"Eldest sister, I have always felt sorry for you. You were sent to Dali as a hostage when you were young. With you in Dali, you have kept my mother and I safe for many years. Elder sister, you are my mother's life-saving talisman. Ah, every time I think about you struggling to support yourself in Dali, I feel like my heart is twisting, but now it seems that I was right to send you to Dali, at least you don’t have to witness all this happen. "
"Eldest sister, just pretend that you haven't been back to Beidi this time."
"Just treat my mother as gentle and dignified as before, and treat me as still only five years old."
…
Mu Nanzhi's heart throbbed with pain, and when he spoke again, his voice was hoarse: "Shan'er, it's best if you can be Beidi's Khan. If you can't, don't embarrass yourself. I know you have always been a filial person. You are sensible, but you don't have to be led by your mother in everything. You are only seventeen years old. Don't always think that this is the end of your life. Don't impose all the misery and unwillingness of your mother's life on yourself. "
Mu Nanshan sighed and shook his head without speaking again.
Jiasheng 20th mid-September
Prince Ning's Mansion.
Lu Zhishan's illness lasted for more than half a year, and now he is finally getting better, but he is still weak. Song Fu now has to spend four or five hours a day in the kitchen, organizing Lu Zhishan's house with his own hands. Three meals a day, but Lu Zhishan's appetite has never been good, and he has a few gray hairs.
Du Heng left Beijing for a month and a half and just returned to Beijing today. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Song Fu coming out of the kitchen with a tray full of delicious dishes. Du Heng smiled and said: "Uncle Song, I will give it to the general." Send it away, I just have something to report to the general."
Song Fu disagreed and said: "What's so important? Can't we wait until the prince has lunch? The prince doesn't have a good appetite, so you still want to disturb his meal."
"Do you believe it? If I take it in, the general will be able to eat half a bowl more rice today." Du Heng didn't listen to Song Fu's nagging, took the tray from his hand, and walked straight to the study.
"General." Du Heng opened the curtain and went in.
"It's Du Heng who's back," Lu Zhishan saw the person coming and put down the book in his hand with a smile, "Are you exhausted from running all the way?"
"General, you're welcome," Du Heng put the meals on the small table one by one and said to Lu Zhishan with a smile, "Subordinate, please accompany the general for lunch. The cooking skills of our county prince's palace are getting better and better. I'm watching All hungry."
Lu Zhishan nodded and said with a smile: "It just so happens that I don't have much appetite for being alone."
Du Heng added some rice to Lu Zhishan and handed it to him, and said to Lu Zhishan: "General, the tea market this year is good. The weather in Jiangnan is going well. The profits of the five tea houses below us are all very good. In addition, the three tea houses in Jiahu The silk factory and two embroidery institutes have a total income of 140,000 taels. In two months, Zhuangzi will have a good harvest. By then, it is estimated that there will be an income of 11,120,000 taels. Including the bank and pawn shop, it will also be It can earn thirty to forty thousand taels.”
"It's one hundred thousand taels more than expected," Lu Zhishan looked surprised. He poured a cup of tea for Du Heng himself and brought it to him. He said with a smile, "It shows that you are running the business well."
"The general is very complimentary. It is the duty of subordinates to take care of the general's property." Du Heng was so busy that he bowed and took the tea cup, while adding, "Put off the 200,000 taels that were given to General Zhao. There are still about 100,000 taels left, and my subordinates are thinking that they can go to the northwest to plant cotton in the spring of next year. With General Zhao and Xie Lun on both sides to protect us, we don’t have to tie our hands. "