A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

Wenxin looked down at her. Her lips were glossy, her eyes were bright, and her face was only the size of his palm. So many years had passed, yet she still looked like the fox in his memory.

"Actually... I have an idea."

"What idea?" Wutong looked up expectantly.

After hesitating for a long time, Wenxin finally shook her head: "Never mind, no thanks..."

"Hey, that's not ethical of you. How can you stop halfway through?"

He asked himself, "If I were to leave you, you would definitely leave me."

Wutong fell silent, wondering why he had suddenly said this. After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, "Could it be related to Duan Fufeng?"

Instead of answering directly, she asked, "If you had to choose between him and me to stay, who would you choose?"

Wutong was stunned for a long time, then smiled bitterly: "Why are you making things so difficult for me? You saved me, and he saved me too. Do you want me to be punished by heaven?"

Wenxin emphasized, "What I mean is, stay and be your husband."

"...Then you should introduce me to a nunnery instead." Wutong pretended to be stupid, trying to fool him.

Wenxin glanced at her expressionlessly, her clear eyes clearly seeing right through her.

He lowered his head, his lips barely moving, and his voice was deep and muffled. "If Duan Fufeng doesn't wake up, I can take you to Immovable Peak again."

Wutong suddenly remembered Xuyun, and her heart leaped with joy, but then she worriedly asked, "But will your master agree to save him? He is the King of Southern Xinjiang."

Wenxin said, "Master may seem to despise worldly affairs and refuse to associate with those in power, but he is actually a very good person and has saved countless people over the years."

Wutong, still a little worried, thought of Xuyun's unapproachable demeanor. "Why don't we prepare a good gift for him? He saved me before, so I should thank him properly... How about you renovate the temple? Have someone make a gilded Buddha statue and build a road up the mountain."

She earnestly sought Wenxin's opinion, but Wenxin remained motionless as she looked at her.

Wutong stuck out her tongue: "Okay, I guess I'm too worldly, but I really can't think of a better way to repay him..."

Wenxin thought about it carefully and said, "If you really want to please him, you might as well find a Buddhist scripture."

"Scriptures?"

"It is called the Lankavatara Sutra. It was already out of print in the previous dynasty. My master was very sorry about this. I remember that in the years when I was just old enough to understand things, he went down the mountain to look for it several times, but unfortunately he did not find it."

Wutong said happily, "That's easy. We don't have much of anything, except for people. As long as this scripture still exists in the world, we will definitely be able to find it."

Wenxin nodded, "Once we find the scriptures, we'll go up the mountain."

Wutong hurriedly finished the rice in his bowl, then rushed off to instruct someone to find the scriptures. He stood up and left.

After running a dozen or so steps, she turned back to Wenxin and said, "Thank you."

Wenxin waved his hand, saying nothing.

Wutong summoned Adan and instructed him to send orders to search for the scripture in Dongqi and the Central Plains. After Adan left, she went to Li Deming, hoping he could also lend a hand.

Upon hearing that Duan Fufeng might be revived, Li Deming cooperated fully and immediately ordered a search to begin in southern Xinjiang as well.

While the search for the scriptures was proceeding intensively, Wutong adopted Wenxin's suggestion and ordered the officials to begin selecting suitable candidates to be emperors in their respective countries for a period of six months. After the selection was made, she would personally review the candidates, and only those who were approved could ascend the throne.

During these six months, local government affairs were handled by the original officials, while the troops of Dongqi and the Central Plains were handed over to Adan, who was granted the title of Grand Marshal of the Pacification Frontier.

She thought that after issuing the order, she would have to put in a lot of effort to get those stubborn and rigid civil officials to accept it, but to her surprise, no one objected and they all went to carry out their orders.

Wutong breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his study to continue working. Not long after, a guard knocked on the door and said, "Your Majesty, Governor Liu of the Central Plains requests an audience."

She vaguely remembered the name; he was a man in his fifties who had once achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. After serving in Pingzhou for many years, he was appointed by Duan Yanxi as the governor of Jinzhou, a very lucrative and lucrative post.

During these discussions about the distribution of territory, he barely spoke, and it's unclear why he came to see her.

Wutong put away the official documents and had a guard invite him in.

A short while later, the guards led Governor Liu in. Governor Liu bowed to her, greeted her as Your Majesty, and then beckoned to those behind him, saying, "Quickly, bring him in."

Wutong watched in bewilderment as several guards carried in a large box, which was placed neatly in the center of the study. It made a loud thud when it hit the ground, indicating that it was quite heavy.

She became increasingly confused and asked, "What is this?"

Governor Liu did not answer, but looked around at the guards.

Wu Tongming meant for them to leave. After the door closed, Governor Liu smiled obsequiously:

"Your Majesty, although we haven't spoken these past few days, your heroic figure remains firmly imprinted in my heart. Back then..."

He began to praise Wutong at length, and Wutong, who initially thought he had something important to say, listened for a long time but found it was all flattery. She impatiently waved her hand away.

"You don't want these anymore? What's in the box?"

Governor Liu slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something: "Oh, the box! Come, look, this is a gift I specially prepared for Your Majesty."

He struggled to open the heavy wooden lid, and golden light shone out. Wutong walked over and was dumbfounded.

It was a whole chest full of gold ingots!

She had seen gold ingots before, and with her current status, it wouldn't be difficult for her to gather a whole box of them. However, the visual impact was extremely strong. Wutong's jaw almost dropped in surprise. She tried her best to keep a straight face, not wanting to lose face in front of him.

Governor Liu looked at the box of gold ingots with a pang of regret, pinched his thigh hard to remind himself that now was not the time to be reluctant, and turned to Wutong to ask, "Well? Does His Majesty like it?"

Wutong seemed to be considering something as she touched her chin, but in reality, she was suppressing her urge to accept the gold ingot.

Humans have an instinctive love for gold; even if they can't spend it, just looking at it is quite enjoyable.

She was an ordinary person, unable to resist this instinct. Forcing herself to look away, she coldly asked, "What are you doing?"

Governor Liu said, "Your Majesty has been in the Central Plains for a long time and has done many good things for the people of the Central Plains. We have never repaid you, so we are making it up to you today."

No compensation yesterday, no compensation the day before yesterday, so you're going to challenge me to a fight today?

It's all about the emperor.

These people are really cunning; they've already started trying to win people over for something that can only be decided six months from now.

Wutong glanced at the chest full of glittering gold ingots, then reluctantly waved goodbye.

"I don't need it, you can take it."