Golden Branch

Two years have left particularly heavy marks on Lou Yu.

The ten-year-old boy already looks like a handsome young man.

He inherited Lou Jin's tall stature and was half a head taller than other boys of the same age.

His figure is upright, like a green bamboo or a white poplar.

But he also has the soft face and fair skin of the Dugu family, which neutralizes the toughness and roughness of the men in the northern border, making him look more like a gentle, elegant, and handsome man from the southern border.

However, what is most attractive about Lou Yu, or what has shown the greatest "growth" in him, is his temperament.

He is no longer the wild and flamboyant child covered with thorns, but is now restrained and gentle.

He learned to disguise himself.

He uses his handsome appearance and gentle temperament to hide all the darkness and violence deep in his heart.

However, perhaps two years is too short, or perhaps Lou Yu is still too young, he cannot achieve perfection.

For example, at this moment, there was a flaw in his gentle and indifferent mask, and disgust for an uninvited guest flashed in his deep eye sockets.

"...My dear, we just received news from Hedong County that the Zheng family's carriage has left the county and is heading towards our fort!"

The speaker was a strong man in his twenties.

He was wearing a black Hu suit, standing in the hall with his head bowed, and replied respectfully.

This was one of the one thousand parts that Lou Jin gave to Lou Yu. It was a confidant that Lou Jin specially selected from them and kept after several tests.

Lou Yu renamed him Huang Yi and made him his personal guard.

Huang Yi sensed his master's impatience, thought for a moment, and then reminded him, "My dear, the Zheng family is related to the Lou family, and Madam Lou is your great-aunt!"

He is not a poor relative who has no connection with the Lou family and comes to the Lou family to ask for money, but a real relative.

Lou Yu glanced at Huang Yi indifferently.

The ten-year-old boy has been the head of the family for two years.

In the Lou family manor, oh no, it has now been built into a fortress by Lou Yu.

In the Lou family fortress, Lou Yu is the only owner.

Absolute power enables a person to possess supreme authority and cultivate an aura of dignity.

There is no need to say anything, just a look can make people feel the majesty of the superior.

Huang Yi quickly lowered his head and dared not say anything else.

He meant well, fearing that his son was too young to know the family's relatives.

If you treat guests poorly, it will easily lead to gossip.

If the news reaches the capital and is known by Duke Anguo...

A dark light flashed in Lou Yu's eyes. Two years was still not enough.

He was still a child and still had no power.

Even though he built the Lou family manor into an absolutely safe small city where he had absolute authority, he still could not escape the influence of Lou Jin.

"...Don't be afraid. I am indeed young. It is a disadvantage, but also an advantage!"

Young tiger cubs will eventually grow up, but tigers in their prime will gradually grow old.

This is a long time.

One day, he will grow into a truly strong man and no longer need to be afraid of someone who is thousands of miles away.

Like today, it will no longer be possible for a "guest" whom he does not know and does not welcome to enter the Lou family's fortress with just a random letter!

In particular, the letter from the Zheng family was actually written to Lou Jin first.

He, Lou Yu, can only be ranked second, he is seriously underestimated.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the Zheng family and Madam Lou, the head of the family, Lou Yu, is still just a child.

They did not treat him as an equal and have any dealings with him on an equal footing.

A certain little wolf cub, who appears gentle and well-behaved on the surface but is actually vindictive, had already secretly made a note in his little notebook before even meeting the Zheng family.

"Okay. Everyone who comes is a guest. Now that they're here, do you really want to kick them out?"

Although he wanted to give the other party a cold shoulder, Lou Yu had really grown up and would not do such a stupid thing that would easily give others a handle.

He raised the corners of his lips slightly and ordered in a cold voice: "Open the city gate! Welcome the guests!"

It was really bad luck. It was a nice early summer holiday and he had originally wanted to take the fat girl for a river boat ride, but now he had to deal with a group of uninvited guests.

Cursing secretly in his heart, the smile on Lou Yu's fair and handsome face became more gentle.

……

"Jiu Niang, I've found out that this convoy belongs to the Zheng family."

On the official road, Wang Heng saw a convoy coming towards her. She was not familiar with the style of the carriages or the attire of the servants, so she asked someone to inquire.

She ordered the carriage to be driven to the side of the road, clear of the official highway.

Then, she gently lifted a corner of the car window curtain and looked at the convoy curiously.

Gulu gulu!

There were more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages, and the loads must have been very heavy, as the wheels were heavily crushing the ruts.

"Hmm! The first two carriages should be carrying people, and the ten or so carriages behind them are carrying goods."

Wang Heng observed carefully and came to a conclusion.

"More than ten truckloads of cargo?"

Bai Shao, who was beside Wang Heng, also poked her head out and looked at the "scenery" on the official road.

She asked quietly, "Nine Mother, with all this going on, I'm afraid we're going to have to move."

Wang Heng nodded. "That should be it! Since the establishment of the new dynasty, families from all over the country have been moving to the capital over the past two years."

Some of them return to their "homeland", while others see their husbands get promoted and their families follow them.

Hedong is a small county town, but it is located on a major transportation route - next to it is the Yi River. The Yi River is winding and runs through several prefectures and counties, making it an excellent waterway.

Therefore, some counties and cities south of Hedong would choose to take the waterway of the Yi River to go to the capital.

There is a wharf in Hedong, which allows people to transfer from water transportation to land transportation. It is also a transportation hub of medium size.

Therefore, in the past two years, Wang Heng has been able to see convoys of vehicles, large and small.

Just as the master and servant were discussing in a low voice about the convoy that was still passing by, the troops sent ahead to scout returned.

He dismounted from his horse beside the carriage window, holding the reins in one hand and bowing with the other: "Reporting to Jiu Niang, I've found out that this is the Zheng family's convoy!"

"Zheng family?"

Wang Heng frowned slightly. There was no big family with the surname Zheng in Hedong or even in Yizhou.

"Yes! Speaking of which, the Zheng family is related to the Lou family!"

This part is quite capable. Not only did they find out the owner of the caravan, but they also found out why the owner of the caravan appeared in Hedong.

"The Zheng family's Madam's surname is Lou, and she happens to be the Duke of Anguo's aunt."

"Madam Lou's eldest son was recommended and promoted to a doctorate at the Imperial College, and the Zheng family moved to the capital."

"I was passing through Hedong and heard that Young Master Lou Yu was there, so I stopped by to visit him!"

The part was introduced slowly.

Wang Heng's eyes lit up. "Brother's relative?"

The aunt of Duke Anguo Lou Jin is Lou Yu’s great-aunt.

And there is the official position of Mr. Zheng, a sixth-rank doctoral student of the Imperial College, who was recommended.

It's easy to figure out that this Mr. Zheng probably doesn't have any outstanding talents. He has relatives and family, and he was recommended, but he is still only a sixth-rank official.

Of course, although the Doctor of Imperial College is not an official position with real power and its rank is not high, it is noble and elegant.

For the children of aristocratic families, "nobleness" seems to be the last fig leaf.

The guard nodded, "Reporting to Jiu Niang, he is indeed a relative of Young Master Lou!"

Wang Heng's dark eyes rolled around, and the corners of her mouth curled up. "Brother, there are guests coming to your house. I guess you don't have time to go boating with me!"

These words should have been spoken with a tone of regret and loss, but Wang Heng's tone was filled with a hint of joy.

Hey, I can’t play with my brother, but I can find Amian.

And without her brother around, Amian can feel more at ease.

Although she didn't know why, Wang Heng's intuition told her that although Axiong and Amian seemed to be getting along well on the surface, they actually didn't get along with each other.

Axiong doesn't like Amian, and Amian is a little afraid of Axiong.

Wang Heng could understand why her brother didn't like Amian, because her brother didn't like many people, and Amian was just one of them.

But why is Amian afraid of my brother?

It’s obvious that Amian is not a timid person.

Although she came from a farming family, she was graceful and well-behaved.

Even Zheng Ai praised her more than once, saying that she did not seem like the daughter of a poor family, but instead possessed a calmness and generosity that even a noble family could not teach her.

Except for Lou Yu, Wang Mian seems to be calm and confident in front of everyone.

Wang Mian: ...Haha, "anyone" is a normal person, and Lou Yu is a little pervert.

It's normal for normal people to be afraid of abnormalities.

The academy was closed, so Wang Mian naturally rested at home as well.

After two or three years of development, the Wang family's house has changed from a small and dilapidated farmhouse to a neat courtyard house.

The Wang family did not split up, and the several branches still lived together.

However, the courtyards were divided after all, and three or four courtyards were connected together.

From a distance, it looks like a mansion.

As soon as Wang Heng's carriage stopped outside the Wang family's gate, the sharp-eyed female members of the Wang family saw it and quickly ran over to call for help.

Wang Mian: ...After finally getting a day off, Jiu Niang wasn't caught and played with by that little pervert?

"My brother has relatives coming to his house, so he probably doesn't have time to play with us."

Wang Heng gave the answer directly.

"Amian, let's go play. You should have some new ideas."

Wang Heng has great confidence in Wang Mian.

This little friend of hers always has new ideas.

Wang Mian: “Really not!”

She smiled sheepishly, "Nine Lady, I've been too busy these days and don't have the energy to mess around with these things."

"busy?"

Wang Heng tilted her head. She and Wang Mian were classmates in the academy, and their desks were next to each other, one on the left and the other on the right.

On weekdays, Wang Mian is never seen too busy with homework.

"It's not homework!"

Wang Mian and Wang Heng have been together for a long time, so they naturally understand each other's thoughts.

The key is that Wang Heng is too pure. When facing people close to her, her inner thoughts are written directly on her face.

Wang Mian really wanted to remind Wang Heng not to be so straightforward all the time and to learn to hide her thoughts.

But, when Wang Mian thought of that little pervert Lou Yu, he suddenly felt that it was good that Jiu Niang was so pure.

At least the little pervert won't become suspicious and go crazy.

Wang Mian looked around, leaned close to Wang Heng's ear, and whispered, "Jiu Niang, our fleet is back!"

Wang Heng was stunned for a moment. "Fleet?"

What fleet?

After a moment, Wang Heng realized: "You mean 'delicious'?"

Wang Mian was fooling people back then, bah, it wasn’t fooling people, it was persuading people.

When Wang Mian persuaded Wang Heng to agree to form a fleet and conduct overseas expeditions, he did not talk much about finding a new continent. Instead, he told Wang Heng that there were many delicious foods overseas, such as corn, peppers, sunflowers, etc.

As expected, Wang Heng only remembered three words: "delicious"!

So, when Wang Heng heard Wang Mian talking about the fleet, her first reaction was: the fleet is back and has brought back delicious food.

There were three black lines hanging from Wang Mian's forehead.

Uh, well, she shouldn't have had any fantasies about a foodie.

Well, that’s not right. She shouldn’t discriminate against foodies. After all, the reason she can hold on to Jiu Niang’s golden thigh is because Jiu Niang is a foodie!

"...Yes! It's delicious!"

Wang Mian suppressed the complaints in her heart, and became excited again when she thought about the fleet's gains this time.

She had no idea that after more than a year of sailing, although the fleet did not reach the New World, it found some small islands overseas.

On those nameless islands that she didn't even know about, the fleet actually found several new species.

They compared the items in the thick atlas provided by Wang Mian and thought they were similar to the so-called peppers, tomatoes, and sunflowers, so they brought them all back.

There are mature plants and seeds.

Seeing the pots of peppers and tomatoes, Wang Mian was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes: Ahhh, my spicy hot pot, my tomato scrambled eggs, my spicy chicken, my tomato beef brisket...

Wang Mian doesn’t consider herself a foodie, she just likes to cook delicious food and is not greedy.

However, when she saw the ingredients she had been dreaming of, tears still flowed wildly from the corners of her mouth.

Just when Wang Mian was thinking about how to turn these ingredients into delicious food, Wang Heng came over. No problem, she was with her best friend.

"Spicy? Is it the same as dogwood?"

"They're different! Dogwood is spicy, and chili peppers are fiery!"

"...Scrambled eggs with tomatoes? Salty and sweet?"

"Yes!" Haha, the sweet and salty parties are not just about rice dumplings and glutinous rice balls, even scrambled eggs with tomatoes are controversial.

Wang Mian pulled Wang Heng into the big kitchen that belonged to Wang Mian alone, where they were chattering and busy.

The two little girls were having a lot of fun.

Wang Heng, in particular, tried several new and exotic delicacies, which satisfied her taste buds to the utmost, and she completely forgot about her brother.

……

Lou's Fort.

The Zheng family's convoy left the official road and entered a small road leading directly to the fort.

There are farmlands on both sides. It is early summer and the wheat has already been grafted. In another month, it will turn golden yellow.

"...Grandma, are these all from the Lou family?"

"Yes! They are all from the Lou family!"

When talking about her mother's family, Mrs. Lou's well-maintained face was full of pride.

Although her brothers are all gone, her nephew is the Duke of Anguo.

He was the founding county duke and also the general of the state. Now he was appointed by the new emperor as the commander-in-chief of the southwest march, continuing to charge into battle for the dynasty and expand its territory.

With such a powerful, wealthy and respectable nephew, Mrs. Lou can still maintain her dignity even if her husband's family falls into decline and her son is incompetent.

"Lou, what kind of person is my cousin? I heard that he was originally the eldest son of the second wife, but was adopted into the eldest wife's family?"

The person who spoke was a little girl of about ten years old. She was pretty, elegant, and had a pair of almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with curiosity about her "relatives".

"Lou Yu? His background is indeed a bit poor, but at least he's adopted..."

Madam Lou had never met her nephew Lou Yu and didn't have much of a good impression of him.

However, when Mrs. Lou's eyes fell on her most beloved granddaughter, she couldn't help but waver.

Anyway, the Zheng family is not as good as it used to be. Lou Yu has been adopted as the head of the eldest house and is no longer a lowly bastard. He is barely worthy of her A Chi...