Chapter 48: Favoritism

Chapter 48: Favoritism

After Hu Sheng engaged with the tribal states in Nanyue, they were compelled to acknowledge his authority, allowing his people to settle there securely.

Once the settlement was established and Li Dake and Ma Chuan were confirmed to lead the caravans in rotation for cross-border trade, Hu Sheng left the sugar caravan and returned alone. He had, after all, promised Zhao An he would be home before the New Year.

Though Zhao An had deemed him a jealous man, he was determined not to be a man who broke his word.

His commitment was indeed rewarded. After the initial surprise of seeing him, Zhao An immediately fussed over whether he was cold or hungry. Without waiting for a reply, she draped a thick coat over him and quickly sent for a meal to be prepared in the kitchen. This feeling of being cared for was truly wonderful.

Zhao An also felt wonderful. He had been in this world for nearly a year, transitioning from struggling for survival to having a home of his own.

As the New Year approached, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhao An announced the school's holiday break. Both adults and children rejoiced, though by then, fewer adults were still attending classes regularly, as most had already begun their New Year preparations.

They slaughtered pigs and sheep, made cured meats and sausages, ground rice flour for *tangyuan* (sweet glutinous rice balls), and steamed glutinous rice to make *niangao* (New Year's rice cakes). In the southwest, there was no custom of eating dumplings for the New Year; instead, *tangyuan* and *niangao* were essential, along with a fish dish for New Year's Eve dinner.

Of course, these luxuries were only for families with disposable income. Changxi County had suffered some calamities the previous year. Even though County Magistrate Feng had encouraged everyone to forage in the mountains for sustenance, and road construction had reduced grain consumption for some families, most people still lacked proper nourishment.

While the people of Zhao Village were bustling with New Year preparations, curious onlookers inevitably lingered outside the village. Thus, even as the New Year drew near, the village guard could not simply disband like the school.

However, Zhao An always felt a pang of sorrow at such sights. Even after the Great Cataclysm Era, which had orphaned him and claimed countless lives worldwide, living standards had returned to early 20th-century levels within three years of collective rebuilding. Though entertainment options had become limited and food choices significantly reduced, people could still maintain basic subsistence, and children could grow up with adequate meat, eggs, and milk.

To ease his mind, he discussed with Hu Sheng, "The improved sweet potato varieties I developed yield more than double the current ones. Since your people in the mountains are now eating rice transported from Nanyue, why not sell these two types of sweet potatoes to the villagers downhill? We can sell them under your caravan's name, claiming they are superior foreign varieties."

With these high-yield sweet potatoes, even if natural disasters struck again, people should at least not starve.

Hu Sheng put down the intelligence from the north and said cheerfully, "I never would have imagined I'd fall in love with someone as kind-hearted as you."

Zhao An moved closer to Hu Sheng and said, "Don’t say that—I’ll get embarrassed."

After a quick kiss, they swiftly changed the subject and began discussing the northern intelligence.

Ever since Zhao Tongming died and his family's property was confiscated, Zhao An had been curious about the happenings in the capital.

When he used to read novels, he found the love story in *Tears of the City* melodramatic and forced—the male lead insisted on ruining the female lead’s family, while the female lead seemed oblivious to emotions and often flirted with different people. However, the world beyond their love story was never depicted in the book. Zhao An had no idea this world was so fraught with disaster.

This year, not only did the southwest experience drought, but the entire north also faced large-scale snowfall and temperature drops in winter.

Since receiving this news, Hu Sheng had been closely monitoring the border situation. Whenever the grasslands experienced extreme cold, leading to massive livestock deaths, there was always a risk of nomadic peoples launching large-scale attacks.

Even though they had recently won a battle, besides the Xiongnu, there were many small tribes and ethnic groups on the grasslands. To seize more living space and resources, they would unite during difficult times to form new large tribes and challenge the prosperous Central Plains dynasty.

Yet, the capital remained engrossed in endless palace intrigues. Before the crown prince was officially installed, Consort Mei and her family had been completely uprooted. But now, a new figure had emerged on the scene.

That was the Prince of Jiangdu, whose fief was in the wealthiest region of Jiangnan. In the book, he was portrayed as a gentleman with a jade-like demeanor. He once helped the female lead when she was pregnant and driven out of her home by the male lead’s mother, escorting her back to the capital. Along the way, they discussed *weiqi* (Go) and calligraphy, creating an ambiguous atmosphere.

At the time, the female lead concealed her identity, claiming to be the daughter of a minor official driven out by her mother-in-law. After returning to the capital, she disappeared without a trace.

This time, when the Prince of Jiangdu came to the capital to pay homage to the crown prince, he saw Zhao Qingcheng, now the empress, and remained infatuated with her. He found an opportunity to approach her, leading to countless plot developments. In the end, the Prince of Jiangdu was sentenced to death by a silk cord for treason.

He was always portrayed as Zhao Qingcheng’s confidant, which led her to weep bitterly before Li Xiuye, followed by their usual cycle of cold wars and reconciliations.

It wasn’t until Zhao An read the intelligence reports in Hu Sheng’s possession that he realized the Prince of Jiangdu’s admiration for Zhao Qingcheng might have been nothing more than a calculated risk to challenge authority.

In fact, since the late emperor remained childless until the age of thirty, these young princes had been constantly vying for power. The Prince of Jiangdu placed great value on Zhao Qingcheng’s status as the prime minister’s daughter and even privately scorned Li Xiuye for not cherishing her.

He positioned himself as a savior but never expected Li Xiuye to gain the empress dowager's patronage, be adopted into her line, and ascend to the throne.

Now, the Prince of Jiangdu still hadn’t given up his pursuit of the throne. Among the assassins who recently attempted to kill Li Xiuye were those sent by him. Unfortunately, all the assassination attempts failed.

Thus, the Prince of Jiangdu’s death sentence was ultimately because of the discovery of evidence of his treason and assassination plots. His repeated attempts to approach Zhao Qingcheng for thrills were merely one of the triggers leading to his downfall.

Now, the evidence of the Prince of Jiangdu’s assassination attempt against the emperor was in Hu Sheng’s hands. The palace maid who had successfully humiliated Li Xiuye during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet had an aunt still alive, who worked as a housekeeper in the Prince of Jiangdu’s residence.

After reading the intelligence, Hu Sheng burned the note over an oil lamp and casually placed the travelogue used to conceal the note on a bookshelf. Recently, Zhao An had been working hard to write articles to teach the children, often referring to miscellaneous books for inspiration on describing scenery and human interactions. Thus, these books used for transmitting messages now served a new purpose.

After digesting the latest intelligence, Zhao An looked at Hu Sheng puzzled and asked, "None of this seems like good news. Why do I feel like you’re in a good mood?"

Hu Sheng replied, "Those are personal matters. You might not have noticed."

He pulled Zhao An, who was sitting at the table, into his arms and said slowly, "You should know I was born to a Hu ethnic concubine. My name itself carries a humiliating connotation, though I never cared. But when I see those who humiliated me meet miserable ends, I can’t help but feel pleased."

Recalling the recent news, the only ones who could be described as meeting miserable ends were the Shang family, recently executed along with their entire clan. Their crime was bribing Zhao Tongming’s family to plot against the crown prince.

Zhao An already knew but didn’t want to reopen old wounds for Hu Sheng. He held Hu Sheng’s rough hands and said, "Since we’re family now, let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s just focus on living our lives well."

To live their lives well, Zhao An and his family, like other villagers, slaughtered a pig and made cured meats and sausages to hang up.

On New Year’s Eve, they prepared a large table of dishes and stayed up late to celebrate. Boredom led to some interesting activities between adults.

Finally, when the moon reached its zenith, even if Zhao An couldn’t move anymore, he insisted Hu Sheng carry him outside to set off firecrackers.

Amid the crackling of firecrackers, he welcomed his second year in this world, with someone by his side who could always bring him warmth. He was not lonely at all.

They carried the festive spirit of the New Year until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when school resumed. This time, even fewer adults attended classes, as everyone had begun spring plowing.

The plowing in the first month wasn’t for immediate planting but to deeply turn the soil hardened over winter and break up the clods with hoes.

This preparatory work before spring plowing took twenty or thirty days. By the time all the land was thoroughly turned, it was just the right time for sowing.

This year, it rained seven or eight times in February. Everyone was delighted, thinking there would be no repeat of last year’s drought. However, there was also a faint worry. Last year, before the drought, there had been heavy rainstorms. The villagers feared a flood this year, worried that the rain withheld last year would all pour down this year.

Yet, as they anxiously made it through March, the sown seeds sprouted lush green shoots, and the weather remained excellent—neither floods nor drought occurred.

By May, the first harvest of corn was gathered, and everyone felt relieved. At least this year, there would be no total crop failure.

At this time, Hu Sheng sent his caravan to sell sweet potato slips near Changxi County. They showed samples of sweet potatoes with five large tubers, and everyone happily exchanged corn for sweet potato slips to try planting at home.

Perhaps Heaven truly favored Li Xiuye and Zhao Qingcheng. Last year’s drought and snow disasters passed smoothly, seemingly without any impact on the entire Dawn Country.

Even the nomadic tribes affected by the snow disasters, having failed to elect a strong leader and lost enough people in internal conflicts, found themselves with abundant flocks and slaves once the spring breeze blew and grass regrew on the grasslands. They temporarily abandoned their plans to attack Dawn Country, and the crisis faded away without a trace.