Chapter 109: First Arrival at Zhuangzi
After Zhao Lingmeng, Zhao Houjing, and Zhao Houming had vomited twice, they finally arrived at the hot spring resort outside the city. When Qiuyue helped Zhao Lingmeng off the carriage, she was stunned. She once again felt with uncanny clarity that she had truly arrived in this strange dynasty.
Zhao Lingmeng could only describe the scene in front of her with one word: deep mountains and old forests. Even the road they had just entered looked newly built. It was all freshly dug dirt. If it rained for a few days, they would all be trapped here, and the carriage would definitely not be able to leave.
Zhao Lingmeng also admired the emperor. It was rare to find a hot spring resort in such a place. Zhao Lingmeng was also right to complain. The entrance was indeed newly built by the emperor after he knew that Zhao Lingmeng was planning to live there.
As for this hot spring villa, it had been built by the royal family for many years, but because of its remote location, no one had thought of it, so it was finally given to Zhao Lingmeng. However, the materials used in its construction were all top-notch.
Moreover, the location of this place is relatively remote, which is very suitable for Zhao Lingmeng to do some research here. After the emperor awarded it to Zhao Lingmeng, he also renovated the old hot spring villa.
As for the manor where Zhao Lingmeng was researching weapons, it was located behind the hot spring manor, even deeper in the mountains and forests. It was completely invisible from the outside unless you specifically looked for it. However, there was a tunnel leading to the main house in the hot spring manor, and it was newly dug, making it much safer.
This also shows the importance the emperor attaches to Zhao Lingmeng. It's not surprising that the emperor values her. The main reason is that the surrounding area is unstable, and the military department has not made any major improvements in the past few years, only minor changes.
The emperor witnessed the power of Zhao Lingmeng's Zhuge crossbow with his own eyes. It was like a drowning person suddenly grabbing a piece of grass and having to hold on tightly.
As soon as Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houming got out of the carriage, they wanted to be carried by the servants beside them. They both agreed that the muddy ground was a bit dirty. But they both used their eyes to hint at the servants beside them to pick them up. However, seeing that the princess was standing around looking around without saying anything, the servants did not dare to act on their own.
Seeing that the people around him didn't hold him, Zhao Houming frowned, approached Zhao Lingmeng step by step, and tugged at her skirt, "Mom, I want Aunt Dongshui to hold me."
Zhao Lingmeng looked at the child at his feet, who showed no curiosity or excitement at all, and said helplessly, "Why? Are you tired?"
"Dirty," Zhao Houming said while rubbing his two little feet on the ground.
Zhao Lingmeng knew what was going on when she saw the brothers' expressions. People who were born into wealth and prosperity have never experienced hardship. Zhao Lingmeng took Zhao Houming's hand and said, "Jing'er, come here too. Mom will hold your hand."
With their mother holding their hands, they could barely accept the fact that no one was holding them. Zhao Lingmeng took them for a spin on the dirt road. Seeing that their shoes and pants were dirty, she got back into the carriage and ordered it to drive directly into the farm.
Just now their carriage stopped at the gate of the manor, and Zhao Lingmeng wanted to get off to take a look at the surrounding environment and get a general idea of it.
After they entered the manor and rested, the first thing they did was eat a meal prepared by the manor's chef. Zhao Lingmeng thought it was delicious, with the flavor of something cooked in an iron pot.
But the brothers Zhao Houjing and Zhao Houjing were not like that. They looked at the food on the table and saw that it looked unpalatable and there was no exquisite presentation. So they did not want to eat. Among them, Zhao Houjing was more resistant. He was raised by Zhou Shi before, and Zhou Shi would not force him if he did not want to, so he still had a bad temper.
Especially after Zhao Houjing spent a long time with Zhao Lingmeng, his various little tempers began to reveal themselves unconsciously.
Seeing this, Qiuyue was about to go downstairs and ask the chef she brought to prepare another table, but Zhao Lingmeng stopped her calmly.
Zhao Lingmeng personally picked up a chicken leg from the stew on the table and gave it to each of them. "Eat it! I'll let you two have one today. Remember to give me more next time."
The Zhao Houjing brothers looked at each other, and seeing that their mother was enjoying the meal, they were sure that she would not make it again for them just because they didn't like it, so they had no choice but to eat it too. After all, they had been sitting in the carriage for a whole morning and were still quite hungry.
Maybe because they were hungry, maybe because they knew there was nothing else to eat, or maybe because they both thought the food was good. In the end, the three of them finished most of the dishes on the table.
Zhao Lingmeng finished eating and slumped in the chair as usual. It was very comfortable to sit like this after eating. "Qiuyue, please appreciate the kitchen. This meal is well prepared. From now on, the people we brought with us and the people from the farm will take turns cooking for three meals a day."
Zhao Lingmeng had made this impromptu decision after seeing the two little ones' performance. Originally, she had brought the cook with her, intending to have the chef from the manor take over the kitchen at the farm. But now it seemed that this was no longer possible. It was okay to like delicious food, but you couldn't refuse to eat something that wasn't tasty.
"Yes, Princess. Also, Chunshui said that there is an imperial physician at the manor over there. You can summon him if you have any questions."
After hearing Qiuyue's words, Zhao Lingmeng felt that the emperor's arrangement was so thoughtful. She even felt a little guilty if she didn't come up with something good. After a few days of rest, she should start thinking about working!
Before she was ready to go to work, she would soak in the hot spring first and take the two little ones out to play for a few days. After they had fun on their own, she could then go and do other things. Otherwise, the two little ones would definitely look for someone everywhere.
Moreover, they both showed some signs of mysophobia, so Zhao Lingmeng decided to correct them. She didn't want them to be nerds who were ignorant of the world in the future.
Zhao Lingmeng thought for a moment, then instructed, "Qiuyue, tell Master Wu that you're giving him three days off to walk around the farm and teach the two children to read after three days. Also, make it clear that they're not allowed to wander around outside the farm. If there are wild animals around, it would be bad if they get hurt."
Zhao Lingmeng was afraid that Master Wu would leave the manor and wander to the next manor. If he accidentally saw something he shouldn't have seen, Zhao Lingmeng had no confidence in being able to protect him. Moreover, Zhao Lingmeng didn't want to protect him. After all, who could guarantee that he wouldn't say anything nonsense!
"Yes, I will explain it clearly, don't worry, Princess. Princess, do you want to meet the people on the farm later?" Qiuyue reminded seriously.
"See you after your nap! I'm tired now too."
When Qiuyue heard the princess say this, she bowed and went back to make arrangements. Since the princess wanted to see someone, all the people on the farm had to be there.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com