Something happened. This is not going to be bloody.

Finally, Prince Chen ascended the throne and became emperor under the secret attention of the whole nation and changed the reign title.

The current emperor is a very cowardly one. When Prince Chen forced him to abdicate, he issued an edict to pass on the throne. In order to show his mercy, the new emperor rewarded him with the title of Prince of Anle and granted him the city of Lin'an as his fief.

Lin'an City is located at the intersection of the power of the Xin Dynasty and the Mu Palace. The fief of Anle King here is probably of many significance. However, all this has nothing to do with Zhou Leng, who is already three months pregnant.

This is Zhou Leng’s first pregnancy. Whether in reality or during the mission, the entire pregnancy experience is her first time, which is a novel experience for her.

Pregnant in October and giving birth once.

Zhou Leng successfully gave birth to a boy and named him Yao Jingxing.

In order to take care of the child, the family hired a wet nurse. After all, Zhou Leng was not someone who could take good care of a child. Now that her living conditions were decent and she could hire someone to take care of the child, she chose to have a child. Moreover, given the local customs, if the couple had no children, it would seem difficult for Yao Qing to smoothly become the man of her choice.

The time spent raising a child seemed to pass very quickly, and in the blink of an eye Yao Jingxing was already running around the yard. The nanny also left the Yao family to find her next job.

Now, several years have passed, and Yao Qing is still a deputy commander, but he is satisfied with his current status.

In the same small courtyard, Zhou Leng's study has become Yao Jingxing's room. At the age of four, he has already started learning calligraphy and practicing martial arts.

****

Qingrong Tavern was packed with people, and some people were even waiting outside the door for a seat.

There are now two waiters in the tavern - Ju Zheng and his wife Cheng.

Madam Cheng was the daughter of a furniture-making family in Sanyuan Village. Ju Zheng had met her several times and although she was not beautiful, she was not rigid in character and was a good housewife. So he told Zhou Leng about this and asked a matchmaker to propose marriage.

Over the years, Ju Zheng and Zhou Leng had saved some money, and he bought a house on his own. Although there was almost no yard and there was only one main room, he still had his own residence.

Zhou Leng once thought that Ju Zheng would like the beautiful He Xiang, but he didn't expect that he would marry Cheng in the end. However, the two of them lived a very harmonious life.

It is not easy for He Xiang to get married at her age. Originally, her future might have been to be a concubine or a mistress. But now that she has been with Zhou Leng and others for a long time, she just wants to be a wife of a respectable family and doesn't want to sing and joke with others anymore.

One evening.

The three members of the Yao family are having dinner.

Yao Qing said, "It has been a year since Chen Tixia's wife passed away due to illness. He often went to the tavern to drink. Today he told me that he wanted to marry He Xiang. What do you think of this?"

Zhou Leng frowned and said, "I heard that Chen Tixia has two children. He Xiang will be the stepmother if she goes there. But we have to ask her first about this matter."

Yao Qing replied: "My wife is kind-hearted, but He Xiang is of such status that even being a stepmother is too high a position to marry."

Zhou Leng knew that he was speaking from the heart, but He Xiang was indeed a good woman who knew the current situation and had good taste. She asked again, "Does Chen Tixia have a concubine? What is her character like?"

Yao Qing smiled and said, "Although he is not as good as your husband, he has good character, but his appearance is a bit rough."

Zhou Leng replied: "Appearance is secondary. A good character is a good place to go. But there are only a few people like Qinglang who have both good character and good looks."

Yao Jingxing understood his mother's praise, and he said in a baby voice: "Daddy is the best, and mommy is the most beautiful."

Yao Qing was amused by his son's words. He reached out and touched the child's head and said, "Jingxing is the smartest."

The family of three all laughed and continued to enjoy their meal affectionately.

The next day, Zhou Leng told He Xiang about this.

He Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Sister, if I can become a deputy commander's wife, even if it's a second wife, it's rare. I'll be happy."

Seeing that she didn't seem reluctant, Zhou Leng said, "If you agree, then you have to let him come to propose marriage, go through the three matchmakers and six engagements, and then you can just live a stable life from now on."

He Xiang bowed and thanked with tears in her eyes.

Zhou Leng said, "Don't be polite, but I have kept your indenture for a long time. I will give it to you as a gift on your wedding day. However, you will also need a generous dowry. From today on, you don't need to help out at the tavern anymore. Just stay at home and prepare for your wedding."

He Xiang bowed again and said some words of thanks.

A month later, He Xiang got married on an auspicious day.

People came and went in the Yao family's courtyard, some got married, some got married, and finally only the family of three was left. Zhou Leng thought about going to the pawnshop to buy two maids.

There were many people in the slave trade who were resold by their masters, and some who could not make a living and sold themselves into slavery. They were all wearing ragged smocks and were all black. Many people looked at the mother and son with hope, because at least they looked like they were well-off and not vicious people.

Yao Jingxing pulled his mother's clothes with some fear.

Zhou Leng said, "Jingxing, don't be afraid. Now we are choosing a maid and a study partner for you, so you must choose the one you like. If you can't choose, mother will help you choose."

Yao Jingxing nodded to show that he understood, and then stared at those people seriously.

The broker looked at the lady who let the young child make the choice speechlessly.

After Zhou Leng's glance, he turned his gaze to two people. They seemed to be a pair of siblings. They were covered in mud, thin, and unkempt like the others, but they stood with their backs straight, with hope but no pleading in their eyes. Although they were poor, they had dignity.

It is rare to be below others and regard yourself as a human being.

Perhaps because of the bond between mother and son, Yao Jingxing looked at the little boy. He turned to Zhou Leng and said, "Mother, is that brother okay?"

Yao Jingxing uses his palm to indicate the direction, not his fingers. This is a result of upbringing.

Zhou Leng looked at the broker behind him and said, "Just these two. Let's go sign the contract. You clean up the people and send them to Qingrong Tavern."

The pawnbroker looked at Zhou Leng and said, "So the madam is from the residence of Yao Tixia. Yao Tixia came to our place a few days ago and caught a thief. If it weren't for the Tixia, our pawnbroker would have suffered a lot of losses. These two people are just a thank you gift."

Zhou sneered and said, "Don't do that. It's just that I can't bring two more people with me since I have a child. Please don't hesitate to ask for money. If you have time, go to the tavern and have a drink as a thank you."

"You are too polite, ma'am. I will personally go and see to it that these two are washed and sent to the store."

When Yao Jingxing took Zhou Leng's hand and left, he turned around and waved to the brother and sister.

Zhou Leng followed the broker to sign the contract, paid the money, and gave the broker dozens of copper coins to ask him to put new clothes on the siblings before going to the tavern and leaving.

The broker took the money, thanked Zhou Leng profusely and sent him away, then walked over to the two men and said, "You two are lucky. The wife of the deputy chief bought you two and now the indentures have been taken away. You two should follow me."

The brother and sister held each other's hands tightly and followed the broker nervously. They were taken to a room. In a large wooden tub was steaming bath water. Two clean cloth clothes that were 90% new were hung on the screen, and two pairs of straw sandals were placed on the floor.

The broker looked at the two and said, "I've prepared hot soup for you. Hurry up and wash yourself and change your clothes. Don't embarrass me today. If the buyer gets angry because of your rudeness, don't blame me for sending you on your way!"

The two of them greeted each other nervously. After the broker left, the elder sister asked her younger brother to wash first. She waited outside the screen. After her younger brother came out wearing clean clothes, the elder sister also washed herself and put on new clothes.

After washing up, the two of them went out to find a dentist. They didn't know what the future would hold, so they could only pray.