When Qiu Xue heard Qingchen speaking to her, the young lady’s heart thumped wildly, as if it were about to leap out of her throat.
He... he spoke to ! Qiu Xue suddenly felt lightheaded, almost as if she were floating.
However, rembering she still had to dance, Qiu Xue composed herself, curtsied once more, and quickly hurried out of the hall to prepare. Obviously, one couldn’t perform a dance wearing a thick, cotton-padded jacket!
In a short while, all the musical instrunts for the accompanint were brought into the main hall.
At this ti, Concubine i, seated beside Chu Xiong in the place of honor, was faring no better. Her heart was also pounding relentlessly. Five years. She had finally seen her master again. He was even more composed and strikingly handso than he had been five years ago.
His transcendent aura nearly made her lose her composure entirely, almost compelling her to walk straight down from the dais.
Just then, Qingchen seed to glance her way, and his sharp, piercing gaze instantly sobered her.
That was close! I almost ruined everything, Concubine i thought, lowering her head and pretending to take a sip of water.
Qiu Xue changed quickly. When she reappeared in the center of the hall, she was already adorned in a fiery-red dance costu. As the music began, she started to move, her body flowing gracefully with the rhythm.
The elegant dance and enchanting lody, however, failed to capture even a sliver of Qingchen’s attention. His gaze remained fixed on Ms. Su.
Ms. Su had maintained an air of indifference throughout. After a brief glance when Qingchen entered the hall, she hadn’t looked at him again.
She didn’t scrutinize him repeatedly like the other ladies, whose gazes were like those of mothers-in-law sizing up a prospective son-in-law.
On the contrary, Ms. Su showed absolutely no interest in him.
Qingchen finally understood why that damn Gu Qingli harbored such ill feelings towards him. If Ms. Su is her mother, then it all makes sense. However, if it *is* true, then things are about to get interesting.
A faint smile touched Qingchen’s lips.
At this mont, Secret Guard No.1 was summoned outside. Qingchen understood imdiately.
Secret Guard No.1 went out and returned quickly, handing Qingchen a slip of paper. On it was a single line of text: *Seventeen years ago, Gu Xicheng’s legitimate daughter, Gu Qingli, disappeared.*
Reading it, Qingchen’s eyes flickered. Gu Qingli must be Gu Xicheng’s daughter, he affird inwardly.
Qingchen had no interest in the music, singing, or dancing that followed in the hall; his mind had already drifted far away.
I’ve confird her identity, but I’d forgotten Gu Qingli disappeared. Ever since I started the insurgency, I had withdrawn my n. That ans I have no idea where Gu Qingli is right now.
He barely managed to endure until the banquet finally ended. As soon as it was over, Qingchen left the Imperial Palace and imdiately dispatched n to renew the search for Gu Qingli’s whereabouts.
「On the other hand,」upon hearing that Qingchen had been ennobled as a king, Old Master Jiang had already moved his entire family back to the Jiang residence, restoring their previous way of life.
He even sent people to Beijing to bring back Jiang Li’an and his sister.
「At the Beijing County residence,」Gu Qingli woke up late that day. Recently, Xiao Yunjing had been leaving early and returning late, so she barely saw him. In fact, the previous night, she had stubbornly waited up for his return before going to sleep.
After breakfast, she entered the Space. These past few days, whenever she had free ti during the day, she had been studying the dicinal book obtained from the Snow Maiden Clan. She hadn’t realized what a treasure it was until she started reading it; I was so delighted I was at a loss for words! The first half of the dicinal book detailed herbs from the Snow Maiden Clan that she didn’t recognize, while the second half contained formulas for dicines and poisons. It even included recipes for the ten great poisons and formulas for dispelling Gu.
If I combine this with the *Classic of dicine* and the *Classic of Poison* in my Space, I’ll have practically all the dicinal and poison formulas in the world! What an incredible find!
And so, whenever she had a spare mont, she would enter the Space to practice preparing dicines and concocting poisons.
"Madam, we’re all recovered and ready to leave," Yun No. 8 reported as soon as she entered.
Gu Qingli glanced at the ten of them and nodded. "I’ll take you out with when I leave later."
"Yes, thank you, Madam!" The ten of them bowed deeply, especially the three who had stopped breathing and been thrown into the pool. They silently vowed to dedicate their lives to serving Madam, for she had saved them.
Gu Qingli smiled and let them attend to their own tasks.
During their ti in the Space, once they were able to move, the ten of them had started building log cabins. Timber was readily available in the Space, and they had already completed five.
Five cabins should be sufficient for now. The Space isn’t very large, so I have to ticulously plan my planting of dicinal materials and crops.
The ten helpers, seeing they still had so ti, went to the fields to harvest grain and sweet potato vines, knowing these were intended for Beijing County.
Around noon, when Gu Qingli left the Space, she brought Yun No. 8 and the other nine out with her. She instructed them to remain hidden and not to show themselves until Xiao Yunjing returned in the evening to make further arrangents.
The ten of them acknowledged the order and vanished in a flash.
「In the evening,」after Xiao Yunjing returned, Gu Qingli told him about the ten n.
"Perfect," Xiao Yunjing said. "They’re strong; let them help build the greenhouses."
"Are you planning to build greenhouses now?" Gu Qingli asked, surprised. Isn’t the snow supposed to be very thick?
"Yes, the conditions in Beijing are too harsh; there are only a few months of sunshine each year. It would be better to convert all the arable land into greenhouses. This way, we can plant sweet potato cuttings anyti. What do you think, Li’er?"
Gu Qingli nodded. "However, that ans the scale of construction will be enormous."
"Not necessarily," Xiao Yunjing replied. "Each family will build their own. We’ve been teaching them these past few days, and people from every county have sent representatives to learn. Once they’re constructed, it’s a viable long-term solution."
Gu Qingli nodded again. "Indeed. People can only settle down and live peacefully if their basic needs for food and warmth are t."
Beijing is vast and sparsely populated. If its resources are utilized properly, it will one day be transford. Besides the cold, Beijing is actually rich in resources. Especially minerals. When the ti cos, they can be developed rationally. There’s no coal here yet; everyone burns charcoal. My past life experiences tell that forests shouldn’t be excessively logged. I don’t want to see a day when we have to convert farmland back into forests.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingli added, "Yunjing, you could arrange for people to search for coal and other mineral deposits."
Xiao Yunjing gently stroked her head and smiled. Li’er and I are on the sa wavelength, he thought. He said, "This has actually been underway secretly for so ti. In the future, we’ll need not only silver but also a vast number of weapons, and even many farming tools. Since we broke away from Daqian, we lost our iron supply. The search for new sources began last year, but we haven’t found any yet."
He had learned about coal from the books in Li’er’s Space, which had imdiately made him realize the need to search not only for coal but also for iron, gold, and silver mines.
No matter how things develop in the future, these resources will be indispensable. With ample reserves at ho, one doesn’t have to worry about daily life.
"Hehe, it seems I don’t have to worry about a thing," Gu Qingli thought, then leaned in and kissed his firmly set lips. I only need to make money or just take things easy. Having such a capable husband in this life, I’m truly content.
Xiao Yunjing pulled her closer, whispering in her ear, "All Li’er needs to worry about is her husband."
With that, his words turned into actions.
Soon, harmonious sounds drifted from within the room.
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