I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 230 The Man of Destiny

Long Er continued, "Every day, those ministers scheme and plot against each other. It's fine when the world is at peace. But if some disaster strikes, those people will force the emperor to write an edict of self-reproach."

Day after day, year after year, those ministers would cry poverty whenever they were broke, and whenever they cried poverty, the emperor would have to patch up one hole by robbing another.

Furthermore, the emperor hadn't been able to sleep for several nights in a row, and I also felt that the dragon throne was not something just anyone could sit on.

Dongfang Jin: "..." That's all caused by power.

Isn't it said that if you have power, you have everything?

There's no way around it; there are just some people who like to take risks and have a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).

However, she was very pleased with the story of the downfall of the Duke of Wu's mansion told by Long Er.

Looking at the rewards in her hand, it seemed she would have to make another trip to the palace. She still had quite a few things in her Ruyi Realm, so she would give them to Emperor Shengde to replenish the national treasury.

Ruyi popped out again, saying irritably, "You should just give up. Didn't you hear Long Er say that the emperor confiscated a lot of property? The national treasury must be full now."

And those officials from other prefectures and states can definitely still make a lot of money off you, so don't bother adding to their already splendid situation.

We'll keep those things to help those who urgently need them.

Dongfang Jin agreed, saying, "Yes, I feel uneasy if I don't send something. These silver notes are worth 100,000 taels!"

It's clear that a lot of things were confiscated during this raid; otherwise, Emperor Shengde wouldn't have been so generous.

"Keep them, aren't there still two people here? Didn't your last attempt at making mung beans and soybean sprouts turn out well? Let them take the recipe and show off!"

And the tofu must have been made by now. Didn't you already prepare the recipe for making soy milk?

Giving it all to them would please him even more than replenishing the emperor's treasury.

Dongfang Jin thought it made sense, but something still felt off. [Are you just being stingy and afraid I'll use your teleportation bead?]

"No way, besides, we still have the Ruyi Blanket. Do you think I'm that stingy?"

Ruyi looked at the teleportation beads in the Qiankun bag in the space. Unexpectedly, as the Ruyi Realm expanded, the number of these beads also increased significantly, but it couldn't say that.

Otherwise, given the master's personality, she would really become a night owl. There are some things she can do, but doing some things too frequently would be a disaster.

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; the thoughts of those in high positions are not easy to fathom.

It's best to suppress this master for now; if that doesn't work, let her practice her skills—that's better than her running around like crazy.

Long Er took a sip of tea: "When I came out, the Lord had already issued an edict to summon the Imperial Tutor's former students who had been persecuted by the Duke of Wu's faction."

Some were reinstated to their original positions, while others were given important posts in the imperial court and received substantial compensation.

The Emperor said that a grand banquet would be held in the palace this year for the New Year, as a form of compensation for those people.

Dongfang Jin sneered inwardly. This was the era of imperial power, full of intrigues and schemes, with those in power pretending to be confused while secretly understanding everything.

Times have changed, and so have our perspectives.

Perhaps the Imperial Tutor and his disciples would even be grateful, as a sign of the Emperor's boundless grace.

Long Er paused, his expression becoming somewhat dazed, "Alas, Her Majesty the Empress's old illness has relapsed. This time, even Elder Chu is at a loss, saying that the combination of the cold ailment and the knife wound from that incident might..."

Ruyi spread her hands in the space, [Alright, the Five Elements Spring has given me a quest.]

Dongfang Jin didn't respond. She needed to think this over carefully; it wasn't something that could be fooled by prescriptions and books.

Just as Dongfang Jin was lost in thought, Long Jiu continued, "Isn't it said that Master Fakong has a kind of spiritual spring that can cure diseases?"

Long Er glanced at him sideways: "Abbot Jingkong said that there was only one bottle of that spiritual spring, which was given to the master back then. Where would there be any more?"

Dongfang Jin looked at Long Er and immediately frowned, his expression making it seem as if the Empress was his wife.

Long Jiu: "Aren't the Shadow Guards always looking for that person of destiny? Master Fakong left behind a saying that finding that person would ensure the safety of His Majesty and the Empress."

"These are two generations already, how can they be so useless? I've noticed that ever since those shadow guards were disheartened by the late emperor, each generation has been worse than the last."

Jun Qirui glanced at Dongfang Jin. Could she be the one chosen by fate?

Long Er then asked, "Where is this person with the purple plum blossom birthmark? Where can we find them?"

Didn't the late emperor send the Dragon Guards to search for them back then? It's been almost thirty years, and there's still no news. Where are we supposed to find them?

Ruyi was startled and floated to the air. "Are they looking for your man?"

Upon hearing about the purple plum blossom birthmark, Dongfang Jin's heart skipped a beat. [Could it be that the Duke of Ningguo didn't tell Emperor Shengde?]

At that moment, all sorts of conspiracy theories flashed through Dongfang Jin's mind.

Does the Hua family also aspire to be the emperor?

If that's the case...

Tonight I'm going to the capital to investigate the Ningguo Duke's mansion. If he also tries to seize the throne, I wouldn't mind sending him to Emperor Shengde's side as well.

My man will never be used as a stepping stone for others, and I certainly don't want him to be controlled by anyone.

It seems I really will have to make the trip. This Five Elements Spring can't be entrusted to anyone else; you should deliver it to the Emperor yourself.

"Then let's leave it at that."

Long Jiu frowned, his face puffed out: "Those three places don't have any either?"

Long Er also looked worried: "Let alone those three families, we've even looked for families related to them by marriage, but we still haven't found them."

In recent years, there have been newborns with birthmarks, but those birthmarks are either pink or red, never purple.

Hearing this, Dongfang Jin was now 100% certain that the person they were looking for was Gu Chenglin.

It seems that Gu Chenglin's biological mother's collision with the pregnant Gu Granny was premeditated, and the child swapping might have been intentional.

As a member of the Empress's family and a close friend, it was too easy for him to find out some things.

After all, we're all in the same boat; we share both prosperity and adversity.

Moreover, the court situation was tense at the time, and the Empress's lineage could not afford any problems, otherwise, none of them would survive.

She probably knew that the journey back to Beijing would be fraught with danger, given the situation at the time and the fact that her Hua family was at the center of those prophecies.

Once you understand these things, everything becomes clear.

No wonder Granny Gu treated Gu Chenglin that way. Anyone else would probably have done the same, or even more extreme.

The four of them, each with their own thoughts, chatted and drank tea.

They didn't finish until Jun Qixian came to call them for dinner.

Dinner was hot pot again, which has become her family's signature dish. These people come here every few days and never get tired of it.

The vegetables in the vegetable basins at home, which we used to be unable to finish, are now not enough.

Dongfang Jin had plans for the evening, so she didn't want to disturb Long Er and Long Jiu, as the two were too shrewd.

She then took out a jar of liquor from her villa under the pretext of welcoming them back, namely Red Star Erguotou, six bottles of which filled one jar.

She served the children plum juice prepared by her sister-in-law, which the children all enjoyed.

Once the group tasted the wine, they couldn't stop drinking it. Liu Lingzui said that this wine was better than his family's Zhuyeqing wine.

He asked Dongfang Jin if she wanted to invest in the formula; Dongfang Jin never expected that this guy would think of such a thing.

Long Er said that if the Liu family could brew this wine, he would recommend it to become a tribute wine.

Upon hearing this, Liu Lingzui dared not speak, because he dared not make such a bold claim and had to go home and ask his grandfather.

Fang Shiyu then changed the subject, shifting the conversation to other things.

With meat and wine, can't there be poetry?