Chapter 16 : Final Chapter

In the capital city.

Emperor Jinglong happily beheaded Cao Mingguang and his son. Cao’s wife, Cao Rou, and other relatives were all exiled to the border.

“This Zhou Wen, he was probably influenced by Huarong and wholeheartedly loyal to me.”

Emperor Jinglong could only come up with this explanation when Zhou Wen suddenly offered his generals by his side.

Duke Ding remained expressionless.

The crown prince felt annoyed.

As Duke Ding already held military power, if he also gained the support of Zhou Wen, this crown prince was likely to face his end.

From that day on, the ministers quickly noticed that the struggles between the crown prince and Duke Ding became more frequent and intense.

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Zhen nan Prince’s Residence.

Feng Yuanyuan happily spent her first New Year’s Eve in the Wang Residence.

It was also the most lively New Year’s Eve she had ever experienced. The elders talked in the hall, while she followed Zhou Ling and Zhou Jiao outside to set off fireworks, enjoying herself to the fullest.

But at night, she had a nightmare.

She dreamed that in the new year, after the summer, there would be a two-month-long severe drought in Ningzhou Prefecture. Small rivers and streams would almost run dry, and major rivers would greatly shrink.

The people could barely travel miles to the major rivers to fetch water to quench their thirst, but the crops in the fields suffered. When autumn came, there would be no harvest.

Feng Yuanyuan was frightened by the sight of starving corpses in her dream. Pale-faced, she rushed to the Fengyi Hall.

Zhou Wen had naturally slept with Princess Huarong last night. Now, he had just come out of the inner chambers, and Princess Huarong was dressing up.

Zhou Wen saw Feng Yuanyuan first and noticed that something was wrong with her. He exclaimed, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Feng Yuanyuan shook her head and took his cool hand, leading him into the inner chambers.

Princess Huarong’s gaze swept over the two of them, guessing that something had happened, so she dismissed the maidservants first.

Feng Yuanyuan stood by her adoptive parents’ side and tremblingly recounted her dream.

Princess Huarong furrowed her brows. Even if Zhou Wen and the generals around him wanted to rebel, the innocent people in Ningzhou would suffer greatly. In the face of natural disasters, how tragic it would be.

She looked at Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen lowered his gaze. When he snapped back to reality, he noticed both Princess Huarong and Feng Yuanyuan looking at him—one with a rare solemn expression and the other with a worried face.

Zhou Wen smiled and pulled Feng Yuanyuan towards him, gently embracing her shoulders. Then he asked Princess Huarong, “I say, isn’t Yuanyuan the little lucky star sent to us by the God of Fortune? Do you believe it?”

Princess Huarong believed it. Ever since their chance encounter at Taoxi, she believed in Feng Yuanyuan’s extraordinary journey.

“Believing or not, what can be done? If a great drought comes, what are your plans, Wangye?” Princess Huarong asked.

Man-made disasters could be avoided, but natural disasters were difficult to prevent.

Zhou Wen put away his smile and said, “We can’t escape it, but we can prepare in advance to mitigate the damage.”

Lack of water could be addressed by digging deep wells in various places in advance.

Shortages of food and medicine could be prepared by gathering resources from various places in advance.

As long as there was money, these things were not difficult.

Thanks to his father’s accumulation of wealth for his rebellion, he could operate in a timely manner, enough to stabilize the people when the drought came.

For the next six months, Zhou Wen tirelessly worked to prepare for the severe drought in summer.

Princess Huarong watched him gradually lose weight.

After all, it involved the severe drought affecting the entire Ningzhou Prefecture. Even with preparations in advance, it was not easy to get everything ready.

Late at night, Princess Huarong sometimes wondered why Zhou Wen was working so hard.

He was a rebel, and Ningzhou was just his temporary territory. Ensuring military strength and funds should be his top priority. If he used a large amount of grain, money, and resources to help the people, what would he do if the court took advantage of the situation and attacked him?

Or perhaps, in Zhou Wen’s heart, the safety and well-being of the people were more important than the future of the Zhou family?

Princess Huarong couldn’t figure it out.

In anxious anticipation, the severe drought truly arrived.

Expenses in the Wang Residence had already been cut in half, but the water supply was sufficient. However, the hot weather made people reluctant to go outside.

Princess Huarong and Feng Yuanyuan could stay in the Wang Residence, but Zhou Wen hadn’t returned home for several months.

In August, the drought finally ended, and the rain came late.

But the troubles in Ningzhou Prefecture were far from over. The crops were ruined, and what would people eat in autumn and winter? Ordinary households didn’t have much surplus food.

At this time, Zhou Wen arranged for his generals to distribute grain and provisions in various places.

He spread the news that Princess Huarong cared about the people and was willing to donate a million taels of dowry to collect grain and provisions for the people.

For a while, the people of Ningzhou Prefecture were grateful to the Prince and Princess Huarong, shedding tears of gratitude.

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In October, Zhou Wen finally returned to the Wang Residence without notifying anyone, and he went straight to the Fengyi Hall.

Looking at this man who had become much thinner and had a tan complexion, Feng Yuanyuan almost didn’t dare to approach him.

Zhou Wen smiled. “What’s wrong, Yuanyuan? Don’t you recognize your father?”

Feng Yuanyuan blinked her eyes and shed a string of tears.

This father was someone she recognized halfway through her life, without any blood relationship, but Zhou Wen was a good person, a good prince, and her good father.

Feng Yuanyuan rushed over and tightly hugged Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen stroked her head and then looked at Princess Huarong, who was sitting on the couch.

Princess Huarong remained calm and lowered her gaze.

Zhou Wen chatted with his daughter for a while and then asked her to have water prepared.

He needed to bathe, and Feng Yuanyuan obediently left first.

Preparing water took some time. Zhou Wen sat by the couch, calm and composed as always, savoring his tea.

Princess Huarong was defeated in patience for the first time. She looked at him and asked, “You gathered grain and provisions, but I haven’t contributed a penny. Why did you say that?”

She didn’t go out, but Chen Jing probably spoke on behalf of his master, telling her all the news from outside, perhaps hoping that she would accept Zhou Wen’s affection.

Zhou Wen smiled. “I can’t reveal her secrets since Yuanyuan was brought back by you. I can only share the credit with you.”

Princess Huarong lowered her gaze. “The people are grateful to me, but they are grateful to the court as well. If you plan to rebel in the future, it may not go smoothly.”

Zhou Wen looked over and said in a low voice, “I won’t rebel.”

Princess Huarong suddenly looked up.

Zhou Wen smiled. “Congratulations, Princess. I just received news that the crown prince died suddenly, and Emperor Jinglong, overwhelmed with grief, fell ill and couldn’t recover. He has already declared Duke Ding as the new crown prince.”

If Emperor Jinglong’s condition worsened, he might have already passed away by now. Duke Ding had already ascended the throne, but the news took time to reach them due to the distance.

Princess Huarong was in a daze.

Father Emperor was dead?

She didn’t feel any sadness or shed any tears.

Perhaps the father-daughter bond had been severed when she left the capital alone.

Her thoughts quickly calmed down. Princess Huarong’s gaze once again fell on Zhou Wen’s face. “Now that Duke Ding has become the crown prince, you won’t rebel?”

Zhou Wen smiled. “I want to accompany you back to the capital and reunite with our relatives.”

Princess Huarong asked cautiously, “Aren’t you afraid my brother will deal with you?”

Zhou Wen replied, “I will bow down to him and submit with Ningzhou Prefecture under his command. If he wants to settle accounts after the situation calms down, he wouldn’t be a wise ruler.”

“Perhaps there are risks, but for the sake of the princess, I am willing.”

Princess Huarong fell silent.

Or perhaps it wasn’t silence, because Zhou Wen continued speaking. She soon found herself sobbing softly again in the storm he stirred up.

But this time, she knew clearly that she was willing.

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When the imperial edict declaring Duke Ding as the crown prince and granting amnesty to the world reached Ningzhou, Zhou Wen also sent his memorial to the capital.

It was a memorial in which he requested to withdraw his fiefdom.

The new emperor readily agreed and changed the title of Zhou’s ancestors to Duke Zhen Guo. Zhou Wen inherited the title of Duke and was granted a residence in the