The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

“Okay, that’s perfect. Go to the Ministry of War tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll take a look at it for you first.”

Du Mingxian replied with a serious expression, "Yes."

The fact that Lord Wen was willing to show her this proves that he truly trusts her, which is a good thing.

As soon as she returned to the ancestral hall, she heard a voice outside. It was the servant of Lord Wen, saying, "The lord wants Miss Fang to come out."

The two guards immediately agreed, and one of them stepped forward to open the door. "Young Miss, you can go back to your own courtyard now."

Du Mingxian got up, lowered her head slightly so as not to let others see her rosy complexion, and slowly walked back to her own courtyard.

She wasn't there, and the courtyard gate wasn't locked. There was also an old woman on night duty. She was very happy to see her return and immediately called everyone to get up, some to boil water, and others to cook.

The next day, Du Mingxian got up, and Ke'er and Lian'er came to serve her.

“Miss, Chun Tao is still locked up in the woodshed. We went to bring her food, and she asked us about your situation. Because you don’t allow us to get close to the ancestral hall, we didn’t bring anything in.”

"It won't affect anything. I'll eat whatever the ancestors eat." Du Mingxian felt annoyed just thinking about Chun Tao. "There's no need to worry. You guys prepare some food later, and I'll go check on Chun Tao."

Ke'er asked, "Miss, can't Chun Tao come out yet?"

“Father said that I can’t come out without his orders. He hasn’t said yet that the gatekeepers won’t let Chun Tao out. I’ll go talk to Father about it at noon.”

Ke'er and Lian'er asked no more questions and served her diligently.

When Du Mingxian arrived at the woodshed door with the food, the gatekeeper wasn't surprised to see her, but still reminded her, "Miss, you can leave the food at the door, but you can't go in."

"Okay, can I say a few words to her?"

"Please go ahead, Miss."

Chun Tao was overjoyed to hear Du Mingxian's voice. "Miss, is that you, Miss?" She rushed forward and opened the door a crack.

Du Mingxian looked up and saw that there was an iron chain on the doorknob, with locks at both ends. No wonder it could be placed at the door.

The gap is big enough for a bowl to fit through, and Chun Tao can stick her hand out, but she can't get out completely.

“It’s me, it’s me.” She stepped forward and took Chun Tao’s hand. “Chun Tao, I’m sorry for making you suffer.”

"Miss, I'm fine. Now that you're out, can I come out too?"

"Father may have forgotten about you and didn't say he would let you out. Don't worry, I'll go and beg him today, and he'll definitely release you as soon as possible."

Seeing Du Mingxian's straightforward and earnest expression, Chuntao assumed she was genuinely anxious and reassured her, "Alright, I understand, Miss. Please rest assured."

"I'm just worried about you. I wasn't released until midnight last night either." Du Mingxian looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally said nothing. "You stay in there for now. Fortunately, there's food and drink. I'll go and beg my father today to let you out as soon as possible."

"Okay lady."

After performing the scene of deep affection between master and servant, Du Mingxian left. She read a storybook in her room for a while before going to the kitchen to cook. She made two portions, one for Wen Yibin and the other to take to the Ministry of War.

When she went there today, she specifically asked Ke'er to deliver food to Chun Tao, while Lian'er stayed in the courtyard to keep watch. So she went by herself and went straight into the Ministry of War, finding the office of Lord Wen with ease.

After finishing his official business, Lord Wen relaxed a bit when he saw her come in. "You're here."

“Father, even if something terrible happens, you should get some rest. Look at those dark circles under your eyes.”

Lord Wen stood up from his chair and walked to the other round table. "I can't sleep. My mind is full of things. What's good to eat today?"

"Luckily, I took into account that you don't have much of an appetite today, so I made dishes that are good with rice."

As Du Mingxian spoke, she took out the food. Seeing that she had brought a lot today, Lord Wen said, "Sit down and eat with me."

"Yes."

After the two finished their meal, neither of them spoke much. Du Mingxian tidied the table, and the servant brought up tea and took away the food box that Du Mingxian had tidied up.

Lord Wen instructed the servant, "Go outside and keep watch. Huan'er and I will play a couple of games of chess."

"Yes."

The door closed, and Lord Wen went to get the item without avoiding Du Mingxian. Du Mingxian then carefully observed that the item was hidden in a small compartment behind the bookshelf.

It was a huge scroll. When it was taken out, Du Mingxian hurriedly stepped forward to help, and Lord Wen opened it with her.

He said softly, "This is the foundation of Da Shun."

Du Mingxian nodded gently. She opened the map little by little, her mind racing, her eyes carefully examining every detail, memorizing everything. The whole process looked as if she were admiring the map.

After reading it once and memorizing the troop deployment, she looked up and smiled awkwardly, "Father, let's put it away for now."

"Why don't you watch it?"

Du Mingxian helped Lord Wen pack up the things. After watching Lord Wen put the things back in their original places, she said, "Father also said that this is the foundation of Da Shun, so naturally we can't give it to the other party."

"If I don't give them the real thing, it'll look too fake. The other party will recognize it at a glance, and then things will get even more complicated."

Du Mingxian certainly understood this principle. "It's okay, we can give it to you in a mix of truth and falsehood when the time comes."

"You mean?"

“Father, we need to give them something that is both true and false so they will be more likely to believe us. Besides, once this thing is given out here, the border defense can no longer use this layout. If something goes wrong, it will cost lives.”

She didn't want to bear the burden of so many innocent lives.

Lord Wen nodded approvingly, "Regardless of whether what you're saying to me now is true or false, it's good that you have this idea."

"I thought I had already opened my heart to my father."

"I guess so. I told you my bottom line, but you didn't reveal your true secrets to me."

Du Mingxian was silent for a moment, "As long as Father believes that I will not harm you, I will definitely not harm Father. As for my background, I will tell Father everything one day."

Lord Wen waved his hand, saying that he had always been good at judging people...

No, he didn't see through his mother.

However, he truly trusted the girl in front of him, because he could feel her sincerity, her kindness, and that intangible feeling of wanting to get closer to her.

Perhaps God took Huan'er away, and as compensation, He gave him another Huan'er by his side; that's a kind of redemption.

Let's play another game of chess first.

"Yes."

The father and daughter sat down. Du Mingxian had black pieces, while Wen Daren had white pieces. They played slowly, talking as they played.

“Your second aunt is in charge of things at home now. There will be a banquet in the palace in a few days. I will tell your second aunt to prepare more clothes for you.”

"Was it a reception by envoys from various countries?"

"Yes, many of the female relatives of officials in my Great Shun will need to attend."