"If you trust me with your care, Ah Ning, I will do my utmost..." Xie Chong replied, "Otherwise, you might decide to discard me one day when you no longer need me!"
Rong Ning was at her wit's end. She looked up and sighed helplessly, "Don't be like this. I'm just not used to you being my consort. I didn't say I didn't want you. What are you afraid of?"
"oh..."
"All right..."
"Whatever A-Ning says goes!"
Aa ...
I can't stand it!
Rong Ning got up irritably. "I'm full. I'm going to take a shower and then go to sleep. Don't come into my yard and bother me unless it's absolutely necessary!"
After saying that, he ran away as fast as a whirlwind.
However, Xie Chong was very obedient and did not allow anyone to disturb him.
Rong Ning stayed in Kangye City for two more days this time. She returned to the military camp only after the envoy group set off to return to Nanyang City.
When he returned, it was already Chinese New Year.
She didn't return to Nanyang City for the Spring Festival last year, and she didn't plan to return this year either, but the Crown Prince and the Emperor obtained an imperial decree that she would come to Kangye City for the Spring Festival this year.
Hmm... and the Crown Princess was with him too.
In the twelfth lunar month, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were getting married. Rong Ning was tied up in the northern border and couldn't leave. She was worried that Xie Chong would be bullied if he went back alone, so she only sent a congratulatory gift back.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince was bringing his wife to Kangye City, You Jiang refused to return with Rong Ning and stayed in the army to celebrate the New Year with the border soldiers.
The Crown Prince's visit this time was essentially a northern tour on behalf of the Emperor. It was a grand and troublesome affair, but he still managed to have a lively and festive New Year.
Crown Princess Chu Pingyao and Chu Pingfeng are siblings. The prefectural governor's mansion is also large, so the two of them live there. Rong Ningnian often goes to the prefectural governor's mansion when she has nothing to do.
This was the first time Chu Pingyao had ever left Nanyang City in her life, and she had traveled so far. Rong Ning had taken her to all the places in Kangye City and the surrounding area.
Although Kangye City was much colder than Nanyang City, she really had a lot of fun. When it snowed, she could spend half a day building a snowman.
After the Lantern Festival, the Crown Prince began to tour the camps and comfort the soldiers on the border.
Chu Pingyao was originally supposed to stay in Kangye City, but she didn't want to, so she begged the Crown Prince to take her with him.
The Crown Prince disagreed. He said that patrolling the camp was tiring and she had always been pampered and couldn't bear the hardship.
Her disappointment was palpable as she looked pitifully at Rong Ning, "A Ning... is it really that tiring?"
Rong Ning nodded, stretched out her calloused hands, and said, "It's very tiring. The reins hurt my hands, and the ride makes my butt hurt. If you come with us, you'll fall apart in a day. We'll be back in half a month at most. Why do you have to suffer like this?"
Chu Pingyao looked at her hand, then at his own, and didn't insist any further.
She knew that she and Rong Ning were ultimately different; one was a soaring eagle, and the other was a captive sparrow. The eagle could fight in the sky, but the sparrow could hardly withstand the wind and rain.
After dinner, the Crown Prince went to attend to state affairs, while Rong Ning accompanied Chu Pingyao to the street for a walk to digest their food, though she wasn't in a very good mood.
She said dejectedly, "Ah Ning, I envy you so much. You don't care about worldly opinions, you are brave and decisive in doing things, and you have done things that no woman has ever done before to such an extreme."
Unlike us, who weigh things back and forth repeatedly before making a decision, ultimately never daring to take the first step.
Rong Ning didn't know how to respond for a moment. She pursed her lips, thought for a while, and then slowly said,
"Sister-in-law, no one in this world likes to be restrained, but not many people can really go all out. That's why you all envy my courage and my recklessness."
But sister-in-law, I am ultimately different from you.
My status is what it is. My father will unconditionally compensate me for my sister's guilt over the marriage alliance for the country. So even if I obediently follow the rules of women's education and have no skills to make a living, I don't need to compromise myself in front of men or try every means to save face for myself.
Even if I suffer a crushing defeat from the very beginning, my escape route is still wider than yours.
So my sister-in-law doesn't need to constantly worry about whether she's being too reckless, which is why she's often confused.
We live our lives differently.
Chu Pingyao seemed to understand, but not quite.
She didn't know what she was struggling with. In terms of status, she was already the Crown Princess, and there were few people in the world who could surpass her.
Perhaps people always yearn for things they can never have in this lifetime.
Chu Pingyao ultimately did not go with them.
During his inspection tour, the Crown Prince visited all eight camps in the northern border and finally went to see the military horse farm that the Southern Dynasty had painstakingly built.
Rong Ning selected a group of skilled horse breeders from the army and placed them here to be specifically responsible for breeding warhorses.
"You've accomplished this much in just over a year, Aning, you've really worked hard."
"This is something I'm willing to do, and I never feel it's hard work."
The prince shut his mouth!
The patrol took half a month, and by the time they returned to Kangye City, it was already past the first month of the lunar calendar.
After resting for a few days, the Crown Prince set off back to Nanyang City.
The military reforms in the North were very successful, and this is a case study that can be learned from by other regions. The Crown Prince spent a month in the North, and after returning, he secluded himself for three days to discuss with his advisors and wrote a detailed reform plan, which was then submitted to the Emperor.
The emperor was very satisfied and summoned his ministers to discuss the matter several times. Taking into account the local conditions, he refined the regulations and issued them to all prefectures and counties for implementation.
We encountered many problems along the way, but we solved them one by one, pushing forward slowly and making steady progress.
Reforms are never something that can be accomplished in a day or two. They may not even be fully completed by the time the emperor passes away. The success of a reform is measured by whether the people approve of it, so we cannot be hasty.
Achieving this is very difficult...very difficult, which is why it requires an even stronger will.
Both the emperor and the crown prince are determined people, and they will continue down this path.
Rong Ning is the same.
In the following years, she stayed in the north and only returned to Nanyang City when absolutely necessary. She devoted all her energy to the Northern Army.
No matter how busy she was, she would escort the Southern Dynasty's envoys north to Dajing every year.
She had promised her older sister that she would visit her every year.
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