Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

Even in early spring, the wind in Mobei carries the roughness of gravel and a lingering chill, howling through the tent.

In the center of the simple city, Chu Shiyu spent half a day in the commander's tent dealing with a mountain of military reports. In the distance, in an empty ward tent, Liu Rusi saw that the wounded in the New Year's Eve battle had all recovered. She was unable to do anything about the remaining disabilities and scars, so she was busy with other things.

The ground was covered with several sheets of stain-proof coarse linen, which were filled with large and small ceramic bowls and wooden plates.

Liu Rusi rolled up her sleeves, revealing half of her fair but black-gray forearm. She was concentrating on carefully mixing the finely ground graphite powder with the fine clay dug from a nearby lake in different proportions.

Little girls like Xia Lian and Dong Xue also had a few black marks on their faces, but they didn't care at all. One of them was kneading the mixed "dough" vigorously, while the other was using a knife to carefully carve the prototype of the dried "pen core". The air was filled with the unique smooth smell of graphite and the smell of soil.

"Mrs. Liu, do you think this proportion is okay? It seems a little harder than before." Dongxue held up a thin black stick with a pointed tip.

Liu Rusi took it and scratched a few times on the scrap paper, leaving clear but slightly choppy marks. "Hmm, it's a bit hard, and the writing isn't smooth enough. I'll try using 10% less clay next time."

"What about this one?" Xia Lian handed over another one like she was offering a treasure. "It feels soft."

Liu Rusi tried it, and sure enough, the lines were thick, black, and smooth. But the tip broke when she applied a little pressure. "It's too soft, and it breaks easily. But I'll wrap it with paper rolls from now on, so that should be fine. Remember this ratio."

In the midst of this tedious yet hopeful exploration, a figure opened the curtains and scurried in with a chill from the outside world. It was a face so familiar it made one's heart tremble...

Qin Lie's younger brother, Qin Tao, Prince of Changtai. Liu Rusi deepened this impression in her mind, lowered her head again, and continued to work on the things in her hands.

Qin Tao's handsome face showed a kind of confusion and boredom that was incompatible with the busy atmosphere. His eyes swept across the mess on the ground and a few "little black faces", and finally fell on Liu Rusi.

"Sister-in-law, what are you fiddling with?" Qin Tao sat down on an empty wooden box next to him, his long legs stretched out casually, with a simple curiosity on his face.

Without even looking up, Liu Rusi continued grinding her graphite. Her tone was calm yet repulsive. "Your Highness, Prince Changtai, if you have nothing else to do, why don't you go to the training grounds and practice some boxing? Or maybe help Your Highness, Prince Duan, with military affairs?"

Although she understood Qin Shuangyu, and understood that he had no choice but to abandon his family and children twenty years ago without a trace...but Qin Lie lost his father at a young age and was lonely and helpless in the future, which was an unchangeable fact.

Qin Tao, who has a face very similar to Qin Lie, grew up in a honey-filled environment. He was born with endless wealth and glory. He has parents, a sister... everything.

Just looking at it would stir up waves of bitterness and darkness in her heart that could not be suppressed by her reason.

However, Qin Tao was a man who couldn't read expressions. Not only did he not feel repulsed, but he moved closer and looked at Liu Rusi's focused profile: "Sister-in-law, tell me...what can people achieve in life?"

Liu Rusi paused, looking up, somewhat puzzled, at that familiar face that held an inexplicably shallow melancholy. She said coldly, "What do you want?"

Qin Tao curled his lips, and with a hint of embarrassment, he whispered about his recent troubles: "The road that has been laid out before me since I was born is clear to see the end... I am a prince now, and I will always be one... I will inherit the Qin Family Army, but it will always be a Qin Family Army of 100,000... Besides inheriting the title and the army step by step, what else can I do?"

Liu Rusi naturally understood why Qin Tao couldn't move up. The next higher position would be the prince, or even the emperor! The 100,000-strong Qin army was already powerful enough, and the emperor would not allow the Qin family to grow any stronger! Qin Tao's words also revealed some of his thoughts. He himself had no intention of moving up...

But Liu Rusi still found it ridiculous? These were blessings that millions of people wouldn't even dare to hope for in their entire lives! He was actually troubled by these things?

"Heh..." Liu Rusi chuckled softly, and then said softly, her expression unrecognizable: "Your Highness, life isn't just about climbing up, there's also about going down."

"Down?" Qin Tao was stunned, obviously he had never thought of it.

"Yes, down."

Liu Rusi's eyes swept over the graphite and clay on the ground, and her tone couldn't help but reveal a slightly gloomy tone: "Will the prince really always be the prince? Will the Qin family army really be passed down step by step? One hundred thousand... will it always be one hundred thousand?"

Her voice was not loud, but it was like an ice pick, suddenly piercing the originally relaxed and even exploratory atmosphere in the tent. The air in the tent seemed to solidify, leaving only the whistling sound of the wind outside the tent and the faint crackling sound in the charcoal brazier.

The confusion and youthful melancholy on Qin Tao's face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a sudden astonishment and a rapidly spreading chill.

Born into a royal family, he grew up on the edge of power. Even if he was "naive," he wasn't completely ignorant. Liu Rusi's almost blunt suggestion exploded in his mind like a thunderbolt—reducing the power of the feudal lords? Reclaiming military power? Putting away the bow after the birds are gone? Words he'd memorized but never pondered from the history books he disliked suddenly flooded back to him.

He opened his mouth, but found that his throat was tight and he couldn't say a word. He was just worried about having no goals in life, but now a future that could overturn all his foundations made his face turn slightly pale.

After Liu Rusi finished speaking, she was also stunned. Looking at Qin Tao's instantly pale face and the confusion and uneasiness in his eyes, she couldn't help but reflect on it. Could it be that someone noticed the dark side of her heart, and she relaxed her self-discipline?

The good or bad of one's birth is not something one can choose. The dark bitterness she felt when comparing her situation to Qin Lie's actually made her say such heartbreaking words to a young man who had done no great evil, but was simply a little lost...

This isn't her, Liu Rusi! Indulging in the malice in her heart will only make her suffer more...

"Your Highness, don't worry." Liu Rusi's voice softened, a subtle apology and soothing tone in it. "I was just sighing and saying this in a momentary moment. Life is impermanent. We are born, grow old, get sick, and die. We face misfortune and happiness at any moment. In this world, what is truly eternal and unchanging?"

She leaned slightly, her gaze seemingly piercing the tent, gazing out at the vast Gobi Desert. "Status, power, wealth...these are but a speck of dust in the mortal world, a tiny ripple among the countless possibilities of life."

She paused, then subtly changed the subject, guiding him gently: "Your Highness feels that life is boring. Perhaps you are only focused on the 'sand and dust' in front of you, and have ignored the vast 'Gobi Desert' and 'Long River'."

"For example... putting aside the destined identity and trajectory, and putting aside those factors that are beyond your control, is there anything Your Highness really likes? Riding horses and fighting? Competing in martial arts competitions?" Liu Rusi deliberately emphasized two things. Qin Tao's preferences were basically known to everyone who knew him.

He is a simple and straightforward person. In other words, as long as you grasp the point that he cares about, he can be easily "led" by others.

Qin Tao was still reeling from the shock of the question, "Will 100,000 always be 100,000?" But Liu Rusi's tone and topic suddenly shifted. He was immediately drawn to something he loved, and he shifted his focus to answer the new question.

"Of course I like riding horses and fighting in competitions!" Qin Tao agreed immediately, but then he grumbled, "To fight on horseback, don't you need soldiers? To go to the battlefield? And fighting in competitions..."

Qin Tao paused, but couldn't help but say with some pride: "Nowadays, apart from my father and cousin, there are not many people who are better than me!"

Liu Rusi was speechless again. She looked away and continued to rub the graphite stick in her hand. She said nonchalantly, "Your Highness only knows the upper echelons of Daxia. Let's not even talk about whether there are people in the civilian or foreign countries who are more powerful than Your Highness. Since Your Highness knows that General Wei Yu and His Highness Duan Wang are even better, how can you still feel that your life has no purpose?"

At this point in the conversation, Qin Tao realized how ridiculous his confusion was. He couldn't help but smile awkwardly, but then he threw himself into his new goal: "When my cousin is free, I'll find him for a sparring match! Last time, he deliberately used his unskilled Qin family swordsmanship to lose to me, and I wasn't happy at all! That wasn't my cousin's true strength at all!"

The girls on the side exchanged awkward glances. Was Madam deliberately trying to find trouble for His Royal Highness Prince Duan? Prince Changtai was so annoying that His Royal Highness Prince Duan would be annoyed to death if he didn't spar with him!

The previous question was resolved, and Qin Tao immediately thought of the reason why his cousin had used the Qin family sword technique in the competition. The Qin family's martial arts manual, passed down from their grandfather's generation, was in the hands of their biological brother Qin Lie, whom they had never met. Qin Lie died unexpectedly, and the manual was passed down to their only son Qin Hao...

He hesitated for a moment, with a hint of cautious probing, and a hint of a desire to compare and prove something that he himself didn't even realize, and looked at Liu Rusi: "Sister-in-law... I... your previous husband, he... he knows martial arts, right? How is his Kung Fu?"

Liu Rusi's heart was pricked by the name again. She looked up at the familiar face again. The boy's simple competitive spirit was too easy to see through, but this time she didn't care and replied calmly, "He grew up in the mountains. Since he has a family martial arts tradition, he naturally learned some boxing and kicking skills. As a hunter, he always has to be agile."

"Hunter..."

This was a profession far removed from Qin Tao's background, but he was no stranger to hunting. Every year, there were hunting competitions in the capital, with royal relatives and nobles participating. He almost always won the championship!

Qin Tao's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked eagerly, "So... is he very powerful? How many prey has he hunted, and what's the most powerful prey?!"

Liu Rusi could clearly hear the young man's competitive spirit and comparative mindset... She was silent for a moment, as if she was reminiscing, or as if she was trying to calm herself down.

When she spoke, her tone was calm, with only a hint of barely perceptible pride: "I can't remember how many prey I've caught, but it happens every now and then. As for the most amazing one... I killed a tiger."

"Tiger?!" Qin Tao gasped, his eyes widening instantly. Even Xia Lian and Dong Xue, who were standing beside him, covered their mouths and let out a low cry of surprise. During the hunting in the capital, the most ferocious animals were only jackals, wild boars, and bears were rare, let alone the king of beasts! The impact was a hundred times more shocking than his imagination that his brother might be a master!

"Really?! Sister-in-law! How...how did he get it?" Qin Tao's voice trembled with excitement, and all kinds of thrilling scenes flashed through his mind. "Did he get it by himself? Did he use hunting dogs? What kind of bow did he use?"

Liu Rusi wasn't surprised by the flurry of questions. Her voice returned to its usual calmness as she answered truthfully, "We didn't use a bow that time with the tiger. We don't have a dog at home. Besides, Qin Lie always goes alone when he goes hunting in the mountains."

That hint of bitterness that even Liu Rusi herself didn't notice was even more unlikely to be noticed by Qin Tao! He was still immersed in the current topic, his eyes widening with confusion at his sister-in-law's answer. "Alone! No bow! Not even a hunting dog?! Is this a close combat with a tiger?"

Liu Rusi couldn't help but roll her eyes. "How is that possible? Of course it relies on traps and lassoes. Choose the right terrain, set a solid trap, and lure it in with bait. Once a tiger is trapped, no matter how fierce it is, it will be slaughtered."

"Ah... a trap?" Qin Tao was obviously disappointed. This was far from the heroic scenes he had imagined of "being the bravest among the three armies" and "fighting a tiger with all his strength". It seemed... not "heroic" enough.

"...What else?! Do you still expect to kill the tiger with just a few punches like Wu Song?" Liu Rusi blurted out angrily, feeling helpless about Qin Tao's naive imagination.

Qin Tao was stunned! Killed with just a few punches?! When he asked about close combat, he only thought of swords, spears, clubs, and clubs! He immediately asked excitedly, "Who is Wu Song?! Did he really kill a tiger with just a few punches?!"

Liu Rusi paused and forgot that there were no four great classics in this world... However, now that she had Chu Shiyu as her "backer", she didn't need to care too much about these details.

"It's just a character in a novel, a story, so naturally it's a bit exaggerated."

"Novel?" Qin Tao pondered the word for a moment, roughly understanding the meaning of a storybook. His eyes sparkled as he continued, "What novel? Sister-in-law, can you tell me about it?"

Liu Rusi looked at the eyes before her, filled with thirst for knowledge. Then, looking back at the two girls, who also seemed eager to learn more, she sighed softly, thinking she was really good at finding things to do. So, while she was packing up the almost-finished graphite bars, she began to tell the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger.

"Let me be clear, this is a strange story, don't take it seriously. Don't challenge a tiger to a duel!" After a warning, the story began: "It is said that in the previous dynasty, in a certain place, there was a man of immense strength named Wu Song..."

"One day, Wu Song arrived at a place called Jingyang Ridge. There were huge beasts infesting the area, killing many people. The owner of a tavern in front of the ridge hung a sign saying, 'Three bowls, you can't get over the ridge.' The sign meant that the liquor was too strong, and if you drank three bowls, you'd be too drunk to get over the ridge. But Wu Song, unconvinced, decided to give it a try, and drank eighteen bowls straight..."

At this point, Qin Tao and the two little girls gasped, their eyes widening. However, Liu Rusi paused and said seriously, "Remember, this is a deliberate exaggeration to highlight Wu Song's strength. In reality, it's impossible for a person to defeat a tiger barehanded, whether he drinks or not. And after drinking so much liquor, the most likely outcome is that he died of poisoning! Died on the side of the road..."

"Well, Madam, we know..." Xia Lian whispered. The maids in Prince Duan's Mansion had known for a long time that Madam hated alcohol and people who drank alcohol.

Dongxue twisted her black fingers and said, "Madam, can you continue with your story?"

Liu Rusi couldn't help but feel ashamed - had she taken the concept of equality too far? These little girls could directly interrupt her "preaching"!

With a warm smile on her face, Liu Rusi began to tell the story again: "Wu Song, drunk, ignored the innkeeper's objections and insisted on crossing the hill. Halfway up the mountain, the alcohol took effect and he was just looking for a big rock to lie down and rest..."

"Suddenly, a gust of fishy wind blew in my face, and the leaves rustled violently! Then I heard a deafening roar of a tiger! A huge tiger with a white forehead and colorful patterns, with a white eye, leaped out from the bushes! Its bloody mouth and claws like steel hooks..."

Liu Rusi slowed down her speech and lowered her voice, with a deliberately created sense of tension. She even moved forward and suddenly stretched out her "black claws" covered in graphite towards Dongxue, who was listening most attentively, as if she was about to pounce!

"Ah!" Dongxue gasped in fear and instinctively shrank back, tightly grasping Xia Lian's arm. Xia Lian was also startled by this sudden "tiger". Her face turned pale, but her eyes widened as she stared at Liu Rusi.

Qin Tao held his breath, leaned forward slightly, and clenched his fists unconsciously, as if he was Wu Song who encountered the tiger on the hill. His heart was in his throat, and his whole mind was immersed in the thrilling atmosphere created by the story. He was unaware that the curtain of the tent behind him was quietly lifted by a slender and powerful hand.