bayedsolid Chapter 311 Countdown to the End
Chapter 311 Countdown to the End
Chapter 311 Countdown to the End
After returning to the princess's residence, Liu Xu was clearly in low spirits.
Bao Beibei asked and found out that Zhang Yu was actually Liu Xu's original name, and that woman was very likely his biological mother.
It's impossible for me to admit it, but it just brought up old memories and made me uncomfortable.
Bao Beibei didn't have much to say to comfort Liu Xu; these kinds of things are something you have to deal with on your own.
Not all parents love their children; at least that's how she and Xiaoyudian got through it.
If you can't see things clearly, you'll only trap yourself in your own web; if you can see things clearly, it's not such a big deal.
Liu Xu, unaware of Bao Beibei's past, assumed she was referring to her experiences as a prince.
He patted her hand reassuringly, indicating that it was all in the past and that they should both look forward.
Actually, he had already come to terms with it and was very content with the life he had now.
It's not uncommon for parents to dislike you, so there's no need to dwell on it or make things difficult for yourself.
Cousin Yu was the same; her father even wanted to kill her back then.
As for Beibei, the royal family is ruthless; there are quite a few emperors who have killed their own sons.
Back then, his parents only disliked him and didn't want to acknowledge him anymore; at least they didn't intend to kill him to avoid disgracing the family.
If the Zhang family doesn't come to acknowledge the relationship, fine; but if they do, just kick them out.
Liu Xu was open-minded, but Madam Zhang was not. She firmly believed that her son was not dead, but had become a great general and a prince consort.
When her eldest son wanted to send her back to Jiangnan, she held a hairpin to her throat and cried, demanding that her eldest son acknowledge her as his relative.
Young Master Zhang was afraid something might happen to his mother, so he could only coax her. Fearing that the servants couldn't control her, he simply accompanied her back to Jiangnan.
Only the second brother's family remained in the capital to manage their business.
His cousin from the Qian family had already helped him a lot. If a family like theirs, without any connections, offended someone important in the capital, it would only cause them trouble.
Originally, he brought his mother to the capital to get her away from that environment and to make her feel better.
Secondly, he also had a little ulterior motive, thinking that his aunt in Beijing would have his mother come over to reconnect with him.
We'd better send it back quickly, lest we anger my aunt and cut off all connections in Beijing.
Madam Zhang was given a sedative by her eldest son and returned to her hometown in a daze. After all this commotion, she really did seem a bit crazy.
However, those things had nothing to do with Liu Xu; he had already returned to Quanrong with Bao Beibei.
He was always afraid that someone would recognize him if he stayed in the capital, so he felt more at ease returning to that land thousands of miles away.
Jiang Xinyu knew that Bei Bei's insistence on developing a territory stemmed from her distrust of the Great Jin royal family.
Gradually, they also cut off contact with the young emperor.
Jin Zeyu was quite sad, feeling that Sister Yu had become distant from him after going out for a while.
But as he grew older, his studies became busier, and he gradually forgot about his older sister who told him interesting stories and taught him life lessons.
Spring goes and autumn comes, time flies by.
The Great Jin Dynasty has become increasingly prosperous over the years, and the lives of its people have become better and better.
Even in years of natural disasters, the imperial court would reserve grain and reduce taxes to give them a chance to catch their breath.
People living in areas that suffer from perennial drought or where riverbanks frequently breach have long since migrated to the Quanrong.
Although the population was not large, they reproduced very quickly because life was good.
People find it hard to leave their homeland, and those who are living comfortably would not drag their families on a long journey.
In the past, there was nothing they could do. They were born in that barren land, and all they could do was lament their bad luck and endure the hardships year after year.
What's the point of not staying up late?
In this era, household registration was strictly managed, and if they left their original place of residence, they would become migrants.
Migrants have no human rights, and powerful human traffickers specifically capture migrants to sell.
Buying and selling at a profit requires capital, but capturing refugees is a business with no capital at all.
Because human traffickers colluded with the government, they had nowhere to seek justice.
In their hometown, where people from all around helped each other, they were less likely to be kidnapped and taken advantage of.
It's better now.
The imperial court ordered entire villages and hamlets to relocate, promising them houses, furniture, clothes, bedding, and land in return.
This was an opportunity for them to change their fate, and many regions responded to the imperial court's announcement.
Only wealthy families care about ancestral graves and ancestral worship; for impoverished disaster victims who can't even afford to eat, survival is the most important thing.
This time, the country did not let them down.
Although some frail and sickly elderly people and children perished along the way, everyone who arrived at the Quanrong capital received benefits they had never dreamed of.
Everyone felt only gratitude towards Bao Beibei, the princess who ruled this region.
The state provided food for the first year, and these people quickly settled down here.
The people of the Great Jin Dynasty had farming genes ingrained in their bones, and the grasslands around the royal city were quickly reclaimed into fertile fields.
When Bao Beibei returned, she brought with her grain seeds, farming tools, and several hundred trusted subordinates provided by Xiao Yuan and Jin Zekang.
Although the army is still the one used by the imperial court, as more and more people migrate here, they have also begun to recruit their own army from the civilian population.
With money, supplies, and military force, it was only a matter of time before Xu Zuyin's troops were forced to retreat back to Beirong Pass.
Jiang Xinyu would come to stay for two months every two or three years. Xiao Yuan couldn't bear to be separated from his wife, so he would use the excuse of inspecting the border to accompany her.
Every time they left the capital, Jin Zekang would get furious, since Xiao Yuan had to do a lot of work and that would fall on his shoulders.
He wanted to switch places with Xiao Yuan, since it would be his retirement home in the future and he wanted to visit it.
Xiao Yuan betrayed his daughter-in-law so he could go out and have fun with his wife. He gave a lot of power to He Zhang and made him work like a slave for his cheap brother-in-law.
Ye Xiao had long ago given the position of head of the Eastern Depot, and he used his advanced age as an excuse to become increasingly lazy.
He Zhang is highly intelligent and capable. Aside from being completely devoted to Ye Xiao, which makes him seem a bit crazy, he is an excellent judge of political affairs.
He went from Vice Minister of War to Minister of Justice, rotating through all six ministries in just a few years.
Finally, ten years later, he ascended to the position of prime minister.
The position of prime minister has been vacant ever since Zhang Zhongyi rebelled.
The prime minister's power was too great, and Xiao Yuan and Jin Zekang did not want another position to share the power, so the position remained vacant.
Now that the emperor was 18, Xiao Yuan had long wanted to retire gracefully. After pushing He Zhang up the throne, he asked the emperor for permission to resign.
Whether genuine or feigned, the young emperor displayed extreme reluctance, repeatedly withholding his resignation petitions.
However, Xiao Yuan was determined and directly claimed illness to stop attending court. After several months of back-and-forth negotiations, he finally received approval.
After the emperor approved his petition to retire due to illness, this guy immediately ran away with his wife.
Looking at his heartless parents who showed no affection for him, Ye Xiao felt wronged and complained that they didn't treat him like their own son.
He Zhang shook his head with amusement, "You weren't even his biological son to begin with. If outsiders heard you complaining, they would definitely say you're ungrateful."
The Marquis has left, but he has not only left you a huge mansion but also a vault full of gold and silver.
They even retained hereditary titles.
You have no one to fight with you for the inheritance; countless people in the capital envy you.
Stop complaining, we'll adopt two suitable children later.
"Once they're capable of handling things on their own, the two of us will go to the Quanrong to find our parents."
Ye Xiao's eyes lit up immediately, "Let's look for it from your clansmen."
I've delayed your family line from continuing, so giving them a title and a fortune is my way of giving back to your ancestors.
Don't choose ones that are too young; ideally, they should be able to work after two years so we can retire.
He Zhang felt that Xiao Ye's thinking was too simplistic, but he was still very happy that the other party was considering his needs.