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

Some are happy, some are sad.

The more enthusiastic the cheers from the people on the street outside, the angrier the Fang family members were inside their cramped rented room.

The weather was too cold, and Fang Yingxue and her mother, Sun, couldn't afford skin cream, so their hands and faces cracked. The howling north wind made their faces and hands hurt terribly.

Moreover, since arriving in the county town, Sun has often had to wash clothes in the icy river water, and her hands have developed many chilblains, swelling up like big pig trotters.

I'm so sad!

Back in the village, she never had to do her own clothes; she always paid someone to wash them.

But now I don't have a single penny to my name, and I don't know where I'll find the money to pay next month's rent.

The deafening drums and gongs outside seemed like the greatest irony to her.

Madam Sun spoke softly to her son, "Cheng'er, you have two inkstones. Could you sell one to supplement the family income?"

Fang Cheng reacted strongly, "No way, these two inkstones are my favorites."

He had gone to great lengths to get Tang Yuerao to help him buy these inkstones, so he couldn't bear to sell them. They were all valuable inkstones, and he could use them as gifts if he passed the imperial examination.

Sun used to think her son was the smartest person in the world, but now, with facts in front of her, she had to admit that her son also had many shortcomings. Otherwise, she wouldn't have turned down a powerful figure like Su Qianqian and instead treated Tang Yuerao like a treasure.

Now that she's in trouble, she realizes her son is truly selfish. He didn't care at all when he saw his own mother's hands frozen like pig's trotters, only caring about himself. He even had two inkstones but couldn't bear to sell one.

Indeed, poverty brings a hundred sorrows!

After the glory and wealth fade away, life is left with nothing but trivialities.

Madam Sun was furious when she recalled that her son had broken off his engagement with Qian Yatou and gotten engaged to the niece of Magistrate Tang. As a result, he was almost implicated by Magistrate Tang and nearly accused of treason.

She had originally hoped that her son would become a high-ranking official in the future, so that he could be filial to his mother.

Only now do I realize that my son is extremely selfish. Even if he becomes a high-ranking official, he might not treat his mother well.

Looking at Fang Cheng sitting at the table reading, Madam Sun sighed and said, "My son, if you hadn't broken off your engagement with Qian Yatou back then, you might be the one parading through the streets with a big red flower on your head today."

Su Bing, that peasant, has no ability whatsoever, yet he managed to gain fame and fortune thanks to Qian Ya. Her son is both talented and handsome, and with Qian Ya's backing, his future is sure to be bright. It's just a pity that the engagement was called off.

If the engagement hadn't been called off, Qian Yatou certainly wouldn't have let the Fang family go hungry, and there wouldn't have been any need for them to queue up for porridge every day.

Now I have to disguise myself every time I queue up for porridge, covering myself up completely, which is very troublesome.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

Fang Cheng suddenly stood up, turned around impatiently, and roared at Madam Sun, "Mother, how many times have I told you? The past is the past. We must look forward. With my talent, I will definitely pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi. You will definitely be granted an imperial title in the future."

He's had a tough time these days, hasn't he?

Why can't we understand him as his blood relatives?

I almost surrendered to the King of Huainan with Magistrate Tang. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. I woke up in the middle of the night several times, covered in cold sweat.

But his mother and sister always bothered him with trivial things like skin cream.

Therefore, his impoverished and unfortunate family background was the biggest failure of his life, which is why he actively sought to curry favor with Magistrate Tang.

If he had come from a wealthy family, he might have already become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

So it's all his mother's fault for being useless and unable to provide him with a comfortable life.

His blood relatives not only failed to help him, but also constantly held him back.

If he had come from a wealthy family and had no shortage of money, he certainly wouldn't have broken off the engagement with Su Qianqian and gone to marry someone else.

So it's all her mother's fault for not giving birth to her in a wealthy family.

\

In the evening, the side gate of the backyard of Gu's Restaurant was wide open.

Although this is a corner gate, it was built to be particularly wide to facilitate the entry and exit of goods.

Shadow Eleven brought in his men and delivered eight cartloads of goods.

Su Qianqian opened one of the boxes in the car and found house deeds, land deeds, and banknotes inside.

The other boxes were also filled with rare and precious treasures.

Did they send over all of Prince Gong's wealth?

"Miss Su, our young master has asked me to give all his belongings to you. If he does not return in the future, these will be your dowry when you remarry."

Ying Shiyi spoke respectfully because that was the prince's order: they were to treat Miss Su with the same respect they would show him personally.

Su Qianqian: You've sent all your family's wealth? So Gong Yu went to the border this time with the determination to die.

If she can end the war in Huainan as soon as possible, she will be able to devote some of her energy to supporting the border.

The second son's wife helped organize the things and carried the boxes of treasures into Su Qianqian's room.

It's really heavy.

That young master of the palace is really good at pleasing girls; he often sends all sorts of rare and precious treasures to Qian.

He's so romantic; what girl wouldn't like him?

Qian has struck gold!

The second son's wife moved the items while thinking to herself, "They say a man's heart is where his money is."

That Prince Gong is really rich! His family is so wealthy, and he even said that he would give all of it to Qian as her dowry after he dies. It's clear that he really likes Qian.

However, the second son's wife only knew that the Prince Gong came from the capital, but she did not know how high his official position was, and she dared not ask others for fear of revealing Qian's secret.

The next day, Shadow Eleven came again and presented a letter.

"Miss Su, although the young master has left Huainan, his intelligence network is still in place. This is the latest intelligence report."

The letter was sealed with pale yellow beeswax.

Su Qianqian opened the letter, read it once, and was very surprised. The Prince of Huainan had actually married a Miao holy woman as a concubine.

The letter said that yesterday, the Miao holy maiden led people to attack Shuicheng and Guicheng without breaking a sweat.

The saintess carried only a black earthenware jar the size of a watermelon with her. When the jar was opened, countless insects the size of flies flew out.

After being bitten by insects, the soldiers guarding the city lost their minds and, like puppets being manipulated, opened the city gates and let the rebels into the city.

After entering the city, the Miao holy maiden opened the black pottery jar again and put a dark, murky thing inside. Then all the insects flew back into the jar.

Su Qianqian guessed that the insects released by the Holy Maiden were most likely the legendary Miao Gu insects.

With the emergence of the Gu worms, the situation has become extremely complicated.

The Miao holy maiden subdued the enemy without a fight and captured two cities in a single day. This was only possible because of the slow travel in ancient times; if travel had been faster, the consequences would have been far more dire.

Su Qianqian originally wanted to press her advantage and take Sicheng in the south, but now she can only hold back for the time being.

The militia in Qinghe County grew rapidly, reaching 13,000 members by the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

As the strategist, Master Zhang was very excited to see the militia growing in size day by day.

Perhaps Miss Su will one day be remembered in history like the God of War, General Xin.

He suggested, "General Su, we recently won another battle where we were outnumbered but outgunned. Do you think we should take advantage of the soldiers' high morale and capture Sicheng in the south?"

Su Qianqian shook her head, "Don't act rashly. I received news that the King of Huainan has taken a Miao holy maiden, who is skilled in using Gu poison, as his concubine."

Gu worms were completely foreign to Su Qianqian.

The problem of the Gu worms needs to be solved urgently, otherwise, the King of Huainan might decide to take over Qinghe County on a whim one day.

The population of Qinghe County is now twice what it was before the war, so her responsibility is immense; she must do everything in her power to protect these people.

"Strategist Zhang, we urgently need someone who understands Gu worms."

Miao territory was too far away. Master Zhang had people inquire in the city for a long time, but they still couldn't find anyone related to Miao territory.

Furthermore, there are no books about Gu worms in the library of Qingsong Academy.

This is a tricky situation.

Military Advisor Zhang was so eager to help General Su get rid of the Gu worm problem that he couldn't sleep at night and grew several white hairs at a young age.