hurriedly comforted her.
"Grandma, isn't this the time for my father to demonstrate his worth in life? If he were still the same as before, he could stay by our side, but you have to know that he also has ambitions, especially after he returned to the Duke Dingguo Mansion."
Lu Zifeng didn't say the rest of his words, but Xu naturally understood. She knew why Lu Mingyuan was so determined to study and pass the imperial examination. Wasn't it to prove that he wasn't bad at all, that the only thing he lacked before was the money to study? He also didn't want the people in the capital to look down on him, saying, "Look, do you see that?" every time they saw him. That's Duke Dingguo's younger brother, who grew up in the countryside.
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