Tai'an Farm rose to fame overnight.
The news spread throughout Beijing, where not only could you find beautiful flower fields, but also rent small sheep carts or indulge in delicious barbecues when you got tired of playing.
If you wish, you can even rent a barbecue grill and do it yourself.
Therefore, whether you go alone or take your family, it is a great choice.
For the next month and a half, tourists flocked to Tai'an Farm without cease.
Among them were the privileged and common people, students from prestigious academies, as well as aspiring writers and literati who came for its reputation.
Princess Ronghua even brought her entire family to visit.
When she saw this once barren hill covered in only wild grass and rocks, transformed into such a beautiful sea of flowers in such a short time, she couldn't help but be amazed.
While being impressed, she couldn't help but admire Jiang Yuqing's capability.
She said to her son, "The Jiang family truly lives up to their agricultural origins. When it comes to farming and tree planting, no one can compare to them."
Even Empress Qin in the palace heard about it and personally summoned Jiang Yuqing, saying, "Qingbao, I heard that your farm is doing exceptionally well. Can I also come and visit?"
Jiang Yuqing replied, "Of course, as long as Your Majesty agrees!"
Empress Qin scoffed and rolled her eyes without much grace, saying, "If I want to go, I'll go. Why do I need his permission?"
Nevertheless, she still sent someone to inform Emperor Xia Jing.
Emperor Xia Jing was upset when he heard that his wife wanted to go to Tai'an Farm without him. "Why should you go without me? No, I'm going too."
With the Emperor, Empress, and their son Jing Yan all going, it was a family outing.
When Emperor Xia Jing saw this vast expanse of flower fields, he was astonished and remarked, "With so many fruit trees, you'll surely have a bountiful harvest in the autumn!"
Jiang Yuqing smiled and nodded, "If there are no unexpected disasters, we should indeed have a good harvest."
As they approached the entrance, Emperor Xia Jing noticed that the other visitors were paying an entrance fee. He asked Jiang Yuqing, "This idea is good. Such a fine garden should not be free for everyone to see. How much is the admission fee per person?"
Jiang Yuqing replied, "It's 20 wen per person. All the proceeds from the farm, including the income from the garden, after deducting the costs, one-tenth of the profits will be shared with the veterans."
Emperor Xia Jing said, "This farm is so large, the initial investment must have been substantial. With your approach, when will you be able to recover the costs?"
Jiang Yuqing smiled and said, "I'm not relying on this farm to make a lot of money. At the very least, I want to provide everyone with a way out."
Emperor Xia Jing saw the feeble veterans without legs and sighed, "You are a good person."
Saying that, he personally asked Li Deshun for a bag of silver coins and bought entrance tickets for his family.
Once inside the garden, they first admired the sea of flowers, then visited the cow and sheep farms, followed by the chicken coop and pigsty.
When Emperor Xia Jing saw the disabled veterans, each with a smile on their face, diligently carrying out their duties, he was deeply gratified and gave Jiang Yuqing a thumbs-up, saying, "Qingbao, well done! You truly deserve the title I bestowed upon you."
At noon, Jiang Yuqing treated them to a meal of homestyle dishes prepared by the kitchen, including the local specialty barbecue and fresh wild vegetable meat buns.
The emperor was thoroughly satisfied with the meal, especially the skewers, which received unanimous praise from everyone.
Jiang Yuqing mentioned that she had already found a shop in the city and was planning to open a barbecue restaurant.
Emperor Xia Jing thought it was a great idea. That way, whenever they wanted to eat barbecue, they could easily leave the palace.
After finishing their meal, the emperor and empress used the excuse of needing rest and sent their two children out of the room. As soon as they stepped outside, Jing Yan took hold of Jiang Yuqing's hand.
She tried to pull her hand away, but her face blushed instantly.
In fact, he had held her hand before, but she hadn't noticed or maybe she was just oblivious and hadn't thought about it in that way.
But now, things were different.
"Let go of me!" she whispered.
Jing Yan tightened his grip even more. "No, I won't let go!" He held her hand and led her back into the flower garden, where they happened to run into several noble youths.
Upon seeing him, the youths quickly bowed and paid their respects.
Jing Yan waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
After the group had walked a distance away, they turned back to glance at the intertwined hands of the two, as if understanding something.
"Yuqing, your birthday is in a few days. Is there anything you want as a gift?"
Jiang Yuqing exclaimed, "Oh, is my birthday coming up?"
Jing Yan playfully flicked her upturned nose and doted, "How could you be so absent-minded? You even forgot your own birthday."
Jiang Yuqing said, "Well, it's not a big deal to celebrate my birthday. But you reminded me, I should give my mother a gift on that day!"
Jing Yan nodded knowingly. "Yuqing is indeed filial."
"It's only natural!"
The next day, Jiang Yuqing didn't go to the farm but returned to the hospital to work. Around mid-afternoon, they brought in a patient who was on the verge of death due to excessive bleeding.
The surgeons in the general surgery department couldn't handle it, so they had to seek Jiang Yuqing's help.
The patient arrived late, barely clinging to life.
Jiang Yuqing had to use acupuncture to stop the bleeding and gave the patient a thread of vitality to ensure he would survive the surgery.
While inserting the needle, she caught a glimpse of the crystal orchid pattern tattooed on the patient's shoulder, and her eyes flickered. She continued her actions as if nothing had happened.
He had been stabbed twice in the abdomen, with varying degrees of damage to his spleen and intestines.
Jiang Yuqing skillfully opened his abdominal cavity, repairing what could be repaired and removing the part of the spleen that had been shattered and couldn't be salvaged.
Afterward, she sutured and bandaged the wound. Taking the opportunity to check his pulse, she used a reviving technique to perform a minor repair.
Once finished, she instructed someone to transfer the patient to the intensive care unit and told the nurses that this patient was extremely important and must be closely monitored.
She then wrote a short letter and had Bai Xiaoshi personally deliver it to Emperor Jing Yan in the palace.
These individuals posed a threat to social harmony and stability, they were terrorists, and naturally, they needed to be eliminated promptly. As a patriotic young person, how could he let them go?
The palace guards recognized this little deer that accompanied her. They knew it was the mount of Princess Protecting the Nation and were very friendly towards it.
At this moment, seeing it carrying a sealed letter in its mouth, I knew it was sent by the princess to deliver a letter to one of the masters in the palace, so I didn't stop it and let it in directly.
Jing Yan received the letter brought by Bai Xiao, and his face immediately became solemn. He personally went to An Hospital to find Jiang Yuqing.
"Yuqing, where is he?"
Jiang Yuqing pointed to the inpatient department, saying, "Intensive care unit, room number two!"
"Thank you. I'll come to the Duke's Mansion to find you later."
"No need to be polite. You go and take care of your business; don't worry about me."
Jiang Yuqing watched Jing Yan leave and couldn't help but clap her hands in satisfaction, praising herself, "I am probably the most diligent and righteous noblewoman in Da Xia."
A few days later, when this special patient was out of danger and transferred to a regular ward.
Jiang Yuqing handed Jing Yan a talisman.
Soon after, he spewed out a bunch of earth-shattering secrets.
It turns out that this seemingly inconspicuous fellow was actually an important high-ranking member among the remnants of the former dynasty.
Due to power struggles within the organization, he was stabbed twice by his opponents.
Although he managed to escape, he collapsed in an alley due to excessive blood loss and was discovered by pedestrians who sent him to the hospital.
Following the clues provided by this injured person, Jing Yan's men traced the roots and, after more than a month of arduous investigation, uprooted the entire stronghold of the remnants of the former dynasty and wiped out all its members.
The leader of this organization, who claimed to be a legitimate descendant of the former royal family, was also captured and sentenced to a slow and painful death in the capital.
According to another high-ranking member within the organization, it was they who delivered the letter before the Xiongnu invaded Yumen Pass.
Hong Yuli, an official with an unknown source of a huge fortune, was also bribed by them.
Their aim was to collaborate with the Xiongnu, overthrow Da Xia, but unfortunately, they failed to succeed.
In the following years, due to the tight grip of the court and the loss of their main source of wealth, the gold mine, the organization's development was hindered.
They had no choice but to go into hiding and disappear.
It was not until this high-ranking remnant was injured in an internal conflict and unexpectedly recognized by Jiang Yuqing that this massive terrorist organization surfaced and was exposed to the world.
Thus, Jiang Yuqing could be considered to have taken revenge for her family.
On Jiang Yuqing's twelfth birthday, she received a pile of gifts. Some were from her family, while others were rewards from the palace.
Jing Yan gave her an emperor green jade hairpin and a small seal engraved by his own hands.
It seemed that he liked giving her seals. Over the years, she had accumulated at least eight of them, some with names and some without.
Unfortunately, she couldn't paint or write, so most of the time, these seals lay in a box gathering dust. Only occasionally would she take them out to play with.
Once her birthday passed, she would officially be a thirteen-year-old girl.
In fact, since the beginning of the year, she had felt subtle changes in her body, such as certain parts starting to swell and becoming painful to touch.
These signs told her that puberty had begun.
Lushi keenly noticed her daughter's physical changes and was extra careful when preparing her intimate clothing.
As a mother, she was happy to see the little cotton jacket she held in her hands growing into a graceful young girl.
Her master, Qiu the Divine Physician, had returned to Heavenly Doctor Valley in Minzhou at the end of last month due to some matters.
She had been to Heavenly Doctor Valley once before, back when she was still in Suzhou. It was the second year after she woke up from a six-month coma.
Before visiting Heavenly Doctor Valley, she thought it would be a place with numerous palaces, transcending the mundane world and surrounded by an ethereal aura. But when she arrived, she was sorely disappointed.
All that grandeur, clusters of palaces, transcending the mundane, and ethereal aura were just her own imagination.
Instead, it was a valley with several dozen small wooden buildings. Just an ordinary valley.
If one had to mention something unique about it, the entire valley was filled with various medicinal herbs, and every household had herbs drying in front of their doors.
In addition, at the entrance of the valley, there was an advanced Five Elements enchantment protecting it.
The old man had been gone for nearly a month, so it was about time for him to return.
White Xiaojiu, that foolish creature, had been running wild somewhere recently. It often disappeared for several days, and when it returned, it would lie on the floor and sleep soundly.
After waking up, it would ask her for food, eat its fill, and then go out again.
Jiang Yuqing found it strange. So, when it went out again, she secretly followed behind it with White Xiaoshi.
After leaving the Duke's Residence, this fellow ran all the way out of the city and headed west for half a day until they reached Qiuming Mountain.
They ran through twists and turns until they arrived in front of a very secluded cave. They roared at the cave entrance, and before long, a black and yellow tiger came running out. The two tigers huddled together, licking each other's fur affectionately.
White Xiaoshi barked excitedly, saying it didn't expect that White Xiaojiu, that idiot, would also have a tiger that liked it.
Jiang Yuqing gave it a stern look. "Xiaojiu is very clever, you know! Besides, it's a good thing that it's finding a mate. Other tigers at its age would have become fathers long ago."
Then, the old mother's face beamed with joy. "Our tiger finally has someone to share its life with."
