Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 872: Chapter 873: Zero Tolerance

They said that they were not valued by the Emperor of Xiyun, and although they seemed to have the status of a Commandery Prince, they actually held little esteem and were often ridiculed; meanwhile, Linghe had already borne a son for the Emperor of Chilin and had established a strong foothold in Chilin. Hence, they were considering moving to Chilin.

Even more, the second daughter-in-law knew where the Prince of Pingjun and Linghe’s secret letters of correspondence were kept.

And in those letters, Linghe was urging the Prince of Pingjun to leave Xiyun and defect to Chilin.

In her letters, she also mentioned that before defecting, the Prince should establish some achievements for the Emperor of Chilin, ideally a significant one, like securing the raw materials for making white paper. This would greatly please the Emperor, ensuring that upon their defection, they would not only be warmly welcomed but she might also be likely to ascend to a higher rank.

With her position secured in the palace, their life in Chilin would be more stable and respectable.

When the Emperor of Xiyun saw those letters, he was so enraged that he had the Nine Clans of the Prince of Pingjun executed on the spot, without worrying about provoking the Emperor of Chilin or the potential for war between the two nations. He also revoked Linghe’s title of ’Princess Chengyin’ that he had previously bestowed.

Moreover, the Emperor of Xiyun even sent an envoy to the Chilin Kingdom, demanding that the Emperor of Chilin hand over Linghe for execution, as he wanted to behead her.

As for those who betrayed the nation, the Emperor of Xiyun had zero tolerance.

Since the Emperor of Chilin had few sons, and Linghe had not only borne him a son but also managed to procure the raw materials necessary for making white paper, he naturally was not going to hand Linghe over to the Emperor of Xiyun for execution.

The envoy from Xiyun returned empty-handed.

The Emperor of Xiyun was uncontrollably furious.

Because her Nine Clans had been executed, Linghe harbored hatred towards the Emperor of Xiyun and tearfully begged the Emperor of Chilin to send troops to attack Xiyun to avenge her family, but the Emperor of Chilin did not agree. Was the Emperor of Chilin foolish enough to wage war for the sake of one woman?

While the Emperor of Xiyun did think about deploying troops to attack Chilin, capture Linghe, and have her executed, he reconsidered when he thought about the potential of igniting a war over just one person, and he dismissed the idea as not worthwhile.

Although neither the Emperor of Xiyun nor the Emperor of Chilin intended to start a war with each other at that moment, the relationship between Xiyun and Chilin had become severely strained.

Of course, this was all to come later.

Meanwhile, as soon as An Jing learned that the Emperor of Xiyun had executed all of Linghe’s Nine Clans, she did not speak ill of Linghe. Instead, she instructed Meng Lanqing to spread their rice shops throughout Xiyun as quickly as possible, in preparation for the possibility of war at any time.

From that day on, An Jing spent at least two hours each day practicing martial arts. Xiao Changyi sometimes practiced as well, but he spent more time teaching An Jing, helping her become increasingly formidable.

The four children were either playing nearby or watching.

With the execution of Linghe’s Nine Clans, the people in the Imperial Capital were panic-stricken, fearing they might be implicated.

Knowing that the Emperor of Xiyun was displeased over Linghe’s act of treason, civil and military officials tried to avoid bringing up issues during the early morning court sessions as much as possible, fearing they might get into trouble.

No matter what was happening in the court and the Imperial Capital, life for An Jing and Xiao Changyi was very peaceful and warm, as if there had not been a single ripple of disturbance.

On the first day of the third month, An Jing and Xiao Changyi went to the fields to check on the sprouting conditions of seeds that had been mixed with arsenic.

The seeds in the fields had all sprouted, and the germination rate was very high, which proved very effective in preventing underground pests with arsenic-treated seeds.

Since it was effective, An Jing went to the palace, informing the Emperor of Xiyun about it.

Upon hearing that arsenic-treated seeds could prevent underground pests, the Emperor of Xiyun’s sour mood improved significantly.

Seeing that the Emperor of Xiyun’s mood had considerably lightened, An Jing felt much reassured, but she continued to speak: