The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

The next day was the Lantern Festival, and according to custom, one should go to the palace for a banquet. However, early in the morning, a palace eunuch came to deliver a message saying that the palace banquet for that night had been canceled, but he did not say why it was canceled.

Jingxue had originally planned to go to the palace to see Li Shi earlier, but it seems she will have to wait until the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

After Li Huan and his brother left yesterday, Jingxue made glutinous rice balls with the cook and maids, and cooked them this morning.

She planned to make dumplings that evening. She hadn't been able to eat dumplings on New Year's Eve, so she sent Ying Jiu out of the mansion to buy some fireworks and lanterns for children to set off, and then play with the children for a while after dark.

She didn't dare take the children out to the lantern festival because they were too young, and besides, An'an and Jingze had to go to school the next morning!

I had a happy day.

The next day, Jingxue took An'an and Jingze to school; she was also going to see Lu Zijing that day.

Today is the first day of school, so there are many people. They saw Lu Zijing as soon as they entered the academy gate.

"Your Highness, you've arrived!" Lu Zijing said.

Jingxue smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes! I came to talk to you about something."

"Let's go then! It's a good opportunity to take a look at that area. 'Your Majesty, please!'"

Jingxue had the same idea, so she took Runyue and followed Lu Zijing to the place that had been leveled before the New Year.

Qin Jing's men did a really good job; they cleaned the place up spotlessly. After looking around, the three of them returned to the headmaster's office.

"Please sit down, Your Highness. Even if you hadn't come, I would have come to see you in the next couple of days," Lu Zijing said while holding a teapot.

"Hmm? Is it about the academy?" Jingxue asked.

Lu Zijing brought Jingxue a cup of hot tea and said, "I suppose so! A few days ago, I was summoned by the Emperor, who wanted me to continue taking the imperial examinations."

Jingxue blinked. This Lu Zijing is the Emperor's brother-in-law! The Emperor has been quite active lately, appointing and dismissing officials and selecting talents.

"Therefore, I would like to discuss with Your Highness whether you would be willing to take over Baichuan Academy?"

Lu Zijing's question really caught Jingxue off guard.

"You're taking the imperial examinations because you want to become an official in the court, right?" Jingxue asked, then realized she had asked a pointless question.

“Yes! His Majesty does intend to do so. My energy is limited, and I am afraid that I will not be able to run this academy well and mislead the students. Of my classmates, only one is willing to take the imperial examination like me. The others will stay at the academy to continue teaching,” Lu Zijing said.

Jingxue's mind raced. She realized she had expanded her business too much, and more importantly, she couldn't think of anyone who could help her manage the academy.

Seeing that Jingxue didn't speak, Lu Zijing assumed that she was unwilling!

"If Your Majesty is in a difficult position, I..."

“No, I can take over, it’s just a bit sudden. So, will the money you invested be returned to you as shares or will it be refunded?” Jingxue asked.

Lu Zijing smiled and said, "Your Highness, this academy doesn't make much money. We only earn a meager living. I don't mind. Most of the money was donated by Her Majesty the Empress. My classmates also contributed a small portion. If they want to withdraw, let them withdraw!"

“Okay! Just give me the accounts! I’ll bring people over tomorrow,” Jingxue said.

"Okay, I'll talk to them later."

Jingxue took Runyue away from the academy back to the manor. Oh my! There's so much to do next. There's work to be done at the academy, the estate, and the shops. She needs to plan things out carefully. It seems she also needs to recruit some female teachers.

When they returned to the Prince's Mansion, they ran into Ye Muchen, who was bringing Gao Chi and Li Guangxing back with him. The holiday was over, and Li Guangxing had also returned to work.

"You're done with court!"

"Yes! Xue'er, His Majesty announced something at the morning court session today: the Nanzhao Kingdom will send an envoy to visit." Ye Muchen said to Jingxue as they walked.

"What?" Jingxue stopped in her tracks.

"No way, is this ever going to end? We just got rid of Sun Wukong, and now another monkey is showing up?"

Ye Muchen "..."

He didn't understand what it meant; he didn't know Sun Wukong.

"Xue'er, what's wrong with you?"

"Are you going to send me as a hostage again? I'd rather die than do it." Jingxue said, frowning and pouting.

Ye Muchen was amused by Jingxue's appearance. "His Majesty didn't say that the Nanzhao Kingdom sent their only princess this time. I heard that this princess has been missing for more than ten years!"

"What? Here for a political marriage? Is your older brother going to be the groom again?"

Ye Muchen said helplessly, "Nanzhao came here this time seeking help."

"Oh! As long as I'm not needed, that's fine. I don't have time, I have other things to do! Lu Zijing wants me to take over Baichuan Academy! I'm short-staffed right now, really short-staffed!" Jingxue said, slumping her shoulders as she walked forward.

"I will help you!" Ye Muchen said, taking a step forward.

Jingxue glanced at Ye Muchen and said, "You'll help me? Then help me find a few reliable female tutors!"

"Ms.? I can't find her."

Jingxue looked up at the sky and said, "Forget it, I'll write a job posting and put it up tomorrow."

"By the way, you said the Nanzhao princess came seeking help. What kind of help?"

“Oh! Nanzhao’s neighbor, Nanyu, is being invaded by foreign tribes. Once Nanyu is occupied, Nanzhao will be next,” Ye Muchen said.

Jingxue said nonchalantly, "The next one will be Beiye, right?"

"You can say that."

Jingxue said nonchalantly, "So what does your older brother mean? Will he help or not?"

"My lord, didn't His Majesty ask everyone to share their thoughts during the morning court session? Most of the court officials said they wouldn't support it!"

"Tch, helping others is also helping yourself, can't you even see that! It's just a matter of sooner or later."

Ye Muchen looked at Jingxue with admiration. "Xue'er is indeed clever and has a long-term vision. The more countries a foreign state conquers, the stronger it becomes, and the harder it will be for us to conquer."

Jingxue nodded.

"But are those foreign lands very powerful? What kind of country are they?" Jingxue asked.

"This time, it was an urgent message from Prince Ye Mujin, who was guarding the border of Nanzhao. He said in his memorial that the people of the foreign land had fire muskets. The foreign land was called Nigya."

"Prince Jin? Princess Jingyi's brother?"

Ye Muchen nodded, "Yes!"

"A fire musket, a fire musket," Jingxue muttered to herself, imagining what a fire musket would look like.

Ye Muchen tentatively asked, "Xue'er, do you know about the 'fire musket'? Prince Jin said in his memorial that it is a very powerful weapon."

"It must be a weapon that can be loaded with gunpowder, and its destructive power must be much greater than that of swords and knives."

"Gunpowder, is it something like firecrackers?"

"more or less!"

The two talked until they arrived at Jingning Garden and went inside.

Ye Muchen still didn't want to let the topic go, and while helping Jingxue take off her fox fur coat, he said, "Then what methods are there to defend against this musket?"

Jingxue looked at Ye Muchen, who had forgotten to hang up his fox fur coat, and gave a slight smile.

"Personally, I think that no matter what kind of weapon it is, it is people who use it, so we should just try to figure out how to subdue the enemy. But is Nanzhao weak? Let's fight! Whether it's a direct confrontation between the two armies or a sneak attack, we have to have a showdown."