The family returned home happily, where a small banquet had been prepared to celebrate their return.
Lei Zi and the others said some celebratory words, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was very lively.
Jiezi said, "Dog, you'll definitely pass the preliminary exam, and then the rest of us can take the county-level exam together! But the county-level exam is really hard to pass. I took it once last year, and it felt so difficult."
Xiao Huzi nodded. He was a year older than Gou'er. Last year, he passed the preliminary examination for the first degree but did not take the examination for the second degree. He felt that his performance in the preliminary examination was not very good and that he still had room for improvement, so he thought he would take the exam again this year.
"Hehe, it's great to take the exam with my brothers, we can keep each other company!"
The dog held up a glass of juice, toasted everyone, and then took a sip himself.
Ruozheng smiled and said to Jiang Jiuniang, "Gou'er looks like a high-ranking official; he knows how to get things done."
Jiang Jiuniang nodded repeatedly, without the slightest hint of modesty: "I think so too!"
Just as they were eating, someone came to announce, "Third Master, someone from the palace has come and requests your presence!"
The lively atmosphere suddenly froze, and everyone became a little nervous. It was rare for the emperor to summon Lu Baichuan to the palace so late at night.
Lu Baichuan had only drunk half of his wine when he quickly put down his glass, stood up, and said to Jiang Jiuniang, "I'll go check on things. Don't wait for me tonight."
Jiang Jiuniang nodded, not thinking much of it, and continued eating.
Lu Baichuan then left with the others. Seeing that everyone was a little worried, Jiang Jiuniang took the initiative to say, "It's alright, it's alright, let's continue eating."
After a few rounds of drinks, Jiang Jiuniang suddenly asked Old Man Lu, "Father, how are the crops on the estate?"
Realizing something, Old Man Lu immediately said, "They're all pretty good. Although the quality varies a bit, they're definitely enough to fill our stomachs!"
Jiang Jiuniang nodded and smiled, "I can definitely trust Father to handle things. Increase planting as soon as possible and try to spread the seeds within the next two or three years so that people will no longer have to worry about filling their stomachs."
“I understand. Ever since the first batch came out, we’ve been increasing the planting area. All the farms in Jingzhou have planted it, and I’ve also given seeds to the villagers. This year will definitely be a bumper harvest!”
Old Lu gets very excited when he talks about these things. He has worked in the fields all his life and has never seen such a large yield of grain. Moreover, his third son's wife has foresight and urged him to increase planting early on. Now the warehouses in the village are full.
Jiang Jiuniang had been busy with various things since returning from her trip and hadn't paid attention to these matters. However, she knew that Old Man Lu and Lu Lao Er must have taken good care of things. She just didn't expect them to do it so well. The program had already started to be implemented in the village and would soon be expanded to other areas. The lives of the people would get better and better.
At first, Jiang Jiuniang thought that she was the only one who needed to be fed. Later, after becoming closer to the Lu family, she tried her best to ensure that the whole family was well-fed and clothed. Later still, within her limited capacity, she helped the people around her to live a better life.
After learning her true identity, Jiang Jiuniang felt an even greater sense of mission.
Even in the post-apocalyptic world, no matter how good things are, it's impossible to make everyone act as if nothing happened. The damage will always leave a scar. Therefore, Jiang Jiuniang decided to start changing history from Beiyan, making the country prosperous, strong, and powerful, so that those people would not be able to attack. This would prevent the blood and tears of the past, as well as the various dark experiments and environmental pollution.
In this way, there would be no apocalypse, and the human world could continue to prosper for many more years.
Thinking of this, she raised her wine glass to Old Man Lu and said, "Father, the prosperity of the country is inseparable from your and Second Brother's contributions. Since Second Brother is not here today, I will toast you on behalf of the people!"
Old Lu was surprised that his third daughter-in-law would think so highly of him, and he immediately smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared, and the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together.
Sun smiled broadly, but said, "He didn't do anything. You and Xiao Yang brought those seeds back from outside. You are the real heroes!"
Lu Xiaoyang and the others quickly said modestly, "We just went out for a trip. The fact that we were able to grow the seeds and have a good harvest is all thanks to Third Grandfather and Second Uncle!"
Jiang Jiuniang chimed in, "That's right, that's right."
Old Lu was even happier. Ignoring what his wife was saying, he raised his wine glass and said, "You're right, we've all made contributions!"
Ms. Sun rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the pride on her face.
Looking back on the hardships they endured in Changzhou and the difficulties they faced on their journey to escape famine, it all felt like a dream. They had been living good lives for many years.
Ruozheng and Zhuzhu didn't understand their nostalgic feelings, but seeing everyone so happy and working together for the future was truly inspiring and made them want to contribute more to the development of the country.
Lu Baichuan hurriedly entered the palace. The emperor summoned not only him, but also Qin Jian and several other newly promoted confidants. The emperor said with a heavy expression, "A letter has arrived from the border. The Eastern Court is starting to cause trouble again. Recently, some people have been deliberately provoking the people on the border. There have been several cases of bullying innocent women. I think they are testing the bottom line of the Northern Yan. If we don't take action, they will do more than just this."
Mr. Kang spoke first: "I think Your Majesty is right. Those people first used respectable women to test us. If we think it is a small matter, they will take advantage of us. In the end, it will be the people on the border who suffer."
The war only came to a complete end when the Eastern Court ceded cities as compensation. The people on the border now are the former people of the Eastern Court who were ceded to the Northern Yan. At first, they were very unwilling, but after being exposed to the culture and benefits of the Northern Yan, they realized the goodness of the Northern Yan and have wholeheartedly submitted to the Northern Yan court.
Therefore, the court must not stand idly by when the people on the border are being bullied.
Moreover, Dongting has the help of the island nation behind it. Those people can't hold back any good news, and we absolutely cannot let them go easily.
The emperor then asked the others, "What are your thoughts on this matter, my esteemed ministers?"
Qin Jian said, "This battle must be fought. First, let the people on the border know that the court cares about them. Second, it's time to make the Eastern Court pay the price for its ungratefulness! We let them off once before, there's no reason to let them off again this time. The people of the Eastern Court are unlucky to have such a ruler. We might as well let them all come into the arms of our Northern Yan and live a few good days with us."
These words struck a chord with the emperor. No emperor doesn't want to expand his territory, especially since it wasn't an invasion they initiated, but rather others coming to them first. This way of protecting themselves meant that even if word got out later, no one would say a bad word about them.
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