Huangfu Xian described the scene as he saw it: "The village is nestled in the mountains. It takes many twists and turns to get out, like eating intestine noodles. So it's usually hard to find. There's no farmland inside, and the local villagers rely on the mountains for their livelihood. In a village, almost every household is a hunter!"
Alright, in other villages, hunters are a rare sight, but this peculiar village is almost entirely made up of them.
However, it's a well-known law that you live off the mountain if you're in the mountains, and off the water if you're by the water.
"Once this workshop is done and the trade city is on the right track, we'll go check out the place you mentioned!"
Huangfu Xian was happy, not because he had solved a difficult problem.
He was happy that he could finally leave this prince's manor. Day and night, whenever he appeared, the concubines in the manor would act as if they had taken stimulants or been injected with chicken blood, desperately hinting at him.
They would pout and writhe, wink and flirt, making him lose his appetite. He was practically like a eunuch now.
With the important matters out of the way, it was now her turn to discuss difficulties with Huangfu Xian.
"Huangfu Xian, I'm speaking to you very seriously today. Tell me, which girl do you like? Are you going to propose yourself, or shall I and the Emperor grant you a marriage? If you don't have anyone in mind, that's fine too. I will select a suitable young lady from the noble families for a bestowed marriage!"
"It's a choice between two. Choose yourself!"
Zhao Jiaqi got straight to the point, deciding to clear the air today to avoid him playing hide-and-seek.
As soon as marriage was mentioned, Huangfu Xian's face scrunched up, comparable to a bitter gourd, looking as unsightly as can be.
"Sister-in-law, this is unreasonable! How is this a choice between two? They're clearly the same. Besides, Prince Xiaoyao is also unmarried!" Huangfu Xian argued.
It wasn't that he didn't want to marry, but the woman he loved was already married, leaving him with no desire to marry.
Seeing that he was being completely uncooperative, Zhao Jiaqi wanted to slap him.
No matter how she reasoned with him, he simply refused to marry a principal consort.
"If you don't want to marry a principal consort, fine. But at least have an heir, right? Otherwise, how will you face your deceased father? You can at least do that!"
As a last resort, Zhao Jiaqi had only this method left.
Fearing that he would bring up Huangfu Xu as leverage again, Zhao Jiaqi immediately raised her hand: "Don't worry, once you've settled things in your fief, I'll immediately go to Prince Xiaoyao's fief. Neither your marriage nor your offspring will escape!"
Huangfu Xian grinned slyly. This time, without using Prince Xiaoyao as leverage, he spoke to her at length, starting to lecture her: "Empress Sister-in-law, you wouldn't understand."
"Brother-in-law will explain to you. These are the imperial rules passed down through the ages!"
Prince Xian began to count on his fingers, listing them one by one: "The first is that before the principal consort enters the household, secondary consorts, concubines, and ladies are not allowed to be pregnant. If by chance a concubine gives birth to a son first, and then the principal consort gives birth to a legitimate son, the latter cannot be considered the eldest. We have distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate offspring, especially the eldest legitimate son, who is highly valued and will inherit... the prince's throne!"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Jiaqi, with a dark expression, turned and left with a flick of her sleeves.
Huangfu Xian laughed heartily, craning his neck to shout after her as she walked away: "Sister-in-law, Empress, I haven't finished yet! Why are you leaving!"
He spread his hands, feigning innocence, and muttered to himself: "Why did she leave? There were many more rules to explain!"
No, he had to find the Empress himself to talk about it!
Zhao Jiaqi, who had left the study, was so angry her face was contorted. In the garden, she plucked blooming flowers and squeezed them in her hand to vent her frustration.
Fan Zehao, seeing this, put away his knife and wiped the sweat from his face. He walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's all Huangfu Xian! I talked to him about marriage, and he dodged the subject. I then talked to him about having a child, and he started talking about the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate offspring. Damn it, this brat deserves a beating!"
The man chuckled softly and lightly flicked her pouting red lips.
"Wife, is this little matter enough to stump you? My woman isn't this foolish. Why are you being so stubborn?"
Zhao Jiaqi, in her anger, didn't immediately understand what her husband meant!
"What do you mean?"
Fan Zehao raised his eyebrows and asked for his reward: "As long as you practice the other move with me tonight, I'll tell you how to make these two obediently marry a principal consort and have offspring!"
The thought of that pose made her blush uncontrollably. She spat at him and turned to leave.
She didn't get far before stopping, turning to look at the mischievous man with a pout.
She had recently realized that her husband was becoming more and more adept at teasing her. He had so many clever ideas. She wondered if his brain had suddenly become enlightened, or if it was an upgraded version of enlightenment.
She squinted at him, then sidled up to him and asked, "Tell me."
Seeing that his wife had agreed, Fan Zehao's smile widened. Though his smile was brilliant, he dared not let it linger, for fear his wife would get angry and make him sleep on the floor.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear: "I am the Emperor. It's up to me to decide who to appoint as Crown Prince. If they still don't marry this year and their principal consorts don't conceive, I will appoint one of them as Crown Prince and the other as Regent, and let them fight it out!"
Zhao Jiaqi's eyes lit up. That's right! This plan was brilliant! Why hadn't she thought of it before?
No wonder her husband said her brain was sluggish. It truly was!
"Okay, let's do it. Whoever draws the short straw will be the Emperor, and whoever is unlucky, well, that's their fate!"
Zhao Jiaqi clapped her hands, her face clearing of melancholy. She smiled happily. This scene was witnessed by Huangfu Xian, who had come to argue with her.
She was smiling so brilliantly. What plan had she devised to deal with him?
Huangfu Xian's brows twitched. He had a feeling that this smile was a bit sinister. At this moment, seeing Zhao Jiaqi wave at him and greet him with a smile, his soles felt numb and tingly.
He dared not move forward and instinctively turned to flee. He ran without looking back, his feet flying as he moved with incredible speed!
Zhao Jiaqi plucked a peony, brought it to her nose, and smiled, her two small tiger teeth showing as she smiled even more ominously.
"You can run from the monk, but you can't run from the temple."
Yu Meng, who had returned from playing outside, saw her mother's sinister smile as soon as she entered the garden. She hid before her mother noticed her.
She wasn't afraid of her father, but she was truly afraid of her mother.
She, the Monkey King, dared not provoke her mother's Five Finger Mountain.
Her sister, who had fled along the wall, and Fan Yao and Fan Sen, who came running after her, saw their mother and father talking in the garden and, not knowing what was going on, instinctively followed their sister and slipped away.
Meanwhile, within the inner city.
Wu Lifeng received the Empress's letter and, without delay, immediately found craftsmen and summoned more than ten brewers. The two groups met, and Wu Lifeng personally led the team, rushing non-stop.
Fortunately, their two fiefdoms were adjacent. They traveled day and night, and finally arrived at their destination on the afternoon of the fifth day.
It had been a year since they last met.
Wu Lifeng was about to kneel, but Fan Zehao stopped him. He was an elder who had helped them and stayed with them even when they were very poor.
Fan Zehao kept this kinship in his heart.
"I am aware of the Emperor's intentions, but the ceremony cannot be neglected!"
Wu Lifeng insisted on kneeling. He would not make his godson difficult and could not disregard the distinction between ruler and subject simply because they were relatives.
He had to set an example. This was the right way to treat his godson!