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“Afterward, you must assist him in restoring Ning’an County to its former state.”
“Yes, Princess Jinhe.”
Wang Jinhe nodded, expressing her satisfaction. “Since you are here now, I will entrust the matters here to you. I have other tasks to attend to, so I will return.”
“Princess Jinhe…”
“By the way, the man who claimed to be Concubine Xian’s brother is in the dungeon. My royal brother should have informed you of how to handle him. Deal with it accordingly. Ensure the spring planting here is managed well. We don’t want Ning’an County to end up with the lowest harvest among the three counties. I will be watching so make sure you won’t end up feeling embarrassed.”
The newly appointed county magistrate looked at Wang Jinhe, unsure whether to feel happy or not.
“Princess Jinhe, please don’t intimidate me, Your Highness.”
“I’m not trying to intimidate you; I’m serious. I need you to keep an eye on things here and ensure the people are not mistreated,” Wang Jinhe said, looking at him with concern.
The county magistrate nodded with a smile, “Rest assured, Princess Jinhe. With me here, the people will not be bullied.”
Wang Jinhe nodded in satisfaction, “That’s good. As long as you are aware.”
Nan Qiao was growing tired of the situation. When Wang Jinhe had almost finished giving instructions, Nan Qiao spoke up, “Sister-in-law, shouldn’t we be leaving now?”
“By the way, Princess Jinhe, when I arrived, the Emperor instructed me to deliver a letter to the young Prince of Nanchuan,” the county magistrate brought up. If it weren’t for Nan Qiao speaking, he might have forgotten about it.
Nan Qiao looked at the county magistrate in surprise, “The Emperor has a letter for me? Let me see it then.”
Hastily, the county magistrate took out the letter and handed it to Nan Qiao.
After reading the letter, Nan Qiao’s mood noticeably soured.
Observing Nan Qiao’s visible change in demeanor, Wang Jinhe asked in surprise, “What’s wrong? You seem quite unhappy?”
Nan Qiao nodded, furrowing his brow, and replied, “Sister-in-law, they are pressuring me to marry someone I don’t want to.”
“You must help me,” Nan Qiao pleaded earnestly.
“Your royal uncle is pressuring you to marry?” asked Wang Jinhe.
Nan Qiao nodded, “Yes, it’s my royal uncle. He doesn’t marry or have children himself, yet he keeps pressuring me.”
Wang Jinhe cleared her throat gently, “Write back to your royal uncle and inform him that you have someone you like. Next year, you will bring that person to Nanchuan so he doesn’t need to worry.”
“Will that work?”
“Why does your royal uncle want you to marry? Is it because he simply wants you to marry since you have been reluctant, or does he seek a marriage alliance for you?”
After thoughtful consideration, Nan Qiao responded, “My royal uncle has never been interested in marriage alliances. He just purely wants me to marry. Regardless of the family background, as long as I am willing to marry, it’s fine with him.”
Understanding Nan Qiao’s perspective, Wang Jinhe suggested, “If that’s the case, what do you have to worry about? Your royal uncle simply wants you to marry. Just tell him you have someone you like. Isn’t that the best approach?”
Upon careful consideration, Nan Qiao realized it might indeed be the best course of action.
“I’ll write to my uncle right away.”
“I’ll tell him not to rush me, and I’ll say that the person I like is a lady from a respectable family. Once our relationship has progressed, I’ll bring her back.” Nan Qiao felt her plan was perfect.
Wang Jinhe nodded with a smile, “That sounds good.”
Nan Qiao quickly penned the letter and sent it off, worried that his royal uncle might personally come to intervene in the matter.
After sending the letter, Nan Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.
“What if my royal uncle doesn’t believe me?” Nan Qiao suddenly voiced his concern.
If his uncle didn’t trust him, it would cause significant trouble.
“You’ve given him a timeline. During this period, he won’t do anything rash. When we return this year, spend some time getting to know the girls from the Ming family. See whom you like, and then you can marry her,” Wang Jinhe reassured.
“Previously, you were adamant about not marrying. Now that you’ve changed your mind, your royal uncle will likely understand.”
Though still worried, Nan Qiao felt somewhat reassured.
“You’re right, Sister-in-law.”
“After we return to Xie Family Village, I’ll have Brother Yu vouch for me. That way, everything will be even more perfect.”
“Good.”
The county magistrate found the conversation between these two amusing, realizing that elders in any country tend to be alike in their eagerness for their younger relatives to marry.
“I’ll leave things to you here. I’ve been out for some time, so it’s time for me to head back,” Wang Jinhe said to the county magistrate.
“Understood.”
After Wang Jinhe left, she didn’t depart immediately. Instead, she had Yuan Lin and the others help conceal her whereabouts, staying in Ning’an County for about ten more days.
During this period, the new county magistrate did many good deeds for the people, which pleased Wang Jinhe greatly.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve seen what this person has done now. Shouldn’t we leave?” With the magistrate’s positive actions, having such a magistrate for the people of Ning’an County was indeed beneficial.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The group left quietly without a trace.
As they departed Ning’an County to return to Xie Family Village, in the palace of Nanchuan, a middle-aged man received Nan Qiao’s letter.
Furrowing his brows lightly as he read the contents of the letter, the man seemed intrigued.
“Is this a letter from the Prince?”
“Yes, I wrote to the Xuan Empire to ask their Majesty to deliver the letter to that brat. Now he has replied to me.”
“What did the Prince say?” He knew that the letter was urging for marriage, curious to see if the Prince would react strongly after reading it.
“Nan Qiao mentioned he has someone he likes and will bring her back next year.”
The onlookers were amazed as they looked at the King of Nanchuan, “Is this true? Whenever we mentioned this matter to the Prince in the past, he either pretended ignorance or made the girls cry with his harsh words. Now he’s saying such things? Could it be a deception?”
The King of Nanchuan shook his head, “This time, it’s likely true. Nan Qiao mentioned in the letter that the person was introduced by the Princess Consort, Princess Jinhe and is said to be quite nice. Princess Jinhe also introduced the few youngsters from the Luo family to the girls of the Ming family in the Xuan Empire.”
The King of Nanchuan cherished his nephew greatly, and Nan Qiao was more filial to him than to his own parents.
Anything good received from Princess Jinhe in the Xuan Empire was always sent back to him.
Nan Qiao made sure he had an abundance of food, drink, and fruits to eat.
In the past year or two, his health had improved significantly from the Gu poisoning.
Not only did the prince and Princess Jinhe take good care of Nan Qiao, even the people of Nanchuan benefitted from Nan Qiao’s good relationship with them. For two consecutive years, they received high-yield crops from the Xuan Empire, with this year’s harvest reaching a generous 150,000 catties, enough to sustain Nanchuan entirely.
The people of Nanchuan held Nan Qiao in high regard.
“The Prince made the right move by going to the Xuan Empire this time. We in Nanchuan are probably the first outside the Xuan Empire to plant high-yield crops.” It was rumored that the Empires of Qi, Ling, and Lu were eyeing these high-yield crops enviously. Thanks to the Prince, they all benefited greatly.
The King of Nanchuan nodded, “Indeed, we were the first to plant them.”
He made sure to keep this information completely confidential, not letting it be known to outsiders.