“Hua Hua,” An Shuyi looked at her, “were those things that happened between them not written down?”
“It’s been too long, I can’t remember!” Xia Hua shook her head. “Besides, I didn’t read much of the later parts. I only read until the female lead became empress, and then I gave up. But as you know, it was never written. It was all destined, and there’s no use in running away from it.”
If she had known that she and Shushu would transmigrate into this novel, she would have persisted in reading it to the end, even if she didn't like it. Now, however, she has no idea what will happen next.
An Shuyi nodded, "I know. So it seems that unless I ignore my sons, I'll still have to confront the female lead in the end."
Although her sons weren't good, according to An's father, they managed to take Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu with them when they ran away, so they couldn't be that bad. If she just left them like that, she wouldn't feel good about it.
But if she were to intervene, she would have to go up against the female lead, who has a halo of power. If they were to fight, it would be hard to tell who would win.
"What are you talking about, the female lead? What's not written? I don't understand." An's father was puzzled by his daughter's worried expression and the strange words they were using.
“Grandpa, the female lead we’re talking about is Song Youqing. She’s like the most important person in the book, and everything is written around her, understand?” Xia Hua said.
Father An shook his head, then nodded; he seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to.
Suddenly, An Shuyi turned her head and asked, "Father, do you know how many sons the current emperor has?"
"Shuyi, why are you asking this!"
"Dad, don't worry about what I'm doing, just tell me."
Seeing his daughter's anxiety, An's father said, "There were thirteen, but only seven survived. The Crown Prince was the first child. He was born around the same time as the Second Prince, or even a few days later. But he was framed by the Empress and was born before the Second Prince."
"Only a few hours after his birth, the Empress gave birth to the Second Prince. However, he was born to the Emperor's most favored concubine and was also framed by the Empress. Therefore, in order to compensate him, the Emperor ordered the Empress to be banished to the Cold Palace, and the position of Crown Prince became his."
Looking back now, he felt that it was impossible for the Empress to frame the Crown Prince. The most likely scenario was that the concubine was the one who cried wolf and staged this whole thing. After all, the Second Prince was born earlier than the Crown Prince, and the Empress couldn't be that stupid.
But by then the situation was already settled, and all the evidence pointed to the Empress. So even if someone had doubts, the Emperor had already banished the Empress to the Cold Palace, and that was how things ended.
"The remaining princes are the sixth prince, the eighth prince, the ninth prince, the eleventh prince, and the thirteenth prince. Except for the eleventh prince and the thirteenth prince, who are still young, the other princes are all adults now."
"Shuyi, are you inquiring about the Emperor's other sons to see which prince will succeed to the throne?"
An Shuyi nodded. "Yes, since Song Youqing has found the Crown Prince as her backer, we can't rely on the Crown Prince anymore. Besides, according to what Father said, the way that Crown Prince handles things doesn't seem like that of a magnanimous monarch. He actually wants to go against Song Youqing, so we have to find a backer for ourselves."
"Of course, it's too early to talk about these things now. As for finding that prince, it will take several more years. After all, didn't Father say that the Crown Prince is still a long way from becoming emperor? Song Youqing is probably just starting out in business."
In a year at most, she will be able to find a place for her people to settle down, and then she can start a business and plant those high-yield crops. Once she has pledged her allegiance, finding a backer will be easy. However, it is not easy to find a prince who is ambitious, intelligent, and capable.
Seeing that they weren't talking anymore, Xia Hua said, "We can discuss these things later. Let's hurry up and eat. My stomach is growling, and we came out late. It will be troublesome if they come looking for us later."
An Shuyi looked at her father and said, "Dad, eat. You can tell us anything in the future. You can rest assured. Now that my soul has entered your daughter's body, I am your daughter. You can tell us anything."
"I will do whatever it takes to help you. And don't worry too much about Song Youqing. Just let Huaijin study hard. As long as he can still become the top scholar, I, as his aunt, will not let him be framed again."
Even if it's for the sake of her sons, she has to protect An's family. Her sons are destined to be generals. Although they were killed because of An's family, if they were to clash with the female lead again this time, she would have to make more preparations.
"Okay, let's eat together." Father An took the meat Xia Hua handed him and started to gnaw on it. He had been preoccupied with other things that day and hadn't really tasted it. But now, he found that this meat was even better than the meat his family's cook used to make when his grandson was a high-ranking official.
"Uncle, here, have some of this." Xia Hua handed over a bottle of cola. It's a pity she didn't bring some ice. Otherwise, it would taste even better with ice in it.
Mr. An took the water, drank a sip, and spat it out the next second. "Why is this water spicy? No, it's not spicy, it just feels like it's bubbling."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua burst out laughing. If they weren't afraid of being heard, they would have laughed even louder.
"Dad, this is cola. This is what it tastes like. If you don't like it, I'll get you something else." An Shuyi said, reaching for the bottle.
But as soon as she reached out, her father refused, saying, "No need to change it, I'll get used to it after a few more drinks." He then took another sip.
"It does taste better now that I've had a bit more to drink. You guys hurry up and eat, don't just focus on me."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua nodded and hurriedly ate their meal. Since they were eating with An's father, they didn't take too much. They had originally planned to spend more time with him to see what his purpose was, but they hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their resting place. With ice available, everyone slept better than usual. To ensure that the tribespeople would have ice to use the next day, the two of them got up before dawn to make ice.
Although the ice was given away free of charge, and no money was charged, the tribespeople were not ungrateful. Every time they came to collect the ice, they would bring something with them. Sometimes it was a bundle of hay for the cattle, sometimes a pair of straw sandals, sometimes a bamboo hat, and so on.
Because of the ice, they were able to travel much faster than before. They traveled for another month, and then their water ran out. Although the water from the melting ice was still usable, it was consumed quickly. Now, even if all the families pooled their resources, they probably wouldn't have a single bucket of water left.
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