Rumor Has It That I’m Pregnant with His Highness’ Child

260 Different Thoughts

Prince Min and Shen Xu’s hearts pounded.

They would have to live in Liaodong County in the future. They hoped not to have any conflicts with those rich people.

Lu Yaoguang said earnestly.

“Your Highness, listen to my advice. Forget about the land. At most, I’ll control them more in the future and ask them to restrain themselves.”

Xiao Juan said expressionlessly, “It’s fine if you don’t return the land. I’ll report your collusion with the local power tomorrow to the emperor and see how he deals with you.”

Lu Yaoguang immediately panicked.

“Don’t! Your Highness, listen to me. It’s not that I don’t want to do as you say, but I really can’t do it! Those powerhouses annexed the land wantonly in order to stabilize their foundation locally. Those lands were their foundation and lifeblood. They have already eaten it. It’s impossible for them to spit it out again.”

Xiao Juan’s eyes turned cold as he questioned in a low voice.

“What’s the use of having so much land? They do not farm, so they could only let those good fields go to waste. On the other hand, the commoners who urgently needed the fields to save their lives could only watch from the side. Do you think that’s reasonable?”

Lu Yaoguang said, “So what if it’s unreasonable? The people who lost their land are the commoners. It has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to offend so many powerful people for a group of irrelevant people?”

Xiao Juan emphasized.

“Those commoners have nothing to do with me, but I promised someone. That I would definitely return the land to those commoners so that they could live peacefully through the winter. If you don’t agree, I’ll hand over your relationship with the local powerhouses to the emperor.”

“Whether you want to offend the powerful or keep your black hat, choose!”

Lu Yaoguang was forced into a corner. He slapped his thigh hard and said angrily.

“Why did I meet someone like you? Everyone else was just getting by, but you were the only one who was stubborn. Fine! I’ll listen to you.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll give an order to let the commoners who have lost their land come to the government office to receive the title deed.”

According to the normal procedure, both parties had to be present when trading land. However, Lu Yaoguang knew that those rich people would definitely ignore his orders, so he could only act first and report later. He directly transferred those lands to the commoners.

As for how angry this would make the rich and powerful? It was no longer within Lu Yaoguang’s consideration. The most important thing now was to protect his black official hat.

Xiao Juan said, “Why wait for tomorrow? Pass the order down now. The sooner the matter is settled, the sooner I can return to the capital in peace.”

Lu Yaoguang complained in his heart. This master did not even give him a chance to delay for a day.

He gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll arrange it now. Please wait here for a moment.”

With that, he went out to the study and began to draft a document.

Prince Min looked at Duke Lang and couldn’t help but ask.

“Aren’t you afraid of offending those powerful people and causing them to take revenge?”

Xiao Juan asked unhurriedly.

“How many people have I offended?”

Prince Min tacitly agreed.

He thought to himself that it made sense. So many people had died at Duke Lang’s hands, and there were countless people who wanted him dead.

As the saying went, one did not have to worry about money. Duke Lang already had so many enemies, so it was nothing to have a few more.

Prince Min sighed. “You’ll leave Liaodong County soon anyway. Those powerful people can’t do anything to you. Xu and I will be in trouble. We still have to stay with those powerful people in the future. I hope they won’t find trouble with us.”

Shen Xu patted his chest and said, “Dad, what are you afraid of? I’m here. I’ll protect you!”

Prince Min looked at him as if he was looking at a silly son.

“Just live well. I can’t count on you.”

Shen Xu was speechless.

He felt humiliated.

Xiao Juan said lightly, “I have a suggestion that can help you stabilize your status.”

Prince Min hurriedly asked, “Tell me quickly.”

Xiao Juan said, “Although General Tang has already passed away, Tang Guixi is still around. For the time being, the Eastern Expedition Army will listen to her. You can build a good relationship with her and rope her in. In the future, if those rich people have designs on you, you can ask Tang Guixi to help you.”

Prince Min’s eyes lit up, thinking that this was a good idea.

However, he immediately asked, “But the Imperial Court will send people to take over the Eastern Expedition Army sooner or later. Tang Guixi won’t stay in the Eastern Expedition Army forever.”

Xiao Juan said, “It’s fine. According to the rules of the Dayan Dynasty, every prince could store soldiers. As long as the number was within 10,000, it would be fine. After Tang Guixi leaves the Eastern Expedition Army, you could recruit her to Prince Min’s Mansion and let her lead the soldiers. With her holding down the fort, your safety will not be a problem.”

Prince Min slapped his thigh. “That’s a good idea! We’ll do as you say!”

Shen Xu also felt that this plan was brilliant.

The father and son gathered together and muttered to each other, discussing how to rope Tang Guixi in next.

Actually, the best way to rope her in was through marriage. However, Tang Guixi was already engaged to the Lu family, so marriage was impossible. They could only think of other ways.

At noon, everyone sat around the table for lunch.

Everyone at the dining table had different thoughts.

Lu Yaoguang was still uneasy because he was about to offend all the local powerhouses. He had no appetite at all in the face of a large table of delicious food.

Madam Shu was uneasy. From time to time, she would glance at Yu Niaoniao, afraid that she would tell others about the kidnapping.

Lu Yao seemed to have lost his soul. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and put them down with an ugly expression. He looked at Tang Guixi, who was sitting opposite the table, with a gaze that seemed to have a thousand things to say.

Tang Guixi did not even look at Lu Yao and only buried her head in her bowl.

Prince Min and Shen Xu whispered to each other and occasionally glanced at Tang Guixi.

Yu Niaoniao was probably the most relaxed.

She did not feel burdened at all. She ate with relish the entire time and did not forget to put food into Xiao Juan’s bowl.

“Hurry up and eat. Don’t always eat the rice in the bowl. Eat more of the dishes.”

Xiao Juan did not like to eat food outside, but he would still eat the food Niaoniao personally picked for him.

After the meal, only Yu Niaoniao and Xiao Juan were full.

The others barely touched their chopsticks.

Yu Niaoniao leaned back and touched her slightly bulging stomach. She burped in satisfaction. It felt good to be full.

At this moment, Tang Guixi stood up. She walked up to Lu Yaoguang and handed over the jade pendant and the marriage proposal.

“Uncle Lu, I want to annul the engagement.”

Lu Yaoguang was drinking tea. When he heard this, he almost choked to death.

He coughed violently and took a while to calm down.

“W-What did you say?”

Lu Yao stood up. “Guixi!”

Tang Guixi did not look at him and repeated calmly.

“I want to break off the engagement.”

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