The princess was ordained by Heaven.

With Tao Heng by her side, she personally visited all the bookstores in the capital. Of course, she had already found the answer in the system.

However, she won't rely on the system forever, and she needs a reasonable process to bring this matter to the forefront.

Therefore, checking each room one by one is an essential step.

It has to be said that having one more person made things much faster, especially since Tao Heng himself knew a lot about this matter and was also very quick-witted.

So, what she expected to take three days was resolved in just one afternoon.

Zheng Xun led Tao Heng back before all the streetlights in the city went out.

Jianyang had not yet gone to bed. Knowing that she was coming back, he rushed over to pick her up.

"If she doesn't come back soon, I'll have to send people out to look for her. She's a princess, she can't have something happen to her in my residence..." Jianyang muttered to herself, when she suddenly noticed the young man standing with his hands clasped behind her. "Who is this?"

"This is Mr. Tao Hengtao. He stopped me on the road today to offer his services, and I accepted him..."

"You accepted it?!" Jianyang's voice was shrill. For the first time, she was terrified by a man.

Startled by her shrill scream, Tao Heng paused slightly in his bowing before continuing.

He suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that he had met the Third Princess, as he had always felt that the Eldest Princess of Jianyang was not very reliable.

Zheng Xun was puzzled, not understanding why she was reacting so strongly.

Jianyang said earnestly, "Xun'er, you are still young. You can't keep male concubines at this age. Although everyone has a love for beauty, you are too young now, do you understand? And..."

"Aunt!" Zheng Xun interrupted her, unable to bear it any longer, and corrected her seriously, "What is all this nonsense? Tao Heng will become my retainer, not some gigolo."

How could a talented and resourceful person submit to another and serve him with their looks?

If someone had a strong sense of self-respect, they would probably get angry upon hearing these words.

She was afraid that her great talent would be scared away by her aunt, so she spoke in a very stern tone.

Jianyang wasn't angry at being scolded; instead, he felt relieved.

As long as he's not a gigolo.

But, retainers?

She was somewhat surprised. After all, Zheng Xun had been emphasizing that she didn't care about the survival of the Great Yong Dynasty. Logically, she should have stayed out of trouble. Why would she suddenly want to keep retainers?

"Let's not talk about that for now. Xun'er, Mr. Tao, have you had dinner yet?"

Zheng Xun shook his head: "There wasn't enough time."

Jianyang quickly instructed the kitchen to prepare the dishes: "The kitchen has been almost ready, just waiting for you to come back."

Although Zheng Xun ate a lot at noon, given her appetite, she might get hungry again quickly.

Zheng Xun is now the apple of everyone's eye in the entire Dayong Dynasty. In addition, she has exposed the venomous snake Chang Xiu, so Jianyang is grateful and wants to handle everything perfectly.

"Thank you for your trouble, Aunt," Zheng Xun said, sitting down and taking a sip of hot tea. "How were Aman and Afeng this afternoon?"

"They are very quiet, probably because they are still young. The imperial physician found that Afeng's injuries are recovering particularly quickly. Aman has been staying in the room and is very quiet. However, it is impossible for them to learn martial arts now. After a while, once they have recovered, I will find a martial arts master for you."

Zheng Xun's eyebrows relaxed slightly.

"Thank you, aunt."

She has no money and no one to rely on right now. Thanks to Jianyang's help, she has been spared many worries.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. Aman and Afeng are the sins of Chang Xiu. It was my poor judgment that gave him the opportunity to do evil. It is only right that I do my part.”

Chang Xiu had no power or influence, and even though he was a third-place finisher in the imperial examination, he didn't make a name for himself. His glory came from her, and the capital he had to commit evil deeds also came from her.

What Jianyang found even harder to accept was that she had almost become an accomplice of the Brown Kingdom. If she had really leaked any important information, she would never be able to forgive herself for the rest of her life.

Therefore, she had to do something to relieve her guilt and lingering fear.

Zheng Xun took it as her being polite, but in his heart he had already begun to think about furnishing the courtyard...

Or perhaps this time we can use our merits to exchange for an imperial edict of investiture, at which point we can place the person in the princess's residence.

Right now, Tao Heng is a fugitive on the run, and A Feng and A Man are two wounded soldiers who haven't fully recovered, so it's safer for them to stay in the Princess's residence in Jianyang.

Tao Heng silently sipped his tea.

He has just made a life-altering decision. He still can't see what the future holds, but at least there is a path ahead, and all he has to do now is walk along that path.

Zheng Xun suddenly asked him, "Do you know martial arts?"

Tao Heng nodded. Zheng Xun became interested: "Come with me tomorrow, and I'll see what you're capable of."

Tao Heng smiled gently. He was a handsome and refined young man, but his bulky clothes betrayed the fact that he was not a weak scholar.

"Health is the foundation of everything. Without a strong physique and a vibrant spirit, it's easy to feel powerless to accomplish anything. Tao Heng is a good example of this."

Tao Heng blinked, then blinked again.

Was that the Third Princess's voice just now? But the Third Princess didn't speak!

"Princess……"

Jianyang's gaze sharpened, and he quickly interrupted him: "Mr. Tao, do you have any dietary restrictions? I'll have the kitchen add a few more dishes."

"I have no dietary restrictions."

He was puzzled, but Jianyang seemed unwilling to let him say it...

Uh, he tried, but couldn't say it.

Since that's the case, he could only suppress his doubts for the time being.

After the meal, Jianyang found Tao Heng.

Half an hour later, Tao Heng appeared dazed, as if he had encountered something unbelievable.

He was completely captivated, never expecting that life with the Third Princess would be so exciting.

Arriving at Zheng Xun's temporary study, he finally managed to process this unbelievable reality.

The servants have already placed the books they bought today in the study.

Tao Heng asked with a complicated expression, "Does the princess want me to see all of this tonight?"

"No, haven't you noticed? The backgrounds in these books are somewhat different from those of the Dayong Kingdom. I suspect that the customs and geography in these books are based on the He Kingdom. Let's organize these special contents first, and tomorrow I'll find a helper. We're going to do something big!"

Tao Heng looked at the pile of books and felt utterly hopeless.

As a good leader, Zheng Xun considerately comforted her: "Don't you want to see the day when the Brown Kingdom is incorporated into our Dayong territory?"

Look at this cake, it's big and round.

Tao Heng understood, and Zheng Xun understood, that this statement was now just empty talk, but Tao Heng was still buying into it.

She could have given a direct order, but instead she went through the trouble of making empty promises.

His own princess has gone to such lengths to paint a rosy picture for him, so what's wrong with him taking a bite?

Moreover, this truly was his dream.

The Great Yong Kingdom has long suffered from the hardships of the He Kingdom.

The Brown Kingdom has been eyeing the Dayong Kingdom covetously for a single day, and countless people have perished at the hands of those bandits from the Brown Kingdom. If he could, he would also wish for the Brown Kingdom to disappear.

He suddenly stood up and carried a tall stack of books to his front.

It's time to show the real technology!

Tao Heng, now brimming with energy, has shown a significant improvement in his work ability, wishing he could do the work of two people.

The lights in the room stayed on until late at night, and cups of strong tea were brought out one after another. Two silhouettes, one large and one small, were buried in piles of books, both equally focused.