Chapter 116

When Jiang Xiurun turned around, she saw that the Crown Prince had somehow ended up walking behind them.

During the court session, both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince stood at the very front of the officials’ procession, while Jiang Xiurun, as the head of a minor ministry, was relegated to the back, near the entrance of the hall.

She had thought she was walking at a decent pace, but somehow, both men had caught up to her.

It was quite annoying.

Feng Liwu’s face was icy, while Feng Wu smiled warmly and said, “We were just chatting. Would you like me to repeat our conversation word for word, Your Highness?”

With that, Crown Prince and Jiang Xiurun parted ways with Feng Wu.

A tactful eunuch had already prepared a small table for the Crown Prince, complete with a bowl of plain porridge and a braised egg.

Jiang Xiurun sat down with the Crown Prince and began sipping the soft, smooth porridge.

Neither of them spoke.

In truth, Feng Liwu was waiting for Jiang Xiurun to explain herself, but she remained silent.

As a result, the breakfast was an awkward and uncomfortable affair.

After finishing the meal, Jiang Xiurun bid farewell to the Crown Prince and returned to her office to attend to her duties.

Although winter was approaching, if the water canal wasn’t completed before the ground froze, it would inevitably affect the planting season next year.

The Agricultural Department’s proposal for a silkworm tax had effectively curbed the trend of farmers abandoning their fields to raise silkworms, sparking a wave of land reclamation.

However, if the water canal project didn’t progress, the lack of water in some villages during the spring and summer seasons would prevent any increase in crop yields, leaving a gap in the food supply.

So, Jiang Xiurun had a lot on her plate.

Especially since the court hadn’t allocated much funding for the canal project, most of the construction costs had to be covered by the Agricultural Department itself.

In fact, building the canal was a massive undertaking.

Near rivers and lakes, digging a few miles of canal would suffice.

But in areas that were truly water-scarce, the construction of reservoirs, irrigation systems, and drainage networks was essential.

Building reservoirs to store water was an expensive project.

The blueprint Feng Liwu had obtained from Master Zheng even proposed connecting the four major rivers of Great Qi into a network.

Once completed, the system would allow the rivers to circulate and reuse water, eliminating worries about droughts and floods.

However, while the blueprint looked elegant on paper, its actual implementation required exceptional coordination and judgment.

Jiang Xiurun had to focus all her energy on directing her subordinates to handle the myriad details, filling her mind with work to avoid dwelling on unnecessary worries.

During lunch, when the officials from the Agricultural Department gathered to eat, colleagues from neighboring departments dropped by to chat and share gossip about the latest happenings in Luo’an City.

Someone asked Jiang Xiurun if it was true that the Crown Prince was planning to marry Yang Ruxu, the eldest daughter of the Yang family.

Jiang Xiurun smiled and replied that the Crown Prince’s private matters weren’t something he discussed with her.

If the wedding was indeed approaching, invitations would be sent out, and there would be plenty of time to prepare gifts and red envelopes.

Her calm demeanor made everyone forget that Jiang Xiurun was the Crown Prince’s brother-in-law.

For a moment, they sighed and remarked that Yang Ruxu was both talented and beautiful, hailing from the prestigious Yang family, which rivaled the Meng family.

She was considered one of the top talents in Luo’an City, far surpassing the hostage princesses from foreign lands.

They agreed that such a woman would make a fitting Crown Princess, someone who could command the respect of the nation.

Jiang Xiurun nodded along with the others.

She had heard of Yang Ruxu long ago.

Indeed, she was a woman of both virtue and beauty, and she was also fertile.

However, in her past life, this paragon of talent and beauty hadn’t married the Crown Prince.

Instead, she had become a concubine of the emperor.

Not long after entering the palace, she had become pregnant with the emperor’s child, giving birth to twins—a boy and a girl—and was honored with the title of Imperial Noble Consort.

By the time Jiang Xiurun had been drowned, the palace had already been preparing for the coronation of the new empress, and the Imperial Noble Consort was about to become the official Empress.

But in this life, something had gone awry.

Rumors were spreading that the Crown Prince was planning to marry Yang Ruxu.

Wasn’t this a case of the stepmother becoming the wife?

Upon further reflection, it wasn’t so strange.

In her past life, the Crown Prince had been plagued by illness at this time, his power overshadowed by the emperor.

Although he had constantly clashed with the emperor, he had clearly been at a disadvantage.

Naturally, the Yang family would have sent their prized daughter to the palace.

But in this life, the Crown Prince was steady and strong, consistently outmaneuvering the emperor.

A calculating woman like Yang Ruxu would naturally choose the young and handsome Crown Prince over the old man in the palace.

If Jiang Xiurun had heard such news a few days ago, she might have felt deeply uncomfortable.

But after being jolted awake by recent events, she reminded herself to remain calm and composed.

After all, hostage princesses from foreign lands couldn’t be brought into the open.

With the Crown Prince and the emperor locked in a fierce power struggle, winning over the major families within the empire was far more urgent than dealing with distant foreign nations.

If she were the Crown Prince, she wouldn’t hesitate to marry a daughter of the Yang family and make her the official Crown Princess to solidify his faction’s power.

That evening, when Jiang Xiurun returned to the Crown Prince’s residence with a stack of blueprints, it was already quite late.

She had assumed the Crown Prince would have retired early, but Qian’er informed her that he hadn’t returned at all.

Apparently, he had attended a banquet at the Yang family’s estate, which was said to last all night.

It seemed the Crown Prince wouldn’t be returning to the residence that evening.

After hearing this, Jiang Xiurun instructed Qian’er to prepare a warm foot soak with bamboo salt.

She soaked her feet in a large wooden basin, the warm water reaching up to her calves, promoting blood circulation and leaving her feeling extremely comfortable.

Since the Crown Prince wasn’t back, she didn’t need to pretend to be engrossed in her blueprints to avoid sharing his bed.

Instead, she asked Qian’er to bring her a wildly imaginative travelogue, which she read with great interest.

Meanwhile, Taohua, who served concubine Yao, sent several messages saying that concubine Cao and concubine Tian had invited concubine Yao to join them for tea in the garden the next day.

Jiang Xiurun waved her hand, instructing Taohua to send them away, saying that concubine Yao was suffering from a cold sweat and couldn’t risk catching a chill, so she wouldn’t be able to attend the tea gathering.

In truth, Jiang Xiurun knew that the tea gathering was just an excuse.

The real purpose was for the two princesses to vent their frustrations and discuss how to deal with the impending arrival of Yang Ruxu, which they saw as a significant threat.

Jiang Xiurun didn’t want to get involved, so she feigned illness.

After finishing her foot soak and washing up, Qian’er handed her a jar of pearl and goose fat cream to moisturize her face.

Once her skin was hydrated, Jiang Xiurun lay down and fell asleep.

To be honest, after getting used to sleeping in someone’s arms, sleeping alone felt rather uncomfortable.

But she hadn’t slept well the previous night, and she had gotten up early for the grand assembly, so she was already exhausted.

The foot soak had relaxed her, and drowsiness soon overtook her.

Even sleeping alone, she slept soundly.

Once she stopped overthinking, she didn’t even dream, sleeping deeply until dawn.

The next morning, Qian’er packed her belongings early.

The largest part of the canal project was the Hanyang Reservoir, and many of the details required the personal supervision of the head of the Agricultural Department.

Although Hanyang wasn’t far from Luo’an City, it was still a few days’ journey.

Jiang Xiurun had already discussed with the officials of the Agricultural Department that she would stay there for about a month, overseeing the progress of the project before returning to Luo’an City.

A month should be enough.

It would give her time to supervise the construction of the massive reservoir and allow the Crown Prince to marry his wealthy new consort.

After all, she was still technically the Crown Prince’s favored concubine.

Staying in the Crown Prince’s residence would only put him in an awkward position.

Just a few days ago, he had been showering her with affection, but with a new woman entering his life, neglecting his former favorite would make him appear fickle and disloyal.

But if she feigned illness and left Luo’an City, it would spare the Crown Prince any embarrassment, allowing him to wholeheartedly and without guilt dote on his new consort.

Jiang Xiurun believed she had handled the situation flawlessly.

She had already submitted the necessary paperwork for her trip to the Ministry of Rites the previous day.

The next morning, she set off with her maids and attendants to meet up with the other officials from the Agricultural Department before heading out of the city.

However, the guards the Crown Prince had assigned to her were only now learning of her plans to leave the city.

Suspicious, they asked Jiang Xiurun if the Crown Prince knew about her sudden departure.

Jiang Xiurun replied gently, “This trip is for official business, not a leisure outing. It’s something I must do. The Crown Prince didn’t return to the residence yesterday, so I didn’t have a chance to inform him. But I’ve already filed the necessary paperwork with the Ministry of Rites. If you’re concerned, you can return to the Crown Prince’s residence and inform His Highness once he returns.”

Although the guard had been tasked with monitoring Jiang Xiurun, as she had said, this was official business, and he couldn’t very well stop her.

So, he instructed the others to follow Jiang Xiurun while he returned to inform the Crown Prince and catch up later.

But when he returned to the Crown Prince’s residence, the Crown Prince still hadn’t come back.

So, the guard turned around and headed straight to the Yang family’s estate to find the Crown Prince.

In truth, Feng Liwu had deliberately stayed out all night.

How could he not notice Jiang Xiurun’s recent coldness? But her sudden change in behavior had no apparent cause.

This little woman had truly been spoiled by him.

Feng Liwu’s temper had also been roused, and he decided to give her some space to cool off.

When things came too easily, people tended not to appreciate them.

She was taking his affection for granted, which was why she was acting out for no reason.

Coincidentally, the Yang family had proposed a marriage alliance, offering their eldest daughter, Yang Ruxu, as a potential bride.

After careful consideration, Feng Liwu thought it was a good proposal.

The Crown Prince’s residence did need an official Crown Princess.

Although there were three concubines in the residence, Feng Liwu had always felt that none of them were suitable to be the official wife.

Cao Xi’s foolishness and Tian Ying’s frivolity were intolerable.

While Jiang Xiurun satisfied him in every way, she was, after all, a hostage princess from a weak country with no backing.

Moreover, she was still young, her thoughts unpredictable, and her actions often unconventional.

Recently, she had become overly confident in his favor, and Feng Liwu believed that placing her in the position of Crown Princess wouldn’t be doing her a favor—it would be harming her.

So, finding a woman with the demeanor of a true mistress to oversee the Crown Prince’s residence, while still accommodating his beloved, would be the most ideal solution.

Yang Ruxu seemed to be a woman of remarkable grace, and the Yang family’s reputation for harmony between wives and concubines, as well as order among legitimate and illegitimate children, was widely praised.

If Yang Ruxu possessed even half of her mother’s virtues, that would be enough.

With the intention of giving Jiang Xiurun some space to reflect on her recent behavior, Feng Liwu had deliberately stayed out all night.

A night alone should be enough to cool her down and make her reconsider her recent actions.

As Feng Liwu thought this, he unconsciously instructed his servant to check if there were any street vendors selling soft fried cakes on the way back from the Yang family’s estate.

If there were, he wanted to buy some, asking the vendor to sprinkle extra crushed peanuts and sesame seeds on top.

He remembered that Jiang Xiurun had recently developed a fondness for these cakes.

Calculating the time, she should be waking up soon, and the cakes would make a perfect breakfast for her…

Just as he was about to leave the Yang family’s estate and head back to the Crown Prince’s residence, he ran into the guard who had come to find him.

Upon hearing the guard’s report that Jiang Xiurun had already left the city, Feng Liwu’s face darkened.

He angrily threw the bag of freshly bought fried cakes to the ground—the soft, squishy pieces were quickly buried in the dust kicked up by galloping horses.