Traveling through time and space

"Luxiaopingzhou has not been able to be self-sufficient in recent years. It has relied on subsidies from the court. It is really a bottomless pit."

"How many places of exile are there in Qingyang? Is this the only one in Luxiaopingzhou in the northwest?"

"No, we have four in Qingyang, divided into east, west, south and north. They are border areas and mountainous areas."

"Father, there are a lot of grains that can be grown in the mountains."

"Your Majesty is considering this. Although we can grow a lot here in the capital, it's a mountainous area over there. Only you know what to do. Your Majesty is considering this and wants you to go and see. In previous years, the court gave Luxiaopingzhou two million every year. Although it didn't have a significant impact on our national treasury, if we saved this money and used it for the border troops, then our Qingyang would truly be an iron wall."

"Father." Gu Yuanyuan wanted to say something back, but when she saw the room full of people, she swallowed her words and decided to save some face for the old man.

"You guys go back." Gu Yuanyuan heard her father say to his brothers and sisters, "Come back to the palace to pay New Year's greetings tomorrow."

"Yes, father, I'll take my leave." As others stood up, Gu Yuanyuan had no choice but to stand up as well and see everyone off.

"Your Majesty, Prince Lin requests to see Your Majesty."

"No, let him go back." The emperor was a little impatient.

"Wait, Prince Lin, isn't his name Lin Ming?" Gu Yuanyuan felt familiar. "Let him in." Eunuch Shen nodded, apparently the news hadn't reached their ears yet. "Father, may I meet with this Prince Lin in private?" The emperor stood up, puzzled, and entered the side hall. Gu Yuanyuan followed him in.

"Have you met Prince Lin?" The emperor asked Gu Yuanyuan in confusion.

"Of course I have. I've also seen the arrogance and domineering behavior of several young ladies in Prince Lin's Mansion. Even this legitimate princess doesn't dare to act so arrogantly in public." Gu Yuanyuan saw that her father's face had changed a little.

"The young lady of the Lin family, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, was very much loved by my aunt when she was alive. My aunt even specially requested the title of princess for her. My aunt liked this grandson very much. She did not request the title for her grandson, but requested the title of princess for her granddaughter." As they walked towards the side hall, the emperor explained to Gu Yuanyuan.

"Your humble servant and my son are here to see the Emperor and the legitimate princess." Three people came in, a middle-aged man with two young men and two girls. After a closer look, I realized I had seen them yesterday.

"Father, this is..." Gu Yuanyuan pretended not to know him and asked her father.

"This is Prince Lin. You should call him Uncle Wang. His mother is my aunt. Your aunt and your royal grandfather were born of the same mother. She was very kind to me, but unfortunately she passed away five years ago."

"Yuanyuan has never heard of it before,"

"They just returned to the capital. They used to live in Lihe Shouzhou, your great-uncle's home," the emperor explained. "These are the two legitimate sons of the Lin family, Hongsheng and Hongzhang."

"Hongsheng, Hongzhang greet the princess." Gu Yuanyuan raised her hand to signal them to stand up and talk.

"No wonder I haven't heard of it before, Uncle Lin. I'm sure you've heard something about what happened yesterday. Father, yesterday, Yuanyuan ordered the bailiffs to arrest the four servants of Prince Lin's mansion and put them in jail. Yuanyuan also ordered that if that old beggar woman died, the four of them would be buried with her." The emperor looked at her in confusion. Gu Yuanyuan told him everything that happened yesterday, including what a servant had said who actually wanted to hit him.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die for not educating my daughter well." Lin Ming knelt down to apologize, and the three young men also knelt down.

"Prince Lin, I witnessed what happened yesterday with my own eyes. It's hard to describe the girls in the Lin Mansion. As royal relatives, you should be stricter with yourselves. You can't beat someone to death just because you don't like them." Gu Yuanyuan didn't say anything else.

"This humble servant deserves death for not educating these children well. They act so capriciously, which makes people criticize them. I have betrayed the emperor's trust. I will take them back and discipline them properly.

"Your Majesty, Princess, we deserve to die, and we know we are wrong." The eldest one knelt on the ground and admitted his mistake.

"Forget it, forget it. For the sake of my deceased aunt, let it go. They are still young. They must be well disciplined when they return. Don't bring shame to our royal family."

"Your Majesty, after the New Year's greetings, I will take the children back." Lin Ming greeted the emperor and looked at him with expectation in his eyes.

"Uncle Wang, the Crown Prince has passed away. Why don't you wait until the Crown Prince's funeral is complete before returning? Father, when will the Crown Prince's funeral be held?"

"The Ministry of Rites is preparing. We'll do it once they return the Crown Prince's coffin."

"Yes, Father, we must make sure to hold a proper ceremony and send the Crown Prince away. He is a pitiful man. Who could have imagined that the Shan family would be so audacious as to seduce foreign enemies and kill the Crown Prince?"

"Yes, I am also very sad." The emperor seemed a little tired.

"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. I will return with my family after the Crown Prince's funeral is completed."

"Hey, cousin, seeing that your two sons have passed the age of twenty, you should let them stay in the capital and work for the legitimate princess." The emperor said this coldly. Now it was Gu Yuanyuan's turn to be confused. Why did she want to take them in? "When grandmother was alive, she taught these two grandsons personally. Aren't you short of some useful people around you? They should be able to take on this important task." Seeing her father say this, Gu Yuanyuan had no choice but to nod helplessly, but she also saw different expressions in the eyes of the other people. This time, Gu Yuanyuan looked at them very seriously, and naturally used the skills she should use. It turned out that Prince Lin had other intentions for coming to the capital this time. The Lin family came to the capital to find marriage partners for their children.

"Your Majesty, my son comes from a small place. I'm afraid he won't be in the princess's eyes and will delay her important affairs." It seemed that Lin Ming was unwilling and quickly stepped forward to refuse.

But suddenly Gu Yuanyuan seemed to understand what her father meant, "Father, Yuanyuan understands. The two Lin masters, I will go to my fiefdom after the New Year. You should accompany me."

"I'm still busy here, Prince Lin, please go back," Gu Yuanyuan signaled to his father and asked him to leave quickly.

He bowed and took his leave. After the family left the house, he asked, "Father, has your Majesty understood the true purpose of this Lin Junwang?" The emperor looked at Gu Yuanyuan in confusion. "It seems that this Lin Junwang brought the children to the capital for a purpose, but he just didn't come at the right time. He wants to find a blind date for his children. Yuanyuan saw the look in his eyes when he looked at you, and she knew there must be something going on. Looking at his two sons and the four daughters from yesterday, some of them look quite old."

"Is what happened yesterday true?" the emperor asked. Gu Yuanyuan nodded affirmatively and stood up to return to the main hall.

"Your humble servant greets the emperor and the legitimate princess." As soon as he entered the main hall and sat down, a girl greeted him. Gu Yuanyuan looked up and found that it was a heroic female general.

"Who are you? You look familiar? Have we met somewhere before?" When Gu Yuanyuan looked up at her, she felt as if she had seen her somewhere before.

"In reply to the princess, I met her yesterday at the gate of Shanglinfang, Princess Lin." The man smiled a little unnaturally.

"Are you that young man? So you're a woman. But you're equally handsome in both men's and women's clothing." Gu Yuanyuan sat down. "Who are you?"

"Your humble servant, Han Shinuo, greets the princess."

"Princess, this is the only female general in our Qingyang. She is the only daughter of General Han." Fu Siyuan stood up and introduced.

"General Han, I've heard of your great name for a long time." Gu Yuanyuan admired him.

"You are so kind, Princess."

"General Han, please take a seat." Gu Yuanyuan gestured to the person who had been bowing and saluting to sit down.

After a while, a few young men came, including Fang Mingyu and several other powerful generals. Gu Yuanyuan was a little confused about what his father wanted to do.

"Yuanyuan, these are all our most powerful generals in Qingyang. Father knows that you are powerless alone if he asks you to take over the army left by Zimo. Although there are some people left by Zimo, Father still wants them to help you and be your right-hand men."

Gu Yuanyuan nodded, "Father, Yuanyuan is also worried. There are many things that she is not up to. Now that she has some skilled helpers, she will feel more at ease."

"The princess is scared. Does she know that she has no ability? I didn't expect that the princess has such self-awareness. Your Majesty, since the princess knows that she does not have this ability, then please find someone to replace the princess. The princess is precious and has never suffered any hardship. She should not make mistakes on the battlefield and harm other people's lives." Gu Yuanyuan turned around in surprise and looked at the man who spoke, "Your humble servant Fan Jianan greets the princess." The speaker was a middle-aged man in his thirties.

"This is General Fan, Fan Jianan, a general under the command of Prince Zhennan." Someone explained.

"Hello, General Fan. This princess has never been to the battlefield, but she has suffered a lot."

"General Fan, the several military books circulating in the camp were all passed down by the princess. The sword, crossbow and black fire were also made by the princess. Why do you doubt the princess's ability?" Unexpectedly, General Han stepped forward to argue with him first.

"Your Majesty, the princess is still a girl. How can she lead an army of hundreds of thousands? Please think twice." General Fan turned around and knelt in front of his father. There were two other people kneeling at the same time. One was a stranger and the other was General Fang.

"General Fan, General Fang, what's wrong with the girl? Everyone knows that the princess's achievements over the years are no less than any man's. I am willing to swear allegiance to the princess and become her helper until death."

"Okay, thank you General Xiao Han and General Fan. This princess wants to ask, what do you mean by this? What should this princess do to become a qualified person and lead the army?" Gu Yuanyuan stood up and asked sincerely.