The next day, Yang Hao and his party returned to Ningyuan.

Yang Hao and others returned safely, and Xiu'er was even given the title of princess. It goes without saying that everyone in the Marquis Mansion, and even Ningyuan, was filled with joy.

However, to be happy is to be happy, and you still have to be busy with the things you should be busy with.

In the next half month, the entire Ningyuan was actively preparing for war.

In addition to practicing for four hours a day as usual, Yang Hao spent most of the rest of his time discussing preparations for war with Ningyuan Civil and Military.

However, most of these discussions were not held in the Hou Mansion. Instead, Yang Hao went to the offices of civil and military officials at all levels to discuss with them.

At the same time, interested people noticed that during the past half month, Yang Hao often disappeared with Ren Zhong and Hong Laowang.

On the third day after Ning Buque arrived in Ningyuan, he went directly to Yanmen Pass, seventy miles away, and spent the whole day stirring the pot with the soldiers stationed at the front.

Lin Xuan did not stay in the Hou Mansion for more than a day, and left on the same day as Ning Buque. However, Lin Xuan did not appear at Yanmen Pass, nor at any official office in Ningyuan. Where did he go?

No one knows.

As soon as one hundred Imperial College students arrived in Ningyuan, they were sent directly to Chang Shi's Mansion. Subsequently, under Jian Fang's arrangement, most of these students began to study in Ningyuan, and a small number of others were assigned to

Various government offices assist in government affairs. Among these few people are Shen Mu, Zeng Yiming and Duan Xinqiao.

As for Yang Hongyi and Yang Yanping, before Yang Hao returned to Ningyuan, they showed up in front of people from time to time. In the half month after Yang Hao returned to Ningyuan, no one outside the Hou Mansion had seen them.

, no one saw them take a step out of the Hou Mansion, and they completely became the hands-off shopkeepers together.

Ning Yuan is actively preparing for war, the Tianlang court outside Yanmen Pass, and the Seven Kingdoms, or rather the Six Kingdoms, are preparing for war with all their strength.

More and more armies from the Six Kingdoms gathered to a place less than a hundred miles away from the junction of Dachu and Tianlang Dynasty.

According to the information obtained by the scouts, the number of troops from the six countries gathered here is estimated to be no less than 800,000, and the marching tents stretch for more than a hundred miles. Even longer than the 800,000 troops, are the teams transporting baggage from the six countries.

During this half month, Xie Mingxuan also entered Ningyuan.

Although the Yushitai has always been a place for rumors, after experiencing the incident at the Jinluan Palace last time, Xie Mingxuan decided that when entering Ningyuan this time, he could no longer just sit in the Yushitai and listen to the events like he did in the capital before.

I listened to my subordinate’s report.

Xie Mingxuan wanted to walk around Ningyuan in person and take a look. After walking around and looking around, he went to Ningyuan City to visit the Duke of Zhen and Ningyuan Hou.

Therefore, just like Jian Fang who entered Ningyuan, Xie Mingxuan entered Ningyuan in a carriage with only two censors and one attendant, pretending to be an ordinary merchant.

In the past half month, Xie Mingxuan traveled to many places and saw a lot.

The more he walked and saw, the more deeply Xie Mingxuan felt and the more ashamed he felt.

Xie Mingxuan is a direct minister. In the past few years, he has often participated in the Ningyuan chaos, and he has often spoken loudly on the Jinluan Palace. He even tried to hit the pillars on the Jinluan Palace several times. Because, he listened

He heard too much news about Ning Yuan that made him worried.

In these messages, the narrators all described Ningyuan as a place of constant collapse, so much so that Xie Mingxuan hated Ningyuan so deeply that he did not even want to think of this place, let alone set foot in it.

However, after actually entering Ningyuan, walking this journey in person, and watching this journey, Xie Mingxuan discovered that the real Ningyuan was completely different from the Ningyuan he had heard before.

Apart from anything else, what Xie Mingxuan saw on the faces of the many people he met and talked to was not dire straits at all, but real satisfaction and happiness that came from the heart.

For a direct minister like Xie Mingxuan, what could be more touching than seeing this?

On this day, near noon, Xie Mingxuan and his party of four stopped in front of a tea shop.

"Guests, please come in and have a sip of hot tea!" A man in his fifties greeted warmly at the door of the teahouse.

Xie Mingxuan stepped out of the carriage, smiled at the man and asked, "Boss, do you have something to eat?"

"Yes! Yes! It's just a little simpler. I don't know if the guests are used to it." The man saw that Xie Mingxuan and the other three were not as demeanor as ordinary people, so he said quickly.

"We travel all over the country to do business and eat whatever we encounter. Is there anything we can't get used to?" Xie Mingxuan and the two censors said with a smile as they walked towards the tea shop.

"That's good! That's good! Please invite us guests inside! It's warmer inside." The man greeted Xie Mingxuan and the other three people into the tea shop, and shouted to a young man in the tea shop.

: "Zhuzi, go and feed the horses of these guests!"

"Hey, Dad, let's go now!" the young man responded, trotted out of the teahouse, took the reins from the attendant, and invited the attendant into the teahouse.

Xie Mingxuan entered the tea shop and took in the entire tea shop at a glance.

The tea shop is not big, and the space inside is even smaller. There are only five small tables. Two of the tables are occupied by two or three guests respectively, and the other two tables are empty. At the remaining table, there are

There is a girl holding a writing brush in her hand, dipping it in water and writing on the table.

After Xie Mingxuan and others sat down at a table, the man lifted a curtain in the teahouse and walked in.

Soon, the man came out again, carrying a pot of hot tea in his hand. When the girl saw the guests, she put down the brush in her hand and went to bring four tea cups. Then she returned to the table and took

Pick up the brush and continue writing and scratching seriously.

After pouring hot tea for Xie Mingxuan and others, the man said: "Guests, the shop has elbows, pancakes, cold skin, corn, sweet potatoes and some home-cooked vegetables. What do you guys want to eat?"

Xie Mingxuan held the hot tea cup in both hands and said with a smile: "Boss, the four of us have been traveling all morning and we are a little hungry. Just watch it."

The man responded, turned around, lifted the curtain again, and walked in.

While waiting for food, Xie Mingxuan looked at the girl practicing calligraphy with interest.

The girl, perhaps aware of Xie Mingxuan's gaze, raised her head and took a look, her face slightly embarrassed.

"Nier, write carefully and don't be lazy!" The young man who had gone out to feed the horses walked into the tea shop, nodded towards Xie Mingxuan and others, walked to the girl, and touched her head.

The girl shook her head, shook off the young man's hand, and said, "Brother, I'm not lazy!"

When Xie Mingxuan and others heard the girl's name for the young man, they couldn't help but look at each other at the same time.

The man looked to be at least fifty-five or six years old, but the girl looked to be no more than seven or eight years old. Previously, Xie Mingxuan and others thought the girl was the man's granddaughter, but they never thought she was his daughter.

After a while, the man and the young man brought several foods to the table.

The presentation of the food is not very good, but it is hot and the portions are generous.

"Sir, would you like to try it and see if you are used to it?" After setting out the food, the man said to Xie Mingxuan and others.

Xie Mingxuan picked up a piece of elbow with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He chewed it a few times and praised: "Boss, this elbow is good! It's soft, waxy, fragrant and smooth, fat but not greasy!"

When the man heard Xie Mingxuan's praise, his honest face immediately showed a cheerful smile and said: "Thank you, sir! Just get used to it! You can use it slowly! I won't disturb you anymore!"

After saying that, the man turned around and lifted the curtain again and walked in.

After the young man added a pot of hot tea to the guests at the other two tables, he sat down at the girl's table and watched the girl practice calligraphy.

Not long after, the man walked out again. Walking out with him was a woman in her fifties, with an apron wrapped around her waist, and she moved very quickly.

After the two walked out, the woman walked straight to the girl, handed over a piece of pancake in her hand, and said, "Come on, Nizi, take a rest."

The girl put down her writing brush, sweetly called out "Mom", and stretched out her hand to catch the cake.

The woman lightly slapped the girl's hand and said, "Wipe your hands first!"

As she spoke, the woman handed over a rag.

Seeing Xie Mingxuan looking at the mother and daughter with interest, the man came over again and asked: "Sir, how was your meal?"

"Very good!" Xie Mingxuan responded with a smile and said, "Boss, is this your daughter?"

"Yes, yes! Children are not sensible, have they not disturbed a few guests?" said the man.

"No, no!" Xie Mingxuan smiled, waved his hand, and asked, "Is your daughter in school?"

"Your Majesty, you are laughing! My daughter is learning to read with the teacher in the village." said the man.

"It is virtue for a woman to have no talent. Boss, if you make your daughter literate, you won't be afraid of her future..." Another censor said with a smile.

"My guest, are you not a local when you say this?" The woman heard the censor's words and interjected somewhat unhappily.

"The boss lady has great eyesight! We are indeed not locals. We are from the south and this is our first time in Ningyuan." Xie Mingxuan said.

"That's no wonder! A woman's lack of talent is a virtue. That's all according to old records. In Ningyuan, who doesn't want their children to be more literate? Zhuzi, how do you say that? What is what?"

A woman's way.

"Mom, knowledge is power." The young man replied.

"Yes! Knowledge is power! This is what the government says." The woman said.

"Oh? The government still cares about this matter?" Xie Mingxuan said.

"Isn't it good? In Ningyuan, children can't even think about going to school," the woman said.

"Oh? What can I say?" Xie Mingxuan said.

"What's that called? Oh, by the way, compulsory education! The government has said that every household has the obligation to educate their children," the woman said.

"Madam boss, what do you mean by compulsory education?" Xie Mingxuan asked.

"What are obligations? By the way, they are things that must be done. These children are educated, which is what they must do. They must study. So, what does the guest say about women who have no talent?

Virtue, we are very annoying in Ningyuan." The woman said.

"Guests are laughing at you! Women know how to be ridiculous. Don't take these guests seriously!" The man said hurriedly when he saw that the woman was talking more and more energetically.

"What do you mean by nonsense! This is what the government said, and it was passed down directly from the Marquis's house. If I could have encountered such a good thing back then, could I read and write, and could I have suffered here with an honest guy like you?"
Chapter completed!