Sweet words, coupled with her affectionate gaze, made Zhao Jiaqi doubt her own charm, whether it was enough to attract women.
"The children are still here, can't you be more serious!"
Tián Tián was very cooperative with her mother, put down her chopsticks, and immediately raised her hand, saying, "Big aunt treats me as if I don't exist, I've finished eating, and I'm going to find my brother to play!"
As she left, two little followers followed, and the three girls went to find her boys. Without a doubt, the roof of this royal mansion would probably be blown off.
Zhao Jiaqi withdrew her gaze, looked at Pīng Tíng, and leaned in and whispered with a smile, "On such a fine day, why aren't you in the capital making sons, what are you running out for!"
Pīng Tíng's face blushed, not from shyness, but from anger.
She gritted her teeth, bit fiercely into the soup bun in her hand, and said indignantly, "It's all him, he said three daughters are enough, and he doesn't want any more!"
There was nothing wrong with this statement. Three daughters could open a money house when they got married, so why have more children.
Recalling the past, Pīng Tíng had sworn that she would have a son, but now they had three daughters.
To avoid disrupting her honeymoon plan, Zhao Jiaqi had a mischievous idea and created an opportunity for the two of them.
Noon meal, deer penis soup, afternoon, deer blood.
She then told Pīng Tíng that eating these things could help her have a son. The latter truly believed her and, without hesitation, served it to Fàn Lǎo Èr to eat.
In less than two days, Fàn Xù Dōng, with a bloody nose, found Fàn Zé Hào, and begged his elder brother to persuade his sister-in-law not to encourage Pīng Tíng to feed him these things anymore.
If he continued to be replenished like this, he would ascend to heaven.
In the evening, Fàn Zé Hào lay in bed, thinking of Fàn Lǎo Èr's miserable appearance, and laughed so hard that his mouth couldn't close.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he advised her, "Wife, Fàn Lǎo Èr came to me today. He said if he continues to be replenished, he'll be seeing his ancestors. Please spare him!"
The person who was combing her hair in front of the bronze mirror stopped and looked at him in surprise, "How could that be? Wasn't it said that this thing is good for the body? I just wanted Pīng Tíng to get pregnant again, how could it be so serious!"
Zhao Jiaqi had only heard that this thing was a great tonic and beneficial for men having children, which was why she had so lovingly asked the kitchen to stew soup for Fàn Lǎo Èr every day.
He got out of bed and walked behind his wife, poking the back of her head with his finger, "How could it not be? Too much replenishment is not good. Besides, Fàn Lǎo Èr's health is very good. If he continues to be replenished like this, it's no wonder he doesn't cherish his life."
Finally, he summarized a sentence for his wife, "You're not suited for doing bad things, it's obvious at a glance. If I were you, I would put medicine in Fàn Lǎo Èr's food and lock the two of them in the room!"
Then, she wouldn't have to worry about not having children!
If it didn't work once, do it several times, and one of them would definitely succeed!
Zhao Jiaqi gave the person behind her a thumbs up. As expected of an elder brother, he was an expert at tricking his younger brother.
They stayed in the inner city for nearly a month. The children had a blast, learning to ride horses with Fàn Zé Hào, watching the soldiers deploy in the military camp, and even Tián Tián, along with Fàn Yáo and Fàn Sēn, the two boys, began to apprentice.
Unfortunately, no one dared to take them.
Tián Tián heard from his uncle that his aunt had taught him military strategy, so the three children swarmed to pester Zhao Jiaqi.
Every day, the royal mansion could hear wailing and howling. Even though the three children were tormented by Zhao Jiaqi and cried out in hardship, they did not give up.
Finally, with no other choice, Zhao Jiaqi took in these three little demons.
Time flew by, and it was already August. After the matters in the inner city were all handled, they moved to the next destination.
However, in these two months, Pīng Tíng had still not succeeded in getting pregnant. She could only follow Zhao Jiaqi like a persistent plaster. What was originally a family trip for a honeymoon had now turned into a crowded extra family.
The Empress Dowager, on the other hand, stayed in the royal mansion. When she had nothing to do, she could chat with people. The scenery here was so beautiful that she didn't want to return to the capital.
On the road!
Inside the spacious carriage, Zhao Jiaqi looked out the window at the scenery. After more than ten days of travel, they had gone from a lively place to a desolate prefecture. The difference between the two was too great.
Zhao Jiaqi stuck her head out of the carriage window and called out to the person on horseback, "Husband, find a place to stay ahead."
"Got it, wife!" Fàn Zé Hào replied naturally to Zhao Jiaqi.
Even if his wife hadn't said anything, he had wanted to stop and see what was going on with this prefecture.
Although the two prefectures were different from a fiefdom, and not under the jurisdiction of a single person, why was the previous prefecture so lively, while this one was so deserted that it looked like a dead city?
The gap was not small at all.
Pīng Tíng looked at the landmark erected on the ground, which read "Dong." Pīng Tíng tugged at her sister-in-law's clothes a few times, pointing at the landmark, "This is Prince Xián's fiefdom!"
Zhao Jiaqi nodded. In her impression and memory, she had never heard Prince Xián mention that there was such a desolate place in his fiefdom.
Could it be that Prince Xián had some unspeakable secret he didn't want to reveal?
Or was it for another reason?
With doubts, their group settled down.
Zhao Jiaqi and Pīng Tíng led the children and found a wonton stall on the street. After eating a few steamed buns and a bowl of wontons, they started chatting when the owner was not busy.
"Uncle, why is it so deserted here? Even a town where we come from is more lively than this. What's going on?" Zhao Jiaqi asked him doubtfully, biting into a steamed bun.
The owner saw that they were from out of town and immediately sighed. There were no customers at the moment, so he sat opposite Zhao Jiaqi.
"It's a long story for a child without a mother!"
Zhao Jiaqi was not afraid of a long story, but she was afraid that the story would bring her some bad things.
She took out a silver ingot and placed it in front of the owner, "This is to buy all your wontons for today. Please tell me what's going on!"
The ten taels of silver placed in front of him almost made the old man jump up with excitement. He quickly clutched the silver, looked it over, and after confirming it was real, tucked it into his embrace.
"This lady, why are you asking this?" the old man asked after tucking the silver away.
This question almost made Pīng Tíng's temper flare up, but luckily Zhao Jiaqi was calm enough.
She replied half-truthfully and half-falsely, "Our family came here to visit relatives, but we couldn't find anyone. So we wanted to buy a house here and do some small business. But it looks quite desolate, so we're trying to figure out if this business can be done!"
The old man looked at their clothes and jewelry, which were of high quality and their extravagant spending, so he didn't doubt her words.
"You've asked the right person. I'm a native here. I'll tell you slowly!"
This "telling slowly" lasted from noon until the sun began to set, and he poured out his woes endlessly.
The old man spread his hands, his face full of worry, "You say, they plant sweet potatoes and get a high yield, and we follow suit and get nothing. They plant rice and get a high yield, and we follow suit, let alone see any grains. We just plant them, and they die behind us. Tell me, aren't we unlucky!"
"Now no one is planting crops. Ever since the crops in other places started to yield well, a large part of the people in this area have left to find work elsewhere. We who are left will probably leave soon too, sigh..."
It turned out to be because of the land. In Zhao Jiaqi's eyes, this problem was not very big, they just hadn't found suitable crops to plant.
"Perhaps things will get better here in the future, don't lose hope!"
The old man chuckled weakly, responding perfunctorily, "Let's hope so."
He had lived for more than forty years, and the land had always been like this, how could it get better?
This was what outsiders would say. They had long since given up hope.
They didn't leave before because it was like this everywhere they went. Instead of venturing out, they preferred to stay home. But in the past few years, the outside world had changed dramatically, successfully luring some people away.
Thus, if there was a first batch, there would be a second batch.