Chapter 271 Calculation

In the evening, the maids of the palace brought food and medicine.

Chang'an asked them to leave. She did not eat, nor did she give medicine to her children and two maids.

She poured all the medicine and food into the jars she brought, and then she and her maids only ate a few snacks to fill their stomachs.

That night, Chang'an did not dare to turn off the lights or go to bed, but sat beside her children and dozed off until dawn.

The next morning, Chang'an ordered the servants to pack up and prepare to return to Anding Mansion.

She brought more than 40 guards and more than a dozen carriages, but they were all outside the palace.

At this moment, they gathered outside the palace, waiting for Chang'an to come out.

When Ming Jin heard that Chang'an was leaving, he hurried over and asked, "Madam Lu, why are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Chang'an said with a sad face, "The two maids have a fever, and I want to take them back to see a doctor."

Ming Jin frowned, "Since you have a fever, why don't you wait until the fever subsides before going back? The road is bumpy, wouldn't it be bad if you can't make it?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Anding is not far from here. If we walk fast, we can get home in one day." Chang'an said as he pulled his children out.

The two little maids followed, half supported and half held by the maids.

Ming Jin's eyes flickered a few times, and finally let them go.

Chang'an took his children to get on the carriage, and looked at the people standing outside the palace through the gap in the curtain.

The little boy was tall and handsome, and he looked even more outstanding among the officials.

But such a boy, how sinister his mind was, never gave himself an explanation from beginning to end.

Even if he mentioned it, Changan would not suspect that he was the mastermind, but he pretended that nothing happened, and did not ask about Xiangxiang and Naonao's health, let alone say a word of concern.

Changan would not give his daughter to such a cold-hearted person.

Changan was relieved when the caravan left the city. When passing by a village, he asked someone to buy a few chickens.

Changan fed the chickens with the food and medicine from last night. After a while, the chickens squatted on the ground and did not move, as if they were asleep.

Xiangxiang was surprised: "Is there poison in this food and medicine? Prince Ansai wants to kill us?"

Changan said with a gloomy face: "Maybe he just wants to kill you."

These food and medicine contain drugs that make people sleepy. If she and the children had eaten them yesterday, her Xiangxiang would probably never wake up this morning.

"What?" Xiangxiang was horrified: "Why would he do this? I didn't offend him."

Changan sneered: "Maybe he thinks you're hindering his future."

It's a good thing to be crowned a king early, but being moved to a fiefdom at the age of twelve means that you will have nothing to do with that high position in the future.

Xiangxiang suddenly realized.

No wonder Mingjin never talked to her, and even didn't look at her straight in the eye. It turned out that he hated her for hindering his future.

"Humph! I don't want to marry such a person!" Xiangxiang snorted softly and leaned her head on Changan: "Mother, Xiangxiang will never marry in her life. I just want to be with my parents."

"Mother knows." Changan touched his daughter's head: "There is a long way to go. We have plenty of time to prepare."

After returning to Anding, before Changan could speak, Xiangxiang had already told her father what happened in Ansai.

Lu Jingzhou looked very unhappy after hearing this.

Because he knew that the prince had three legitimate sons, one of whom was Mingjin.

Moreover, the eldest son of the crown prince was weak, the second son was lame, and only the third son Mingjin was still intact.

Perhaps Mingjin thought that as long as his eldest brother died, his second brother would not be a threat, and he would have the hope of ascending to a high position?

But even if Mingjin had the hope of becoming the next crown prince, he would not have to get rid of his Xiangxiang.

It can be seen that this boy is a narrow-minded and vindictive fool! My daughter must not fall into his hands!

In the following days, Lu Jingzhou and Changan began to make plans.

Anyway, they have plenty of money, and they can do a lot of things with money.

For example, they planted people in the Ansai County Prince's Mansion to secretly observe Mingjin's every move.

A year later, the emperor suddenly died and the crown prince ascended the throne.

Then the princes from all over the country went to Beijing to mourn and meet the new emperor.

Who knew that a month later, before the emperor was buried, Mingjin's eldest brother also died.

When Lu Jingzhou heard the news, he said coldly: "That kid is really vicious, he even dared to harm his own brother!"

Chang'an: "It seems that he will attack us next."

If Mingjin wants to become the prince, someone in the court must support him.

Although his family has officials, they are weak and cannot be compared with those high-ranking families.

But Xiangxiang is his legitimate wife.

"He is dreaming, but he must be destined to become the prince." Lu Jingzhou sneered.

Not long after, on the day of the late emperor's funeral, Mingjin suddenly went crazy, talking nonsense, holding a sword and chasing his lame second brother, but was stabbed in the abdomen by the second brother's guard and died on the spot.

Someone told the new emperor about Mingjin's crazy words, and the new emperor was furious.

He never expected that his eldest son would be killed by this seemingly docile third son.

The new emperor was grief-stricken and ordered people to bury Mingjin in an unknown deserted mountain, deprived him of his title of prince, and demoted him to a commoner.

All the people in his palace died with him, including the officials of the palace.

Lu Jingzhou's family was also implicated. The new emperor believed that Lu Jingzhou and Chang'an had not fulfilled their responsibility of care, so he fined him three years of salary and stayed in Anding to open up wasteland and cultivate land. He was not allowed to return to Beijing forever because he did not manage the northwest desert into an oasis.

This move was exactly what Chang'an wanted.

She didn't want to return to the capital, and it was best for her to stay here.

The only bad thing is that the marriage of his daughter Xiangxiang will be delayed, and no one may dare to marry her.

Xiangxiang didn't care at all. She followed her parents every day to urge the villagers to open up wasteland and dig canals.

It's not enough to have water to control the desert. You also have to plant trees and grass to retain surface moisture.

The first thing is to press wheat straw and rice straw into the sand to prevent the yellow sand from flowing, and then plant drought-resistant trees and thorns next to it.

With daily watering, all these trees are alive.

A few years later, this place has become green, with fruit trees and green grass.

When the fruits are ripe, the villagers pick them and make them into dried fruits, which can not only fill their stomachs, but also sell them to merchants.

As a result, the villagers around Anding Prefecture gradually became wealthy and the population grew rapidly.

In just ten years, it increased from tens of thousands to more than 100,000.

Chang'an also set up schools in the counties and towns of Anding Prefecture to let all children learn to read and learn livelihood skills.

Even Lu Yuanjin became a teacher in the academy in the prefecture. With the encouragement of his father Lu Huainian, he gradually became interested in his profession.

Perhaps it was because Jin gave birth to a son and a daughter for him, or because he was getting older, Lu Yuanjin gradually became stable and no longer as profligate as before.

As a result, he and his brother Lu Jingzhou's family gradually became harmonious. Every New Year and festival, Lu Yuanjin would take his children to his brother's house for a banquet.

Chang'an was still the same as before, and his mother-in-law Yang seemed to be in her thirties and didn't look old at all.

Even the Jiang couple were younger than others.

But some things had changed after all. Chang'an hadn't seen her uncle and aunt for many years, and the sisters who used to be sisters were thousands of miles away and couldn't get together often.

However, this year, the old loyal and diligent marquis came to Anding with his old wife, wanting to settle here.

Chang'an certainly knew the reason.

As the two grew older, their old friends in the capital passed away one after another. The old couple were very afraid of death, so they decided to come to Anding Prefecture and live with Chang'an.

Their great-grandson also came with them. He was about the same age as Xiangxiang and had not married yet, so the old couple deliberately let the two children interact more.

When the Zhang family's great-grandson saw Xiangxiang for the first time, his eyes sparkled and his handsome face flushed with shyness.

He bowed deeply to Xiangxiang, "I am Zhang Junrui, and I meet Sister Xiangxiang."

[End of the play]