Jinling—
The Eastern Palace.
The Crown Prince walked out of the Crown Princess's palace with a cold expression.
Upon seeing this, the palace servants quickly chased after them.
"By my order, effective immediately, the Crown Princess shall be confined to her palace and forbidden from leaving until she gives birth to the imperial heir, at which point a decision shall be made."
"Yes, sir!"
......
With the Crown Prince's order, the entire Eastern Palace immediately received word.
"What happened? What did the Crown Princess do to make the Crown Prince so angry?"
"Don't you know? It's all over the place. It was the Crown Princess who ordered people to harm the young princess!"
"What? The Crown Princess?"
"Yes, it was personally inspected by the Crown Prince, how could it be fake?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, the Crown Princess is even willing to harm royal bloodlines in her quest for favor!"
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let Consort Shangguan's people hear..."
In the kitchen, with the indulgence of certain people, rumors quickly spread, and gradually, versions also appeared among the common people.
After being adapted into a play, it spread widely.
When the Crown Prince learned of the news, he wanted to investigate thoroughly, but it turned into a dead end!
The Crown Princess's maternal family, the Cao clan, is no pushover.
As long as the Crown Prince does not release the Crown Princess from her confinement, the Cao family will not have a moment of peace!
Meanwhile, the Shangguan family was riding high on their success...
In the blink of an eye, three months have passed.
When the first snow fell, the entire Yunshui County rejoiced.
A timely snowfall promises a bumper harvest!
Next year, Yunshui County will surely prosper!
The eight townships have long since been lifted out of poverty.
Every village has its own cultural treasures and a way to make a living!
The long-awaited quarterly meeting has arrived. The eight township heads gathered at the Princess's Mansion, each expressing their opinions and reporting on the township's financial data for the last quarter.
Unsurprisingly, the rice wine town came out on top, followed by the kapok town and the rice flower town.
Congratulations!
"Congratulations!"
"No, no, not at all~"
......
Jiang Yue smiled and then clapped her hands.
Three maids each brought in a tray covered with a red cloth into the room. After exchanging greetings, Princess Jinghou gave her instructions.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
After the princess spoke, the scene fell silent for a moment.
A surge of excitement rose in everyone's hearts. Was the princess about to reward them for their merits?!
"This year is the first selection. As agreed, the township head who comes in first place will receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver, ten bolts of cloth, and thirty catties of pork!"
"The second-place township head will receive a reward of sixty taels of silver, six bolts of cloth, and twenty catties of pork!"
"The third-place township head will receive a reward of thirty taels of silver, three bolts of cloth, and ten catties of pork!"
"Please come and collect your silver, cotton cloth, and pork. When you return, guards from the Princess's Mansion will assist you in transporting them back to your home in the village."
Boom!
Now, whether they received a reward or not, all the township heads are thrilled!
Those who received the reward thought to themselves that the Princess truly kept her promise!
With so many good things, bringing them back to our hometown will help us have a good New Year!
The township head, who did not receive a reward, thought to himself that he must try harder next time and strive to win the reward!
Very good. Seeing the happy looks on the faces of the township heads, Jiang Yue knew that her reward had resonated with them.
Wu Yongfa ranked fourth in this selection, just a little short.
It's okay, he'll try again next year!
"It's a rare occasion to gather everyone like this. As usual, I, the princess, will be the host. What would you all like to eat?"
"Your Highness, this old man is craving hot pot. I heard there's a hot pot restaurant in the county that's particularly delicious!"
"Your Highness, I also want to eat hot pot, and even more so, roast duck. I've heard it's delicious."
"Princess~ I'm not picky, I want to eat them all~"
"Haha, Old Wang, how old are you? Still so greedy?"
"Old Li, you're not much better off!"
"Old Wu, what do you think?"
"I'd risk my life to accompany you, my lord!"
......
Even so, Jiang Yue still instructed people to add some milk to the hot pot broth to reduce its spiciness.
Secondly, let the person ordering the food keep an eye on these old men and try to persuade them to avoid overly spicy or stimulating seasonings.
If you encounter a stubborn person, offer them more tea and sweets.
After giving the instructions, he told the manager to take the group of old men to the hot pot restaurant.
Unfortunately, school is closed today.
A group of literati, scholars, calligraphers, and painters who came from afar are holding a poetry contest inside the hot pot restaurant.
Of course, the poetry competition is not just about poetry; it also includes music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
It's incredibly lively, and everyone who dines inside has a chance to be captured in a painting—who knows, they might even go down in art history!
Wu Yongfa found it amusing and glanced at it a few more times.
The heads of the other seven townships were also seeing this spectacle for the first time and were completely mesmerized.
They didn't leave until their hot pot broth arrived and the waiter let them order.
“We couldn’t get into places like this before.”
"That's right. In the past, although we were called township heads, in the eyes of the powerful, we were just leaders of peasants."
"Sigh, I passed through here last year and was mistaken for a beggar and kicked out by the former restaurant owner."
"Oh? Is that so? Why didn't you tell me? If you had, I would have gotten justice for you."
"Alas, old brother, where was justice in Yunshui County back then?"
"It was only after Princess Jiang arrived that Yunshui County was revitalized!"
“My grandson used to be unable to afford school, but now he’s going to school. A few days ago when he came home, he even brought two pounds of meat with him.”
"Mine is the same. My granddaughter can make several kinds of desserts now. The princess just rewarded her with a sum of money, so I plan to rent a small shop for her to do some small business. I don't expect to make a lot of money, I just hope to save some money for her dowry."
......
When one person speaks, the others listen quietly, occasionally chiming in.
Unbeknownst to them, this group of elderly people in their sixties had become the protagonists in the eyes of others.
There are painters creating paintings, and poets reciting poems...
The legendary gluttonous feast painting, which has been passed down for centuries, was thus created.
In the picture, a shop called Zhurong Hot Pot Restaurant is thriving.
The restaurant was packed, with diners ranging from elderly people to young children, and including scholars and writers...
A waiter approached with a smile, cupped his hands in greeting, and explained the purpose of the visit:
"Young master, you have a generous spirit. My shopkeeper would like to buy the painting to hang in the shop. I wonder if you would be willing to part with it?"
"Thank you for the compliment. It is fate that we have met. It is also fate that the shopkeeper has taken a liking to my painting. How about I donate this painting to the shop?"
The young man was quite young, and this was the first time someone had appreciated his paintings, so he felt a sense of joy at having found a kindred spirit.
These days, people who can learn to paint and create art are not ordinary people.
Therefore, when the young master who was supposed to be painting said such a thing, the waiter did not suspect that the other party was just trying to gain fame and reputation and was waiting for the price to be raised.
"Thank you for your generosity, sir. I will inform the shopkeeper immediately."
......
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