Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 761 - 759

Chapter 761: 759

In the blink of an eye, autumn yielded to winter. This year had two springs and a leap month, so the next year is a "blind year," a year that many people avoid for holding celebratory events. Thus, there were especially many festivities at the end of this year. Many officials were either marrying off daughters or obtaining brides, and even among the common folk, many were hosting joyful celebrations.

On any auspicious day you could see a multitude of wedding processions along every main street in the Imperial City.

To avoid potential complications, the wife of Prince An had hurriedly arranged the marriage of their heir before the New Year.

Fortunately, Shangguan Wanru was back to present her birthday congratulations to the Emperor, and also had a chance to attend Shangguan Ruixi’s wedding.

On her first day back to her maiden home, Shangguan Wanru sent a card to Xiao’er, asking to visit the next day.

When the two met, Xiao’er saw that Shangguan Wanru had lost the carefree disposition she remembered. Instead, she saw a forced cheerful smile, concealing deep sorrow behind her eyes.

Her heart ached when she saw Shangguan Wanru’s pointed chin and increasingly thin figure. She also felt a surge of rage. How much suffering must she have endured to have changed such a lively and adorable person into this sorrowful state?

Xiao’er came forward and hugged her: "Princess, I’ve missed you like crazy! How have you been taking care of yourself? Looking like this, are you trying to break my heart?"

Upon hearing Xiao’er’s words, Shangguan Wanru couldn’t help but cry. She said nothing, just let her tears flow.

Xiao’er let her cry a while before she asked, "What’s wrong? Did the Crown Prince of Nangong Country bully you?"

Shangguan Wanru shook her head.

"If not him, then who? Princess, you are the Princess of Minze country. We are not inferior to them at all. If anyone dares to make you suffer or bully you, you don’t have to force yourself to endure it, just strike back! If things get really serious, we’ll be there to back you up!"

"No, it’s my child...my child is gone..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er was startled.

There are always many intricate situations within the Imperial Palace. Shangguan Wanru, a royal herself, would have been careful when she was pregnant. Besides, Xiao’er had given her three protective pills. It shouldn’t have led to a miscarriage.

"A miscarriage? How could that be? Didn’t I give you three kinds of pills? Didn’t you take them?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of resentment appeared in Shangguan Wanru’s eyes. "The antidote and healing pills were used on my husband when he was critically wounded by a poisoned arrow. As for the fertility pills, I wasn’t pregnant half a year after our marriage. The Empress had an imperial doctor feel my pulse—she said I had been eating extremely cold food for a long time, and it had damaged my body profoundly. She worried that I’d have difficulty conceiving in the future. That’s when I remembered your fertility pills—I took them. Less than a month later, I was pregnant, yet I did not expect... I could not hold onto my child..."

If only she hadn’t conceived him at all if she couldn’t protect him properly! The taste of having, and then losing, was too painful.

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er really wanted to scold her—how foolish she must be to have fallen into the trap time and time again!

But seeing her look so miserable, Xiao’er couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh. She handed her a handkerchief, "Have you found out who did it?"

Wiping away her tears forcefully with the handkerchief, Shangguan Wanru responded: "The person who sabotaged me had bought my maid, the one who grew up with me. She was one of the people I trusted most, as she was always in charge of my food and drink. I didn’t believe she would betray me. She began serving me extremely cold food during my journey to my wedding, and while it was only a small amount each day, it added up. When the Imperial Doctor diagnosed me with a ’cold womb,’ I didn’t think to investigate. She placed all the evidence on the maid who usually brewed my tea! She evaded suspicion that time, which led to the loss of my child! As for the person behind her, she refused to reveal who it was even unto her death, and without evidence, I could only speculate. But I am sure who it is—I will not let him off!"

Whomever benefited from this act was likely the perpetrator. The Emperor of Nangong Country was not like the ones in Minze Kingdom. The Emperor of Nangong Country really had a harem of three thousand beauties, a heap of legitimate and illegitimate sons and daughters!

Shangguan Wanru’s daily life was filled with plots and deception. The current Emperor of Nangong was aging and his health declining each day, with most of his time spent bedridden. Thus, the competition for the throne had entered its fiercest stage.

Gong Zixuan was indeed the Crown Prince, but that was because he was born of the Empress. The emperor of Nangong’s favorite son was Gong Qinghua, born of Consort Shu.

Gong Zixuan’s temperament was gentle and too kind. The Emperor of Nangong had once accidentally mentioned to a minister that Gong Zixuan’s temperament was not suitable to be an emperor.

Because of this, some people grew even more audacious, and the competition for the throne intensified.

Gong Qinghua had accomplished several big things and won the hearts of officials and the people.

This made Gong Zixuan appear incapable. Furthermore, Gong Zixuan still had no offspring, and he was unwilling to take concubines. His loving, indecisive and tender character further convinced people that he was not fit to inherit the throne.

In summary, his position as Crown Prince was precarious!

These things were not convenient for Shangguan Wanru to tell Xiao’er. Her return to the Minze country wasn’t just to congratulate the Emperor on his birthday, but also to ask for a favor.

Seeing her husband being deemed incapable caused her anguish. Plus, if it weren’t for her lack of judgment in people, she would have been able to protect the child in her belly, and her husband wouldn’t be labeled as infertile.

She wanted to help him, desperately.

She raised her head and grabbed Xiao’er’s hand: "Xiao’er, you will help me, won’t you?"

"Princess, how can I assist you?" For Shangguan Wanru, she would certainly help if she could.

"Xiao’er, you were the first to grow super rice in your family. I know it needs to be crossbred every year in order to achieve high yields. Can you teach me this crossbreeding method?" Shangguan Wanru looked at Xiao’er earnestly.

Xiao’er fell silent after hearing this. This was actually a secret. Even if her sister-in-law Yun’er was married to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shen Chengyao would not reveal the secret of the super rice seeds to her. If they wanted rice seeds, they could buy it with silver!

Each year Minze Country sold a portion of rice seeds to two other countries. This was a lucrative source of income and also gave us control over those countries’ food supplies.

Securing this for Minze Country was beneficial for its long-term stability.

The current super-rice seeds were partly brought out from Xiao’er’s space, while others were bred by Shen Chengyao and Xiao’er’s years of research on hybrid rice, crossbred using male-sterile rice.

Whether it was rice from her space or the cultivated rice seeds, they were all national secrets that must be kept confidential in the current societal context.

She couldn’t reveal this. Shangguan Wanru was certainly aware of this, but she still asked. Xiao’er felt a bit disappointed and sad, knowing each of them had their own standpoints.

"Princess, I can’t help you with this. I can’t tell you." Xiao’er spoke sincerely. She didn’t lie about not knowing, she just said she couldn’t tell.

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