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

He followed her into her bedroom, lowered his tone, and asked softly, "Are you in a bad mood? How about we go to the city for a stroll tomorrow? Staying in the palace every day must be so boring."

Wutong sat in front of the dressing table, turned her head to the side and asked, "Do you have time?"

"Just squeeze and you'll get it."

"Then can I..."

Wutong's heart stirred, and she wanted to suggest going to Haoshan. Nanxing didn't stop her, but her eyes clearly told her the answer—no.

She was somewhat disappointed, but going out was better than not going out at all; she could see the outside world and learn about the way out of the palace.

Wutong agreed, and the two women's expressions softened. Nanxing told her to rest well and said he would pick her up the next morning.

Wutong was happy about this promise for a long time, and didn't fall asleep until late at night. She woke up early the next day, changed into some light clothes, combed her hair, ate breakfast, and sat in the main hall waiting for Nanxing.

When the sun was high in the sky, Nanxing appeared. He was no longer wearing the unsettling black dragon robe, but a light green outer garment. He looked like a tall, straight bamboo, with bright, star-like eyes and an elegant, otherworldly appearance. Unfortunately, he still wore that mask, which made his aura somewhat gloomy.

Nanxing was in a good mood. She reached out her hand and let her take her arm. She then led several guards and maids outside, and the carriage was parked outside the palace.

As soon as the group reached the carriage, someone rushed over and shouted, "Your Majesty!"

Nanxing frowned. "What is it?"

The man, panting, said, "Mr. Lu has some urgent business to discuss with you and is waiting for you in the study."

Tell him I'm busy.

"Mr. Lu said it's about Haoshan, you must listen to it."

Nanxing's unwavering resolve wavered, and she looked at Wutong.

Wutong said, "You said you'd let me leave the palace today. A man's word is his bond, especially since you're the Emperor."

Nanxing didn't want to break his promise in front of her, so after thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay, I'll have the guards accompany you. You can go wherever you want except Haoshan, but come back before dark."

Wutong asked in surprise, "Really?"

Seeing that she was even happier than when she learned that she was going with him, Nanxing felt a tightness in his chest and was too lazy to answer. He gave a few instructions to the guards and went to the study.

Wutong watched his figure disappear around the corner, then got into the carriage with the guards and asked, "Can we go to Haoshan? I don't want to go in, I just want to look around from the outside."

The guard started the car with practiced ease and unwavering resolve.

"Sorry, no."

Disappointed, Wutong leaned back in her chair, waved her hand, and said, "Then you can drive me around the main street."

The car spewed out a plume of black smoke as it drove out of the palace.

The cars inside the palace were of much higher quality than those outside; even the seats were genuine leather, and everything was spotless and bright. There was also a cabinet inside containing a teapot and snacks.

Wutong looked out the car window at the street scene of Phoenix City. The streets were lined with shops, mostly selling food, clothes and jewelry. The people who came out to stroll around looked serious and hurried, as if they were fleeing for their lives rather than shopping.

Only on the street where red lanterns were hung could one hear laughter and cheerful voices from time to time, forming a stark contrast with the other streets.

Wutong pointed to that place and asked, "What's that place called?"

The guards exchanged glances and answered truthfully, "Furong Street."

"Can you take me inside and have a look?"

The guards quickly refused.

"I'm sorry, Miss Wutong, women are generally not allowed to enter that area."

Wutong said, "But His Majesty clearly said that I can enter anywhere except Haoshan."

The guards still disagreed, so Wutong could only stare blankly at that spot. Just then, she saw a woman on Furong Street lean out of a window, her upper body completely exposed, her breasts swaying brightly as she greeted acquaintances on the street without any shame.

The man in her room couldn't stand it, so he grabbed her waist, carried her back, and closed the window.

Wutong immediately realized where she was and felt extremely embarrassed. She asked the guard, "What time is it now?"

The guard said, "It's almost noon, time for lunch."

"This is my first time here, I've never eaten at a restaurant before, you guys figure it out yourselves."

The guard responded and drove forward. Wutong glanced casually outside and saw something on the city wall. He was startled and pointed at it, asking, "What is that?"

The walls of Phoenix City are extremely high, and several round, spherical objects have appeared on top of them, propped up by bamboo poles, which are enough to make one's scalp tingle.

The guards glanced at it and replied, "It's the prisoner who was beheaded a few days ago. Phoenix City raises hawks, and the Emperor ordered that they be fed the heads of prisoners."

Wutong asked in surprise, "Are all prisoners like this?"

Her head was almost fed to the eagles?

The guard said, "No, only people with serious crimes would do that."

"What did they do wrong?"

"They were from the southern border region. They secretly entered the palace to assassinate the emperor, which is why they were hung on the wall."

The people from Southern Xinjiang… Didn’t Nanxing say they were still being interrogated? When did they already behead them, and in such a cruel way…?

Wutong immediately lost her desire to stroll around. She looked at the round balls for a while, and with mixed feelings, asked the guards to send her back to the palace.

The guards didn't know what had happened, but Nanxing said that as long as she wasn't allowed to leave or go to Haoshan, he would grant her any request, so he sent her back to the palace.

Wutong sat in the bedroom, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

After finishing his work, Nanxing came over to apologize to her and asked if she had a good time.

Wutong had no interest in answering and stared blankly at the table.

Nanxing asked unhappily, "What's wrong with you now?"

Wutong remained silent. He ordered someone to bring dinner to the table and called her to eat, but she refused, acting as if he didn't exist.

Nanxing couldn't hold back any longer and asked with a dark expression, "Do you want to starve yourself to death? I won't allow you to do that."

Wutong raised her head with a cold smile.

"What if I starve to death? Are you going to hang my head on the city wall for the eagles to eat?"

Nanxing suddenly realized, but became even angrier: "So that's what you saw... Those blind guards, I'll make them taste the consequences of talking nonsense!"

He stood up, but Wutong grabbed him and said loudly, "Don't try to shift the blame onto others. This has nothing to do with them. I saw it myself."

"You're still protecting them?"

"Are you crazy? If you hadn't been lying to me all this time, would I have needed to find out?"

Nanxing suddenly froze, her anger turning into apology.

"I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Yes, someone held a knife to your neck and forced you not to tell me the truth."

"Wutong..."

Nanxing held her, calling her name, "Please don't be like this, okay? They are from the Southern Frontier, yet they trespassed into the palace and even stabbed me. They deserved to die... Why do you keep making excuses for them? Could it be that..."

He recalled Ruolan's words: Southern Xinjiang was like home to Wutong, while Phoenix City had nothing.

Nanxing's voice trembled, "Do you still want to go back to Southern Xinjiang? You still think Southern Xinjiang is better, right?"

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