The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

A few days later, new news came from the imperial court.

Taking advantage of the tense situation in the northern border, the King of Huainan rebelled.

The Great Qi is now besieged on all sides and in a precarious situation.

The King of Huainan captured five cities in just one day, advancing with unstoppable momentum.

The magistrate of Ling County surrendered without a fight.

Emperor Qi Jing, sitting on the dragon throne, was completely numb. What was bound to happen had finally happened. Everything was as expected, yet everything was also unexpected.

The King of Huainan was Emperor Jing of Qi's uncle. The late emperor disliked him for his cruel nature and exiled him to the small town of Huainan.

The late emperor could not bear to kill his own brother, but he instructed Emperor Jing of Qi to keep a close eye on the movements of the Prince of Huainan.

I never expected the King of Huainan to start a rebellion so quickly.

Prime Minister Feng cried out, "The Prince of Huainan is a traitor! Your Majesty, please send troops to Huainan immediately to suppress the rebels."

Many ministers stepped forward and urged His Majesty to send troops.

"Your Majesty, we should first pacify the internal situation before securing external peace. We request that Your Majesty send troops to Huainan."

"Your Majesty, please send troops to Huainan to quell the rebellion."

Emperor Jing of Qi expressed his helplessness, "We have no soldiers left; all the generals and soldiers have been sent to the northern border."

These ministers are really talking without any sense of the consequences.

Now he only has 10,000 soldiers stationed outside the south gate.

However, the number of soldiers under the command of the King of Huainan had increased to over 100,000.

Ten thousand against hundreds of thousands is tantamount to going to one's death; it's better not to go at all.

Emperor Qi Jing was also very worried about the safety of his cousin Gong Yu. He had written to his cousin, asking him to return to the capital, but so far there has been no news.

And then there's Grand Secretary Liang, who lives in Qinghe County, not far from Huainan City. Sooner or later, the flames of war will reach Qinghe County.

When mentioning Grand Secretary Liang, Emperor Jing of Qi also thought of that little girl in Qinghe County. It was a pity that such a talented little girl, who made such good tea, could survive the war.

Otherwise, he might never be able to drink such delicious flower tea again.

Minister Luo wept bitterly and knelt in the center of the hall: "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to transfer troops from the northern border to Huainan. The King of Huainan is cruel and inhumane and cannot be emperor. If the King of Huainan becomes emperor, the people of the world will be in danger."

Emperor Jing of Qi: But the people in the north are in danger. The entire northern region has been massacred.

Emperor Jing of Qi felt somewhat guilty. Although he was always diligent in his duties, he was not a qualified emperor because he was unable to protect his people.

All the generals we have capable of fighting have been sent to the northern border; there's no one left to use.

If only General Xin, the God of War, hadn't died.

A group of ministers knelt down and pleaded: "Your Majesty, please send troops from the northern border to suppress the King of Huainan."

Emperor Qi Jing sighed and decided to pass the problem back to his ministers: "Alright, since you all agree to send troops to suppress the Prince of Huainan, then recruit soldiers in the capital. Once you have gathered 50,000 men, I will agree to send troops to suppress him."

Emperor Qi Jing stayed up all night in the imperial study, which was not heated by charcoal. He caught a cold and developed a fever. Coupled with the mental blow, his body could not withstand it, and he fainted on the dragon throne as soon as he finished speaking.

When Eunuch Fu discovered that Emperor Qi Jing had a high fever, he quickly ordered the Imperial Guards to carry the emperor back to the inner palace for treatment by the imperial physicians.

The ministers who remained in Xuanwu Hall were in complete disarray.

Prime Minister Feng spoke in a particularly loud voice: "We ministers must set an example by sending the young men in our households to join the army."

Minister Xue of the Ministry of Rites retorted, "Prime Minister Feng, your son is not in the capital, so naturally he does not need to serve in the army, which is why you dare to say such a thing."

"The Prince of Huainan commands an army of over 100,000, and his forces will undoubtedly continue to grow as he conquers new territories. If the court only sends 50,000 troops to suppress him, it would be tantamount to sending 50,000 men to their deaths."

Moreover, the newly recruited soldiers have no combat experience whatsoever; unless the sun rises in the west, they simply cannot win.

Lord Xue had only three legitimate sons, all of whom lived in the capital. He couldn't bear to send any of them to their deaths, but he couldn't do nothing either.

Once the Prince of Huainan wins the throne, he, as an official of the Ministry of Rites, might become a prisoner, and his wealth and honor would vanish in an instant.

So although he was unwilling to provide manpower, he was willing to provide money.

"I am willing to donate five thousand taels of silver to expand the army."

The ministers argued from morning till night, and finally came up with a solution.

That is, those who are willing to contribute manpower can contribute manpower, and those who are not willing to contribute manpower can contribute money, using money to buy ordinary people to help them risk their lives.

After three days of conscription in the capital, only a few thousand soldiers were recruited, far short of the fifty thousand that Emperor Qi Jing had mentioned.

All of these new recruits were sent to the military camp outside the south gate for training.

Upon learning of the Prince of Huainan's rebellion, Dong Yong regretted writing to his son to send him to Qinghe County.

Qinghe County is too close to Huainan. What if my son dies in the war?

However, he was more worried about that Miss Su than his own son.

Miss Su possessed great talent for governing the world; it would be such a pity if she died in the chaos of war.

\

At Gu's Restaurant in Qinghe County, Su Qianqian has been receiving quite a few letters lately.

Some were sent by Zhang, the Imperial Academy Chancellor in the capital, and others by Gou Dan's colleagues in the Ministry of Justice.

Unfortunately, Qinghe County and its surrounding areas are currently embroiled in war, so Su Qianqian is temporarily unable to write back.

She took out the letter that Gou Dan had sent and read it carefully twice.

In the letter, Gou Dan said that Luo Kang, the eldest son of the Luo family, looked very much like the eldest and second eldest sons of the Su family, but the other brothers of the Luo family looked very much like Su Bing.

Such a coincidence is impossible in this world.

Gou Dan guessed that Luo Kang and Su Bing had been switched.

Su Qianqian had the same thought after reading the letter.

According to Gou Dan's observation, Madam Luo most likely knew about the child swapping.

However, it is not yet certain whether the child swap was carried out by Madam Luo or by the Su family.

However, it was clear that Madam Luo was unwilling to mention Lotus Village in Qinghe County, so this place name was taboo in the Luo family.

Madam Luo even lied and said she had never been to Lotus Village, but Luo Wulang refuted her claim.

Su Qianqian could clearly sense that her father was being disliked by Madam Luo.

My dad has all four limbs intact and is not disabled at all! Why is he being disliked like this?

Could it be because Father lived in the countryside for many years and was looked down upon for being uncouth?

The martial arts master that Su Qianqian had previously sent to Lotus Village was both skilled in martial arts and literate, so she asked the master not only to teach martial arts but also to teach the villagers to read.

Now that we are in a time of war, she has already arranged for her father to be brought back to the county town to live.

My dad can still help with the restaurant's accounting and bookkeeping. He can write and do math, so literacy is no longer a problem for him.

Therefore, Su Qianqian found it difficult to understand why Madam Luo had that attitude.

How could anyone in the world not care about their own son? Don't they want to know if their own son is doing well?

\

At night, when all was quiet, a group of masked men in black, wielding large knives, came to the backyard of Gu's Restaurant.

They got into a fight with Mo Xiaobei and the others who were on night watch.

Swords flashing and shadows swirling.

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the men in black were captured.

Xiangming came in to report, "Miss, we've captured five people. They confessed that they came to assassinate the master."

The master Xiangming mentioned was Su Bing.

"Xiangming, have Xiaobei interrogate them and ask them what their motive was for the assassination."

Su Qianqian couldn't understand why her father, who lived in the countryside and farmed, had been assassinated. He shouldn't have offended anyone.

Mo Xiaobei had been by Gong Yu's side for many years and had many ways of interrogating prisoners.

It was quickly discovered that these men were actually sent by the Luo family in the capital to assassinate Su Bing.

"Miss, they have agreed with Madam Fan, who serves Madam Luo, that it will cost five thousand taels to complete this matter, and they have already received a deposit of one thousand taels from Madam Fan."

Su Qianqian smiled. Her father's worth was quite high in the eyes of Old Madam Luo, who was willing to spend five thousand taels to buy his life.

I've never seen such a vicious biological mother! I don't ask you to acknowledge him back, nor do I ask for your money, but you shouldn't try to buy your own son's life with money. What a cruel heart you have.

Since your Luo family is unjust, don't blame us for being unjust.

This relationship isn't something you absolutely have to acknowledge.

The Luo family must pay the price for this assassination attempt.

Xiangming, worried that Su Qianqian would be upset, quickly comforted her: "Miss, Old Madam Luo doesn't care about us, and we don't care about the Luo family either. What's so great about it? It's just the residence of a Vice Minister. Besides, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works doesn't actually have any real power. He just manages miscellaneous matters such as water conservancy construction and palace building."

The young master is the Empress Dowager's own nephew, and is greatly favored by both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. If Madam Luo finds out that her granddaughter has married the young master, she will definitely regret not recognizing him sooner.