Chapter 424: Ten Years Later

Ten years passed in a flash.

In the small courtyard of the Northwest Border Pass City, Xiang Gugu heard the clip-clop of horse hooves, hastily put down her needlework, rose, and went to check how the silver ear fungus soup warming on the stove was doing.

Winter in the Northwest came too fast, and the climate was also dry.

Just as September began, the morning and evening winds blew so hard they hurt people's faces.

Xiang Gugu had been here for ten years, but sometimes she still wasn't used to the cold of the Northwest winter.

"Auntie, I'm back!" With a clear voice, the girl who pushed open the courtyard gate and entered stood tall and graceful, her brows and eyes confident and lively.

Ten years is enough for a person to grow up.

Xiang Gugu felt it was just the blink of an eye; the originally soft and sticky little dumpling Sui Sui had already grown into the present spirited, heroic yet still gorgeous young lady Feng Mingxi.

Nowadays, in Border Pass City, not many people know the name Sui Sui; more often they call her Miss Feng or Princess Jiaoyang.

Yes, a princess.

Who would have thought that the war back then would last three years?

In those three years, Great Summer's potatoes had already been promoted and planted across all prefectures, yielding a bumper harvest, yet the war at the border was still not over.

Thanks to the bumper potato harvest, the grain and forage of the Northwest Border Pass became abundant, making the war proceed ever more smoothly.

The foreign states' cavalry were indeed tough to deal with, but the border defense army led by Prince Qing was no empty reputation; they were not a bunch of good-for-nothings.

Over the three years, although there were many casualties, Prince Qing continually squeezed the living space of the foreign states; several small states, unable to survive, were forced to annihilation.

Finally, the leading Western Stone Kingdom and Louyu Kingdom could no longer hold out and proposed peace.

Sui Sui, for discovering and planting potatoes, was directly ennobled as a princess.

Although she was not in the capital, legends of her constantly circulated in Jing Cheng.

Originally, after the foreign states made peace, they should have returned to the capital.

But at this point, the Western Stone Kingdom made a grave mistake.

They proposed peace, but they sent people over to ask for a princess in marriage.

Moreover, they named names, demanding Princess Jiaoyang Feng Mingxi.

They might have thought that by marrying Prince Qing's daughter, even if war broke out later, Prince Qing would have to consider his daughter's existence and show them mercy?

They didn't know that the news of the marriage proposal reached the capital, where countless people sharpened their knives overnight!

Prince Qi, who had finally recovered his health, even more so sent an urgent request for an edict, preparing to personally come to the border pass and behead the ruler of Western Stone Kingdom.

His Majesty simply darkened his face.

That was a lucky general bestowed upon him by heaven, a tool for him to boost his political achievements and leave his name in history; do you still want to seize it?

Go ahead, make yourselves beautiful!

His Majesty, who always favored war, flew into a great rage at the morning court; upon seeing this, the officials...

Okay, we understand His Majesty's meaning.

From elderly officials over seventy who had not yet returned home to enjoy their retirement, to newly appointed youngsters, they all successively memorialized: Your Majesty, we cannot endure this great humiliation; we must go to war!

Upon hearing this, His Majesty immediately replied: Yes, we must fight!

At this point, the peace faction didn't dare to stretch their necks, let alone speak up; some even spat a few times, uttered some curses, and directly defected to the war faction.

Their colleagues:?

No, this is treason, right?

Won't you take another look?

However, it seems not bad either?

Although it cannot be said that everyone is pro-war.

But if you move their little princess, that's absolutely unacceptable!

The little princess, with her keen eye, could identify potatoes and successfully plant them, giving Great Summer an additional high-yield delicacy, and who knows, maybe more discoveries await.

So, you want to send her to your foreign little states as a marriage bride?

What about face?

What about face??

His Majesty advocated war; Prince Qing brandished a sword already sharpened, and over three years he smashed the Western Stone Kingdom into fragments, with the final part becoming prisoners sent to the Southwest Quarry, while another part surrendered to Louyu Kingdom.

Upon seeing this, Louyu Kingdom, just because they sought a princess in marriage, was annihilated?

Originally they still wanted to haggle, to give fewer warhorses and silver, but they tucked their tails, shrank their necks, and honestly let the Central Plains side set the terms.

Prince Qing was fighting fiercely at the front; back then Sui Sui was still young, idle with nothing to do.

As she grew older, she came to understand more and more things.

Then, with the system's assistance, she began researching the ecological problems of the Northwest.

Wind and sand severe?

The system has complete sand-control experience.

It is said that this is the experience of later generations, accumulated over dozens or even hundreds of years through gradual exploration, and it is very useful.

The efforts of several generations of sand-control workers achieved the final result.

Can these people who just pick peaches and copy homework manage?

Sui Sui also knows how to adapt flexibly; during the process, whenever a problem arises, she promptly makes adjustments, making the sand-control plan more suitable for their current environment.

In five years, Prince Qing on the front lines almost fought to the point of no survivors.

Sui Sui in the rear almost managed to cultivate an oasis.

However, an oasis needs time; saplings need to grow, windbreak grasses and sand-fixing grasses also need to propagate slowly.

But now, some rudimentary forms can already be seen.

After the war ended, once Prince Qing had put his military affairs in order, he could return to the capital to report.

However, Sui Sui's sand control business has just begun; for now she can't leave.

However, a trip to Jing Cheng doesn't take long, so she went with her father to Jing Cheng and returned shortly after.

Upon her return, she brought Feng You Tan and Lù Yǐnxiāo along.

It is said that after Fǔguó Gōng learned his dear little grandson had been lured away by Prince Qing to the Northwest, he stood before the gate of Prince Qing's mansion and scolded for most of the day.

In the end, His Majesty himself intervened, and only with difficulty did he persuade the old man to return.

The war lasted five years, and now another five years of rest and recuperation have passed.

Xi Bei Bian Guan has already undergone a great change.

Although it doesn't match the verdant Central Plains, compared to the past it is far better.

At least, although the wind is strong, it no longer kicks up much sand.

The sand control business has just started; once those trees grow another ten or twenty years, the Northwest's environment will only get better!

After Sui Sui pushed the door and entered, Xiang Gugu smiled and went forward to greet her.

Sui Sui had no attendants or horse behind her, and Xiang Gugu found this somewhat unexpected.

Just as she was about to ask something, Lù Yǐnxiāo suddenly appeared, took Sui Sui's cloak, hat, and the soft whip from her waist, and neatly put them back inside.

When Lù Yǐnxiāo returned, he was holding a bowl of warm silver ear soup.

Xiang Gugu: ……

I often feel idle, wondering if I might have nothing to do.

At nineteen, Lù Yǐnxiāo bears no trace of the refined, scholarly bearing he had as a child.

Now he is tall and sturdy, his brows and eyes firm; unlike Sui Sui's sun-resistant complexion, Lù Yǐnxiāo's skin is a healthy honey hue, his features handsome, especially those peach blossom eyes that, with a faint flutter, have stirred the spring hearts of many maidens in Border Pass City.

Yet in Lù Yǐnxiāo's eyes, only one person is visible.

His childhood sweetheart is Sui Sui.

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