In a nearby teahouse, a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat pulled low to conceal his face was quietly observing the recruitment situation at the city gate.
Schools, positions, care for the elderly...
These ideas had actually been implemented!
No wonder the common people were so eager to join the army. Even he, upon hearing about these benefits, couldn't help but feel intensely moved.
Having been a military leader for many years, he was well aware of recruitment situations across various regions.
In other counties, when recruiting soldiers, there would always be family members crying and wailing, even fainting on the spot.
But here, everyone was rushing to sign up joyfully, without any need for forced conscription.
Though fear of the impending battlefield could be seen in their eyes, he could also perceive a kind of firm belief in these excited and enthusiastic people.
It was a belief in fighting and striving for their own families!
If given time to grow, such soldiers might truly be able to contend with the imperial court.
The man smiled bitterly and walked towards the city gate with heavy, hesitant steps. "Your Majesty, oh Your Majesty, to think that a noble man like yourself cannot match the magnanimity of a woman."
"Did I really choose wrong?"
"Haha..."
"What are the rules, after all? And who established them? The Elder Princess can be so tolerant as to release enemies, yet the Emperor cannot tolerate a single Concubine Zhao. How truly laughable."
The man stood at the city gate, his eyes reddening as he glanced back, then self-mockingly stepped away from the plague-ridden city, heading towards where the imperial army was stationed.
But the man didn't see.
A hundred meters away, on a pavilion.
The Elder Princess watched the man's dejected figure as he left, the corner of her lips curling up slightly, her expression revealing a hint of amusement. "I believe he's already wavering. Sooner or later, he'll come to join me."
Gu Sang sighed and said, "He's just bound by the long-standing notion that women should be confined to their homes. This era tells everyone that whatever women do is wrong, not allowed, doomed to fail. We can only blame the times."
"This man is quite loyal, though. He could be useful."
"Let's hope he figures it out soon."
"By the way, what about those wounded soldiers abandoned by the imperial army on the battlefield yesterday? Were they rescued?"
The Elder Princess nodded and replied, "Yes, General Zhou led his men outside the city to rescue all those soldiers who were injured in the explosion. They're recovering now."
After hearing this, Gu Sang and the Elder Princess exchanged a smile.
Although the two sides had different positions!
The common soldiers were innocent!
They were merely following the imperial court's orders, but now, the court had abandoned them on the battlefield and fled, while the Elder Princess had saved their lives without holding grudges!
How could they not be moved?
"Elder Princess, your letter."
A soldier hurriedly ran up to the pavilion, handing the letter to the Elder Princess with both hands.
The Elder Princess opened the letter and quickly scanned its contents, the smile on her face growing wider.
She looked up at Gu Sang with a grin, "Sang Sang, the people I sent to Fujian have written back to me, saying they've discovered mature potatoes in the border regions of Fujian!"
Excitement could be heard in Gu Sang's voice as well, "Congratulations, it seems good things really do come in pairs lately."
"I originally thought potatoes might not exist in this period, I didn't expect we'd be so lucky."
"This time, even the heavens are on our side!"
The Elder Princess stood up in high spirits, "Yes, I'll lead a team there myself right away. I'll need you to confirm if they're really potatoes when the time comes!"
Beep—
The connection closed.
The smile on Gu Sang's face widened. At the rate the Elder Princess's side was growing, it probably wouldn't be long before they could stand against the imperial court!
She couldn't wait to see Pei Changying dethroned!
"Ding dong."
A voice message came through. It was from Chen Yun: "Sang Sang, come to my place for lunch today. I've also invited Mr. Lu, you two come together, okay?"
"You've been such a great help lately, you can't refuse me."
Gu Sang replied with a quick "sure," then got up to get dressed, preparing to go to Chen Yun's home.
A few days ago.
Chen Yun felt too embarrassed to keep living at Gu Sang's place, so she asked a real estate agent to find her an apartment close to work and quickly moved in.
Today being Sunday, Chen Yun went to the market to buy ingredients, planning to cook a meal for Gu Sang and Lu Mufei as a gesture of gratitude.
Walking up to the sixth floor of the top floor with arms full of groceries, she was thinking about what dishes to make when suddenly Chen Yun smacked her forehead, realizing she hadn't asked Lu Mufei about his food preferences in advance.
"It should be fine, right? Mr. Lu seems pretty easy-going, and besides, he'll probably like whatever Gu Sang likes."
Chen Yun muttered to herself as she climbed to the sixth floor.
Apartments near the company were too expensive, and she wanted good lighting and ventilation, so she had to settle for the top floor.
But when Chen Yun saw the man in a suit standing at her door, her expression immediately turned cold.
Chen Yun: "What are you doing here again? Are you stalking me?"
Since breaking up with the scumbag, Chen Yun had reflected on many things.
In fact, there were signs from the very beginning, but she had viewed everything through rose-colored glasses at the time.
Now that she had suddenly awakened, Chen Yun wanted to slap herself twice.
How could she have been so blinded by love back then?
The scumbag looked down at Chen Yun, who was about to go upstairs, and spoke shamelessly, "Chen Yun, considering our relationship of so many years, is it really necessary to be so particular about money?"
"After seven years together, can you really be so heartless?"
"You used to say you didn't care about money. Now you've become so materialistic, always talking about money. Were you planning to dump me all along?"
Chen Yun coldly refused, "I don't want to argue about this with you. That's my money, and if you won't give it back, we'll settle this in court!"
Hearing this!
The scumbag also stopped trying to appeal to her emotions and dropped his act. His expression suddenly turned cold, his gaze fixed on Chen Yun like a venomous snake.
Chen Yun felt a chill in her heart and had the urge to flee.
The scumbag let out a cold laugh and threatened, "Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being cruel. You've forced my hand, Chen Yun!"
"I still have some of your private photos on my phone..."
"If you insist on me returning the money, I'll have no choice but to spread your private photos..."
Chen Yun trembled with anger. "You shameless bastard! I clearly deleted those photos from your phone! You... you took them while I was asleep, didn't you? How could you be so disgusting!"
How could there be such a heartless man who would use her intimate photos to blackmail her?
When their relationship was good, who would have thought he'd secretly take photos while she slept?
A year ago, something like this had happened once before. At that time, Chen Yun had thrown a huge fit. After deleting the photos and receiving repeated assurances from the scumbag, she had believed him.
If only she had known, she should have checked his phone's photo gallery more often when they were together...
But now, it was too late for regrets.
